SkullStorm Cycloner – the power of COMBOS – all maps with 5ex gear (with Herald of Thunder)

I’m experienced but lazy player so I like simple cookie-cutter builds. After my beloved Barrage Wonder Wanderer (http://www.pathofexile.com/forum/view-thread/712837) I theorycrafted and made another cool build.
This build use a lot of ingame knowledge but also many combos and tricks to achieve amazing results with budget gear:

Offence:
1) Weapon choice
This is weird but the best weapon type in PoE is definitely a dagger. Very high crit chance, attack speed, damage and the best nodes in passive tree. It is also 1h so there is a place for a shield. That’s why I’m using a dagger.
2) Critical hit
This is weird but the best way to have DPS skyrocket in PoE is definitely to increase critical strike chance and multiplayer. That’s why I choose to go this way.
3) PoE dream - a 6L item
To have the best dps 6L is very handy. What is the best 6L item under 2ex value? Tabula Rasa – NO. Bringer of Rain is the best! I have great use of every single stat from it and it is 7L item!!!
4) How to increase DPS by 500-1000% with 2 gems in main link?
This is the heart of this build. Best traditional support gem can add about 60 - 70% MORE dps (Weapon Elemental Damage or Concentrated Effect). I’m using Cast on Critical Strike (CoC) and Summon Raging Spirits (SRS) gems. I have almost max critical strike chance so I crit a lot and best thing is that Spirits gets the same bonuses from support gems as me. Bringer of Rain adds Melee Physical Damage and Faster Attack and Blind for my main attack and for my spirit minions! This combo works very, very good :)
5) Main attack skill
I choose Cyclone because it is good for damage and triggering CoC to single and multiple targets. It is also fast because you don’t have to stop moving for attack. The only problem is that use a lot of mana but this problem is solved by another combo…
6) Wrath + Herald of Thunder combo
Wrath is perfect aura for this build. It adds dps to your attack and boost all minions a lot. But the best thing is that when I crit (and I crit a lot) I apply shock to mobs. This is +50% MORE damage multiplayers for me and skulls! When shocked mobs is killed Herald of Thunder starts hitting with thunderbolts. I link it with Mana Leech and Curse on Hit + Assassin’s Mark. And it work perfect – it solves mana problems for sustaining Cyclone and put Assasin’s Mark curse for many mobs. Assasin’s Mark is another step combo for increasing DPS from critical strikes (and I crit a lot) and collecting power charges to crit even more!

Defense:
I don’t like dying. This char is a melee so it deserves for goodly defense.
1) Block and spell block
This is very efficient way of damage mitigation. Other than armour way it can stop big hits. I decided to cap attack block (75%) and have spellblock on level 50%+
2) Blind from Bringer of Rain
Blind effect is powerful but hard to apply. From new BoR is only 8%, from legacy one is 26% per hit. Even with Cyclone it apply only sometimes but 20 raging skulls (especially with multistrike) can make the difference and blind all mobs on screen. Blinded mobs have 50% LESS chance to hit you.
3) Evasion
Evasion gives you 2 important things: another way of damage mitigation and most important – protrkts you from being hit 2-3 times in a row and this helps a lot because give you time to hit potion button. I increase evasion form BoR by taking pure evasion shield and some evasion nodes.
4) Acrobatics and Phase Acrobatics
Another 40% chance for not being hit by attack and 30% for not being hit by spells. I took this also. There is not enough defense in PoE!
5) Cast when damage taken + Enduring Cry + Immortal Call
This well-known combo works perfect for melee character. Addytional endurance charges from BoR helps a lot. +90% skill duration from tree is also amazing!

My chance to be hit by attack is:
Block (75%) + Evasion with blind (60%) + Acrobatics (40%): 0,25 x 0,4x 0,6 = 0,06. So I have only 6% chance to be hit!!! 96% of all attacks miss me :)
My chance to be hit by spell:
SpellBlock (56%) + Phase Acrobatics (30%): 0,44 x 0,7 = 0,3. So I have only 30% chance to be hit by spell!!! 70% of all spells miss me :)

74 map 122% (Voul, 30%+ ias ms cs, +3 project, -18ress)
http://youtu.be/UnmsYJJFiCI
Something funny: 50 spirits with the use of 8L item (BoR corrupted with CoC) Moltenstrike-GMP-multistrike
Mobs are dying too fast on 70 level map that it is hard to collect 50 skulls :)
http://youtu.be/5FPorSmg2LI

PROS:
• Very fun and active gameplay
• Very, very high damage for single and multiple targets
• Godly survivability
• CoC without laaaags :)
• Chip equipment
• ZERO problems with reflect
• Good for almost all maps mod
• Herald of Thunder is so nice :)

CONS:
• With cyclone it can desync sometimes
• You are melee

Weapon (1chaos or 10-12ex)
As fast as you can find dagger with high crit chance. Good physical damage is a good to have but I was comfortable clearing maps with 150dps selffound dagger.
Best option for more combo: Bino’s Knife! It is definitely perfect weapon for this build. It heals you and your minion after killing a poisoned enemy! It is so good combo with SRS and Adder’s Touch node. It can have also 10% crit chance and good attack speed!!!! Only mirrored dagger can be better.

