[2.0] [HC] Opus Dei Wintry Monuments (Self-Flagellation + Soul Mantle 120k+ DPS)
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That title would have worked way better if I made this build as a Templar (completely do-able).
Welcome to the guide on how to self inflict pain in the name of damage.  I am currently level 82 in Tempest, this build is a work in progress. I appreciate all constructive criticism and suggestions. If you think you can improve, say so in the thread! If I missed something, say so! Thanks and I hope you enjoy. Elevator speech on the build concept: Freezing Pulse Spell Totems. Using Soul Mantle we are able to get an extra totem and save a link on Spell Totem. Also, using totems lets us take advantage of the Rain of Splinters jewel to save a second link on Lesser Multiple Projectiles. Using a wand let's us take advantage of the Increased Projectile Speed suffix saving a third link on Faster Projectiles. The downside of Soul Mantle is that it inflicts you with a curse when your totems expire or die - we turn this into a positive by equipping the underrated Self-Flagellation jewel. Self-Flagellation has the potential to DOUBLE our DPS. Pros: -Good enough survivability through Mind Over Matter -Extra survivability through triple totems + golem (more stuff for monsters to hit) -Freezes almost everything -Quickly and safely clear maps and slay bosses -No mana problems -Can reserve all mana Cons: -Cursed by Soul Mantle (we turn this into a pro most of the time) -Probably not Atziri viable -Not your billion DPS build for Standard League -Almost no armour -Can't facetank -Medium cost - not exactly a budget build when asking for Rain of Splinters -Requires hit and run tactics - throw down and stay behind totems
Required Items
1. Soul Mantle - saves us a socket on Spell Totem, makes Self-Flagellation possible, allows triple totem. 2. Rain of Splinters - saves a socket on Lesser Multiple Projectiles - best roll you can 3. Self-Flagellation - can double your damage (most of the time) - perfect roles are cheap 4. Flask with 'Of Warding' suffix - Remove unwanted curses; ditches Enfeeble, Temporal Chains, and bad combos
Gem Links
Main Spell: We have two options - both work with there pros and cons. --Option 1. This setup has good clear speed and godly boss takedown. It doesn't utilize the 125% Damage Effectiveness of Freezing Pulse as well as Option 2. 1. Freezing Pulse -priority on quality 2. Faster Casting -priority on quality 3. Added Cold Damage 4. Cold Penetration 5. Hypothermia 6. (Luxury) Added Chaos Damage, Added Lightning Damage, Empower lvl 3+, Faster Projectiles --Option 2. This setup has godly clear speed and good boss takedown. This one is my personal favorite. It's not what everyone else is running and takes major advantage of Freezing Pulse's 125% Damage Effectiveness. The boss killing power feels just as strong as Option 1 in level 70-71 maps (have only done a handful of 72 and maps found the same to be true). 1. Freezing Pulse -priority on quality 2. Faster Casting -priority on quality 3. Added Cold Damage 4. Added Chaos Damage 5. Cold to Fire 6. (Luxury) Added Lightning Damage, Empower lvl 3+, Faster Projectiles Movement: 1. Flame Dash 2. Faster Casting Mana Reserved: 1. Arctic Armour - needed for physical and fire damage reduction 2. Purity of Elements - needed to manage those curses! 3. Anger or Herald of Ice - damage buff Run Anger if you have an enlighten lvl 4 gem. Run Herald of Ice if you don't. Note - totems cannot get that big shatter damage from Herald of Ice. We're running this herald because of the adds cold damage to spells and our Freezing Pulse has a 125% damage effectiveness. If you don't have Enlighten lvl 4 and feel you must run Anger instead of Herald of Ice, feel free to take Sovereignty with four skill points, we're right by it. Triggers: To me - this portion here is completely user preference. Run what you wish. This is just what I like to run. I absolutely love Frost Wall in here. Puts the bad guys away from me and the totems shoot through the wall. --Trigger Setup 1. 1. Cast When Damage Taken 2. Frost Wall 3. Enfeeble and / or Summon Skeletons --Trigger Setup 2. 1. Cast When Damage Taken 2. Immortal Call 3. Increased Duration Filler Gems: 1. Summon Ice Golem - throw this into an empty socket, no links needed 2. Vaal Haste - I like linking this one with my CDWT + Increased Duration Setup 3. Enduring Cry - a life saver. Not only for Physical Damage Reduction from the endurance charges but the synergy it has with Zealots Oath. Think of it as a Hybrid Flask with 'Of Iron Skin' suffix. It regenerates your energy shield through the Zealot's Oath and Eldritch Battery keystones. Since we're also running Mind Over Matter, it's regenerating our effective HP also. The below setup isn't at all necessary. It looks liked a good idea, but honestly, I never remember to use it. I used all the time before I specc'd into Ancestral Bond. 1. Firestorm 2. Increased Critical Strikes 3. Power Charge on Critical Curses: 1. Frostbite or Elemental Weakness Explanation: If you're running Main Spell Option 1 you're almost 100% cold damage so use Frostbite. If you're running Main Spell Option 2 your damage is primarily split between cold and fire so use Elemental Weakness.
