Spell/attack hybrid builds?

In Path of Exile, there's a clear divide between spells and attacks:

Spells use cast rate, attacks use attack rate

Damage auras (except Hatred -> EK/Bear Trap) and flat damage mods on gear only benefit attacks

Lots of passives and item bonuses are specific to one or the other, especially the more powerful bonuses


As a result, it's difficult to spec for strong spells and strong attacks at the same time. Yet it seems the Shadow class (and also the Templar to some extent) is stereotypically supposed to play as an attack/spell hybrid. Also there's a certain argument for a melee/spell hybrid from a tactical perspective: you can use melee as your main attack, but then switch to spells against monsters that are too dangerous to stand close to. So I'm wondering, what kind of hybrids have people actually made and had success with?

I don't see how even conceptually a spell stats + attack stats character would be anywhere near as effective as a pure character.

Which is why elemental archers are such a go-to character. They deal physical damage, they deal elemental damage, they have range, and do a ton of damage.

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elitedesolator wrote:

I don't see how even conceptually a spell stats + attack stats character would be anywhere near as effective as a pure character.

In theory they would deal less damage, but be more versatile. But I don't know how this works out in practice, hence the question.

Maybe I should have asked how many people actually use multiple different attacks or multiple different offensive spells in a serious way. It seems most players just spam the same attack or spell constantly, with everything else working to support that attack/spell, which I find a bit of a boring way to play. I'd rather change my tactics in response to the monsters or have some kind of 'combination strike' that involves striking the same mobs in different ways for greater effectiveness than could be achieved with any one kind of strike in isolation (e.g one attack stacks shock, the other does massive damage). But it seems Path of Exile doesn't really encourage this at the moment with the way sockets and support gems work: you may as well just make one skill do everything by giving it five supports, because supports generally represent an exponential improvement in skill power.

I tried making one with my first character. As others have said it's just not ever gonna be as strong and has very few benefits. You'd think alright I can use spells, time to get my nuke on, but pretty much the only "nuke" in the game is discharge which again, is best played pure.

Makes me wonder, does anyone ever actually use iron will?

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Incompetent wrote:

Maybe I should have asked how many people actually use multiple different attacks or multiple different offensive spells in a serious way. It seems most players just spam the same attack or spell constantly, with everything else working to support that attack/spell, which I find a bit of a boring way to play. I'd rather change my tactics in response to the monsters or have some kind of 'combination strike' that involves striking the same mobs in different ways for greater effectiveness than could be achieved with any one kind of strike in isolation (e.g one attack stacks shock, the other does massive damage). But it seems Path of Exile doesn't really encourage this at the moment with the way sockets and support gems work: you may as well just make one skill do everything by giving it five supports, because supports generally represent an exponential improvement in skill power.

I agree, though the closest possible thing is combining DOTs, using Elemental Equalibrium or juggling different traps or buff durations. It doesn't help that weapon switching is unresponsive and doesn't carry its own hotbar config.

I try to mix it up though, right now I've got a guy using splash shield charge then kiting with ground slam for a nice combo. Another build I wanna make would use high crit chance and damage with lightning strike and splash puncture, the former at range and the latter on packs up close.

Wish there was some kind of "charged hit" support that made a skill a ton more effective at whatever it does but lowering its cast/attack speed a bunch and giving it a cooldown. I'll admit, I do sometimes miss having strong, single purpose skills you'd use to fit the situation like in D3. You kinda have that effect with flasks, but it's not got the same kind of quick impact you need to get players to do more than spam one skill.

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Wooser69 wrote:

I tried making one with my first character. As others have said it's just not ever gonna be as strong and has very few benefits. You'd think alright I can use spells, time to get my nuke on, but pretty much the only "nuke" in the game is discharge which again, is best played pure.

Makes me wonder, does anyone ever actually use iron will?

EK Marauders.

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Wooser69 wrote:

I tried making one with my first character. As others have said it's just not ever gonna be as strong and has very few benefits. You'd think alright I can use spells, time to get my nuke on, but pretty much the only "nuke" in the game is discharge which again, is best played pure.

Makes me wonder, does anyone ever actually use iron will?

I challenge that my Fire Trap on my build only 4Led does more than any discharger that I've grouped with to date at level 75. It pretty much insta kills the screen unless an orange is around. Burning passives and gear bonuses are underated. My other attack is incinerate which was to be the focus of the build, but fire trap just took over with insane dmg. So, I use both equally. I use AR/ES gear and consider it pretty hybrid. Getting in the mobs face with incinerate close up inbetween tossing nukes with the fire trap. It is my most successful character out of 7. And guess what? I use Iron Will :P

I also have an elemental equi templar that does really well comboing a totem with arc, blind, ele prolif, with an aoe infernal blow on one attack and glacial hammer on the other. He double curses ele weakness and crit. I won't know for sure if it can compete with discharge until I get an end game 2H hammer which I lack ATM, but he might. It def takes some set up time with the totem though. A discharger prolly gets his charges faster with 2 casts of ice spear then my waiting for everything to be chocked and blinded.

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Wooser69 wrote:

I agree, though the closest possible thing is combining DOTs, using Elemental Equalibrium or juggling different traps or buff durations. It doesn't help that weapon switching is unresponsive and doesn't carry its own hotbar config.

There's also the 'lone totem + main attack/spell' combo, which I suppose would include a kind of melee/spell hybrid. You don't waste too much time by throwing down a totem every so often to supplement your main attack and distract your enemies. Getting the totem to actually do something useful with an attack/spell is more challenging though, as you're probably only going to have a 4l to play with. Maybe a totem that blinds your enemies, since damage is irrelevant for Blind?

Fleshbits: Those are some interesting ideas, thanks!

Just to be clear, I'm not asking for builds that are the fastest possible for clearing maps (some boring cheese build will always win that competition), just that are 'viable' and where it makes some sort of sense to mix your offensive abilities rather than just using one of them all the time.

In 99% of game its the same you need to spec in one things to be really good i one things or if you try to do a lot of things you Will be low in all