[3.24] 🗡The Nightblade🗡Nightshade Tincture | Incorporeal | New demo video up

"

rahsaan wrote:

New to the game ?
> See the "League Start" section below.

Need advice for your build ? Set your character to public :
> Home - My Account - Privacy settings - uncheck boxes

*

Hi Exiles,

The name of this build comes from two gems :
- Blade Flurry, our main skill
- Nightblade support, which is tailored-made for Assassins.

I have created the build I wanted to play with my favorite Ascendancy and my favorite skill. It's not meta, but it's fast, fun and versatile : I have done every content with it.



Even if you don't play this build, I'm sure you can find one or two ideas you can use in another build, and get the inspiration to create the character of your dreams. I have myself read a lot of builds to find ideas.

* I began this guide in 3.5 and called it Old & New School BF Assassin. It was suboptimal and remained mostly the same in 3.6.
* In 3.7, with the rework to melee, my dream of a pure phys/chaos dual-dagger Assassin became a reality. This was the Impale version.
* In 3.8, the Assassin became a true shadow killer thanks to the Elusive buff. I devised the Invisible version of this build. I changed the name of the build to The Nightblade Flurry Assassin.
* In 3.9, I made a tankier version with Mind Over Matter and shortened the name to just : The Nightblade Assassin.
* In 3.10, I added the cluster jewels and tested the Perfidy chest.

Those versions are still viable. Find more infos in the next message.

I want to pay tribute to Mathil for his old BF Assassin. It has been outdated since 3.5, but it was the basis for this build.

Good luck and have fun :)

*

PoB links
NB : 1 cluster = at least one large + two medium

In Delirium :
Level 93, MoM, two clusters. Won my first Simulacrum with this setup.
Level 92, MoM, no cluster. Loreweave, 3M DPS, budget = 13ex

In Standard, level 95 :
- Current setup, one cluster
- Full DPS setup with 2 clusters. I beat Aul 560/100% AoE with this setup.
- Basic setup, MoM, no cluster.

(Last updated : 05/19/20)
/!\ To be used with Community fork.

Latest videos :
3.10
#16 : Aul, the Crystal King - depth 564 - 100% inc AoE
#15 : The Chimera
#14 : The Death of Al-Hezmin (The Spectre out of the Mist III)
#13 : The Simulacrum, with Kosis at wave 20
#12 : T16 Perandus Manor
#11 : Kosis wave 18
#10 : Bullfighting (Minotaur with 100% more life)
#9 : A Hunter Seeking Prey (The Spectre out of the Mist, part II)
#8 : Running Cyclone
#7 : At the Villa of Madness
#6 : War & Dread
#5 : Adrenaline
#4 : Perfidy
#3 : The Mistwalker
#2 : Solaris & Lunaris in Delirium
#1 : Towerless T16 Blighted map and Uul Pure Breach
#0 : The Grid of Death (Sirus, Baran, Aul and Eradicator)

Overview

* Blade Flurry Assassin.
* Dual-Dagger or Dagger-Shield
* Physical and chaos damages

CONS
- Not a 1-click-AFK build : we use several skills and buffs
- Clearspeed is nice but not super-fast. We are no Scourge Arrow Raider.
- Becomes expensive for endgame (15ex and more). But still an off-meta build, so not that expensive.
- It's melee, so you'll die.

PROS
- It's melee, so you'll have fun.
- Boss killer
- All contents viable
- Beginner friendly | Can be done on a budget

Current stuff in Delirium @level 93 (15ex budget)

In Standard @level 95 (90ex budget)

Spoiler

Videos

My Youtube Channel

Best of 3.10
TBA

Best of 3.9
Mind over Matter
Delve 625
The Hunter
The Purifier
The Hall of Grandmasters
Sirus A8
The best map ever ! T16 map with the content of 5 leagues

Best of 3.8 :
A Farewell to Uber Elder
Delve 570 - Ahuatotli, The Blind
Delve 600
Delve 570 - Doom !
Towerless T15 Blighted Forest

Best of 3.7 :
The Invisible Killer
The Invisible Plague
Blade Fury !
Assassination at the Vaal Temple

FAQ

I die too much. What can I do ?
- 5k life bare minimum for endgame
- All elem res capped. 78% with a Loreweave.
- Low positive chaos res
- CwDT level 20 + Immortal Call for endgame
- A Panicked life flask : « Instant recovery when on low life »
- Flesh & Stone / Sand Stance
- Endurance charges generation : Warlord Mark ring or Enduring Cry
- More DPS. Moaaarrrr !!!

