2.0 Tempest, Dual Claw, Triple curse, "No Kite!" Cycloner (Cheap)

Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GijLVmtMWQI
73 was the highest linear map that I had at the time, I'll make another when I get a Gorge.

IGN: I_Do_Not_Kite

********Build updated at lvl 90, see below*******

Hello All,
I’ve been playing PoE for a number of years. I typically do not like cookie cutter builds and/or mimicking other people’s guides, so I usually try to make something different with a novel idea thrown into the mix. In most cases I quickly determine why my “novel” build is not already popular, because it SUCKS! Well, this time I think I have a bit of a winner. I do not know if this build can be considered novel, but I haven’t seen anyone playing anything like it, and have not come across any build guides that duplicate it.

I’m currently playing this character in Tempest hc league (lvl 85), so of course, the focus is on survivability. The main skill is cyclone, which is extremely common in the current league. But, I do not enjoy playing caster builds, and I think that cyclone is simply the best melee skill from a general survivability standpoint. The aspect that sets this build apart are the weapons, dual wield claws. In particular, I’m using the seemingly extremely underutilized Essentia Sanguis Unique Eye Gougers. The base dps supplied by the claws is not huge, but it is reasonably good. But the really useful properties are the high attack speed, implicit life gain on hit, and increased block chance while dual wielding. One thing that could be considered a downside (unless you had some ES and Vaal Pact, then it would be fantastic!) is the Ghost Reaver mod. This basically nullifies life leech for the character. But, in 2.0 leech really sucks anyway and we have plenty of LGoH, so screw it.

With 9% dual wield block chance easily obtainable from the tree, my total block chance is 40% while using both claws. Both claws also give you a total of 62 life gained per hit, which is even better than the 54 gain that you get from a 20/20 LGoH gem! This along with the insane attack speed that can be accomplished insures that plenty of life is being generated when you need it. The implicit life gain on the claws allows you to drop LGoH from the cyclone link and add something that increases your dps. And lastly, wielding claws allows you to use Whirling Blades. Whirling blades increases clear speed by a ton and gives you a lot of flexibility in your boot selection (boots with no move speed are cheap!).

Another distinguishing aspect of this build is triple-curse. There is very little that you can do from a safety standpoint that is better than cursing monsters with Temp Chains + Enfeeble. I felt as though I had pretty much maxed out the damage potential of my build, so I figured that the only way to give it a boost would be to add another curse. I’m currently using Vulnerability, but may switch to Flammability later depending on how my total damage distribution works out (I use Ass Mark when playing with my crit friends). I do sacrifice a good bit of life to triple curse (ring and boots), but I think that it is well worth it.

I leveled the character using 2h axes with cyclone and switched to claws when they became available at lvl 64. I focus on ias to boost my dps and increase LGoH, however, I took phys% from bandit quest in Cruel because my ias is already huge. I also do not like self-casting anything (End Cry) so I took the Frenzy Charge in Merc and maintain charges with bloodrage.

Bandits
Normal: Oak
Cruel: Oak or Kraityn (I took Oak)
Merc: Oak or Kraityn (I took Kraityn)


Skill Trees






My gear is not anything special (except for the helm that I self-found in an exiles anywhere map!!). Here is what I’m currently using.



My gems and links are:
Cyclone-FA-Melee Phys-Added Fire-BM (Will add Fortify when I get a 6L)
Whirling Blades-FA-Fortify-BM
CWDT-Enfeeble-Temp Chains-Vuln (swap Vuln with Flammability or Ass Mark depending on group)
CWDT-Flame Golem-Blood Rage-Molten Shell
Auras: Arctic Armour-Anger-HoA (swap Hatred and Anger depending on map mods or group auras)
Open 3L: Currently leveling gems here. Good place for war cry setup of your choice.

Stats at 85:
HP = 5313
DPS = 18.5k with 4 Frenzy Charges, 14.3k without
Armour = 6126
Evasion = 1348
Block = 40%
Life Regen = 359
Fire, Cold, Light, Chaos = 76,75,75,-19

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Update at Lvl 90: I managed to 6L a Daresso's Defiance, slightly upgrade a weapon, and get some nice gloves with chaos res. In swapping chests I lost some resistances and a bit of life. I was doing higher maps and, in the interest of hp, I dropped a curse (Doedres Damning) and added another rare ring. The two curses that I ran most of the time were Enf and TC. I'd swap Vuln out for Enf if running mobs in easy maps. The gem combinations stayed the same except for adding Fortify into the cyclone links.



