[2.0] CI/ZO/IR Mjolner (res 94/88/95 before Safells)12K ES 1.4k es/sec UBER Vaal/trio facetank

the build centers around the Mjolner/Volls/Romira's combo as most Kingsguard Mjolner builds do.
Keystones in use ZO GR CI US IR and depending on tree version VP. 100% flask uptime
CI version of the Mjolner build has imho advantages:

Bigger buffer for physical damage (12k-14k ES depending on gear and wether you go for Acuity build or VP with Voidbringer)

Does not get wrecked by chaos damage like Kingsguard builds do

Relies on flasks like Kingsguard but in some situations like facing a random nullifyer mob has the advantage.

Has huge regen (1.2k+ depending on gear) for kiting potential if it is ever needed, but mostly not the case.

has more gem slots available for defensive combinations (Kingsguard relies on aura slots to achieve 99 ele res)

Double curse (even without +1 amulet possible) which makes for a very strong curse build if you use Ele weakness+ conductivity for example. (other versions are: Warlords mark + Enfeeble for defensive, or other combinations of the above)

Can do a greater variety of map mod combinations ( all except blood magic, which is not even a damage mod but rather a way for GGG to troll CI builds) where kingsguard struggles: -max REs, tripple Curse maps, no leech/regen/curse immunity maps, etc

CAN facetank Uber Vaal (smash) and Uber Trio (unlike kingsguard Mjolner)

Latest version can have up to 98 Fire 99 Lightning Max resist with Safell's frame. (more with +1 corrupted items, but those are non existant almost)

latest version of the tree the point difference of running 2 curses with or without corrupted Volls is 2 points!! multi curse possible depending on gear too.

Disadvantages compared to Kingsguard

lower DPS especially in curse immune maps, but that does not make the map impossible

much more expensive
if you want to get the most out of your Mjolner and can acess mirrored gear, this build path is the better option. However even if that is not the case you can still attain a great level of performance., and similar experience. and i find gearing and upgrading this build as you go a more rewarding experience then upgrading the kingsguard where there is no flexibility whatsoever.

Just did the map below to proove this build is GG and better then Kingsguard. this would probably not be possible with kingsguard at all and i dare you to prove me wrong! :p i have done many more maps with insane mods but 82 are hard to come by, so most others are lower level, but this was just an example.




went back to take a screenshot before i update with new guide and videos

i tried to take video of boss fight but it crashed my fps and i died.. ffs. sadly i cant record gameplay, but as proof i made a video after the fight of me exiting the boss room with 4 portals left. (1 less due to the unavoidable death)

when i update the guide i will upload a video section with many videos bust most will be me exiting the boss room with 5 portals left since it crashes my fps otherwise, lol. srry for that, i hope you understand i cant find a solution.

More examples (have video of those deathless boss fights except core where i was testing if i could tank smash, those are just quick screens. will upload vid if needed and when i figure out how :p.)

Core, was chatting with Krux wether i could tank Mala Smash or not, well, i could not. tried 4 times with Enfeeble cast on him with 20%increased curse effectiveness node, Chaos golem, Malachai in a vanilla map with 11.7k ES 24 armour (forgot to switch to Determination, i would have to use + 1 rainbos and 1 mana reduced node and jewel too.) the rest of the fight is easy and straightforward. second phase especially easy to tank. so i am trying to figure out how to tank smash, but it is really easy to avoid, has 2 sec delay or so and small AOE. if anyone has any info on type of damage used in smash, or penetration, please let me knoww.

ALT Gear

i use Discipline, no need to explain

and i use Determination because it gives more Armour then Grace with both flasks up (which is 100% of the time) especially since i cant run high lvl grace due to insufficient dex.

for Uber atziri you can run instead of determination purity of FIRE/LIGHTNING but you will need a lvl 4 enhance and possibly 1 point in reduced reservation near CI to be able to pull of 3 35% auras and have sufficient mana

i have been working on another revision of the tree and gear. almost all gear is the same, but gem setup is different this time.
this option has 2 possible paths: ZO or VP, i tried both (rip 100s of regrets, as i was trying so many different paths to achieve best results, and going back and forth) and i still prefer ZO. VP is, as i have stated many times probably better for uber fight itself, but i am not sure. i am broke now, so i cant even test that :p (ripped so many ex in to testing that i literally got 0 now)

with this setup you reach up to 99 fire/93 cold /100 Light res if you use safells Frame, i swap between my shield and Safells if needed. also you can swap back to Acuity if you are doing a -res ele reflect map, for simple reflect maps that is not needed. and obviously with VP route, completely unnecessary.

the gear is much the same but the big change is +1 Voidbringer, coupled with 21 POF/POL and 3 points in Aura cluster you get +6 max res from those auras up to a total of 94/88/95. and if you go for safells you lose some ES but resistances are up to 99/93/100. you can also make a path to get +1 fire res if needed.

