[LVL 100 - Beyond Rank 4] 10.3k Hybrid Life/ES Flameblaster - 50/52 Block - LVL 22 AA w/ no EB

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Vexcid wrote:

Yeah, it sounds to me like you crit a reflect pack for sure. Especially since your running cwdt setup. Any phys damage probably wouldnt have killed you instantly. If you didnt see the reflect then I assume you didnt use a fire flask before hand, and if you charged a full 10 stack I can see that eating up 11k hp/es on a big enough pack.

Gear looks pretty good..though like you said you probably want to be running a higher level AA when chaining 77+78 maps to push the mid to late 90s. It makes a big difference once you get AA closer to lvl 20, especially now that block was nerfed since 1.2 and most of your defenses rely on high level AA and high HP/ES.

When your gearing for AA you have 4 gear slots that provide mana regen %. Always make sure when your in poe.xyz searching for gear to include at least 40% mana regen for your main hand, amulet and rings. Mana is definitely a bonus and will help greatly with pushing 250+ regen but mana regen % comes first in those 4 slots. Also because those 4 slots are crucial to getting a high lvl AA going, try to get as much resists as you can on other slots like gloves/belt/helm and chest so its easier (and cheaper) to purchase the jewelry.

I always use my fire flask and curse immunity flask whenever I cast or open boxes, but I assume it must've been depleted at the time. Do you think it would've been a big difference if I had say lvl 20 AA activated? I definetley value the skill highly, but not entirely sure how much it helps versus reflect, especially in such a small pack.

Also do you think using the rathpith unique and going for block is worth it anymore? I managed to hit 25/25 if i recall correctly, but getting the unique flask wasn't possible for me in such a small league. I found a 400 es 90 life with some resists on it shield, didn't get to try it out before dying but I can see something like this possibly being superior if you opt to not go for the spell block.

I feel like the small chance of blocking (if you don't have the flask) isn't worth relying on in terms of reflect atleast, compared to more maximum hp (if you have a good enough rare shield).

Again, great build, I enjoyed it a lot and brought me back to the times where hybrid was super popular.

Ive ran this build on several occasions post getting to 100 in Beyond and I also never could afford a rumi's flask since then. Perpetual granite of iron skin works just as good and will help you be tankier for hits that arent blocked.

Rathpith imo is less worth it than before but I usually still run it because along with the little bit of spell block it actually has pretty good stats (good chunk of ES, hp % and spell damage). Its definitely much less required than before because obviously it isnt that easy to get 50/50 block like it was last league.

I am unsure if higher level AA would have helped for reflect specifically, likely not in that situation. Just pointing out for overall survivability it is the strongest aspect of this build (being able to run high AA with no EB).

Regarding reflect, I would never entirely rely on spellblock for reflect damage. It was initially intended for blocking spells and attacks from mobs/bosses. Being able to block half your flameblasts was just a bonus. What was surprising to me was you mentioned it was a fairly small pack and with 11k es/hp that would have had to of been a big crit. My templars avg blast dps was around 2100 and to be honest, I rarely even dipped into my life on reflect damage and ive crit a LOT of reflect packs both big and small though I usually never 10 stacked any pack as 4-6 usually did the job for everything (never really played in partys).

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Vexcid wrote:

Ive ran this build on several occasions post getting to 100 in Beyond and I also never could afford a rumi's flask since then. Perpetual granite of iron skin works just as good and will help you be tankier for hits that arent blocked.

Rathpith imo is less worth it than before but I usually still run it because along with the little bit of spell block it actually has pretty good stats (good chunk of ES, hp % and spell damage). Its definitely much less required than before because obviously it isnt that easy to get 50/50 block like it was last league.

I am unsure if higher level AA would have helped for reflect specifically, likely not in that situation. Just pointing out for overall survivability it is the strongest aspect of this build (being able to run high AA with no EB).

Regarding reflect, I would never entirely rely on spellblock for reflect damage. It was initially intended for blocking spells and attacks from mobs/bosses. Being able to block half your flameblasts was just a bonus. What was surprising to me was you mentioned it was a fairly small pack and with 11k es/hp that would have had to of been a big crit. My templars avg blast dps was around 2100 and to be honest, I rarely even dipped into my life on reflect damage and ive crit a LOT of reflect packs both big and small though I usually never 10 stacked any pack as 4-6 usually did the job for everything (never really played in partys).

I agree, I still believe rathpith is great for the price, I think it can definetley be replaced at 90+ with a strong rare but it'd be expensive.

I was partying at the time with quad curse EE support, if those mobs were fully cursed and affected by EE then a big crit dropping 11k of my hp pool seems reasonable I think. I didn't really ever care about dps, I always prioritised defenses since I could solo 78s already at 86~.

The downside with this build versus Cloak of Defiance EB from what I've seen is that you can't really get Resolute Technique and Barbarism (1% max fire res node near marauder) very efficently with this build compared to the cloak one since you need to put more points in to ES. Also EB has a much easier time getting AA lvled to max.

The advantages of this build is the huge hp pool, and not really having to panic spam your hp pots every five seconds (I rarely had to use mine). The use of Rise of the Phoenix is a pretty hard thing to fit in with this build since the shield gives a good amount of hp pool, compared to the 100 life a EBer would sacrifice. I don't see this build being able to be immune to reflect the same way the EB one can, but it would recquire rare circumstances like mine to die from it.

If I could go back in time and change something with my character i'd probably change the tree to something like this:

I drop a couple of ES nodes, the block chance nodes, the 5% chance to ignite and one of the elemental nodes in the templar start and I get RT and Barbarism. This should be quite a bit safer vs reflect while sacrificing ES for Life (which is better anyway) and of course the block. This would probably be better for a character using a rare shield, depending on if it gives more hp pool or not.

Can you provide me some advice on the leveling build, which passives should i aim for first?

@Deepling - If I was worried about critting a reflect in a party with multi-cursers etc I would probably go this route. As a solo char it really was never a problem though for me. I wouldnt get rid of any energy start time nodes though unless your running Zealot's Oath. I would get rid of the 2 ES nodes near scion and grab the ES start time nodes again. Otherwise it looks good.

@Satsuki09 - Ill assume your asking about leveling in hardcore. I usually go out of the way and get all the life nodes before anything else. Sometimes if I feel I need the extra damage ill get the fire nodes at the top of the tree early on but its usually not needed. Once you get closer to maps start picking up more damage and as you start to get decent ES gear with life, then dump the remaining points in ES nodes. The mana / mana regen nodes can be picked up at any time. They are there when you decide to start running your high level AA or when you need that extra bit of mana to run the aura setup. The aura setup in this build wont be able to work until late game without reduced mana reserved nodes..Up to that point just use tempest shield instead of purity of fire or whatever you desire really.

Love it

This build still work?

@Kadomir

Beta Spoiler

How do you get enough manaregen for a 22 AA in the beta? Manaregen seems to be a pain there.

The flat mana regen unique jewel helps quite a bit..Nothings really changed as far as the mana nodes on tree however.