



I've stopped playing this character since I respecced one of my higher level Scions into a similar build that I'm really having fun with (had to reroll the some colours on my gear). :)

What I'm playing at the moment Lvl 89 CI Crit Dual Totems Trapper



It honestly isn't much different to the Shadow variant, but the difference is that Scion can reach Ancestral Bond and the Templar area easier (and my Scion is higher level :p )

It's more of a totem build TBH though.



Video gameplay

It honestly isn't much different to the Shadow variant, but the difference is that Scion can reach Ancestral Bond and the Templar area easier (and my Scion is higher level :p )It's more of a totem build TBH though.



Background about myself:

Read if you want I've been playing this game since the start of Open Beta, I didn't play through the entire beta and was on and off every once in a while, my main back then was a Witch crit caster (no element specialisation) and since then I've been in love with how versatile spells with crits are.



I came back to play this game for the official release and play on the Domination league, I've been overly attached to the game since then (though I might disappear again for a while when the 4 month leagues end :( ). Since the leagues are ending I decided to share my build, so maybe people can use, or be inspired to make their own builds for when we start the new 4 month leagues or for the permanent leagues! :)



Background about my current character and this guide:

" About my previous similar spec characters, read if you want

I've made 3 trappers so far since the start of Domination league (all 3 of them are Scions btw):



* My first trapper, Lvl 88, was a bit of a mess since this was my first character since the majorly rehauled passive tree and I just wanted to try everything that was new and shiny, I ended up going with a dual flame totems crit trapper with enhanced auras lol. Surprisingly the synergy between these things was pretty good considering the enhanced Hatred aura really bumped up my EK/Bear trap damage. I got bored of this character at some point but then came an obvious respec (they introduced Chaos damage nodes) and I ended up respeccing this character to a similar build, trying out mines and respeccing out of them because they're shit. This character ended up using Dual Flame Totems, Crit EK Mines and enhanced auras.



* My second trapper, Lvl 90, was more of a specialised version of the previous one: No auras and dual totem nonsense just pure trap madness. I grew attached to this character (you probably guessed) since everything was working so well but eventually I got bored since my build was pretty much complete by Lvl 90, leveling further would only give me a few unneeded mana or crit nodes, not very motivating considering how long it takes to level.



This character was a AoE Crit Proliferation trapper: I specced 52% increased radius of area nodes and went for spells that would be greatly enhanced by this. I ended up going with:

Lightning Warp with Elemental Proliferation for fast shock stacking on groups.

Cold Snap and Freeze Mine with Elemenetal Proliferation for reliable freezing (and single target damage from Cold Snap, it hits hard).

Fire Trap with Elemental Proliferation as my main source of both single target and AoE damage.

I used Storm Call with Faster Casting and Concentrated Effect for single target damage.



* My third trapper, Lvl 77 is probably my strangest build. It was a DoT trapper whose main source of damage was Poison Arrow mines and Fire Traps. Damage is shit against anything with chaos resist so I didn't bother going any further.



First and second characters Chaos Inoculation builds (since I'm just simply used to CI builds and it made it easy to reroll similar characters as they all use the same sorts of gear), and the third was a life based build.



My current character is specialised in high crit multiplier traps, for big satisfying hits and is based on my second character who was of similar build but was a Scion so I couldn't optimize her tree as well as I could with a Shadow.



He is currently Lvl 82 and using my previous CI character's gear, the build probably works better as a life based character since it has so many points to spare for defensive stats but I didn't feel like playing Path of Shopping again so I just mooched off my previous character's end game gear.



You might have noticed, I like traps (no, not that kind of trap ;) )

My current character is specialised in high crit multiplier traps, for big satisfying hits and is based on my second character who was of similar build but was a Scion so I couldn't optimize her tree as well as I could with a Shadow.He is currently Lvl 82 and using my previous CI character's gear, the build probably works better as a life based character since it has so many points to spare for defensive stats but I didn't feel like playing Path of Shopping again so I just mooched off my previous character's end game gear.You might have noticed, I like traps (no, not that kind of trap ;) )



~1350% Crit Multiplier? What?

