[Semi-Updated to Ritual]Poison Blade Vortex Assassin In Depth Guide

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squalls62 wrote:
Hello, I would like to try new builds to run Heist fast but also safe and your guide seems interesting, would you recommend it for mostly doing heists? Thanks!
This build is a very good map clear build for the investment. You get pretty good movement speed with 100% uptime on Elusive (Withering Step and Mistwalker Ascendancy) and 20% MS from the Opportunistic Ascendancy, plus the normal increases from boots, onslaught, and the passive tree. Damage is very good and with a source of explosions getting out of heists is pretty easy. Also I've found it pretty safe since you can use Vaal Blade Vortex at a distance to clear the big groups that stack up at doors.

That being said there are more expensive builds that are designed to be speed runners and will be able to clear Heists faster (100ex+ investment though). I think of Blade Vortex builds as more of a jack of all trades. They're a 7/10 at all aspects of the game. Sort of like the common miner builds if you've ever run Ball Lightning or Glacial Cascade. With 50-100ex invested you can clear all content safely and survive 95% of the single hits in the game.
Last edited by kevinbrightblade on Nov 22, 2020, 10:53:57 AM
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squalls62 wrote:
Hello, I would like to try new builds to run Heist fast but also safe and your guide seems interesting, would you recommend it for mostly doing heists? Thanks!


In my opinion, this build is absolutely insane at Heisting. It feels really smooth and incredibly fast with everything combined. After breaking the glass i'm normally out in seconds just phasing through everything.
Example for more speed, after you sort out boots with "Cannot be Frozen" craft you can switch your Quicksilver flask(or whichever flask you have it on) from "Immune to Freeze" suffix to "30% MS suffix" ("of Adrenaline"). Also the boot-enchant is good as mentioned in the guide.



As a sidenote I also invested roughly 350~ Exalts into the build.

@kevinbrightblade

Hey, bought this one for 80 ex. Fu*ked up a little with not thinking about the STR Req and off-coloring but figured it out in the end. Had to switch my amu annoint to "Utmost Might" for the STR until I get it somewhere else, also took quite a bit investment getting the off-colors the socket-trick-way. Don't know if it was a good switch though, feels good with double-explode but the loss of about 300-400 ES is tough. More adjusting inc to get more ES :-D
How's it going for you? You quit or still running this build? Gl Hf

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perK1 wrote:
@kevinbrightblade

Hey, bought this one for 80 ex. Fu*ked up a little with not thinking about the STR Req and off-coloring but figured it out in the end. Had to switch my amu annoint to "Utmost Might" for the STR until I get it somewhere else, also took quite a bit investment getting the off-colors the socket-trick-way. Don't know if it was a good switch though, feels good with double-explode but the loss of about 300-400 ES is tough. More adjusting inc to get more ES :-D
How's it going for you? You quit or still running this build? Gl Hf

I only have time to run one build per league so I'm still running it! That's an awesome chest, congrats. And yeah the coloring process sucks. I did the same as you except for after I hit 5 off color I used the vorici bench to get the last socket.

Getting enough strength can be tough, but doable, if you stack it on your cluster jewels plus one or two rolls on your accessories. Also you have a crafted suffix on your chest, so you could put strength there. There's a trick where you put on an item like an amulet that gives you strength, then put on your chest and swap out the amulet. As long as your total strength (including the roll on the chest) is above the 180 needed you're fine. It may be easier to get the lightning resist you need elsewhere.

I'd really try to get back Dirty Techniques instead of Utmost Might, it's a big node to not have.

For the ES I targeted a ring with 70ES to put my totals over 400ES. It feels way better than 300-350.

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perK1 wrote:
@kevinbrightblade

Hey, bought this one for 80 ex. Fu*ked up a little with not thinking about the STR Req and off-coloring but figured it out in the end. Had to switch my amu annoint to "Utmost Might" for the STR until I get it somewhere else, also took quite a bit investment getting the off-colors the socket-trick-way. Don't know if it was a good switch though, feels good with double-explode but the loss of about 300-400 ES is tough. More adjusting inc to get more ES :-D
How's it going for you? You quit or still running this build? Gl Hf

I only have time to run one build per league so I'm still running it! That's an awesome chest, congrats. And yeah the coloring process sucks. I did the same as you except for after I hit 5 off color I used the vorici bench to get the last socket.

Getting enough strength can be tough, but doable, if you stack it on your cluster jewels plus one or two rolls on your accessories. Also you have a crafted suffix on your chest, so you could put strength there. There's a trick where you put on an item like an amulet that gives you strength, then put on your chest and swap out the amulet. As long as your total strength (including the roll on the chest) is above the 180 needed you're fine. It may be easier to get the lightning resist you need elsewhere.

I'd really try to get back Dirty Techniques instead of Utmost Might, it's a big node to not have.

For the ES I targeted a ring with 70ES to put my totals over 400ES. It feels way better than 300-350.