With acuity you need to spend 1 extra point in Aura node at the bottom to get +5 Max res from POF/POL, so there difference between the 2 options is 1 % but it only really matters if you use safells Frame when it is either 98/92/99 or 99/93/100.



Tree

VP Tree


i will not be explaining the setup here because this build does not generate enough interrest, but if anyone has questions, i am happy to elaborate.

i will update this section with different strategy tips and any information related to harder boss fights. keep in mind that the build is melee and is designed to become facetank eventually as you gear up. so no strategy should be needed, but this can be helpful at times and there are some map mod combinations which call for extra caution just in case.

when you are fighting atziri map once you are GG geared normal atziri and all bosses can be done with 0 strategy, Uber atziri bosses are harger but once your gear improves Vaals and Trio become trivial to the point of being able to facetank them just like in normal map, and the only manipulation necessary here is switching flask setups between fights. i will describe atziri map in detail as i update.
a good way to get started farming her if you have trouble with her is to stack multiple Vaal Discipline level 18+ in your inventory and charge them up as you clear map. dont waste them on Vaals and Trio, those should be a non issue.
once you get to atziri you can swap the vaal discipline when she changes phases, which i suggest you put with the IC setup so you can share the INcreased Duration gem with it. that way you have around 5 seconds of virtual invulnerability. the way you can use it is put the Iron Will gem in mjolner instead of Life leech, put Maligaros or Voidbringer on, and use offensive Curse or 2
The reason is to increase dps as much as possible and instead of relying on leech, rely on vaal discipline for regen. now i am not saying this is the go to method of going about this strategy, just an example of what it can do for you in terms of changng the dynamics of the fight.

Another way to do this is the following:

in the weapon swap put the following itmes:

or any other high ES shield.

charge the vaal discipline with souls in your main gear slots 1 by 1.
link them in each hand to increased duration and faster casting. or just 2 vaal disciplines per slot with increased duration.
any time you are in danger you swap weapon and hit the vaal discipline key you have loaded in here. but they do not charge if they are in inactive weapon slot so like i said you have to charge them beforehand.
keep in mind however that switching back weapon slots removes the aura effect.
this is just a small trick in case you are struggling with a fight and want to replenish ES and kite some boss. this is not necessarily for atziri but just a possible strategy you can use to your advantage untill your gear gets good.
once again, this is not how i play it, but just a way to be able to sit out a boss attack in a map which is too hard for you if you are not gg geared.
as a reminder, during this phase you gain +5 all res and several K es and insane ES regen, but you dont do damage. so this is a very situational option i thought i would share. it can mainly be useful when you know a boss is about to go in to a temporatity high dps state and you want to sit it out.
this is a bonus to the 1 or 2 vaal disciplines you are already running in main gear slots. otherwise you could always swap gems manually mid fight, but that is way too messy for my taste.

IF your resistances are capped the Stats i recommend looking for on jewels are :

you need 3 +2 mana gained on hit jewels on had or in tree to be able to handle any map mod

for the test i cleared 79 vaaled NO LEECH NO REGEN map i just rolled. and like i said before, this build can do any map mod combo, albeit depending on your gear you might have to adjust some.

other stats i highly recommened: Crit multi if you have 30+ crit chance on discharge and acuity, if not i would go for flat spell damage/damage. basically high crit mult vs spell damage at 30-40 crit chance is about the same BUT thing is you instaleech with acuity on crit, so even though the total damage outpu is similar, you leech more!!

some example of stats to look for:



i will link later the jewels i use.
3 + 2 mana gained jewels, some jewels with ES, crit mult/chance, and res and/or str. since i have to rely on jewels to cap resists because my gear is not mirrore except for shield. otherwise i say go with full dps jewels with + ES roll. for ex: Area damage+Spell damage+Spell damage while holding a shield+ Increased ES. or other damage mods to consider are: Crit mult/chance, increased damage and last is attack speed.

