OCC [2.2] CI Dagger Budget Flicker Strike

Q:Why Witch? And why Occultist?

A: Shadow is typically chosen for Flicker Strike builds due to the Assassin and Trickster class. The crit gained from the Assassin nodes Deadly Infusion and Ambush are incredibly strong, but have the flaw of not being able generate Power Charges, (more specifically, the chance to gain Power Charges from the node Unstable Infusion only applies to Non-Crit attacks).

Trickster is our other option, which provides us with Walk The Aether, Ghost Dance, and Shade Form/Swift Killer. ES gained from Shade Form is higher than what we can gain from Occultist, but the caveat is that Trickster relies on cursing to maintain Power/Endurance Charges. We CAN achieve ~22% reduced mana reservation both from the tree and by using a Conquerer's Efficiency Jewel. This allows us to add an extra herald for cursing, but this leaves us with roughly ~35 mana, (FS/WB being free costs from Walk the Aether), for Blood Rage/Vaal Haste/Golems. It's not the best setup, it relies on cursing, AND you would need either a +1 curse Amulet or Doedre's Damning Ring to enable Endurance charge generation which is not ideal nor cost-effective.

This is where the Occultist class shines. Forbidden Power provides us with a 10% chance ON CRIT to gain a power charge. Because our build focuses on stacking crit, Forbidden Power becomes incredibly useful when maintaining our Power charges. We also gain an extra power charge which will allow us to avoid certain crit nodes, (True Strike), in the skill tree. Stacking Forbidden Power with the Notable Overcharged and 2x Charge Duration provides us with an ~14% chance on kill to gain a Power Charge. Overcharged also provides a chance to gain Endurance/Frenzy charges which helps supplement Immortal Call and Flicker Strike.

Not having to rely cursing saves us points in the tree, and allows us to run curse-immune maps which is a HUGE bonus when running higher-tier maps. Although we lose ~150 ES/~500 Evasion instead of choosing Trickster, we can still reach healthy ES levels by gearing properly.

Q: Ok... How much is it going to cost?

A: The most expensive items in this build will be Bino's, a 6-linked body armour, the Inspired Learning jewel (optional, although recommended), a level 3 Enlighten gem, and Rainbow Striders (also optional). Prices will vary depending on league maturity, but most of these items should be available within the first week.

Note: This build can work with a Tabula Rasa, but you will need to supplement ES either in your rings/amulet/boots to compensate. It also functions with a 5-Link (without Added Fire), but I would advise to use a Tabula Rasa for the extra damage.

Q: Do I have to use Added Fire?

A: No, but I do recommend it as it differentiates our damage from Physical (useful when encountering reflect & physical-immune mobs) and adds a quite a bit of damage when pushing ~60k tooltip FS damage. Other options include Physical to Lightning, Increased Crit Damage, and Fortify.

• Incredibly fun!
• Extremely fast clear speeds
• CAN run Curse-Immune maps

• Can NOT run reflect maps (both physical/elemental)
• Not HC-Friendly
• Requires low ping
• Requires a strong PC
• Can cause headaches (SANIC SPEEDS)
• Blood Rage degen is annoying

Weapon: Bino's is a great all-around FS weapon due to its high crit and reasonable DPS (~235 Physical DPS).

Shield: We're looking for a +400 ES based shield with decent resists.

Helm: Absyssus recently received a buff to its Crit Multiplier stat (up to 225% from 150%). This allows us to reach respectable levels of damage while also supplementing attributes. The downside is of course the increased physical damage taken. But hey, we're going at sanic speeds so who cares!

Body Armour: Atziri's Splendour is an excellent body armour as it provides ES/AR/EV plus resistances and 100 mana gained on kill. Of course this armour isn't available early on in a league, so you can swap for a Tabula Rasa until you can afford it. Other potential armours include Geofri's Sanctuary, Incadescent Heart, or a Rare Holy Chainmail. These body armours are recommended as they will be easier to roll socket colors.

Gloves: We're looking for some ES, Attack Speed, Accuracy, and resists. Leech is also a plus.

Boots: Rainbow Striders are a great choice as they provide some spell dodge, ES, movement speed, and resistances. Other options include Darkray Vectors or Rare ES boots with resistances and movement speed.

Belt: Doryani's Invitation is a great option as it provides resistances, Strength, leech, and Physical Damage. A standard rare belt with Strength/Physical Damage and resistances will also work just as well.

For Amulet's we're looking for Crit-Multi, accuracy, strength, crit chance, ES, leech, and +1 Frenzy Charge if possible. Not all options are possible of course, but choose an amulet which provides an adequate balance to the stats you're lacking from other pieces of gear.

Diamond Rings for increased Global Crit, and to supplement either ES/Strength/resistances/leech.

Atziri's Promise and Lion's Roar provide us with leech, chaos damage, and physical damage. A Perpetual Diamond Flask is recommended to maintain capped crit while also providing an immunity bonus. Sturgeon's Granite and Jade Flasks gives us Armour and Evasion while also providing the complementary Immunity bonuses. They also almost never run out of charges as you're critting a lot and often.

Note: A level 4 Enlighten gem is NOT required. This build can also function with a level 3 Enlighten + Conquerer's Efficiency jewel.









Note: It's highly recommended you max gem quality sooner rather than later in the league.

Although not required, Inspired Learning provides an absurd amount of damage/speed and mitigation when mapping. We're already killing really quickly; Inspired Learning makes map clearing SO much more fun.


Energy From Within provides us with ~50% ES by linking it to the notable Melding and its support nodes. It is an excellent gem which doesn't get as much recognition as it deserves.


For damage gems we're looking for increased physical damage, crit multi,crit, and resistances.

Normal: Kill All
Cruel: Kill All
Merciless: Frenzy Charge

Occultist



An amazing notable which allows us to avoid cursing and enable running curse-immune maps.


A nice bonus to ES and recharge


Energy Shield Regeneration ≠ Life Regeneration. This discrepancy is especially important to note as Vile Bastion is NOT affected by the life regeneration cancellation from Vaal Pact. This means we can almost guarantee stun immunity when mapping without relying on Heart of Oak or the Eye of Chayula.