Yes, exactly, I will try to squeeze out some STR from jewels and other gear, the synth ring could get +3 better roll so it's possible. Don't think the res will be easier than the STR though. Need a total of 35 STR to get 180. Dirty Tech is way too good to not use, agree.

Oh yes.. ES on ring, but my ring cost me 18 ex, with high life+res rolls, maybe i'll look for a similar with ES. Will be insanely expensive though.

One other thing I believe I fu*ked up on is the hidden MS reduction from astral plate? I feel waaay slower/heavier with this chest. Checked the map, was no MS reduction mods. I could be hallucinating also.
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Foot wrote:
Can anyone take a look at my account and help me figure out how I should be progressing my character? Haven't had too much time to play lately and just want to map and run sirius when he spawns. I have around 10ex in currencies at my disposal currently. I don't have any trouble running T16s but have found myself logging onto my summoner for boss kills so that I don't die and kill my XP bar.

Thanks!
There's two ways to improve your bossing experience, damage speed and defense.
For defense, of course get as much life as you can. But for a real improvement, either:
1. Buy Asenath's with Despair on Hit corruption and a chest with Spell Crit and +1 Curse.
or 2. Buy a Hands of the High Templar with Despair on Hit and Temporal Chains on Hit and a chest with the enemies explode mod (plus spell crit of +1 Curse ideally, but it's expensive).
Also, in either one of these situations you can replace your Impresence with a +1 Dex/+1 Phys skill gem amulet for a nice damage boost.

The point of all this is you can replace your Blasphemy + Despair gems with Anomalous Cast When Damage Taken (1/23) + Immortal Call (3/23) for a really good additional defensive layer.

For increasing the speed at which we do damage, you'll want to switch from your dual Might of the Meek setup to the cluster setup the guide describes. Stack Withering Affliction where you can, Fettle to offset the life you lose, and things like Grim Oath, Overwhelming Malice, Touch of Cruelty, Wicked Pall, and Haemmorhage to increase damage and skill duration.

There's also some easy damage upgrades you should look into. 1) Get corrupted Cold Iron Points. One should have power charge on crit and one should have increased damage over time. 2) Upgrade your Blade Vortex supports to be the Awakened Versions.


Thank you so much for this!! Do you have any suggestions on what upgrades I should seek out first with around a 10ex budget?
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zombie_197 wrote:
What are some good mods to look for in a Jewel to replace the Watcher's Eye? As much as I would love one of those, they run at like 7+ex with the relevant Malevolence mods. I only have 50c and would prefer not to spend it all on a jewel since I am still saving for the Awakened Gems as well.

Unfortunately there are no good WE mods except for the Malevolence related ones. Save your currency until you can afford one.

Also, looking at your profile, there are a lot of upgrades you should get before buying a WE (which should be one of your last upgrades). At a glance, you need a source of explosion (either your chest or asenath's gloves), and you should start buying the cluster jewels. Also your Cold Iron Point corruption is the wrong one. Get the power charge on crit; spell damage does nothing for us.


Thank you for the help, but as I said I am very poor and unfortunately Asenath's gloves and a chest with explosion look like they are just as much as a WE w/ Malevolence (will start saving though!). I have been using this chest for a while know just because it was cheap and allowed me to get 6L sooner rather than later, but is there any point in getting a better chest if I can't afford an explosion one? As for the cold iron point, while the "get power charge on crit" may be better, but why does spell damage do nothing for us? Isn't Blade Vortex a spell and would get a nice DPS boost from it? Sorry for the dumb questions, it's my first character in a few years

edit: managed to buy a power charge on crit dagger
Last edited by zombie_197 on Nov 22, 2020, 5:52:32 PM
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perK1 wrote:
Yes, exactly, I will try to squeeze out some STR from jewels and other gear, the synth ring could get +3 better roll so it's possible. Don't think the res will be easier than the STR though. Need a total of 35 STR to get 180. Dirty Tech is way too good to not use, agree.

Oh yes.. ES on ring, but my ring cost me 18 ex, with high life+res rolls, maybe i'll look for a similar with ES. Will be insanely expensive though.

One other thing I believe I fu*ked up on is the hidden MS reduction from astral plate? I feel waaay slower/heavier with this chest. Checked the map, was no MS reduction mods. I could be hallucinating also.
Hmm, all chest pieces (with a few exceptions) have a hidden implicit -3 or -5% movement speed. But you shouldn't have noticed that much of a change.

For your ring, one reason I went Hands of the High Templar instead of Asenath's was the resists. I didn't notice any difference between one and two sources of explosion, so for me it makes more sense (especially if you can get all three target mods on your chest). This would allow you to get a ring with less resists and ES or strength.
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Foot wrote:
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Foot wrote:
Can anyone take a look at my account and help me figure out how I should be progressing my character? Haven't had too much time to play lately and just want to map and run sirius when he spawns. I have around 10ex in currencies at my disposal currently. I don't have any trouble running T16s but have found myself logging onto my summoner for boss kills so that I don't die and kill my XP bar.

