Molten Strike Scion

FOR 1.2 VERSION SCROLL DOWN

This is not a hardcore build although it probably could be modified to be so.

The first post after mine is mostly wrong and should be ignored.

The second/third posts are correct.

This build has been edited to rectify errors pointed out by our generous and gracious community members when appropriate.

I've been having a lot of fun with this build so I thought I would share it. I know a lot of people go into great detail about leveling strategies etc but I say if you don't know how to level (or have some knowledge of game mechanics) then this build is not for you. Although a person with a moderate amount of game knowledge will do fine with it.

THE DOWNSIDE OF THIS BUILD

This is kind of a currency heavy build but probably not more than 30 exalted for my current setup. The upside is that you get a good setup for less than a Soul Taker or Mjolner. The downside is that it's 30 Exalted.

This is not a 100% point/click/everything dies build. Sometimes kiting is required although not a lot and mostly on high level bosses.

I should mention that I managed to 6 link my armor in about 300ish fusing (so roughly 5 exalted in fusing) if you buy a 6 link it will bump the build price exponentially.

This build dies from latency and a couple of map bosses but not many and usually only soloing; that's about it so far although I have only solo'd up to level 77 map bosses.

The big CON is the lack of Chaos resistance. Obviously you can rectify this if you have the currency and the luck to find the gear with the right mods + chaos res (Although probably you would have better luck pulling gold from your butt).
Personally I feel that avoiding Chaos wielders was a much simpler (and more affordable) solution.

WHY IT'S FUN!

At current level 84 my scion does (roughly) 15k damage with 7 attacks per second (So Math + Scaling = A lot of damage) and will have a little over 5k life at completion. She has 3 auras with enough mana leech and regen to sustain constant uninterrupted DPS output. She melts 76 maps; 77 and up are still fast maps solo.

MATH IS FUN!
Now at level 86 running Anger and Hatred I do (19,886 /2) = 9943 *7.63 APS = 75.8K DPS. My great balls of fire are (19,886 *0.60) = 11931 *1.50 /3 = 5965.
If my formula's are off or I left something out please feel free to correct me.


This is what my current build looks like. (Now level 88)
I PWNED my ring with a yolo vaal orb so the point in light res is there til I find a good replacement.

Me doing a 76 map with Fracture and Physical Resist as well as a couple other mods. The game had a little latency but not to bad.
I should mention that this was recorded while using Hatred/Anger/Clarity Auras and 19k damage with 7 APS.

Me soloing a level 77 SHIPYARD map with map boss and level 78 Palace map. Skip forward to 3:31 on the counter for the 78 map.

MAP MODS
The Achilles heal of this build (as far as map modifiers go) would be the no mana/life or half mana/life regen and blood magic. If I roll those modifiers when rolling maps it's an automatic reroll.
There are some modifiers that I avoid but they are simply preference. Temporal chains (because it's a horrid mod to play) and enfeeble (for pretty much the same reason) are modifiers I don't play only because they slow me down. Otherwise I have ran all prefixes and suffix's without much of a problem. Most mods (other than the ones I've mentioned obviously) can be handled with a moderate amount of care and skill.
I feel I should also mention that high level maps (eg, 77-78) with a lot of prefix and suffix modifiers (imo) is meant to be played with a group.

This is a complete theory craft build so could be susceptible to change.

GEAR RECOMMENDATIONS.
There are really only three things I would say you "need" gear wise to make this work. All of which are debatable.

Number one: and above everything else is Doryani's Catalyst. This mace is BIS for a molten striker imho. This mace is pure sex. You can get a decent one for 5 exalted.*

Second: is Aegis Aurora (most people know why). Although you might find a high defense life/res/block shield that you'd prefer, Aegis imo is a survivors shield. Once again roughly 5 exalted* for a decent one.

Third: is Belly of the Beast I prefer it for the life boost and resists with flask recovery. Once again you might prefer something with higher armor, life regen, vita and res. That's up to you. Higher armor makes Aurora work better so there's that. A 6 socket 5 Link is only 2.5 Exalted.* A 6 link (which is nice but not required for this) is a skosh more...
If I had a 5 link and had to give up one gem it would be a toss up between the elemental damage or faster attacks but most likely FA since multistrike makes it more of an "icing on the cake" gem.

Suggestions: Gloves should have Attack Speed. Boots should have Move Speed.
Probably that's obvious to most players but who knows.

Otherwise everything else should have life/res/armor/life regen (regen is more of an "if possible").

I would suggest looking at my current gear and try to get as close to it (or better) as possible.

Here's what my current gear looks like, anything close to what I have or better (obviously) should work fine. You will need some regen as a few skills are linked to Blood Magic gems.