it is important to understand that most of the time jewels with 4 perfect stats you need will be clear win over spending 4 points to reach that remote jewel sot. so as a rule of thumb if you hesitate between spending 4 points to reach for a jewel, compare it to 4 points spent elswhere. in theis regard i advise to almost never invest in botched jewels (jewels with 3 useful stats and 1 useless like totem life or something) since those are a waste

forgot to pop discipline here for screenshot
p:s: also screenshots to be updated, the latest IR Version has 37k Armour with flasks up, most other stats remained the same

i have spent 100s of regrets trying different paths and variations of the same tree, and i did it on Shadow/which/scion/Marauder who are all acceptible candidates with 1-2 point difference since they all can acess the same tree.
now for the time being i prefer Witch. but like i said it is down to 1-3 point difference and my witch is highest leveled too, so there is that.

LATEST Wtich ZO Tree

VAAL PACT Tree for Maligaro/voidbringer users. this is better for people on lower budget. no Acuity needed.


Shadow Vaal Pact Tree.


NEW Marauder Version with IRON reflexes! this makes the build as strong, you do lose a little dps along the way, but otherwise the benefit of having EV and Armur flasks up 100% of the time for anywhere north of 35k armour is a nice asset to have!

now with the new Life to ES jewel this path is even better imho. i am able to meet all stat requirements (just barely), have as much ES and regen, and i get IR!

i will go into more detail about this as i update, in brief:
uber trash mobs are straightforward facetank.
for curses throughout i use Enfeeble for all fights and bosses

Dual Vaal is facetank. with my current gear ican take a uber vaal smash head on and survive, something kingsguard builds just cant do. for Auras i use discipline and Purity of lightning.
for the flask setup u need lightning, cold resist flasks with chill immunity, shock immunity, armour/EV flasks, and last flask can be movement or atziri flask, does not really matter.

trio fight:
flasks: ruby wih bleed immunity, armour/ev, movement flask and you can get a Taste of hate for the first phase when you are vs all 3 mobs, but that is not necessary.
curses: enfeeble and i use Warlords Mark, or instead of WM i'd rather use Ele Weakness since this fight is eazy and pretty straightforward.
kill the tentacle mob first, rest is whatever.
for gear shav ring here for me is very important, i cant survive otherwise (just tested), i am near the limit on survivability here. not sure how VP version of the fight would go, maybe i will investigate at a later time.

Uber Atziri:
flasks: Ruby/Topaz with bleed immunity and shock resist, Armour/ev flasks and movement flask with CURSE IMMUNITY, dont forget she reflects curses back at you. if i had a 1$ for every time i forgot to swap my flasks... yeash, i am not very smart.
here you need Safells Frame shield, which is nothing new in itself.
for curses: Enfeeble and WM or better yet Ele weakness, depends wehter you have the +2 mana jewels.
i can survive flameblast, but not 100% of the time, so i think i should get more ES for 100% facetank experience. not to mention i went in with lvl 19 purity..
oh and dont be an idiot like me and dont go in without a LVL 20 Purity of Fire/lightning linked Discipline and Enlighten lvl 4.

all in all that covers the whole fight. i DO NOT know how the fight will go with VP version of the build with Voidbringers. i think Uber atziri will be eazyer because of extra ES and more damage due to 100 more crit chance, BUT you will be commited to run Warlords mark to sustain mana probably.
also i think Trio will possibly be a bit harder. truth is i do not know.
it is probable that VP version makes all the fights easyer, but keep in mind i have not made this build to farm uber, this is just a consequence.
farming uber can be accomplished with sucess with other cheaper builds with higher burst damage. with this build the damage is lower.

P.S: if i ever get mirror worthy chest/helm/boots and cap my resists i will be able to get much higher DPS with jewels since now i am wasting stats on resists. ideal jewels would either be Spell damage/Spell damage with shield/Area damage/ ES or something else OR Crit chance with Lightning skills/crit chance with whatever skills/crit Multi with Lightning skills or w/e and 1 more stat.
with the above jewels the DPS gain would be immense.

