[1.1.x] Party-Friendly, Multi-Purpose, Bow Crit (Physical CoC/Puncture/Lightning Arrow) Guide

Level 85 Tree*

*I get asked a lot about my current build. Remember, this is very specific to my gear setup. Please keep scrolling down for the base and goal recommended trees. There is also an IR + Vaal Pact option for Lioneye's users. I use Ghost Reaver to maintain full ES and Life Gain on Hit or flask(s) to regenerate life. I've kept the Heavy Draw and Deadly Draw clusters because the hybrid nodes give more bang for your buck than single stat nodes, and the physical damage synergizes perfectly with Leech and my 50/50 elemental damage to make me reflect immune. Check out Mathil's or Space's threads if you are looking to go more of the elemental route. Also, Herbalism is a massively underrated skill that gives increased damage via Atziri's Promise and 100% uptime on defensive flasks.

Main Attack:


Vs. "Allies Cannot Die" Packs:


Rogue/Boss Kill Move:


Oh-Crap!/I-Win! Buttons:



Other Stuff:



Apex of Sacrifice/Atziri Setup:


My Old/Budget Gear:

* Using a bow instead of wand or dagger for potential dual 7-links. If you're broke, Voll's Protector will turn any 4-link into a 5-link. You'll be able to hit the crit cap with Power Charges (see below).

* Level with a Doomfletch or Death's Harp. At level 68, switch to a Harbinger Bow. (It is possible to roll up to 9.4% base crit chance.) If you're very patient/lucky with Chance orbs, either of the unique Imperial Bows work amazingly well for this build.

* Voll's for the Power Charges. Alternatively, you could use a Tabula Rasa or any 5-link (or weapon switch) with Power Charge On Crit. With this build, it gives you an added, pretty much permanent +250% chance to crit. (5 maximum number of charges if you help Merc Alira.)

* Buffs: Blood Rage (for Frenzy charges and life leech), Hatred (for added damage and Freeze), Wrath (for added damage and Shock) and/or Grace for added survivability. Level up one of each Purity in your off weapon(s) for end game map partying. 4-link Reduced Mana with one of each color to be able to trade auras in and out as needed. (Optional: Reduced Mana + Blood Magic + low level Clarity + 1 more aura.)

Gems for CoC:
* Barrage. (Machine gun effect and lowest mana cost. Easiest to sustain.)
* Split Arrow. (Has built in LMP/GMP. Works best with Chain and/or Ethereal Knives.)

For Party Support:
* 4-Link: Arc + Chain (for shock stacking) or Cold Snap (requires Power Charges for perma-freeze) or Ethereal Knives (if running Hatred aura).
* 5-Link: Chain + Arc + Ethereal Knives with Hatred (most party friendly combo due to highest damage, shock stacking and least graphical lag).

For Max Elemental Damage:
* 4-Link: GMP + Fireball or Arctic Breath.
* 5-Link: LMP + Chain or add another Projectile spell (Fireball + Arctic Breath works best for Elemental Equilibrium maps).

For Soloing:
* LMP + Ice Spear + Freezing Pulse.
* Ethereal Knives + Cold Snap + Life Gain on Hit or Leech.

* For "Can't Die" Packs: Lightning Arrow + Weapon Elemental Damage + Chain + LMP/GMP + Mana Leech or Blood Magic + Life Gain on Hit. This skill's primary strength is hitting as many things as you can, as quickly as possible.

* Single Target: Puncture + Physical Projectile Attack Damage + Increased Critical Damage. To dual-purpose it for use with an elemental bow against Physical Reflect, add Weapon Elemental Damage and/or Added Fire Damage. (With the Infernal Mantle, this causes a triple DoT. Most bosses will bleed themselves out within 1-2 shots.)

* Reflect Counter: Use curse(s) instead of increasing base spell damage.

Cast when Damage Taken: (Set to trigger at 1/3 to 1/2 your unreserved life worth of damage.)
* Enduring Cry + Immortal Call + Increased Duration.
* Arctic Armour.
* Molten Shell.
* Summon Skeletons.
* Devouring Totem.

Other Defensive Options:
* Flame Totem + Blind + Knockback.
* Spell Totem + Enfeeble or Temporal Chains.
* Lightning Warp + Reduced Duration + Faster Casting.

Bandits:
* Normal: Oak for +40 Base Life.
* Cruel: Oak for +18% Physical Damage if you use a Harbinger Bow or Ethereal Knives; Kraityn for +8 Attack Speed or killing them all for the +1 Passive Skill Point are also comparable options.
* Merciless: Alira for +1 Max Power Charge.

Go straight for Soul Siphon. The 25 Mana Gained on Kill will make leveling much less painful. You can Regret these points later, when Mind Drinker alone becomes sufficient. The big Dex nodes allow you to use better equipment. By level 16-17, you should have a good base of all the big nodes, like this.

Starter Gear (my guildmates and I give these away often):
* Amulet - Karui Ward (level 5).
* Helmets - Fairgraves' Tricorne (level 12), The Peregrine (level 23).
* Armor - Briskwrap (level 9).
* Gloves - Sadima's Touch (level 11).
* Belts - Wurm's Molt (level 8), Perandus_Blazon (level 16).
* Ring - Blackheart (no requirements).
* Bows^ - Storm Cloud (level 10).
* Quiver - Broadstroke (level 5).

^Since the Storm Cloud does massive amounts of elemental but no physical damage, I found it easiest to level up using Elemental Hit and Poison Arrow. You can switch to CoC once you get over ~40% critical strike chance. (This is more than most Quill Rain builds have at end game, so should give you a good idea of how crazy you can be with 70-95%.)

Got some questions about what I meant by make sure Arc casts before Ethereal Knives hits. Your procced spells need to be linked in cast order starting from CoC, like this. (The main attack and other supports don't matter.)


Also, pick up every 4-slot or smaller blue item you find; ID the weapons and save up as many Alteration Orbs as you can. You will want these later for turning into Jewelers and Fusing Orbs.

Base Tree (functional for low level maps; 70 points)

Goal Tree (high base stats, physical damage, mana leech; 100 points)

Phase Acrobatics (drop Nullification and Charisma cluster; 102 points)

Vaal Pact and Iron Reflexes (for Lioneye's users; 102 Points)

By Request: High Life Version of My Tree (102 points)

By Request: Solo Version of Windripper Tree (102 points)

http://www.pathofexile.com/passive-skill-tree/AAAAAgYBBbUOSBGWFr8ZihqPHNweGiLqJJ0k_SaVJ6kqWy2DMHEwfDgbOdQ6Qkt4TLFQQlFHUzVVS13yX-Fh4mJaY0NrJG1sbXtv8nBScLtw1X11fyt_xobOh9uIQow2jX2Nv5XplwabtZ2joJ-hpKIupzSn1Kp_qrixMLVIu-PAUcHFxKLGos3q0hnTftQj1QDVT9aK1tHcFd2o3nfh2-OE51To1vBC8XbyHfPq9tr7Cfyr_rr-yP-T