3.6 -MoM + EB Soulrend Trickster featuring Fenumus' Shroud and Devouring Diadem

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.

There are a multitude of Trickster and Soulrend builds, but this one will focus around the interaction of EB (Eldritch Battery) and Fenumus' Shroud, which I feel is highly underrated for this build, especially when paired with EB. Really this is less of a build guide and more of a PSA for Fenumus' Shroud, Soulrend, and Trickster.

UPDATES/CHANGELOG:


OVERVIEW:

- In case you are just getting into 3.6, Trickster is in a very good place as an ascendancy with the re-worked Ghost Shroud nodes. That coupled with the DoT nodes makes it ideal for life based DoT builds.

- Very good map clear. With Dying Sun flask and +1 Soulrend Projectile, I get a +180 degree fan that pierces all enemies. Strong Boss clear, especially if you want to stack DoT sources or use Wither/ED totems. Enough evasion and dodge to "tank" map bosses.

- Ignore map mods. No issue with phys or elemental reflect. Built in ES recharge and leech coupled with Trickster's Patient Reaper means no mana issues. I would avoid "Temp Chains" and "60% Reduced Life/ES recovery rate" on T16 guardians.

- EB with Fenumus' allows full mana reservation.

- Build is very defensive in that it allows you to do damage while remaining mobile. The Uber Elder video below demonstrates the "Float like a butterfly, sting like a bee" play-style for bosses. With this particular set-up, we stack evasion (tree, ascendancy, Grace), dodge (Acrobatics and Phase Acro, Vaal Grace), MoM, and Ghost Shrouds. I have some cheap math down in "General Considerations" section, and there is POB link below.

- With this set-up, I am getting 6 jewel slots on the tree, which makes it easier to fill gaps in resist, add life, and get some QoL jewels like "Onslaught on Kill".

- I am a fan of the Force Move button, so I mostly just use that instead of a movement skill with this build. I took Kraiyton for the movement speed, and have "Grace gives move speed" on my Watchers Eye. This, coupled with boot speed, "Onslaught", and a Quicksilver flask, means I am usually moving as fast as my projectiles. I still have "Flame Dash" for gap crossing.

- DoT builds make great league starters due to the built in scaling. The gear I am wearing is more than enough for any current game content, and I cleared most or all of the end game except for Uber Atziri (Don't have the fragments) and HoGM (No CI workaround). I only splurged in case I get isekai-ed as my POE character.

- 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. POE.ninja is a great place to look at builds utilising the same skills and equipment you are interested in.


TRICKSTER:

- Natural selection with DoT ascendancy nodes "Patient Reaper" and "prolonged Pain"

- Ghost Shrouds are OP.

- Ghost Shrouds are OP.


PASTEBIN:
https://pastebin.com/MvQ3GK49


VIDEOS:
Spoiler
Uber Elder:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=983DlDd3iOA
For Uber Elder I pretty much just cast and move. I think 75% of the fight just waiting for them to drop their shields and phase. I recorded this video at LVL 97 with better gear than when I first killed them with this league at LVL 91 or so. I just wanted to demonstrate the playstyle, which was the same for both. I will also point out that for the video I am using Essence Drain in my chest 6-link since I wanted to test using that over Wither totems for Uber Elder. The reason is that Elder seemed to attack and kill the totems immediately and I wasn't sure it was worth casting them.

https://youtu.be/9Loud_rvT6o
T16 Phoenix with Beyond. Just to demonstrate clear and general playstyle against Guardians. Again, not meant to facetank bosses, but is pretty easy to cast and move away from danger.

https://youtu.be/CA2hH-bjBPI
T15 Defiled Cathedral with Beyond and double "Extra Damage" rolls. Wanted to showcase evasion and dodge for map clearing. This one just so happen to have Syndicate spawn. Also, disregard me almost bleeding out from not paying attention while making sure my video is recording.



GEAR:

Spoiler


This is what I was wearing for Uber Elder video, and what I paid for it, as best I remember. To reiterate, some of the gear is much better than what I was wearing the first time I killed them.
-Fenumus' - 2 exalt in week 1 of league (they are around 30c now), self-6L
-Devouring Diadem with enchant - 2ex
-Bow - 10ex
-Boots with aspect - 2ex
-Command of the Pit with 2 Abyss - 3ex.
-Belt - 1 ex
-LV 4 Empower - 4ex
-Jewels - 25c - 1ex.
-Quiver - 40c


GEARING AND ALTERNATIVES:

Check POE.ninja for a good overview of gearing alternatives.

