Saint Vitus: Physical crit ranger guide[Always Updated]
double post, fml
I carve and sell real animal skulls, check out my work here: https://www.instagram.com/victorseiche/
https://www.facebook.com/victorseicheart/
World first Uber Atziri as 2h and 2h RT build: https://www.pathofexile.com/forum/view-thread/1058950
Highest level char in Closed Beta, Wytchfindergeneral
Last edited by VictorDoom#6290 on Aug 14, 2013, 5:51:52 AM
Running wrath, anger, hatred, grace, determination - 2600 HP Resist capped atm. Seems like lacking of survivability on solo play. Is it decent amount health to have ? Should i get extra leech on gear ?
How to deal with ele / phys reflect mods on map ? I tried swapping Added Fire with life leech 20/20 on RoA link for reflect map, still no go :/
Your gear is very good obviously, i covered the reflect parts in the guide, here it is:
"
VictorDoom wrote:
Against reflect there are many things you can do to avoid death, first and most obvious solution is to just pick out enemies one by one with frenzy, you can also try to just kill the main reflect rare with your single attack.
My personal favorite and easiest way to deal with reflect is to just use conversion trap on the reflect rare, while the rare is converted you actually benefit from its aura, kill the enemies around it, wait for the conversion to end then kill the rare. Its hard to get used to, but its spectacularly fun when you do it properly
When you do hit a reflect mob, be sure to use your granite flask first and DO NOT curse it with proj weakness,vulnerability or crit weakness, use enfeeble or temp chains against these
i hope that helps, if you have anymore problems or questions, ask away
"
benjiwoosh wrote:
Hi, been using this build in Onslaught and so far works nice, but I noticed youre going for Iron Grip and Resolute Technique in HC variant, is that a good idea? From what Ive read in other guide, RoA doesnt miss, so why waste points on RT? Wouldnt stopping around the 9HP node area make more sense to spare some points which could be put into bow dmg/accuracy or life nodes? Or perhaps some +30/+20Str nodes if keeping Iron Grip on makes sense then?
Ben.
RoA does miss now from what i know, its been fixed, also im taking RT and IG in HC because i think its a good idea to avoid reflect deaths, if you go physical crit you will die at elast once to reflect
I carve and sell real animal skulls, check out my work here: https://www.instagram.com/victorseiche/
https://www.facebook.com/victorseicheart/
World first Uber Atziri as 2h and 2h RT build: https://www.pathofexile.com/forum/view-thread/1058950
Highest level char in Closed Beta, Wytchfindergeneral
- 3.2k HP
- 7.43k EVR @ 43% chance to evade, 8.26k EVR @ 45% chance to evade with 7 charges
- 41.9% chance to crit
- 312% crit multiplier
- 86% chance to hit
- all capped resists @ 77% and will eventually get 78/9 rez with a higher leveled Purity
- 608 mana, 155 mana after 3 auras (Grace, Hatred, Purity)
- 8.2k DPS @ 3.58 APS for Frenzy (7 charges)
- 5.5k DPS @ 2.75 APS for RoA (7 charges)
- 64 life/sec regen
- 29% runspeed
- 334 Dex, 177 Str, 104 Int
Build Intro:
Spoiler
So I decided to go for a physical-based build for a second time, the first time being my first build in OB with no crit. And let me tell you that build sucked balls as my survivability was low and my DPS was lackluster.
I fancied upon VictorDOOM's physical/crit/IR Ranger, and decided to use his build and make my own tweaks to what I thought was necessary. And with the new .11.2 patch, I retooled this Ranger to use the evasion/Ondar's Guile/Acrobatics/Phase Acrobatics as a full defense. With IR, you lose way too much armor for it to be effective against physical reflect, and Lioneye's is also not recommended for this build because you can't evade your own damage. (reflect is based off of your accuracy)
This build will be the following:
