ZiggyD's Etheral Knives Mana Shield Scion/Shadow Build Guide - Hardcore (Updated for 1.1)

Really loving the build so far. I started moving up the left side first till I hit the Purity of Flesh circle, now going up the right side for EB. I'm using Spectral Throw to level for now, so instead of getting the first four passives to increase spell damage, I went for the attack speed and plan on using some refund points later on when I make the switch to EK.

Something I noticed though is there really isn't too many passive points invested that really boost EK. This build is just an overall great build for a very tanky character when coupled with your auras and AA.

Because this build can be so versatile with a very minimal (if any) skill tree redesign, what made you choose EK as your main skill instead of say ST or something else?

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tavirosu wrote:

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Leoj wrote:

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KeenSenses wrote:

Hey Ziggy,

Build is working great so far. Got lucky on my first league character and a Karui Ward as my first legendary while leveling up. All the difference in the world!

I am curious when you were able to support AA in your build. I am currently 45 and have been maxing Clarity and I can only run AA at lvl 4 without a massive mana loss. Wondering when it all came together for you.

Thanks again.

It's handy to just reference this: http://pathofexile.gamepedia.com/Arctic_Armour

When AA is ready to level or I get a new piece with mana regen on it, I check what the mana drain is on the level of AA (base+mobile drain). If it's lower than my mana regen (defensive stats tab) I upgrade it. If not I don't.

Try to calculate yourself. What I do is:

- make sure the AA's "while moving" mana cost is less then my current mana regen. It seems (my personal observation) faster moving will somehow scale that leech a bit.

- make sure that your EK mana cost,converted for 1s (for calculation purpose), + AA's "while not moving" mana cost is almost as much as your mana regen. This to ensure you can "spam" EK and not go under. If you are under test it out and use pots, but also NOT level AA until you get some more mana reg.

ps: On the later levels, the "Influence" passive node(s) to the top right are so good for survivability, damage and mana regen!

This was my problem. I was missing the mana drain that is always on. Thanks again guys.

/Edit

(cant i delete a post if i mistype something?)

Hi Ziggy ! I've got a question ,what you should look for on a wand early before you switch to a "end game" type of wand ? I mean, Cruel and Merciless walkthrough ? What stats are good to aim for ? Spell damage or Physical, and such ?

Spell DMG % and Cast Speed.

Posting for reference. Doing a mana shield trapper shadow and its a lot of fun so I might do this next.

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Yettibag wrote:

Really loving the build so far. I started moving up the left side first till I hit the Purity of Flesh circle, now going up the right side for EB. I'm using Spectral Throw to level for now, so instead of getting the first four passives to increase spell damage, I went for the attack speed and plan on using some refund points later on when I make the switch to EK.

Something I noticed though is there really isn't too many passive points invested that really boost EK. This build is just an overall great build for a very tanky character when coupled with your auras and AA.

Because this build can be so versatile with a very minimal (if any) skill tree redesign, what made you choose EK as your main skill instead of say ST or something else?

I specifically chose EK for this reason, it scales amazingly well with very little investment in the passive tree. By the time i hook empower up and get a mings heart I fully expect EK to be well over 10K dps, which is pretty insane for a non-crit EK spec!

You could use almost anything spell wise or even change things around for Spec throw but EK gives best value.

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Skydanzer wrote:

Hi Ziggy ! I've got a question ,what you should look for on a wand early before you switch to a "end game" type of wand ? I mean, Cruel and Merciless walkthrough ? What stats are good to aim for ? Spell damage or Physical, and such ?

Yeah spell damage and cast speed.

Bonus are proj speed, mana regen and crit chance.

How do you do any damage at all? You don't have any spell damage or speed. My head is about to explode I am 52 but how can ek EVER not be totally worthless when compared to the efficiency of spectral throw? Unless you have literally perfect gear. EK has ONLY projectile damage, casting speed and spell damage nodes. ST can have elemental damage from gear, damage from the weapon, weapon damage nodes, physical attack, iron grip which saves you an entire gem slot etc etc. What am I missing here?

http://poebuilder.com/#character/AAAAAgAAGYoc3CpbLYMtqDWSOyg8LUGHRitGcUrIUzVaUlv0bWxuqm-egwmI8ZMnlwabXZu1oSKiQKiarFmxkLQMtUi18rc-t9bDOsSixq7KStIZ1tHZ4NtZ52Pyl_T4-ej-Cg==

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Yautjalv426 wrote:

How do you do any damage at all? You don't have any spell damage or speed. My head is about to explode I am 52 but how can ek EVER not be totally worthless when compared to the efficiency of spectral throw? Unless you have literally perfect gear. EK has ONLY projectile damage, casting speed and spell damage nodes. ST can have elemental damage from gear, damage from the weapon, weapon damage nodes, physical attack, iron grip which saves you an entire gem slot etc etc. What am I missing here?

http://poebuilder.com/#character/AAAAAgAAGYoc3CpbLYMtqDWSOyg8LUGHRitGcUrIUzVaUlv0bWxuqm-egwmI8ZMnlwabXZu1oSKiQKiarFmxkLQMtUi18rc-t9bDOsSixq7KStIZ1tHZ4NtZ52Pyl_T4-ej-Cg==

Is your EK linked to Added Fire and Faster Projectiles? Are you using a high %Spelldamage Wand (or Dagger) and Shield?

I'm approaching 50 on my Scion and my EK does *considerably* more DPS than my ST would because of those factors. EK just scales so ridiculously well with such little investment and a really low gear requirement compared to ST.

I'll relate a story I told Ziggy about yesterday. I was in A2 Cruel, Sarn Slums, and I came across a nasty pack of two Rares (Soul Conduit and Vile Touch) *and* a Rogue Exile (the shield charge one, forget the name). With this build and decent levelling gear I soloed all three at once. The ridiculous tankiness of this build is matched only by the fun factor of spamming EKs and watching their health chunk and chunk and chunk and chunk away.