[2.4 Trickster] Grocery's Caustic Arrow Trickster Shadow! HC Viable!

This is a more offensive minded build. For a more defensive minded variant with perma fortify, while still taking decent damage nodes, check out my Duelist Guide here

The first thing to note about this build is that it has stacks life, jewel slots and tons of chaos damage/DoT. This build utilizes many of the gems out in 2.1 including void manipulation and rapid decay as well as many other gems that have multiplicative modifiers.

I am sure that this can do Uber Atziri as most poison arrow builds can do it. I am currently wearing semi-MF gear so my stats would be even higher if I went for pure damage/defenses and dropped ventor's as well as my other mf pieces. This is a moot point as I am just messing around on Standard while I wait for Perandus. Currently sitting on over 33k cloud dps (actually 52k when including conc effect, over 6k life.

For leveling, I would go with Searing Bond/Flame Totem or Lightning Arrow/Blast Rain. Make sure to pick up CA early and use it if you get a +2 bow while leveling.

2.2 Video Guide here!

Here is my Youtube Channel where you will find all sorts of guides/boss videos/atziri encounters.

Talent Tree


Ultimately this build can get over 210% life with 4/5 jewel nodes (add more life), 100% pierce chance, 8 frenzy charges, 10% chance on kill to generate a frenzy charge and more!

We take the Trickster Ascendancy class because it is pretty awesome!
Below are is the bonus we always take with the Trickster Ascendancy:

Patient Reaper (2pts)
- 40% increased Damage over Time
- 60% increased rovery rate of life, mana and ES if you have killed with DoT recently
- 4% IAS and Cast Speed

Below are the options we have left with our 4 pts left, bolded is what I am taking:

Swift Killer (2pts)
- 10% chance to gain a frenzy charge on kill
- +1 Frenzy charge
- 4% ias and cast speed
- 10% increased frenzy charge duration

Weaver of the Arcane (2pts)
- 25% increased mana
- 50% increased mana regen
- 5% chance to recover 10% of max mana when you use a skill

Ghost Dance (2pts)
- 5% chance to dodge attacks and spells
- 10% increased MS while on full ES
- 20% faster start of ES recharge (not a big deal)

Shade Form (4pts, INCLUDES Ghost Dance though!)
- + 500 evasion and +250 ES
- 20% ias and cast speed if energy shield has rehcraged recently
- 20% more chance to evade attacks while not on full ES (Great)
- 8% ES and EVA
- 4% IAS and Cast Speed

In my opinion it really depends on what you want to do with this build. More defensively you can go Shade Form, though I do not recommend it. More offensively you can go swift killer/Weaver. Swift killer is pretty sweet and weaver allows us to drop clarity and take arctic armor!

2.2 Screenshot of Damage
Spoiler
with Level 21/20 Caustic, Level 4 Empower, Level 19/0 Pierce, Level 20/14 Conc Effect,Level 18/2 Void Manipulation, Level 18/2 Rapid Decay, 8 Frenzy Charges.

(Note that Conc Effect does not get counted, it is actually over 52k)



2.2 Talent Tree


Please note that I do not take phase acrobatics. Physical Damage is the most dangerous damage type nowadays and that should be avoidable as CA. It is not needed unless you are planning doing Uber Atziri in my opinion. If you are planning on doing Uber, I would either drop a jewel node+a damage node or two and pickup Phase Acro.


My Current Gear on Standard (IDEAL)
Spoiler


My Current Gear on Perandus
Spoiler


Gear Choices/Reasoning
Spoiler

Bow
+2/+1 bow will be best in slot due to how poison arrow/casutic arrow works. 21/20 will be ideal with a level 4 empower. Do not use a thicket like me. Get a movespeed bow like a Maraketh Bow.

Chest/Armour
I am using lightning coil to stay as safe as possible from physical attacks. This grouped with taste of hate should keep you safe assuming you play smartly. I find evasion to be in a weak spot considering how hard physical damage hits, so I decided to sacrifice and use a coil over any of the other good unique options. A regular evasion chest is also fine, Carcass Jack, Daresso's etc are all good options. LC is BiS though.

Quiver
Drill Neck is for the pierce chance and the added damage it gives. It is not necessary though. A rare quiver is fine, but Dneck is BiS. For those of you on perma leagues, Rigwald's Quills will be a very, very good option. It can be better than Dneck at times due to the forking.

If you get a +1 arrow quiver, it would be pretty awesome as you will shoot 3 CA's out at once.

Boots
I prefer rare boots. I don't like blood rage or blood dance on a Caustic Arrow character. I'd rather not waste points on life regen for Blood Rage and I'd rather have life/res/30% ms on by boots. You can use Blood Dance though, I'd just rather not.

Helm
Rare Helm with res/life/evasion is best

Gloves
Rare gloves with res/life/evasion is best

Rings
Rare rings with HP/Res is going to be best here. I am using Ventor's because I am messing around on Standard until Friday.

Belt
Heavy or leather belt depending on what you need. HP/Res/Flask/Strength if needed is what I go for.

