[3.16 Guardian] Chaos Flesh Knight

[3.16 Guardian] Chaos Flesh Knight

Build Metrics (out of 10)
Damage (8)
Defense (7)
Mobility (8)
Ease of Play (6)
Aura, Curse, Minion Composite (8)
Party Utility (10)
Affordability (5)

Justifcations
Spoiler

Damage Synergy between withered, poison, bane, curses, and minions can sometimes make this feel like a 9, but also like a 7 without all of them. Kiting is sometimes required.
Defense Glancing blows paired with life recoup, 5 endurance charges, Fortify(23), around 6k life and 400 ES, modest evasion, modest armor, temporal chains and enfeeble, easy charge generation, regeneration and life gain on hit, and near permanent flask up time. The build can feel brittle when kiting and also when dps drops
Mobility Movement speed boots, near permanent onslaught, flexible movement skill, and cyclone allowing movement through enemies.
Ease of Play Making full use of every aspect can sometimes be taxing, summoning minions can feel like a chore, triaging what's best isn't always obvious, flasks can be used all at once
Aura, Curse, Minion Composite 3 enhanced auras plus tempest shield, 3 curses that can affect hexproof enemies, and use of zombies, chaos golems, and skeletons
Party Utility Every ascendancy benefits the party in some way, notably onslaught and conduit, modest aura sharing through purity of elements and dread banner, 3 curses that can affect hexproof enemies, blinding nearby enemies, and a host of minions to body block and take damage
Affordability This build can be sourced for around 15 ex., with a minimum starting cost of around 5 ex.


Path of Building
Spoiler

I caution against using software to produce estimates of a builds merits. It's very difficult to discern accuracy and without actually playing it first hand, a build can be dismissed too easily. The following is provided as another avenue to assess the build and should not be used as a definitive appraisal.

https://pastebin.com/sAiTcuHP

Software estimates can easily lead to snobbery and sensationalism with people boasting xxxx effective HP and xxxx damage, stay above the hype.


Text Based Gear and Gems
Spoiler

Chest- Cospri’s Will
Helm- Rare Bone Helmet
Gloves- Rare AR+ES
Boots- Rare AR+ES
Main Hand- The Iron Mass
Off Hand- Lioneye’s Remorse
Necklace- Aul’s Uprising w/ Whispers of Doom anointment
Belt- Rare Leather Belt
Rings- Rare Coral, Vermillion, or Amethyst rings

Consider using the following website to select preferred influences and desired affixes. Reference the Modifiers tab at the top. This can also be used to select helm, gloves, boots, and belt enchantments from the labyrinth and also see alternative quality modifiers from different sources throughout the game. The different tiers of enchantment can be gained through running higher difficulty Lord's Labyrinths, with Eternal Labyrinth being the highest and requiring an offering to the Goddess.

https://poedb.tw/us/

6-Link Chest
Cyclone
Faster Attacks
Chance to Poison
Withering Touch
Added Chaos Damage
Life gain on hit

4-Link Helm
Raise Zombie
Summon Chaos Golem
Empower
Faster Attacks or Meat Shield

4-Link Boots
Bane
Despair
Temporal Chains
Vulnerability or Enfeeble

4-Link Gloves
Vaal Summon Skeletons
Minion Speed or Feeding Frenzy
Added Chaos Damage
Withering Touch

3-Link Main Hand
Frostblink
Dread Banner
Convocation or warcry or offering

3-Link Off Hand
Purity of Elements
Flesh and Stone
Tempest Shield


Skill Tree

Bandits
Kill all bandits to receive 2 extra skill points

Pantheon
Major God- Soul of Solaris
Minor God- Soul of Gruthkul

Leveling Path and Items
Spoiler

Travel up towards Sacrifice and Spiritual Command, then left towards Purity of Flesh. Keep going till you get Righteous Army, Redemption, and Spiritual Aid. Fill in the tree downward till you get to Steadfast (Fortify nodes). This is quite a journey, so be sure to pick up any life or defense related nodes along the way if it will make leveling easier. If you prefer offense, go upwards, getting Corruption and Golem Commander. Every time a mastery becomes available, fill it in with one of the recommended options. Omit the dexterity nodes till Cospri’s Will (chest). Resolute Technique (Keystone Passive) can be allocated temporarily to add a lot of damage before we have a better chance to hit.

Always prioritize the best of what’s available to you, bringing elements of the build online as requirements are met. The greatest quality of life can be gained through purity of elements, clarity, vitality, and the life gain on hit support gem. Be sure not to level clarity and vitality too much or the flat mana requirement will become a hindrance. Static strike’s buff will kill enemies very quickly when used with a high damage weapon. It becomes available at level 12. Since the Story is pretty forgiving, take the early levels to experiment with active skills.

The Iron Mass provides a large bump in performance and it is recommended that it be sourced first or even prior to building. Rotting Legion or The Queen’s Hunger can be used before incorporating Cospri’s Will, saving skill points and offering competitive results. Aul’s Uprising is expensive, as well as its anointment Whispers of Doom. Consider using Windshriek boots as a cheaper alternative or even just using fewer curses.

