[3.16][HC][ON BREAK] Caustic Arrow Raider, DoT Focused | Tanky | 6k+ Health | All Content | In-depth

I've tried a few CA builds in the past, but this is by far the absolutely best and most straightforward one I've played. It's even the best time I've ever had playing any sort of ranger, it has felt smoother than anything even compared to how easily CA curves into endgame.

I even played it semi-self found because I could roll with low level rings and amulet into mapping without issues. A few issues with mana at some points while leveling due to unlucky drops, but temporarily getting mana on kill and max mana fixed that.

One of my favorite builds to date, to me only beat by flicker strike or consecrated path. Perfect league starter and for endgame perfecting.

Which soul do you recommend to upgrade to for Lunaris?

Edit - never-mind, I see now that you can upgrade all 3 and don't have to choose only one of the 3 upgrades. Still learning the basics :)

After crafting +1 socketed gems and +2 socketed bow gems, how do i craft "Step 2: Craft 33-40% Non-ailment Chaos Damage over Time Multiplier"

I believe I got a lower % craft from a veiled item. The mastercrafter that did "no atk mods" for me wanted 20c for the 33-40% chaos multi craft (I told him I didn't need to re-roll til 40% and I didn't have the $$ anyway). It's probably worth it, though, even the level 1 craft is a fat DPS boost.

Here's a list of known crafting locations by the way:
https://www.reddit.com/r/pathofexile/comments/a6d6th/cheat_sheet_recipes_with_all_locations_and/

Started this build this league and was a slow start.. But i blame myself I didnt read the entire post before playing. Its a fun build for sure!!

i'm feeling so weak at this league.. I'm still gathering currency to upgrade for better items but if you could lead some tips for my current state I would appreciate a lot.

Hi, first of all thanks for you guide, I've been having some fun with it on this patch but I have to ask, It's probably been asked before but I couldn't find it, but why do you take to the duelist side on the passive tree with nodes like Art of the Gladiator and Master of the arena? wouldn't it be better to just look for more dmg/life or jewel sockets? I mean, I can see gladiator for pathing to golem's blood but master of the arena provides almost nothing and even then, golem's blood is so far away... wouldn't it be better to just go for the Constituion cluster close to Sentinel? I feel like even going up to aspect of the eagle with only 4 points would be a better upgrade

"

Gagneto wrote:

Hi, first of all thanks for you guide, I've been having some fun with it on this patch but I have to ask, It's probably been asked before but I couldn't find it, but why do you take to the duelist side on the passive tree with nodes like Art of the Gladiator and Master of the arena? wouldn't it be better to just look for more dmg/life or jewel sockets? I mean, I can see gladiator for pathing to golem's blood but master of the arena provides almost nothing and even then, golem's blood is so far away... wouldn't it be better to just go for the Constituion cluster close to Sentinel? I feel like even going up to aspect of the eagle with only 4 points would be a better upgrade

Easy, open your skilltree and search for 'regen'. It's another defensive layer for when you do take damage and need to relocate. Master of the arena also grants some extra strength that is harder to stack, while being a single point away from some good evasion and life nodes.

The close by proj damage nodes also scale towards CA and makes the pathing towards golem's blood not very wasteful.

There's good flask uptime if you dodge around, but regen lets you have some extra reaction time in case of taking multiple hits in a short time, killing you.

Overall, the evasion and regen feels sturdier than many duelists with more life I've played, and it's also not that hard to stack life on your gear so you really don't need the big life cluster.

"

glappoid wrote:

Spoiler

This build is highly underrated and is really worth taking to completion. I neglected capturing the extra Pantheon mods but holy shit. Elemental ailment AND blind/maim immunity + bleed/phys reduction? Onslaught evade? Vaal Grace and you are pretty much untouchable as long as you keep moving. If anyone is still having defensive problems, chaos resistance makes a HUGE difference. 45% I can take on most T14-15 syndicate forts and kite or grief around corners no problem. Right now I can pretty much clear as fast as I can run/loot up to T14. Once I find the damn fire + chaos res craft and swap my trash amulet, I'll be ele overcapped and chaos maxed :D

I unintentionally swapped in Multi Totems while leveling because my colors were off and HOLY CRAP it's like a free half-decoy totem and debuff upkeep is way better and great for unique mob boss fights. So glad to see it made it into the guide. And OP, I know you don't like Phase Run, but proccing it immediately after casting your totem is instant de-aggro and frenzy-charged, can glide through entire Delve side areas without a peep.

