R.I.P. [2.6] Explosive Arrow - Elementalist Build Guide (multi class + version, in depth theory)

I just got this enchant in the lab:



Worth keeping? Right now it gives more regen than Vitality on its own so I could start using AA without traveling to Duelist (which I probably will anyway eventually).

Yeh i'd keep it but it's not the best you can get. it's better than mine. :p

Hey, looking into doing the build. Your uber lab run videos, were they done with the burn focus or the explosion version? (Sorry if you've already answered this, I couldn't see)

I want to be able to do the hardest possible endgame content in the easiest way possible but I'm having trouble picking which of the trees to go for :(.

I am working with the burning tree. It has more damage because it deals it over time. It will be better if there is the ability to ignite targets. If the target can't be ignited you will lose a lot of damage tho! You have to be aware of the mods that are bad and so on.

I will not be attempting the Phoenix or Uber Atziri with this. But it works on most of the other content.

If you want to do the hardest material there might be better choices than EA. But This build is quite strong as well.

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Greengroove wrote:

I am working with the burning tree. It has more damage because it deals it over time. It will be better if there is the ability to ignite targets. If the target can't be ignited you will lose a lot of damage tho! You have to be aware of the mods that are bad and so on.

I've been reading the wiki lately and it seems that fire damage also affects ignite - wouldn't pure fire/elemental be better than going for burning damage then (not like your build has that much of it though)?

In any case, my witch is now lvl 92, I'm still on a version without LMP/GMP and it's working out great, as long as the targets can be ignited. In my experience so far one of the most annoying mods (besides the obvious ones like status ailment immunity) is +80% fire res - not so much because of the lower damage (which honestly isn't even that bad on trash, boss fights can get a little annoying though) but because it also seems to affect ignite chance, at least that's the impression I got.

Couple impressions on Elementalist:

- Paragon of Calamity is severely overrated if you avoid reflect maps. I usually play in a pretty stupid way and I've yet to come even close to dying to a single rare with reflect aura. You can always mitigate this with ruby if you're paranoid.

- Shaper of Desolation is a very nice thing to have, especially in combination with Beacon of Ruin. It's always nice to land huge ignites or straigh up blow up entire packs before they even get a chance to burn.

- Liege of the Primordial is amazing if you end up with a good helm enchant but micromanaging them is a minor pain in the ass. They are however very useful for taking aggro off of you so I'd definitely recommend this ascendancy for a build like EA which does not have much mitigation.

- Beacon of Ruin is the mvp here. It allows you to run a single target setup and still deal with aoe situations easily


Just to show how a setup without lmp/gmp works - here's a run of Waterways (t13) with very easy mods that I had to do for the atlas bonus: https://youtu.be/KFB6BsXm_sM

edit: added High Gardens - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9Z6PH8ItvTQ&feature=youtu.be

Right now I'm contemplating dropping Essence Worm (with AA slotted) and just just roll with a good rare ring so I could replace my amulet with Ngamahu Tiki for even more damage. Also, this build is surprisingly easy to get ele weakness capped, even with so many uniques. Having 7.6k hp as ranged isn't bad either.

10/10 would recommend for mapping.

Some highlights from past week on Youtube.

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Everyone should read about the skills they use: http://pathofexile.gamepedia.com/Ignite

Yes There are many ways to increase the burning damage like that. But scaling the dot part can produce better results. Just do the math. It's not hard when it comes down to it.

The burning damage will deal 20% of the initial hit. With the burning scaling you can easily increase that 20% by 130%+. Since this damage will last 4 seconds that means you can deal a lot more damage over time this way. Even more so if you use temp chains. For a burning set up I think Increased burning damage can yield better results than an Empower.

If you are just scaling explosions you would have to deal more than double the damage to get the same burning effect. That being said the initial explosion would also be much greater.

The nice thing about burning is that you can hit and then manually kite (run around) while the enemy is still getting a lot of damage. I have mentioned the downside a lot already. :)

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By the looks of your video it seems you are doing just fine. :) You do have considerably more aoe than I do. Keep in mind that the explosions can overlap.
LMP will do about 16% less damage but if an explosion overlaps that can still be a much bigger damage than a single arrow can do. Now you also have 2 arrows so I think that helps you a lot. Of course this can only be applied to the Elementalist. The other classes will need LMP / GMP.

