[2.2] [Berserker/Deadeye] Life Voltaxic Spark - No Crit - BloodMagic - VaalPact - 80k DPS!

Hi,

do you want to play Spark?
do you want to be immune to reflect?
do you want to be able to do all map mods?
do you want zero mana problems?
do you want to clear fast and off-screen?

maybe this build is for you.


Pros:

- 221% life by level 90
- Instant leech
- Fast clear speed
- No mana problems
- Immune to reflect
- Lightning Coil + Enduring Cry/Immortal Call
- Easy leveling

Cons:

- Can be expensive for a first build (Lightning Coil/Voltaxic/Drillneck/Winds of Change)
- Requires 2 uniques (Voltaxic/Drillneck)
- Not as much damage as dual wielding Spark/Crit Spark/Mana based Spark.
- Need Deadeye and Berserker Ascendancy for the build to work
- Will need to respec a few nodes after you get Berserker


Skill tree at level 100:



Alternatives:

If you want more mitigation you can drop two nodes for the extra Endurance Charge node on the Templar side of the tree. For even more life you can drop some more offensive nodes for Heart of the Warrior and the Life and Armour nodes next to Warrior's Blood on the Marauder side of the tree.



Bandits:

Normal - Oak: +40 base Life
Cruel - Alira: +5% Cast Speed
Merciless - Kraityn: +1 max Frenzy Charge



Jewel Nodes

The six jewel nodes you take on the tree should be used for offensive stats unless you absolutely need more life (HC players). Of course if you need more resistances this is where you'd get them from.

Resistances/Life
Projectile speed
Cast speed
Lightning damage
Spell damage
Chaos damage
Projectile damage

There is one extremely powerful Jewel which costs almost nothing: Clear Mind Cobalt Jewel http://pathofexile.gamepedia.com/Clear_Mind - up to 60% increased Spell Damage when no Mana is reserved!


Gear and Links

Required:

Voltaxic Rift Spine Bow http://pathofexile.gamepedia.com/Voltaxic_Rift
Drillneck Penetrating Arrow Quiver http://pathofexile.gamepedia.com/Drillneck

Recommended:

Lightning Coil Desert Brigandine (probably required for HC players) http://pathofexile.gamepedia.com/Lightning_Coil
Winds of Change Ancient Gauntlets (feel free to use a rare pair of gloves with high life and resistances if you're on HC, you'll easily pass 6k life by level 85-88 with rare gloves) http://pathofexile.gamepedia.com/Winds_of_Change
Victario's Acuity Turquoise Amulet http://pathofexile.gamepedia.com/Victario's_Acuity
Essence Worm Unset Ring http://pathofexile.gamepedia.com/Essence_Worm


Helm: rare with life/resistances
Boots: rare with life/resistances/movement speed
Rings/Amulet: Rares with life/cast speed/resistances

Make sure the rare pieces of gear aren't going to give you a hard time with socket colors!


Kaom's Heart vs. Lightning Coil:



Recommended gem links:

Voltaxic Rift: B-B-G-G-G-B
4L: Spark - Spell Echo - Pierce - Poison
5L: Spark - Spell Echo - Pierce - Poison - Void Manipulation
6L: Spark - Spell Echo - Pierce - Poison - Void Manipulation - Controlled Destruction

Lightning Coil: B-B-G-G-G-R
4L: Vaal Spark - Spell Echo - Pierce - Poison/Increased Duration
5L: Vaal Spark - Spell Echo - Pierce - Poison - Void Manipulation
6L: Vaal Spark - Spell Echo - Pierce - Poison - Void Manipulation - Increased Duration

Winds of Change: R-R-R-R/G
4L: Level 7 Cast When Damage Taken - Level 9 Immortal Call - Increased Duration - Level 13 Molten Shell/Level 10 Temp Chains

Helmet: B-B-G-R
4L: Flame Dash - Faster Casting - Temp Chains - Increased Duration

Boots: R-G-R-G/R
3L: Enduring Cry - Vaal Haste - Increased Duration - Vaal Grace/Golem/Portal/whatever**

*Here's my post explaining why Added Chaos Damage is the best 6th link gem for this build out of Added Chaos Damage, Controlled Destruction, and Elemental Focus.
https://www.pathofexile.com/forum/view-thread/1637011/page/7#p13161171

**This last skill won't fit on the available skill keys (We have 7 but I use 1 purely for movement, so 6 remain: Spark/Vaal Spark/End. Cry/Enfeeble/Flame Dash/Vaal Haste). If using a golem you'll only get to summon it when you login/start the map. If using portal you only need it at the end of the map anyway. Regardless, I feel golem/portal aren't worth it. If you were to drop Molten Shell for a level 10 Enfeeble I'd recommend using Vaal Grace as your final skill. If you REALLY want to you could also even drop Vaal Spark since it's really just there for extra damage on bosses. Dropping Vaal Spark would allow you to keep level 13 Molten Shell, keep a self cast high level Enfeeble AND use both Vaal Haste and Vaal Grace, which is probably the best setup for HC players. It'd be cheaper too since you wouldn't need to 6L or even 5L your Lightning Coil.

