[3.4] lddiamond's Toxic Rain Penta RAT Hierophant, All Content, League Starter, Deathless Uber

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ArcadesSabboth wrote:

Is Haste the best Aura to run with this build? Since I don't need to worry about Clear Mind Gem, I'm searching for options, but honestly don't know whether the extra ~30% is worth it give Quill Rain is already at 100%.

An interesting question, and one I'd not considered before. Let me first say I use Clarity and Purity of Elements to over-cap my resists. To test your question, I leveled Haste to give an additional 12% attack speed to my totems.

And honestly? I saw no difference in their killing speed. Everything pretty much melted at the same rate give or take an additional second. I suspect this is because Quill Rain and the Attack Speed Minion nodes already give us astronomical attack speed. But, without Purity of Elements, I did notice my survivability went down a little. And given that the mana reserve for Haste is 50%, overall, I don't believe it's worth it. In a pinch, I'd be tempted to use Vaal Haste against bosses, as you indirectly suggest, but I'm finding Vaal Blight with the Spreading Rot jewel combination to be much more powerful. Maybe use both if you can. Earlier in this thread, LiquidFoo suggested stacking attack speed with Vaal Haste and a Silver Flask for Onslaught. But, again, I didn't find it made much difference even against bosses since everything melted at the same rate as far I could tell.

Please note, this is my opinion and experience. It may simply boil down to personal tastes but, again, I didn't find Haste to be worth it.

I appreciate the feedback Arden, thank you.

All good. :)

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Ardenwolfe wrote:

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Koheleth wrote:

Point blank good vaal on a quiver for this build?

If I understand your question correctly, no. The best quiver for this build is Skirmish. Never underestimate the power of an extra totem for a hierophant.

As far as the gem or keystone? Again, the answer is no. Chaos damage over time is what this build is all about. Projectile damage is secondary.

My bad - should have explained better. I have been vaaling Skirmish quivers and got point blank on one. Not noticing a huge dps difference I was considering selling it, hence my question.

Now, after testing on mobs with more life, I love it!

Thanks for the response though - still going for the +1 arrows as this seems BiS.

Hey, build and guide look nice and detailed. Could u recommend some more uniques as options for this buid for easier gearing?
Also a lvling guide with uniques/ lvling trees would be awesome and a complete gem link section

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Schnubbel_ wrote:

Hey, build and guide look nice and detailed. Could u recommend some more uniques as options for this buid for easier gearing?
Also a lvling guide with uniques/ lvling trees would be awesome and a complete gem link section

It's as simple as buying Quill Rain (level 5 item) and Skirmish (level 19) on Path of Exile Trade https://www.pathofexile.com/trade/search/Delve as soon as possible. You will keep these two items the entire time in almost all cases.

The only other item you should consider somewhat mandatory is Tabula Rasa because of its six links. Otherwise, as the OP lists, items like Devoto's Devotion, Goldrim, Winds of Change, and Fenumus' Weave should be considered. Again, otherwise, anything that gives you needed stats, life, and resists should be considered as well.

As far as leveling, I recommend heading toward Ancestral Bond first. Gather the minion nodes along the way to Retribution, but do sidetrack to get Spiritual Command from this point, go back afterward and take Amplify, Purity of Flesh, and then head toward Ancestral Bond. From there get Spiritual Aid. From that point, gather the minion nodes you want for attack damage and speed for your totems. Your call on what you want and when. Afterward, choose jewel nodes and/or life depending on what direction you want and your survivability. Again, this depends on your playstyle. At some point, when you have enough of everything else, go for the points in increased skill durations like Potency of Will and Exceptional Performance. After that, everything is a personal choice in my humble opinion. You should be around level seventy when this happens. Remember to kill all the bandits to get more needed skill points as well as all the side quests.

On a side note, as totem users, I would highly recommend Phase Run instead of Blink Arrow. Again, your survivability will skyrocket.

Good luck.

Thx for the response.
What skill gems( with support) did u use for lvling (1-38~) and could u link a final gem setup u would recommend for later since in pob it looks like not all slots are used

Your main setup should look something like this: Ranged Attack Totem Support, Toxic Rain, Vicious Projectile Support, Void Manipulation Support, Efficacy Support, and Withering Touch Support.

You should also use a Cast When Damaged Support with Immortal Call Support at level 10 max. If you four-link it, the other two choices are yours. Some say Temporal Chains (also at 10) and Increased Duration (no level cap), but it depends on your playstyle.

The rest is purely your call. I like the Lightning Golem for its increased attack speed buff. I have it four-linked with Minion Life Support and Minion and Totem Resistance. I added Maim Support to increase the slow/lockdown effect with this Toxic Rain setup.

Unlike the OP, I didn't find value with Arctic Armor. I'd rather not get hit at all, hence my choice with Phase Run. Instead, I chose to use Clarity and Purity of Elements to help with Resists. I also use Vaal Blight which adds more chaos damage against bosses in concert with a Searing Rot jewel in my tree and a Portal Gem.

On my last links, I use Increased Duration along with Phase Run. With the Increased Duration nodes I mentioned earlier, this keeps Phase Run up all the time with ZERO downtime to boot.

As far as leveling, use Caustic Arrow until you get Ranged Totems. Link this with Caustic Arrow until you get or buy Toxic Rain. I continue to use Caustic Arrow to smash urns and the like.

On my bow, I have an empty slot . . . if that tells you anything. I suppose I could use Blink Arrow to get around in some cases, but I'm not missing it.

Again, this build is as simple as fire, forget, and stealth while your totems slaughter everything. To help until you get toxic rain, I also recommend you use zombies and summon phantasms until you link Ranged Attack Totems with Toxic Rain. After that, you can dump the minions and it's all smooth sailing from there.

Hope this helped.

It does indeed, thx a lot.
What other stats except life/res to watch out for on rares? Also what did u link to your caustic arrow setup?
Can u make your char public by chance?

There's no point in linking Caustic Arrow with anything because Ancestral Bond will nullify all your damage outside of totem use. Also, the only other stats to consider are dexterity and 'all stats' to help get your points to where you can wear all the needed gear as well as maximize specific, and dexterity-heavy, skill gems. Life regeneration will also help, but it's not necessary by any means. Consider it a bonus if you can get it on your gear.

Be sure to pick up at least one life potion that will instantly heal you and two others that will heal you over time. I strongly recommend something like Forbidden Taste (Edit: But be sure to switch when you have a higher health pool. Forbidden Taste will be very dangerous if not deadly if used then) and two Saturated Eternal Life Flasks. With Phase Run, I'm not finding a Quicksilver flask is needed, but I still keep it on my bar just in case I mess up and need to escape some boss's instant death beam or something similar. On a side note, I also use a Sulphur flask for the increase 40% damage, but I hope to eventually replace it with a similar unique eventually.

Other than that, everything else is personal tastes and the like.

Again, I hoped this helped and good luck.