Blade Vortex 3.18 League Starter Build Guide for Path of Exile: Sentinel (SEE DESCRIPTION FOR 3.19)

Chronic_Painless's Guide to League-Starting with BV: ------- THE BASIC OUTLINE --------- Start with Stormblast Mines in Acts 1-5, getting Elemental Overload and +1 Chain Lightning Mastery 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 Mastery (40%). Use Vortex+Bonechill on left-click for a damage boost. 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 as well as a source of culling strike. Continue using Elemental Overload. This build will get you to at least yellow 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 70, 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. With a few more exalts invested, add Determination and Defiance banner, which are enabled by new sources of Mana Reservation Efficiency: the Ashes of the Stars Amulet and Eldritch Implcits Look for armour items with tier 1 spell suppression, and use Eldritch Implicits to turn them into end-game viable gear. Once you have a decent amount of currency, respec to Occultist to take advantage of the clearspeed of Profane Bloom, and enable scaling into higher budget investment. Stack skill gem levels to maximize damage. ------ 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 at first. Use Stormblast Mines/Orb of Storms to kill harder packs/bosses. Craft wands using the vendor recipe for added lightning damage. Get to Elemental Overload as soon as possible (passing through Lightning Walker), then get the +1 Chain Lightning Mastery. Add Skitterbots and Herald of Thunder as soon as you are high enough level. At level 18, use elemental focus support instead of added lightning damage on your mines/orb. Start using Orb of Storms to generate Onslaught at this point. Remove Frost Bomb and use Flame Dash instead of Frostblink. Link Flame Dash to Arcane Surge. As soon as you start getting 4-links, try to get B-B-B-G so you can use both added lightning and elemental focus on your mines/orb, prioritizing the orb. Also try to save any G-G-G-B links, B-B-B-B links, or 4-linked Evasion/Energy Shield items in general, as you will want those for the swap to Blade Vortex + Vortex ------ 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. Use the vendor recipe to change your lightning damage wands into cold damage wands. Benchcraft dex/resistances as needed. 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. Self-Cast Frostbite on bosses and difficult packs. Link Frostbite to Arcane Surge, keeping Flame Dash is optional. Drop Herald of Lightning and Summon Skitterbots in favor of Hatred, Herald of Purity, and Herald of Ice. Go back to 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 Frostblink, and go back to using Flame Dash for movement. 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. 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 AND MORE) ------- 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. Alternatively, once you get boots with the "Drop Brittle Ground While Moving" Searing Exarch implicit on boots, you will be able drastically reduce your investment in critical strike chance. Add this text to the Custom Modifiers box on the Configuration tab in POB: +5% Critical Strike Chance (Brittle Ground) The first sources of critical strike chance to drop in favor of Brittle Ground are Precision aura, Increased Critical Strikes Support, and lastly any points off of the passive tree. Ice Golem is always worth keeping around once you have all your ascendencies, since multiple golems of the same kind don't stack their buffs. 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. Alternatively, you can try to get the Freeze Spread implicit from the Eldritch Embers. 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. -------- TANKING UP -------- Once you have about 5-10 ex to invest in the build, you're ready to tank up. Get an Ashes of the Stars Onyx Amulet (drops from eater of worlds) with a high mana reservation efficiency roll, and annoint Charisma Craft a Grand or Exceptional mana reservation effciency Eldritch implicit on your helm. Use the Orb of Conflict method for cheapest results (see my video on this for details). Depending on your rolls, you may need to spec into the herald reservation efficiency nodes on the tree for a final boost. Drop Precision if you haven't already (you should have brittle ground by this point). Add Determination, Defiance Banner, and a Granite Flask. Drop Hrimsorrows in favor of rare gloves with the new Eater of Worlds cold conversion implicit and a crafted cold conversion mod. Look for Armour/Evasion bases that have Tier 1 Spell Suppression - If you can get max-rolled T1 on your Gloves, Helmet, Body Armour, and Boots, you will be at 100% with no further investment. -------- SWAP TO OCCULTIST ------- Before swapping to Occultist, make sure you have the following items: 1. 