Vaal Haste and Vaal Grace both have a duration of 15 seconds with level 19 Increased Duration and 90% increased skill duration from the tree. When mapping you will have both up 90% of the time unless you get screwed on monster density/crashes/etc. or stop to pick up ALL the loot.

Elemental Overload is also nearly always up. Your high cast speed + the 7.2% crit chance your Spark will have from the Trickery node make sure of that.



Leveling:

Leveling trees for level 35/55/75/80 including the transition from life regen to Vaal Pact:




I leveled with Spark and Lifesprigs. If you have a Tabula Rasa it'll make supporting Spark easier but you WILL need a Mana flask or two and life on your leveling gear.

Spark - Spell Echo/Faster Casting - Lightning Penetration - Faster Projectiles worked for me until I got the Deadeye Ascendancy AND Voltaxic Rift which should happen in Merciless.

If you get Deadeye much earlier than Voltaxic Rift then add Pierce as your 5th link on Spark.

Before you get the Berserker Ascendancy and Vaal Pact you will be depending on Life Regeneration from the tree. You should have Shaper and the three life regen nodes next to it (Scion beginning), Sanctity (Templar side of the tree), Golem's Blood (Duelist side of the tree) and Warrior's Blood (Marauder side of the tree). This is a total of 13-14 points you'll need to refund which is completely doable on the Respec points you get from quests (18 in total). In total these points will provide 6.4% life regen.

Good leveling uniques:
Goldrim Helmet (resists) http://pathofexile.gamepedia.com/Goldrim
Lifesprig Wands or +2 Lightning Gem Wands/Sceptres until you can 4L Spark http://pathofexile.gamepedia.com/Lifesprig
Wanderlust Boots (movement speed, cannot be frozen, mana regen) http://pathofexile.gamepedia.com/Wanderlust
Dream Fragments Ring (cannot be frozen and much higher mana regen than Wanderlust boots) http://pathofexile.gamepedia.com/Dream_Fragments
Tabula Rasa http://pathofexile.gamepedia.com/Tabula_Rasa

MAKE SURE you start leveling your Poison/Pierce/Void Manipulation/Vaal Gems gems as soon as you have access to them. You don't want to make the switch to Voltaxic and have level 1 support gems (it's not that big of a deal but still start leveling the gems asap).

If you're on HC, I would recommend having your Spark link on Goldrim and using a rare chest until you get Voltaxic/Lightning Coil. Also prioritize life nodes over jewel nodes! Spark is strong without jewel nodes. By level ~87 you should have Voltaxic/Drillneck/Lightning Coil/Vaal Pact and you should have grabbed all your life nodes with Method to the Madness/Corruption/Fangs of the Viper/Trickery/jewel nodes being the last nodes you need to grab.

If you're in a Standard league feel free to pick up the life nodes later and go for more damage if you want to.


Ascendancy:

Deadeye is mandatory. You won't get it until you complete Cruel Labyrinth but make sure you get it before Berserker.

Berserker is necessary for Vaal Pact unless you decide to use a Life Leech gem.

You can get away with using life regen/Stone Golem and Lightning Coil for a while if you don't want to rush Berserker but try to get it by level 80 or by the time you get to mid-tier Maps. Berserker & Vaal Pact make things easier, save skill points, and let you comfortably run no regen Maps.


Current Gear, Flasks, and thoughts:



Unintentionally ruined my Lightning Coil trying to get a 6L. Ended throwing a chrom at it. rip



The last two flasks are interchangeable. I rarely use the Topaz flask unless the map mods are extra bad (-max res/elemental weakness/added lightning damage/etc.). Even then, you kill off-screen so often that the only times you really get hit are against close range bosses/beyond bosses and strongboxes if you mess up.

I have now cleared up to Tier 14 Maps and can confirm that Topaz is only necessary when the map has a combination of tough mods. You can get away with using a life flask or even Atziri's Promise all the other times.

