[outdated] Caustic Arrow Solo Map MFer (20/300+)

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Infiltrator wrote:

Hey man, I am new to this kind of char and I wanted to ask how do you level her? I'm currently lvl 46 in merciless act 3 but I'm not that good at clearing content with my 4l caustic (void manip, rapid decay, aoe) and 4l frenzy (curse on hit, gmp, vulnerability).

I have the auras and flame golem but I'm just really inefficient at clear speed.

I'm leveling with caustic and added a 3l contagion (Void and Rapid Decay as supports ... maybe Controlled Destruction if 4l possible). It's a ~625 TT-DPS extra and no Problems so far. I'll support my main DPS-Skills with another 3l Spell Totem Wither and faster Casting and CoH-Frenzy Setup for the Bosses. Everything is melting really quick (A4 cruel). FYI: Playing as Shadow.

@Wedges: I use Rearguard too ... not that big difference offensive wise but som decent defensive utility.

Finished build Ranger damage is fine, for practical end-build purposes.

Just did an Atziri run in Standard on my built character (Slower Proj still in).

* Noticed 0 difference clearing trash
* Vaals took roughly the same time to kill
* Trio took about an extra minute (total)
* Atziri took about an extra 20 seconds.

Thanks for updating this, Serleth. Notes and questions:
I don't seem to need clarity, not sure why. Or maybe I could run it and remove one of the mana nodes from my tree.
Do you skip flame totem culling for survivability?
Will we get to see your latest gem loadout? Do you actually use both wither and essence drain?

We gain extra mana per level and with Soul Siphon + that, it's probably not necessary anymore for regular maps.

There's no real reason to NOT run Clarity though. Eventually you'll run reduced recovery maps, and it helps there.

I don't skip Flame Totem + Cull. But there's no point once you're 6L'd. Somewhere along the line I think that got accidentally got removed from the guide. Did mention it before.

Essence Drain's probably going to get dropped in the final build, but while levelling I do yes. Wither's in the Spell Totem.

Gem loadout. maybe Friday. Depends, this league for whatever reason the build is coming together slower.

Great, very helpful. In case you're not aware, flame totem culling doesn't actually appear in your guide, but seems clutch. Also, assuming we drop Essence Drain, you recommend:

PA
Curse on Hit 5L
Golem and Supports
Warcry and Supports
Flame Totem MF Cull
Wither Totem Setup
And several one shot gems including two auras, a vaal and portal.

But we can't have them all, right? If you want to, the guide could help clarify the different options of setups to keep from that list. Also, we can't efficiently use both totems, yes? Do you swap these setups out depending on content? I'm sure seeing your links later will help clarify, I can wait, just food for thought on your guide!

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daemmon wrote:

Don't get me wrong, I love your build and your explanation video about it... but!

Going MF is something that most people do with a cheap character to start off in a league, just to farm lots of currency/items for other specs that require good gear to do well.

I think the investment you have in your character right now (6L +3 bow mostly) is far too high on the spectrum of what people want to spend on their average MFer, BUT, also considering this is probably one of the first MF builds I've seen in beta doing a 78 map, so mad props to you for that mate.

Personal suggestion: I'd aim for a more "budget" MFer that can at least scratch the surface of mapping, in the long run for a new league it should work better. I'm planning on doing one on the next wipe, and would def look at some of the options you've taken in order to improve mine.

Thanks!

Daemmon, this build is absolutely budget. It's fully functional (powerful, even!) on a 4L and *easily* creates the currency it takes to meta craft your own 5L +3 bow. I did it myself a few leagues ago and I'm more or less an average player.

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Boss_Crab wrote:

Great, very helpful. In case you're not aware, flame totem culling doesn't actually appear in your guide, but seems clutch. Also, assuming we drop Essence Drain, you recommend:

PA
Curse on Hit 5L
Golem and Supports
Warcry and Supports
Flame Totem MF Cull
Wither Totem Setup
And several one shot gems including two auras, a vaal and portal.

But we can't have them all, right? If you want to, the guide could help clarify the different options of setups to keep from that list. Also, we can't efficiently use both totems, yes? Do you swap these setups out depending on content? I'm sure seeing your links later will help clarify, I can wait, just food for thought on your guide!

Yes you're right. This mainly comes from not having enough time to actually test things and writeup / cleanup the guide in the OP.