The power of curses is vastly underestimated namely because there is no impact on Stat Sheet.
This build currently centers around being able to run 2 Curses, with the latest version of the tree the point difference of running 2 curses with or without corrupted Volls is 2 points!! (because i loose 24 str so i have to take 30 str node, otherwise the difference would be 3)

the impact of having multiple curses is IMMENSE!

this is the lvl 100 tree i will have.
https://www.pathofexile.com/passive-skill-tree/AAAAAwMAAW8B5wVCCbsNHw18DlwRLRFQFVAV1xhWGGoabBslHNwdFCBuIWAi9Cj6KaUsnCy_NZI1uTboPCg8LUCgQYdBlkSrRX5Gt0lRSdVLrkyzUDBSKVWuVeBWY1fJWAdYWlivXGteE18_X2phUmSdaHRq-mwLbRlvO3TxeA14L3lofIN85X5Zf8aCEILHg1-DzIRIhmCGro5kjxqPRo-mj_qTJ5uhnL6drp_LoS-nCKcrpzCpbq6ztfK2-rc-uJO-isAawQTBxcNt0B_Q0ND102_Yvdlb2mLfit-w4vfpAuvu6_XsGO9O7-vw1fId82_3pvfB99f56P4K?accountName=ballsonfire&characterName=farmfarmwitch

with this tree i will have 10 more curse for a totatl of 3 and theeffectivness of curses will be raised by 30%!! which is HUGE for boss fights since they have 60%-70% innate resistance to curses which is diminished linearly by this to 30% and 40% respectively, (which translates to 75-100% increased effect. so if before enfeeble was reducing the damage by say 8%, this number could be up to double.)
the scenario where this really shines is the Uber fight and the harder bosses like Malachai, since Enfeeble reduces their damage and increases our EHP by alot as described above!
and having 3 curses allows for double DPS curse such as Ele weakness + Conductivity, or something of the sort. (other combinations are possible, test them out and tell me which you think is best)

and icing on the cake: i dont really Need to you Shav ring for most situations and i have it just in case in stash, but for hard bosses and non curse immune maps, you could run a 4th curse by swapping the ring for a +1 curse ring, the last curse can either be defensive like WM or offensive like flammability or Assasins mark or we (not the best choice since it raises mjolner melee crit, but is a viable option) this only really makes sense if you have invested points in curse nodes snice with every added curse those 7 points spent on curse nodes become easy to justify! you could also run this setup at lvl 95 by dropping 2 Jewel clusters, that way you will have a more poweful build but less so in curse immune maps.

as mentioned previously, this build has variations. here is one that is easyer to pull off without the mirrored shield (i will still list my es gear for the example though, but focus on the links. ignore links on Safells Frame and voidbringer.):




alt tree (you can unspec the curse node instead as well. or 1 jewel cluster.


this is the alternative gem and gear setup.
main points here are:

we now run POF POL Dicipline. with LVL 4 Enlighten there is enough mana for molten.
that puts us at 79 fire and 80 Fire resistance.

popping flasks bumps that to 92 and 93 respectively.

using Safell's Frame as a shield bumps that to 97 and 98

With reallocating 3 nodes in upper right aura cluster and 1 at the bottom one we get additional +1 max resist, up to 98 and 99.

if you want to go all the way and have 100 resit there are several options.:
1. Use Alpha's howl and 2 21lvl purity auras for 99 and 100 res at a loss of ES.
2. Use Empower lvl 4 (or 3 in + 1 item. or lvl3 with 21 POF POL) and Enlighten lvl 4 to bring auras up to the crucial lvl 23 but that will cost you Discipline Aura. you will gain 1 passive point though since the bottom one is not needed anymore
3. Use corrupted +1 Voidbringer Gloves and 2 lvl 21 Auras. expensive, but not more then Acuity that you are replacing. it gives ES and Huge spell crit boost (necessary to run with non leg mjolner to generate charges + maybe some AS jewels) this gives more ES but you lose Acuity leech. this can either be compensated with going for Vaal pact and dropping ZO, or left alone. with this high RES you will not suffer from reflect and hence vaal Pact is not obligatory, unless maybe you run -max res Reflect map. with this big ES pool the leech rate is very good when combined with regen rate however, so sometimes it might just be a matter of hittting with intervals.
in my opinion the VP version with +1 Voids is probably better for Uber fight.
to run voids however you would have to either get 2-3 more +2 mana on hit jewels or just run Warlords Mark curse + enfeeble instead of offensive curses.