hey there! fellow vortex player here as well. I've actually built vortex wayyyyy differently (somewhat more "standard"), but am interested in your variant as well. came across the thread as I was experimenting with making vortex map faster with a suggestion made by another forum poster on a profane bloom - malediction ascendancy choice.
I would like to know what are some of the struggles you face (that are not gear reliant). also what were the benefits that you prioritized from the malediction ascendancy that let you take malediction over frigid wake? was there a deal breaker somewhere or something about malediction that you really liked. just wanted to hear your thoughts, no judgement/criticism, would like to hear from your end to see what would work for me. thanks! :)
hey there! fellow vortex player here as well. I've actually built vortex wayyyyy differently (somewhat more "standard"), but am interested in your variant as well. came across the thread as I was experimenting with making vortex map faster with a suggestion made by another forum poster on a profane bloom - malediction ascendancy choice.
I would like to know what are some of the struggles you face (that are not gear reliant). also what were the benefits that you prioritized from the malediction ascendancy that let you take malediction over frigid wake? was there a deal breaker somewhere or something about malediction that you really liked. just wanted to hear your thoughts, no judgement/criticism, would like to hear from your end to see what would work for me. thanks! :)
Hey SonsOfKorhal,
The only real struggle with this build is leveling at the beginning of the game. Until you get your first ascendancy, going CI can be tough. It's hard to focus on ES when you need life to live.
Honestly, when I first made this build a few leagues ago I was REALLY surprised how strong it was. The only downside is the CI aspect. But that's CI specific, not really build specific. It something to remember when playing. You always need to stay moving and know where you can get a second or two of not taking damage.
Specifically, the build's damage and defense comes from CwDT. The CwDT gems are REALLY low so enemies are always cursed, but you have to be hit first for them to be slowed, weakened, vulnerable to cold. So some of the boss battles may have some slower moments because you'll keep running around and not getting hit, so the DoT won't do too much damage. But the second they're cursed, you'll see a dramatic difference in damage. But honestly, that's it. I'd love to have all three curses as blasphemies and also have Discipline and Malevolence...but that's not realistic :). A big factor in survivability though is the Quartz flask. Being able to phase through enemies REALLY helps not getting stuck in a group with CI.
To answer your question regarding Malediction vs. Frigid Wake, I just love to curse...and I love CI. So the paths for Occultist were already determined based on preference. BUT, the damage with the path to Malediction is SO strong. Check these two maps I did the other day. Profane Bloom makes entire packs of enemies disappear instantly. All those dead enemies are a HUGE boost to the damage that Malediction can deal (plus all the other perks of Malediction as well). So in a boss battle, the more enemies, the better :). Even though I went with personal preference over min/max'ing damage, clear speed and damage aren't an issue at all with this build.
Like I said, I was quite surprised :).
Does that answer your question? If not, or if you have more, let me know. Thanks for the post.
https://www.ForeverExiled.com/: Forever Exiled, A Path of Exile Podcast
hey there! fellow vortex player here as well. I've actually built vortex wayyyyy differently (somewhat more "standard"), but am interested in your variant as well. came across the thread as I was experimenting with making vortex map faster with a suggestion made by another forum poster on a profane bloom - malediction ascendancy choice.
I would like to know what are some of the struggles you face (that are not gear reliant). also what were the benefits that you prioritized from the malediction ascendancy that let you take malediction over frigid wake? was there a deal breaker somewhere or something about malediction that you really liked. just wanted to hear your thoughts, no judgement/criticism, would like to hear from your end to see what would work for me. thanks! :)
Hey SonsOfKorhal,
The only real struggle with this build is leveling at the beginning of the game. Until you get your first ascendancy, going CI can be tough. It's hard to focus on ES when you need life to live.
Honestly, when I first made this build a few leagues ago I was REALLY surprised how strong it was. The only downside is the CI aspect. But that's CI specific, not really build specific. It something to remember when playing. You always need to stay moving and know where you can get a second or two of not taking damage.
Specifically, the build's damage and defense comes from CwDT. The CwDT gems are REALLY low so enemies are always cursed, but you have to be hit first for them to be slowed, weakened, vulnerable to cold. So some of the boss battles may have some slower moments because you'll keep running around and not getting hit, so the DoT won't do too much damage. But the second they're cursed, you'll see a dramatic difference in damage. But honestly, that's it. I'd love to have all three curses as blasphemies and also have Discipline and Malevolence...but that's not realistic :). A big factor in survivability though is the Quartz flask. Being able to phase through enemies REALLY helps not getting stuck in a group with CI.