Which unique daggers for levelling ?
Widowmaker for the 10 acts
To begin Atlas : Bino's Kitchen, Taproot, Sanguine Gambol

Why this low-level CwDT + Cold Snap ?
So that it procs on every pack and chill them. Also gives chance to get Frenzy charges. A small but nice layer of defense.

Should I always use the Shaper's gloves ?
Use them if you have at least 350 or (better) 400 DEX.
Otherwise, Tombfist are also good, or rare Spiked gloves.

What should I use the Brutal Restraint jewel for ?
Best bet is to have a Deshret version, and socket it near Point Blank or Pain Attunement (if you go MoM) to get the Wind Dancer Keystone.
You can put the jewel in the socket near Shadow or Ranger but most of the time, it's just more reliable to put juicy rare jewels there.

I don't like MoM. Must I really use it ?
No, it's just more survivability at the cost of less DPS.

Are the cluster jewels worth it ?
Yes, one complete cluster is definitely worth it.
To be socketed near Acrobatics or Point Blank.
See Endgame section for more details about cluster notables.

Can I use another main skill ?
Yes, Cyclone with the exact same setup.

Can I use a shield ?
Yes, you can.
BiS unique : Unshattered Will
A rare with tons of life, elem and chaos res.

Can I use claws ?
Yes, that should be less DPS and more survivability.
Take the big 3 notable claw wheel + Claws of the Pride.

League Start

New to the game ?
Here are some advice for a smooth beginning :

1- Get the Wanderlust shoes, for the +20% movement speed and freeze immunity :
Wanderlust

* Or you can easily craft yourself magic boots with movement speed. Go to a vendor in town and sell them : normal boots + an orb of augmentation + a quicksilver flask.
You'll get +10% movement speed on the boots.
Repeat and you'll get +5%, up to +30% movespeed. /!\ Each time, it raises the level requirement of the boots. So be mindful before adding speed, otherwise you won't be able to equip them.

2- Get a Quicksilver flask. Get it in act 1 as a reward from Bestel after retrieving the Medicine Chest.

3- Get one or two rings/amulet with mana regen.

4- Craft two daggers with increased damages :
1 dagger + 1 blue Rustic Stash belt + 1 Blacksmith Whetstone.

Check the Vendor recipe system.

5- Our main skill, Blade Flurry becomes available at level 28. Before that, you can begin with Frost Blades or Cobra Lash skill.

6- From early on, you can add two auras : Blood and Sand and War Banner, as well as Dash movement skill.

7- Good unique items :
* The Goredrill dagger at level 5, for some nice bleeding dmg.

* Helmet : the Goldrim from level 1 for good elem resis.

* Boots : The Wanderlust, for movement speed and no freeze.

8- Get Path of Building (PoB) tool, a very good simulator for the game. Then, you can add the Community fork, which has more options.

* Here is a simulation at level 28, when you get Blade Flurry :
https://pastebin.com/YnXgAK9J
> I've put only unique items, just for suggestions. Replace those you want with magic/rares. You will need them to increase your elemental resistances.
More details in the next section, "Levelling".

Levelling

See my Guide for the 10 acts

I always run out of mana
Get :
- "#% phys dmg leeched as mana" affix somewhere on your stuff. 0.4% should be enough.
or
- "-x total mana cost of skills" on ring or amulet.
- x% reduced mana cost of skills" on a jewel
or
- Mind Drinker on the tree. Whenever you can, unallocate those two nodes.
Uniques : Wurm's Molt belt and Slitherpinch gloves are dirt cheap (1 alch), Praxis ring is 1c.

Should I get a Tabula Rasa ?
Many players will farm Blood Aqueduct in act 9 to get a stack of 9 Humility divination cards and then trade it to Navali to get the Tabula.
I think it's quite tedious and it slows your progression.
It's better to go on in the acts, accumulate some currency, and then buy a cheap rare 6-link chest. Many people sell corrupted ones for slightly more chaos. Get one with the right colors, some life and res.
If you drop a Tabula, sell it to a vendor for a divine orb, then add some chaos to get a rare chest.

I want to make money !
I can advise you to not waste your time picking up rare items.

Just pick up 1-square items. Currencies, maps, frags, essences etc.
Nothing to ID, nothing to vendor. Grab everything you walk on and then drop it into your stashes.
And let's not talk about the chaos recipe, which is IMO a big waste of time.

When you have 100+ alterations/jewellers/scour/chrom/fus etc. go sell them via the trade and earn some quick dozens of chaos.

Also, remember : you don't need a 50+ exalt build to have a strong character and enjoy the game. The more you know the game and improve your skills, the less expensive your build can be.

I want to level fast !
Don't try to full clear the maps, it's useless. Go only to the points of interests : Essences, Breach, Abyss, Cassia, bosses etc.