2x Void Battery Wands, ideally enchanted with Area of Effect on Quality (Note: If you've already purchased relatively expensive wands with +skill gem levels and more, double-check POB that they aren't already better than the VBs would be, this upgrade isn't as automatic as it was in previous patch) 2. 2x Medium Cluster Jewels with Vast Power and either Towering Threat or Magnifier (preferably Towering Threat) 3. Militant Faith Timeless Jewel with High Templar Dominus (look for aura effect and area/elemental damage as devotion mods, then divine until High Templar Dominus, and finally check that it doesn't ruin important notables on your tree) 4. Ring with Frostbite-on-Hit (you should have this already, but it's absolutely necessary for the Occultist) 5. Cluster Jewel with Blast-Freeze and Doryani's Lesson (losing the regen from your golems makes getting a source of lifesteal essential). 6. Awakened Unleash Level 5 (you should probably have this already, but it's essential to free up more points on the passive tree) Level to approx 94-95, as you will want the extra points to get to the +1 power charge nodes without sacrificing too much beyond what is no longer needed (crit/golems). Spec out of the golem nodes and critical strike chance nodes on the passive tree, and into the nodes relevant to power charges. With power charges, brittle ground, and Void Batteries, you'll need very little additional investment in critical strike chance to reach the cap, and golems are not worth the hassle without the ascendency. Spec out of the "wheel of life" nodes near the Scion start, and grab the life nodes closer to the maximum power charge nodes, these grant aura effect and life recovery on kill, which are very useful. Spec out of Caster Mastery if you haven't already, use these points to add a second medium cluster jewe to the build. Replace your Heraldry cluster with another Vast Power cluster. Swap out Hypothermia Support for Power Charge on Critical Support. Add Frost Bomb back to the build until you can afford Level 5 Awakened Cold Penetration Support, as you will need a source of exposure without heraldry. Your DPS/Max HP won't change dramatically with these initial upgrades, but the addition of Profane Bloom is an immense boost to your farming speed that cannot be easily quantified. Improving the build from here is an expensive undertaking, but it can be done, especially with the help of chase uniques like The Squire and/or Mageblood, which can catapult you to absurd levels of DPS and tankiness. -------- 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. Until you can affored to tank up, the best defense is a good freezefense. Blast-Freeze and full cold-conversion will enable you to freeze even extremely strong enemies with relatively low investment. This build starts out as a not-quite-glass cannon that largely relies on freezing enemies before they can do anything to you, but can easily be made a lot tankier with a little investment. 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 ~70-80 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 prior to corpse explosion, 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. 3. The best alternate quality gems in order of importance are: 1. Anomalous Assassin's Mark (so good, it's even worth getting an enhance support for it) 2. Anomalous Herald of Purity (taunting = tanking) 3. Anomalous Defiance Banner (straight upgrade) 4. Anomalous Golems (buff effect is obviously better than the useless default, but still not that impactful) 5. Divergent/Anomalous Inspiration (divergent is great for mana issues, and Anomalous isn't much but the default is useless) 6. Divergent Power Charge on Critical (occultist only, and only if you are still crit capped without the default bonus) 7. Divergent Bonechill (straight upgrade, but small) 8. Anomalous Arcane Surge (more damage on vortex is basically useless, so might as well get more mana regen) 9. Divergent Frost Bomb (might as well) 10. Divergent Determination (extremely small upgrade) 11. Divergent Hatred (pure luxury) All other skill gems should be left as their default quality. POB CONFIGURATION TIPS: 1. The export is configured for the final Occultist version of the build, including the custom configuration needed for brittle ground. 2. Use the passive tree manager and item set manager to cycle through earlier phases of the build, and enable/disable sets of active skills accordingly. 4. To remove the brittle ground effect, simply delete the text from the "Custom Modifers" box on the Configuration screen. 4. For the early part of the Elementalist stage of the build, make sure to check "Enemy is Shocked" while you have the Shaper of Storms ascendency, or it won't display the proper bonus. 5. Uncheck "Enemy is Unnerved" if you don't have the eldritch implicit on your gloves yet. 6. Uncheck "Do you use Power Charges?" if you are looking at the Elementalist stage of the build. --------------------------------------------