It has gotten me out of some pretty hairy situations. It (almost) always refills it's charges before it's empty. So it's very useful and is (almost) always there.
Instructions for use
Step 1: Press appropriate key
Step 2: Use appropriate skill to flee IE, leap slam or lightning warp.
Step 3: Repeat one of the following phrases three times; OH CRAP! or PLEASE DON'T DIE! Depending on the direness of the situation.

Someone PM'd me about my potions so I'm adding this for anyone else that might be wondering.
I have 2 staunch and 2 heat because Corrupting Blood and Freezing seem to be the only ailments I had a problem with.
Also if you run the grace setup and have 10k+ Armour the Iron Skin Granite flask will put you at about 23k def and 70% damage reduction.

As for Skill/Aura/support gems I would suggest you refer to what's in my gear and see what you like and if there are any changes that suit your preferences make them.

Molten strike is linked to multistrike/life leech/faster attacks/weapon elemental damage/added fire damage.
Why no AOE? I found I didn't need it. Plus I don't know how well it would work with Point Blank. Which (imo) is a requirement for this build.

My aura gems were Anger/Purity of Elements/Clarity. Linked to Reduced Mana.

Currently using Anger/Hatred/Clarity linked to Reduced Mana. It doesn't leave a lot of mana left over but I still don't run out in combat (which is most important).

ALTERNATE GRACE VS HATRED + MATH FOR DPS!
Alternatively you can swap out Hatred for Grace if you find yourself struggling to survive.
Math for running Grace with my current setup is: 16307 /2 = 8153 *7.63 = 62.2K DPS. So (damage wise) running Grace is still a very viable option.

ALTERNATE HASTE VS HATRED AURA + MATH FOR DPS!
With Haste + Anger + Clarity I do 17653 /2 = 8826 *8.26 = 72906 DPS. Honestly I don't recommend this variant unless you have plenty of MANA REGEN and MANA LEECH. It is fun but without a good amount of regen or leech you will find yourself running out of mana quickly.


My other defensive gems are Immortal call/Enduring cry/Warlords mark. Linked to Cast on damage taken For IC and EC. CWDT and blood magic for WM.

I use Leap Slam to get around but I'm sure you could use tele or w/e if you prefer.
Leap Slam is linked to Faster Attacks/Blood Magic/Increased AOE.


Optional skill: Molten Shell; I don't really use this much now but it was helpful for leveling. I link this to Blood Magic/Increased Duration.
If you follow my build you wont have enough mana for this skill so Blood Magic is required.

Any other Gems (if not mentioned) are being leveled for other purposes.

So that's pretty much it in a nutshell.

As for the whys IE. why not more energy shield nodes if using Aegis
Or why not avatar of fire or why not head this way on the tree or that way.
Why not three dragons? Why not max block? etc etc..

First: I don't find it necessary
Second: I didn't want to do pure fire damage.
Third: I tried different pathing (up toward witch etc) and am enjoying my current one.
Fourth: I tried Three Dragons and found it kind of meh for this build.
Fifth: I am working on upping block % now. I didn't find it necessary at lower levels.
Fifth: None of this is set in stone and (I'm sure) can be improved upon.

I just wanted to put out another option for a molten striker that some people might enjoy.
If I left anything out or there are any suggestions on improvement or questions I will appreciate/try and answer them.
This is my first attempt at a guide so if there's anything I overlooked I will try to add it as per your requests.

CURRENT 1.2 THEORY BUILD; I WILL BE LEAVING THE OLD BUILD UP AS A MEMORIAL, R.I.P OG STRIKER

1.2 Killed my original build but Herald Of Ash still makes it fun. I know I am not the only person on the HOA bandwagon but man it's good! Nerf coming? Probably.



EZ-ing lower level maps and map bosses at the moment and will probably be moving on to higher level maps today.


Although I am not sure at this point if I will be picking up aura reduction nodes instead of block nodes.


TL;DR: Molten Strike Scion Makes Monsters Die FAST!
Refer to video for proof.

*Prices for gear are representative of the price at the time of this posting.

Thanks and stay classy Path Of Exile.

ok - here we go. Sorry if it seems rude in the middle parts.

insted of taking the scion aura tree (teh leadership one), you can take the influence tree and take the extra aura effect.

There is no Melee Physical Damage linked to Molten Strike, this is the BEST Support gem available, as both the Fire and Projectile Damage are scaled by the physical damage of the attack.

Scaling via Tree Fire Damage is abysmal. Really. Abysmal. The Physical Damage doesnt only scale 100% of the Damage instead of 60, it also offers ~1.5x-twice the effect per point spent.

Because of that scaling you really wanna use Hatred.

Where we coem to Auras. Why on earth do you even need all the Auras to start with if yall you do is reserve 100%+ Clarity.

You use Aegis Aurora and have 1 Block node which is a 2%.

The Build works with the items you have but its really suboptimal. dangerously so. You go for the wrong scaling with bad suppor gems in a block build without block. if your gears weren`t so good and Molten Strike brilliant to start with, this build would be terrible.