When you are in levels 75+, you can do Xoph's Breachstones. They are fairly easy.
I was able to go from level 78 to 79 with only 2 Xoph. 50% XP each ! They cost 6-8c.
In level 84, they still give 13% XP.

Interrogating Syndicate members, whatever you choose (kill, bargain etc.) also gives lots of XP.

Playstyle

A mini-guide to Blade Flurry
I remember back in november 2016 when they announced 2.4, this new skill, Blade Flurry (BF). On the moment I saw it, I knew that was the perfect skill I was waiting for. Fast, deadly, some AoE, increasing dmg while channelling. And the green wave when you release at max stage are so satisfying amazing. Kill every nearby mobs.
It has remained my #1 skill ever since.

BF gives you +20% more dmg for each stage, with a total of +100% more when you reach 6th stage, basically doubling your DPS. Then, some more when you release the wave. That's where all the juice is.
Learn the perfect channelling, by releasing when the green circle pop, and then start back to stage 1 immediately. As it depends of your APS (attack per second), you gotta get used to it. Reaching 6th stage can take somewhere between 2sec and 0,5sec.
E.g., if you have 6 APS, it takes exactly 1 sec to reach max stage.

In maps :

Pop Withering Steps, run near the enemies to wither them, then BF. With Whirling Blades, you can jump behind them, or right in the middle of them and blast with Blade Flurry. Channel till release then jump to dodge and attack again. Surprise them with impredictable moves. WB is very fast and allows for quick change in your battle tactics.
* Add Abyssal Cry in the mix to make packs explode.
* Use Phase Run for extra 30% phys dmg : channel to 6th stage, Phase Run, release BF.

You can go Whirling > Flurry : Dash then blast.
Or you can go Flurry > Whirling : Channel and escape to release. Useful when those big Goatmen from Chimera will jump on you.

Interactive tuto :

Learn to use Blade Flurry. Click >

Channel >

More ! >

RELEASE ! CLICK >>

YEAH !...



Now you've learnt how to BF !

Now do it again, FASTER !

Offense

CRITICAL STRIKES
Daggers have critical chance as implicits. We get nodes on the tree and the Elusive buff for crit chance and crit multi.

COLD DAMAGE
It's a good idea to get some cold dmg somewhere on the rings or amulet. As we often crit, we will be able to freeze most mobs. Looking at you, Porcupines !
If we freeze them, they will shatter = won't explode with their spines on death.

DEXTERITY STACKING

We can use Shaper's Touch gloves and then stack Dexterity.
Because more Dexterity now means : more Accuracy, more Evasion + more DPS and more life !

Calculations

With 500 DEX, you get :
Melee Phys dmg : + 2%*(500/10) = +100% inc dmg
HP : +(500/4) = + 125 life.

In "real game" numbers, the gloves give me more than+350 life and +450k DPS.

For endgame, you can further increase the DEX stacking with a Brutal Restraint Timeless Jewel on your tree >See Endgame section below.

POISON

Poison does not do much damage with this build, but with the Ascendancy, it gives us chaos dmg + life regen and crit chance :
+5% inc duration of poison / poison applied recently (4sec).
+0,1% crit chance for each poison on enemy, up to +2%.
With Toxic Delivery :
Gain 20% phys as extra chaos dmg on poisoned enemies
0,5% life regenerated / poison on enemy killed.

Chances to poison

On the Ascendancy, we have Noxious Strike : 40% chance to poison on any hit.

On the tree, two small nodes "Dagger dmg and Poison chance" : 2*10% chance to poison on hit with attacks.
So, on any attack hit, we got 60% chance to poison.

With Adder's Touch : your critical strikes have 40% chance to poison.
So, on crit we have 60+40 = 100% chance to poison.
> A non-crit has 60% chance to poison.
> A crit will always poison.

> Go to PoB, "Calcs" and hover your mouse on "Chance to Poison", you will see full calculations.
This is why the Diamond is so good, because it greatly increases your chance to crit and poison.

Defences

In this game, getting DPS is fairly easy, while getting good defences is hard.
We use a combination of effects and buffs that synergize.
/!\ Here, you have to make choices. You probably won't get all these layers of defense.

LEECH

We easily cap Life leech at 20% of max life with Blood Drinker : 0,4% of atk dmg leeched as life.

For mana leech, you can get the Mind Drinker notable on the tree : 0.4% of attack damage leeched as mana.
Or get the mod on any piece of stuff. Cap should be reached easily. "Warlord Mark on hit" in a ring does the job too.

MIND OVER MATTER
MoM can give you a lot of tankiness.
But you need to reserve much less mana.
- Look for the mod "% of dmg taken gained as mana over 4 sec". You can get it on the skill tree with Battle Rouse notable. You can get it on rings, or with a Watcher's Eye / Clarity.

