It's BACK and it's... STRONGER?! - ED/Contagion Trickster 3.16 Leaguestarter

==================================================================================================================== GENERAL TIPS ==================================================================================================================== Bandits: Kill All The items in this guide are are a GUIDELINE, listed with the main core stats you're looking for. More/higher stats (resists, attributes, etc) are always better! They are mostly kept reasonable and obtainable through self-crafting methods post-Harvest nerfs On trade leagues you can search for "Empty Suffixes" or "Empty Prefixes" with a value of 1 for items with open crafting slots Upgrade your Pantheons Get an Instant (Seething/Bubbling) Life flask as soon as you can USE A JADE FLASK AND/OR GRACE FOR GHOST DANCE! You ideally want to transition to CI/Chaos Innoculation (Full Energy Shield build) on this character. If this is new/uncomfortable to you, it might be time you gave it a shot :) The CI version of this build struggles with Strength/Dex a lot. You will need to plan for it on gear/possible take a +30 Str or Dex Node Use the appropriate gear set with the appropriate tree! ==================================================================================================================== 3.16 Changes ==================================================================================================================== There were a very large amount of changes in 3.16 that impact all builds very heavily Some important things to note are: Ghost Dance moved to the tree Stun immunity removed from Ghost Dance - Run Brine King and/or get stun immunity More sources of Elemental Ailment Avoidance Ailment, Stun and Curse Mitigation crafting bench options are now unlocked in The Ascent in Act 4 We take Swift Killer on Trickster, removing the need for Cold Snap Trigger Tempest Shield not reserves 25% Mana for 25% Spell Block and Shock Immunity, removing it from Trigger ==================================================================================================================== SKILL GEM LOCATIONS ==================================================================================================================== ---------- Leveling ED/C ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Blight - Act 1 - Nessa - Enemy at the Gates Contagion - Act 1 - Nessa - Breaking Some Eggs Void Manipulation - Act 1 - Nessa - The Caged Brute Efficacy - Act 1 - Nessa - The Caged Brute Essence Drain - Act 1 - Nessa - The Siren's Cadence Infused Channeling - Act 1 - Nessa - Mercy Mission Bane - Act 3 - Clarissa - Lost in Love Despair - Act 3 - Clarissa - Lost in Love Swift Affliction - Act 3 - Clarissa - A Fixture of Fate (aka the Library quest) Controlled Destruction - Act 2 - Yeena - Sharp and Cruel ---------- Leveling Caustic ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Caustic Arrow - Act 1 - Nessa - Enemy at the Gates Pierce - Act 1 - Nessa - Mercy Mission Onslaught - Act 1 - Nessa - Mercy Mission Void Manipulation - Act 1 - Nessa - The Caged Brute ---------- Leveling Auras ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Malevolence - Act 3 - Clarissa - Lost in Love ---------- Endgame setups ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Energy Leech - Act 3 - Clarissa - A Fixture of Fate (aka the Library quest) Empower - Can only be acquired through drops or div cards, trade for it if you're not on SSF Increased Area of Effect - Act 4 - Petarus & Vanja - The Eternal Nightmare Intensify - Act 3 - Clarissa - A Fixture of Fate (aka the Library quest) Arcane Surge - Act 1 - Nessa - Mercy Mission Vaal Blight - Cannot be bought, you can trade for it if you're not on SSF, try to drop it in Vaal side areas, use Vaal orbs on regular Blight skill gems until you hit it, or try to get it through div cards Flame Dash - Act 1 - Nessa - The Caged Brute Withering Step - Act 1 - Nessa - The Caged Brute Shield Charge - Siosa - A Fixture of Fate (aka the Library quest) Faster Attacks - Yeena - Sharp and Cruel Fortify - Act 3 - Clarissa - A Fixture of Fate (aka the Library quest) ---------- CI setup ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Discipline - Act 3 - Clarissa - Lost in Love Cold Snap - Act 2 - Yeena - The Root of the Problem Tempest Shield - Act 2 - Yeena - The Root of the Problem ==================================================================================================================== MAPPING GEM LINKS ==================================================================================================================== 6L: Essence Drain - Controlled Destruction - Efficacy - Void Manipulation - Swift Afflication - Energy Leech (Empower 3+ when you get it) 4L: Vaal Blight - Infused Channeling - Controlled Destruction - Void Manipulation (Placed in your 30% More DoT Delirium Gloves) 4L: Contagion - Increased Area of Effect - Intensify - Arcane Surge 4L: Malevolence | Vaal Discipline (Defensive aura like Tempest Shield or Dread Banner if not CI) | Vaal Grace | Withering Step 3L: Shield Charge - Faster Attacks | Despair 3L: Cast When Damage Taken (Level 