[3.4] The Mistress of Agony - Lowlife BlightDrain Ascendant / Occultist - ALL content viable!

@djnat
I realize that Occultist version would be better for bossing, but i am to lazy to level 2 chars, i'd rather have 1 char that is "able" to do everyhting (mapping/bossing), thats why i pciked scion over occultist.

The guardian ascedancy 20% maximum hp regen in 1 sec with Zealot Oath is just amazing. Even with having dot on me like burning/posion you regen alot of ES.

I don't know about the ring for Uber Elder. I don't remember having problem's with chill there (was using cold flask altho for fights). And i really like the "Faster start of energy shield recharge" bonus on ring. Also i decided not go for Primal Spirit, as i think difference between Haste 18 and Haste 20 is marginal, and for me only reason to go down there would be for extra dex. Instead i went for Void Barrier. With this + all other "faster start of energy shield recharge" (skills/watcher's eye etc), my ES starts recharging almost immediately after taking last tick of dmg which is just simply amazing.

What do you think about using Spreading Rot(s)? I feel like using them with Vaal Blight/Normal Blight, would be quite good for bossing, you would get really nice dmg boost with all the dotting you have.

Thanks for the advices DJnat!
It's my 1st time playing ES character, much difference with my 1st and only AW berserker in 3.0 :D
So i'll try my best until good result!
Also, i keep an eye on your guide, esp "Leveling" section! Good luck with your maps, Exile :>

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raflikz wrote:

@djnat
I realize that Occultist version would be better for bossing, but i am to lazy to level 2 chars, i'd rather have 1 char that is "able" to do everyhting (mapping/bossing), thats why i pciked scion over occultist.

The guardian ascedancy 20% maximum hp regen in 1 sec with Zealot Oath is just amazing. Even with having dot on me like burning/posion you regen alot of ES.

I don't know about the ring for Uber Elder. I don't remember having problem's with chill there (was using cold flask altho for fights). And i really like the "Faster start of energy shield recharge" bonus on ring. Also i decided not go for Primal Spirit, as i think difference between Haste 18 and Haste 20 is marginal, and for me only reason to go down there would be for extra dex. Instead i went for Void Barrier. With this + all other "faster start of energy shield recharge" (skills/watcher's eye etc), my ES starts recharging almost immediately after taking last tick of dmg which is just simply amazing.

What do you think about using Spreading Rot(s)? I feel like using them with Vaal Blight/Normal Blight, would be quite good for bossing, you would get really nice dmg boost with all the dotting you have.

Yes I know about the guardian ascendancy (I promoted it as a good alternative to the Necromancer one since 3.2), and if your plan is to go for massive bossing, you picked the right one.


I prefer - about the UE fight - not having to worry at all about freezes and chills. That's why I recommend that ring. If you can go without it, btw, you can do it. It's a matter of personal preference.


The matter about Spreading Rot is more complicated. The bonus damage on the jewels only works on targets hindered by Blight itself (and by Vaal Blight, I suppose).

Blight / Vaal Blight hinder debuff cannot be refreshed until the damage debuff (which lasts 2x the hinder one) wears off. This means that in a realistic scenario, after the first 2.5 seconds of Blight casting, you never refresh the hinder so you don't benefit the bonus damage from Srots anymore. TL;DR that bonus is pretty short when talking about the normal Blight, but it's very good when talking about Vaal Blight.

The question is simple: is the bonus damage from Spreading rot(s) necessary for you to kill bosses? Do they require more than a single and full channelled Vaal Blight if you don't use the threshold jewel(s)?

If the answer to both questions is yes, use 2x Spreading Rots. If the answer is no, go for regular rare jewels.

DJNat
I took your advices about gear and skills. Now it feels MUCH smoother!!
But i have some more little questions to you (or someone expirienced):
1) Is it worth to make 6-link chest by myself (i'm not a lucky one, also not a rich one :), or just farm 12+ex and buy?
2) Tried to play with haste + flesh offering + necromancer path, in total gameplay is TOO fast for me, i realised that FO+some % att, cast and mov speed is enough for me. Can i change Haste with Grace, is it good idea? (still dying sometimes., not a lot).
3) Also, i still don't understand importance of "Exceptional performance" cluster. While mapping, duration of Cont, ED and Blight feels enough. Or is it for 20 Blight stacks on Boss fights?
Thank you guys!

1) In my opinion, it's better to buy an already six-linked Shav if you don't want to gamble with fusings yourself. They go for about 9 ex at the moment.

2) If the necromancer playstyle is too fast for you, respec for the Guardian one and take Path of the Shadow as the last ascendancy. You should change a bit the passive tree, connecting the Shadow area to the Witch one (2 points spent), removing the very first point at the left witch start and removing a 10 int travelling node under the Energy from Within jewel socket.

Haste is very useful and I find it a lot better than Grace. If you feel safer with Grace you can use it btw, but I recommend switching to Haste when you feel better-geared for the endgame, especially when you get the Elder jewel with the Onslaught on kill while affected by Haste modifier.

3) The Exceptional Performance cluster is very useful for a lot of reasons: blight stacks, wither totem stacks, ED duration, Contagion duration, even for Vaal Blight (and eventually Vaal Discipline if you use it) duration.

More duration = less casts to do in a timeframe = more time for mobility = more survivability. That's it :)

DJNat, you're very kindly person, thank you so much for helping!
1) Agree. So i'm starting to save money.
2) It's a difficult choice for me. I've carefully read your guide, and know about Guardian spec - here's very good defensive options, esp ES regen. But -curses (i have flask!) and sharing charges with party... It's a waste.
On other hand, i decided to choose Necro, because (imo) it better fits in our Scion, and all bonuses (except 1 for minions) are really sweet. Also, i'm a bit greedy due to the loss of 2 "transition" points, and 1 starting node from Witch. Need to test by myself.
3) Ok, i understand it now!

I have upgraded my gear a little, current goal would be i think to get Empower 4. If you have idea what else i can upgrade, I would want to hear it.



Killed T15 Elders / Guardians / Shaper with this build already, was kinda hard to get used to ES build. But now i am pretty confident. Still testing the Spreading Rot's.

Cheers

Things you can get in the future to upgrade the gear:

- Empower 4
- ED 21/20 for better clearing

The rest of the gear appears to be solid. Maybe you can try to get boots with more ES, 80 seems pretty low, 150+ should be the goal.

And the Onslaught on kill while affected by Haste Watcher's Eye is amazing, even at the Elder / Uber Elder fight, because there are multiple adds which trigger the onslaught there.

I am new to ED and have one question. What if make Witch version of this build but without Malediction path of ascendancy? It allows to change amulet for Impresence and run one more aura (but which one?) and it havent Profane Bloom mapping issues.

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fudon wrote:

I am new to ED and have one question. What if make Witch version of this build but without Malediction path of ascendancy? It allows to change amulet for Impresence and run one more aura (but which one?) and it havent Profane Bloom mapping issues.

You don't need Impresence as a Witch, you already have 3 curses with the optimal ascendancies and you run Despair via Witchfire Brew.

There are no good auras to run as an ED character apart from Clarity, Discipline and Haste, which we already use in the build.