"

With this build, a 20% Lvl 20 Increased Critical Damage support gem, the listed gear and Critical Weakness Lvl 20/20% it adds up to around 1350% crit multiplier.



The calculation for maths geeks From passives: 40% for spells + 180% global

Lvl 20/20% Increased Critical Damage support: 149%

Gear: Maligaro's Virtuousity gloves and a Crit multi amulet: 50% + 60%



= 40 + 180 + 149 + 110

= 479% Increased Crit Multiplier



(and the way its worked out is (1+4.79)*150, since 150% is your base crit multiplier).

= 868% Critical Damage



and Critical Weakness Lvl 20/20% is 79% more critical damage.

= 768 * 1.79 (It's 768 because 100% critical damage is your regular non crit damage, hence not really counted as your critical damage)

= 1374.72% Critical Damage



With this build, a 20% Lvl 20 Increased Critical Damage support gem, the listed gear and Critical Weakness Lvl 20/20% it adds up to around 1350% crit multiplier.



Pros and Cons

Spoiler Pros:

*High burst damage

*Strong zone control

*You're ranged

*Versatile, as long as you're linking your gems to Trap.

*Frequent elemental status ailments

*Pretty safe with frequent freezing and chilling

*Has many points to spare for defensive passives: ES or life.

*Immune to reflect

*Lots of micromanaging means you don't fall asleep. ;)



Cons

*It's a crit build meaning there will be moments where you don't do as much damage as you'd like to, even if infrequently.

*Big crits means you have to be careful in parties with MF cullers since you might accidentally snag the last hit on rare monsters instead of them.

*Gear dependent, probably cheaper as a life build than CI.

*No life leech unless you specifically have an equipment slot dedicated to a non-trap life leeching skill.

*Requires more micro managing than the usual hold right click face tank everything builds. ;)





Passive Tree:

" My current build

I recently specced out of Crystal Skin and the Chance to Avoid chill/freeze/shock nodes since I feel ES needs to be a priority at the moment and shock/freeze honestly isn't much of a problem with the right flasks.

My current build at Lvl 82. Is CI based.I recently specced out of Crystal Skin and the Chance to Avoid chill/freeze/shock nodes since I feel ES needs to be a priority at the moment and shock/freeze honestly isn't much of a problem with the right flasks.

Change log *At Lvl 75, I removed Crystal Skin and the Chance to Avoid Chill/Freeze/Shock nodes to spec into more ES. I feel ES needs to be a priority at this point and that elemental status ailments can be handled easily with the right flasks. This freed up 5 points that I used on the Evasion and Energy Shield nodes.







Core build does not mean you need to rush for this build by the time you hit 67 points, use your own judgment and priortise different things such as life and ES if you need them more in your current situation.



Planned build for Lvl 80

Everything I take afterwards is situational (do I need more ES? Is my damage enough? Do I need more spell damage? etc.). Is CI based.





(208% increased life at lvl 75-76)



Life based at Lvl 84-85, with extra crit chance/multiplier!

(234% increased life)

Core build , 67 points used.Core build does not mean you need to rush for this build by the time you hit 67 points, use your own judgment and priortise different things such as life and ES if you need them more in your current situation.Everything I take afterwards is situational (do I need more ES? Is my damage enough? Do I need more spell damage? etc.). Is CI based. Rough life based version 95 points used.(208% increased life at lvl 75-76)(234% increased life)



Bandit Rewards:

"

Cruel: Kill them all

Merciless: Kill them all

Normal: Kill them all, or help Oak if you're life based.Cruel: Kill them allMerciless: Kill them all



Skills:

"

Any "Trap" support can be replaced if you have Deerstalker unique boots.