My current Skill Tree and Jewels:



Pictures:

The following pictures are taken while using the following gems in my 6L Voltaxic Rift:
level/quality
20/20 Spark
20/20 Poison
19/20 Controlled Destruction
20/20 Spell Echo
20/20 Pierce
20/20 Void Manipulation

Spark with Wrath since you will always have Wrath up.


Spark & Wrath & max charges from Victario's Acuity:


Spark & Wrath & Victario's Acuity & Elemental Overload:


Spark & Wrath & Victario's Acuity & Elemental Overload & Vaal Haste: (the other buff is a quicksilver flask which doesn't contribute to the tooltip dps)


Defenses - no buffs, no golems, no flasks:


Defenses & 3 Endurance Charges:


Defenses & 79% increased Armor Granite Flask:


Defenses & 3 Endurance Charges & 79% increased Armor Granite Flask:


I currently don't have a Vaal Grace gem but at level 20 it would give 34% dodge and 34% spell dodge.


Videos:

Unfortunately I play on a toaster and I use a wireless internet connection so recording a decent video of Path of Exile gameplay would be quite challenging.

Take a look at this picture and hopefully you'll understand what I mean.

If videos are absolutely necessary I'll try my best to play PoE on a friend's PC and record a few videos there. No promises though.

A very short and very poor quality video of a Tier 12 Village Ruin boss kill:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qGJ2ShO0TNA


Map Clear Pictures:

Since I cannot record videos at the time the best I could do is take screenshots of some of the tougher maps I've cleared. I will only put screenshots if I had 0 deaths in the map.








Atziri!

At level 91 with the current gear linked above I've killed normal Atziri with 0 deaths.

Proof:

For Vaal and the Trio you really just need to save your Vaal Haste/Vaal Grace/Vaal Spark. Use them in that order once the bosses are engaged and stay mobile. Dodge Vaal's lazers if it even gets to use them. In my fight, Vaal used the lazer once and then died.
For the trio I engaged from the bottom left and then ran around clockwise after using my Vaal skills.

Atziri is just dodge the flameblasts/storm calls. We have chaos damage so she won't reflect any damage during that one phase. Vaal Haste helps. Flame dash is great.



Thanks for your time. Hope you enjoyed the guide. Feel free to ask any questions and I'll do my best to answer.

Tags for the Build of Exile tool: (http://www.buildofexile.com/)
(BoE)skill=Vaal+Grace;skill=Vaal+Haste;skill=Spark;skill=Vaal+Spark;defense=Life;hardcore=true;atziri=true;coc=false;crit=false;cheap=false(BoE)


Updates:
3/20/2016:
- Updated Spark, Spark & Elemental Overload, and Spark & Elemental Overload & Vaal Haste pictures since I now have level 20 Spark, Poison, Pierce and Spell Echo gems.
- Added a screenshots section to show tougher Maps I've cleared with 0 deaths.
4/1/2016:
- Thanks to MyH4o for reminding me Victario's Acuity exists.
- Bought Victario's Acuity. Updated all Spark damage pictures while using Victario's Acuity.
4/4/2016:
- Added a leveling guide with skill trees for level 35/55/75/80 including the transition from life regen to Vaal Pact.
- Added a section about Kaom's Heart vs. Lightning Coil - includes math and formulas.
4/6/2016:
- Finally reached level 91 and solo'd Atziri and her bosses with 0 deaths.
- Added a small section regarding Atziri.
- Added Essence Worm Unset Ring to my gear and currently running Wrath in it. Will test Haste once it gets to level 20.
- Made some changes to the skill tree for more damage and to make it easier to get all your life nodes before reaching level 100. The tree goes down to 226% life but you get all the life nodes by level 90. Also removed Trickery from the tree since Victario's Acuity is too good to give up. You'll need 10 more dex, at most, in your gear or from a jewel but it's worth it. Also added a Frenzy node to the tree since it's free damage due to Victario's Acuity.
4/7/2016:
- Made what I believe will be the final changes to the tree this league. Removed Storm Weaver because it's only 43% lightning dmg that doesn't double dip. Removed Corruption because it's only 39% chaos dmg and 25% DoT dmg and because it takes 3 INT stat points to travel to. Used those 10 points to grab the chaos dmg nodes next to Coordination and to grab Ballistic Mastery along with 2 projectile dmg nodes next to it for a total of 56% chaos dmg, 35% projectile dmg, and 20% projectile speed. These damage nodes are the last nodes you'll be getting with priority to the +10 DEX node before Ballistic Mastery.
- Using poedb.tw to link the level 100 skill tree because it's easier to make the skill tree and keeps track of the stats you lose/gain when making changes.
- Added a link to the same tree using the official website's skill tree since the poedb.tw tree gets weird with Ascendancy and sometimes doesn't count one of the passives granted by the Ascendant tree.
4/8/2016:
- Made some corrections to the Kaom's Heart vs. Lightning Coil section.
- Added a tool to better compare the effective HP provided by different stats/pieces of gear.
4/9/2016:
- Added a short video of a Tier 12 Village Ruin boss kill.
- Added a link to my post regarding the best 6th link out of Added Chaos Damage, Controlled Destruction, and Elemental Focus. Any changes regarding a viable 6th link gem will be edited into that post.
4/11/2016:
- 6 linked my Voltaxic Rift so I was able to add Added Chaos Damage to my link.
- Updated damage pictures with 20/20 Spark, 20/20 Void Manipulation, 20/0 Spell Echo, 20/0 Pierce, 20/0 Poison, 19/0 Added Chaos Damage.
4/12/2016:
- Made corrections to the 6th link calculations. I forgot to factor Spark's 70% damage effectiveness in the Added Chaos Damage scenario. After the corrections, the new numbers show that Controlled Destruction is actually the best 6th link!
4/13/2016:
- Updated the damage pictures with 20/20 gems except Controlled Destruction which was 19/20.
- Made a small change to the skill tree to maximize damage and chances of proccing Elemental Overload.
4/17/2016:
- Added tags to make it easier for Build of Exile (http://www.buildofexile.com/) to index the build.