Leveling Items
Spoiler

Astramentis https://poedb.tw/us/Astramentis (consider applying intrinsic catalysts)
Le Heup of All https://poedb.tw/us/Le_Heup_of_All
Goldrim https://poedb.tw/us/Goldrim
Tabula Rasa https://poedb.tw/us/Tabula_Rasa (6-linked sockets, no requirements chest)

The Chaos Flesh Knight uses cyclone to quickly apply withered and poison, while sustaining herself through life gain on hit. Chaos golems and zombies provide added core DPS and sustain, as well as providing the right number of nearby allies for radiant crusade (ascendancy). Auras function to provide defense and bane is used to add damage and apply 3 curses all at once. Skeletons provide burst damage, with vaal skeletons used as a coup de gras for big fights and bosses.

Gameplay
Spoiler
(*) Aggressively summon skeletons. They are constantly dying, which is fine, they just need to be replaced fast.
(*) Even without golems and zombies we can do just fine with skeletons, bane, and cyclone. Summon them when convenient, preferably in lieu of skeleton/bane casts during small fights to take advantage of mana gain. If all minions die in a big fight, prioritize staying alive and doing damage with bane/skeletons rather than trying to replace zombies and golems.
(*) Use skeletons similarly to how we use a totem, constantly putting them where we want them to do damage.
(*) Consider using Flasks and Vaal Summon Skeletons more often since we generate charges and souls very quickly.
(*) It is entirely possible to use enfeeble in lieu of vulnerability to provide a nice bump defensively without too much loss offensively
(*) Stutter casting while cycloning in large packs. Without life gain on hit from cyclone we can easily take fatal damage. Cast Bane, check difficulty, follow-up with skeletons or escape with frostblink.


Ascendancy
Spoiler

Harmony of purpose gives us reliable charge generation through the extremely fast attack speed of cyclone (10-11 attacks per second). It unfortunately does not give charges to our minions because they are not considered "party members."

Bastion of Hope provides us and our minions with +10% chance to block attack damage, +10% chance to block spell damage, and stun immunity with easily met conditions. The rotating, 2 seconds ON and 3 seconds OFF, +50% chance to block attack damage only applies to us and is redundant since we allocate glancing blows.

Radiant Crusade provides more damage and onslaught to us and our minions requiring 1 and 5 nearby allies respectively, with the +20% to elemental resistances applying only to us.

Unwavering Crusade benefits our minions only. We do however benefit from the intimidate and unnerve they apply (10% increased attack and spell damage respectively against affected enemies).


Methodology
Spoiler

Evasion Rating Cospri's Will is our only source of evasion rating. It is bolstered by Dread Banner (21% reduced enemy accuracy rating) and Flesh and Stone (20% reduced enemy accuracy rating from blind).

Armor Lioneye's Remorse provides 1700 armor which is doubled by our armor mastery (100% increased armor from equipped shield), for a solid 3400 armor. This amount benefits further from AR+ES helm, gloves, and boots.

Energy Shield Energy shield is our weakest defense. Because we get some +% to maximum energy shield from ascendancies, the skill tree, and gear, it is worth tipping our hat to it in some way. We do this through Divine Shield, which lets us regenerate 3% of the physical damage prevented from hits in the pat 4 seconds as energy shield per second. Since our armor is much higher than our energy shield, we are unaffected by the drawback of not being able to recover energy shield above armor. The crafted belt suffix regenerate # ES per second while a rare or unique enemy is nearby, is also helpful.

Endurance Charges We get 5 endurance charges which are quickly generated by cyclone paired with Harmony of Purpose (ascendancy). This gives us +20% physical damage reduction and +20% to all elemental resistances.

Block We get a 30% chance to block attacks (Lioneye's Remorse), a 25% chance to block spells (Tempest Shield), and +10% chance to block attacks and spells from the easily met conditions of Bastion of Hope (Ascendancy). These values are then doubled from Glancing Blows (Keystone Passive) with the drawback of having to take 65% damage from blocked hits. Block chances during combat conditions: Attack block chance 75% (80%), Spell block chance 70%. It's worth noting that tempest shield does not have the "aura" tag and as such, does not benefit from our aura enhancement in the skill tree.

Life Recoup We get 30% life recoup from the skill tree through the Infused Flesh series of nodes. This means we get back 30% of the damage dealt to us over 4 seconds from hits. There is no stacking limit to recoup, no limit to its amount outside of the percent that you have, and will function for all damage types assuming they have to hit.

Aura Dread banner provides both mid tier offense and defense potential for our whole team for only 10% reservation. It is strongly recommended along with flesh and stone, tempest shield, and purity of elements. Determination and Grace are tempting in lieu of purity of elements, but I caution against them as I did not have much success using them and purity of elements seemed to fit better. I feel like it also functions better with our minions since our minions do not get any resistances in the skill tree and are stuck with their base amount of 40%.

Life Gain on Hit The support gem Life Gain on Hit provides 54 life from each attack at max gem and quality level. With Cyclone's attack speed we can easily get hundreds of life per second depending on the conditions. Because of this we are more defensive while attacking than casting. The downside to this is that we can't always be melee range, so while we are following the fight mechanics, we need to be more aware of our life.

