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So you were unequivocally right. Elemental prolif is bonkers, especially because it increases the effective radius of the bulk of your fire trap damage to roughly a screen size, and I'm using no inc aoe and a sub-20 prolif on fire trap. On reading it, I thought elemental proliferation was a 'eh, I guess that's handy.' Turns out it's the bread and butter of the build, no matter when you start to use shocks.
Yep, prolif is nuts and it only gets moreso once you start shock-stacking. I off-screen quite a lot of enemies.
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I'd like to suggest that your 'complete' build (the 89-pointer) could be adjusted slightly, though, to improve both overall stats and the leveling process. Here's roughly what I've ended up building:
There is a 1 point difference, so the remaining point to your complete build would probably go into the nearby .4% life regen node. This build path appeals to me for 3 reasons:
I agree the thing could be a bit better, I opted to avoid EE personally (although I do enjoy that map mod quite a bit. I think your pathing is better for options, although I don't agree with losing the mana regen, particularly in maps.
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1) It gives early access to another 30 dex node, which was important for me as the build has a hard time meeting the high str/dex demands of its gear (particularly since I chose grace) without crutches. I was forced to use lioneye's paws for much longer than I would have preferred, since I had sunblast and wasn't able to use something like perandus. For a while during leveling I even had to use karui amulet, despite my ring naturally having 22 dex. Not that 10% ms was entirely unwelcome, but I like having choices.
I agree the extra 30 dex node early is very very helpful. Ultimately it matters how much dex you can/are getting from gear.
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2) It does away with the 'EE or no EE?' question of the build and its subsequent branches. You'll be passing by it naturally to gain access to important nodes, and can choose whether and when you want to take it. The power of the health/mana nodes naturally appeals to me over taking the individual nodes near witch starting point.
Agreed on these points, but I would still grab the nodes by the witch area in addition.
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3) The stat difference is one I find appreciable in the earlier stages of the build, and feels like a more rounded-out finishing place. To wit:
-4% max mana
-40% mana regen
-10 dex
+10 str
+26% max life
The mana regen has always felt extraneous, as even with huge mana reserved and a non-maxed clarity, I never found I had any trouble with mana. For the short period before I was running clarity, I simply used a hybrid potion instead of a second health pot - to be used in emergencies. This is especially true once you acquire eldritch battery, which I did in my 40s. The -10 dex +10 str is not entirely a welcome swap, but it's offset by access to the 30 dex node mentioned above. I'm all about point efficiency. That long stretch between discipline/training and the goldmine of max health nodes just feels like a clunky use of points. Sometimes clunky is necessary, but I'd like your input on my alternative :)
Edit: If it's possible, I love this build even more than I thought I would. Thanks for making it.
I like your changes for the most part, but you will definitely still want to grab the nodes in the witch area (grab them from 70+) because the regen, extra mana and life ill better equip you to deal with the half regen mod on maps.
Overall I think your changes are positive and might even try to respec into that build at some point if it will save me some points.
Sorry for the delayed response, been bogged down with work and gf commitments since she's had extra time off work over the holidays =p.