wouldnt controlled destruction be a better 5l? since its has a higher multiplier at lvl 20? and innervate is a great 6th link for the increased cast speed from onslaught is so good since we lose alot of cast speed from not using wand/shield, with all the duration nodes we pick up, increased duration is meh imho, LL if u need it though.

Nice guide

"

Special0ps escribió:

wouldnt controlled destruction be a better 5l? since its has a higher multiplier at lvl 20? and innervate is a great 6th link for the increased cast speed from onslaught is so good since we lose alot of cast speed from not using wand/shield, with all the duration nodes we pick up, increased duration is meh imho, LL if u need it though.

Nice guide

You're right that Controlled Destruction has a higher multiplier than Void Manipulation at level 20.

However, Void Manipulation "double dips" with Voltaxic Spark because the initial hit is chaos damage. So the initial Spark hits are affected by Void Manipulation's multiplier as well as the poison caused by the Spark hit - which happens due to the Poison gem.

Using Controlled Destruction instead of Void Manipulation means only the initial Spark hit is affected by Controlled Destruction's multiplier and the poison caused by the Spark hit wouldn't be affected.

It is also my understanding that it really only really matters on bosses since the majority of other mobs die really fast. So in the end Void Manipulation > Controlled Destruction for the 5th link when using Voltaxic Spark + Poison.

I wouldn't go Innervate only because I'd take Controlled Destruction over it. We have Vaal Haste up for the majority of the time you're in a map so I feel the cast speed is all right. Sure the cast speed boost is good but I feel more damage would clear things faster. The movement speed is nice though AND we would have ~30% chance to shock if I'm remembering right so it'd come down to preference? I'll try to test it when I'm in-game tomorrow using a Tabula.

Thanks for the suggestions.

What about Victario's Acuity? It's a pretty good ammy for sparkers. Gotta love the free no investment frenzy and power charges and all the benefits coming from them ;)

"

MyH4o escribió:

What about Victario's Acuity? It's a pretty good ammy for sparkers. Gotta love the free no investment frenzy and power charges and all the benefits coming from them ;)

You're absolutely right. The lightning resistances on it also helps with Lightning Coil's -60 lightning resistances. It also means you don't have to run Blood Rage AND gives power charges, which work great with Elemental Overload.

I'll add it to the recommended uniques list. Thanks!

Very nice build and complete guide...thanks....level 70 .. gems level 17 ...11000 dps just with herald of thunder and golem...right now i must say that the build is awesome!...only have voltaxic and drillneck...no acuity :(..im only doing tier 1 maps and everything melt in front of me or 2 screens away...chaos damage its op!!

"

yissus escribió:

Very nice build and complete guide...thanks....level 70 .. gems level 17 ...11000 dps just with herald of thunder and golem...right now i must say that the build is awesome!...only have voltaxic and drillneck...no acuity :(..im only doing tier 1 maps and everything melt in front of me or 2 screens away...chaos damage its op!!

Glad to hear you're enjoying the build! Chaos damage is definitely op.