1) - Immortal Call (level 2) | Flame Dash If you do not like using Shield Charge as your movement skill, you can use Smoke Mine or Flame Dash and remove Faster Attacks You can also use trigger craft on your wand to auto cast Despair and other utility skills like Frost Shield and Purifying Flame (leaves Consecrated Ground) If you choose to do this, drop CWDT 2L End game for bossing, you can swap your ED and Blight 4l and 6l for more single-target damage. Be aware of the mana cost increase 6L Vaal Blight - Infused Channeling - Controlled Destruction - Void Manipulation - Efficacy - Swift Affliction 4l Essence Drain - Controlled Destruction - Efficacy - Void Manipulation (In 30% More DoT Delirium Gloves with +1 Projectile Gems Crafted or +2 Betrayal Mod) Clearing: Cast Contagion on pack, cast Essence Drain, move onto next pack. Press Vaal Blight/Blight on big rares that don't die to Essence Drain You can also press Withering Step while channeling Blight Bossing: Cast Essence Drain, Despair, Channel Blight while pressing Withering Step. Refresh Essence Drain when the duration runs out ==================================================================================================================== AURAS ==================================================================================================================== Life Setup: Grace (Use Vaal Gem) Malevolence Tempest Shield or Summon Skitterbots or another ~35% aura of your choice CI Auras: Grace (Use Vaal Gem) Malevolence Discipline (Use Vaal Gem) Make sure you are using the Grace efficiency Mastery, Discipline efficiency Mastery, and the Mana Reservation Efficiency Mastery ==================================================================================================================== FLASKS ==================================================================================================================== Early Game: Seething Divine Life Flask of Staunching Jade Flask (IMPORTANT) of Heat/Grounding Quartz Flask of Warding Chemist's Silver Flask of Heat/Grounding (Can run Stibnite or another flask once you get onslaught jewel) Quicksilver Flask of Adrenaline CI without Elemental Ailment Immunity/Brine King: Stibnite Flask of Staunching Jade Flask of Heat/Grounding Quartz Flask of Warding Chemist's Silver Flask of Heat/Grounding (Can run Granite/Basalt or another flask once you get onslaught jewel) Quicksilver Flask of Adrenaline CI with Elemental Ailment Immunity: Rumi's Concoction or utility flask of your choice Quartz Flask of Warding Stibnite Flask of Staunching Jade Flask of Reflexes Quicksilver Flask of Adrenaline Flask Prefixes aren't terribly important on most (all 2 uses without Chemist's besides Silver/Basalt that need 23% Chemist's), but try to get a useful one (Chemist's, Perpetual, Experimental, Ample) Quicksilver can be Alchemist's (if you can keep it up reliably) or anything useful like Chemist's/ Experimenter's Flasks received a lot of buffs and new tiers in 3.16 that you can read about here: https://www.pathofexile.com/forum/view-thread/3186390#flasks ==================================================================================================================== MANA PROBLEMS ==================================================================================================================== You shouldn't really have mana problems early on, and you'll be using a mana flask while levelling. Your 4l Blight might give you some mana issues once you get into maps. You can take Arcane Will on the tree to help, and make sure you have Mystic Bulwark (gets better the more spell block nodes you have). If it's still bad, you can spend two points for Deep Thoughts as a temporary solution. Once you get a cluster setup with 1 or 2x Eldritch Inspiration, you shouldn't have mana issues at all with sustaining Blight's cost ==================================================================================================================== KEEP DYING :( ==================================================================================================================== Make sure you have your Warding and Staunching flasks, Heat/Grounding if you do not have Elemental Ailment Immunity yet Make sure your resistances are capped Keep your flasks up! Pop Vaal Discipline and/or Vaal Grace in dangerous situations ==================================================================================================================== Anointment ==================================================================================================================== Early game - Freedom of Movement (Clear Sepia Violet) Mid Game - Prodigal Perfection (Clear Azure Azure) Late Game - Corruption (Crimson Black Black) Tranquility (Golden Golden Azure) - Most optimal, but rather expensive. Do not need if using Crown of Inward Eye ==================================================================================================================== STUN IMMUNITY ==================================================================================================================== In 3.16, stun immunity was removed from Ghost Dance. When making the change to CI, you need to make sure you have