[1.2.] Serge's Ultimate Ball Lightning (3 Versions: EB-MoM-AA / hybrid HP-ES Crit / CI Crit!)

Hi Serge,

So I'm currently 77 with a fireball witch with decent gear. I really love the EB/AA/CoD setup, the survivability is great with 4k+ hp.

However, what I'm noticing is fireball seems to take too much babysitting to get its damage up enough, and it also only hits the front of a pack.

Basically what I'm wondering, is if I switch over to ball lightning, is it a better option than fireball? Currently my issue in maps is clear time - I'm not in any serious danger of dying.

My tree currently:

http://www.pathofexile.com/passive-skill-tree/AAAAAgMB34rfsIIQB6UC40myLJwQWIdlr7cyNB8CNsXYJKcI2t2drhpsFm8kqjbp42rkIrUEXcZG1-0g4XOLjAVb3fNgbZ_fPAXvfIM4FE0Es_AfogApT4Kb7DgaOKeEkFUEB-vkXyqD21XGOlhMs5eVUlOX9G0ZCPTAVLzqakM9XyL0bAsNjRzcf8Z-WcHFiEKCHtsLLUdQQow2VUth4iaVuJPr7prgRZ1TUij6gsf56EGHtz7-Cti98kU64aZXTeP-jzWSFr8=

So it wouldn't take much change to switch a few things in the tree.

Thanks.

I've played fireball for quite some time and can compare if you want them to be compared.

Fireball is relatively good single target, but crap aoe. That is why your clear speed is low. BL is the exact opposite. Killing bosses with it might take a bit longer than you want but clearing thrash is just mindless.

BL has innate piercing, that makes it a bit more versatile as a main skill. It's just enough for healing phase of Atziri fight or 3rd stage of the trio fight for example.

However, BL is much more dangerous when dealing with ele reflect once you get some meaningful DPS. Haven't pressed your topaz in time = died in less than a second with 82% lightning res.

BL will definitely give you better clear speed. For single target, this build uses the Vaal Spark setup described in the first post. You can see its effectiveness here: http://youtu.be/Z5nyqD3ARNc

Looks good. What's the best way to up BL's damage non-crit - gem levels/weapon? My outfit is as below:



Swap Item currently leveling BL and associated gems.



My weapon is garbage, but honestly I haven't found anything better yet, so it's definitely the next piece I trade for.

I like the damage of BL when it crits - is that an option to go with as EB/AA/MoM, or just not enough points to go around?

Thanks Serge/mammoth.

Both crit and EB/MoM are unfortunately not doable. There's simply too many points you need to take for both to make sense, that you'd need lvl130 to make it doable :D

As for boosting dps: yes, gem levels, gear, and passives. You really need a better wand asap. In my experience, it shouldn't be hard to find something better for 5-10 chaos in rampage. Also, if you're not already, use Herald of Ice, it's a nice dps boost for the small amount of mana reserved.

My altered version of this build with max block and spell block with the right gear.



Feel free to critique or ask questions.

"

BRedd10815 wrote:

My altered version of this build with max block and spell block with the right gear.

Spoiler

https://poebuilder.com/character/AAAAAgMA34rpAkuu2VttGRFQNbmnKx1PLR-Griy_wcV_xqKjwfOVII_67Bjr9WSd8h1d8g5IcFKJ03DVKguus0yzQZYFQtD1w21ca4RI99esmBEP215QMJ3EWPW3MUNjms9xTWae-tIdFI9Gm6G2-vemjmTkIilPhX0WQN--hcVCSysNNYCplX7iUWDzvucLna6nCAbpJ2GkkX4zjDYTnmNDX2rb50cG8uH_HEuNHoG0xRuXCSHaPSLq6NYFtcLsUg1WYxXX8NVJUd2M2V_gEo0Zfq_Q0LjKO3wPxF8qdFX-s1crvYIsnIIQ37Dz6t6wEFh2EQ==

Feel free to critique or ask questions.

One word: mana. It would simply be impossible for you to run a 5L BL, let alone a 6L one. My lvl93 witch in Rampage uses a 5L BL which costs some 100-ish mana per cast.

Just wanted to update on my switch from fireball.

My gear/gems as of now:



The damage is noticeably better than fireball, except for big hp single targets without vaal spark up (which is absolutely insane btw).

My tree:





Anything I should work on besides more levels/gem levels?

Thanks.

Glad you're enjoying it!

Just one thing: don't forget to respec from fire walker to lightning walker :)

Have you tried killing normal atziri with this build? I currently have 6k dps on ball lightning + lightning pen and 8.3K es.. The build is working great, gearing up to the maps was super easy and cheap. Can do 78 maps no problems.

Gear for anyone interested, i know the wand is cargabe but you can either pay 2ex for 2% damage up, or pay 20ex for one that would be good.