"Blade Barrier" build - self-cast Blade Vortex with Quad Curse and Poison
|
Looking for a Blade vortex setup that is capable of performing in high end content including the most difficult maps and top tier talisman league pvp? Look no further than the "blade barrier" shadow. This build embodies the massive power of the changes and additions to Path of Exile in 2.1.0 using blasphemy, poison, the new skill "blade vortex" and the recently reworked shadow class to great effect.
Basic Concept
Blade vortex is a duration skill that hits quickly, allowing it to synergize with warlord's mark by stunning opponents... a lot. Increasing the power of warlord's mark with curse effect nodes and quality gems allows even the smallest hits to break the 20% chance stun threshold, turning blade vortex into a wall through which most enemies can't pass. Initially, the damage on blade vortex isn't great but through efficient damage scaling with poison and additional curses, even the sturdiest of foes will fall in mere seconds. Curses are also used in conjunction with blind to provide the shadow with powerful defenses against close and mid-range attackers, turning this class into a nearly indestructible front-line fighter for party or solo play.
Pros
Insane Clear Speed High Survivability Great for Party Play PvP viable (high level)
Cons
Expensive Gear High PC requirements (extreme slow down and frame dropping in large packs) Some enemies will absolutely destroy you (Shavronne, Quetzerxi (lightning bug from the abandoned dam corrupted zone), Y'ara'az (one of the atziri "trio" enemies), Black Guard Tempest (Promenade Map Boss)... basically anything with a "thorns" ability)
Skill Tree
This shows the skill tree up to level 88. Beyond this, you can add points to health, acrobatics or further increase curse effectiveness with the "Hex Master" node at the top of the tree _______________ https://www.pathofexile.com/passive-skill-tree/AAAAAwYAA-4EBwSzBUIFtQZwBx4NHw5ID6sRLREvEZYWvxhqGYoajxzcHb4i4iLqJIsmlSj6KgsqOCpNKwosnDLRM4c1kjwFPCg9Xz8nQYdBlkVHR-JJUUrITLNOn1FMUlNVxlgHWW1d8l-YX7Bh4mSdaoxuqnBSdoJ4L3p_fIN85X1bgseD24TFjxqPRo_6lS6XlZf0m6GbtZy-n9-iAKLZpDmnCKxHrrOw2LTRtUi18rc-uJPAZsM6yAzIFMpKzzLQ9di96NbrY-vu6_XvfPDV8h31b_ba-ej7Cf4K
Bandits
Normal - Oak Cruel - Alira Merciless - Alira/Oak (softcore/hardcore)
Gem Links
6-link DPS Vortex
Your Main Damage Skill _______________ Blade Vortex - Poison - Spell Echo - Increased Area of Effect - Faster Casting - Increased Duration
4-link CoH Vortex
Used approximately every 10 seconds to apply Vulnerability and Enfeeble to nearby targets. Using CoH for these curses instead of blasphemy allows them to stay on the target even if they teleport away or you leave them to die to your poison, keeping you safe from ranged attacks and maximizing your dps/clear speed, respectively. _______________ Blade Vortex - Curse on Hit - Enfeeble - Vulnerability
4-link Utility Vortex
Used against curse-immune enemies to regenerate health and mana and improve survivability when in dangerous situations (i.e. bosses, ravenous packs of exploding porcupine enemies, etc.) _______________ Blade Vortex - Life Leech - Mana Leech - Blind
3-link Whirling Blades
Used to dash into packs, increase survivability and provide high mobility around maps. _______________ Whirling Blades - Faster Attacks - Fortify
3-link Blasphemy
Area of Effect Curses to provide you with power and endurance charges as well as the ability to stun nearby enemies. _______________ Warlord's Mark - Assassin's Mark - Blasphemy
3-link (and one unlinked) Buffs
Vaal Haste- increases dps and movement speed Rallying Cry- helps you maintain the mana for whirling blades as you travel across long distances while mapping as well as providing you with some extra damage scaling. Herald of ash- unlinked to save mana reservation. _______________ Increased Duration - Rallying Cry - Vaal Haste Herald of Ash
Equipment
The only equipment requirements for this build are that you must use at least one dagger for whirling blades and that you have two sources of "monsters may have 1 additional curse". This can be achieved by equipping any combination of Doedre's Damning Rings, Windscream boots or an amulet vaal orb'd to have an additional curse. Other than that, stacking as much Critical Strike Damage Multiplier on your weapons and amulet is advised. Master Crafting Leo's Increased Damage Over Time Mod onto a spell damage Dagger is optional and can provide you with a useful prefix if you need one. WIP- Last edited by Solavice#1261 on Dec 28, 2015, 1:24:39 AM Last bumped on Mar 12, 2016, 3:54:33 PM
|
|
|
can't kill atziri, 0/10
:P just kidding great build- I run maps with this guy and also doing a similar build Last edited by k0tz#6638 on Dec 28, 2015, 8:58:47 PM
| |
|
Spec is great. A guildy and I played with the creator of this build, and all the Pro's are true to the greatest extent. Extremely fast clear speed with great adaptability in most all cases.
|
|
|
I'm enjoying the heck out of this build. I am still struggling with gear and currency but have found that using two Cybil's Paws are great for survivability until I can find the right spell daggers.
|
|
|
Great build, saw it in action, it rocks. Fast, interactive and interesting.
https://www.youtube.com/user/DaidelosGaming/featured
|
|
|
Just saw this the other day and it looks really fun. Any idea if it's viable for 2.2? From what i've seen nothing has been hurt too much and even if it has been hit a bit I'd still like to try it out.
|
|
|
Whoah... dude that CoH + Blade vortex is an amazing idea, would not have thought of that. GZ there
I'm running a 3 curse version with lots of blasphemy atm... this is an amazing idea. Also didn't think of the stun at all... kind of insane w/ vuln + warlords Link to my current gear + tree atm: https://www.pathofexile.com/forum/view-thread/1517070/page/20 For assassin's mark, it's kind nice to be an assassin b/c the infusion tree means you don't really have to worry about power charge generation |
|