Most of the gem recommendations come from 2.0, where as in 2.1 we have more to cover / struggle. Flame-Totem culling is only needed until we get our 6L (for non-high maps at least), then you can use a Spell Totem with wither (2-link, 3-link with FC or 4-link with incAoE).

I never used warcries.. too lazy :D Golem is unsupported, he lasts long and if not, well we have easy time to recast.

I'd do the following:

5L bow:
CA in bow
Chest contains frenzy and curse (manual, no coh - chain luxury),blink arrow, golem (4 sockets)
boots have flame totem cull setup (4L)
Helm goes with auras and manual Wither
gaunts are up to you

6L bow:
Ca with IIR
Chest 5L with the afore mentioned CoH frenzy Vuln setup
boots now have the spell totem wither combo (up to 4L)
helm still holds auras, think about enlighten
gaunts (4L) go with blink arrow, fc, golem, portal

there you go :)

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Boss_Crab wrote:

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daemmon wrote:

Don't get me wrong, I love your build and your explanation video about it... but!

Going MF is something that most people do with a cheap character to start off in a league, just to farm lots of currency/items for other specs that require good gear to do well.

I think the investment you have in your character right now (6L +3 bow mostly) is far too high on the spectrum of what people want to spend on their average MFer, BUT, also considering this is probably one of the first MF builds I've seen in beta doing a 78 map, so mad props to you for that mate.

Personal suggestion: I'd aim for a more "budget" MFer that can at least scratch the surface of mapping, in the long run for a new league it should work better. I'm planning on doing one on the next wipe, and would def look at some of the options you've taken in order to improve mine.

Thanks!

Daemmon, this build is absolutely budget. It's fully functional (powerful, even!) on a 4L and *easily* creates the currency it takes to meta craft your own 5L +3 bow. I did it myself a few leagues ago and I'm more or less an average player.

https://www.pathofexile.com/forum/view-thread/1291803/page/229# you can see clearly how by day 3 I have a fully functional MF setup. Serleth pulled this off in 2.0 too (and the leagues before).

It's not clutch, really, since it's only a levelling thing, but you're right, it is important to include. Once you have the 6L, you drop it.

I'm actually going to try to cull as many options possible from the core of the guide for simplicity sake, as the intent is more geared towards new and learning players and I want to try keep things as uncomplicated as possible in the finished product. Experienced players will simply know what other options are available to them. But on the other hand, it could serve as a good opportunity to help those newer players learn so I'll definitely keep that in mind.

As of right now we basically have three slots for actual options, since I don't consider the curse on hit 5L to be an optional setup. It's just too important for breaking barrels, frenzy charges, and cursing all in one convenient skill.

That leaves

* Possible single target (Essence Drain).
* Room for Warcry, linked to other Duration-important options (Blood Rage and Vaal Lit Trap)
* Wither Totem
* Auras
* Misc (Portal, Flame Golem).

Assuming you don't run Enlighten, you basically get this:

* Grace + Clarity + Flame Golem + Portal
* Rallying / Enduring Cry + Blood Rage + Vaal Lightning Trap + Increased Duration

Which leaves the last four-link to decide between Essence Drain and Wither.

And that is the reason why I said earlier Essence Drain will probably get dropped from the final setup.

The rationale is pretty simple.

Your damage dealt calculation goes

Final DPS = [(Base Damage * Increased Damage Modifiers) * (More Damage Modifiers) * (Enemy Increased Damage Taken Modifiers)]

Meaning the more "Enemy Increased Damage Taken" modifiers you stack up, the more powerful your final dps ends up being, as it is the last multiplier in the order of operations. This means Wither + Vulnerability + Shocked Ground all add together before multiplying to result in your final dps.

While this may mean slightly less utility in terms of single target damage, for situations like Twinned Museum Bosses or larger packs of high-health mobs, your net damage per second spread across the entire pack ends up being better by running a bunch of EIDTMs, rather than trying to pick your shots with an Essence Drain.

Ah! I get it. Thanks again for your attention.

for dl voll farm runs ca with irr is just okay, keeping it at meh 90kk exp\hour, still better than maps for my 5.5k 5l arrow
trying to get my second andvarius and then optimize gear for maps.
using wither totem, cwdt setup, aura setup grace+clarity+enlighten+golem and bloodrage with end cry.
feels ok


PS of i runned not ir grace, but some acro setup, i would have been dead like 3 times by now even at dl speedfarm, sometimes shit just hits like a truck(tier3 talisman bear is especially fun, also with 55 ph reduction you can just run through packs)