To answer your question regarding Malediction vs. Frigid Wake, I just love to curse...and I love CI. So the paths for Occultist were already determined based on preference. BUT, the damage with the path to Malediction is SO strong. Check these two maps I did the other day. Profane Bloom makes entire packs of enemies disappear instantly. All those dead enemies are a HUGE boost to the damage that Malediction can deal (plus all the other perks of Malediction as well). So in a boss battle, the more enemies, the better :). Even though I went with personal preference over min/max'ing damage, clear speed and damage aren't an issue at all with this build.
Like I said, I was quite surprised :).
Does that answer your question? If not, or if you have more, let me know. Thanks for the post.
hey, thanks for the reply. I am not really concerned about levelling as that's a trivial portion of the game to me. as for the challenges of ES/CI, well as established it's not so much a fault of the build, so that's also a nonfactor.
regarding the quartz flask, I personally run phase run as well as a % phase on kill jewel to remove the need for the flask, freeing up my flask slot for another flask. that's a possible suggestion for you. I saw the video, I understand what you mean by needing the cwdt trigger to deal more dps. personally I think that's not a playstyle I would prefer as I wouldnt want to expose myself to that damage haha. but yeah, I see how big an impact it makes to your dps. technically, to your comment about blasphemy and the tri-curse, I'm pretty sure you could make it work with a shav's LL variant, giving more dps, and more gem slots (at the cost of ES) which you'd have to make up on all your other items. also, how the hell do you have that gear with that much currency haha. time to upgrade man, I've never had a mirror in my life.
I totally understand why'd you build malediction and profane bloom, after all poe is a game that allows for freedom to choose how you build your char to your liking. I personally prefer a consistent damage output so I went frigid wake. but for easier content I weapon swap to dual oblit to have the profane bloom effect. I lose about 40% but it's still more than sufficient to clear mob packs practically on hit.
I think what I find an issue is the need for cwdt to trigger. it exposes you to mob damage and is inconsistent. I might experiment with using blasphemy LL. maybe a heretics veil with enlighten and some reduced mana reserved nodes would allow you to run tri-curse, and a combination of a few of the following - hatred, malevolence, discipline, aspect, clarity. in fact, I wonder if the curses for a harder boss could just be MANUALLY casted (like good old days), and only have blasphemy curse for 1 or 2.
hey there! fellow vortex player here as well. I've actually built vortex wayyyyy differently (somewhat more "standard"), but am interested in your variant as well. came across the thread as I was experimenting with making vortex map faster with a suggestion made by another forum poster on a profane bloom - malediction ascendancy choice.
I would like to know what are some of the struggles you face (that are not gear reliant). also what were the benefits that you prioritized from the malediction ascendancy that let you take malediction over frigid wake? was there a deal breaker somewhere or something about malediction that you really liked. just wanted to hear your thoughts, no judgement/criticism, would like to hear from your end to see what would work for me. thanks! :)
Hey SonsOfKorhal,
The only real struggle with this build is leveling at the beginning of the game. Until you get your first ascendancy, going CI can be tough. It's hard to focus on ES when you need life to live.
Honestly, when I first made this build a few leagues ago I was REALLY surprised how strong it was. The only downside is the CI aspect. But that's CI specific, not really build specific. It something to remember when playing. You always need to stay moving and know where you can get a second or two of not taking damage.
Specifically, the build's damage and defense comes from CwDT. The CwDT gems are REALLY low so enemies are always cursed, but you have to be hit first for them to be slowed, weakened, vulnerable to cold. So some of the boss battles may have some slower moments because you'll keep running around and not getting hit, so the DoT won't do too much damage. But the second they're cursed, you'll see a dramatic difference in damage. But honestly, that's it. I'd love to have all three curses as blasphemies and also have Discipline and Malevolence...but that's not realistic :). A big factor in survivability though is the Quartz flask. Being able to phase through enemies REALLY helps not getting stuck in a group with CI.
To answer your question regarding Malediction vs. Frigid Wake, I just love to curse...and I love CI. So the paths for Occultist were already determined based on preference. BUT, the damage with the path to Malediction is SO strong. Check these two maps I did the other day. Profane Bloom makes entire packs of enemies disappear instantly. All those dead enemies are a HUGE boost to the damage that Malediction can deal (plus all the other perks of Malediction as well). So in a boss battle, the more enemies, the better :). Even though I went with personal preference over min/max'ing damage, clear speed and damage aren't an issue at all with this build.
Like I said, I was quite surprised :).
Does that answer your question? If not, or if you have more, let me know. Thanks for the post.
hey, thanks for the reply. I am not really concerned about levelling as that's a trivial portion of the game to me. as for the challenges of ES/CI, well as established it's not so much a fault of the build, so that's also a nonfactor.
regarding the quartz flask, I personally run phase run as well as a % phase on kill jewel to remove the need for the flask, freeing up my flask slot for another flask. that's a possible suggestion for you. I saw the video, I understand what you mean by needing the cwdt trigger to deal more dps. personally I think that's not a playstyle I would prefer as I wouldnt want to expose myself to that damage haha. but yeah, I see how big an impact it makes to your dps. technically, to your comment about blasphemy and the tri-curse, I'm pretty sure you could make it work with a shav's LL variant, giving more dps, and more gem slots (at the cost of ES) which you'd have to make up on all your other items. also, how the hell do you have that gear with that much currency haha. time to upgrade man, I've never had a mirror in my life.