1. Very solid DPS
2. Susceptible to physical reflect
3. Strong against projectile attacks (until GGG nerfs Ondar's Guile keystone)
4. Gear-dependent than some other starting builds, but not too bad
5. Decent survivability, but hard to build up life
6. Map-viable (I've run a few low-level alched maps, no problem)
7. Super FUN with criticals!
Bandit quest rewards: (O/O/K)
Normal - Kill Oak for +40 life
Cruel - Kill Oak for +18% IPD
Merciless - Kill Kraityn for +1 Frenzy charge
Skill Gem Setup:
Spoiler
Main single-target skill is Frenzy, main AoE skill is Rain of Arrows. Supports are listed in priority from left to right. Reason why I use RoA instead of Split Arrows is because you can use the Concentrated Area of Effect gem and seriously boost your DPS that way and also be able to control your shots - no offscreen-physreflect deaths! You control your own fate.
- Rain of Arrows + Faster Projectiles + Faster Attacks + Concentrated Area of Effect + Inc Crit Strikes + Inc Crit Damage/Inc Area of Effect/Added Fire Damage
- Grace + Hatred + Purity + Reduced Mana
- Decoy Totem + Faster Casting
- Bear Trap (supported or not, some good ones are Culling Strike, Added Fire Damage, Increased Duration)
- Projectile Weakness + Temporal Chains + Critical Weakness + Reduced Mana
(You can swap out Critical Weakness for Frostbite or Enfeeble) Use Projectile Weakness from Normal to Merciless, then take it out and use Critical Weakness for maps.
- Puncture and Poison Arrow on gear or on Weapon Swap
On armor:
+ life
+ Rez
+ EVR
+ Movespeed on Boots
+ Physical damage on Gloves
+ Mana leech on Gloves
+ Int on Helm (for stats)
Use Dex-based gear, mainly EVR-only gear.
On rings/ammy/bow/quiver:
+ mana leech
+ life
+ rez
+ life leech
+ physical damage
+ accuracy Rating
+ mana/manaregen
+ crit chance
+ crit mult
+ EVR
Use Diamond or Coral Rings, Agate/Lapis/Amber amulet, and Heavy/Light/Rugged Quiver. If you're struggling with mana, prioritize mana leech on rings.
On belt:
+ life
+ rez
+ %weapon ele damage
+ Str
+ Flask Charges Gained
+ Reduced Flask Charges Used
+ Flask Duration
Use Rustic or Leather belt.
On Bow:
+ IPD
+ physical damage
+ increased crit chance
+ increased crit multiplier
+ mana leech
+ life leech
+ accuracy
+ attack speed (not as important)
+ increased projectile speed (optional)
+ rez (optional)
Favor low-attackspeed (1.2-1.4) bows for the higher base physical damage. You'll naturally build up attack speed through passives, Frenzy charges, and Faster Attacks support gem.
Uniques that can be used, but not BiS:
- Maligaros Virtuosity: great gloves for this build, has +50% crit chance and 40-50% crit multiplier. I personally use this in favor of other uniques.
- Broadstroke Heavy Quiver: great starting quiver up to Cruel. By Cruel Act 3, you'll want a more defensive quiver.
- Lioneyes Glare Imperial Bow: a good bow, but the problem inherent with this bow is that when it comes to reflect, you can only dodge the effects since reflect is based off your accuracy, and we all know that LG always hit. Use with caution.
- Wurms Molt Studded Belt/Slitherpinch Bronzescale Gloves: strong early uniques that will solve your mana problems until you get mana leech on gear/Mind Drinker notable.
- Blood Dance Sharkskin Boots: great endgame boots as it adds a lot of survivability through 1% regen per frenzy charge.
- Rat's Nest Ursine Pelt: like Maligaro's gloves, this is a great helmet that adds high crit chance, attack speed, EVR, and rarity. Shrinks your character a bit.
For Flasks:
2x Hallowed life flask, either Seething or Bubbling
1-2x Hallowed Hybrid flask, either Bubbling or Catalyzed
1-2x Granite flask + Reflexes mod
1x Quicksilver flask
Build Specifics:
Spoiler
I decided to opt for a pure evasion build simply due to the fact that Iron Reflexes suck for us Dex-users, or characters that have a high amount of dexterity. (In short, our dex bonus do not apply for extra armor, which is bad since Dex-based Rangers can get around 350 Dex, which translates into 70% extra armor%.) That means you will need to be extra careful when you encounter physical reflect mobs and use Bear/Conversion Traps or single out the phys reflect boss from the pack. You won't have armor to protect you from straight reflect damage, but having evasion and Acrobatics/PhaseAcrobatics will help avoid some of the damage.