Cyclone This skill allows us to attack extremely fast, quickly generating charges and applying withered. With this we are able to achieve max charges and max withered stacks very quickly at the start of a fight. The biggest downside is having to be melee range to use it. Despite increasing melee strike range and area of affect, I was unable to meaningfully increase it's range.

Increased Damage The majority of increased damage from our skill tree pertains to "Increased Damage". This suites our hybrid playstyle well at the cost of having to use multiple sources of damage. The increases are lower (30-50%) compared to other specific sources (50-70%), but when using multiple sources of damage, this is quickly made up for. The damage sources I am referencing are the minion ones, which also apply to us due to the Spiritual Aid notable passive.

Bane The ability to apply 3 curses at no cost is impressive in and of itself, but when it also does damage, it becomes truly incredible. Not only does it make our playstyle easier, casting it is a dps gain. So we get strong damage AND 3 applied curses in a single cast. This, along with skeletons, gives us a ranged option for damage when melee is impossible or kiting is required.

Chaos Golem Our golem of choice is the Chaos Golem. We get strong supplemental damage and additional defense (+7% to physical damage reduction after bonuses). With despair (curse) and the withered debuff, we can help scale this part of our build. Consider using The Anima Stone (jewel) to get another golem.

Raise Zombie They aren't the flashiest part of our build, but they do provide additional allies for Radiant Crusade (Ascendancy) and supplemental damage and defense. Don't get bogged down trying to recast them if they die, just replenish them when it's convenient.

Skeletons These minions are the flash point of our build, offering us the strongest amount of burst potential we have. Use Vaal Summon Skeletons to quickly summon an army, support them with bane and cyclone, and watch the health bars vanish. Use these minions similarly to how we use a totem, constantly putting them where we want them to do damage. A note on why we don’t level scale skeletons. The Iron Mass prevents damage scaling of skeletons beyond a certain low level for them. Necromancers can get stronger skeletons than we can. What we get is the ability for our skeletons to wield The Iron Mass and triple damage. Poor accuracy rating does hurt low level skeletons. This is remedied through the +250 accuracy minion offense mastery, the 40% global accuracy on The Iron Mass, and flesh and stone (blind lowers evasion rating by 20%).

Movement Skill This build affords us the use of any movement skill we choose. This option is based solely on player preference and playstyle. I recommend frost blink because it has no cast time and we can blink without having to stop channeling cyclone. Honorable mentions include dash and flame dash.

Convocation It would be very easy to allocate Call to Arms (Keystone Passive) and include a warcry that is then easily spammable. Because minions have trouble with elevation and tight spaces, convocation lets us quickly summon them to where we are. It also heals them a bit. When doing dungeon crawls or Alva Incursions, this makes our life a lot easier. It is worth noting that convocation does not teleport our skeletons. Consider using a warcry or an offering as an alternative.


Gear
Spoiler

(*) Shown is a pre-nerf version of Lioneye's Remorse. The only difference is 30% higher increased armor. Either can be used with the same result.


Flasks
Spoiler

(1) Eternal Life Flask, (2) Ruby Flask, (3) Sapphire Flask, (4) Topaz Flask, (5) Granite Flask
Charges when hit prefix, bleed and corrupt blood immunity suffix (Einhar), any non-elemental ailment suffix (immune to elemental ailments through purity of elements)

Consider using an amethyst flask, amethyst ring, or Ming's Heart for the Sacred Grove, Hunter Conqueror, or any heavy chaos damage encounter


My Other Builds
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Path of Exile Compendium
Spoiler

Leveling Items
Spoiler

Astramentis https://poedb.tw/us/Astramentis (consider applying intrinsic catalysts)
Le Heup of All https://poedb.tw/us/Le_Heup_of_All
Goldrim https://poedb.tw/us/Goldrim
Tabula Rasa https://poedb.tw/us/Tabula_Rasa (6-linked sockets, no requirements chest)


Bosses
Spoiler

A Word on Bosses
While it is routine to clear maps and their associated bosses, End game content (Uber Bosses, blight maps, etc.) represent a significant challenge, and unless respected, no advantage through gear or build will allow you to overcome them. With Path of Exile running at light speed, slowing down to respect an encounter can be difficult. Even veteran players struggle with this content using their best builds and strategies, although, this isn't something that's advertised. My best advice for challenging yourself in Path of Exile is not to get discouraged and to realize it probably isn't your build or your gear. Knowing the fight provides a significant advantage. You will still have to execute your build and strategy to their utmost to be successful, but don't get too down if you lose all your resets, lose all your experience, and have nothing to show for your time except the feeling of disappointment. It is worth mentioning that if the encounter is not Unique, Path of Exile can present us with an unwinnable circumstance. Due to it's complexity these situations really do exist. It is our role as the player to play to our strengths and create optimized scenarios that best suite us.