What you really wanna do is ditch all the Shadow part and go for Templar/marauder Physical Scaling.

You also wanna get rid of added fire and link conc effect.

I really don`t wanna downplay the build, as it seems to work. its only suboptimal.

you linked your cast when damage taken setup wrong you have to link enduring cry before immortal call so that you get charges and then expend them not other way around this way you call and then after that get charges XD

What the above posters said plus:
1) Taking Melee Damage and the three resistant nodes at the scion start is not the best choice as the resistant nodes shouldn't be needed to max resistances. To connect the paths go through Reflexes because
2) when taking IR you should run a Grace aura, why else take that passive? With the increased evasion nodes you get a considerable armour boost.
3) Your curse on hit doesn't work as long as you don't link it to an attack/spell.

"

Exort_Trivial wrote:

ok - here we go. Sorry if it seems rude in the middle parts.

insted of taking the scion aura tree (teh leadership one), you can take the influence tree and take the extra aura effect.

There is no Melee Physical Damage linked to Molten Strike, this is the BEST Support gem available, as both the Fire and Projectile Damage are scaled by the physical damage of the attack.

Scaling via Tree Fire Damage is abysmal. Really. Abysmal. The Physical Damage doesnt only scale 100% of the Damage instead of 60, it also offers ~1.5x-twice the effect per point spent.

Because of that scaling you really wanna use Hatred.

Where we coem to Auras. Why on earth do you even need all the Auras to start with if yall you do is reserve 100%+ Clarity.

You use Aegis Aurora and have 1 Block node which is a 2%.

The Build works with the items you have but its really suboptimal. dangerously so. You go for the wrong scaling with bad suppor gems in a block build without block. if your gears weren`t so good and Molten Strike brilliant to start with, this build would be terrible.

What you really wanna do is ditch all the Shadow part and go for Templar/marauder Physical Scaling.

You also wanna get rid of added fire and link conc effect.

I really don`t wanna downplay the build, as it seems to work. its only suboptimal.

Thanks for everyone's input. I will work on your suggestions today and edit the build accordingly. As I mentioned in the TL;DR part, I am currently working on block nodes as I found I didn't need them as much to survive at lower levels.

Also my pathing (as I previously stated) is theory. Partially based on attack speed which I know is a little out of the box but seems to work. I know I still have some things to learn but the build is mostly solid in terms of survival and damage.

As for the Curse on hit comment; Warlords Mark is a curse and it curses when I hit so I don't know what you're talking about.

Additionally, the clarity with 100% mana reserved makes me skeptical about your comments in general.
Aura mana reduction nodes and reduced mana gem means I dont have 100% reserved.
I have about 20% mana left over and enough mana leech/regen for 100% skill usage without having to hit anything.

"

beesinthetrees wrote:

you linked your cast when damage taken setup wrong you have to link enduring cry before immortal call so that you get charges and then expend them not other way around this way you call and then after that get charges XD

This seems a little like the chicken before the egg comment...the gems level means that they're going off (pretty much) constantly so the order is pretty irrelevant.

"

60x7 wrote:

As for the Curse on hit comment; Warlords Mark is a curse and it curses when I hit so I don't know what you're talking about.

Warlords Mark triggers because it is linked to a CWDT. The curse on hit does NOTHING as it is not linked to an attack or spell.

"

60x7 wrote:

"

beesinthetrees wrote:

you linked your cast when damage taken setup wrong you have to link enduring cry before immortal call so that you get charges and then expend them not other way around this way you call and then after that get charges XD

This seems a little like the chicken before the egg comment...the gems level means that they're going off (pretty much) constantly so the order is pretty irrelevant.

The order is not irrelevant.
From the wiki:
"The order in which they are linked determines the order in which they cast (e.g.: Cast when Damage Taken - Enduring Cry - Immortal Call will cast Enduring Cry first, allowing Immortal Call to consume the charges immediately. In the other order, Immortal Call with consume existing charges, then new charges will be produced by Enduring Cry). The top end of the linked sockets (for four-links, the top left socket) is the first in the order, followed by each socket down the line, following links. "

i stated the 100% + clarity because you dont need as many aura trees as are skilled atm to support that. but because you don't go out of your way too much for them it seems quite ok.

I rearranged the Enduring and Immortal so they are in the right order. I put in new CWDT with Warlords Mark and will keep them at lower levels. As for the physical vs fire nodes here's a snapshot of both DPS for fire vs physical.

Fire Nodes

level 18 Weapon Elemental support gem with Anger aura


Physical Nodes

Level 20 melee physical support gem with Hatred aura.


So I don't know if we have some hidden calculation I'm missing but it looks (and feels during game play) that the fire and elemental damage is better.

Once again I appreciate everyone's help in tweaking this build.