Let me also explain some of my choices in my build and my skillgem setup.
- First off, I have enough resistance on gear and from Purity (not even high-leveled) to avoid getting Diamond Flesh and the +6allrez node. I do not recommend players skipping those nodes unless they have gear that can cover 120% resistance of each type. I can get away with one passive investment in resistances (which is the Nullification notable that gives +8 all rez) and still be capped. Having over-capped resists is also important for maps with ele-weakness curse mod or the -x max player rez mod. More rez you have, the better you can take on endgame content.
- Crit Chance over Crit Multiplier is my creed; you don't have to follow this. I personally like being able to crit more. Every third shot should crit, and if you can build even higher crit, every second shot should crit. That provides a more consistent DPS over time, especially when facing unique/rare mobs. Stack too much crit mult, you run the risk of one-shotting yourself on physical reflect. This is why I suggest aiming for a 250-400% crit multiplier and go no further. Yes, having tons of crit mult is fun, but ultimately I think is unnecessary and overkill. The Heartseeker cluster is overkill and worse off point-investment-wise compared to the Deadly Draw cluster.
- Why get Mana Flows when you already have Primal Spirit? Mana Flows is necessary to support 3 auras at once (Grace, Hatred, and Purity) while having enough leftover mana to constantly support your attacks and miscellaneous skills like curses and traps and totems. If I get to a high enough level that I don't need the extra mana, I'll spec out of Mana Flows, but I don't think it will happen since the Ranger isn't an Int-based build.
- If you have over 33% chance to crit and over 80% chance to hit, I don't recommend getting the Bloodthirst notable that grants 45% increased crit chance because it isn't necessary. (At the top of the Shadow tree) But if you don't have high enough crit chance and accuracy, then definitely get Bloodthirst. The same goes for Crit Multiplier such as Deadly Draw, which grants 40% increased crit mult. IMO, you want more crit chance than crit mult. With my current passives, I have slightly over 300% crit multiplier, which is MORE than enough to destroy mobs/bosses. You can also support your main skills with the Increased Critical Multiplier support gem for the extra damage.
- If you notice, my complete build will grab all of the hybrid evasion/HP nodes. You should grab those because they increase both your primary and secondary defense, life and evasion respectively. I would grab those nodes over pure evasion. That's how important those nodes are in order to prevent a oneshot. Also, I compared grabbing 6 hyrbid EV/HP nodes to grabbing a 3 8%HP nodes + Beef + Leather&Steel, and you still win by 4% increased evasion and 6% increased life. By the same token, Acrobatics/PhaseAcrobatics do not have to be taken early whatsoever. I did a test run on my new Ranger at Lunaris lvl 2, and had no problems surviving stuns/stunnage, and this was without Acrobatics. You must grab Ondar's Guile, which makes you godly against projectile attacks.
- Icebite is optional. I don't know whether I want a +10 dex and 30% increased cold damage with weapons over a 12% increased physical damage with bows and 20% increased accuracy rating. I'll have to see once my character gets into endgame. For now, I'm going with the +IPD and 20% acc nodes since I respecced a bit out of the offensive starting highway. Also, grab the 2 15% increased physical damage nodes above Aspect of the Eagle notable, being the best bang-for-buck physical damage nodes on the tree for bows.
Leveling Guide:
Spoiler
This is a 117-point leveling guide. We will be taking Oak/Oak/Kraityn quest rewards for Normal/Cruel/Merciless respectively.
Keep in mind that my current/planned build does not reflect the leveling guide below because of the certain gear I own. The major difference is the inclusion of several +allrez passives to help compensate for mediocre equipment. I don't need said passives, so I have more freedom to spend points on other passives.
