[3.9] [Updated] Caustic Arrow CI Trickster - Very tanky, fast mapper, safe playstyle

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TxE4GL3k wrote:

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thedeathbeam wrote:

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Very interesting and tanky build there. There is no doubt that Trickster is much stronger and tankier since Synthesis. I may try this build in the FB after my ED+Bane occultist reach Lv90.

Yeah, Trickster is in very very good shape atm, and imo, in it's current state with this build it's even more survivable during mapping than Occultist (because of insane ES recovery with both ghost shrouds and patient reaper, what is instant, compared to occultist regen/recharge).

Anyway, small update to PoB:

1. Changed budget Temporal Chains setup from Storm Brand + COH to CWDT + Temporal Chains, the lost levels from Temp Chains are fine and it saves us a bit of hassle instead of casting brands (and our Temp Chains use is purely defensive so our ES recharge can kick it on bosses and so we can facetank plenty of them)
2. Added "budget" movement setup, e.g one that do not requires 4 off-colors on helmet (or w/e slot you use for movement), e.g replacing Blink Arrow with Flame Dash. Blink Arrow is still way better because it is distraction for enemies, it has way bigger range and we use Phase Run as main movement skill so having 3 charges on Flame Dash is not that worth, but, Flame Dash is still best alternative to Blink Arrow

Updated PoB:

Pastebin (Web Preview)

As usual, I already updated main post with above info and links.

Small update again:

- Replaced Enhance in movement setup with Culling Strike
- Added pure Blink Arrow alternative movement setup to guide - This setup is most defensive one with perma blind on bosses
- Changed Flame Dash movement setup to include Culling Strike as well, and also Summon Chaos Golem - This movement setup is ideal for leaguestart

Here is updated PoB (main post is already updated):

Pastebin (Web Preview)

Another decently big update:

So, I was playing with Queen of the Forest for a while in Flashback and decided to stick with it. QoTF version is A LOT faster, but also a bit more squishy because you can't really run extra curse without really a lot of investment.

So, I added secondary item set with Queen of the Forest, dropping Solstice Vigil and adding Sin Trek as boots and Alchemist's Jade Flask of Reflexes to reach 45k evasion cap for QoTF (I went a bit over, what is nice). Main post contains info about how to see this setup in PoB, as it is secondary item set and different body gem set (basically just dropping temp chains + blasphemy).

In the end, DPS for this variations remains unchanged, ES goes down a bit (from 10.5k to 9.9k), we lose Temporal Chains as defensive tool, but we gain a lot of evasion and movement speed in return, while cutting down min-maxed cost of this build by a lot (QoTF unlinked costs nothing, and we do not need links, and we dont need Solstice there anymore).

Updated PoB (main post was already updated too):

Pastebin (Web Preview)

Update:

So, this update is a bit larger, well, its mostly skill gem position related.

So, to avoid a lot of recoloring, I moved movement setup to body and auras to helmet. I also optimized gem links a bit (we now run chaos golem on budget and QoTF setups).

Now that we do not need to off-color anything that much, I also removed Flame Dash movement setup.

QoTF setup now runs CWDT with Chaos Golem.


Here are updated PoB item/skill/gem sets descriptions:

There are 2 item sets:
- Default: This is regular version, using Solstice Vigil and rare hybrid body with extra curse
- QoTF: This setup is using Queen of the Forest as body for maximum clear speed. As it can't run extra curse anymore (easily) we also drop Solstice Vigil and replace it with nice defensive amulet, and upgrade our boots to hybrid base

There are 3 weapon skill gem sets:
- Bossing: Here, we are using Concentrated Effect as 6th link for maximum damage
- Mapping: Here, we are using Mirage Archer as 6th link to optimize our clear speed
- Budget: Here, we are not using Empower, and instead we socket in Vicious Projectiles, assuming on budget we will not have Vicious Projectiles elder bow

There are 3 body skill gem sets:
- Default: This setup is for min-maxed and plan-to-be min-maxed builds, utilizing lvl 1Clarity for our Watcher's Eye
- QoTF: This setup is altered Regular setup optimized for Queen of the Forest version of the build, dropping Phase Run and adding more utility links to Blink Arrow setup
- Budget: This version assumes absence of Clarity Watcher's Eye, so it's instead adding extra link to main movement setup

