[3.2] LL Glacial Cascade Occultist - Shaper Complete

FORWARD:
I am a casual (read; lazy and unskilled) player who tries to make builds that require as little management as possible. I usually take posted builds and say "How can I make this easier to play." Managing flasks and moving into optimal position during major boss fights is fine, but for general mapping I like a button to move, and a button to kill monsters, and button mash flasks for the map boss. I think this build hits all of the marks of being easy to play while still capable of clearing at least some of the end game content.


OVERVIEW:

- I started (leveled) this as an EK Occultist, and also used Bladefall for a while, including several Guardian kills. I eventually ended up with Glacial Cascade for the Shaper kill. This is a good all around build that can farm maps and complete end game content. This is not a Deadeye MF Ferrari, nor is it an indestructible Juggernaut Shaper slam tank.

- I used Occultist for the Power Charge generation and the ES Ascendancy nodes. I think Assassin would have better single target DPS with the same gear, and faster map clear at the trade off of less ES.

- I killed Shaper with less than 7400 ES; you can get over 8k by choosing Vile Bastion instead of Malediction, or with the Watcher's Eye jewel with Mana -> ES if you have 150 Exalt laying around.

- I started with 2 x Void Battery but swapped to using the Prism Guardian shield for the resists and Blood Magic

- This build uses several non-starter friendly items: Shavronne's, Presence of Chayula, Taste of Hate, even Void Battery. That said, non are required for the build, and have budget alternatives. I would say the most mechanically required item is the Elder ring with "Warlord's Mark on Hit". Look it up on PoE trade. If the lowest price listed scares you, then this build is not for you.

- This is a Physical to Cold conversion, and relies on stacking physical as extra damage

- Does not handle "Elemental Reflect", can do "No Regen" if you don't use movement skill or want to swap in a mana flask. Completed all T15 and Guardian maps corrupted.

- Mini Curse/Aura bot that can still kill Shaper

- Note: This guide is not meant for first time players. I am not a professional PoEer by any means, but it is written for someone who already understands some of the mechanics of the game and is familiar with gearing and levelling in general. I will pass along any insights I think might help new or veteran players. Please leave feedback to correct any incorrect assumptions on my part, or provide anything for other players.


OCCULTIST:

- Natural selection for LL build with the ES nodes from the Ascendancy.

- "Profane Bloom" provides nice AoE with Chaos explosions as well as some QoL with Anti-Hexproofing.

- "Forbidden Power" allows us to generate Power charges, also provides nice boost to AoE and spell damage

- One tactical advantage for Occultist is you can generate power charges before a boss fight without any enemies to kill; before you open the door for Izaro in lab, before you enter the arena for Shaper Guardians, or before you move away from the Elder portal for Elder Guardians.


PASTEBIN:
https://pastebin.com/QACJ3veq


CHARACTER SHEET:

Note: These are both with Concentrated Effect and Elemental Focus socketed in the 6L.

Spoiler
Unbuffed Sheet DPS with Auras; No Flasks, No Charges, No Malediction:



Buffed Sheet DPS with Auras, Flasks, and Power Charges; No Frenzy Buff (Another 4%*3 more damage and 4%*3 increase spell cast speed. No "Malediction" Buff (Another 8%*3 more damage bonus)



VIDEOS:
Spoiler
Shaper:
You can see me go full retard and turn into the Shaper ball's at 2:55. You also get to see the advantage of Occultist as I get my Power charge stacks before entering the fight after dying, which I forgot to do the first time.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EzZsQdcqsa8&feature=youtu.be

Chimera:
Almost tanked him at the end.
https://youtu.be/dvPQ4KuzNR0

Phoenix:
https://youtu.be/_eWrquWRdA8



GEAR:

Spoiler


This is what I was wearing for Shaper, and what I paid for it, (month and a half into Beast League) as best I remember.
-Shavronne's 6L - 5 exalt
-Presence of Chayula - 5 exalt
-Death's Door - 1.5 exalt
-Belt - ~40c
-Elder ring - 55c
-Shaper ring - 15c
-Heretic's Veil - 25c
-Gloves - ~5c
-Void Battery - 15c
-Shield - ~4c
-Watcher's Eye - 1.5 exalt
-Green Dream - 1 exalt
-LV 21 GC 30-40c

GEARING AND ALTERNATIVES:

Spoiler
CHEST:

-Shavronne's - Provides ES and Chaos block, no real alternative here once you make the transition to LL


AMULET:


-PoC - ES and stun block. Easy alternative is picking the 'Vile Bastion' ascendancy node.
-Alternative could be Pandemonious or the best +1 to curse amulet you can afford. I used the "Karui Ward" as Ek; cost ~20c.


WEAPON:



-Void Battery: Make use of the Power charges. There are some Elder/Shaper weapons with 'gain physical as extra...' that are probably better, but they were listed around 25 exalt, which is out of my range. Note that if you dual wield, capping resists and Dex becomes much more difficult.
-Prism Guardian: Effectively doubles your Auras since the socketed gems don't have the same multiplier as the Blood Magic gem. Maybe some rare shields could work, but this cost me 4c, and the better alternative to a different shield is probably just to dual wield Void Battery.