3. 61 points in
- This section will hurt due to the fact that you're spending a majority of your points on dex nodes to reach Mana Flows. The Beef and Wisdom of the Glade notables (+30 to x) are important for leveling your skill/support gems, especially your Decoy Totem. Once you get some proper gear with enough Int/Str stats, you can respec out of the +30stat notables.
4. 81 points in
- Grab the 6/6/10% life cluster before moving up to the Shadow tree. Get Nullification and Mind Drinker. Getting Revenge of the Hunted comes last. You should be around the low-mid 60s at this point, and should not be facing Piety until you get those notables.
5. 97 points in
- This should be the level 80 mark, and ripe time for maps. Grab the following notables in this order: 1) Savagery 2) Diamond Flesh 3) Assassination 4) Coordination 5) Conditioning 6) Master Fletcher 7) Acrobatics.
6. 108 points in
- Get more life, get Phase Acrobatics, get the 2 15% increased physical damage nodes next to the Aspect of the Eagle notable.
7. 117 points done
- Fill out the tree to whatever you believe is lacking.
Remember, your skilltree should always be evolving and changing. If you get a ton of resistances on gear, you can opt out of Diamond Flesh and +6allrez and put those points into more evasion/life nodes or offensive nodes.
Leveling Process Feedback:
Spoiler
It was pretty easy going from Normal to Cruel, but Act 3 Cruel did provide some challenge. I was able to get my hands on a Slitherpinch gloves (a drop), which basically solved my mana issues until I got Mind Drinker (2% mana leech notable). However, the real wall came in around Merciless Act 2 and got much worse in Act 3 when the mid-level gear wasn't cutting it. Like VictorDoom mentioned, this build is not an easy one to build for as the gear requirements becomes steep around the Merciless difficulty. I couldn't kill mobs fast, and I was dying pretty hard in Act3 (mostly due to zerging areas and rushing to get up the sewers part for the passive point). It wasn't until I got a lucky Exalt drop that I was able to get my Maligaro Virtuosity Gloves (10 GCPs), the rings (1 chaos, 1 GCP), the ammy (2 GCPs 2 regrets), the helmet (1 chaos 2 alchs), the boots (1 GCP), and the bow (2 GCPs). (Quiver and chest I got from my friend for 1 GCP, Belt cost 9 chaos 4 Scouring.). So you can see, to get to my point, you need an exalt or 2 worth of gear to be seriously viable for endgame and journey through Merciless Act 3. Before taking on Piety, I was able to go through Lunaris 2 and 3 with no death, just careful progress. I died once to Piety which was due to her ice form 3-shotting me when I was out of position (blergh). This was at lvl 70 when I still had IR. With evasion + Ondar's, Piety is a joke.
Usually I feel comfortable around the mid 70s to even start mapping. For most of Act 3 Merciless, I farmed City of Sarn from lvl 60 to 67, and from lvl 68 to level 73 just doing Docks. Once you have 70+ rez for all three resistances, you should start doing Lunaris lvl 2/3. Overall though, this Ranger really gives the impression of what a true Ranger should be, and props to VictorDoom showing the playerbase that it can be done.
For 5Ls, I plan on linking Added Fire Damage to Frenzy and Increased Critical Strikes to RoA. Originally I wanted this build to be purely physical and cold damage based, but the benefit of having a red socket in your Frenzy setup is being able to put in a damage-based support (added fire damage) OR a survivability support (Lifeleech). Being able to interchange them will give you more options than putting in a blue socket for Increased Crit Damage, although you should be leveling that support on the side if you need it.
Additional tips:
Spoiler
If you use Decoy Totem, you must link Faster Casting with it to get that totem up ASAP. This is crucial because the faster you can summon the Decoy Totem, the better you can take the mob attention off of you and onto it. Don't compromise on your Decoy Totem as it is a lifesaver. Get the needed Strength if you need it from the +30 str notables if necessary.
