Lilith, Goddess of Storms - Max Spell Block Crit Tendrils/Vaal Storm Call
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I've gotten a few requests now to write this post. This is my max spell block crit Tendrils build. I started working on it right when Tendrils/HoT came out, and it's gone through many iterations. I've used probably 70 regrets to get it to where it is now, and I've bought a lot of pricey uniques to test them out (nothing crazy though - i'd like to get my hands on a Void Battery, but wouldn't we all). This is what I've found to be the best way to use Tendrils.
PROS:
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1. Extremely high clear speed. I do gorge in about 2:50 with a 5-link.
2. Very tanky.
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60% block/75% spell block, max level Arctic Armour, around 4k life and Tempest Shield linked to Blind gives you a lot of survivability. If you wanted to make the build even more tanky, you could drop Vaal Storm Call and Voidbringer for a pair of life gloves with a CWDT/End/Imm/Inc Dur setup. I also use Enfeeble in my CoH/HoT setup for hard maps. Playing in a hardcore league, you could switch Carcass Jack for CoD to reach max block Incinerate levels of tankiness, but your clear speed would suffer with out the extra radius. I'd recommend switching to Arc in that case.
3. Immune to reflect.
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75% spell block and the fact that Tendrils hits very rapidly means that reflect is not an issue at all. If you go ham on a huge reflect shrine pack or something, you will probably die though. Take it slow with really dangerous situations, as with any build.
4. Destroys bosses.
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After having played a Pledge of Hands Arc build, I can say that it's a huge relief to be able to mow down bosses without a second thought. When I see a map boss, I drop a Vaal Storm Call on its head, and sometimes I don't even have to cast anything else. If it crits, they just explode instantly. For really tough bosses like Atziri and Death and Taxes or Palace Dominus, you can swap in Conc Effect. Your dps skyrockets to 50k+.
5. High mobility with LW/Red Dur/FC, quality Arctic Armour, move speed on Rainbowstride and Surgeon's Quicksilver Flask of Adrenaline. 6. Can do end game content like Atziri and Death and Taxes (spell block OP). 78 maps are pretty faceroll unless you alch them and get a death trap like minus max/ele reflect/half regen or something. CONS:
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1. Weak to corrupting blood. Always have a staunching flask with you. You'll get to 20 stacks very quickly and you have to have fast reflexes not to die.
2. No CWDT setup. I could fit one in in place of Vaal Storm Call or Tempest shield, but Vaal Storm Call increases clear speed by a huge amount. Tempest shield I could get rid of if I got more block from the tree or gear. It's something I've been thinking about, and you can play around there. 3. No CoD. It would be really nice to wear one, but Carcass Jack is too huge for clear speed. On hardcore I would probably use it and switch to Arc. 4. Tendrils has short range and roots you in place.
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I've got a total of 92% increased aoe and I'm not using Conc Effect, so the range is pretty massive, but when you use Conc Effect for bosses you essentially become a melee character. It's harder to juke and you have to tank more damage. I'm also not using echo to minimize the clunkiness of the spell, but you can still feel it when you need to dodge an Atziri flameblast. Fractions of a second are important.
5. Low HP.
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I'm sitting at 3.7k right now, and I'd like to have more, but the gear requirements are pretty strict and my passives are spread thin between block and crit. This is a result of my addiction to clear speed though. I could build really tanky if I wanted to, but I would have to switch to Arc, and Tendrils clears much more quickly when you scale the radius up as much as you can.
Offense:
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Tendrils:
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With 7 power charges up, I'm at around 37k DPS with all 20/20 gems. With Divinarius/Carcass/Inc AoE gem and radius passives I have 92% radius, and I hit the whole screen. It's pretty ridiculous. Using Conc Effect would skyrocket the tooltip, but reduce clear speed a lot. Not recommended. Same with Echo. It increases tooltip, but reduces clear speed and survivability because it roots you in place for what I feel is too long.
Vaal Storm Call:
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I'm not sure how much damage this does, but let's just say, when it crits, it kills everything that it touches. No pack has survived a crit. It has killed bosses in high level maps without any help. An extremely powerful spell, buffed with the new patch (or rather fixed). And it has the lowest soul cost of any Vaal Skill, making it possible to chain cast it if you get several big packs in a row. Also benefits from all my radius. In a lot of ways, this is the star of the build, and it synergizes really well with Tendrils. Must use this.