Spoiler
CHEST:

Underrated in my opinion. While it doesn't have any life roll, it provides effectively 10% damage reduction, a good chunk of ES, and ES recharge, which synergies well with EB and MoM. Offensively it increases the Aspect webs to 3/4 of the screen, and applies a -10% chaos resist. I went from a Tabula to this, so I don't have a good comparison with other contenders like Perfect Form.

AMULET, HELM, BOOTS, BELT, RINGS:


AMULET: Impresence has Life, chaos damage, DoT, semi-free Despair.

HELM:

Devouring Diadem saves some points getting to EB, but also gives a hefty mana reservation cut to socketed gems. With a LVL 3 enlighten, I can reserve 2x 50% auras and Aspect of the Spider.

RING:

I dont know if its BiS, but I like the Shaper balls, so Im using the ring. I have AotS on my boots, but the off-ring is another good place to get it if can get one for cheap. I used mine to get life and cap resists.

BOOTS: Life, resist, movement. This is where I picked up my AotS roll.

BELT: Life and resists. HH if you are good at Watcher's Eye day trading.


WEAPON:


I think a Synthesis Bow with as many +1 to socketed gems (I've seen up to +12 to Soulrend, mine is +9) will be BiS. This also means it will be the most expensive. A good set of crafted wands will do just fine, but the use of a bow allows a quiver, which helps with life and resists. I picked one up with an "onslaught on kill" which I like for mapping. Having a 6-L bow also allows you to use a variety of set-ups in your chest.

GLOVES:



If you can afford it, it's free Arcane Surge, otherwise you can get some with Non-ailment chaos multiplier rolls and craft the "Cast Speed/Arcane on kill" on your weapon.

FLASKS:



Dying Sun is nice for wide open maps. Witchfire Brew gives some nice defensive and offensive buffs.

JEWELS:



I would strive for a Watcher's Eye with the Non-Ailment Chaos multiplier and any other useful roll. I picked up a second one with a Grace movement speed roll for about 5ex. I had bought and sold one earlier for about 12ex profit.

Note that bows count as a two handed weapon, so you can use the abyss jewels with "DoT while wielding 2-handers"


GEMS:

Spoiler

If you are running 1-handers:

Soulrend - Controlled Destruction - GMP - Void Manipulation - Swift Affliction - Empower/ES Leech

- I used GMP full time. I like not having to worry about aiming or the boss moving away from a projectile. Since there is no DoT penalty for GMP, I don't feel the need to boss swap gems.

If you are running a bow:

Soulrend - Controlled Destruction - GMP - Void Manipulation - Swift Affliction - Empower

With a bow, I ran my wither totems in my chest before experimenting with Essence Drain. I liked the totems for the most part because I knew when bosses were done phasing when the totems would start casting. If I had any interest in leveling further I would also consider getting another curse from the tree and adding "Curse on Hit" and "Enfeeble". Again, I was using ED for Uber Elder since it was the one fight where it seemed they were not alive long enough to apply stacks. If you are not using an Impresence, you could use Bane here to apply your curses.

I also like Wither over Blight. The coverage is just better, especially with mobile bosses.


Helm:

-I think Malevolence is an obvious choice, and then whatever you can work in your build depending on your other gears. Again, with the mana reservation cuts, I could get 2x 50% Auras with AotS as long as I use a +3 Enlighten.

The only other links i am using are
-CWDT and Immortal call
-Blasphemy and Despair
-Flame Dash and Faster Casting



PASSIVES, ASCENDANCY, PANTHEON, and BANDITS:

Spoiler
Passives:


Spoiler
Passive Tree Highlights:

Since I played this specific set-up on Soft Core, I went for the 3 non-ailment clusters near Shadow, "Method to the Madness", "Growth and Decay", and "Atrophy." This should be enough DPS to carry through the story mode. I grabbed EB after that. I generally skip jewel sockets until I can afford getting something worth 2 passive points.




Ascendancy:

Spoiler
I went Patient Reaper for early DPS and Life Recovery, then Ghost Dance and Escape Artist for defense. Last is Prolonged Pain.


Pantheon:

Spoiler
I went with "Arakali" and "Soul of Shakari" for one more immunity with poison.


Bandits:

Spoiler
I went with Kraiyton. I wanted the Move Speed and Attack Dodge.





GENERAL CONSIDERATIONS and SIDE NOTES:

Spoiler

Assuming I have ES:
- With just the "Grace" Aura I get 49% Evade. With flasks I get to 66%
- Base Dodge chance with Acro and Phase Acro is 43% Attack, 50% Spell (Phase Acro + Escape Artist)
- With Vaal Grace (+30% Dodge), Dodge Chance is capped


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 general.
Last edited by Kuronin on Apr 28, 2019, 1:20:25 PM
Last bumped on Apr 27, 2019, 11:18:23 PM

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