[2.0 BETA] HeaT's CI Crit EK Build - Angry Kunai (10k ES, 35K DPS)

Build Guide Video
A video build guide with commentary.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=shQURA0gr1A

Mapping Session - Highish level for BETA
General flow/gameplay of the build and how it functions,closed beta.
Party:
http://www.twitch.tv/heatzgaming/v/6820565
Solo:
http://www.twitch.tv/heatzgaming/v/6823244

Bonus – INSANE Corruption Luck - What?!
http://www.twitch.tv/heatzgaming/v/6824692

Chaos Inoculation:
Garnering an insanely high ES pool will provide strong effective health.

A note on gear: For the most part you want gear that has very high Energy Shield, resistances, and to a lesser extent stats that are required for the gems you are using. When you look at my gear you will notice that I prioritize these requirements quite strictly. If your gear has INT it's essentially double dipping into ES because INT also provides ES.

Keep in mind I was able to acquire 10k+ ES in BETA where strong end game items were not readily available so it can be possible reach a high level of ES pool with less than optimal items.



Notes on some gear slots:

Belts:
A Rustic Sash with ES and resistances is ideal because it offers both offensive and defensive benefits.

Chest:
This is the slot that will provide the highest possible ES roll, therefore making it very important. Attempt to acquire the highest ES on your chest.

Rings:
Because this is a crit based build, diamond rings are a strong choice because they implicitly provide crit chance and you can additionally roll crit chance through master crafting. Other stats to look for are resistances, ES, mana regeneration.

Shield:
High ES, spell crit chance, resistances, and spell damage should be priority.

Weapon:
I tend to gravitate towards Daggers when I play a crit based build because they have implicit crit chance. Spell damage, Spell Crit, Crit Multi, Cast Speed are strong mods to have on your dagger.

Boots:
Rainbowstrides were a drop and a pretty solid choice for the boot slot. An alternative would be Blood Dance because the Frenzy Charges provide an INSANE boost to DPS.

Notes on Gems and Links: I experimented a lot with this build, different skills and such, therefore some of the links and set ups that I have are not optimal.

(Chest) EK* – Added Fire – Increased Crit Strikes* – Increased Crit Multi* – Spell Echo*
*Designates that you should aim to max quality these particular gems.
**You may have to switch in Power Charge on Crit if you are playing in a party with extremely fast clear speed.

(Helm) Chaos Golem – *Empower – Faster Casting – Minion Life
*You know Chaos Golem + Empower is next level ;)

(Gloves) Discipline – Vaal Discipline – Increased Duration – Hatred

(Boots) Ice Spear - Power Charge on Crit - Faster Casting - GMP
The set up is used to maintain power charges

(Shield) Enfeeble - Tempest Shield - CWDT
A defensive set up.

(Weapon) Assassin's Mark - Ice Golem - Enduring Cry
I switched between Ice Golem and Chaos Golem frequently, couldn't decide on what I preferred. Enduring cry was used sparingly in maps with heavy damage modifiers.

Refer to my google sheet doc under the Gear and Links tab for specific flasks used.
http://tinyurl.com/qblznty

Some notes on Flasks:
Flasks are EXTREMELY important for this CI build and I would venture to say CI builds in general. They are a effective choice for mitigation of all damage types. I also ran a Diamond Flaks which should be a staple in crit based builds. Surgeon's is still the best for crit builds and remove bleeding is standard.

I am not a big fan of cannot be frozen uniques so I opted to use Immunity to Freeze and Chill on at least one of my flaks. Using Alchemist on the tree synergizes well with this strategy and is viable as a means to avoid the Freeze problem CI generally encounters.

http://tinyurl.com/nkxrtl9

Alira - Passive - Alira
Choosing Alira on normal is preference, 60 mana is nice though, helps with mana regen if you are having issues.

The only passives that are out of the ordinary are "Practical Application" and "Nimbleness" (super underrated). CI builds tend to have problems with stun so that is why I picked up these passives. Nimbleness is extremely strong passive in particular for this build because you gain DPS and it provides utility in 2 forms.

Moving forward with the build, if I were to acquire a 6L I would use Life Leech and spec into Ghost Reaver for added survivability. Other options are:

-Master of Force and jewel socket
-Dip into ranger tree for projectile damage
-Leadership and Charism as an attempt to run an extra herald
-If you build for Frenzy Charges, picking up frenetic is another option

I used the unique jewel "Energy from Within" (transforms life into ES @ 50% of their value), but honestly I don't think this jewel is very good. It actually rounds down the value, for example, if life is 3%, instead of adding 1.5% ES it will only give you 1%. I feel it should round up because as is I don't think it's very efficient unless your pathing is constructed in a way where a jewel socket only costs 1 skill point.

Brittle Barrier (20% Faster Start of Energy Shield Restart) is another unique jewel that is an option, but from brief testing I think we are talking about tenths of seconds here, not even a second, so I prefer jewels that increase DPS or provide other forms of defense.