STUN

Any damage can stun the enemy, provided it removes at least 10% of his life per hit -see Stun. "Dealing at least 50% of maximum life will always stun."
As we deal huge physical damage, we stun small mobs all the time, and even rares. Physical damage has stun bonuses over other damages, making it even easier.
Stunning is as efficient as freezing, as the enemy loses its actions.

If you want to check how often you stun, you can set Endurance charge on melee stun support in your BF setup, and you'll see that you gain Endurance charges all the time.

> Additionnally, by using the Ryslatha's coil belt, we get a lot more phys dmg and we gain life each time we stun.

EVADE

It's easy to stack a lot of Dexterity on the stuff and the skill tree to improve our chances to evade attacks.

We can use the Dread Banner, which reserves only a small portion of mana (10%). With this banner, enemies nearby have up to 21% less acccuracy rating, which is huge, and is cumulative with the blind penalty.
You can blind enemies with Flesh & Stone / Sand Stance. This will drastically reduce their chances to hit you with attacks.

> For endgame, get a Brutal Restraint jewel, which will give you DEX on every small nodes in radius, increasing again your Evasion.

DODGE

Dodge may seem similar to Evade, but they are actually two separated mechanisms, like Armour and Energy shield.
We get attack Dodge chance on the skill tree with the Acrobatics Keystone.
Evasion is calculated before Dodge. So if the first fails, the second one is rolled -See Receiving damage.
I strongly advice to get Acro + Phase Acro. With the Elusive buff, you'll easily get 65% chance to dodge attacks and 55% to dodge spells, which are awesome layers of defense.

Technical explanations

Dodge is rolled for each hit you take -See Dodge. For instance, if you have 30% Dodge chance, on average you will dodge one hit out of three. If you have luck, you might dodge 3 hits in a row, but if not, you might miss 4 in a row. This is like rolling a dice, hoping to roll 5 or 6.

On the other hand, Evasion gives you a flat chance to evade -See Evasion. For each fight, the game will set a random order of miss and hit. And this sequence will be refreshed every few seconds.
For instance, say you have 25% chance to evade attacks. Then, the RNG may roll HIT – EVADE – HIT – HIT. Then for some seconds, you will always evade the second hit amongst a series of four, and always be hit by the other three.
Then, the RNG will be rolled again, and you may get EHHH, or HHEH etc.
Dodge and Evade chances are capped at 95%.
"Assuming a character has a 40% chance to evade and a 20% chance to dodge, a character has a 52% chance to prevent receiving a hit."

ELUSIVE

This new buff has been introduced in 3.8 and is specially designed for the Assassin, as we have an Ascendancy to buff it.
Elusive grants 40% inc movespeed and up to 15% dodge chance against spells and attacks. This buff decays over time, until its values reaches 0.
With the Ascendancy, we get :
* 25% buff effect. So we actually get 19% spell/atk dodge !
+
* 50% chance to get Elusive on crit.

That's even 100% on crit with the Nightblade support, and 28% inc effect. Total : 25+28=53% > 23% atk and spell dodge !
With the new Withering Steps (WS) movement skill, we refresh the buff, then lose it and get it again on the first crit.
Elusive granted by WS has 48% inc effect : 26% dodge !

REDUCED / LESS DAMAGE TAKEN

This mechanics is mostly useful for endgame. GGG has pushed it in the last leagues. It's a subtle but very powerful layer of defense.

In endgame, even if you have 6k life or more, you are still a glasscannon. Evasion cannot save us all the time, nor Dodge.
So we try to lower the damages we take = those that remain after all other sources of mitigation have been calculated. This is the real amount of damage withdrawn from our life pool -see Damage taken.
Ideally, if we'd get 100% reduced dmg taken, we would be invincible. But that's barely possible, or you have to sacrifice all your DPS -see this build for instance.
Fun for a YT video, but not realistic to play.

The main point is that nothing can reduce this reduction, e.g. you have no map mods that reduces it.

* On the Ascendancy, with Mistwalker, -8% dmg while Elusive + no extra dmg taken from crit !
With Opportunistic : 10% reduced dmg taken when there 2+ rare enemies nearby.

* With Fortify support on the BF setup, we have 20% less dmg taken from hits (meaning : not DoT). So for 100 dmg dealt by the enemy, we take only 80.

* With the Infused Channelling support, we take 8% less physical damage hits and DoT while channelling.

(* If we use the Unshattered Will shield, the Harbinger will give a bonus every 8sec for 4sec : immune to stun and elemental ailment and 20% less dmg taken from hits and DoT : a more powerful Fortify buff, half of the time.)