Currency Farming
Spoiler

Use this website to source gear https://poe.trade/
Use this website to trade currency https://currency.poe.trade/
Please note that it is almost always cheaper to trade in the community rather than try to use currency to get the items and affixes desired

The best way to farm currency is to use the chaos orb recipe of x1 chest, boots, gloves, helm, amulet, belt, 2-hand weapon, and x2 rings, all between ilevel 60-74 and all unidentified. Note that if you use a bow it does not require a quiver and this recipe can also be used with a 1h and shield. It provides x2 chaos orbs per turn in and an additional chaos orb can be gained by raising the quality of all items to 20% except for the belt, rings, and amulet, they do not require quality. This ilevel range is found in white tier maps. It is possible to only use 1 item between 60-74 ilevel and the rest be higher in ilevel, allowing us to only have to back farm occasionally. Note that this recipe can be used with identified items, but will only yield x1 chaos orb.

It is worth noting that rings and amulets are a bottleneck, while the other components drop in abundance. This allows us to only collect rings and amulets, while collecting the other components later. This provides convenience without the fear of missing a turn in.

Although it is laborious, picking up all rares, or even just the ones requiring 3-4 squares of space, identifying them, and then vendoring them provides for a lot of orbs of alteration. These can then be traded at a 6:1 ratio for chaos orbs (current as of 10/31/21). Save time by not looking at the stats and holding down shift after right clicking the identify scroll to quickly apply it to multiple items.

Don't forget to use Nessa (act 1) and Yeena (act 2) to convert lower tier currency to higher tier currency. Typically we will have a lot of jewelers orbs which we can convert into orbs of fusing at a 4:1 ratio with Yeena.


What to pick up
Spoiler

Please note that the following are suggestions only and not suitable for league starters

I only pick up chromatic orb yielding items taking up 3-4 squares of space, influenced items, items used in the chaos recipe, currency items at or above jewelers orbs, essences, mid-tier and above unique items, jewels, flasks w/ quality, gems w/ quality, and currency present in a large stack size. This is handled through editing the filter from filterblade because the above is ambiguous. I always pick up rare rings and amulets for use in the chaos recipe, while having a small collection of other components readily available for a turn in. The following will be instructions on how to edit filterblade to include the most valuable options, while discarding those that impede gameplay.

(1) Go to https://www.filterblade.xyz/
(2) Select Semi-Strict if it isn’t selected already
(3) Click the customize tab at the top
(4) Click “chancing bases” and disable both options
(5) Click currency-normal, then general currency. Disable basic tier 4, basic tier 3, basic tier 2, and basic tier 1. Minimize general currency. Click portal scrolls and disable stacked currency – portal small, minimize portal scrolls. Click scroll of wisdom and disable stacked currency – wisdom small, minimize scroll of wisdom. Minimize currency normal.
(6) Select unique items. Disable tier 5, tier 4, then minimize this category
(7) Select crafting. Right click over this category and select “turn OFF all rules,” then minimize.
(8) Scroll to the top, select the download tab, name and download this filter
(9) In game go to options---> game and click the folder. Copy paste this filter into this folder. Select the filter in game, refresh, and save.

This gets rids of all bases that aren’t influenced, single instance versions of low tier currency, and low tier unique items, while preserving influenced items, valuable currency, and large stack size currency.


Atlas
Spoiler

Bonuses are gained for completing a map either rare or corrupted rare, while bonuses for unique maps are gained by completing them normally. Each completion provides 1.5% chance for a map to drop one tier higher. At 67 completions this benefit will always cause a map to drop one tier higher. After 67, each completion provides a 1.5% chance for a map to drop two tiers higher, with a maximum benefit of 77% at 118 completions.

Awakening Bonuses are gained by completing higher tier versions of maps with a required awakening level. Awakening Level increases by socketing the different regions of the atlas with watchstones. Our awakening level increases for each 2 watchstones socketed. The Awakening Level increases the benefits and difficulty of every map. The Awakening Bonuses also increase the benefits and difficulty of every map. The Awakening Bonuses are realized for every 4 bonuses gained, with a maximum benefit reached at 116/118.

Watchstones have the chance to drop from defeated conquerors, as well as, The Maven herself when confronted as a Boss to defeat. The Conquerors have the chance to influence a map that is beyond a certain tier. Once a specific conqueror has appeared in our maps a certain number of times, as tallied to the right our watchstone inventory, we are able to challenge them. We do this by talking to Officer Kirac and then Zana who will have the option to travel to a given conqueror’s citadel. The map offered by Zana can be influenced with currency and once opened, portals appear around our map device like any other map. The map boss must be defeated and afterwards the portal to that conqueror’s citadel will open. If we fail, conqueror credit must be accumulated again before we can challenge that conqueror. A note on vocabulary. The Watchstone inventory appears on the left hand side our atlas map and if watchstones are placed there, they will have no impact on the atlas. A watchstone cradle appears in each region and is where watchstones are placed to influence a given region and also, our atlas as a whole. If we wish to quickly raise our awakening level without having to progress through the conqueror track, we can trade in the community for Platinum, Titanium, or Chromium watchstones. These watchstones can drop from The Maven when encountered as a boss. Platinum watchstones influence different game systems, titanium watchstones influence masters, and chromium watchstones influence currency drops. These watchstones can either be of normal or magic rarity, with the maximum benefit of 1 prefix and 1 suffix. The modifiers tab of the following website can be referenced in regard to watchstone affixes https://poedb.tw/us/.