I totally understand why'd you build malediction and profane bloom, after all poe is a game that allows for freedom to choose how you build your char to your liking. I personally prefer a consistent damage output so I went frigid wake. but for easier content I weapon swap to dual oblit to have the profane bloom effect. I lose about 40% but it's still more than sufficient to clear mob packs practically on hit.
I think what I find an issue is the need for cwdt to trigger. it exposes you to mob damage and is inconsistent. I might experiment with using blasphemy LL. maybe a heretics veil with enlighten and some reduced mana reserved nodes would allow you to run tri-curse, and a combination of a few of the following - hatred, malevolence, discipline, aspect, clarity. in fact, I wonder if the curses for a harder boss could just be MANUALLY casted (like good old days), and only have blasphemy curse for 1 or 2.
Good suggestions for sure! I like to have my builds designed so they can be successful without any specific gear or mods...so gear/mods only enhance the play/power of the build. So I won't be able to put any of the suggestions in the guide itself, but it would be awesome if some reading this did it for sure! I love the ideas! I know my personal restrictions mean that there will be some builds I can't do, but it does mean that I can play them and enjoy them long term :).
I find in PoE, no matter where you are, you're getting hit. PoE isn't really a game that you could plan a character to rarely get hit. Well, I guess I should say that a glass cannon won't have a greater benefit in this game than any other build (which I know isn't what you're describing at all). So many pros and cons for every idea. My point is that characters typically get hit often. So often that I find my characters that have CwDT on low levels are always casting those spells. They're on the field so much that they may as well be auras. So I haven't found it a detriment to progress in anyway with the exception of the occasional boss battle that doesn't summons "adds". But that's also catering to my playstyle and restrictions. I don't know if I could play this game without CwDT. Too much to do (self casting). My brain would shut down.
Thanks for posting! I appreciate the time and effort you put in! I hope I answered your curiosities ok. If you have any other questions or comments I'm happy to hear it! Enjoy your Occultist! It sounds really strong!
https://www.ForeverExiled.com/: Forever Exiled, A Path of Exile Podcast
Last edited by Wrecker_of_Days#7691 on May 31, 2019, 12:09:20 AM
Good suggestions for sure! I like to have my builds designed so they can be successful without any specific gear or mods...so gear/mods only enhance the play/power of the build. So I won't be able to put any of the suggestions in the guide itself, but it would be awesome if some reading this did it for sure! I love the ideas! I know my personal restrictions mean that there will be some builds I can't do, but it does mean that I can play them and enjoy them long term :).
I find in PoE, no matter where you are, you're getting hit. PoE isn't really a game that you could plan a character to rarely get hit. Well, I guess I should say that a glass cannon won't have a greater benefit in this game than any other build (which I know isn't what you're describing at all). So many pros and cons for every idea. My point is that characters typically get hit often. So often that I find my characters that have CwDT on low levels are always casting those spells. They're on the field so much that they may as well be auras. So I haven't found it a detriment to progress in anyway with the exception of the occasional boss battle that doesn't summons "adds". But that's also catering to my playstyle and restrictions. I don't know if I could play this game without CwDT. Too much to do (self casting). My brain would shut down.
Thanks for posting! I appreciate the time and effort you put in! I hope I answered your curiosities ok. If you have any other questions or comments I'm happy to hear it! Enjoy your Occultist! It sounds really strong!
good point. yes, now that you've mentioned it, since the objective was not to be restrained by a specific item, I do agree with you that how it's currently setup would be the way to go. fair point on the getting hit part. and as you've acknowledged, the build may struggle only when fight sequences dont spawn adds. as for self casting, I agree with you; the beauty in the build also is in the simplicity. rather than thinking of it as a lazy build, we can think of it as finding a way to build such that the curses can be automated :P for many of us a weapon such as below with the line "triggers socketed gem" is what we use to automate the cursing/debuff application. something that you could experiment with.
you've definitely answered my questions on how the build is setup. maybe given the occultist changes it's something for me to think about as well. cheers!
As we´ve seeen in 3.7 wicked ward will be a keystone. Not sure how will the occultist ascendacy nodes be.
i share the concerns on having to be hit to cast the curses but for now, and i´m clearing all the lvl 8 maps now, that hasn´t been an issue. We always get hit by something.. ( i don´t have much time to play... my gear is average also...)
i´m waiting to see the new tree to see if it´s possible to run something with Bane. Just because of my gloves. That would make me not rely on getting hit to cast the curses.