Deviantart

Gems

+ = linked

- Blade Flurry, 6L : Blade Flurry + Nightblade + Infused Channelling + Melee Physical Damage + Vile Toxins + Fortify

- Whirling Blades : Whirling Blades + Faster Attacks (+ Blood Magic).

- Auras : War Banner, Precision level 1, Blood & Sand.
If you use MoM, add Clarity level 1 and a Watcher's Eye with a Clarity mod.

- Totems : Ancestral Protector + Vaal Ancestral Warchief + Multiple Totems support + Culling Strike. Or Blind, Lesser Poison.

- Mandatory buffs : Withering Steps, Phase Run

- Optional buffs : Abyssal Cry, Blood Rage, Plague Bearer, Ice Golem
/!\ If you use Blood Rage, put it in a weapon and have a weapon swap. This way, if your HP get very low, you can swap weapons quickly to stop the degen effect.

- Cast When Damage Taken 20 + Immortal Call 20

- Optional but nice : CwDT level 1 + Cold Snap. Cold Snap will chill enemies and can give you Frenzy charges when enemies die in the area.

Tips :
* Quickly put 20%q on your Infused Channelling gem, to get the Infusion buff faster (0.6 sec)
* BF 21/23 and Fortify 21/20 are best for DPS
* No quality needed for Blood Rage and all auras gems
* Level up Precision as you see fit. If you go MoM, level it up until you have 90 mana left unreserved. Ice Golem requires atleast 70 mana to summon.

Thx to Red7Official for these tips.

Gearing

There are 3 unique items that really make the build shines :
1) Starkonja Helmet

2) Shaper's Touch gloves

3) Ryslatha's Coil belt

- Weapon : For the daggers, you want : inc phys dmg | adds phys dmg | attack speed 1.7+ | crit chance / crit multi | phys as extra chaos

- Shield : Life, elem resis, attributes, ailment avoir chance, stun avoid chance + inc global phys dmg.
A shield makes the build much less expensive but we lose DPS. Actually I always play a dual-dagger version, but I've seen several players doing this build with shield. Once more, it's up to you.

A very good unique : The Unshattered Will. It has all we need : life, elem res, inc channelling skill dmg and the Harbinger of Focus : stun and ailment immunities for 4sec every 8sec.

- Body Armour : The BiS unique is a Loreweave with 78% all max res (Legacy version : up to 80%).
- Belly of the Beast : lot more life.
- Carcass Jack : more AoE and AoE dmg + life, elem res

* More expensive : a rare body armour with :
* +max life and +% max life
* socketed attacks have -15 to total mana cost
* * socketed gems are supported by level 1 maim, for extra DPS (/!\ This mod is legacy in 3.9)
10ex and more

* One with "10% chance to gain a frenzy charge on hit". Comes from Synthetised items or items with Redeemer's influence. Guarantees 100% max frenzy charges all the time.
15ex

* A chest with "Killed enemies explode, dealing 3% of their life as phys dmg". BiS for farming. Can actually turn Blade Flurry into a very capable farming skill.

- Helmet : Starkonja with "40% inc BF dmg" enchant is BIS. Life, DEX, crit chance, Evasion, attack speed, are all what we need.

- Gloves : Shaper's Touch are BiS for this build -see Offence section. Enchantment and corruption are optional and you don't even need a good roll.

Other choices : Slitherpinch (cheap), Maligaro's Virtuosity, Oskarm, Tombfist (second best choice), Asenath Gentle Touch (amazing as it curses and make mobs explode, but very expensive).

- Boots : BiS unique are the Atziri's Steps for life, spell dodge, lot of EVA +30% movespeed.
Any rare with life and the elem res. You can also look for : chance to avoid stun, atk or spell dodge, 35% movespeed...
Also look for : "Tailwind if crit recently" mod = 10% more dps

- Amulet : Life, res, crit multi, added phys dmg, gain phys as extra cold...
- For mid-game, Hyrri's Truth.
- An Aul's Uprising with no mana Hatred.
- A physical Impresence with no mana Vulnerability. 1ex

- Rings : Life, phys dmg, crit, DEX, elem resis, gain phys as extra cold...
Useful mods : Warlord's Mark on hit, Aspect of the Cat / Aspect of the Spider.

- Belt : Best in Slot is Ryslatha's Coil.
Life, life gain on stun and 10-20% more phys dmg.

Calculations

First, you gain life on stun, which is quite all the time against mobs -see Defense section above.

PoB cannot calculate the gain of DPS, so thanks to this build (video, pastebin), here's a way to do it :
Go to PoB, "Calcs", select BF and search for "OH Hit damage". It will give your min and max dmg.
Now, calculate the min/max ratio, which should be ~45%.
For instance, on BF 6th stage, I do 45k - 100k dmg.