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I think you are underestimating Paragon of Calamity. It will not only fix all reflect issues. You will also take 8% less elemental damage and you will actually do 40% increased damage if you get hit by fire damage.
Now this last one is circumstantial. But there is a map mod that grants monsters extra fire damage. You will have 40% more damage in those maps. You can also use a Redblade helmet and get the damage increase all the time.

For Liege of the Primordial I agree that it can be a pain. That is why I use a CWDT level 20 linked to my golems. They are up 100% of the time! As for the helm enchant I can definitely say there are better ones.

Mastermind of discord also has huge potential for single target but I have not tried that yet.

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I have all the resists on my boots and 1 ring. I can swap the second ring as needed. I have 1 ring for ele. weakness maps, an Opal ring for max dps and the essence worm for op bosses (hydra, extra elemental damage maps,...) I wouldn't say that caping resistances is easy but it's definitely doable.

Did a Core run again today and recorded it (warning: some bad play) - https://youtu.be/b3QdFgw5CIw

I can't say for sure but it looks like Malachai and his guardians got nerfed big time.

I've also made an attempt on Phoenix and the damage with Elemental focus instead of Chance to Ignite was fine. Unfortunately I rolled a No Regen mod on the corruption so I eventually ran out of flasks and portals, lol.

Right now I'm trying to squeeze a little more regen out of this build which is why I've tried to get my hands on a good Marble Amulet but no luck so far. Once I get one I'll likely end up with the following build which will ease up the resist requirements on gear a bit:

https://www.pathofexile.com/passive-skill-tree/AAAABAMCAAN1BAcEswYOCPQJ9gthDjwUIBRNFHEWbxhdGJEaPhpsHNwc5x8CIvQkqiW8J-0o-iqNMjQ1kjbFNtg26TpSOlg64TwtPO89X0GHRZ1GUkkbTLNN41BHUlNTUlSuVcZWSFh3XwRfP2jyah5qQ2t6bRlyqXasfdKCB4KbgseDX4PMg9uHZY8akPqRK5eVl_SYrZo7muCdrp_fogCmV6cIrJivbK-3tz64k7yfwFTEWMT2xq7Iv89-0B_SIdQH1HzYJNi92XzbT9yN323fit-_4MPhc-Nq6hjr7uxV7w7vfO_r8B_xbPIv8kHyRfZI9zL46_no_Ev8TP4K_o8=

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Greengroove wrote:

Some highlights from past week on Youtube.

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Everyone should read about the skills they use: http://pathofexile.gamepedia.com/Ignite

Yes There are many ways to increase the burning damage like that. But scaling the dot part can produce better results. Just do the math. It's not hard when it comes down to it.

The burning damage will deal 20% of the initial hit. With the burning scaling you can easily increase that 20% by 130%+. Since this damage will last 4 seconds that means you can deal a lot more damage over time this way. Even more so if you use temp chains. For a burning set up I think Increased burning damage can yield better results than an Empower.

This is what I mean, yeah. Wiki simply lists the modifiers but doesn't specify which affect the dot and which affect the skills that trigger dots, it's all very vague. So I'll just ask straight: Does Fire Damage or Elemental Damage affect Ignite damage (dot part) or not? If not then there's merit to picking burning nodes but if they do affect ignite then I don't see the point in picking burning over either of the other two.

http://pathofexile.gamepedia.com/Burning

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Burning damage can be increased by the Increased Burning Damage Support inventory icon.pngIncreased Burning Damage Support support gem, the Vulnerability inventory icon.pngVulnerability curse, and the following types of passive nodes:

increased elemental damage
increased fire damage
increased burning damage
increased damage over time
increased damage

So correct if I'm wrong but this looks like fire/ele damage nodes are straight up better than burning.

edit:

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Burning damage which scales with damage dealt by a hit (Ex. Ignite) benefits most from increased fire and elemental damage effects since it enhances the damage of both the initial hit and burning damage, while increased burning and damage over time only applies to the damage over time after the hit.

Yes you are right. But when it comes down to it we really do have quite a few options at our disposal. They are all good.
I have posted 3 different trees. And to be honest they are all good. Even tho the pathing is different. The burning tree could use "Ash, frost and storm" or get another jewel socket instead of the "Holly fire" node. But in reality the difference will probably be marginal.

I have updated my tree slightly. Let me know if you have any ideas. ;)