a way to deal with stuns. You can settle with just the Brine King pantheon, which will prevent you from getting chain stunned. You can also use the Energy Shield Mastery that sets your Stun Threshold to 50% of your energy shield, but you will still get stunned by bigger hits These will make the build playable, but you can also go a step further and get full stun immunity. The easiest way to do this is a combination of the new stun nodes on tree (Tolerance, 60%), Arcane Sanctuary (25%), and the remaining 15% from either the Resistance and Ailment Mastery for 20% or an Ailment Avoidance/Stun Immunity craft. This craft is now found in The Ascent in Act 4 There are many other sources of partial stun immunity including but not limited to: Up to 30% on Abyss Jewels Harvest Jewel Implicits Essence of Scorn on Glove/Helmet (not recommended) ==================================================================================================================== ELEMENTAL AILMENT IMMUNITY ==================================================================================================================== In the beginning, you will be using flask suffixes to deal with ailments. As you progress through the game and build your character, you will have options to gain immunities to ailments. There are many new options to approaching elemental ailment immunity in 3.16 You can find a complete list here: https://www.pathofexile.com/forum/view-thread/3186390#ailmentmitigation Upgraded Major Soul of the Brine King now grants Freeze Immunity, along with already having 50% Reduced Chill Effect If you'd like, you can go for more than 50% reduced chill effect. One way is the Reduced Effect of Chill and Shock on You crafting bench option (now grants 30-40%) You can also get 30% Reduced Chill Effect from a jewel There is also 60% Reduced Effect of Chill craft on Rings as an option Minor Soul of Garukhan grants 60% reduced Effect of Shock With these two pantheons and the 40% craft, you will have Freeze Immunity, 100% reduced effect of shock, and 90% reduced chill effect. This is very comfortable for mapping, but you will want to keep an eye out for ignites. You can press Vaal Discipline to start your recharge when ignited SInce this build likes to use multimoded/Veiled gloves, you might want to use another source of reduced chill effect besides the glove/boot craft. Reaching 100% Chance to Avoid Elemental Ailments: This makes you immune to Chill, Freeze, Ignite, Shock, Scorch (you lose resistances), Brittle (enemies have higher crit towards you), and Sap (you deal less damage). It can be annoying to achieve, but it is a very great quality of life improvement and very strong in Hardcore This is not necessary at all, and most will be content with Freeze Immune/chill reduction. You get 100% through a combination of: Arcane Sanctuary Notable (20%) ilvl 81+ Shaper Boots (Tier 1 grants up to 35%) Chance to Avoid Elemental Ailments craft on Boots (21-25%, Act 4 Ascent) Chance to Avoid Elemental Ailments craft on Shield (21-25%) Elegant Form Small Cluster Jewel (20%) Conqueror's Longevity Jewel (10%) Crystal Skin Anoint (15%) Abyss Jewels (Chance to Avoid individual ailments) up to 30% Harvest Jewel Implicits (Individual 15% Chance to Avoid Freeze, Ignite, Shock, Chill) Betrayal Unveil Body Armour Avoid Elemental Ailments Craft (15-20%, Veiled mod is 25-30%) ^ Run your betrayal missions or ask a reputable player who provides a crafting service Avoid Elemental Ailments Veiled mod on Shield/Body Armour You can find a more complete list of new ways to deal with ailments in 3.16 here: https://www.pathofexile.com/forum/view-thread/3186390#ailmentmitigation ==================================================================================================================== Optional Passive Nodes ==================================================================================================================== Arcane Will - Can help with mana sustain issues Deep Thoughts - Another mana sustain node, but most likely won't need this ==================================================================================================================== Crafting Guides ==================================================================================================================== Crafting Good ES Gear ==================================================================================================================== A lot of your endgame gear can all be crafted with Harvest Reforge Defence/Defence More Likely and Dense Fossils (Hubris Circlet, Sorcerer Boots, Sadist Garb, Shaper Titanium Spirit Shield, Crusader Influence Rings) Always keep ilvl 84+ bases around in your stash to use your Defence Harvest crafts on. (ilvl 86 for Sadist Garb, ideally 86 for Shaper Titanium Shield but most likely expensive) Buffed Deafening Essence of Woe is also an option for some gear pieces ==================================================================================================================== +2 Delirium Gloves ==================================================================================================================== Essence of Delirium until you hit two