Summary
- Core Build Concept: Utilizes a plant-based spellcasting playstyle focusing on Entangle for clearing and Volcano (transitioning to Bonestorm) for single-target damage.
- Key Mechanic: Efficient use of channeling spells, stacking damage on bosses, and utilizing support gems to apply exposure and armor reduction.
- Survival & Control: Employs minions (Unearth), movement techniques, and high-tier curses (Temporal Chains via Blasphemy) to trivialize encounters.
- Progression: The build gains significant power spikes at levels 14 and throughout Act 3, particularly after acquiring the Wild Surge keystone and the Lich ascendancy nodes.
Act 1: Foundations
- Initial Skills: Start with Entangle (main clearing skill) and add Volcano (single-target) once the mysterious campsite is cleared.
- Channeling Strategy: Volcano deals increased damage based on channel duration. Aim to cast full-stack Volcanoes directly on bosses. Use Entangle intermittently to slow them.
- Defensive Utility: Use Unearth on corpses to summon minions that provide damage and serve as meat shields.
- Attributes: Both Entangle and Volcano are Strength/Intelligence hybrids; prioritize these attributes on the passive tree and gear.
- Vendor Strategy: Regularly check vendors for wands, foci, or staves with increased spell damage and +1 to all spell or physical spell levels. Staves are recommended for better potential damage rolls.
- Specific Encounters:
- Pinnacle Boss (Ragne): Use Frost Bomb (available in Redveil) to apply exposure for improved single-target damage.
- Cemetery Areas: Be cautious in Essinia’s and Draven’s tombs due to Unholy Knights that deflect Entangle projectiles.
- King in the Mist: Defeat for the first spirit gem, Ravenous Swarm, supported by Corrosion for armor breaking.
- Level 14 Spike: Upon reaching level 14, incorporate Bonestorm as the primary single-target skill. Bonestorm allows 100% movement speed if tapped, then held after a half-second delay.
Act 2: Refining the Setup
- Skill Optimization: Transition to Entangle and Thunderstorm for clearing, with Bonestorm for bosses.
- Key Support Gems:
- Accelerated Growth (for Entangle)
- Living Lightning (for Thunderstorm)
- Resource Allocation: Use the guaranteed Lesser Jeweler’s Orb from Buried Triumphs to upgrade Bonestorm.
- Passive Tree: Aim for the Wild Surge in Incantation keystone to significantly improve build performance. Complete the first ascension trial during this act.
Act 3 and Beyond
- Entangle Scaling: Integrate Branching Fissures (Level 3 support gem) for additional projectiles and chaining damage.
- New Utility: Introduce Thrashing Vines (Level 9 support gem) for enhanced crowd control.
- Curse Synergy: Utilize Blasphemy linked with Temporal Chains, Magnified Area, and Ritualistic Curse to automatically slow nearby enemies.
- Ascendancy Progression:
- Trial of Chaos: Complete the second ascension trial.
- Lich Nodes: Prioritize Soul is Form followed by Rupture the Soul. The latter allows cursed enemies killed by the player or allies to explode, dealing 25% of their maximum life as chaos damage.
- Endgame Transition: As you progress to T14 maps and the Coolamac pinnacle boss, transition from the normal Lich ascendancy to the Abyssal Lich ascendancy to unlock Rupture the Flesh for additional physical damage scaling.
Key References