3.2 - Blight Knight Heirophant (SSF friendly)

Looking over the list of build guides, I notice a distinct lack of Chaos damage for the Templar lineage, and I think Chaos Heirophants show a lot of promise. Bear with me, this is the first time I've written a guide or did any linking at all.


In summary, pretty durable and the chaos damage really starts ripping things up, especially as the Ascendancy nodes Illuminated Devotion triggers and Pursuit of Faith ramps up. It's a very different class... an an-your-face armored caster. I'm sure other people could do it better, and the gear is a work in progress (as I mentioned, I'm SSF) but it's a blast to play if you're looking for something different. Will it do top-end content? Based on current performance, I'm optimistic.



** Added video link in initial post **

Video of typical fight.. usually over fairly quickly with the fast-stacking chaos debuff due to the totems. This is without using flasks, which I generally only employ when things get gritty.

https://youtu.be/PXbJOH8BXgc



** Edited to update at level 84 with adjustments **
Primarily focused on Spell Power to boost Chaos as well as incidental Elemental damage, and Regeneration/endurance to stay in the game.


Full tree at level 84 is here:

https://www.pathofexile.com/fullscreen-passive-skill-tree/AAAABAUCAAGRBFEEswY5CPQJqgthDF8RLRhWGF0Yaho4HKcczhzcJy8o-iycLdIy0TWSOhY6WDrYOuE8BTwtPQ89X0GHQ8hEq0VHRZ1N408EUWBSU1KvU1JTpVWuVcZXlFgHW6Bn_GhaaHRo8mpDbRl4L3wOfIN8u3zlghCCm4LHg1-D24aCjxqPRo-mkFWUoJf0mjua4Juhn9-iAKZXpwinVayYrUqt8a79r2yvp7c-uJO7TbzqwGbAmsau1abYvdn82mLa3d1f37Dr7uwu7DjtPO988B_yRfMG99f56Puq_gr-jw%3D%3D



Primary damage dealing is done via a 5 link Blight. Currently using Anbu's Charge for the resistance, regen, health, armor... just a good all around defensive set even if the "share with your party" never comes into play for me. At some point there's a good Armor/Evasion chest that would probably suit this build even better that I'll hopefully be able to grab eventually... a 6 link Cherrubim's Maleficence would have more armor and evasion (which would be more helpful than the energy shield for the regen build) and bonus to chaos damage. Would lose some regen and resistance so it's not a gimme, but something to consider for the future.







As a side-damage, I use Greater Multiple Projectiles Essence Drain... more healing, damage, and can trigger a decent Arcane Surge. The Knife has a built in Controlled Destruction so that I could move this skill out of my helmet to free up a socket.




For gloves, I'm using Doedre's Tenure to boost Spell Power. In those gloves I'm using Curse on hit for Temporal Chains and Despair, via Shock Nova. (bear with me here!) Might look into replacing these with more HP gloves at some point if I can find ones that synergize with the offense better.



Since Blight is a fairly close-up skill, pairing with Shock Nova is pretty natural. Similar radius with a chance to shock for bonus damage. Temporal Chains synergizes with the Blight slowdown and Despair makes Blight hurt more.


To augment the slowing and chaos damage further, we set up a Spell Totem casting Wither. Not hugely necessary for your typical crowd, but really starts to shine on boss fights. After Ascendancies, those 3 Wither totems will also regenerate 3% of your life.



The shield also has a high level Enduring Cry for defensive resilience via Endurance stacks (4) and a little bonus burst healing every few seconds if needed. This also helps distract people from my Stone Golem, which is part of my Cast When Damage Taken setup so that I don't really care if he dies a lot. Also there are Tempest shield for bonus block and Molten Shell for more armor and damage.




Rounding things out, is my movement skill: a fast-casting Flame Dash to get in the middle of crowds and go nuts and/or evade nastiness. Also Vigilant Strike so that you can stay in the fray to unload. Slow to attack with, but one application lasts for a good long while and this will only use up a single socket.




Lastly jewelry... I'm a fan of socket rings, and the Stone of Lahzwar was replaced by Winterheart in a gear-shuffle when I needed a lot more cold resistance and more Dex. Any of these could get swapped out in the future as the mood strikes me. Currently running Determination Aura for more resilience for me and the Stone Golem, and Arctic Armor... take more hits and slow them down further, which synergizes nicely with the totems, blight, temporal chains, etc.

When I can get a Kaom Way ring for extra endurance charge and regen then it'll go in.

Hey Koratrice, any chance for a video of the gameplay style? Any tips for the tree after 80?

Haven't ever made a video before... I'll see what I can do.

After 80 I fleshed out the easy Life nodes then started working on the Skittering Runes node to boost the curses (more damage, slower.. defensive.)


Past that, I'm leaning towards beefing up Armor (solitary node near Combat stamina, and Faith and Steel) or picking up jewel sockets... currently don't have a jewel that screams must-have, but that could change.

I probably SHOULD go for the Life/Reduced Mana nodes, but annoyed that it'll limit my Arcane Surge bonus. It would, however, mean that the top-tier ascendancy that I'm aiming for (10% of damage to mana) would be easier to deal with, so should probably just get over it.


A gear-related upgrade I need to work toward (hard as SFF) would be a Koam's Way ring for +1 to Endurance Charges (4% reduced damage) and another 2% Life Regen.

Thanks for the build! What am I missing with the Damage on Full Life Support? Blight isn't an Attack so that shouldn't be doing anything for your DPS. Does it change your DPS or add the icon to the gem in your skill bar ('f')? A better red gem might be Empower.

See below for a newer, more typical video.




older:

Well, here's a video... again, inexpertly played and sloppy. I noticed that I wasn't using my potions as much as I should if trying to show off, etc. :)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=joSyEHsZFzU&feature=youtu.be


Was having a really good run at the lich for a few minutes and then I started falling apart so didn't bother showing it. More bad playing than bad build I think. Hah.

"

midtown wrote:

Thanks for the build! What am I missing with the Damage on Full Life Support? Blight isn't an Attack so that shouldn't be doing anything for your DPS. Does it change your DPS or add the icon to the gem in your skill bar ('f')? A better red gem might be Empower.

Err... I was just levelling it... yeah. That's the ticket.


Just not paying attention I guess. Thanks for the heads up. Need to play chromatic pinwheel some more. Another blue or green is needed.


Tried a bit, got bored, and settled into the same colors. Went with Iron Will instead. 2621->3082 Dot damage per stack.

Created a short video of a more typical fight sequence at level 84 with some gear changes. This is a shaped alleyways without some crazy mods.

https://youtu.be/PXbJOH8BXgc