Also, for those Rogue exiles, have Poison Arrow or Puncture on standby coupled with Temporal Chains. Killing Rogue exiles is very helpful in Normal/Cruel where your gear is going to suck, so having them drop a few rares is worth the fighting/kiting. And that's basically what you're doing with Poison Arrow/Puncture, kiting them to death. Use Puncture on very mobile rogues (the melee ones) and Poison Arrow on more stationary rogues (archers, summoners). These tactics are also useful for bosses that you can't tank (like Oak/Piety/Brutus/Kole). Bear Trap can also come in handy for this, which is further augmented by the Hatred aura and the increased crit chance.
Make sure your flasks are up to date with the appropriate prefix/suffixes. Quality them as soon as you can because the Alchemist notable will really boost the life gained from health flasks. Do NOT skip Herbalism (the old Alchemist notable) - it will be a lifesaver. Use Granite flask with the Evasion mod when solo or in hard maps, and use quicksilver when speed EXPing or partying. I haven't found a diamond flask yet, and personally I don't think it's necessary for this build. (Not to mention it's a one-time use and takes forever to recharge... this flask is clearly meant for CI builds.)
Regarding curses, use Projectile Weakness and try to get Critical Weakness/Temporal Chains when you can. Once you have over 80% chance to hit and over 33% chance to crit, you can drop Projectile Weakness and use Critical Weakness instead. This is for endgame purpose when you're doing maps and Lunaris 2/3 runs to really bring in the pain.
Final remarks:
I've been having a blast with this build once I got my gear/links straightened out. I will mention that using Maligaro's is not necessary, and you may be better off with mana/lifeleech gloves with +life/rez over Maligaros. A bow with >6% crit chance like mine is what you want to really increase your chances to crit. This build will definitely require a lot of wealth investment to build it up correctly, so I don't recommend it as your first build in a new league, but once it's set up, it's fun as hell.
I've taken a break from this character and working on another character, but I'm about to return to her and make her even stronger :).
For Ranger build tips, tactics, and critiques, visit this thread:
http://www.pathofexile.com/forum/view-thread/69224
I noticed that you said if I decide to use SA instead of RoA, to grab the Piercing Shots passive. Do you have an alternate build URL around the levels one would normally be in that area? That way I know what to discard in place of Piercing Shots and the three nodes required to access it.
I noticed that you said if I decide to use SA instead of RoA, to grab the Piercing Shots passive. Do you have an alternate build URL around the levels one would normally be in that area? That way I know what to discard in place of Piercing Shots and the three nodes required to access it.
hope that helps, if you have anymore questions just postem
I carve and sell real animal skulls, check out my work here: https://www.instagram.com/victorseiche/
https://www.facebook.com/victorseicheart/
World first Uber Atziri as 2h and 2h RT build: https://www.pathofexile.com/forum/view-thread/1058950
Highest level char in Closed Beta, Wytchfindergeneral
I noticed that you said if I decide to use SA instead of RoA, to grab the Piercing Shots passive. Do you have an alternate build URL around the levels one would normally be in that area? That way I know what to discard in place of Piercing Shots and the three nodes required to access it.
With Chin sol at close range this gets doubled (correct?) but chance to hit is only 86% at level 70.
I'm running evasion with a bit of armour:
with 3 endurance charges 20% damage reduction and 44% chance to evade. Ondars guile means I can ignore ranged mobs.
Total life 2046
ES 471
So the big question really is: should I go iron reflexes? That would give me more DR but I'll get hit by ranged all the time.
Any advice?
Last edited by gfurm#5615 on Aug 26, 2013, 3:38:12 AM
is kaom heart chest good for this build? or shall i get a 6 linked trie + hp chest ? i already have a 6 linked lionseye. just wondering what would be good, i have 7.4k dps but 1.8k hp.
So the big question really is: should I go iron reflexes? That would give me more DR but I'll get hit by ranged all the time.
Any advice?
You have to see for yourself.Do you so much physical damage on crit that you have problems with
reflect ?
Since you've taken ondar's guile you should really try not to get hit by mobs and constantly kite them.Get another bow and get rid of chin sol since chin sol needs you to stay close to mobs to do.So either keep chin sol and go point blank and IR or try to buy a decent crit bow
and since you have a 4L one a new 4L crit bow won't be too expensive.