Not sure how it will work spreading the damage between cold and chaos damage... it´s possible that it turns out to be a completely different build.
Oh... and this is the first league i play... what will happen to my char when the new leage starts??? does it stay there or do i have to make a new one???
Last edited by Masantos77#9788 on May 31, 2019, 8:07:14 AM
As we´ve seeen in 3.7 wicked ward will be a keystone. Not sure how will the occultist ascendacy nodes be.
i share the concerns on having to be hit to cast the curses but for now, and i´m clearing all the lvl 8 maps now, that hasn´t been an issue. We always get hit by something.. ( i don´t have much time to play... my gear is average also...)
i´m waiting to see the new tree to see if it´s possible to run something with Bane. Just because of my gloves. That would make me not rely on getting hit to cast the curses.
Not sure how it will work spreading the damage between cold and chaos damage... it´s possible that it turns out to be a completely different build.
Oh... and this is the first league i play... what will happen to my char when the new leage starts??? does it stay there or do i have to make a new one???
when new league starts, your current character will be moved to the standard league (which is a permanent league). in the new league, you will have to create a new character that starts completely from scratch. no $$, no items, no atlas completion, no trials completed etc.
Good suggestions for sure! I like to have my builds designed so they can be successful without any specific gear or mods...so gear/mods only enhance the play/power of the build. So I won't be able to put any of the suggestions in the guide itself, but it would be awesome if some reading this did it for sure! I love the ideas! I know my personal restrictions mean that there will be some builds I can't do, but it does mean that I can play them and enjoy them long term :).
I find in PoE, no matter where you are, you're getting hit. PoE isn't really a game that you could plan a character to rarely get hit. Well, I guess I should say that a glass cannon won't have a greater benefit in this game than any other build (which I know isn't what you're describing at all). So many pros and cons for every idea. My point is that characters typically get hit often. So often that I find my characters that have CwDT on low levels are always casting those spells. They're on the field so much that they may as well be auras. So I haven't found it a detriment to progress in anyway with the exception of the occasional boss battle that doesn't summons "adds". But that's also catering to my playstyle and restrictions. I don't know if I could play this game without CwDT. Too much to do (self casting). My brain would shut down.
Thanks for posting! I appreciate the time and effort you put in! I hope I answered your curiosities ok. If you have any other questions or comments I'm happy to hear it! Enjoy your Occultist! It sounds really strong!
good point. yes, now that you've mentioned it, since the objective was not to be restrained by a specific item, I do agree with you that how it's currently setup would be the way to go. fair point on the getting hit part. and as you've acknowledged, the build may struggle only when fight sequences dont spawn adds. as for self casting, I agree with you; the beauty in the build also is in the simplicity. rather than thinking of it as a lazy build, we can think of it as finding a way to build such that the curses can be automated :P for many of us a weapon such as below with the line "triggers socketed gem" is what we use to automate the cursing/debuff application. something that you could experiment with.
you've definitely answered my questions on how the build is setup. maybe given the occultist changes it's something for me to think about as well. cheers!
Cool. Thanks for all the input! Sweet weapon by the way. Feel free to ask and suggest more! Good posts :).
https://www.ForeverExiled.com/: Forever Exiled, A Path of Exile Podcast
As we´ve seeen in 3.7 wicked ward will be a keystone. Not sure how will the occultist ascendacy nodes be.
i share the concerns on having to be hit to cast the curses but for now, and i´m clearing all the lvl 8 maps now, that hasn´t been an issue. We always get hit by something.. ( i don´t have much time to play... my gear is average also...)
i´m waiting to see the new tree to see if it´s possible to run something with Bane. Just because of my gloves. That would make me not rely on getting hit to cast the curses.
Not sure how it will work spreading the damage between cold and chaos damage... it´s possible that it turns out to be a completely different build.
Oh... and this is the first league i play... what will happen to my char when the new leage starts??? does it stay there or do i have to make a new one???
My guess is that Wicked Ward on the tree won't change Wicked Ward as an Ascendancy. There are some pretty strong negatives (though people can always find ways to use them in a beneficial way) with the Wicked Ward on the tree that aren't in the Occultist tree. So if they left it as is, I'd still see a strong motivation for people to be drawn to the Occultist's Wicked Ward. It's just a guess though. I of course have no idea what they've planned.
If you have any concerns as to how the build plays (taking damage to create damage) you can always see how I play this build when I have about an hour to sit down. If I roll a map that my other builds can't do, this one seems to do it no problem (as long as the map lets you regen ES).
https://www.ForeverExiled.com/: Forever Exiled, A Path of Exile Podcast