I used the 5 additional skill points to pick up another Frenzy Charge and additional life nodes.



Stats at 90:
HP = 5901
DPS = 25k with 5 Frenzy Charges and Onslaught, 17.4k without
Armour = 7448
Evasion = 2581
Dodge = 6%
Block = 40%
Life Regen = 359
Fire, Cold, Light, Chaos = 76,75,75,11

Improvements to the build would mostly be gear, including better jewels. Replacing the granite flask with a Rumi's would also be a nice touch. Iron Reflexes would only require 2 skill points, and would be a reasonable thing to take. However, with my current block and constant Fortify, I like the additional ~25% chance to evade.

Hello,

Pretty cool guide, I checked out the video and it looks super fun and addictive and fast paced, will definitely try this one out

Cheers

your build seems really fun! I've only been playing POE for about 4 days now and been jumping from char to char trying to a feel for the game. I kinda like cyclone since it reminds me of my WW barb. Your build just took it to a new level with claws...and sir may i say! i'm making a char with your setup! tempest style! wish me look! and hope to see your build updated soon!

"

Cherd wrote:

Both claws also give you a total of 62 life gained per hit, which is even better than the 54 gain that you get from a 20/20 LGoH gem!

I don't think implicit LGoH from claws stacks any more.

Hey!really nice and fun build, fast cheap and no pop.can u open your characters on profile or show your passives on lvl 90. ty

Loving your build so far, but I did have a few questions if you don't mind:

1. Why don't you use a single target dps skill? I find it annoying to cyclone a boss to death but maybe that's just me. If you were to use one, what would you use? I'm thinking viper strike.

2. Why don't you use vaal cyclone?

3. Ive found it extremely difficult to keep up with the dex requirements in the leveling process. Do you have any suggestions for this?

Hey guys,

Thanks for the interest and compliments on the build! And, sorry for the delayed response. I wasn't seeing any interest in the few months after I posted this, so I figured nobody was doing it and stopped checking.

"

SponTen wrote:

I don't think implicit LGoH from claws stacks any more.

That's a real bummer. When you say "anymore", what time frame are you referring to? Did it work during Tempest but not now? Or would it have been disabled before then? With cyclone it is difficult to isolate 1 hit, and with life regen it would be difficult to test LGoH anyway. The survivability of this character was always excellent, so I just assumed that he was getting the benefit of both implicits. I may have been wrong though.

"

KCCO wrote:

Loving your build so far, but I did have a few questions if you don't mind:

1. Why don't you use a single target dps skill? I find it annoying to cyclone a boss to death but maybe that's just me. If you were to use one, what would you use? I'm thinking viper strike.

2. Why don't you use vaal cyclone?

3. Ive found it extremely difficult to keep up with the dex requirements in the leveling process. Do you have any suggestions for this?

1. I have always preferred to have 2 attack skills, one for aoe and one for single target. There are the damage benefits of course, but I also just like to have some variety in my attack options. But honestly, this build is not going to do much better than cyclone from a single target dps perspective. One cause in this particular build is that you are dual wield, so your single attack skill would be 4L at most and one of the links would have to be BM. As compared to cyclone, single target skills will also have the downside of not hitting as frequently. Therefore, you will not generate as much life per time via LGoH, which could result in death. Additionally, a single attack skill would require that you stand still, therefore you would get hit more often. With cyclone you are always moving, which is an under-appreciated aspect of the skill. And finally, we do not have Unwavering Stance, you will encounter some stuns when fighting bosses with a single attack, which again could result in death.

If I had to pick a single target skill, I'd probably go with Double Strike (DS+MS+FA+BM). This setup would hit 6 times per attack and would attack extremely quickly. An option that would do more damage would be Dual Strike (same links). But it would hit at half the rate.

2. Vaal cyclone is a cool skill, but it tends to cause desync issues for me if my ping is not great. Also, there will come a time when you accidentally Vaal Cyclone a mob that you wish you hadn't. If I die, I don't want it to be because of something like Vaal Cyclone shenanigans.

3. You can temporarily pick up Versatility near the Marauder start to relieve early dex issues.Other than that, it's just a matter of getting some dex on your gear.

"

Vamp1234 wrote:

Hey!really nice and fun build, fast cheap and no pop.can u open your characters on profile or show your passives on lvl 90. ty

Thanks! I've updated the guide to include changes made on the way to 90.