Victario's Acuity is a serious damage boost. If you get lucky and manage to find one for a good price it'll definitely make the build a lot more fun to run. I bought mine for 55 chaos in Standard Perandus and it was definitely worth it.

Thank you for the awesome guide! Im kinda following your build and i love it so far(lvl 55 HCP).Have a question about in which order do u spend your points: did you go first for the blood magic or vaal pact?
Also what about the kaom's heart? Thanks again for the nice guide and stay safe exile!

"

nau4nik escribió:

Thank you for the awesome guide! Im kinda following your build and i love it so far(lvl 55 HCP).Have a question about in which order do u spend your points: did you go first for the blood magic or vaal pact?
Also what about the kaom's heart? Thanks again for the nice guide and stay safe exile!

I went Blood Magic first because I had over 5% life regen from the tree and a decent life pool. I also didn't want to carry Mana flasks or worry about Mana, especially when using a Tabula Rasa to level. I took Vaal Pact after Blood Magic and after I got the Berserker Ascendancy.

It could definitely work the other way around if you have leech on gear or a Life Leech gem.

I actually considered Kaom's Heart since I found it a few days ago but I decided Lightning Coil was better especially in higher tier maps.

Kaom's Heart would only give you a much higher life pool vs. Lightning Coil since they both offer a similar amount of armor (and Coil even has 500-590 Evasion). However 30% of physical damage taken as lightning damage is HUGE.

Some math:

Assume Player A's only source of mitigation is a 7.1k life pool while wearing Kaom's Heart and 75% all resists.
Assume Player B's only source of mitigation is a 6k life pool while wearing Lightning Coil and 75% all resists.

I use 7.1k life for Player A because Kaom's Heart gives +500 maximum life, which becomes ~1.1k more actual life than Lightning Coil with 227% life from tree. I used 6k life because it's easily achievable with my 227% life tree while wearing Lightning Coil.

Because Kaom's Heart and Lightning Coil have very similar armor values assume both players have 0 Armor and 0 Evasion, 0 block chance, etc.

So both players' only sources of mitigation are their life pools and 75% all resists.

Formulas used:

Armor formulas: http://pathofexile.gamepedia.com/Armour/math
Elemental Resist formulas: http://pathofexile.gamepedia.com/Resistance

DR = damage reduction factor
A = armor the player has
Draw = the raw damage dealt
Dnet = damage dealt after reduction
Res = resistance

DR = A / (A + 10 * Draw)

Dnet = (10 * Draw * Draw) / (A + 10 * Draw)

For elemental damage: Dnet = (1 - Res) * Draw

Scenario:

Both players take a 7,000 damage physical hit. No flasks are used. No endurance charges are up.

Player A:

DR = 0 / (0 + 10 * 7000)
DR = 0

Dnet = (10 * 7000 * 7000) / (0 + 10 * 7000)
Dnet = 490,000,000 / 70000
Dnet = 7000

Player A takes 7000 physical damage after mitigation and has 100 life remaining.

Player B:

DR = 0 / (0 + 10 * 7000)
DR = 0

Damage conversion happens before mitigation from armor (http://pathofexile.gamepedia.com/Receiving_damage) so Lightning Coil's conversion happens here:

7000 * .3 = 2100
7000 - 2100 = 4900 physical damage taken after Coil

2100 of the 7000 physical damage hit is taken as lightning damage instead and mitigated by the player's lightning resistance. So:

Dnet = (1 - 0.75) * 2100
Dnet = (0.25) * 2100
Dnet = 525

Now the remaining 4900 physical hit:

Dnet = (10 * 4900 * 4900) / (0 + 10 * 4900)
Dnet = 240,100,000 / 49000
Dnet = 4900

So Player B takes 4900 physical damage and 525 lightning damage for a total of 5425 damage taken and has 575 life remaining.

Some extra info:

For Player A to have taken about the same damage that Player B took, Player A would need 5 endurance charges up. The initial 7k physical damage hit would've then been reduced by 20% since 1 endurance charge provides 4% physical damage reduction (5 charges * 4% DR each).

The 7k hit would become a 5600 physical damage hit and Player A would've survived with 1.5k life.

If Player B also had 5 endurance charges, the 4900 physical damage hit would be reduced to 3920 physical damage and he would've survived with 1.5k life.

Hope that all made sense.

In the end it's up to what gear is available to you. If you have Kaom's Heart but not Lightning Coil then obviously feel free to use Kaom's until you can get a Coil.

Stay safe!

Do you think a self cast projectile weakness might be a viable alternative to the self cast enfeeble?