[2.0] Tempada's AAA EK: An Ethereal Knives Guide | 30-60k+ Non-Crit DPS | Affordable | HC Viable

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Burkill wrote:

Is this build only MoM with cloak? What do you think is better for hc, IR with evasion stack or es/armour with no IR. Do you you it's still pretty tanky without MoM?

Cloak of Defiance is totally unnecessary, it just provides some extra defense (at the expense of a little dps) through built-in MoM and by helping you to run a higher level Arctic Armour. I would not take MoM on the skill tree.

For hardcore, IR is the way to go. You'll be plenty tanky with Grace, Arctic Armour (just be careful not to level it too high), the help of a skeleton totem, and pretty much any chest you want. Belly of the Beast is a cheap and solid choice for its increased life. Atziri's Splendour is my long term goal!

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clandestinehp wrote:

skill tree links are broken?

All links are up and running.

Updated with an extreme tank version of the skill tree in the Advanced Builds section. Facetank with Mind Over Matter and a TON of life.

The "Mapping" section now includes a list of bosses that may prove challenging.

Hi Tempada, after exploring the melee shadow for a couple of hours I figured out that I feel more like trying EK after all! I went through your guide and other EK builds and I have a couple of questions. These are not meant as criticism but just naive questions because I lack the experience in PoE to understand all the implications of the passive tree.

- what are the main differences between crit and non-crit EK builds? Are crit builds more gear dependent and therefore less newbie friendly?

- CantripN has an EK build as well which goes much deeper into the upper left corner of the tree and seems to aim more at auras. Any idea how this compares in terms of clear speed and survival?

- LeMing has a special EK build that couples EK to CoC. I don't think I want to depend on CoC but I kind of like the idea of including Barrage. Do you think Barrage (or another skill) could be interesting for boss fights?

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Targhul wrote:

- what are the main differences between crit and non-crit EK builds? Are crit builds more gear dependent and therefore less newbie friendly?

Crit builds will give you more damage but lower survivability. Survival is tougher with crit builds because you almost always have to worry about some type of reflect. With EK, no crit? No problem.

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- CantripN has an EK build as well which goes much deeper into the upper left corner of the tree and seems to aim more at auras. Any idea how this compares in terms of clear speed and survival?

I have a similar version in the "Advanced Builds" section of this thread labeled as "Armour Build". The main differences between our trees are that Cantrip takes Cruel Preparation and Deep Thoughts while I take Heart and Soul and Deep Wisdom (so it's possible to dive into the powerful Witch damage nodes late game, plus I use a skeleton totem all the time, so being near Lord of the Dead is icing on my cake), and I grab Trickery and Coldhearted Calculation for added damage and mana regen while Cantrip saves some points by only taking basic intelligence nodes.

Here's a PoE Builder comparison of our armour builds around level 80:





Cantrip's tree will give you more life while mine will give more damage and mana.

Anyway, an armour build (where you ignore Iron Reflexes and stack as much armour, as opposed to evasion, on your gear as possible), is going to maximize your dps at the cost of survivability. Going evasion with Grace + Iron Reflexes is much better for survivability, and it makes gearing simpler too. I would recommend playing it safe and going evasion because the game can get unforgiving at higher levels.

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- LeMing has a special EK build that couples EK to CoC. I don't think I want to depend on CoC but I kind of like the idea of including Barrage. Do you think Barrage (or another skill) could be interesting for boss fights?

I've looked through that build, but I've never tried Barrage. You could level Barrage as you go and test it out.

Thanks for checking out this thread!

Thanks a lot for replying in detail to all my questions! I don't think I fully understand the pros and cons of armour, evasion, ES and dodge but that is independent of the build. I definitely favor survivability over some additional dps!

I just started a shadow following your guide and I will keep an eye on Barrage. It seems to start out weaker than EK but I will test again on higher levels with a better wand!

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Targhul wrote:

I don't think I fully understand the pros and cons of armour, evasion, ES and dodge but that is independent of the build. I definitely favor survivability over some additional dps!

Yeah, this is a tricky topic. So there are a few basic ways to make a build more durable through armour and evasion:

1) Stack evasion, grab Acrobatics and Phase Acrobatics on the skill tree, and use the Grace aura to further increase your evasion rating. Acrobatics and Phase Acrobatics allow you to dodge some physical and magic attacks completely, which is great for protecting against reflect and spell damage, but physical hits that do land, especially critical hits, can really hurt. Evasion builds are typically used by ranged characters so they can do their best to avoid physical attacks.

2) Stack armour and use the Determination aura to further increase your armour rating. Armour only protects against physical attacks, and it's generally better than evasion for builds that expect to take a lot of physical damage (melee builds) or builds that can't reach Acrobatics.

3) If your build can reach Iron Reflexes on the skill tree, an armour/evasion hyrbid is generally the way to go. Iron Reflexes converts all evasion to armour, so this means you can wear any armour or evasion gear to meaningfully increase your defenses, and you can also run the Grace aura for a huge boost to your armour rating (since all of the evasion it gives will also be converted to armour). You can use the Determination aura as well, but that's not usually necessary thanks to the defenses you get from Grace.

An armour/evasion hybrid build that doesn't take Iron Reflexes typically works against you.

With this Shadow build we do have access to Iron Reflexes and I like to take advantage of that. Alternatively, you could skip IR, save a lot of points, and equip Lightning Coil (along with Purity of Lightning) as your body armour.

Wow, thanks!! I knew the difference bewteen armour and evasion but this is by far the best practical advice I have seen so far!

I have another question concerning the EK build: You are skilling basically in three directions, up towards EB, down towards IR and left for some survival nodes. Should I try to get IR as soon as possible?

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Targhul wrote:

You are skilling basically in three directions, up towards EB, down towards IR and left for some survival nodes. Should I try to get IR as soon as possible?

Not necessarily as soon as possible, but it's good to head towards it earlier, in part because Iron Reflexes is helpful when leveling, in part because all those dexterity nodes are awful to fill late game! Alternate between heading towards Eldritch Battery, Iron Reflexes, and Path of the Warrior. Written in Blood is also important because you'll need as much strength as you can get from the tree. If you're in softcore, don't worry about the Hired Killer life circle until much later. If you're doing well, you can even avoid Thick Skin for a bit and focus on damage.

I may not have mentioned that ideally you'll want some strength on gear in order to meet the strength requirement of the Reduced Mana gem. If you can't get it on gear, don't worry; you can take either Physique or Beef on the skill tree until you get enough strength on gear to refund the point and put it somewhere more useful.