[2.2]Low Life Ninja - 180k DPS Crit EK, 9.7K ES, No Mirrors Required!

Changes in 2.2
Build keeps getting better. Tree is unchanged (for the most part). Occultist is the obvious choice for our build, really opens up options for builds that cant afford Skyforth. Damage is up, defense is up a ton, consistency in boss fights seems to be up. All in all good patch for us.

Changes in 2.1
Despite the weird changes to the shadow tree this build is actually pretty buffed in 2.1, I've gained offense and defense on the new tree. Ethereal Knives has been buffed yet again(20% more damage at max level, more projectile speed) and I'd say it definitely looks like a top tier spell at this point in time.

Shout out to my friend Omni for helping me optimize the tree.

Stream

Loot Filter


Foreword

I wanted a build for 2.0 that could do a decent job surviving at end game maps, as well as dish out some big damage. I recently got my hands on a shavs so trying out low life seemed like a cool idea. I decided to go with ethereal knives because it works really well with leech even after the nerf, and with enough projectile speed you get massive aoe, plus it got some good buffs in 2.0.

Gear Requirements


Pretty much the only item you need. This build is perfectly doable life based as well, but I think its significantly stronger on low life. Life based is probably better than CI however.

I'm listing this item seperately because it is not required to do this build - I was still able to reach over 70k DPS with a 5 chaos wand. However, adding a Void Battery to the build really takes things to the next level. If you need to spend currency on one item (baring Shavs of course), buy one of these.

Passive Trees







I used a passive respec to make this character, leveling as an ES character sucks so I might make a life based leveling tree later. There are a crap load of generic ones out there and you could probably work off of.

Bandits

Normal: Kill all

Cruel: Help Alira for 5% cast speed or kill all - I think Alira is better

Merciless: Alira for +1 charge if you're going with a Void Battery, otherwise kill all

Build Info

I'll start out by saying this is definitely not a new player focused build. If this is your first build I would recommend searching for a life based EK character, as the wealth threshold and skill cap for a low life character is higher and less forgiving. There are pretty much two versions of this build: with Void Battery, and without. Playing with a VB requires more attention and focus to play, as keeping all of your charges up is essential to making the most out of the item. If you want a lazy build follow the other version. If you do use this build, I can say from experience it is working extremely well in the new patch. Your biggest sustain mechanism is leeching off the massive area EK can cover. Physical damage is the biggest danger for sure, and using the right flasks is essential for physical mitigation. After the changes to Enduring Cry/Immortal Call setups you take a lot more physical damage than before. It is quite feasible to run Arctic Armour if you take some more reservation nodes, and I would recommend it if you have a high enough level character. Maps that hit you with high amounts of physical damage are tough. However, a wise man once said that the best defense is a good offense. 90% of enemies will die before they issue a single attack at endgame, and the defense is more than ample to cover the remaining 10%. Exercise caution with bosses and everything should run smoothly.

Gear Choices



Flasks

You can really choose anything that you want here. I like a good armour flask and evasion flask for phys mitigation, Atziri flask boosts survivability and dps, and quicksilver I run on every build. If you are running Dream Fragments you should run Deodre's Elixir - it helps a lot keeping your charges up between packs and allows you to run curse immune maps. Otherwise run any flask of heat as your final flask. If you have taste of hate, you can substitute your heat flask or evasion flask. I carry a life flask and a mana flask in my inventory for switching auras and lowered regen maps.




Gems

20/20 EK and FP helps a lot and you should get it if you have the currency.













Jewels

More coming here soon as I find good jewels to add...
Poacher's Aim works really well, adds a little damage and pierce chance to help with clear. You get it free from Yeena and its a pretty good jewel IMO. Otherwise look for OP caster/ES jewels. Put energy from within up by pain attunement for big ES



Enchantments (coming soon™)
Just starting playing the patch recently, more coming here soon as I get a chance for more testing.

Screenies





Mapping Tips
The most important thing about playing this build is positioning - it is key that you put yourself in a position where you can hit as many enemies as possible with your EK and are safest from damage. Your most potent defense mechanism is being able to kill nearly any enemy before it can even hit you, and leeching off your damage.

Maps to avoid
Physical reflect - avoid at all costs. Once you're around level 90 and in the final stages of the build you can do full phys reflect with your flasks but its going to hurt.

Elemental reflect - you deal a lot of elemental damage, but still the majority of your damage is physical. Proceed with caution, possibly bring resist flasks.

Partial Regen/No Regen - Partial Regen is doable if you keep a mana flask on you. No Regen: don't do it.

Other than map combos that are so insane they could kill anyone (I think most of you can spot these yourselves) nothing else really should give you any trouble. If you are having issues, comment or message me in game and maybe I can help.

Videos






Closing

Well that's about all there is to it, if you have any advice on how I could make the guide more informative/see any spelling errors and that jazz, please comment and let me know!

you posted the same gems for shavs and staff...please list other gems.

I decided to roll a different direction with the build, will rework the guide accordingly within the next day.

Updated! - I managed to get lucky and 6 link my Shavs with only a few 100 fusings, so I opted to go crit. This allows us got get more damage than Pledge with a decent crit wand, and at the same time boosts our defense as we can run a shield now.

Looks very interesting. Have you considered the following items?



Made some changes to the tree, more focused on auras.



With my new tree you can take the following auras/buffs reserving 86% of your life and 61% of your mana


I've also found that being frozen as low life is almost a non-issue now with the new buff to flasks (remove frozen for duration of flask)

I did talk about running voidbringer in the gear section of the guide and optimally I would - however I currently don't have the mana regen or resists to do so. Auxium is certainly an interesting choice, and the mana leech might be enough to counter the absurd mana cost of voidbringer when combined. If you have enough resists and strength from other gear I could definitely see some synergy there. I might buy one and do some more testing. Apeps rage is definitely a no go because this is a crit based build. I'm also not a big fan of prism guardian because is severely lacks in defenses, I would rather just run a second wand. It might be good for a life based build though. If I can work out my resists I will try voidbringer + auxium and get back to you.

Edit - Oops, i forgot the mana leech on Auxium was physical attack damage. Id say that kind of rules it out as being good with voidbringer.

I have dual void and currency to buy a shavs, but one question to OP before i run this xD
Do you think in farm Atziri? And Uber? Nearly possible?

You should be able to smash atziri, I can test that soon. Trash will instantly die and you can kite trio. As long as you dodge flame blasts it should be easy. Uber is doable as well, but you would probably need better gear then I have to face roll it. You may want to spec slightly more mana regen if you plan on farming uber. But I will try an atziri run later and update you. Also I think you need pretty good gear to justify dual void batterys, as dropping a shield is a pretty big defense sacrafice. Maybe 1 void battery and legacy saffels for uber?

Hey, the build looks great - I'll probably try it out soon. Just one question though - if you use power charges, why don't you help alira in merciless? Wouldn't that be preferable to one passive point?

You can go either way - I already had the passive point from merc, and i already spent 20 regrets to redo normal +40 hp. I will update the guide accordingly.