1.3 ✮ The Crit DoT Chin Sol build ✮ Puncture Trap / Ice Shot (Build of the Week S3E3)

Hello Forum.
I am new to Path of Exiles and decided to use this guide, I usually play solo, however I have had to join parties on a couple of main bosses and ofc farming is more fun in parties.
I need your help progressing.
I do not know if i should be rushing for vaal pact or whether i should be picking up the trap damage nodes, more crit and life before hand.

My Tree so far, level 62 ranger


Talking to a few players they said this was not a build for new players, but I am here now and I really do not want to stop this character as it is so much fun. Please advise if you can, explaining like I am a five year old.

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urbandodo wrote:

Hello Forum.
I am new to Path of Exiles and decided to use this guide, I usually play solo, however I have had to join parties on a couple of main bosses and ofc farming is more fun in parties.
I need your help progressing.
I do not know if i should be rushing for vaal pact or whether i should be picking up the trap damage nodes, more crit and life before hand.

My Tree so far, level 62 ranger

Spoiler

http://www.pathofexile.com/passive-skill-tree/AAAAAgIAAdEDHgW1BiMIiQ5IFSAWvxn-GwEfQSP2JP0mlSoLKk0s6TBxMHwylDY9OkI6s0t4TZJRR1VLVvpdaF3yYeJirGqMbIxwUnDVd9d_An8ridOMNo19jb-VBZrxnaqhIqJAotmjiqbgp9Sv67DYtMW1SMLsxKLIFMqp1CPWitnG2-fcFd0N3ajjhOdU8-r0-PVv-WP8xf7I_94=

Talking to a few players they said this was not a build for new players, but I am here now and I really do not want to stop this character as it is so much fun. Please advise if you can, explaining like I am a five year old.

In general if you play on softcore, don't worry about reflect untill you reach 85+, because any death is a very minor setback, focus on dmg and life nodes for now.

Thanks for the reply, I will do that and see how I get on.

I'm using a variation of this build in bloodlines and reached lvl74 so far. DPS is still a bit bad since I took a lot of defensive nodes. From now on it's mainly phys damage and life nodes.

When playing solo the clearspeed is pretty ok but I am not using pierce and I wonder if I am really gimping myself. My theory is that without a drillneck (don't have 4ex in bloodlines yet) pierce is not optimal. My 5L is currently: ice shot - WED - phys. projec. damage - life leech - Prolif. When there is a large group of mobs and I get a crit they burn down really fast if not exploding on the intital hit already. Switching out WED of phys damage for pierce will lower my initial hit and I fear it will hamper my clear speed.

Is it the right decision to leave out pierce until I maybe get my hands on a drillneck or should I use pierce above all? I'm saving up fusings to 5L my bow but I'm also wondering if I should get a good harbinger and 5L that instead of 5L my chin sol. A Chin Sol is obviously better for puncture trap but for ice shot I think a high crit harbinger will make damage more consistent.

All in all I really like this build. especially the fact that you have good AoE and good single target DPS to efficiently take out large groups of mobs as well as unique bosses. Meeting a rogue exile that comes charging at you through a puncture trap and dropping dead at your feet is just too much fun :)

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JohnnyV76 wrote:

When playing solo the clearspeed is pretty ok but I am not using pierce and I wonder if I am really gimping myself.
...
Is it the right decision to leave out pierce until I maybe get my hands on a drillneck or should I use pierce above all?

I have only just started the build, but I believe OP answers your question sufficiently.

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rrtson wrote:

But possibly the most important support here is Pierce. Aside from the 1:1 damage increase we get from Drillneck for each pierce % (up to 100%), Pierce allows Ice shot to hit multiple enemies in a single volley, which sprays enemies behind each target hit with a cone of ice.

Quoted straight from the "Gems" drop-down. Safe to say, Pierce > Phys.

Personally, I am finding the explosions of multiple ice arrows incredibly satisfying due to their tendency to travel down fields, hallways and tunnels, sometimes clearing dozens of mobs far off-screen - Regularly in only a handful of shots!