Gear Explanation
Strategy: What we're looking for in gear: 1. Life on every piece you can 2. Overcap our resistances by - gasp - 83% 3. At least 600 energy shield from gear to put us over 1400 total after all increases Life is self explanatory. We take it to survive. Energy shield is taken for two reasons, not worry about mana anymore with Eldritch Battery and to have that buffer in there for Mind Over Matter. Resistances - aiming for 83% overcap!? Yeah, we are. But remember, we're running Purity of Elements so that will be +27% resist all. Will we reach this goal? No, we won't. Aiming as high as we can. Why do we need 83% overcap? Because of the cheap damage source in Self Flagellation. We want 4 curses on us. There will come a time when you're hit with Elemental Weakness + Frosbite, Flammability or Conductivity which will take away 83% resistances. Right now, I am only overcapped by 68% with Purity of Elements on. Don't stress too much about it because we have totems and a golem that will take most of the punishment and 'of Warding' flasks to kill off unwanted curse combos. Don't let the 83% number scare you away, it's a goal, a dream, I am running around in level 71 maps with just 68% overcapped with Purity of Elements. Wand: Your wand is the most important rare item you will equip. We use wands because they can roll the Projectile Speed suffix. Dagger will net you higher crit chance, but they won't give you the Projectile Speed you need for Freezing Pulse. With a 20% quality Freezing Pulse gem and a wand with a perfect rolled Projectile Speed suffix we're looking at 81% increased Projectile Speed. This is more than enough. Why don't you just run a quality Faster Projectiles gem? It gives way more projectile speed, projectile damage and quality boosts your cast speed. Well, you can. Nothing is stopping you from running Faster Projectiles in your links. Hell, it might even be better than the links I posted above. The reason I don't is to take as much advantage of Freezing Pulse's 125% Damage Effectiveness. Every gem you link such as Added Cold Damage, Added Lightning Damage, Added Chaos Damage is multiplied by 1.25 and then added to your spell. It's a 25% damage boost to every one of those linked gems. To me, Faster Projectiles is a luxury for a 6 link. For even more DPS you can dual wield wands. My wand, by no means perfect, but it's good enough for now. Here are the affixes we're looking for on your wand. Prefix(in order of importance): 1. Spell Damage 2. Adds # Damage to Spells - if you went with Main Spell Option 2, try to get cold damage here to take advantage of the Cold to Fire multiplier. 3. Spell Damage + Mana Suffix(in order of importance): 1. Critical Strike Chance for Spells 2. Projectile Speed 3. Cast Speed or Global Critical Strike Multiplier or Increased Cold Damage Chest: Reasons we run Soul Mantle: 1. Allows for triple totem 2. Save a socket on Spell Totem 3. We turn the downside of getting cursed into a positive with Self-Flagellation Shield: Your shield isn't a super important piece of gear in this build. You don't even have to run a shield. You could dual wield wands. If this character was in Warbands or Standard I definitely would be dual wielding for the big DPS boost. I do run the shield for defense purposes in Tempest. I need the energy shield boost to buff up my Eldritch Battery + Mind Over Matter, also, the life and resistances are always welcome. Stats your looking for on a Shield (in order of importance): 1. 200+ Energy Shield 2. Life 3. Resistances 4. Critical Strike Chance for Spells Remaining Armour Pieces: Gloves, boots, belt and helmet should be well rolled rare items. We're aiming for life, resistance and picking up energy shield where we can. Remember our strategy of overcapping our resistances! 83% is the goal we're aiming for, it's not easy to reach so let's get as high as we can. I am currently 68% overcapped with Purity of Elements on. Jewlery: Rings - try to get Diamond Rings, not necessary at all but good return on investment. Main stats you're aiming for on rings is life, resistances and picking up that remaining Dexterity and Strength. There is nothing wrong with taking a +30 Strength or Dexterity node in the Passive Tree to forego picking it up on your gear. Amulet - Get crit multiplier and fill out life and resistances. My rings and amulet are not the best as you can see here. There is a lot of room for improvement.
