[3.15] Elemental Hit Ballista Totem Hiero | Budget Friendly | League Start to Endgame

That's a pretty neat idea, I suppose it can work. I'm still concerned that HFT will fall off in efficiency around mid-campaign, except if you start with the new Onslaught nodes which would give us 50% cast speed to compensate.

Speaking of the Raider, looking at the tree, the best mix of damage and QoL seems to be specializing in Onslaught and Phasing. Perma-Onslaught with the 150% increased effect seems pretty bonkers. Perma-Phasing with elemental ailments immunity, 20% exposure and 15% dodge looks super good too. Are these the nodes you are thinking of taking also ?

I'll look at your Raider tree asap to see if I have any comments :-)

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thomzon wrote:

That's a pretty neat idea, I suppose it can work. I'm still concerned that HFT will fall off in efficiency around mid-campaign, except if you start with the new Onslaught nodes which would give us 50% cast speed to compensate.

Well, if additional DPS is required, always can buy the additional Gems(Elemental Focus as 5th Gem) required for HFT and also the ones in the additional DPS Options(Listed Below) at Siosa in Act 3.

- Flammability + Arcane Surge + Spell Cascade
- Wave of Conviction + Spell Totem + Multiple Totem(Available at Act 4) + Combustion

So it's not really an issue. The only issue with my leveling suggestion is if one wants to rush to maps, then it's totally not suitable.

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thomzon wrote:

Speaking of the Raider, looking at the tree, the best mix of damage and QoL seems to be specializing in Onslaught and Phasing. Perma-Onslaught with the 150% increased effect seems pretty bonkers. Perma-Phasing with elemental ailments immunity, 20% exposure and 15% dodge looks super good too. Are these the nodes you are thinking of taking also ?

Yes i am going for the Onslaught and Phasing Tree probably in this Order

1) Rapid Assault
2) Quartz Infusion
3) Avatar of the Veil
4) Avatar of the Chase

I think the above sequence fits well base on where we are, what we are using and what we are facing at the point when we get these Notables.

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thomzon wrote:

I'll look at your Raider tree asap to see if I have any comments :-)

Sure let me know :)

Finally you did your own thread. You did an amazing job on the previous thread. I played this build 3 times already and I love this build and ballista.

Recently I'm trying to play other ascendancy than Hiero with ballista like PF TR ballista or Scion EA bleed but Summon two totems instead of one was always a hard lost.

To change this league I planned to play Berseker EH Ballista before ascendancy reveal, I dont know if it's a good idea but I want to profite of his attack speed, crit and +10 rage (70 with berzerking + triple effect).

But now, I hesite with Raider who look like very good with all this bosses fight.

I dont like to play with gem swap but I will try to play with multiple totem instead of Elemental Damage for better clear and switch only for hard boss.

My Pob look like this now : https://pastebin.com/M6tBg1iJ
I took the stuff i had on my last char + EE ring. But the survivabilty can be a problem with 10 boss around.

For leveling, on ranger you can level with CA/TR and take king of hill, master fletcher, farsight and make you way to ancestral bond. Maybe Avatar of hunt if you miss damage.

PS: You forgot to add rage in your ranger's pob.

My plans for 3.13 and what to expect going forward and FAQ

I just thought it's good to let everyone who is looking at this build have an idea where things are heading with this build.

(Might add new questions as I thought of them or if people ask something related that should be placed here)

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Q. What Ascendancy will I play in Ritual?

I am currently deciding between either Raider(More likely) or Scion(Chieftain/Raider)(Less Likely). Scion is the safe pick because I played before and I know it works well. However, from the looks of it, this guide might need a new home(Man, it's just here for half a month) and for that, I need to know what Ascendancy I want to play with this build going forward. Since I haven't play Raider before, I thought that will let me know if that is the Class I want to write a guide for in the future . Also I can respec to Deadeye for testing easily.

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Q: What will happen to this Hiero guide?

I'll continue to update it with 3.13 contents just like before. However if it requires a major overhaul then I might not do it since next league this build is likely to be on another class.

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Q: What Ascendancy do you recommend to use this build in Ritual?

Safe choices will be Chieftain and Ascendant(Chieftain/Raider). If you are used to the Quality of Life from Hiero, you will like the "Totems leech life to you ability" that is unique to these 2 Class(Not counting items). I have played Ascendant before and it worked great for me so very safe picks. Ascendant has more customization options if you have the currency compared to Chieftain.

Raider and Deadeye are something I would say play them only if you are familiar with this build already since they are new and I haven't tested them so I can't say if they will work well or not. Also considering they don't have Life Regen/Leech, I am not sure if that will backfire on the 10 Boss Fight, i.e. whether the 10 boss will generate any minion for us to recharge our Flasks. If there are no minions, it definitely will be tougher and we will definitely will want to consider using Ryslatha Minor Pantheon and Vitality Gem.

Hiero is still fine, and has Highest DPS because of 7 Max Totems compared to the above Classes that can only have 6(Except Ascendant taking +1 Totem). Plus it still have all those quality of life, Mana Regen, Life Regen, Totem Placement, still a nice "Package" and you have this guide which is built for it to refer to.