This build has a lot of offense. Tempest Shield actually does damage. Even my Lightning Warp hits like a truck. You can play it like a leap slam build and run around killing packs with your movement skill if you really want. Defense:
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60/75 block/spell block:
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Rathpith/Rainbowstride/Stone of Lazwhar with the block passives from the tree and Tempest Shield means you're at capped spell block, which deals with reflect and really trivializes so much content. Crematorium is a joke, Jungle Valley is easy, Death and Taxes is something I've done several times deathless. The only thing you have to worry about is Atziri Flameblast or other one-shot mechanics.
EB/max level Arctic Armour 3.7k HP Passive Tree:
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http://poeurl.com/y5u4piT
Take Mind Barrier if your spell block items have low rolls. Don't get dual curse if you can't get it on your amulet. The tree is spread thin as is, and it's not necessary. Templar start would be nice, but the shadow area is more efficient and we can't get both unfortunately. Gear:
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Rainbowstride/Rathpith/Stone are all key, as is Carcass/Divinarius. I would rather have Divinarius than almost any other weapon, except Void Battery. Doryani's is also pretty necessary because we're not getting leech from anywhere else. The corrupted amulet is nice to have, but in no way is it necessary. Voidbringer is a matter of choice. They give you great damage but make you more squishy. I've pushed my build as far toward glass cannon as possible while still maintaining enough defenses, but you can go full tank at the cost of clear speed if you want. I mentioned how earlier in the pros section. As far as rings, you want mana regen, life and resists. On the helmet, life and resists. You should also try to get dex on those items, but you can get it from the tree if there's no other way. You should have a staunching flask to deal with corrupting blood, which has instantly killed me before. This build casts fast, like an Incinerate build. For the other flasks, the most important thing is to roll surgeon's on them. The Atziri's promise really helps with reflect and burning bosses/scary packs. Gems:
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Lightning Tendrils/Faster Casting/Inc Crit Dmg/Lightning Pen/Inc AoE. I haven't decided on a 6th link, I'll have to test when I get one.
Why no Echo/Conc Effect?
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I don't use Echo because I already kill packs in one cast, so it would be a waste of damage, and it would also slow me down, which is scary for some fights and generally annoying. Conc Effect lowers your clear speed a lot, and you're already doing insane damage, so it's unnecessary. For hard boss fights it's advised to switch it in though.
Vaal Storm Call/Inc Dur/Echo/Light Pen. I'm thinking about switching out Inc Dur though, because most packs die before it finishes. Herald of Thunder/CoH/Assassin's Mark/second curse of your choice (I went with Conductivity for the damage - see my clear speed addiction comments). Tempest Shield/Red Mana/Blind/Mana Leech. The Leech helps sustain Voidbringer, but when I get a 6 link, I'm going to put AA there. LW/Red Dur/FC for mobility Clarity/Red Mana/HoI Thanks for reading, and if you actually read the whole thing, thanks again. This was a way longer post than I expected. I guess I'm a huge nerd. Hopefully breaking it off into sections makes it more readable. TL;DR - TENDRILS IS ACTUALLY GOOD |
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Nice guide ty for your time.
I have been using Tendrils with Three Dragons and Pyre + HoT + HoI and freezing/shocking the whole screen, Tendrils is so nice! If you stand next to a double boss Corpse-Explosion, you're gonna have a bad time. RIPKRIPP
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It really is, I think most people were turned off initially by the fact that it was so bad with Echo and Conc Effect, the two supports that scale it the most. But it has such high damage that it clears really well even without them if you instead focus on radius. Are you using Div/Carcass Jack? It made a huge difference for me.
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Looks really good, i might try this sometime. Although standard is coming up and I dont play there too much...
Do you think it does well without the more expensive uniques? Probably doing it at the start of 1.3. How about the other way around, if i threw 50+ exalts at it would it, would it do noticably better? |
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bump for great build!
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" a void battery would be crazy for this build. a six link obviously. but those are the only two off the top of my head. a headhunter would be good i guess? lol |
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can someone tell me how he builds his powercharges? i can't seem to find it in his gear.
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" from Assassin's Mark gem |
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" yeah, it's from a leveled, quality assassin's mark gem. it might be difficult to keep 7 power charges up with a gem without quality or levels. |
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Thanks for this build, I'm using it right now, and I like it. :)
Two questions: - In which order you suggest to pick up the nodes? - How about bandit rewards? Life/passive/power charge? |
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