The Herald of Ash : A Physical Bow Build

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Do you guys level with bows from the start? I'm about to enter Cruel and been using FP but I think I will hit a requirement wall there pretty soon. Not sure if I should move to bows now or later. FP is just so insanely good at least in low levels.

I don't used bow before level 32 switched to death's harp and then infractem at 53.
It's important to level your gems before switch to death's harp in some free sockets.
For the 32 first level just go with one skill for solo target ( i used double strike ) and one spell like Searing bond for example :)

After 32 you have no more worry to have about leveling except cap resist for merciless and just one shoot the entire world.

Good luck :)

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Anyway, still a brilliant build! Will keep my eye on this thread to see if anyone has any idea about how to tank it up a bit without losing TOOOO much of our extreme DPS.

Yeah auras management is missing atm for more tanky / endgame management.
Would be nice to run at least grace around level 65 when starting maps, atm i'm 66 but i got hard troubles against some physical pokes.
Maybe it could be possible to rework a bit the tree to get the mana reservation reduction and mana +8% on the bottom of the tree and drop some critical chance ( to get them back with item progression more than directly in tree ).

damn, this build is much stronger than searing bond in leveling.
I leveled my shadow with flameblast to lv24, bought a blue bow with 80% increased physical damage from npc and now I one-shot anything in front of me. It is unbelievably strong.

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elboyo wrote:

1) Crit nodes are very important for single-target Puncture and for when you group with others.

2) 100% of elemental damage dealt with this build is converted from Physical. Elemental Damage is strong because it effects burning as well. Elemental damage with weapons is strictly inferior to physical damage (which also helps Puncture) in all cases as a result.

3) Those unspecified physical nodes increase my bleed damage from Puncture. This is a big deal against bosses and rogue exiles.

4) With an adequately powerful Harbinger, changing some points around to get piercing nodes or using a 6L to add Pierce would not be so daunting. With a Harbinger, I would also have access to leeching again. Mana leech would allow me to use Projectile Weakness.

Someday I hope to try to use a half-assed Pierce chance (50-70%) and make use of the Projectiles Return crafted mod.

5) I did go piercing at the start. I then respecced once I grabbed an Infractem.

6) I never play HC because my friends don't and my internet is sometimes a little less than reliable. If I did, I would replace my Vaal Burning Arrow with a CoDT Immortal Call/Enduring Cry setup. I also would avoid critical multipliers at all cost.

Thanks for the reply :)

I see your point about crits being necessary on single target. But if playing on HC we are going to need more life which leaves fewer nodes to mess around with.
And since HC-characters shouldn't be taking crit-mulitpliers (4 out of the 5 crit-node-clusters have multipliers) aren't we getting to a point where crit really isn't the way forward on HC?
I am not sure how to deal with single targets then. Fire arrow perhaps?

So far I have only made it to level 46, and the need for more life has given this build a much slower start for me (I still have no crit modes), but it is beginning to catch up.

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sikker wrote:

I see your point about crits being necessary on single target. But if playing on HC we are going to need more life which leaves fewer nodes to mess around with.
And since HC-characters shouldn't be taking crit-mulitpliers (4 out of the 5 crit-node-clusters have multipliers) aren't we getting to a point where crit really isn't the way forward on HC?
I am not sure how to deal with single targets then. Fire arrow perhaps?

So far I have only made it to level 46, and the need for more life has given this build a much slower start for me (I still have no crit modes), but it is beginning to catch up.

I am currently in the process of adjusting my build as I gain more currency. I am attempting to remove much of the damage which I can replace readily through gearing. I will try and give a more complete of update of how my build is progressing as I go.

This build is hilarious. Kudos to you :)

Just reached 53 and switched to Infractem, damage finally picked up after slowing down a bit in the 40's. Still using gear from lv32 so my resist/life are in the gutter, really need to upgrade but I'm picky :s

I've tried a 250 pdps 7% crit bow to test if it was better then Infractem, and while the damage was like a 1k tooltip difference, the 100% pierce chance on Infractem just seemed to clear "larger" areas easier/faster. The 250 bow hit hard, but the burn seemed slower. For Puncture it obviously did more though. Perhaps with a 6 link we can add the pierce gem to switch to the stronger bow. For now I'll probably stick with Infractem.

For those wanting to do HC, don't bother with Point Blank. I'd even say its unnecessary for the standard build, since getting close to enemies isn't the best idea, and this build kills fine from afar. Gear wise Lightning Coil is probably a good chest, however this build already has pretty annoying gear requirements on standard gear, so getting the str/int to level your gems to 20, getting life, and the resist+extra 60% lightning resist would be a pain.

1 question, is conc effect even doing anything for the 5 link? It doesn't effect the tooltip DPS, which means its not effecting the 1st shot you shoot and is only effecting the cone behind it. The whole point of the build is to have the hardest single hit for overkill burn right? Considering the mana multiplier, and the already bleak mana with no regen or leech makes it tank mana fast requiring you to constantly mana pot if you plan to go through maps fast. Or is it effect the damage of overkill too that I'm missing?

63 Update:

Took out Conc Effect and put in GMP just to test. I actually quite like it. Clears EVERYTHING when you crit. Probably best for trash clearing but I mean anything big I'm hitting with puncture anyway so..... Well until I have a better use for the extra mana I'll use it.

Edit: I should say I'm just using it for xp/farm runs. Helps my clear time!

Gear


Passive Tree as of 30/08/14


I'm doing something similar to the OP thought I'd post my inputs, almost level 70.

So, due to lack of being able to get a RRRB on....anything. I don't use prolif on Herald Of Ash right now, I would love too though. The major issue is mana.

I've opted to take avatar of fire so Ice Shot does pure fire damage, procs burns from herald of ash, as well as chills, BUT deals no physical damage. So leech is out the window.

The end goal would be to run hatred, and a 4L herald of ash. Currently I have to run clarity on my HP to be able to do this, with enough mana left over than I can comfortably cast iceshot over and over.

I use frenzy for my single target because I still think it's sexy, anything would work though. Except puncture, as you deal no physical damage.

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gildash wrote:

63 Update:

Took out Conc Effect and put in GMP just to test. I actually quite like it. Clears EVERYTHING when you crit. Probably best for trash clearing but I mean anything big I'm hitting with puncture anyway so..... Well until I have a better use for the extra mana I'll use it.

Edit: I should say I'm just using it for xp/farm runs. Helps my clear time!

One more thing...

What are you guys using for mobility and CwDT?

Having trouble finding a spot to do lightning warp / reduced duraction / faster casting and I havn't a clue what to run on CwDT. I'm thinking poacher's mark maybe? Not sure if Poachers mark will still grant life on hit with our bow but at least it decreases their evasion....If not Poachers I'd say temp chains just so we can get away heh.

Reached level 54 ... and ripped.
I like the build and do I think it is HC viable if you focus on health, but that armourer quest really was too tough. I never stood a chance.