BOOTS:



- Death's Door: These are more for utility with the Bleed Immunity so that I could keep a Warding Flask and not worry about bleeding during mapping. They do provide ES, resists, and an additional Endurance charge. The strength also caps me for gem use.
-Alternatives: Windshriek is the obvious (and cheaper) alternative with the +1 to curse, otherwise a good pair of rares.


HELM:



-Heretic's Veil: Saves a socket with Blasphemy support, mana reserve, and decent ES. I just so happen to get one with GC damage for 25c.
-Alternative: Vertex has High ES, and the +1 to gems works well with Enlighten Support. If you try running 2 x Void Battery, you probably will have to drop a curse from mana/life reservation, which I think would make this a better choice at that point. I bought this for 8c since with 2 x Void Battery, the Hatred enchant would be BiS in my opinion.


GLOVES and BELT:



- The Faster Casting support is nice for Flame Dash, otherwise I just went with the highest ES I could get. If you go double Void Battery, I think you will need to get some resists.
- For the belt I went with the highest ES/resist combination I thought was cost effective.


RINGS:



- You'll need a Elder ring with "Warlords Mark", I had one with high DEX from when I was trying to dual wield Void Battery. (I say 'need' but I dont know how effective running Warlord's Mark is as an Aura, especially if you are trying to keep your distance as you attack.)
- The "Mark of the Shaper" provides ES and effectively 100% increase spell damage. The anomalies are generally useless for mapping, but they did stack up where the mobs come through the portal during the Shaper fight and work well for bosses that have adds and remain stationary long enough for the voids to activate.
-Alternative is a Deodre's Ring for the +1 curse or a rare or unique that provides some functionality.

FLASKS:



-Not much to say here other than they provide a huge damage boost by stacking "physical as extra" damage. I use "of heat" and "of warding" for the two open suffixes. A quicksilver would be better for general mapping. Obtain as budget allows.

JEWELS:



-The "Long Winter" provides full cold conversion. Alternatively you could get a "GC has 40% physical to cold conversion" enchant, and use two other general purpose gems (you lose about 15-20% increase damage, but gain 16% ES). The Watcher's Eye and Green Dream are QoL, and provide 5-10% increase damage over a decent rare for about 100 times the cost. Same with Energy From Within, easily replaced with a rare with two damage rolls and 8% ES. The "Dragon Splinter" is an example, I bought for 1c, and two others just like it for 5c each.


GEMS:

- This is the setup that I felt was the most efficient in terms of damage, mana/life reservation, and utility. I think the 4-links are going to be the same given the added bonuses of the Helm and Gloves, but you can swap for your preferred curse/aura setup. If you use a non Physical base spell to level or otherwise, use something other than "Hatred" and "Herald of Ash", which deal damage as extra physical.

Spoiler
Chest Single Target/Boss:
Glacial Cascade -> Concentrated Effect -> Spell Echo -> Elemental Focus -> Cold Pen -> Controlled Destruction

Chest Mapping:
Glacial Cascade -> Spell Echo -> Controlled Destruction -> Cold Pen -> (I used Increased Area and Increased Crit Strikes so I could still freeze)

Helm:
Curse #1 - Curse #2 - Enlighten Support - Herald of Ash (I ran Enfeeble and Temporal Chains)

Shield:
Hatred - Discipline - Some 50% Reserve Aura (I went with Haste)

Boots:
CWDT - Immortal Call - Increased Durarion - Golem or utility

Gloves:
Flame Dash - Arcane Surge - Increased Duration - Support with high mana multiplier

Note: (I used Flame Dash to proc Arcane Surge, so I used Light Pen to increase Flame Dash mana cost and therefore proc a higher leveled Arcane Surge for each Flame Dash. Lightning Pen because I had a blue socket.)

Weapon:
I think I had Vaal Discipline, Vaal Clarity, and a Portal Gem for Shaper. I didn't use any of them. This is good place to add a CWDT-Curse if are going for Quad/Sept curse.



PASSIVES, ASCENDANCY, PANTHEON, and BANDITS:

Spoiler
Passives:

Spoiler
https://www.pathofexile.com/passive-skill-tree/AAAABAMBAAVCBx4N0Q5ID8QRDxEvEVARlhV-FkAXLxhdGGoaSBslG8gdFB8YIG4i9CSwKU8qCysKLJw1uTlSO3w87z1fQZZCeklRSbFLrkyzUDBR-1JTV5RYB1xrXfJfKl9qY0NmVGaeaPJsC20ZcFJ0VXpwe9d8S3zwf8aApIKbhEiFe4V9jHaOZI9Gj_qRB5MnlS6WdJeVl_SboZ48oS-io6crrJit8a6ztUi2hrb6tzG4yrmTu_y-isBmwwnDbc0Wz93QH9DQ0PXVptfP2VvbXt-K37Di9-OE6QLrY-v17DjtIO-I7-vw1fGK8h30KPem99f5N_rS?accountName=Kuronin&characterName=WitchHunterRobinHood

Passive Tree Highlights:

I leveled as EK, so I went to "Deep Wisdom" then right to the Dex socket by "Nullification" so I could socket the EK gem. If you are using a spell with an Int threshold, I would instead get the socket by the "Instability" power charge node. I didn't do the math, but I think you are better getting flat spell damage earlier as opposed to the crit multli.

