[3.1]The Absinthe Scavenger - cremation and volatile dead with six curses [league starter]
 Introduction Hi there, this is my first ever build in POE. I'm a relatively new player. So please leave comments if you are interested in the general ideas or have suggestions on this build. Currently lv.83 in Abyss SC having great fun though I haven't time to try any hard content (such as shaper/elder fights, guardians or uber lab) but most bosses I met till now melt in seconds and during the leveling process I had no difficulty with any acts unlike most spell builds. Patch Changes
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3.2 Huge Buff to Occultist in 3.2 Malediction gives more damage and causes enemies to hit less hard. With 6 curses on chest, we will get 48% more damage each time we kill a monster around the effigy. Can reasonably have 9 curses easily (6 from Chest, 1 from Malediction, 1 from passive tree, 1 base curse), so it will be 72% Can run up to 11 curses simultaneously (6 from Chest, 1 from Malediction, 1 from passive tree, 1 from amulet corruption, 1 from boots, 1 base curse), though 9 are more than enough. Don't like Bestiary at all and probably play this bd in flashback POB link
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For people who want to skip this lengthy post, https://pastebin.com/yVWSnme0 PS: POB may not provide accurate damage estimate on this build. For any question, please read through the post and then post your questions below. I check the post everyday and I will always try my best to help. :) Some base stats:
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4468 HP, 2010 Mana (this build does not reserve mana), 3632 ES 6 curses: warlord's mark, assassin's mark, despair, temporal chain, poacher's mark, enfeeble Volatile dead: 93663 hit damage * 3 per cast + 121221 poison damage * 3 per cast against mob; Cremation: 25420 average hit * projectile number * 3 volcanoes + 32100 poison damage * projectile number * 3 volcanoes Unearth: 5196 average hit, 1.35 cast rate, 7982 poison damage, 5 projectiles (= 5 corpses) 82% chaos, 18% fire damage Does not count: power charge, malediction's 24% more damage, and curse effect, clear mind jewel. Video:
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T12 Racecourse: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kAmk_L7FXzY&feature=youtu.be Core mechanism
Chaos Conversion
Convert % of fire damage to chaos damage Dual-wielding the consuming dark converts 60% of your fire damage to chaos damage and grants poison on hit (120% chance to poison on hit to be precise). Infernal mantle converts a further 15% of fire damage to chaos damage, though we won't be using this in our build. See more explanation below. Gain % of non-chaos damage as extra chaos damage This kind of description grants more damage instead of just conversion. Obtainable via: Eber's unification provides 8% of elemental damage (which influences cremation and volatile dead) as extra chaos damage. Atziri's promise grants 12% of elemental damage (15% of physical damage for unearth) as extra chaos damage during flask effect.  Occultist's ascendancy node "Malediction" grants a buff when you kill a cursed enemy. For each curse on it, you gain 4% of non-chaos damage as extra chaos damage. With doedre's skin which removes curse limit that you can apply on enemies, you gain up to 24% (6*4%) more non-chaos damage (affects all skill used) as chaos damage.
infernal mantel vs doedre's skin
It's up to you to decide which chest you would wear. I am a big fan of doedre for the following reasons.
Poison
Poison damage deals chaos damage and grows quickly with stack. Frequent Hits with Poison on Hit Two consuming dark grants 120% chance to poison on hit. Core skills generate multiple hits per cast. Volatile dead destroys up to 3 corpses upon cast (4 with enchantment). Cremation fires projectiles from a immobile geyser (with 3 geysers up, approximately 9 hits per second [only visually, not sure]). Unearth with GMP (greater multiple projectile) support gem can fire 5 projectiles per cast and in average hits a single 2-3 times per cast. With 100% chance to poison on hit, more hits = more poison stack. Building Around Stacks Linked skill deals up to 9% more damage with vile toxin. And more dot with poison. Temporal chains make your poison linger longer on its victim and thus creating more stacks. Free 5 link, and more importantly, poison duration (= more stacks) as well as global chaos damage (higher poison damage).