So on average, I deal (100+45)/2 = 72.5.

With this particular +39/-32 Ryslatha :
min dmg = 45*(1-0.32) = 45*0.68 = 30.6
and
max dmg = 100*1.39 = 139.
So now, on average, I deal : (139+30.6)/2 = 85
85/72.5 = 1.17 --> 17% more physical dmg. I manually add this number in the item.
A perfect +40/-30 Ryslatha could give 20% more.

NB : I'm no Einstein, so if anyone has a better way of calculating, you're welcome.

Jewels

Base items : Murderous Eye Jewels, Crimson or Viridian Jewels.
Mods you are looking for :
- Crit multi
- Attack speed
- Phys dmg = phys dmg with 1h-weapons / daggers, aoe dmg etc.
- Life
- Elem res, attributes

For crit and APS, look for : while dual-wielding / with one-handed weapons / with daggers / if you've killed recently + life, res, attributes...
For the Brutal Restraint, see Endgame section below.

Watcher's Eye
A Clarity mod to improve mana regen for Mind Over Matter. Best one is "15% of dmg taken gained as mana over 4sec.
A Pride mod : +2 Impale or Intimidate

Flasks

Just the usual, depending on your budget : Atziri's Promise, Lion's Roar, Diamond Flask, Sin's Rebirth, Cinderswallow...

Options

* Ascendancy
1 - Mistwalker, for the Elusive buff.
2 - Noxious Strike, for life recovery with poison
3 - Toxic Delivery, for 20% phys as extra chaos dmg
4 - Opportunistic (feels better overall than Ambush & Assassinate). thx to WesterVespertine

* Bandits : Alira. Crit multi, mana regen and elem res.

* Pantheon : Arakaali and Tukohama.

* Enchantments :
- Helmet : 40% increased Blade Flurry Damage.
- Gloves : Commandment of Blades. Throws some daggers, helps to clear.
- Boots : 16% attack and cast speed if you've killed recently OR Regenerate 2% life and mana per second if you've been hit recently.

Crafting

Daggers

- Buy a level 83+ Ambusher : 1.5 base aps.
/!\ Imperial Skean also have 1.5 aps but they are now considered Rune Daggers, meaning they can roll caster mods. We don't want that.
- Scour + 20%q.

Then, you have two options : hideout bench or fossils

* with bench

- Spam alteration orbs to get flaring mod = added phys dmg
- Regal orb
- Annul to leave only attack speed and phys dmg
- Multi mod. Crafting the mods costs 7ex, but it’s deterministic.

Thx to Cane_Cane for his advice.

* with fossils

- Perfect fossil for >20%q. I settled for 23%.
- Optionnally, Encrusted fossil to get white sockets. I didn't use it.
- Shuddering for speed + Serrated for attack mods + Sanctified for higher rolls.
- You can add Aberrant : more chaos, no lightning, to try and get "phys as extra chaos". But then you need a Primal Resonator (4 sockets), which is more expensive.

Body armour.

Prices are in Blight league.
Buy a 6-link EVA-based one, with high item level (82+). 45c.
- 20%q with Armourer Scraps,
- Perfect Fossil (6c) to improve quality. Got 29% and decided to settle for it.
- Scour
- Pristine (8c) for life mods + a Serrated (16c) in the hope of getting "socketed attacks have -15 to total mana cost" + Sanctified (25c) to get higher values
Then you pray for RNGesus (there's no other god left in Wraeclast)

The life regen can counteract a bit the DoT.
Only crap mod is the Thorn (reflect phys dmg to melee atkers), which only exists to block others good mods.
But I wasn't expecting the awesome "maim support" that comes from Serrated (/!\ No more available in 3.9)

Went to bench to recolor with "at least 1 red and 1 blue" and got two blue on first try.
Total cost of crafting : 102c.
This was my lucky day indeed.

Boss fights

Malachai, The Nightmare

He can kill you instantly when he reappears from underground.
Watch your steps : the red spots on the grounds are often deadly.

Atziri/Uber Atziri

Vessels of the Vaal : go to the left one and stay near it while it activates. There is a delay before the second one activates, which will allow you to kill the first one before.

The Trio
Always kill the girl first : she launches a physical rain that can insta-kill you. Pop an anti-bleed flask and kill the two others.

Atziri
She reflects 2% of any damage dealt to her. So, to avoid killing yourself, use Sibyl's lament ring on right slot (-40% of reflected phys dmg taken) and Yugul's Pantheon (-25%). Then you should be ok with reflects. On the tree, Master of Force notable also gives -20%.
Avoid cursing her, because she reflects curses.
You may use three flasks : one anti-bleed, one Ruby and one Topaz. Or perfectly learn to dodge the attacks yourself.
For the clone phase, quickly spot the one with the mirror while it appears, and attack any other three. Never attack the mirror clone, as it reflects 100% of dmg.
Uber Atziri is faster, has more life and her attacks have more AoE. So it's a matter of knowing the fight and having quick reflexes.