Main traps:

* 4L/5L: Ice Nova + Trap + Multiple Traps + Concentrated Effect + Increased Critical Damage

* 4L-6L: Lightning Trap + Multiple Traps + Increased Critical Damage + Added Chaos Damage + Increased Critical Strikes + Added Lightning Damage



Preference traps

* 3L or more: Fire Trap + Concetrated Effect + Increased Area of Effect + Elemental Proliferation + Increased Critical Damage + Increased Burning Damage

* 3L/4L: Bear Trap + Added Fire Damage + Empower + Increased Critical Strikes

* 4L/5L: Cold Snap + Trap + Elemental Proliferation + Concentrated Effect + Cold Penetration

* 4L-6L: Lightning Warp + Trap + Multiple Traps + Lightning Penetration + Elemental Proliferation + Increased Critical Damage

* 4L-6L: Ethereal Knives + Trap + Added Fire Damage + Multiple Traps + Increased Critical Damage + Added Chaos Damage



" Other skills



Necessary:

*Critical Weakness: This curse multiplies your extra critical damage so that your crits hurt even harder.

*Clarity: You will need clarity to keep your mana up for spamming traps and if you're a life build with the Cloak of Defiance or Mind over Matter, it helps your survivability.



Situational:

*Temporal Chains: Helps with zone control a little more.

*Enfeeble: A curse that is welcome in any situation, ensures you don't get one shotted by any strong monsters or bosses.

*Discipline: If you're a CI build, you will need Discipline to increase your ES, it's like an extra item slot in terms of ES. If you're a life build with Eldritch Battery it increases your mana pool further meaning you can chain more traps and take bigger hits with Mind over Matter.

*Grace: If you're a life build you may consider Grace for the free evasion.

*Flame Totem + Trap: Requires little investment in cast speed to be good and scales extremely well with Crit. Compensates lack of single target damage well. This curseyour extra critical damage so that your crits hurt even harder.You will need clarity to keep your mana up for spamming traps and if you're a life build with the Cloak of Defiance or Mind over Matter, it helps your survivability.Helps with zone control a little more.A curse that is welcome in any situation, ensures you don't get one shotted by any strong monsters or bosses.If you're a CI build, you will need Discipline to increase your ES, it's like an extra item slot in terms of ES. If you're a life build with Eldritch Battery it increases your mana pool further meaning you can chain more traps and take bigger hits with Mind over Matter.If you're a life build you may consider Grace for the free evasion.: Requires little investment in cast speed to be good and scales extremely well with Crit. Compensates lack of single target damage well.





Why? Ice Nova: Ice Nova has a decent crit chance, covers a huge area and the freeze duration scales well with a crit multiplier build.



Lightning Trap: The main thing about this skill is the spammability and low cooldown and the fact that it covers a wide area.



Fire Trap: Great base damage means for great crits as well as HUGE burn DoT. Has a decent base crit chance.



Bear Trap: A great skill for control as well as single target damage, it doesn't benefit from spell-related stats unfortunately though. Landing crits with Bear Traps really hurt and since Bear Trap's root duration is based off damage dealt, it will last longer and crits can possibly root bosses.



Cold Snap: Great skill to use when you're in a pinch or just want to help make your party's life easier by freezing the entire screen. It has high base damage so it will freeze for a long time (maximum unmodified freeze duration is ~3.33 sec by the way).



Lightning Warp: A good alternative (or additional) lightning element trap for shock stacking groups. It has a decent base crit chance, high base damage and can potentially hit twice depending on the placement of the warp so it will rack up the shock stacks pretty fast.



Ethereal Knives: High base damage, it deals physical damage, scales with Added Fire Damage and Hatred aura and has a decent base crit chance. If you have both Added Fire Damage and Hatred aura you'll be dealing both ignite DoT and freeze when you crit. :)





Why not? Shock Nova: The dead zone really makes this annoying to use, Lightning Warp has a higher crit chance and Lightning Trap covers a wider area.



Arctic Breath: Requires investment in increased radius of area to be useful as a trap.



Storm Call: There is too much delay between throwing the trap, the skill delay itself and hitting something. Also has a low base crit chance.





These could work? Firestorm: Firestorm scales really well with crit multiplier and it hits really hard when it crits...that's if it is hitting anything at all to begin with. Keep in mind your critting for the damage, not for the burn. A common misconception about fire skills is that if they have low base damage, they aren't good with crits at all because they burn for a small value. Yes this is true but people tend to forget the fact that crits actually do damage themselves.



Fireball: Pretty good base damage and high base crit chance.