I picked up "Ghost Reaver" when I had about 3k ES and had the Elder ring, and "Pain Attunement" once I went LL.

I went with "Whispers of Doom" for the third curse instead of the Windshriek boots or Doedre's Ring.

I needed 4-6% less life reserved for my current setup, so I took "Sovereignty". The increase aura also helps with Discipline.

I took "Deep Thoughts" and "Righteous Decree" to help with mana regen and overall QoL..

If you get a "Green Dream", choice socket position is below "Faith and Steel" on the left side.



Ascendancy:

Spoiler
Forbidden Power --> Profane Bloom --> Malediction -->Wicked Ward/Vile Bastion

My thought on Wicked Ward vs Vile Bastion: If you are not running a Presence of Chayula, I think Vile Bastion is the better choice. Even with Presence of Chayula I think Vile Bastion is a valid option with the effective +800 to ES. I think the most use out of Malediction would be against the Guardians or capture a beast where you have a continuous spawn of adds to curse, kill, then attack a boss.


Pantheon:

Spoiler
I went with "Soul of the Brine King" mainly for the Chill reduction and "Soul of Shakari" for one more immunity with poison.


Bandits:

Spoiler
I went with Alira. I don't see anyway to make up 15% all resist and 20% multiplier in two points.




LEVELING:

Spoiler


Standard fare for spell based leveling. I personally like "Le Heup" for leveling to cap resists and attributes. "Tulborn" is a solid choice once you get "Forbidden Power", but I usually use "Lifesprig" until I can use a rare with more spell damage. I leveled with EK up to and including red Elder Guardians kill.

I used a "Mana Leech" gem until LV 65 when I could use my Elder ring with "Warlord's Mark."

Note: I had most of the gear before I made it past Act 10, so I didn't invest any points into life while levelling to save regret orbs. I don't think transitioning to LL is viable without Shavronne's, Discipline Aura, and some ES helm, but you can make it through the Acts without investing in life. If you don't want to invest in life before making the switch to LL, "Brinerot" has a good ES roll at a fairly early level. There are probably several other inexpensive, low level items as well. In addition, you can pick up "Wicked Ward" earlier in the ascendancy sequence.


GENERAL CONSIDERATIONS and SIDE NOTES:

Spoiler
-I died twice during my first Shaper fight with this character. It was the second time fighting him in my PoE career and first time kill. I died once while I tried to spam GC long after he transitioned out of beam to shoot balls, and again when I lost sight of his clone who shot me from off screen. All in all it was easier than I expected. GC is very user friendly for the amount of damage, and I mostly just stayed out of melee range, dodge a ball barrage, cast 1-2 GC, then move. This was the same for the Guardians that I tried with GC as well (I think I did Phoenix and Hydra with GC).

-I ran with 3 curses more because of the cost to apply them than to add to the max limit. If you want the novelty of running 5 or 6 curses, you certainly can, but I think swapping the Death's Door to Windshriek and using a CWDT-Curse for 4 would be the economical limit.

-I tried building in some Life-->ES regen action, but didn't feel it was working out. In addition to the ES regen on the Watcher's Eye jewel I used 3 points for "Growth and Decay" and another for "Zealot's Oath"

-I use PoB to make general comparisons on nodes such as 15% crit multi vs 3% cast speed vs 10% spell damage. I am about as much a PoB pro as I am a PoE pro, so if you know what you are doing, and something looks like the obviously better choice, it probably is.

-Mana cost/regen can be an issue, if you are trying to spam more than 3-4 casts in a row, or if you are casting without hitting, or Flame Dash 3 times in quick succession. Fortunately, for guardians and Shaper, I'm moving enough to regen for the next barrage. I even did a "No Regen" Phoenix map. I just needed to make sure I hit something each cast to leech mana.

-I don't intend on posting videos. I will try to answer questions.


Thanks to: Others who have made build guides, trade sites, videos, loot filters, explained mechanics on forums, have done something helpful for someone playing PoE, or if you are just a nice person in generel.
Last edited by Kuronin on Apr 24, 2018, 11:56:21 AM
Last bumped on May 20, 2018, 8:20:36 AM
Obligatory Reserve Post
Void Battery hype! This looks really fun, got any videos?
This build suck....1500 pv.. and 7k shield....lmao
Build à real melee, not this crap. u will gain ur time. And mind

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