Overall I'll say

Ascendancy Choices

Hierophant - If you want highest total DPS(Because 7 Max Totem) + Life/Mana/Placement Speed Quality of Life

Ascendant(Chieftain/Hiero)** - If you want 2nd highest total DPS(Because 7 Max Totem) + Life Leech and with customization options(In terms of Gear/Ascendancy "shuffling")

Ascendant(Chieftain/Raider) - If you want Good Defense + with Life Leech and with customization options(In terms of Gear/Ascendancy "shuffling")

Chieftain - If you want Good Defense and/or Offense + with Life Leech and not looking to invest so much like Ascendant

Raider - If you like Max 95 Evade/75 Dodge/75 Spell Dodge but don't mind pressing and carrying 2-3 Life Flask

Deadeye*** - If you like seeing Tons of Projectiles Flying All Around the screen and don't mind pressing and carrying 2-3 Life Flask and getting hit more

**This combination has a bad interaction which is the Ascendant's Hiero option has the "Divine Guidance Mind over Matter effect" which means if we stand on those damage over time piles of fire/poison say in delve, our mana will be sucked dry and unable to cast totems(Have to stay out of those piles).

***Base on research, Deadeye's Tailwind does not interact with Totems, please factor that in before choosing Deadeye.


Regardless of which Class you choose, I'll support as best as I can.

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Q. I need POB for Scion/Raider/Deadeye/Chieftain

Here are the links, Deadeye can refer to the Raider one, just need to switch off Onslaught under Configuration and also get some Freeze/Bleed removal on Flasks

Ascendant(Chieftain/Raider)(Defensive Focused/For Starting/leveling): https://pastebin.com/VM0MaUv1(Updated added Sniper's Mark)

Ascendant(Chieftain/Raider)(Offensive Focused/For switching to later): https://pastebin.com/yYKLF5mK(Updated added Sniper's Mark)

Raider: https://pastebin.com/MpS2eWDU

Chieftain: https://pastebin.com/bp0sfqeM

Hiero(With almost same setup/settings as above for comparison): https://pastebin.com/msVEKSRC

*Note 1: Have ran through the Gem positions in the POB but might not be the most optimized positions
*Note 2: Other than Hiero, and Offensive Ascendant POB, the build uses Enduring Cry Gem. To use it, bind the skill to your left mouse button so it will auto cast as you walk around as long you have Call to Arms Keystone
*Note 3: Enduring Cry, if on the Bow, shouldn't be linked to the other 5 gems because Increased Duration will increase Enduring Cry's Cooldown

Ascendant POB
A bit of detail on Ascendant's POB, the Defensive one is the one to follow when leveling, after which you have 3 options:

A. When you have about 6.5k HP, switch out Kaom's Heart for other Body Armour like Hyrre Ire, Kintsugi, Replica Shroud of the Lightless(If you can get 6 nice Abyss Jewels) or if you have some Favourite Armour you like.
B. Before reaching 6.5k HP, along the way, slowly respec into the Offensive Focused one.
C. Stay with 6.5k HP no change

Raider POB
There are 2 Options under Gloves, one is based on Clarity + Vitality(Enabled), the other is base on Grace(Disabled).

Chieftain/Hiero POB
Nothing to Note

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Q. I need a leveling guide for Scion/Raider/Deadeye/Chieftain

Here's the link to the leveling guide(Totally meant for casuals)

Leveling Guide: https://www.pathofexile.com/forum/view-thread/3005581/page/14#p23752320

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That's all for now. Thank you to everyone who is considering/chosen this build. Hopefully this will make things smoother for you.

Good luck and Have fun in Wraeclast!

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Abelun wrote:

Finally you did your own thread. You did an amazing job on the previous thread. I played this build 3 times already and I love this build and ballista.

Hey Abelun,

Great to see you here and Thank you so much for your long time support of the build. Welcome!

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Abelun wrote:

But now, I hesite with Raider who look like very good with all this bosses fight.

It's hard to say yet, I mention in the above post that Raider doesn't have Life Regen/Leech and if the 10 boss fight doesn't generate any minions for Flask Charges, then the fight might be a bit hard.

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Abelun wrote:

My Pob look like this now : https://pastebin.com/M6tBg1iJ
I took the stuff i had on my last char + EE ring. But the survivabilty can be a problem with 10 boss around.

This build doesn't leech and Berserker has no Life Regen so we really rely on Life Flask a lot and I see that you only have one, that might not be a good idea. There's a reason why I use 3 life flask.

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Abelun wrote:

To change this league I planned to play Berseker EH Ballista before ascendancy reveal, I dont know if it's a good idea but I want to profite of his attack speed, crit and +10 rage (70 with berzerking + triple effect).

Actually the reason to go for Berserker will be to get Rage but the thing is we can already get Rage without being a Berserker so that makes it less of a reason to be one.

Also the 10% increased damage taken from Aspect of Carnage is not to be taken lightly. The enemy is going to hit you very very hard.

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Abelun wrote:

PS: You forgot to add rage in your ranger's pob.

I didn't forget to add, this is because I have Berserk Enabled so I assume I am on zero Rage since that is always decreasing when Berserk is active, to simulate it closer to "actual situations"

Chieftan/Slayer since Ascendant's Slayer overleech was reverted?

Probably most important thing in patch notes for us:

Ballista Totem Support:
Now causes supported skills do deal 32% less damage at gem level 1 (from 42%),
up to 20% less damage at gem level 20 (from 33%).

The Ballista Totem Support buff is much needed good news =). Sadly no other source for "Summon two totems instead of one" in sight.

All in all I'm really torn between staying Hiero despite everything (swapping Elemental Dmg Support and Multiple Totem Support between boss and clear). Or going the unknown road of changing to Raider.

Got a few days to contemplate still.

Edit: To avoid the gem swap one could potentially use a 6L +3 Thicket bow for bossing with Empower and a Loreweave for the utlity gems? You'd trade in a lot of life for that but get higher max res. Maybe worth a shot?

Im thinking about ascendant (raider/chieftain) but im to noob to create my own tree xD

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Im thinking about ascendant (raider/chieftain) but im to noob to create my own tree xD

Vei has already done one:
https://pastebin.com/RDiFi5KZ

Personally I'll go with something very similar to his tree.