Amulet
Go for the main stats you need first on the implicit and then get your standard Life/Res/Evasion!


UBER ATZIRI
Spoiler

For Uber Atziri I would probably go the way of hidden potential and crafting some nice blue items. It will give you the highest possible dps while keeping yourself res capped. Lightning Coil will be hard to pull off with that setup. You can do Uber without hidden potential, it just makes it go quicker if you have more dps, which hidden potential offers.


Gem Choices
Spoiler

Caustic Arrow (Poison Arrow)
4L: Concentrated Effect + Void Manipulation (NEW GEM) + Empower Level 4
5L: Pierce
6L: Rapid Decay or Increased AoE

Pierce now has a more multiplier, so I would use it more often than I did before. It is an amazing gem that gives more damage than slower projectiles now.

Concentrated effect, Void Manipulation, Rapid Decay, Pierce (in 2.2 only) and Slower projectiles all have a multiplicative modifier, hence the wording MORE, and not increased aka additive. Empower will obviously be a huge boon as well.

If you do not have empower level 4, do not fret! You can level one in an off-weapon. Level 3 is generally when I start using it.

Frenzy
4L: Curse on Hit + Vulnerability + GMP
I do not used more than a 4L currently as it is not needed.

5L: Chain
6L: Faster Attacks

Pretty standard curse on hit setup to get the awesome vulnerability curse up on mobs. Should be standard.

Auras
Grace + Clarity OR Arctic Armor + Enlighten

Pretty standard for a poison arrow build. Grace is needed to give you more evasion and clarity to make life easier. If you can do without Clarity you can run some other aura or arctic armor. It is entirely up to you.

Arctic Armor can be taken if we go weaver of the arcane ascendancy points!

Wither
I use Wither with Spell Totem with Faster Casting and increased duration because it is a huge damage boost on bosses.

Flame Golem
Standard as it gets. It gives you increased damage! Currently using it with spell totem in my chest with wither.

CWDT
CWDT + Immortal Call + Increased Duration

I am using CWDT with immortal call and increeased duration. It WILL save you.

Vaal Skills
Vaal Grace for the defensive aspect.
Vaal Lightning trap for OP OP OP shocked ground

Blink Arrow
Self explanatory, movement skills are nice.

Blood Rage
Not sure I want to use this, but you can if you want. Frenzy is enough for me and I like having regen as PA/CA. As such, you can use if needed be and I would link with increased duration and faster casting. If you want to go Blood Rage, go for the Scion life regen nodes.


Bandits
Spoiler

Normal: Oak for the HP
Cruel: Talent Point
Merciless: Kraityn for the Frenzy Charge


Videos


More videos will be posted as time goes on!
For my current builds, thoughts and videos.
youtube.com/andypistone
www.twitch.tv/GrocerySC
Last edited by Grocery#5050 on Nov 21, 2016, 2:53:08 AM
Last bumped on Nov 21, 2016, 2:53:43 AM
Hey,
did u think about Contagion trapper ?
Should be nearly the same concept, maybe a little more dmg multiplier
"
Nyurael wrote:
Hey,
did u think about Contagion trapper ?
Should be nearly the same concept, maybe a little more dmg multiplier


I have but I was not as confident about it as caustic arrow. I am excited to try it out though!
For my current builds, thoughts and videos.
youtube.com/andypistone
www.twitch.tv/GrocerySC
I will just stalk ur and Serleth research to PA MF build with upcomming patch.
plannung to play something like this since 2 leagues, and i just dont find the time to start.
i hope i can finally start with poe again in december, so im rly interested in ur guys research xD
couse i rly dont have the time to fully theorycraft one by my own like i did the years before.
"
Nyurael wrote:
I will just stalk ur and Serleth research to PA MF build with upcomming patch.
plannung to play something like this since 2 leagues, and i just dont find the time to start.
i hope i can finally start with poe again in december, so im rly interested in ur guys research xD
couse i rly dont have the time to fully theorycraft one by my own like i did the years before.


All good man! Hope you enjoy the patch!

Serleth has a very, very good guide up. I ran a modified version of his build in 2.0 but wanted to do one as a Shadow in 2.1 as the Shadow start seems better than ranger with the %chaos damage nodes that they added.
For my current builds, thoughts and videos.
youtube.com/andypistone
www.twitch.tv/GrocerySC
would prefere shadow too
already got a high ranger and dont want to play the same "class" the whole time

and since u do mf too, i can choose whatever fits me better xD
Last edited by Nyurael#4248 on Dec 7, 2015, 11:44:38 AM
why not going for fatal toxins? 125% poison damage
"
cocas12345 wrote:
why not going for fatal toxins? 125% poison damage


Poison Damage will not affect caustic arrow.
For my current builds, thoughts and videos.
youtube.com/andypistone
www.twitch.tv/GrocerySC
oh, my bad, thanks :) im looking forward to play the build!
"
cocas12345 wrote:
oh, my bad, thanks :) im looking forward to play the build!


No worries, here to help! Only a few days left!
For my current builds, thoughts and videos.
youtube.com/andypistone
www.twitch.tv/GrocerySC

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