The Maven influences the bosses of maps and can be turned on or off by clicking the orb in our map device. Credit is gained by killing a boss under the influence of the Maven. When enough credit has been accumulated, the boss that provided the final credit required will drop a Maven’s Invitation for that region. This invitation can be placed in the map device to open portals that require us to fight the bosses we defeated under Maven influence, only this time, together. Beyond the invitations that are quest, invitations can have a rarity up to rare, making it much harder to complete. If the encounter is not defeated, Maven credit must be accumulated again, so care must be taken when increasing difficulty. Once completed we receive 2 skill points to use within that region. These points can be allocated by opening our atlas map and clicking the center of the watchstone cradle. This will open the passive map for that atlas region. A total of 10 points for each region can be acquired. The skill Frost Bomb can be used to mitigate the healing provided by the Maven.


Masters
Spoiler

Each day, at 8pm EST, one mission for each Master is added to our Atlas of either white, yellow, or red tier based on the color of the last map completed.

Einhar the Beastmaster, requires us to slay beasts, capturing them in the process to later be used as ingredients. His associated area is called the Menagerie. Visiting the Menagerie lets us use the blood altar to activate recipe combinations, which then require us to slay the associated beasts, either giving us an item(s) or applying an affix. There are also other areas for flavor. A Bestiary journal also exists for us to reference the different enemies present in Path of Exile. Use the following link to see all the options available to us as recipes. https://poedb.tw/us/Bestiary_Recipe

Alva the Explorer missions are referred to as Temporal Incursions. These require us to race against the clock, killing enemies to add time, and picking up stones of passage to unlock doors. The map Alva shows us displays the Temple of Atzoatl and the green and red orbs refer to doors that are either still locked (red) or open (green). A quick look before we enter, lets us know which red orb to try and open if we get a stone of passage. This is important because we only get so many incursions before the Temple of Atzoatl is discovered. The more meaningful passages we open, the more rooms we have access to during our run of the Temple. It should be noted that when the Temple of Atzoatl is discovered, Alva will display an exclamation above her head and we can no longer do Her missions until we either open the Temple or select a chronicle of Atzoatl to run later in our map device.

Niko the Miner lets us use the Crawler to delve into the depths of Wraeclast, revealing treasure and terror alike. His missions only require us to find him in the map and click the sulphite vein, triggering Him to appear and begin mining the ore. It should be noted that map tier and item quantity modifiers on maps, can greatly increase the amount of sulphite awarded from each vein. The sulphite gathered is used to power the Crawler, which has a small light source we need to stay close to in order to avoid generating darkness stacks. Darkness acts like a DoT, stacking over time, and doing more and more damage. As we delve and collect Azurite, we can increase our darkness resistance, increase crawler light radius, and increase our maximum sulphite capacity. While in darkness, enemies can hit us, but we cannot hit them. Flares can be used to drop our darkness stacks and let us hit enemies. When we reach our destination, we have the option of going back (the area should now be lit along our path) to explore dark areas we didn't have time to before, giving rise to the use of dynamite, which can open areas to paths previously blocked. Depth represents difficulty and level 83 enemies (same level as a T16 map) can be found around 200 depth. The minable area is infinite in all directions, limiting us only in the amount of sulphite we have. Fossils are associated with delving, as well as, resonators. Fossils must be applied via resonators which have one or many socket to incorporate fossils. Consider using the following website to quickly reference different fossil conditions. Reference the Modifiers tab at the top. https://poedb.tw/us/

Jun is the Veiled master and Her role is tracking down and eliminating the Immortal Syndicate. Jun missions require us to kill different Syndicate members under different conditions which include fortification, transportation, research, and intervention. Once killed, we can click on a portrait of them and select either interrogate, bargain, or execute (only 2 options will be available). The text associated with these options will change, so be sure to select the option you most prefer. Intelligence provides incremental access to safehouses, higher rank members provide more intelligence and better rewards, and the other options are more direct. Safehouses provide a good source of scarabs (enhance maps) and also provide unique options like adding quality past 20% and changing a socket color white. The veiled items can only be unveiled by Jun and once unlocked provide a permanent crafting option albeit at a lower tier.

Zana, master of the Atlas, provides us with a map within a map experience. She can offer unique maps and corrupted rare maps. If we perish while attempting a Zana mission we only lose a reset for the Zana map and not an additional reset for our primary map.

While not a master, Navali makes use of our silver coins to provide prophecies, up to 6 at a time. Valuable prophecies like Twice Enchanted and The Beautiful Guide which give more enchants at the end of a labyrinth and 20% quality to a map respectively, are a welcome addition to our adventuring. Pale court keys can also be gained through following different prophecy chains. If a prophecy does not suite us, we can easily seal it and ask for another one.