Your harbinger question is also answered in the FAQ. Maybe you should give the guide a more thorough read, seems you're doing yourself a disservice. OP is fairly thorough.

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Maybe you should give the guide a more thorough read, seems you're doing yourself a disservice. OP is fairly thorough.

Well perhaps you should read my post a bit better.

I am well aware of the mechanics. I'm just claiming that without a drillneck adding more raw damage is probably better. Pierce adds no damage on it's own, it just allows the arrow to hit another target behind the inital target and because of this could clear a group of mobs fast but this also happens without using pierce. The same goes for the vaal totems, the piercing part of the ice cone is sufficient to kill these totems in the middle of a pack. A higher crit on the initial target also means a higher burn being proliferated to surrounding mobs. When you have a drillneck it's obvious that pierce is insanely good but without it I believe pierce also has disadvantages over increasing the base damage of your hits.

Reason I brought up the harbinger is that I'm not sure if I should 5L my chin sol or save em for a decent harbinger. For grouping and large mob packs a harbinger will be better than a chin sol imho. Ideally you would slot the chin sol in the alternate weapon slot to switch to when facting tough bosses or rogue exiles.

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Pierce adds no damage on it's own, it just allows the arrow to hit another target behind the inital target and because of this could clear a group of mobs fast but this also happens without using pierce.

Wrong . Pierce does add damage, as stated by the OP, Pierce is probably the "best" damage output out there for a bow user as of now .

Also, your answering you questions alone , your stating exactly why the Harb would be better than the Chin Sol .


Definitely should read Op's post more .

If you don't want to understand my point fine but please don't respond then as it's not adding anything to the discussion.

Pierce "adds" damage if mobs are lined up and the initial arrow can hit a second target or even more targets behind the initial one. However, if mobs are more spread (and you don't have a drillneck!!!) so arrows can not pierce properly you will do more damage on those spread targets with more raw damage from WED or Phys. Proj. damage. Pierce gives NO extra damage on loose targets while those gems do. Don't say it's wrong, it's a fact. Yes, you can use puncture trap for loose targets but often if you are ice shotting around it's just faster to ice shot loose mobs as well.

In a non hc league where you can just focus on DPS nodes mainly pierce is easier to use since you probably have a higher base damage output than playing in a hc league. If your base damage is already high enough to one-shot any group of mobs then yes, pierce will be the better choice but if your DPS is not yet high (like beginning in a new hc league) increasing base damage may be better than lowering base damage and letting arrows pierce. Once you have enough damage output anyway then yes I agree pierce will be better. If you are at that point already then yes you can call me wrong but you may want to be open for other people's situations and point of views.

Who has kill uber atziri?

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JohnnyV76 wrote:

If you don't want to understand my point fine but please don't respond then as it's not adding anything to the discussion.

I'm afraid you are the one who is misunderstanding how the build works and thus deterring the discussion.

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JohnnyV76 wrote:

you will do more damage on those spread targets with more raw damage from WED or Phys. Proj. damage.

You seem to think it's fine be firing Ice Shot before enemies are lined up for the potential AoE.

That's wrong.

Ice Shot here is built for AoE. If the enemies are spread, it is up to you to reposition yourself or kite them, so they are lined up enough for Ice Shot pierce to make a difference - Especially in HC where wasting mana can be fatal.

And, this build's defense are 90% positioning. If you're in a position where you can't kite, we don't need to be HC to know you're doing something wrong.

Thus, Pierce > Phys. Proj.

The fun and inherent optimal playstyle of this build is firing into a bunched up pack of monsters, then firing a single arrow to reduce them to ashes.

And if you need to peck down survivors, that's what the Default Attack is for.

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JohnnyV76 wrote:

In a non hc league

Being in HC does not change Ice Shot's role as the AoE skill.

Being in HC makes Life Leech comparable to WED in a 4L.
You shouldn't even be considering giving up WED with a 5L, it's far superior to Phys. Projectiles here. The math is obvious.

Read. The. Guide. Your perception that the understanding of the general mechanics is sufficient is hurting you more than helping you in this instance.