R.I.P. [2.6] Explosive Arrow - Elementalist Build Guide (multi class + version, in depth theory)

I want to play EA as dedicated uber lab farmer. So in your opinion it is better to start as Elementalist or Champion?

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fensuta wrote:

I want to play EA as dedicated uber lab farmer. So in your opinion it is better to start as Elementalist or Champion?

I'd say Elementalist. Keep in mind that you can't ignite Argus so it will take a bit longer to kill him if you don't have absurd dps. I never died to him tho.
Elementalist will be easy to level and have great damage while still be tanky enough. But there may be better builds if you just want to farm the lab. I am not really sure what build would that be tho.

gl

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In other news I'd like to thank the Lioneye's Watch Podcast Hosts LiftingNerdBro, Hegemony and especially Project PT, as well as their special guest Ziggy D for featuring this build on the podcast.

Lioneye's Watch Podcast #11 Featuring ZiggyD - HC Vs. Softcore, Skill-tree & 3.0 Beta Discussion + BOTW.

Check it out.

The +3 bow project is complete and here's the result. I got very lucky with this one as I only used a single "Shrieking Essence of Rage". I actually need the dexterity. So I only had to add Cata's meta crafting mod (Cannot roll attack mods), then scour it after exalting the item. I then crafted attack speed with Tora's crafting bench. Total cost was less than 5 exalts.
I will probably switch Slower Projectiles with Faster Attacks.

Hello, heard about build guide at the Lioneye's podcast and decided to chime in with EA things you have not covered. Personally, I tried EA for the first time this league and immediately fell in love with the skill.

First build I've made was Berserk with 12x GS. I think it's the best all around class for EA right now (for softcore). It has great placement on the tree, provides with an additional 1.4x multiplier both to initial hit and ignite, has buttloads of attack speed, movement speed and last but not least free leech, which is an immense quality of life, especially for reduced/no regen maps.



The next stop for me was to increase the amount of GS and the only way to do that is to go CI Elementalist. So I managed to arrive at 14x GS having a good amount of ES and some room to grow up to 12.5k. Pro of this variant as it provides two six links setups for quality of life and requires no gem/weapon swapping.





I also tried +3 bow, but it's just too painfully slow even on Berserk.

Thanks for the comment gwarlek.

I have not only covered the Berserker but also Pathfinder in this guide. Not that extensively but most of the stuff in the thread also applies to other classes.

Yes the Berserker is really good as he can do ele. reflect maps. On the down side he uses Vaal pact so we don't have any life regen.

In general each class has its pros and cons.

I have tried the build with 12 jewels. Of course you can get more but there are always trade offs (less life). With 12 jewels reflect started to get noticeable in some situations. Even on the Elementalist. There was no reason to use more than 11 for me as I can take down any guardian (other than Phoenix) without any problem (with reasonable mods).

I have done EB MOM version in the past. That was good but not as good as the BM version.

The CI version is interesting. From the top of my head I would say that such gear must be extremely expensive tho. The fact that you managed to get such gear in Essence is impressive to say the least.
To be honest I don't feel like any more sockets are really needed for BM. Of course it's different for non BM builds since you use auras. Keep in mind also that it's in fact possible to get 10k life with the BM version as well.

That being said, props to you my friend. Do you have any game play videos with your CI version? I would love to have a look.

peace.

EDIT*

I checked your tree. Looks good, but I would probably change the Templar area and get more es instead.

I have a follow up on my post about the Word of War glove enchant applying EE for me. While I read on the Wiki that minions cannot apply EE, and assumed it to apply to this case, further testing seems to show that they do in fact apply it.

This video shows what fighting Voll looks like with the glove enchant removed. As expected, when I hit Voll with the fuse he is briefly vulnerable to Fire, then becomes vulnerable to the other elements after the explosion:


The fight in this next video is a little messier but it shows that with the enchant up, Voll is constantly vulnerable to fire, even when the only thing my character is doing is using explosive arrow, which should leave him resistant to fire after the explosion:


In the beginning I show that my default attack only has cold and lightning damage, and so does the attack of the enchant minion. As the fight happens, the minions are summoned on kill, shown by the icon in the buff bar. I periodically shoot Voll with explosive arrow, slowly killing him (took out supports lol). In between each explosion, you can see that he remains vulnerable to fire as the minion tags him. Also note the brief period towards the end when the minions expired and he was then not vulnerable to fire.

What do you think? It sure seems to me to be applying EE. If so, this would be a cool addition to this build, right up there with the chilled ground enchant in my opinion.

That's good info. I mean I don't think it's something you can rely on but it can certainly help. A safer way is to shoot frenzy immediately after the explosion. Still I'll add this as a possible thing to keep for glove enchant as I pretty much seen them all and only about 2 others are decent.

Trying out a +3 bow, it feels extremely bad on a berserker to be honest. It really hurts when you don't ignite after stacking to 5. If you can afford a +3 bow then tbh might as well to upgrade to grand spectrum build and you wouldn't need the +3 bow anyway. BUT it does add TONS of damage to your attacks no lie about it.

Elementalist might be much better then a +3 bow due to ascends.

Thinking of selling the bow if anyone wants it;V

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RagnarokChu wrote:

Trying out a +3 bow, it feels extremely bad on a berserker to be honest. It really hurts when you don't ignite after stacking to 5. If you can afford a +3 bow then tbh might as well to upgrade to grand spectrum build and you wouldn't need the +3 bow anyway. BUT it does add TONS of damage to your attacks no lie about it.

Elementalist might be much better then a +3 bow due to ascends.

Thinking of selling the bow if anyone wants it;V

The bow is really nice. I have about 96% chance to ignite with curse and the buff from belt up. For reference I have now dropped Shaper of Desolation entirely. So I don't get any increased chance to burn.

I think the +3 bow is better than Quill Rain for bosses. But Quill is better for general mapping. The +3 bow cost me about 2ex less than the Quill Rain. But I was kinda lucky.
The Marauder has 40% mode damage. That's quite a nice buff. But the play stile is a bit different as you have Vaal pact. I don't think you ever need to 5 stack on the +3 bow. But with Vaal pact Quill rain might be much better.

The league Will end soon. I don't think upgrading to Grand Spectrum now is a very good idea. Maybe next league. Although there has been much talk about the jewels. They might get more in demand. Let's hope the prices will not rise...

Honestly EA is fine without the jewels but it's also true that you can get a lot more damage with the jewels.

Using the grand spectrum build and it's amazing. I did a lot of build jumping before finding yours and I'm so glad I did. Thanks for putting the time into this build and making it public!

<3