Minotaur

Use large AoE to channel BF while standing at the limit of his ground circle.
Take care when he dives like a mole and watch his trails while he moves underground.
Blind him (Sand Stance or Stibnite flask).

Hydra

Not much to say here. Usually, I go to close range, run around her or whirling-blade through her.

Chimera

Mutiple totems are very useful here, to kill mobs as soon as they exit their cage. You can go at the center of arena and raise three totems around you while you attack all around.

Phoenix

Dodge his big explosions. Run away and while he concentrates, kill the small phoenixes.
When he cyclones towards you, dodge sideways and start BF-ing while he finishes his movement.
Use WB to move through him and attack with BF while he turns around.

Shaper

This build was designed to assasinate the Shaper.

* His attacks are very telegraphed. He even announces them with catchphrases : for instance, he says : « Gaze into the abyss » before his beam. Because when you are the master of the Atlas of Worlds, you might as well quote Nietzsche when you launch a kamehameha ! He channels his beam for 3 sec so that's when you want to go full BF.

* Learn the rhythm of his warp and slam (« Behold my misery »). He warps for one second and a half, then reappears where you are. Move at this moment.

* Use multiple totems to kill the mobs during the portal phase (« The power from the void »), while you explode the cold balls at the edges of the arena.

* Be cautious at the end of his purple rain (« Ultimate chaos ») when you exit Zana's bubble, one of the remaining projectile can still kill you.

* The third phase is harder, because of the clone. But it's just a hint to how difficult Uber Elder fight will be.

Uber Elder

"Even as we rise, the shadows of failure continues to haunt us"
Izaro

* Setup used in my first deathless fight : https://pastebin.com/WEzuU7dW

* Video deathless

* In this fight, your main enemy is the Shaper. Elder is more of a nuisance. So this fight should be called the Uber Shaper, as the latter is still the most dangerous antagonist.

* This fight is really hard for any melee build. You will have to learn it the hard way. I have failed maybe 10 times before my first victory.

* Stats and stuff :
- 6000k life, bare minimum
- It's hard to stun the bosses and curses are 66% less effective against them. So instead of Ryslatha belt and Poacher ring, we can use :
Cyclopean Coil for freeze immunity + more life.
And Winterweave ring for reversed chill effect.

* You must do two things at the same time : attacking one boss while keeping an eye on the other, and on the squids... When you attack, consider you have less than 2 sec before being hit by an icy projectile.

* In this fight, what has saved my life more often that not is counter-intuitive : slow down. For instance, do not use Whirling Blades too much. Most of the time, just walk to dodge : that is why I prefer my 30% movespeed boots to the Kaom's Roots. When Elder is siphoning and slows you down, do not panick : just walk. Use WB only for emergency, otherwise you won't control your char and get killed by any projectile.
We can reach very high DPS, so don't hurry. You can kill them fast. Take your time to explode the cold balls on the edge of the arena. Same for big squids. Otherwise, the ground with be splattered with cold and phys DoT, which makes the end of the fight a nightmare.

* Getting stuck in a corner of the map is guaranteed death within seconds. You must remain in control of your freedom of movement. That is why you need to stay around the center most of the time, and so you need to keep the map clean.

* Try to move in circles in the upper side of the map. During portal phases, use your multiple totems + Vaal Warchief.

* Now, clench your teeth and blast those bastards. I am myself a decent player but certainly not a virtuoso. But I am stubborn. That is the way of Wraeclast, I guess :
Improvise. Adapt. Overcome, always.

Delve bosses

- Kurgal, the Blackblooded : His green beam does high physical degen. In the second phase, watch out for his deadly lasers. Use the totems all the time while you dodge and also during the mob phase.
- Ahuatotli, the Blind : When he launches his deadly blood attacks, run behind a pyramid on the corner.
- Aul, the Crystal King : Probably the most difficult boss of the game. He has a ton of HP and hits like a truck.
* Learning the shield charge phase is the most difficult part. If a clone hits one of the cocoon, then Aul will unleash is cold beam phase, which is very hard to survive. So you want to attract the clones between the cocoons and then avoid to walk on the cold degen ground they leave.
* If you have the deadly "100% inc AoE" mod, then you must be ready to sacrifice at least one quarter of the arena.