Passive Tree
Passive Tree: Defense: Our goal is to defend ourselves with a large HP pool, Eldritch Battery, Mind Over Matter and Zealot's Oath. Not many people like this new combo, probably because they're still sore about the Eldritch Battery change. I love the new combo! Not only does this add a large amount of effective HP, it also says goodbye to mana issues. PLUS! We can reserve all of our mana. I've been using this combo for a while now on a character in Standard as a test. I liked it there so I brought it here. I didn't dream up this combo or anything, got the idea from ZiggyD in a video during beta. Offense: Our goal is to slay our enemies with critical strikes and cold damage through self inflicted curses and totems. Aiming for a strong and healthy start Progression 1: http://bit.ly/1JNtkR0 Around the time you're able to equip your Soul Mantle you have already taken Eldritch Battery. Once Soul Mantle is equipped remember you can still use other skills yourself for damage. Progression 2: http://bit.ly/1VHRUrO We've now pulled in Mind Over Matter, gotten more regeneration, picked up more cast speed, and picked up some crit chance. Haven't yet taken Ancestral Bond. Progression 3: http://bit.ly/1JKYvdk And now we have Ancestral Bond and some Jewel Sockets. Feel free to add these Jewel sockets earlier in the build. Progression 4:http://bit.ly/1Xzzw6n Around Level 80 we start rounding out our health and crit chance. Shaman's Dominion is super powerful. Level 80 Passive Tree: http://bit.ly/1KVhyGj At level 90 we should have Breath of Rime and Heart of Ice. These will help carry our damage and freezing capabilities through the 90's. If you have godly crit gear, feel free to take these sooner. Level 90 Passive Tree: http://bit.ly/1PVAggd The Unicorn. Level 100 Passive Tree: http://bit.ly/1UvXzEc (yeah right!)
Jewels
1. Rain of Splinters with <35% Reduced Totem Damage 2. Perfect roll (+20%) Self-Flagellation 3. Anything you want.
Bandits
Kill them all! But Dongaldo, you're playing hardcore, everyone kills Oak in normal on Harcore! Ummmm... not this guy!
Leveling Up!
This build can be run as a Shadow, Witch or Templar. Look at the Level 80 Passive Tree and you'll see we go right up to their starting points. No new concepts here. Use Flame Totem and Firestorm to level up. Take Freezing Pulse as a quest reward after killing Hillock. Start leveling the gem even if you aren't using it actively. Mana will be a pain in early levels, use potions and Clarity until we can get to Eldritch Battery and have the energy shield to sustain our spells. These are the best uniques out there for leveling up with Flame Totem and Firestorm. 1. Karui Ward - Flame totem shoots further! 2. Abberath's Horn - This thing is OP for early levels. Used a pair until almost level 40. 3. Tabula Rasa - No explanation needed.
