[2.0 Warbands League] Spectre's Ice Shot Critical Failu-I mean...

Needed advice on starting a ranger, only have experience with witches. I'm loving the build! Thank you so much Quendishir, you rock:)

Things are slowing down for me, thankfully, and I'm happy to say I can start focusing once more on my guide. I'm also in the process of writing up a new guide concerning my Infernal Blow Templar that I had been looking at before going on this hiatus. Some more good things to come as well, I promise!

I'm also streaming more now, though the stream has changed: www.twitch.tv/spectre_06

And my blog: spectre06.blogspot.com

I'll be doing some housecleaning of the OP in the coming days and making it look a bit better.

Keep the suggestions and comments coming! :D

Cool, I'll make sure to check out the stream and blog for sure!

I appreciate you checking it out!

Even though I'm not exactly "new" to streaming, I'm working on improving my voice and what-not, as well as how I interact with people when they show up. I've had a bit more success with the blog, but I've always been a decent writer, if I do say so myself. I mean, it's not like Massively was full of bad writers or anything!

thanks nice guide

I've decided to put my money where my mouth is. The five-day solo race that will be starting in about ten hours will be my first race in Path of Exile, and I intend to run it! I'm going to run the Ice Shot Duelist, as I intend to run Hardcore, knowing I'll be missing out on key items for the entire thing, most likely. I'll be streaming the race when I play!

www.twitch.tv/spectre_06

Streaming begins at 1445 EST, fifteen minutes before the race is set to begin! If by some miracle of God I get a key for the beta before that, I'll admit to being torn between streaming the beta and doing the race, as both are terrific opportunities for me in the game. I do need to effectively race at some point!

Either way, feel free to tune in and enjoy the fun, and probably laugh at how bad I am!

-Spectre

Registration is open in 15 minutes, and I'll be ready! Seems it doesn't start until 1600 EST, which is on me since after my factory restore for my laptop I forgot to check the clock. Going live at 1545 EST for the five-day solo race in hardcore!

-Spectre

Rare bow from Hillock, rare plate vest in the COast! Looking good as we're live in the race!

www.twitch.tv/spectre_06

-Spectre

Taking part in the five-day race on the hardcore setting, I've been documenting the build as a duelist, which can be found in the OP.

1.) Even on Hardcore, the build is extremely resilient and reliable. It's very forgiving of mistakes made by players in terms of positioning. The closest I came to a RIP was when I mistakenly clicked on a rare strongbox that froze me, had three magic packs and a rogue exile. Luckily I had dropped a portal prior to this and immediately got out, as I Don't think I could have survived it.

2.) Without The Three Dragons, the build is still quite quick at clearing areas of mass amounts of mobs.

3.) The survivability of the build is not too much of a problem. At level 28 I entered the Docks, a level 32 area, and was able to effectively kill everything in it with no problems, including The Revenant, who I am usually terrified of.

4.) The build does like a "slow and steady" playstyle, which probably does not equate well for a race scenario like this. However, it is still viable and fun, and while others are running Flameblast Proliferation builds, the Ice Shot build has the ability to hold its own and clear areas without sacrificing tank.

I'll be back around 2300 EST tonight to stream more Path of Exile, specifically the race. My plan right now is to finish farming Docks (level 30 right now) until level 34, then continue on. I'm going to work on speeding things up to start being active in the race portion, and I hope to see you all watching!

-Spectre

Insights about the Duelist variant in Hardcore (Day 2 of the Five-Day Solo Race)

Taking it slowly, this race is serving as a way for me to stay true to a "self-found" playstyle, to test the validity of the Duelist variant in a hardcore setting. I will say that the viability is no longer really in question: having hit Act 3 (Cruel), I am routinely taking zones two levels higher than my own levels with limited to no real threat of RIP, aside form the occasional "oh shit" moment where the game throws stuff at me and laughs.

Mana is still an issue, as it has been the entire way through the race. Mana potions can only do so much, and since I haven't gotten an Assassin's Mark gem the issue shall remain for the time being. I considered dipping into the mana increase and increased mana recovery from potions early on but realized the problem is less about the potion recovery and more about natural and auxiliary recovery methods. Paua Amulets have not been very good.

Next, having Poison Arrow as a secondary attack to help with wittling down large groups has been a good idea, and I'm glad I kept it.

Now, here's what I am saying is the MVP right now: Shockwave Tottem. By placing it strategically, it is allowing me greater control of enemies that want to get into melee range. Blocking off a doorway with it is giving me a lot of time to take down groups with both Poison Arrow and Ice Shot, and while I don't think it's worth the slots in softcore league, in hardcore it is proving to be a valid champ for maintaining crowd control, far more-so than Decoy Totem, in my opinion. It continuously juggles problematic threats, and bosses like Spinesnap are slapped out of mid-Leap Slam by it if the pulse goes off, reducing damage I take further.

Streaming will continue later, along with general observations and the like!

-Spectre