Corpse Spamming
Corpse spamming is core to this build since all main skills rely heavily on fleshes and blood. Unearth Unearth linked with spell totem frees you from self-cast desecrate and generates corpse closer to enemies. In addition, as poison on hit mechanics exists, unearth builds poison stacks and thus boosts your main skill damage a lot. Cwdt-desecrate In case you forget to cast unearth spell totem and awkwardly being surrounded by a huge pack of monsters, this trigger mechanic will save your ass. Flask?  Summon two corpses and trigger Malediction buff in boss fight. Be aware of your minion (your golem!), they can accidentally kill them with no care Offence
Defense
Pros and Cons [spoiler="Pros"]
[/spoiler] [spoiler="C0ns"]
[/spoiler] Passive Tree and Bandit [spoiler] Alira my sister :) https://www.pathofexile.com/passive-skill-tree/3.1.1/AAAABAMBAASzBUIHHgj0DkgPxBBYEQ8RLREvEVARlhV-Fm8WvxqBGyUc3B0UIvQmlSoLKwosnDLRNbk6WDsNO3w8BUGWQnpFR0WdSU9JUUmxS65QMFF0Uq9TUlVLVcZcQF3yXyph4mf8aPJp2GpDbAttGXBSdFV1nnpwfIN88H6hf8aD24Uyh2WHy4nTjDaOZI8aj0aP-pEHkyeVLpctmuCboaEvogCio6aZpwinK6ebrJi2-rjKuZO7Tbv8vKq86r6KwGbDCc8V0PXXz9lb217dX9-K42rpAuvu6_XvfO-I7-vwH_DV8h33pvfX-Tf60g== tips: you can see ascendancy points, by just clicking the downside arrow at the bottom of the witch face. [/spoiler] Gem link [spoiler] Unearth: (dagger) Unearth - GMP - Spell totem Unearth will only work with GMP, otherwise it just generates one corpse per cast. Movement/Golem: (dagger) Whirling blade - Faster Attack - Summon Chaos Golem Can use other golem and other movement skill at your will. Cremation: (helmet) Cremation - Elemental Focus - Controlled Destruction - Vile toxin Use cremation only at boss fights or against strongboxes/thorny rares. Curses:(chest) whatever you want. My personal set up is warlord's mark, poacher's mark, assassin's mark, enfeeble, despair, and temporal chains. (Or maybe you can support effigy with other gems, haven't tried yet but don't think worthwhile to trade 4% more damage for a stronger effigy) Main:(gloves) Wither - Cast while Channeling - Volatile dead - Elemental Focus/Storm Barrier - Vile toxin (granted by embalmer) Swap Ele Focus for Storm Barrier. Ironically, I found that elemental focus is more defensive since it kills packs and bosses quicker, largely reducing your need for defense. LOL. Cwdt Proc:(boots) Cast when damage taken (lvl 2) - Desecrate (lvl 8) - Frost wall (lvl11) - Immortal Call (lvl 2) Can use whatever cwdt setup you like. Desecrate is however mandatory. [/spoiler] Gear As you can see, whole suit costs less than 20c, I dare to say. [spoiler="My current gear"] [/spoiler] Video Sadly my wooden computer does not allow me to record any vids. If you happen to love my idea, I would appreciate if you can help. Play style (Must read before trying)
Leveling guide [spoiler]Gems are listed in order of importance. Do not use chromatic to roll socket color before act 7 just use whatever color on gear and try to fit in gems indicated here. Lv 1-12: Main spell: Freezing Pulse – LMP (Lesser Multiple Projectile) – Arcane Surge – (added lightning damage) [four link is unnecessary] Secondary: Orb of Storm – Elemental Proliferation Totem: Spell totem – any other spell you have (raise zombie/ summon skeleton could be nice as meat shield) Gear suggestion: dual wield wands (or wands + spirit shield), get movement speed on boots, socket abyssal gems that add flat elemental damage to spell into stygian vise if you have any. act 1 after killing Brutus Main spell: Volatile Dead – Arcane Surge – Chance to ignite – (added cold/lightning damage) Secondary: Orb of Storm – Elemental Proliferation – Added Lightning Damage Totem: Unearth – LMP – Spell Totem , Searing bond is also nice to have Movement: Flame Dash (Must have, need it at Act2 to leap over broken paths) Support: Clarity (do not level it) Gear suggestion: get some cold resist before boss. Get Storm barrier and wither and put them into free socket (get 6 free sockets from your backup weapon slots) to gain experience. act 2 Update Main spell: Volatile Dead – Arcane Surge – Elemental Focus/Storm Barrier – (Concentrated effect – Controlled Destruction) Secondary: Orb of Storm – Power Charge on Crit – (Elemental Proliferation – Added Lightning Damage) Corpse: Desecrate – Spell Cascade (Self-cast) Not mandatory if you have unearth totem already; keep desecrate at low level (or do not lv it at all) Defense: Arctic Armour (Nice to have) Offence: Herald of Thunder (Nah to herald of ice since it destroys our precious corpses) Gear suggestion: Take gear with 3 or more sockets from drops. Use low-tier essence to gear up. Do not spend too much currency. Abyssal Gem: Life > Resist > Flat damage to spell > Spell/Fire damage > Energy Shield act 3 Add cremation setup: Cremation – Elemental Focus – Controlled Destruction Blasphemy: Up to you if you use warlord’s mark curse aura (arrange your mana reservation) Aura: Anger (Nice to have but not mandatory, and arrange your mana reservation) Gear suggestion: Upgrade gear with 2 or more links from drops. Use low-tier essence to gear up. Do not spend too much currency. Cap lightning resist before Dominos. Abyssal Gem: Life > Resist > Flat damage to spell > Spell/Fire damage > Energy Shield act 4 Chaos Golem (Or other golem you like) CWDT: Cast When Damage Taken (lv2) – Frost wall (lv 8) – Desecrate Unearth: Unearth – GMP (Greater Multiple Projectile) – Spell Totem Orb of Storm: Orb of Storm – Power Charge on Crit – Curse of Hit – Curse of your choice Gear suggestion: Use some currency to buy good life/resist/es gear on poe.trade. Low level item is cheaper to buy than to craft yourself. Upgrade your flask. Abyssal Gem: Life > Resist > Flat