[3.6 UPDATED 3/12 ] Sidefx Cthulhu Arrow (Caustic) Revived! - Occultist Variant VIDEOS

"

would you guys like a 3.6 update to this?

Yeah I sure would. I've been leveling a CA occultist and it's going well so far.

"

Zombicus wrote:

"

would you guys like a 3.6 update to this?

Yeah I sure would. I've been leveling a CA occultist and it's going well so far.

Updated ;) (sloppy but updated ) enjoy!!

Never played this build before, but i do want to try it out

"

Tasteey wrote:

Never played this build before, but i do want to try it out

Hypers!

Can highly recommend this for a cheap and easy allround character (3.6). Getting a 5L Bow with +3 Gems in total is the most expensive part (ran me about 50chaos), the uniques are really cheap and the hardest part is balancing resists with so many uniques. Playstyle is super simple and safe.

Playing a slightly different version w/o Quill Rain running Vaal Blight, Vaal Discipline and couple of auras, the core stays the same.

This was really fun to play so far, and there is still some untapped potential in my version of this build at level 87. This is only my second char (first in Synthesis) and 87 is my overall highest level.

Some things I found out along the way (will be obvious to veteran players):
* You should look at the path of building for your items and gems. What you see in the guide is outdated.
* The gem level is what makes or breaks Caustic Arrow. Boosting the level to 24+ with Empower and +1 Socketed Gem modifiers is a huge damage increase. Leveling up, you need to give CA a few levels before you can use it as your main spell. It does begin to work at some point, though.
* I did not pick up a lot of life nodes while leveling up and instead played with Blink Arrow and Flame Dash. It is possible and recommended to take some Life Nodes and refund them later. I switched to CI after the third lab.
* You are not playing with Shavronne's Wrappings in Synthesis. You take Chaos Inoculation and don't need Shavronne's (as in the PoB). This is good, because Shavronne's is expensive.
* I would not buy a 6L Quill Rain. It has the disadvantage of reducing damage by 40%. QR is good because of its 100% attack and 50% projectile speed bonus, which feels really good, but I bought a 6L short bow with +Damage over Time and +1 to Gems +1 to Socketed Bow Gems for 90 Chaos (I may have to spend again for +2 Socketed Gems, but we'll see about that later - beginner mistake). The damage is much higher this way. This is the most expensive part in my build so far. I played with a cheaper 4L Quill Rain for a long time. This build uses QR only as a second weapon set in the PoB.
* Changing Quill Rain for a regular bow makes your slow attack speed painfully obvious. You don't need Quill Rain's insane AS to apply Caustic Arrow, of course, but just picking a 1.2 AS bow will be very slow, almost unplayable. You can pick up an onslaught potion, choose a Short Bow with 1.5 AS, forego Vicious Strikes, and/or pick Harrier and Retribution in the passive tree as a variation to increase AS. I have done all of this, but may refund the passive skills later.
* Level 3 Empower gems, Level 3 Enlighten gems and Quality 20 Level 20 Caustic Arrow gems are relatively affordable in Synthesis (each about 10-15 Chaos).
* By default, you can apply only one curse. The Whispers of Doom notable extends that to two curses. Wither is not a curse. I have experimented with Vixen's Entrapments, which is a glove that also raises the curse limit.
* The Spiritual Aid notable applies minion damage nodes to yourself. It is not a mistake to pick up.
* A Vaal Blight gem can be a useful damage increase for short range, although there is overlap with Vaal Cold Snap.
* Despair is a big damage increase, while Temporal Chains is very useful, but not super important. It may be worth using Despair earlier instead of Temporal Chains (while your curse limit is 1) if you lack damage. I didn't do this because the build delivers Despair through the Impresence Amulet, which I couldn't afford, and so I failed to notice the relative importance.
* There are several versions of Impresence, and the Despair version is relatively expensive. If you have trouble with reserved mana, you can apply the curses by hand. Maybe string them together with Bane or Vixen's Entrapments. Ultimately, you will want to have Impresence or Solstice Vigil.
* Always pay attention to the Energy Shield on all of your gear. You need a lot, especially on your body armor (around 500+) and helmet (around 270+), but also gloves + shoes.
* If you haven't played PoE before, flasks are really important.
* Vaal Discipline is your emergency button. You need to be unfrozen to use it, though.
* Your Immortal Call setup and your Wither / Faster Casting / Totem setup are simple and useful, and should be included in your build as early as possible.
* Temporal Chains / Blasphemy / Vaal Discipline / Enlighten (lvl 3) is another good setup to use.