Helm (1-2ex or 10-20ex)
Bringer of Rain is core of this build. New one is very chip for 7L item! Legacy is a little better and when you can get BoR corrupted with CoC gem you can have 8L item!

Armour (0)
The chipest piece of the gear because cannot be use with BoR

Glows (few chaos to many ex)
Malligaros could be good but collecting resists is hard. I recommend rare glows with Attack speed, life, accuracy, ress.

Amulet (few chaos)
Stone of Lazhwar is the only option for 50% block applied to spells. 20-30 additional intelligence is important to have max level SRS gem.

Rings (few chaos to many ex)
The best will be diamond rings with life, ress, accuracy, life/mana leech and we need about40 additional intelligence on one ring.

Shield (from few chaos)
The best will be evasion shield with 34% block chance, some life and ress

Boots (about 15 chaos)
Rainbowstride for 20-25% block chance to spells and 20% all res, 20% movement speed and 50 mana.
Atziri boots are also nice if you can cap resists with it.

Belt (few chaos)
The best will be rustic sash with life and resists

The basic setup shouldn’t cost more than 5 ex total and it is sufficient to fast clear all maps.

My items

Main attack links:
BoR gives you faster attack, melee phys dmg and very nice blind effect. Link other 4L like this:
Cyclon-CoC-Summon Spirits-(and 1 from: multistrike, melee splash, minion damage)
When you have too much mana problems you can use:
Moltenstrike- CoC-Summon Spirits-Multistrkie

The cool option is to get corrupted BoR with 12level CoC gem. It is 8L ITEM!!! Link like this to hit 50 skulls limit:
Moltenstrike- GMP-Summon Spirits-Multistrkie

Utility links:
If you are too lazy to cast curse manually (I am) you can use this combo:
Herald of Thunder-Mana Leech-Curse on hit-Assassin’s Mark
Assassin’s Mark helps with summoning spirits (additional crit chance) and adds MANA after kill. Mana leech is necessary for sustaining Cyclone mana drain.

CWDT-Enduring Cry-Immortal Call-Flash offering
Very important combo to reduced physical damage taken and give 30%+ attack speed to skulls. Melee range grants us more endu charges from cry and +90% increase skill effect duration from tree is really nice for immortal call and flash offering buff. Endurance charges from BoR ale also helpful.

Vaal Haste (or 2) - Vaal summon skeletons – increase duration
With +90% increase skill effect duration from tree every vall skills is powerful. With that kill speed Vaal Haste can be hold almost all the time.

Wrath-Tempest Shield-Reduced mana
Tempest shield isn’t the best skill but we have some free mana and it helps with maxing block chance Wrath is mandatory to increase damage and trigger Herald of Thunder.

Focused on crit chance, block chance, life, increase skill effect duration.

http://www.pathofexile.com/passive-skill-tree/AAAAAgAAA-4FtQceCGcM9w5IEZYWvxg8Hb4egSLqJpUn7SoLKk0s4TBxM4c1kjY9OkI8LT8nQYdHBklRSshLeEuNUUxSDVVLWW1Z81qRW_dd8l4fX5hfymHiYqxqrGwWbIxuqnBScFZw1X1bfeN-vYLHhxmJ04wLkBuSfZM6lS6X_phvmhObtZ2qpn-nNKh9rEesZqyqsbO0xbVItfK3Prk-uXy9J8CcwuzDOsT2xq7KSs8y0_vUI9h22L3aPdvU3ajjhOXP6Nbp1eyw7UHw1fJF8-r56PxL_gr-j_8c8uFjQw==

Those little flaying skulls can do a lot of damage when they are linked properly. They scales up only with:

• Gem level
• Minion passives and items
• Support gems like: All minion gems, melee phys dmg, added fire dmg, multistrike, melee splash, faster attack and many other.

In +2 fire +1 all skill 6L staff with empower they can kill everything very fast Atziri included. But casting them manually is boring and slow. Because skulls lives only few seconds there is a stop in front of every group of monsters to cast few spirits and wait for them to do the job before going to the next group. That kind of staff is also very expensive. Support gems for casting (like spell echo or faster casting) do not improve the skulls at all so we can replace them with Cast on Critical Strike. Using melee attack with support gems we can improve our own damage and damage of spirits simultaneously. This solution has one additional advantage – skulls are summoned in close range from monsters – they do not losing time to travel from caster to mobs. So instead of higher level skulls I’m having more of them and can do my own high damage.