Supports are ordered in order of priroty.Any "Trap" support can be replaced if you have Deerstalker unique boots.* 4L/5L:+ Trap + Multiple Traps + Concentrated Effect + Increased Critical Damage* 4L-6L:+ Multiple Traps + Increased Critical Damage + Added Chaos Damage + Increased Critical Strikes + Added Lightning Damage* 3L or more:+ Concetrated Effect + Increased Area of Effect + Elemental Proliferation + Increased Critical Damage + Increased Burning Damage* 3L/4L:+ Added Fire Damage + Empower + Increased Critical Strikes* 4L/5L:+ Trap + Elemental Proliferation + Concentrated Effect + Cold Penetration* 4L-6L:+ Trap + Multiple Traps + Lightning Penetration + Elemental Proliferation + Increased Critical Damage* 4L-6L:+ Trap + Added Fire Damage + Multiple Traps + Increased Critical Damage + Added Chaos Damage



What gear do I need?

Spoiler *Helmet: something that has life and/OR ES and resist(s) and evasion if possible. Rime Gaze unique helmet is also an option since it's essentially another 5L trap for the traps that can make use of the built-in Lvl 15 Concentrated Effect.



*Chest: something that has life and/or ES, resist(s) and evasion if possible. Carcass Jack unique chest armour is an option if you're life based, if you want the extra increased radius of area.



*Gloves: Maligaro's Virtuosity unique gloves. They give critical strike chance and multiplier as well as some dexterity.



*Boots: Deerstalker unique boots. It's essentially another 5L for one of your traps.



*Weapon: Dagger with high Global Critical Strike Chance, Critical Strike Chance for spells, some Spell Damage and Critical Strike Multiplier if possible. Prioritise crit chance.



*Shield: Prioritise Critical Strike Chance for Spells, ES and/or life and resists.



*Amulet: Prioritise Global Critical Strike Multiplier, and life if you're life based.



*Rings: Resists and mana (also life if you're life based).



*Belt: Get a belt with Strength and resists. Also look out for life if you're life based.



General Priorities in order:

1. Global Critical Strike Multiplier

2. Global Critical Strike Chance/Critical Strike Chance for Spells

3. Life/ES and Elemental Resistances

4. Spell Damage

5. Mana and Mana Regeneration

6. Strength and Dexterity



Flasks; in order of priority

1. Any flask (that can be store at least 2 uses worth of charges) of Staunching (Removes Bleeding)

2. Any flask (that can store at least 2 uses worth of charges) of Heat (Removes Chill and Freeze)

3. Quicksilver Flask of Adrenaline (40% + 20~30% Increased Movement Speed)

4. Lavianga's Spirit unique mana flask (Skills have no mana cost during flask effect)

5. Anything to compensate what you lack. I use a Granite Flask of Iron Skin because pure ES builds have 0 armour by default, the flask really helps in dangerous situations.





My Gear

Spoiler







Currently don't have a 20% Increased Critical Damage support gem yet :(

Currently don't have a 20% Increased Critical Damage support gem yet :(



Tooltip Screenshots

Spoiler



Ice Nova:





Lightning Trap:





Bear Trap:





Fire Trap:





Cold Snap:



Keep in mind my gems aren't fully leveled yet and not all of them have quality.



Videos

Spoiler

I respecced a few points from Crystal Skin and the chance to avoid freeze/chill/shock nodes for more ES since this video. I have about 6.3k ES now and will probably make a new video with my, safer ES pool lol.



Random low level map run, mainly to show off bigger ES pool



Lvl 75 running a Lvl 71 Colonnade map

Unidentified blue Lvl 67 map (up to the boss only, because this map is huge)I respecced a few points from Crystal Skin and the chance to avoid freeze/chill/shock nodes for more ES since this video. I have about 6.3k ES now and will probably make a new video with my, safer ES pool lol.



I had fun writing this. Keep in mind things are always subject to change and this guide isn't perfect. ;)I had fun writing this. "so you can see who has more PvPenis" - Chris Wilson

"Everyone can at least be exposed to Leo's PvPenis" - Chris Wilson Last edited by Kenzorz on Jan 30, 2014, 7:49:23 PM