Simply solid build! Tons of fun to bounce around maps erasing mobs! So buttery smooth it makes picking up loot feel almost a chore in comparison! I've thrown together some quick info to help those of us following this build: bugs affecting us, how I leveled, and then general tips. Hope this helps!
Current state of bugs that affect this build:
- Infused channeling does appear bugged atm, use Melee Phys for now. This means rerolling away that blue socket =(
- Leap Slam + Cyclone interact curiously at present: hold down leap slam key fully until leap occurs, as leap slam is currently not instant if used during a cyclone, and is interruptible itself (i.e. by cyclone). GGG is likely looking into this. I'd prefer an immediate leap (interrupting cyclone) at keypress, but we'll see what GGG rolls out. NB: I am running LS as left click, so that might be contributory.
- If you use a movement skill like Leap Slam as left-click, as I do, it seems to mess with using left click for activating things like mobs trapped in Essence and similar. Takes a long time and lots of clicking. GGG knows about this.
Here's how I leveled, worked great!
- LEVEL 1 - 28: Level with your favorite melee skill. I used boring old Dual Strike, and it was fine.
- LEVEL 4: Start using your new Blood and Sand aura, use in default Sand stance.
- LEVEL 24: Start using your new Pride aura and your new Dread Banner gem.
- LEVEL 28: switch to Cyclone. I transitioned immediately and had no issues leveling.
- LEVEL 28: pick up an a Vaal Ancestral Warchief and watch bosses melt.
- COMPLETED 2nd LAB: Buy a Daresso's Salute for 8c, or whenever you can afford 8c
- LEVEL 62/64: Buy a Sinvicta's Mettle for 2c. -- OR -- Buy a Hezmana's Bloodlust for 2c
- UNTIL 62/64; Keep upgrading your 2H Axe: you want a decently-fast, range 13, 2H rare axe near your current level while leveling. You can use your Cyclone 4L in your chest while leveling, so use your strongest weapon however it rolls. Worth spending an alc here or there in trade to keep your weapon relevant. Ideally you're looking for high attack speed too (1.4 is great!), but OK if not, just keep that range and Phys damage high.
As for skill tree, I followed AhFack's leveling trees -- worked great. I held off on Vaal Pact until ~60s though, until I had the relevant Ascendancies and my nice 2c axe to really make it shine!
General random tips:
- Delve is great for popping incubators: so many mobs! Be in a safe spot when your item drops though!
- If you're struggling in Incursions (Alva, Temple), drop that Warchief totem on every yellow mob.
- Cyclone isn't fast enough to find decent Legion spawns when you pop a Monolith, so either Leap Slam around or use Move Only to find your targets. If you left-click bind your Leap Slam, obviously you can't use "cast while standing still" (otherwise you could never move
except with Leap Slam), so I have found shift-clicking my Leap Slam in rapid succession to be the best for finding Legion targets quickly to then cyclone out of existence.
- If you are a map completionist like I was and are following this build, it's time to change up your game! Set up a very strict item filter (use filterblade), and chain maps, racing from start to finish in each one. Don't backtrack, don't sidetrack, don't dwell on slow mobs. Don't use the minimap unless you're on a maze-y map. Prefer big open areas to winding corridors. Alc (at least) every map. You'll make enough currency to sustain easy, and this build just shines as an angry pinball, bouncing around a map as quickly as possible, in a beeline for the boss. Make sure you do find the Monolith in each map though!
- Use poemap.live to help complete your Atlas. Shit just works. (appears to be offline atm?)
Leech as defense!
Something I didn't understand early on is that our extremely high rate of leech is our primary defense: Vaal Pact + Slayer ascendancies for leech + passive tree leech nodes + item leech rolls + very high life (from passives, items, jewels) is how we stay alive. Armor is our secondary defense (and obviously maxed resistances), so certainly bump that all you can, but once we have all the leech passives and some good leech rolls on items (jewelry mostly), it's all about pushing that life cap!
Cheers for a fun, efficient, and well conceived & executed build AhFack! Following your build and gearing advice was easy and the results + the 3.7 melee changes have been a ton of fun to get back into PoE with. Hope this is helpful!