I learned the game on this build, and I will say for new players: It really shines in the meta/end-gear tweaking, which really isn't a huge thing. I got lucky and sold some boots for 2ex, but this build is more than capable of quickly farming chaos vendor recipes.

Also want to give a shoutout to Cold Snap on CWDT for Frenzy upkeep and general defensive QoL, especially in leveling/early mapping. You could even put Poacher's Mark in if you have a free slot (though I don't know about long-term). I can't say the benefits outway some other gem setup, but Frenzy upkeep is really helpful with low DPS/clearspeed. I haven't tried the banner yet, but have been experimenting with Arctic Armor, which I think has kept my survival threshold up in higher tiers.

Question to OP: Does Point Blank affect CA? It might be power of suggestion but the those maps seriously feel like playing a crazy Windripper build.

"

KHAAOS wrote:

Spoiler

I've tried a few CA builds in the past, but this is by far the absolutely best and most straightforward one I've played. It's even the best time I've ever had playing any sort of ranger, it has felt smoother than anything even compared to how easily CA curves into endgame.

I even played it semi-self found because I could roll with low level rings and amulet into mapping without issues. A few issues with mana at some points while leveling due to unlucky drops, but temporarily getting mana on kill and max mana fixed that.

One of my favorite builds to date, to me only beat by flicker strike or consecrated path. Perfect league starter and for endgame perfecting.

"

MutatedCloud wrote:

Spoiler

Started this build this league and was a slow start.. But i blame myself I didnt read the entire post before playing. Its a fun build for sure!!

Thank you! The easy progression is mostly thanks to very recent damage buffs. Previous versions of the build didn't have that easy.

Personal setups are fine overall, the core of the build is pretty much standalone. You can do anything and still make it work in one way. My setup is designed to be good for both bosses and mapping. You can specialize more into mapping, but it's not necessary. The only real challenge is the syndicate now.

Point Blank as KHAAOS mentioned, doesn't affect CA. It specifically says it increases hit damage.

"

AdinayLoxley wrote:

Which soul do you recommend to upgrade to for Lunaris?

Edit - never-mind, I see now that you can upgrade all 3 and don't have to choose only one of the 3 upgrades. Still learning the basics :)

Yep, you can upgrade all of them. Chain is not that useful but sometimes helpful - once in a while when the boss attacks the totems instead and they chain off to you.

"

Eunbunnie wrote:

After crafting +1 socketed gems and +2 socketed bow gems, how do i craft "Step 2: Craft 33-40% Non-ailment Chaos Damage over Time Multiplier"

"

glappoid wrote:

Spoiler

I believe I got a lower % craft from a veiled item. The mastercrafter that did "no atk mods" for me wanted 20c for the 33-40% chaos multi craft (I told him I didn't need to re-roll til 40% and I didn't have the $$ anyway). It's probably worth it, though, even the level 1 craft is a fat DPS boost. [...]

This mod can be found on veiled bows/staffs/wands, it can drop from any syndicate member. Even early levels give A LOT of additional damage. If you play for a while, you will find it eventually. You can always ask trusted mastercrafter to do it for you. TreeOfDead (who most likely approached glappoid) is known but super pricy. I personally farmed it today from 0 to max level in ~5 hours along with majority of other available mods by spamming Ossuary, really good zone for farming. Aisling in transportation can speed the process by a lot.

"

theworldowner wrote:

i'm feeling so weak at this league.. I'm still gathering currency to upgrade for better items but if you could lead some tips for my current state I would appreciate a lot.

If you don't know where the issue lies, it is always the flasks. Copy recommended setup, and use mana flask or another utility flask in place of Dying Sun. Your both rings and amulet could REALLY use an upgrade. Otherwise, your gear is great. I guess you need a 6-link bow on a faster base to feel better. The build only improved, with exception for defense due to Div Distillate nerf.

Gem wise, you should really invest into Wither totem now, new support gem is nuts. You don't have Cursed Frenzy setup yet (old CoH setup, but slapped new name due to actually using it to generate frenzies on bosse now). Also you should pick up Clarity, you might not have issues now, but you will with a 6-link for sure.

