The ESAI Build - Energy Shield Armor Immortality

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muknowti wrote:

If I'm using Eldritch Battery (converts ES to mana) will a successful block restore 4% mana instead of energy shield?

No.

Reply to ScroteMcB

I agree, and I''m beginning to think that LS is indeed a better option. Originally I wanted to test how AoE on melee skills scales, and it does indeed scale quite well but the dmg is just too low.
As for what you'll get in replacement of the 7 points out of respecing IncAOE it's completely optional.



You're missing something here.
1- CI 2 - Not exactly mana starved 3 -Not really Granite flask dependent.
1 Granite is more than enough to keep you alive through anything, I took 2 just in case.
So you have 3 absolutely free flask slots, add a mana pot if you're feeling dramatic,fine. You still have 2 left. And not to mention that the dmg is pretty low. I didn't take RT because even if I hit every time, I just don't do enough dmg to kill mobs fast enough.
I did indeed put a lot of thought into not picking RT, but I haven't tried the dmg with LS+Chain+Static. If the dmg is good enough you can pick it, yet +20% accuracy and around 150 dexterity takes you over 85% so its good enough.


I agree, I was never aiming for pure +es nodes.You can get about 10 pure Armor+ES nodes,2 of which being body and soul, more than eonugh. If you still feel like its not enough,you can even go for +%defenses on shield,before going pure ES.
As for es regen, I disagree.It's not really worth giving away 15% es for 1 passive point considering you're a CI character, nor is the 18% Arcane focus. Plus, you need the mana nodes at the start of the witch tree, so you won't really be respec-ing out of that.
Don't forget that, against a boss,while using a granite, a single block is refunding all your ES, even in crappy gear. So the bigger the base you have, the better.


You can get alot of block,as much points as you can spend. And as for the additional 40% block recovery, if you go RT, you should pick it up, otherwise it's just too far away.



Even in the crappy gear this character has, I never felt the need of "I need more healing or I'm gonna die" even tho, I have not tested it on a map higher than 65. My build is far from complete.
Here's the link to the current stage of my lvl 70 templar -> lvl 70 templar
As for MS, I never really liked that skill,as it feels too damn unreliable, but it should work if it scales with Increased AOE as well as you say.




I did mention Stone of Azhwar as an optional amy. And yes it is indeed pretty good.


I really appreciate your interest in this build, as I do find it quite fascinating as well.
I hope GGG does something about melee in OB , because it just doesn't quite make it that well in the current meta-game of PoE.

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emb0 wrote:

You're missing something here.
1- CI 2 - Not exactly mana starved 3 -Not really Granite flask dependent.
1 Granite is more than enough to keep you alive through anything, I took 2 just in case.
So you have 3 absolutely free flask slots, add a mana pot if you're feeling dramatic,fine. You still have 2 left. And not to mention that the dmg is pretty low. I didn't take RT because even if I hit every time, I just don't do enough dmg to kill mobs fast enough.
I did indeed put a lot of thought into not picking RT, but I haven't tried the dmg with LS+Chain+Static. If the dmg is good enough you can pick it, yet +20% accuracy and around 150 dexterity takes you over 85% so its good enough.

1- I guess for CI you're referring to the contrast between Strength and Dexterity effects on your character; you're worried about gaining "wasted" HP from Strength. However, only vast amounts of strength have any significant effect on HP; at level 71, you have 470 base HP (without Oak rewards), and even 300 Strength would only increase that base amount by about 33%. Still, it is a loss. The thing is, I think Dexterity adds even less. Since we're building around the unique shield, we want armor/ES pieces, not evasion/ES, so we'll likely have near zero evasion and get no benefit out of Dexterity that way. The only two things Dexterity can do is meet gear requirements and possibly improve our accuracy rating. Strength, on the other hand, does do two other things: increase hidden base HP (CI bases stun times off of what your HP would be if you didn't have it), and increases melee damage, which you can have increase all damage by taking Iron Grip. Additionally, the best scepters and Armour/ES armours all require more Strength than Chain requires Dexterity.

Also, 85% is not a very good to-hit if you're going for critical strikes, because in order to score a critical you have to roll for accuracy twice. That means you're also losing 15% of your crit chance, even when you do hit. Generally speaking, you need to be going spellcaster or a very high-dex build (daggers/bows/claws mostly) to make crits work for you. It's just not a good fit here. Instead you can gain 17% more (not increased!) damage by taking RT (100/85=1.17), and streamline your build to avoid worrying about critical strikes, using the shock method instead.

2- Right now you're not mana starved. Chain is expensive (200% cost multiplier). You might still be able to handle it, just a mild concern.

3- Dependent for what? Standard tanking, yes, agree not dependent. Very tough mobs and act bosses? Yeah, you need granite.

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emb0 wrote:

As for es regen, I disagree.It's not really worth giving away 15% es for 1 passive point considering you're a CI character, nor is the 18% Arcane focus. Plus, you need the mana nodes at the start of the witch tree, so you won't really be respec-ing out of that.
Don't forget that, against a boss,while using a granite, a single block is refunding all your ES, even in crappy gear. So the bigger the base you have, the better.

Personally, I think granites are cheezy, and I'd aim for a build that doesn't abuse them. Personal preference and probably a little foolhardy of me. Until/unless granites get nerfed, you're technically correct on that one.

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emb0 wrote:

As for MS, I never really liked that skill,as it feels too damn unreliable, but it should work if it scales with Increased AOE as well as you say.

The thing about MS is it activates based on amount of damage absorbed by armor (very low unless you're in granite mode) and damage absorbed by blocking (when MS first becomes available, your block rate isn't that great). Thus, MS makes a bad first impression. Try giving it another go with a higher block rate.

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emb0 wrote:

I did mention Stone of Azhwar as an optional amy. And yes it is indeed pretty good.

In my opinion it's not optional. This build can/should invest very heavily into block chance, which makes your character lopsidedly bad against spells (Vaal Pyramid skeleton casters) if you fail to equip this item.

im not buying into this unless you show me each instance of your build every lv 30, 40, 50, 60, and 70. im lv 40 using similar build and let me tell you, it's freaking hard with this build.