other good suffixes (high resistances or int/dex), craft Suffixes Cannot Be Changed, Veiled Chaos Orb Unveil and hope for +2 Projectile Gems or +2 AOE Gems, finish with Energy Shield bench craft If you do not hit the unveil, you will have to start over. This process can be costly as each Suffixes Cannot Be Changed costs 2 exalts Craftofexile: https://pastebin.com/fUWjQeDi ==================================================================================================================== Crafting Late Game Wand ==================================================================================================================== The easiest way to craft a +2 (+1 Spell +1 Chaos) wand is with the fossil combination Corroded + Metallic + Shuddering on a non-influenced ilvl 82 Opal Wand This will take about 12 tries on average If you hit two prefixes (+1 Spell +1 Chaos): If it has 3 suffixes, you will need to craft a 3rd prefix and use the Harvest Craft "Reforge KEEPING PREFIXES" until you open up a suffix Craft Prefixes Cannot Be Changed, use Orb of Scouring. You will be left with your 2 good prefixes. Craft Can Have Up To 3 Crafted Mods, Chaos Damage Over Time Multiplier, and Spell Damage For your last suffix, you can consider gambling with a Hunter's Exalted Orb for a chance at Malevolence Effect If you hit three prefixes, your third prefix will be Spell Damage. If you are not happy with the tier, you can sell your wand and try on another base Once you have a wand you like with Spell Damage, +1 Chaos, +1 Spell: If it has 3 suffixes, you will need to use the Harvest Craft "Reforge KEEPING PREFIXES" until you open up a suffix. Craft Prefixes Cannot Be Changed, use Orb of Scouring. You will be left with your 3 good prefixes. Craft Can Have Up To 3 Crafted Mods, Chaos Damage Over Time Multiplier, and Cast Speed or a suffix of your choice ==================================================================================================================== Cluster Jewels ==================================================================================================================== 1 Large Cluster setup is very strong/balanced endgame Large Cluster Options: Spell Large Cluster (8 Points) You want Conjured Wall and Mage Hunter. Ideally, you want 3 notables on your Large Cluster Jewel for good pathing. Crafting your own: Acquire 8 passive spell large cluster jewel (at least ilvl 68). Harvest reforge caster/more likely caster until Mage Hunter + Conjured Wall + a third notable. If you hit Mage Hunter + Conjured Wall prefixes and a random suffix, you can augment caster or non-caster to caster for a decent (~71% if jewel is below ilvl 84) chance to hit a 3rd notable. 8 Point Chaos Large Cluster Jewel is also an option, but not recommended. Chaos Large Cluster (8 Points) Good notables to look out for are at least two of Touch of Cruelty, Wicked Pall, and Unholy Grace. Ideally, you want 3 notables on your Large Cluster Jewel for good pathing Crafting your own: Acquire 8 passive chaos large cluster jewel (preferably ilvl 50-67 if cheap, helps with crafting but not necessary), reroll with Harvest more likely chaos or abberant fossils until 3 notables Medium Cluster Options: Increased Chaos Damage Over Time (4 or 5 points): Brush With Death and Eldritch Inspiration is your ideal notable combo 1/2 Medium Clusters with Eldritch Inspiration will make channeling Blight very comfortable/allow you to drop Arcane Will on tree if you have it allocated. You can settle for Exposure Therapy over Brush With Death, as Brush With Death is harder to get compared to the other notables. Crafting your own: Purchase 4 or 5 passive Chaos Damage Over Time Multiplier Cluster Jewel (at least ilvl 68). Harvest reforge chaos/more likely chaos or aberrant fossils until two desirable notables. Small Cluster Options: Normal 3/4 Stat jewels % Increased Energy Shield (2 points) Energy From Naught - + 60 Maximum Energy Shield % Chance to Dodge Attack Hits (2 Points) Elegant Form - 20% Chance to Avoid Elemental Ailments ==================================================================================================================== Very Defensive Setup - Glancing Blows ==================================================================================================================== (Investment might be unrealistic in 3.16, as it will require you to cut a lot of skill points) Glancing Blows is a Hardcore-oriented late game setup, as Trickster already has a high amount of evasion/recovery and moderate block without it. Glancing Blows doubles your block/spell block while making you take 65% of damage from all blocked hits. This may look bad on paper, but it is incredibly strong when paired with the shaper shield mod "Recover 5% of Energy Shield when you Block". Having high block/spell block also gets you more value out of "Arcane Swiftness" and "Mystic Bulwark" You will drop Rumi's with this setup, as you will be block capped without it This is not necessary at all, but the setup is just included because it is something you will come across ====================================================================================================================