Unique CI chest: Sovereign Spirit

Sovereign Spirit
Vaal Regalia

Energy Shield: (675 to 750)
Requires Level 68, 344 Int

+(20 to 25) to maximum Mana

+125 to maximum Energy Shield
(125 to 150)% increased Energy Shield
+150 Intelligence Requirement
Cannot be Frozen when on Full Life
Gems in this item are Supported by level 18 Blood Magic
Non-Aura Skills with Blood Magic cost Energy Shield instead

Death may come to take over my human shell,
But as long as my soul is unbound, I am eternal,
And I possess all treasures of this world.

As someone who used to love CI, I already don't like this chest because it only works if you choose one of the two keystones that ruined CI.

From an unbiased point of view, it's not a bad chest. In general, most CI players wouldn't want it because it's a chest that involves having a high intelligence and offers mana, which makes using mana easier, yet eliminates mana use. In terms of using this with life leech over mana leech, it could be the enabler for ignoring mana like life builds tend to. However, most CI builds involve multiple unique items, and having no resists on chest can often be a big issue. The ES of the item is fine, though I'm not sure GGG would appreciate the immunity to one of the glaring flaws of CI. Then again, since I came back to the game, I've seen that items like Soul Taker and Shavronne's Wrappings were made. In this case, I'm sure you could ask for 1200 ES instead.

This chest actually works better if you do not take the Blood Magic keystone, given you still want to run auras. It gives free BM to your main skill while you continue to spend mana for your other skills (curses, totems, movement, etc.), meaning you will still need some mana regen, but you can turn off Clarity and use something else.

The original purpose of this item was to provide a nice ES boost for a CI chest, free up your second ring slot (i.e. drop Dream Fragments and equip a stronger ring) and release you from the burden of having to sustain your main skill. I was thinking about adding a mod that interacts with the mana pool in some way, but I didn't want to run into an unhealthy design so I held back.

For the time, I reduce the Intelligence requirement because it feels too restrictive.

I don't like the idea of making ES even more like Life by giving it its own form of Blood Magic.

Therefore -1 from me. I hope something like this is a capability which Energy Shield never receives.

Looks overpowered to me, even with the huge Int requirement.

Change "Non-Aura Skills" to "Spells".

I would prefer that (my idea):


Since vaal pact nerf CI builds have hard time to leech and everyone are HP now.

"

DirkAustin wrote:

I see the true motive here, you want to use auras on ES since you dont want to use mana for them and you cant use life with CI.

therefore: -1

"Non-Aura Skills with Blood Magic cost Energy Shield instead"

Therefore auras with Blood Magic will still kill you. The point is to shift the mana cost of your main skill to ES and allow you to turn off Clarity.

Increasing the mana cost by editing the BM mod (for 200% mana multiplier).

Can I request we instead remove Ghost Reaver and Zealot's Oath and rebalance ES? I really hate that those changes made ES life 2.0. In fact, the only difference between life and ES these days is that you cannot use flasks with ES, LGoH doesn't work, and that Blood Magic doesn't work with it. This chest would make ES literally two options away from being life.

In the days of yore, before the unique claw with Ghost Reaver, CI was a great node for ranged builds that wanted to focus on damage rather than survival. Whenever you got decently hurt, which, without Ev or Ar, happened every two hits or so, you had to wait for the shield delay. If you went in and tried to facetank, you'd get stunlocked and die. CI melee was, sadly, unviable, but it promoted a playstyle that did not benefit melee to begin with. After the claw was released, and the keystone followed, a multitude of nerfs to ES and CI have all but killed the old playstyle and removed the unique third defense of Path of Exile in favor of a second lifepool.