That's everything. Build might feel weaker because you could've get used to end game version from previous league. Syndicate might also give the same feeling, but they're kicking EVERYONE's ass.

"

Gagneto wrote:

Spoiler

Hi, first of all thanks for you guide, I've been having some fun with it on this patch but I have to ask, It's probably been asked before but I couldn't find it, but why do you take to the duelist side on the passive tree with nodes like Art of the Gladiator and Master of the arena? wouldn't it be better to just look for more dmg/life or jewel sockets? I mean, I can see gladiator for pathing to golem's blood but master of the arena provides almost nothing and even then, golem's blood is so far away... wouldn't it be better to just go for the Constituion cluster close to Sentinel? I feel like even going up to aspect of the eagle with only 4 points would be a better upgrade

I value health regen very highly. Without regeneration, the degens will drain your life and disable Damage on Full Life. It's also additional safety against any DoTs and will heal up small hits without having to use flask for it.

Jewels beat almost every single node on the tree, sure, but you also gotta spend money on them. I've tried the tree to be as SSF/beginner friendly as possible. I still recommend jewels for levels above 94, you can pick up all closest ones, assuming you hit level level 100.

Even without the regen, that spot is great due to some extra utility and jewel that takes only 2 passive points. If you compare full scion's life wheel + any non-jewel damage nodes, you will see that numbers are very close damage and hp wise. Regen is worth the difference imo.

"

KHAAOS wrote:

"

Gagneto wrote:

Spoiler

Hi, first of all thanks for you guide, I've been having some fun with it on this patch but I have to ask, It's probably been asked before but I couldn't find it, but why do you take to the duelist side on the passive tree with nodes like Art of the Gladiator and Master of the arena? wouldn't it be better to just look for more dmg/life or jewel sockets? I mean, I can see gladiator for pathing to golem's blood but master of the arena provides almost nothing and even then, golem's blood is so far away... wouldn't it be better to just go for the Constituion cluster close to Sentinel? I feel like even going up to aspect of the eagle with only 4 points would be a better upgrade

Easy, open your skilltree and search for 'regen'. It's another defensive layer for when you do take damage and need to relocate. Master of the arena also grants some extra strength that is harder to stack, while being a single point away from some good evasion and life nodes.

The close by proj damage nodes also scale towards CA and makes the pathing towards golem's blood not very wasteful.

There's good flask uptime if you dodge around, but regen lets you have some extra reaction time in case of taking multiple hits in a short time, killing you.

Overall, the evasion and regen feels sturdier than many duelists with more life I've played, and it's also not that hard to stack life on your gear so you really don't need the big life cluster.

"

Gagneto wrote:

Spoiler

Hi, first of all thanks for you guide, I've been having some fun with it on this patch but I have to ask, It's probably been asked before but I couldn't find it, but why do you take to the duelist side on the passive tree with nodes like Art of the Gladiator and Master of the arena? wouldn't it be better to just look for more dmg/life or jewel sockets? I mean, I can see gladiator for pathing to golem's blood but master of the arena provides almost nothing and even then, golem's blood is so far away... wouldn't it be better to just go for the Constituion cluster close to Sentinel? I feel like even going up to aspect of the eagle with only 4 points would be a better upgrade

"

DankawSL wrote:

I value health regen very highly. Without regeneration, the degens will drain your life and disable Damage on Full Life. It's also additional safety against any DoTs and will heal up small hits without having to use flask for it.

Jewels beat almost every single node on the tree, sure, but you also gotta spend money on them. I've tried the tree to be as SSF/beginner friendly as possible. I still recommend jewels for levels above 94, you can pick up all closest ones, assuming you hit level level 100.

Even without the regen, that spot is great due to some extra utility and jewel that takes only 2 passive points. If you compare full scion's life wheel + any non-jewel damage nodes, you will see that numbers are very close damage and hp wise. Regen is worth the difference imo.

thanks both of you for the good points, I'll give some consideration and maybe play around with the points since they're on the far ends and refunding them would be cheap, I can at least now see where you're coming from, I'm fairly new to the game (played back in 2014~15) so I'm still learning and I might have understimated the value of some defences