damage to spell = Crit multi > Spell/Fire damage > Energy Shield act 5 Grab as much as life you can, and you can sacrifice some damage for it. No skill gem update. Do normal lab before Kitava fight. Caution: There was a bug concerning unearth while fighting Kitava. Unearth shoots at Kitava, dealing normal damage but fails to generate any corpse. I do not know whether GGG has fixed this or not. You can self-cast desecrate anyway. act 6 Cap resist and buy all gems that you don’t have from Lily. Cap Cold resist before Brine King. You can also be lacking dex from now on. Be sure to get dex on amulet and rings. act 7 Buy all core unique from poe.trade with the right color link and ideally good rolls. Main skill: Wither – Cwc – Volatile Dead – Elemental Focus – Vile toxin (4 link on embalmer) Cremation: Cremation – Ele Focus – Controlled Destruction – Vile toxin Orb of Storm: Orb of storm – power charge on crit – curse on hit – curse of your choice Movement: Whirling blade – faster attack – fortify You must equip at least two consuming dark before switching to wither cwc setup. Otherwise, stay with the old self-cast setup. Unlike self-cast version, cwc version does not require you to target corpse. Feel free to target elsewhere and volatile dead will auto-target a nearby corpse as you hover around. Gear suggestion: Use all your saved currency on mentioned gear. The build is at its temporal acumen when you have 2 consuming dark, infernal mantel and embalmer gloves. Enjoy! Caution: The Arakaali fight has the same problem as Kitava’s. So be sure to grab Desecrate. act 8-10 No real progression. Just gear up and always cap resist. Remember that sacrificing life/defense for damage is not wise for the moment since you have already abundant of them from tree and uniques. Having MoM and a decent life/es pool, you should be deathless during all these chapters with a rather good clean speed. Map Switch to six-curse setup when you enter maps. Pick up 6 curses of your choice and buy Doedre’s skin from poe.trade. I’d suggest to socket at least 2 defensive curses into the chest. In terms of dps, the three best curses are assassin’s mark, despair and temporal chain. [/spoiler] Ascendancy Choice [spoiler]Want to try Necromancer next. The key node is spirit eater which grants cast speed as you consume corpses. Offering makes you more resistant against hard bosses like elder or shaper. Feedback welcome. [/spoiler] Honorable Mention https://www.pathofexile.com/forum/view-thread/1967939 https://www.pathofexile.com/forum/view-thread/1820100 Last edited by pesemire#6444 on Apr 24, 2018, 10:44:44 PM Last bumped on May 25, 2018, 11:20:53 PM
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Hi.
Well written guide. Thank you. Questions: 1) How do you target Wither? on the mob/boss or on creamated corpses? 2) Any tips for leveling this? ■► It's a business. You won't get the full experience.
■► Yes, this is an addiction. This is a Slot Machine. I am addicted. ■► You won't be rewarded. There is no reward. |
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Hi. I forgot to write a section about play style. It’s rather simple for trash mobs. Place ur unearth totem and cast wither (just hover around the screen, no need targeting since 1, volatile dead almost one shots most white mobs 2, cwc volatile dead auto targets corpses as well as enemies) I encourage you to try it and it’s really fun seeing fire orbs rushing through everywhere and exploding enemies on its path. For boss fights, target at boss as wither stacks will be crucial for high dps and as corpses are spamming around the boss, the fire orb doesn’t need to travel and thus hits always, stacking even more poison dot.
2. Only 2 phases: before lv12 and after 12. Use freezing pulse before lv 12 and grab the quest gems you like. After lv 12, you can use volatile dead, unearth and spell totem. The core setup is rdy and it will carry you till act 6 or 7. When you hit lv 53, grab two consuming dark and embalmer, perhaps infernal mantel if you want to see it’s incredible power. Switch immediately to wither cwc volatile dead setup when these mentioned uniques are rdy. No required items is needed for lvling, just pick up all you can use from drops. The only recommended unique is lifesprig which boosts ur clean speed and gives you decent regen upon cast. Last edited by pesemire#6444 on Dec 23, 2017, 4:59:51 PM
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" Leveling guide updated; |
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Thanks for the guide. After building my own gimped BodySwap build and struggling with T3 maps, I used your guide to revamp my character. Things are going a lot better. Thank you!
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" Glad you like it. |
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Do you run your curses all as auras or do you cast them individually?
IF auras, how do you manage that with reserved mana - there must be something I am missing. Thanks Love the build so far.. |
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" Hi. We use a new unique item just introduced in 3.1 Doedre's skin grants lv20 effigy skill. This effigy is like a totem which casts all your curses as a blasphemy aura socketed in this item (no need to be fulled linked). And it reserves no mana. You only need to manually cast this effigy skill on hard mobs or bosses though. The only downside of this skill is its cast speed and cast point. With no bonus, it may cost as long as 1s to cast. |
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p.s. effigy is not a totem skill, so it bypasses your maximum totem limit.
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