[3.12] Mana guardian Icestorm ~ Max Block/Spellblock UPDATED FOR HEIST

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Pseudorandominator wrote:

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Think Unwavering might be necessary just for QoL.

I'm definitely running unwavering stance. It's only three points (including the keystone itself) from the main tree now. I think stun immunity is almost mandatory for this build, and this seems like the easiest way to get it without giving up too much (i.e. an amulet, boot, or ring slot).

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Im confused how does this build get 5 allies for the onslaught buff? Radiant Crusade? Feels like a huge waste what am i missing?

Have they fixed the skitterbots not counting as allies bug? If that's the case, you could pretty easily get two skitterbots, two spectres, and a golem. Otherwise, it might be tough. The 20% all resistance is nothing to sneeze at though, since it means you can replace a T1 resistance suffix with intelligence, but it's debatable whether this is better than Bastion of Hope.

Unwavering stance is definitely a necessity now that cyclone is no longer stun proof. It was an oversigh on my end. I would 100% suggest running it, or getting Skyforth's in the boot slot at the cost of some DPS and ES to gain stun resistance.

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DarkGenocide wrote:

Im confused how does this build get 5 allies for the onslaught buff? Radiant Crusade? Feels like a huge waste what am i missing?

You dont run radiant crusade for 5 ally buff. Just the 1 ally buff as you get 10% More damage. 10% MORE, is very different from 10% INCREEASED damage, and ends up being a very large buff to our dps. We also get the 20% All Res which is huge since alot of our gear is so difficult to craft due to the need of 1-2 suffix dedication to %int or +int or both.

When did you guys make the transition to Icestorm?
I know the guide mention 60'ish, but I don't think I'd be able to stack enough intelligence to make it viable.

E: Went WhisperingIce hybrid life/es at 64, unspecced few points to get Unwavering, and full transition to ES at 70.. So far so good.

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Unwavering stance is definitely a necessity now that cyclone is no longer stun proof. It was an oversigh on my end. I would 100% suggest running it, or getting Skyforth's in the boot slot at the cost of some DPS and ES to gain stun resistance.

It's now closer to the tree, too. I think the three points it costs to take it are far less useful than having boots with intelligence, more ES, more resists, and possibly freeze immunity, so I don't think Skyforth is worth it.

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You dont run radiant crusade for 5 ally buff. Just the 1 ally buff as you get 10% More damage. 10% MORE, is very different from 10% INCREEASED damage, and ends up being a very large buff to our dps. We also get the 20% All Res which is huge since alot of our gear is so difficult to craft due to the need of 1-2 suffix dedication to %int or +int or both.

Yep. Onslaught gives cast speed, attack speed, and movement speed. The only one of these that helps this build is movement speed. It's definitely not worth the effort even to get 5 allies unless the skitterbots bug is fixed, and even then, it's debatable if it's worth the sockets.

People also underestimate the usefulness of resistance rolls. Remember that a T1 all resistance roll is 15-16, and a T1 intelligence roll is 51-55. Since these are always suffixes, and this build is resistance-starved, it's often the case that adding resistances in places other than gear can allow you to immediately add an equivalent amount of intelligence, which is obviously very strong.

That being said, it's still open for debate whether radiant crusade or bastion of hope is the better choice for the 4th ascendancy. 10% more damage is clearly a lot, but having an (essentially) permananent 10% max attack block and max spell block in addition to having max attack block 40% of the time is a very strong defensive mechanism. I guess it just comes down to whether you want the DPS or the defensive layers.

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When did you guys make the transition to Icestorm?

I leveled with firestorm. I think this is a great way to go because (outside of penetration) the support gems are exactly the same. It's also easier to compare icestorm DPS with firestorm than other spells. I just switched when icestorm would become a DPS improvement over firestorm, which was a fairly straightforward calculation.

I love that you guys keep this build alive even in my absence, when I don't play it for a league because I want to try new things, it makes my heart happy to see so many of you engaging on this post and making this build shine. I just wanna thank all of you for helping my favorite build grow so much and for helping each other out when I take breaks from POE. Much love brothers. <3

Been playing this build this league and have been reading the replies about Unwavering Stance. I was wondering, do you think going Bastion of Hope is a proper replacement for Unwavering and enough stun immunity by itself?

I was considering dropping Time of Need for Bastion of Hope for that reason, and because the additional block chance during mapping felt like more survivability than the regen since I'm constantly near, or at, full ES anyway (currently 8.7k es). I'm just unsure if I should still need to pick up Unwavering on top of that, though I didn't think so. Thanks in advance!

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Been playing this build this league and have been reading the replies about Unwavering Stance. I was wondering, do you think going Bastion of Hope is a proper replacement for Unwavering and enough stun immunity by itself?

I was considering dropping Time of Need for Bastion of Hope for that reason, and because the additional block chance during mapping felt like more survivability than the regen since I'm constantly near, or at, full ES anyway (currently 8.7k es). I'm just unsure if I should still need to pick up Unwavering on top of that, though I didn't think so. Thanks in advance!

It likely depends on how much you care about dying. Bastion of Hope is probably fine for general mapping, but if you want to, say, do Sirus with confidence that you won't die if you get hit once, you probably want unwavering stance.

I also think time of need is great, though. Note that you'll want to be resistance overcapped to handle elemental weakness in maps (and maybe even other curses too). The 25% reduced curse effect of this node means that you need 8% less all resistance to reach capped resistances when cursed, effectively granting you 8% all resistance in addition to reducing the effect of all other curses. If I were going to drop anything for bastion of hope, it'd be radiant crusade. I haven't done uber lab yet this league, but I'll probably skip radiant crusade.

What exactly should my body armor gem links be i just fossil crafted a decent 600 ES/10% int increase vaal regalia and 5 linked it wondering what exactly i should be using

Is anyone else doing a guardian Icestorm Build this Season for Harvest :)

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What exactly should my body armor gem links be i just fossil crafted a decent 600 ES/10% int increase vaal regalia and 5 linked it wondering what exactly i should be using

Basically whatever CWDT gems you prefer. I'm running memory vault, so I have molten shell, increased duration, and frost wall (you can cyclone through it!). You'll probably also want frostbite/enfeeble + curse on hit + a spell to trigger the hit somewhere, as well as some way to trigger cold exposure (I use frost bomb).

But it really doesn't matter that much--the important links are in the staff.