Expansions
Spoiler

Blight encounters can be experienced during normal progression through maps and also through blight specific maps that can drop. If selected as an affinity, the purchasable blight stash tab will collect blight maps. This content is a tower defense like concept. Once initiated through Cassia, we are given a timer to distribute different towers at predefined locations along a path that enemies will follow. Once a given tower is selected, it can further be upgraded again by clicking the same button used to create it. The final upgrade allows for a powerful tower to be built. These towers can be augmented by anointments placed on rings. Use the same anointing process used for amulets. These ring anointments stack with all other benefits and as of this writing only pertain to blight encounters. Further strategy is beyond this guide and it is recommended that deeper exploration be done before attempting blight maps. These maps are rare and highly lucrative if accomplished.

Ritual Altars can sometimes appear in maps and can appear 3 or 4 times depending on how lucky we are. Once enough surrounding enemies are killed, the altar becomes powered. Clicking this powered altar begins an encounter using a defined, circular area. Waves of enemies will spawn and killing them gives points used to purchase items after the ritual is complete. More points and items become available the more enemies killed and rituals completed. Points can be used to purchase a random assortment of items. We can reroll the items displayed for a cost. If we cannot afford an item we can defer it. This costs 15% of the items cost up front, allowing us to encounter it again at a 10% cost reduction. It should be noted that after the maps boss is defeated it can appear during a ritual.

Delirium mirrors are the glossy crystalline vortexes encountered during maps. Going through this delirium mirror will alter the maps aesthetic and spawn egg-like sacks on the ground. If we run over these areas enemies will spawn in addition to the ones already present in the map. These encounters are seeded with a varying reward type such as, jewelry, currency, essence, etc. The more enemies we defeat while the encounter is running, the more rewards we get at the end of the delirium. If desired, we can end the delirium using a defined key in the options menu.

Breach encounters are the purple-red crystal pillars sometimes present in maps. If we run over it, it immediately starts to expand, spawning purple enemies at a frantic pace. Killing enemies provides normal loot and also splinters and breach rings. Ground spawns can sometimes appear, which we can open like chests. These will disappear if not opened before the encounter closes. When it closes, the ring will rapidly contract taking with it all enemies undefeated.

Legion encounters are the dark crystalline pillars sometimes present in maps. Once interacted with, a time-stopped legion of warriors appears. Killing these warriors causes them to become active after a time. Defeating them after they’ve become active provides normal rewards and rewards specific to them, like timeless splinters. Care should be taken not to activate too many, as the difficulty can quickly escalate.

Essence encounters are the frozen circle of enemies sometimes present in maps. After clicking the central enemy a few times, they all become active. Killing them awards us with the listed essences under the enemy’s name. An essence of corruption can be used to modify the encounter.

Sacred Grove portals can be discovered in maps by following the charged, bluish roots to a central trunk with portal. 3 or 4 pairs of growths present themselves with varying rewards and associated enemies. Once activated, a horde of enemies spawn and must be defeated in order to get the selected reward and activate the remaining trees. The area is such that it provides elevation, as well as, choke points to aid in thinning out and defeating the activated enemies. Without familiarity of the enemies being spawned, it is recommended that extra chaos resistance be considered, along with kiting tactics. It should be noted that up to 10 reward options can be banked using the option to the left of the reward. These banked options can be accessed via the horticrafting station in our hideout or in the sacred grove itself. Reward options allowing us to reroll an item can be used with maps and offer a great way to save orbs of scouring and alchemy orbs, in order to get a preferably rolled map.

Metamorph enemies are created using samples collected throughout the map containing them. The button above our experience bar summons Tane, along with a specimen tube used to create our metamorph. Care should be taken to select the desired reward types associated with each sample, along with consideration of the attributes being added to the metamorph. The bar at the right fills up as samples are added, with higher rarity samples providing a greater benefit. If we fill the bar completely and defeat the metamorph, it will provide us with an itemized sample. We can collect a number of these samples to later combine in Tane’s laboratory, providing another metamorph encounter. Metamorphs provide a significant challenge and the use of Frost Bomb is recommended if a created metamorph has too much regeneration.

Heist content is accessed by right clicking a Rogue’s Mark, which opens a portal to the Rogue’s Harbour. Not much can be done here unless we have accumulated different quest related content found in Smuggler’s Caches. In general, NPC’s are unlocked, their associated skill leveled, and heists are run which function much like maps except without quality. During a heist we have an alert bar that raises any time we open a chest or for various other reason during the heist. Filling the alert bar prompts imminent lockdown, which can also occur if we are not fast enough. Imminent lockdown lasts for a default 22 seconds or less depending. The goal is to get the heist target at the end before this timer is up and lockdown occurs. During this phase of a heist, all previously available loot areas will be locked and we have to fight our way out in order to gain all that we’ve plundered. Along with normally spawned enemies, each loot area functions as a spawn point assuming it was accessed prior to lockdown. If we fail to make it out, we lose all loot gathered, personal experience, and NPC experience. It should be noted that if NPC experience and rogue’s marks are not desired, a heist target does not need to be acquired and we can exit any time to lock in gains.

