[3.20] Build of the Night | None is More | Freezing Hot Shield Ascendant

Disclaimer:
If you are a new player, DO NOT play this build.
This build is a self-motivated project, but thought I would document my experience and share it here anyway for players interested in peculiar builds.
I am not a seasoned build creator and this is my first time posting a guide, so please let me know of any mistakes.
Also no game footage as I am using an old PC.


Build concept:
Elemental damage is a core part of POE accounting for 60% of damage type. A good build or POE friend will always tell you to cap your resistances and even go beyond the default max 75%.

Veil of the Night (VoTN) is the only item in the game that sets all elemental resistances to a fixed value, zero. With all things equal, zero resistance means the player would take roughly 4x elemental damage compared to 75%.

I am always fascinated by this unique item, and every league would theory-craft around it but never able to progress much. Eternal damnation introduced in 3.20 allows mitigating some elemental damage (maximum 45% reduction) by investing in chaos resistance. This also means we are not mode-locked into using Incandescent heart as body armor, although it is still a very good item to pair with.

Eternal damnation has already proven to work very well especially with Juggernaut.
I decided to go scion, which offers more skill points and ascendancy pairing.

My goal is to test if build is viable, and be able to at least farm Eater red maps (T14+), while trying to keep build affordable and stay alive.


I would not bore you further with my chattering.
Here is my pob.
I usually set to Pinnacle boss, uncheck everything in config and disable all flasks to get base dps.




Defensive layers:
Defense is very important especially on this type of unconventional build.
I don't want to be instantly melted or body throw 6 portals.

- 100% spell suppression.
This is especially important since most spell deals elemental damage.
- 75% spell block through glancing blow.
- Immune to shock, freeze, chill and ignite.
- 81% chaos resistance.
- Elemental resistance debuff/penetration never affect us.
(if this sounds convincing).
- Freezing enemies.
- Minions and totem provide some distraction.
Note) Arctic armour is also good if you can somehow squeeze in more auras, since you need to aim with SST and would spend some time standing still.
Note) Enfeeble is also good if can self cast.


Sources of maximum chaos resistance:



Build weakness:
- Only 3.5k life.
- Relying on evasion and attack block (60%) for physical damage.
15% physical taken as chaos on Hunter chest would be helpful.
- damage over time.
- Lightning ring of death is quite deadly (similar to Doryani Prototype)


Offensive side:
I chose Replica Nebulis to get 300% cold and fire respectively.
For main skill, spectral shield throw allows scaling damage from shield instead of weapon. However, using Emperor Vigilance means forgoing the +3 max chaos resistance.


Side note on Ice Spear



Final thoughts:
All in all I think I spent 6+ divines on the build.
With this budget, there are definitely much better builds out there that can take on Sanctum and end game.

For me, the draw of POE is dealing with downsides and getting potential benefits.
Sincerely hope this documentation would serve somewhat as a reference for others making or thinking about similar builds.
Thanks for reading !



Rough cost breakdown:



For documented reference, below are my predecessors for builds with Veil of the Night: