[2.0] HerCoCules | A HC CoC wand build of Herculean proportions

Hercules' frozen doppelganger


Exiles, here is my work in progress build for an affordable CoC Barrage! I decided I wanted to be a Hurculean tank that does deeps in the process. Thus I began my journey and started theorycrafting. I've very much enjoyed leveling iterations of this build.
(HP/ES version, Eva version, CI version... They didn't work out so hot.)
All in all, the latest iteration of this build has worked the best!

Okay so before we get down to the nitty gritty. Let's cover some pros and cons first:
PROS
-Fast Clear
-Pretty tanky
-Good leech/sustain
-Can run vitality and Determination
-Super cheap. Fully geared, it'll cost you less than 25-35 Chaos if you're smart with your $$$

CONS
-Hard on the GPU
Some, not all, of your survivability is based on how much you crit. Once you break 70% threshold with power charges, your survivability skyrockets.
-Early CoC stages are tough because your crit is fairly low, and you'll go on 'unlucky' streaks with crits.
-Upgrades in gear can get expensive.
-Terrain can be a nuisance depending on your gem setup.


What's the price?
Spoiler
It's a super cheap build and it is fully functional in the 50's! I started crafting this build in Tempest league so I was working with next to nothing in terms of cash money.

You need a wand with 10-11% crit and 1.5-1.7aps with some spell damage. They run around 2 Chaos. The only other thing you need for this to be functional is a Tabula Rasa

The rest of my gear is self found, but if you want go ahead and drop a few alts on upgrades. I found the most efficient times to upgrade gear was the Dried lake in A4. You're past the A3 gear threshold and you now can equip the better A4 gear which in turn makes you a bit formidable against what A4 has to offer.


Leveling up fast
Spoiler
Easy peasy lemon squeezy. Start Flame trap/Ice Nova, then switch to Searing Bond/Flameblast after you buy a +1 to fire gems 1h Mace (Saw this leveling technique from Ziggy...maybe?) They run around 1-5 Alterations, maybe a Chaos if it has good spell damage.

Then ride that to the 50's, it's pretty simple. This build will make you incredibly tanky while leveling. I usually had blues with hp, and a couple rares with resistance and I was fine.


Passives: The idea behind this build.
Spoiler
I miss my Rainbownuke Mjolner build in standard, but I don't miss standard.
I wanted to make a fun build that has lots of pretty colors, flashing lights, loads of deeps, and most of all tanky.
This is what I have so far:

Defense
Essentially. Loads of HP and Armor. Good HP regen, coupled with the ability to wear nice armor pieces and shields will make you a pretty decent meatshield
Offense:
The obvious crit nodes, multis, power charges, and a bit of accuracy here and there. Pretty standard.
Future levels
More spellcrit, flask passives, more crit, hp, armor, frenzy charge, jewels.
Something more like this:


Leveling guide
Spoiler
Prioritize hp until around lvl 35-40. Flameblast does enough damage, focus on surviving while you're alt tabbed into Reddit.
1-20

20-40

40-55ish

Bandits
Spoiler
Oak / Kill / Power charge

The point of this leveling path is to maximize hp and survivability while you level to the 50's. Once you finish the Assassination passive nodes you should be good to go to start using CoC!

HerCoCules' DPS
Spoiler
I've been really surprised as far as DPS goes. Maps are blown through with ease. Elemental reflect isn't bad as long as you don't go in blind. I don't really know how to calculate CoC DPS. If someone could shed some light on calculating the CoC mechanic of deeps I would be grateful ^_^


Gear flex, gems and flasks.

Gear
Spoiler
Got PK'd, level grind again. RNGesus was kind to me and 6L'd a Voll's in less than 20 fuses so there's that. This is my current gear. (Needs improvement, subpar. Don't mind the gems)

Wand was 15 Chaos, chest was 3 Chaos +18 Fuses. The rest was crafted or found.
For a wand you want good crit, attacks per second, and spell damage. (Crit multi if you can afford)

Gems (Constantly testing, but this is what I like/can afford so far)
Spoiler

CoC: Barrage -> GMP -> CoC -> Iron Will -> Freezing Pulse -> Arctic Breath (Power charge on Crit is fine if you don't have Voll's.)
Keep Barrage low level so it costs a negligible amount of mana. I've really enjoyed the clear this provides, and Arctic breath gives a nice amount of CC combined with Ice bite. I recently changed to Freezing Pulse because I finally got it to 20Q, if you dont have a high quality FP Gem use Arc. Terrain is this builds biggest opponent, good positioning really is important for best clear.
Single target: I switch GMP with Concentrated Effect, and Glacial cascade with Arc. (Tabula)
For Voll's I would switch GMP with Cold Penetration and Glacial Cascade with Arc.
CWDT: Lvl 1 CWDT -> Immortal Call -> Increased duration
Pretty standard.
Auras/Buffs/Filler: HoI -> HoT -> CoH -> Warlord's mark
Endurance charges for Immortal Call.
Blood Magic -> Ice Golem -> Blood Rage
Blood Magic just so you don't spend a lot of your mana on these spells since you'll be casting them before packs.
(Assassin's mark will be used a lot during the lower levels. Once you hit around 70 you'll be looking to pick up Warlord's Mark)
Mobility: Flame Dash -> Faster Casting
I had Lightning Warp, but too many close call from offscreening a warp into a pack made me stop using it. Flame dash is a great mobility tool in and out of combat. I've come to appreciate it more than Lightning warp.
Gem's I'm experimenting with: Empower -> Vaal Grace -> Vaal Haste
Vaal Gems are great for tougher rares and bosses. Improves clear speed and tankability.
My auras are currently Arctic Armor, HoI, HoT

Flasks
Spoiler

Surgeon's everything! From the quantity of crits you produce, these flasks have 100% up time, spam them. Make sure you have a staunching, and a heat at least.

Videos
Spoiler

If you're new to CoC, this video will give a brief overview of the gear, gems, flasks, and a quick demonstration =)
Maps
Spoiler
Soon(tm)



Any critiques or questions are welcome and encouraged! Thank you exiles, stay safe.
Last edited by Micah#8942 on Aug 11, 2015, 3:48:43 AM
the skill tree 20-40 don't work :d

that looks cool anyway , will try it
"
titiman79 wrote:
the skill tree 20-40 don't work :d

that looks cool anyway , will try it

Thanks for the feedback. I fixed the skill tree.

____________________________________________________


Some grammatical errors fixed, gear was updated, and a video was added.
Gonna give this a try on Tempest :) Like it so far (20 leveling with searing totem for now)
I've been trying this build for the last couple of days, (Currently lvl 45), i started CoC at 40, and it was great :) Cheers for the build mate, very well done so far!

- On topic, i was wondering, since i got a voll's protector to drop, wouldn't it be wise to try and 6 link it? Or do you have another chest in mind that would compare?

- Cheers

EDIT: Also, i was wondering what your thoughts on grabbing the life %/armor % barbarian nodes, since they are right up to the node path anyway.. You would loose 3% life, but gain 30% armor if switched with 4 pure 5% life nodes.
Last edited by Naxix0#0526 on Aug 3, 2015, 1:43:05 PM
"
Naxix0 wrote:
I've been trying this build for the last couple of days, (Currently lvl 45), i started CoC at 40, and it was great :) Cheers for the build mate, very well done so far!

- On topic, i was wondering, since i got a voll's protector to drop, wouldn't it be wise to try and 6 link it? Or do you have another chest in mind that would compare?

- Cheers

EDIT: Also, i was wondering what your thoughts on grabbing the life %/armor % barbarian nodes, since they are right up to the node path anyway.. You would loose 3% life, but gain 30% armor if switched with 4 pure 5% life nodes.


I'm glad you're enjoying it man!

Voll's: Yes get it. It's the perfect chest for this build. It's basically a +1 link chest with a build in Power Charge on Crit. Be mindful of your mana though. Its pretty tough rolling around with such low mana, I had to get mana on a couple rings to make it more bearable.
Armor Passives: I actually wanted to regret into those nodes after I noticed I paid them no mind, they are fantastic, highly advised.

"
Side note:

I updated gear, gems, and made a lot of improvements in pathing in my Passives section for efficiency's sake. Added a cool picture. And a pros/cons section.
Last edited by Micah#8942 on Aug 3, 2015, 5:28:34 PM
Hello again!

I'm now at the point where i begin doing some maps, and i would like to hear what
maps and mods you liked the most, as of which were the easiest to complete with the build.

So far nothing has really possed any threat, except magic and rare mobs with Viper Strike,
that DoT is just brutal.

I absolutely love the build so far, Tanky CoC build, but with good dmg, i like it!

- Nax
Bump: Further experimenting has led me to where my gem setup is currently at.
Updated gear and gems.
"
Naxix0 wrote:
Hello again!

I'm now at the point where i begin doing some maps, and i would like to hear what
maps and mods you liked the most


Map mods I like the most are as follow:
Anything that isn't: Fracture (fps pls), chilled ground, ele reflect.

Apart from those most maps are pretty fun, and easy to deal with. =)
If you wanna run some maps hit me up! ign: HC_Doc_Scion
You should really get quality on your gear.. shield boots gloves helmet..

Also, you have low life %, but your life is quite decent, so i suspect your tree looks a bit different? I am running a CoC build with wands as well in Tempest, good to see more people enjoying the fun :)
My Static Strike Marauder: http://www.pathofexile.com/forum/view-thread/1211370
Our Map Guide: http://www.pathofexile.com/forum/view-thread/339977/page/1

Avoid: BKR, apinkpwny

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