Expendition
To be added…

The following are present in general and do not require significant explanation

Rogue Exiles are much like us and are presented as unique enemies that use skills similar to ours
Beyond demons spawn from beyond portals and offer difficulty similar to influenced enemies
Harbingers are immortal monsters that summon enemies which they empower


Ascendancy
Spoiler

First encountered in act 3, the Aspirant’s Plaza can be accessed by following the stairs up from the stash and clicking the plaque. The stone door will then lift, providing access. Not to be confused with the zone in to the pvp arena. Additional access is provided by the Waypoint stone by clicking the reference point to the right of the map. Referred to as the Lord’s Labyrinth, this trap filled, maze like, trial, allows us to prove ourselves, by making it through and defeating Izaro. 4 difficulties of the Lord’s Labyrinth exist, normal, cruel, merciless, and eternal. In order to attempt each difficulty, trials encountered through the Story must be completed. Progression through these difficulties awards 2 ascendancy skill points per difficulty level. Additionally, different tiers of enchantments exist at the end that can be applied to either the helm, gloves, boots, or belt. The highest tiers of enchantment can be accessed by completing the Eternal Labyrinth which requires an Offering to the Goddess. Completion of the higher difficulties is also required to get access to enchantments affecting the boots and belt. Offerings to the Goddess can be acquired through completing different trials that can appear while running maps.


Hideout
Spoiler

Since the Hideout is highly personal, the following will include only utility based functions. Convenient locations to the following are highly recommended.

Map Device used to access the majority of end game content
Stash used for collecting and transferring between characters
Navali can provide easy access to prophecies and also selling
Heist Locker that once selected as an affinity (box located at the bottom right after accessing the locker) can be placed in a less noisy part of the hideout
Expedition Locker that once selected as an affinity (box located at the bottom right after accessing the locker) can be placed in a less noisy part of the hideout
Waypoint Stone used to easily access most parts of the game
Office Kirac used to instigate conqueror encounters once enough credit is achieved
Zana used to open portals to conquerors and other bosses. Also offers maps for purchase
Alva used to open the Temple of Atzoatl
Jun used to unveil items
Niko used to check sulphite balance. Note that we can only purchase from Niko at the mine encampment (resonators and sometimes fossils both costing azurite)
Dannig used to open expedition maps
Cassia used to anoint rings and amulets (anointments can also be done using the purchasable blight stash tab)
Helena used to select a preferred hideout
Gwennen, Rog, and Tujen used for expedition related functions
Horticrafting Station used for referencing and applying stored Sacred Grove options
Crafting Bench used for applying affixes

(*) After the hideout menu is opened (tab located on bottom right of experience bar) and the decorations are accessed, quickly locate hideout objects using the search feature at the bottom of the menu.


Affixes, Enchantments, and Influences
Spoiler

Consider using the following website to select preferred influences and desired affixes. Reference the Modifiers tab at the top. This can also be used to select helm, gloves, boots, and belt enchantments from the labyrinth and also see alternative quality modifiers from different sources throughout the game. The different tiers of enchantment can be gained through running higher difficulty Lord's Labyrinths, with Eternal Labyrinth being the highest and requiring an offering to the Goddess.

https://poedb.tw/us/


Do It Yourself Build Template
Spoiler

The most crucial part of starting a build begins with how you see yourself in game and subsequently the skills and playstyle you like. This may sound nerdy, but PoE IS an RPG. Interest for a build can quickly wane if the only reason you play is to min/max, item collect, and boast. For a lot of people the latter is sadly the reason they play. This can often be seen in how they live their lives too. Without too much prejudice, the former will keep you playing and having much more fun.

Active and Movement Skills https://poedb.tw/us/Active_Skill_Gems
Support Skills https://poedb.tw/us/Support_Skill_Gems

Due to its complexity, PoE is prone to lawyer speak and if it sounds too good to be true, it often is. This shouldn't keep you from getting excited about powerful combinations that do exist though. They are out there and when a build comes together, it's a great feeling.

Select an active skill that you absolutely love. How the skill is used and what it accomplishes deserve careful consideration. PoE does a great job at balancing skills and curtailing abusive combinations between the skill tree, gear, metadata, and support gems. Choose more if it suites you, but be careful to take into consideration your action economy and limited number of linked sockets to enhance your choices. It is often better to have fewer strong skills than many mediocre ones. It should be noted that affixes exist on influenced gear that allows more support skills to affect an active skill. This gear is rare and expensive, but make it possible to get better performance on gear with fewer sockets. Don't spread yourself too thin and have fun, there's a lot!

Determine how easy it is to include auras, curses, warcrys, and minions. Many times these options can be added at a low cost to increase performance. Reserving large swathes of mana is common place for most builds, taking advantage of 3 or more auras. Sustaining mana can be done through a variety of sources, with or without a mana potion.

Choose a movement skill that you feel comfortable using and that allows you to be somewhere else quickly. Even the tankiest builds have to avoid damage sometimes.

Select relevant unique items that really highlight your build. There are a literal ton of items in PoE. Use the following website to see gear associations for skills and featured mechanics (ignite, leech, block, etc.).

https://pathofexile.fandom.com/wiki/Path_of_Exile_Wiki

The PoE database website referenced at the beginning is more up to date and preferred, but the wiki has been around forever and still has a lot of great information.