Thanks!
There's two ways to improve your bossing experience, damage speed and defense.
For defense, of course get as much life as you can. But for a real improvement, either:
1. Buy Asenath's with Despair on Hit corruption and a chest with Spell Crit and +1 Curse.
or 2. Buy a Hands of the High Templar with Despair on Hit and Temporal Chains on Hit and a chest with the enemies explode mod (plus spell crit of +1 Curse ideally, but it's expensive).
Also, in either one of these situations you can replace your Impresence with a +1 Dex/+1 Phys skill gem amulet for a nice damage boost.

The point of all this is you can replace your Blasphemy + Despair gems with Anomalous Cast When Damage Taken (1/23) + Immortal Call (3/23) for a really good additional defensive layer.

For increasing the speed at which we do damage, you'll want to switch from your dual Might of the Meek setup to the cluster setup the guide describes. Stack Withering Affliction where you can, Fettle to offset the life you lose, and things like Grim Oath, Overwhelming Malice, Touch of Cruelty, Wicked Pall, and Haemmorhage to increase damage and skill duration.

There's also some easy damage upgrades you should look into. 1) Get corrupted Cold Iron Points. One should have power charge on crit and one should have increased damage over time. 2) Upgrade your Blade Vortex supports to be the Awakened Versions.


Thank you so much for this!! Do you have any suggestions on what upgrades I should seek out first with around a 10ex budget?
Start with buying your chest piece. Up to you whether you go for option 1 or 2, but the biggest impact on your current gear will be replacing Tabula, so start there.
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zombie_197 wrote:
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zombie_197 wrote:
What are some good mods to look for in a Jewel to replace the Watcher's Eye? As much as I would love one of those, they run at like 7+ex with the relevant Malevolence mods. I only have 50c and would prefer not to spend it all on a jewel since I am still saving for the Awakened Gems as well.

Unfortunately there are no good WE mods except for the Malevolence related ones. Save your currency until you can afford one.

Also, looking at your profile, there are a lot of upgrades you should get before buying a WE (which should be one of your last upgrades). At a glance, you need a source of explosion (either your chest or asenath's gloves), and you should start buying the cluster jewels. Also your Cold Iron Point corruption is the wrong one. Get the power charge on crit; spell damage does nothing for us.


Thank you for the help, but as I said I am very poor and unfortunately Asenath's gloves and a chest with explosion look like they are just as much as a WE w/ Malevolence (will start saving though!). I have been using this chest for a while know just because it was cheap and allowed me to get 6L sooner rather than later, but is there any point in getting a better chest if I can't afford an explosion one? As for the cold iron point, while the "get power charge on crit" may be better, but why does spell damage do nothing for us? Isn't Blade Vortex a spell and would get a nice DPS boost from it? Sorry for the dumb questions, it's my first character in a few years

edit: managed to buy a power charge on crit dagger
To my mind there are two end-game routes you can go for your chest piece: 1) spell crit and +1 curse or 2) spell crit and enemies explode. There's no point buying anything better than what you have until you can afford one of these two.

This Blade Vortex build (and most versions of BV builds) do damage via poison. Poison is an ailment applied by any skill that "hits". Blade Vortex hits 7 times per second (which is a lot), applying a poison stack each time (which adds up quickly). Each poison stack deals 20% of the physical and chaos damage done by the hit. So even though Blade Vortex is a spell, it's the physical and chaos damage that we want to scale. You can also scale the poison damage directly by things like increases to damage over time. Here's the wiki page explaining this in more detail: https://pathofexile.gamepedia.com/Poison
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perK1 wrote:
Yes, exactly, I will try to squeeze out some STR from jewels and other gear, the synth ring could get +3 better roll so it's possible. Don't think the res will be easier than the STR though. Need a total of 35 STR to get 180. Dirty Tech is way too good to not use, agree.

Oh yes.. ES on ring, but my ring cost me 18 ex, with high life+res rolls, maybe i'll look for a similar with ES. Will be insanely expensive though.

One other thing I believe I fu*ked up on is the hidden MS reduction from astral plate? I feel waaay slower/heavier with this chest. Checked the map, was no MS reduction mods. I could be hallucinating also.
Hmm, all chest pieces (with a few exceptions) have a hidden implicit -3 or -5% movement speed. But you shouldn't have noticed that much of a change.

For your ring, one reason I went Hands of the High Templar instead of Asenath's was the resists. I didn't notice any difference between one and two sources of explosion, so for me it makes more sense (especially if you can get all three target mods on your chest). This would allow you to get a ring with less resists and ES or strength.


You were actually right about the resistance. Some divining of gear and I managed to get my Lightning Res just above cap and putting 30 STR on chest instead. Now i'm back to Dirty Tech on amu :-D

I was lucky though, chaos spammed a Medium Cluster and got Wasting Affliction + Haemorrage with a +5 STR on it. That seriously saved the amu annoint.
Last edited by perK1 on Nov 22, 2020, 9:19:19 PM

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