Blade Vortex League Starter Guide for Path of Exile: Siege of the Atlas (for 3.19 see description)

Chronic_Painless's Guide to League-Starting with BV: ------- THE BASIC OUTLINE --------- Start with Stormblast Mines in Acts 1-5, and get Elemental Overload as soon as possible. This build will get you to act 6. After completing the Twilight Strand and the Labrynth, swap to Blade Vortex with 90% Physical to Cold Conversion via Hrimsorrow (50%) and Cold Master (40%). Use Vortex+Bonechill on left-click for a damage boost. Use Desecrate/Cremation for a slight DPS boost and Culling Strike on bosses. Get the Shaper of Storms Ascendency first, as enabling your Herald of Ice to shock will dramatically improve your clear speed. Next, get the Golem Ascendancies, and use Flame/Stone/Chaos Golems for damage and survivability. Once you have Golems, drop Cremation and add Culling Strike Support to Golems. Continue using Elemental Overload. This build will get you to at least red maps. When you get a Cluster Jewel with the Notable: Heraldry, swap from Shaper of Storms to Master of Discord, as the reliable exposure is even more effective than the shock. Get Heart of Destruction for a massive AOE boost while clearing and big damage on bosses. At approximately Level 75, unspec from Elemental Overload and invest in critical strikes, specifically with the addition of Ice Golem. With a 5-link and about 10-15 Chaos spent per gear slot, this build will easily kill end-game bosses and do the basic Maven's Invitations, creating a strong foundation for farming currency. ------ STARTING WITH STORMBLAST ------- Make a Scion to get Onslaught Support Get three items with B-B-G links as fast you can. Use Frostblink/Frost Bomb to maintain Onslaught. Use Stormblast Mines/Orb of Storms to kill stuff. Get to Elemental Overload as soon as possible (passing through Lightning Walker), then spec towards the jewel slot across from Mind over Matter. Use Survival Instincts to maintain your quicksilver flasks while going through the campaign. As soon as you start getting 4-links, try to get B-B-G-G so that you can use Added Cold Damage as your 4th link. Also try to save any G-G-G-B links, or B-B-B-B links, as you will want those for the swap to Blade Vortex + Vorte ------ SWAP TO BV ------- Clear the Twilight Strand to unlock Hypothermia and Cold Penetration Supports. Clear the Labrynth and get the Shaper of Storms Ascendancy. Check "Enemy is Shocked" on POB configuration while this ascendency is selected. Buy Hrimsorrow Gloves (should be ~1C) Use your Respec Points to remove the lightning damage increases from the Passive Tree. Instead, get Cold Mastery for an additional 40% Physical to Cold Conversion, and drop Lightning Walker in favor of Frost Walker. Make sure you have the Increased Skill Duration Mastery Add Vortex with Bonechill Support, attaching a low level Arcane Surge as well. Add Desecrate and Cremation for a damage boost on bosses and a reliable source of Culling Strike. Self-Cast Frostbite on bosses and difficult packs. Drop Herald of Lightning and Summon Skitterbots in favor of Hatred, Herald of Purity, and Herald of Ice. Continue using Frostblink/Frostbomb to generate Onslaught. Get Vaal Blade Vortex ASAP, even before you can afford gem quality. ----- EARLY MAPPING ----- Once you get your Silver Flask from the A10 Quest, drop Onslaught Support and and swap out Frostblink for Flame Dash. Continue using Frost Bomb as a source of Exposure. Don't worry about getting a 4th Unleash seal until at least level 15 Unleash, as before that point you won't have fast enough seal generation for the 4th seal to be useful. Get the Golem Ascendencies, since Mastermind of Discord is best when you have the Heraldry Cluster Notable later on in the build. Frost Bomb is good for exposure on bosses, but you don't want to cast it on regular packs. Heraldry is the best way to apply exposure to normal monsters for the sake of clear speed. Use Golems (Flame/Stone/Chaos) to boost your damage and survivability. Summon two Stone Golems when you can summon a fourth, since their taunt is extremely valuable, and the other golem options (Ice/Lightning/Carrion provide almost nothing to the build at this point. Drop Cremation/Desecrate and add Culling