Conquerors

- Drox : Just be sure to destroy his banners and watch out for his big fist of Justice.
- Al-Hezmin : Shakari Pantheon for poison immunity. Do not walk into the pool at the center while it's filled (chaos degen).
- Veritania : Nothing special to say here, her attacks are well telegraphed.
- Baran : Take your time to find a good spot between his debuff runes and burst him.

Sirus

* /!\ A corrupted jewel with "Corrupted blood cannot be inflicted on you" is mandatory to (have a chance to) survive his beam.
* First three phases are easy. Dodge when he shouts "Die !" and watch out his projection, which launches meteors.
* Whirling Blades through him to espace his corridor.
* To escape his maze, look for the flares that indicate the way. Just like emergency exits in a plane !
* Take your time to dodge his attacks between phases. Wait for the projection to launch two large beam that explode and leave a crater. Then, walk under his throne to begin a new phase.
* In the 4th phase, the most important thing is to never lose sight of him. Quickly spot him among his clones.

Delve

I like to test the limits of the builds, and delving is a great way to do it in the hardest possible conditions.
When you've done some multi-modded 550+ delves, Beyond T15-16 maps will feel much easier.

Enemies you must spot :
- Screamers with their lightning sonic wave. Can kill you in <2 sec.
- Blue felines and their exploding blue aura.
- Zombies that spread caustic ground on death. Because of them, very deep delvers (1000+) go CI, as it's otherwise impossible to survive the chaos degen.
- Areas like Haunted remains nodes have those small grey ghosts (like mini-Shapers) that can insta-kill you with phys dmg.

How deep can we go ?
Greatly depends of your knowledge of the Mine and your stuff.
I think 300 is easily doable.
400 is still possible.
Things can become very hard past 500.
And I can barely make it past 600. My absolute best is 629.

Endgame

This is for advanced players, who are already familiar with the games.

TIMELESS JEWELS

« Just like the Maraketh from the plains, wandering and killing... »
Izaro

The best Timeless Jewel for us is the Brutal Restraint. It adds DEX on every small node and mods on the notables, like : life, gain 5% phys as cold, crit chances, poison dmg...

Two options :
1- Socket the jewel in the Shadows or Ranger socket, where there are plenty of notables available. .

2- Best Conquered Keystone for us is Wind Dancer : adds a solid layer of defense. Socket your jewel near Pain Attunement (if you go MoM) or Point Blank.

ANOINTMENTS

All oil recipes : https://www.iskmogul.com/path-of-exile-blight-oils-guide/

Amulet
Ambidexterity is a solid choice : Amber - Azure - Black
You can't go wrong with it.
The best notable DPS-wise would be Panopticon, as it increases the totems buffs by 50%. But there is no oil recipe for it atm.
Otherwise, best DPS comes from Nightstalker.
Other choices include : a fat life node, Weathered Hunter, Holy Dominion, Hematophagy, Aspect of Stone, Soul of Steel...

Rings
Amber + Amber on each ring, for 2*25% inc Scout Tower dmg. The easiest and most balanced choice.
Pop a Scout Tower near the pump, then a Stun level 3 as a support then a green one tier 3.

Map anointing
- If you're not familiar with Blighted maps, 3 amber for 60% reduced costs of towers. You'll build a lot of towers even before the encounter begins.
- For maximum loot, 3 Teal or 3 Crimson, depending on your budget, to get lucky chests = content of the chest is rolled twice and the best is kept. This number is increased by the Awakening bonus (with Aawakening level 8, 9 lucky chests become 11).

CATALYSTS

- Abrasive on the Ryslatha's belt
- Prismatic on a ring with lots of elem res.
- Turbulent on an amulet with phys as extra lightning/cold

CLUSTER JEWELS

A selection of notables, with mandatory ones.

Large cluster with 2 jewel sockets : Dagger or Dual-Wielding. 8pts.
- Drive the Destruction (20% faster life leech)
- Feed the Fury
- Fuel the Fight (for mana leech)
- Hit & Run
- Martial Prowess
- Wind-Up (Dagger only)

Medium cluster with 1 jewel socket : Channelling or Crit Chance. 5pts is ok, since it's cheaper than a 4pts. You won't have to allocate the fifth point.
- Hex Breaker (curse immune while channelling)
- Overwhelming Malice
- Precise Focus
- Rapid Infusion
- Unwavering Focus

Small cluster : Life. 2 or 3 pts.
- Fettle
- Peace Amidst Chaos
- Surging Vitality (best option : 10% of life regenerated every 5sec)

ADDITIONAL GUIDES
- "I die too much. What can I do ?" A guide to survival in Wraeclast.

- A guide for the 10 acts

My followers have said it !

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*

Well, i guess that's it :) I recommend this build if you need a good rush of adrenaline !

If you have any question or criticism, feel free to ask. Thx to all those who asked me questions and helped me improve this build.