Keep in mind that 1h and shield options can have 3 linked sockets max, while helm, boots, and gloves can have 4, and chest and 2h 6. This is in general and some exceptions exist. It should be noted that item quality does influence socket number and socket links. Make sure to use blacksmith whetstones and Armour Scraps before spending jewelers orbs and orbs of fusing. The crafting bench can also be used and the cost represents an average for achieving the desired number of sockets and/or links.

Str (red) armor, Int (blue) energy shield, and Dex (green) evasion rating. These attributes, colors, and defenses have a bias in their randomness in regards to what color sockets we get on gear. Meaning we are much more likely to get red sockets on armor only gear, while at the same time much less likely to get blue and green sockets. It is possible to get any color socket combination on any piece of gear, albeit sometimes at extreme rarity. Use the crafting bench options to save chromatic orbs.


Things I wish I Knew Sooner
Spoiler

(*) The chaos orb vendor recipe can be used with higher ilevel items if 1 item is 60-74
(*) The Sacred Grove rerolls can be used with maps
(*) The map stash tab displays which bonuses you’ve completed for each map and Maven status
(*) Glassblower’s bauble adds 5% quality when applied to a normal rarity flask
(*) Cartographer’s chisel adds 5% quality when applied to a normal rarity map
(*) Nessa (act 1) and Yeena (act 2) can convert low tier currency to higher tier currency
(*) Every gem can be purchased from Lilly Roth (act 6) except Empower, Enlighten, Enhance, Portal, and Awakened gems.
(*) Casting level 1 Frost Bomb every 5 seconds to reduce healing from regen and The Maven
(*) Getting atlas bonus and awakening bonuses back by completing a corrupted rare T16 map, before converting them with the map stash tab or vendor sell window.
(*) Using the vendor sell window to add gems and flasks with quality for the recipe instead of adding them manually.
(*) Having your currency stash tab be the last tab referenced so you don't have to have currency in your inventory to buy/sell from NPC's, use the crafting bench, etc.
(*) Holding down shift+crtl to force an item into a stash tab, bypassing an affinity
(*) Holding down shift after right clicking a currency item in order to apply it multiple times to either one item or many different items, allowing for quick application of Identity scrolls, chromatic orbs, etc.
(*) Checking the box in the bottom right corner of the Heist locker and Expedition locker to set them as an affinity for their respective items
(*) Str (red) armor, Int (blue) energy shield, and Dex (green) evasion rating. These attributes, colors, and defenses have a bias in their randomness in regards to what color sockets we get on gear. Meaning we are much more likely to get red sockets on armor only gear, while at the same time much less likely to get blue and green sockets.
(*) An item's quality affects its chance to get more sockets and more links
(*) Using the vendor sell window to add a level 20 gem and a single gem cutter's prism to get a level 1 version of the same gem with 20% quality. Note that this will not work with Empower, Enlighten, Enhance, Portal, and Awakened gems.
(*) Using the vendor sell window to add a gem and an orb of scouring to get the same gem one level lower
(*) Creating a stash tab to stage all the maps and items to be modified allowing us to use the search feature of the stash to find unwanted affixes like reflect and elemental weakness, as well as, making it easier to run maps back to back
(*) Using an item filter. Use this link https://www.filterblade.xyz/ leave everything alone and select the download tab at the top. Click download and then while in game, go to options--> game, then click the folder icon. Move the filter into this folder and then select it as a filter. At the minimum, this will provide a lot of quality of life, even with just the semi-strict option we selected.
(*) Holding down Alt to see an items ilevel. Higher ilevel allows us to get higher tier modifiers and modifiers that weren't available at a lower ilevel.
(*) Trading for non-unique watchstones to quickly raise the awakening level permanently
(*) Flask charges gained from killing enemies apply to all flasks
(*) Bandit choice can be referenced with the quest menu for Act 2

Last edited by Cerce86 on Nov 6, 2021, 9:26:27 AM
Last bumped on Nov 20, 2021, 8:09:47 AM
Why are you using frost blink instead of flame dash?
No cast time and no interruptions. It's pure preference. I gave dash and flame dash honorable mentions under movement in the methodology section.
Interesting build, Iron Mass fan myself. Question why 'herself'?
I think it softens the narrative and is more inclusive. The gaming world with its sometimes ultra competitive atmosphere can quickly become toxic, chauvinistic, racist, and even belligerent. I think it helps people to remember that the "masters of the universe," there can only be one mentality, gets pretty lonely after awhile.

We and us are preferred over I and you as well. Even though I am the one writing, I want to feel a part of it rather than apart from it. I hope that everyone who reads it feels the same way.

The scene from The Fifth Element where Zorg is choking and needs a pat on the back is a perfect example. Despite all the buttons and all the machines, He still needs the Human touch to breath again.
Last edited by Cerce86 on Nov 5, 2021, 11:49:31 PM
HI there.
Super interresting build.

Is it functioning alright without Aul's with Envy?
Seems like that in itself now costs 6ex, and i dont have that. but the rest of the gear is obtainable

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