Strike to your Golems. If you get a 5-link, use Added Cold Damage as the 5th link. ------ LATE MAPPING (INVESTING IN CRITICAL STRIKES) ------- At around level 75, you should have enough passive points to get to the Whispers of Doom Notable, enabling the addition of Assassin's Mark. Spec out of Elemental Overload and the Caster Mastery on the left side of the tree. Instead, get Caster Mastery from the Arcane Expanse Notable. Change up your support gems, probably dropping Hypothermia and Cold Penetration in favor of Increased Critical Strikes and Increased Critical Damage, but check POB because the damage output is very close either way, and individual results may vary depending on gear. Add Precision Aura once you spec into the 2nd set of Mana Reservation Nodes. Add Ice Golem. Get a Cluster Jewel with Blast-Freeze as soon as possible, ideally with at least one other Notable so that Blast-Freeze is easily accessible. This is one of the biggest upgrades in the entire build, providing significant defense via freeze and more clear for Herald of Ice explosions. Get a Cluster Jewel with Heraldry, and then swap from Shaper of Storms to Mastermind of Discord. Heraldry provides reliable source of exposure for boosting clear speed, and is significantly augmented by Mastermind of Discord. The combination is more effective than the shock from Shaper of Storms. You can also consider linking Herald of Ice to a support gem like Added Cold Damage or Increased Critical Strikes, dropping a few levels of precision to make up the mana reservation. This can increase your clear speed substantially if you find that basic Herald of Ice isn't enough. Get the Heart of Destruction Ascendancy, boosting your AOE for clear speed and increasing your damage against bosses. If you get a 6-link, add Inspiration Support This build should be strong enough to kill End Game Bosses and farm End Game Content, even without the 6-link. -------- WHAT DO NOW? -------- If you want to keep investing in the build past this point, I suggest saving up enough currency for 2x Void Batteries, a 6-Link Farrul's Fur, and a Badge of the Brotherhood, and then respeccing to a Power-Charge Stacking Occultist. See the alternative POB guide for details. -------- KEYS TO THE BUILD: ---------- 1. Damage output is largely contingent on maintaining 10 Blades, since BV scales exponentially with the number of blade you have out. 2. Maintaining 10 Blades is easy and comfortable if the following conditions are met: a. You have 4 maximum Unleash seals b. Your Skill Duration for BV is at least 1 second more than TWICE the time it takes to generate maximum seals. EQUATION: Skill Duration - 1 > 2*MaxSealTime c. You cast BV whenever you are at maximum seals or within about a .5 second window 3. The best defense is a good freezefense. Blast-Freeze and full cold-conversion will enable you to freeze enemies as stong as The Feared with relatively low investment. This build is a not-quite-glass cannon that largely relies on freezing enemies before they can do anything to you. 4. Golems are spectacular in the early part of a league, because their effectiveness isn't contingent upon gear at all. Simply getting the Elementalist ascendancies and leveling the skill gems will provide a substantial boost to offense and defense no matter how well geared you are. 5. This build can function on extremely low Unreserved Mana. Approximately 70-80 should be plenty, and since you don't ever spam cast, having ~80 Mana Regen is sufficient. 6. Resist the temptation to add Inspiration Support until gem level 18+, as the mana cap for resetting charges will be too low to reliably have 5 charges. 7. Vaal Blade Vortex serves many purposes a. Gives you an option to do damage from range, essential for porcupines, and extremely helpful for very dangerous mobs b. Two charges means a huge damage boost on bosses c. Enhances clear speed GEARING TIPS: 1. Good Harvest Reforge Bases: Cold - Large Cluster (Cold Damage) Caster - Redeemer Influenced Ring Critical - Viridian Jewel Life - Viridian Jewel Fire/Lightning/Chaos - Any Ring or Stygian Vise 2. Dexterity deficit will be your biggest obstacle while leveling your BV, so always be on the lookout for dex gear. --------------------------------------------