There are 3 helmet gem sets:
- Default: This setup is optimized for min-maxed version running both Solstice Vigil and Aspect of the Spider, running free Blasphemy + Temporal Chains thanks to Solstice
- QoTF: This setup is altered Regular version, running CWDT + Summon Chaos Golem instead of Temporal Chains for some extra defense (as QoTF version is not running Solstice Vigil)
- Budget: This version assumes absence of Aspect of the Spider and Solstice Vigil so instead it is running Arctic Armour and self cast Summon Chaos Golem for some extra defenses

And here is updated PoB:

Pastebin (Web Preview)

I am sorry for doing changes like this on the fly, but I am constantly trying to improve this build and make it more beginner/budget friendly, more flexible and less frustrating to gear it.

Small update

Replaced Cast when damage taken + Summon Chaos Golem budget/QoTF setup with Frenzy and Greater Multiple Projectiles for less off-coloring and better sustain of Frenzy charges on bosses on those builds.

I am also toying with idea of running Curse on Hit setup on Frenzy instead of running Solstice Vigil to greatly reduce the cost of the build.

EDIT:

This is WIP pastebin without solstice vigil, using curse on hit temp chains instead:

https://pastebin.com/BdxRj8bz

Hey OP, can you update into the main post? And will this guide be viable for upcoming 3.7?

Main post is already updated with the Frenzy changes. And I am still toying with dropping of Solstice Vigil, because its a lot of QoL, but thanks to Winter Orb it's also really expensive atm.

But I managed to create decent version of current build that can run 2 curses on both default and QoTF version without much trouble:

https://pastebin.com/kX7gNE21

So I will probably update the build for it, and possibly create "expensive" variant with Solstice.

And yeah, I am pretty sure this build will still be viable for 3.7.

So I decided to add no solstice setup as alternative/budget version because I still think smoothest version of the build is with Solstice and Phase Run.

This new Budget setup is slightly more tanky than Solstice setup, but it loses Phase Run and QoL from Solstice increased duration, what should be fine-ish.

I had to move some gems around to allow for simple gem alt setups, but this also means that I was able to add faster attacks to all versions of Blink Arrow + Culling setup what should make movement with it smoother.

Here is updatd PoB (main thread was already updated too):

Pastebin (Web Preview)

Another updates in regards to alternative versions of the build (e.g without Solstice and QoTF):

So, I decided to drop Frenzy + Curse on hit setup completely, and also drop extra curse for these versions to make them a bit more budget friendly, and a lot easier to gear. Also, losing extra curse is not that big of a deal, its very incovenient to cast Frenzy with CoH anyway, as Temp Chains are awesome for normal mobs, but kind of bad for bosses. Solstice solves this part perfectly, but without Solstice it's simply not worth.

So, instead I decided to add back Phase Run for all versions of the build (QoTF version is now REALLY fast) and also go back to original Summon Chaos Golem idea as I kind of liked it (also, it looks really cool in combination with tentacle caustic arrow MTX :p).

Here is updated PoB (main thread is already updated too, make sure to re-read the PoB section again):

Pastebin (Web Preview)

So, from 3.7 announcement, here are possible future updates for this build:

- Faster Attacks -> Faster Projectiles for Blink Arrow setup - This is almost certain change, because Blink Arrow cast will be instant
- Possibly adding Molten Shell/Steelskin somehow. Or, maybe that mysterious caster defensive ability, we will see.

It is very likely that all these possible changes will mean dropping Solstice completely, switching to 1 curse no solstice version if the new defensive tools will be good enough. And I really hope they would, that would mean we will get really a lot of survivability, losing some QoL, while reducing the cost of the build tremendously (well, high ES bases will be still expensive, but it would not be switch from random rare amulet to multiple ex Solstice like it is now while being constantly worried about resists and str requirements).

For now what I think will happen to this build is that it will be a lot better, just the Blink Arrow being instant change will be day/night difference for escaping sticky situations.