Curse Management
So you've got your Self-Flagellation jewel, you're summoning totems and self cursing for that big damage. Now, there are a few things you need to watch out for.  1. Enfeeble - This is a DPS killer. If you get hit with Enfeeble use your 'Of Warding Flask' to cleanse this curse. No matter how many curses you take on top of it, you might be lucky to get your DPS back to where it was without any curses. This curse counteracts everything we use the Self-Flagellation gem for.  +  or  or  2. Elemental Weakness + Frostbite, Flammability, Conductivity - If you don't have your resistances overcapped high enough, watch out for this. It's deadly - my first run at this build got me killed at level 67 being cursed with Elemental Weakness and Conductivity and then getting wiped by an off-screen Storm Herald rare.  3. Assassin's Mark - This isn't too dangerous unless you're running 'Of Deadlines' map mod where monsters have increased crit chance and multiplier. If you're in a map with such a mod keep an eye on your curses and cleanse this right away.  4. Temporal Chains - This curse isn't bad when you've already summoned your totems and are just hiding behind them. Cleanse this curse when you want to move. If you're surrounded by monsters, cleanse this right away so you have ample time to Flame Dash to safety when needed.  5. Vulnerability - This curse isn't so bad most of the time. Where you really need to watch out for it is around desecrated ground, burning ground, bleed and any other damage over time effect. Be careful of where you stand in those map mods.  6. Poacher's Mark - I am never too worried about this curse unless facing a ranged boss. Even then, my totems take most of the hate.
Gameplay and Videos
Main Skill Option 1 Video. Blue, lvl70, Ghetto. This probably isn't a fair comparison to the Option 2 video due to different map mods. http://plays.tv/video/55ed08abac4928a5ac Main Skill Option 2 Video. Blue, lvl70, Ghetto. http://plays.tv/video/55ed02f1d1dca8953a
Stat Screenshots
At level 78 I am sitting just over 4,000 HP and 1550 Energy Shield. Remember offense screenshots are based on one totem. We summon 3. Simply multiply the numbers by three for true DPS. Offense Screenshot: This is one totem at level 78 with a 5 link - all lvl 18 gems except Cold to Fire it's lvl 20 with 20% quality. Screenshot is with 4 curses. Of course none of those curses are Enfeeble or Temporal Chains, don't want my epeen to shrivel.
5 Link - 4 curses - no flasks - no power or frenzy charges
6 Link - no curses - no flasks - no power or frenzy charges
Running Freezing Pulse, Faster Casting, Added Cold Damage, Added Chaos Damage, Added Lightning Damage, Cold to Fire 
6 Link - 8 curses - no flasks - no power or frenzy charges
Running Freezing Pulse, Faster Casting, Added Cold Damage, Added Chaos Damage, Added Lightning Damage, Cold to Fire  Defense Screenshot: This is totally non-existent. My defense in Mind Over Matter and Arctic Armour doesn't show up on the stat sheet.
Spoiler
Current Gear
Here is all the gear I currently have equipped with gems socketed. Last edited by Dongaldo#4708 on Sep 9, 2015, 7:43:43 PM Last bumped on Jun 23, 2016, 1:30:07 AM
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Reserved.
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Hey, i am new in this game. So sorry for stupid question. But, what totem to use in this build? I dont see any one in gem setup.
Thanks for answer |
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" Not a dumb question and completely understandable. The Soul Mantle Unique body armour provides you with a spell totem. All gems socketed in the body armour are supported by a level 14 spell totem. http://pathofexile.gamepedia.com/Soul_Mantle |
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Hey thx for you build I was searching a good HC build for talisman league, can I run the build with the new update? thank you soy much! cheers!
Last edited by AeternumExsilium#4171 on Nov 26, 2015, 11:24:03 AM
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First off props to Dongaldo for a nifty build.
The new update (awakening) will launch next year after the talisman league. The talisman league will only introduce some new skills and no skill tree modifications have been announced so far. So unless ggg changes anything at the last minute the tree will remain the same and the build is doable in hc. I for one respecced one of my shadows in standard and am having a blast with this build atm. Current gear
Spoiler
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Thank you for the reply halls! I think I'll try the build this build in HC, it seems to be very fun and safe to play, can yo kill atziri? I'd love to kill atziri with this build, waiting your reply!
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I've tried atziri with this build in standard. It's doable but not optimized to kill her. Died twice running it.
Hope you're enjoying the build! |
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Hey! thank you for your reply, I have another question in the gem setup I can't see the spell totem gem? That's because of soul mantle?
Last edited by AeternumExsilium#4171 on Nov 27, 2015, 4:15:17 PM
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" Yupp. Anything socketed in Soul Mantle is supported by the Spell Totem skill. Last edited by Dongaldo#4708 on Nov 27, 2015, 4:21:39 PM
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