Low Life leveling without Solaris Lorica / Shavs



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Why?

100% increased rarity and high damage while leveling.

If you've played the game for a while then you are probably bored of the normal leveling progress.

There has been a few threads talking about low life end game builds without Solaris Lorica or Shavs.

I wanted to see if it was possible to level while on low life starting from level 24 when we can use the Blood Magic gem to be on permanent low life.



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The concept:



Reserving 66% of life with blood magic gem and auras to be on low life. Getting 75% chaos res so chaos damage becomes a non issue.



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This leveling process won't work for the first character in a league because of gems and uniques. It's also closely tied to specific builds and not a generic leveling build.





The total cost for non quest gems and required uniques is about 3-8 fusings/alchs depending on how much you want to haggle.





This cost will pay for itself from the 100% rarity boots due to all the alteration orbs you'll find while leveling.





I had 31 fusings from alts by the time I reached lvl 66.



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There are many uniques tied to being on low life and many of the are available from early levels.





These are the most important ones:





Crown of Thorns



Up to 100 es from level 1. Also gives Pain Attunement (30% more spell damage on low life)

Price: 1fusing/alch or less





Zahndethus' Cassock



Very high chaos res and es for it's level

Price: 1fusing/alch or less





Redbeak



100% increased damage on low life, best spellcaster weapon early on.

Espescially when combined with Herald of Thunder, vaal skills etc.

The damage output makes up for only grabbing defensive nodes early on.

About 1k DPS on Lightning Tendrils at lvl 30 is pretty good

Price: 1fusing/alch or less







Wondertrap



Pretty terrible boots apart from the 100% rarity

Price: 1fusing/alch or less



Lori's Lantern



Ok chaos res and good ele res on low life

Optional

Price: 3fusings/alch

EDIT: The price has gone up significantly. Don't buy unless you plan to use it endgame









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Recommended items to buy:







Gems:



2x Blood Magic

2x Reduced mana

Culling Strike

Purity of Elements

Life Leech (optional)



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Progression:



I do not recommend going low life on lvl 24. The chaos damage is not the problem. Most chaos mobs deal little to no damage. I was never at risk from them (including spinesnap and sewers). But the energy shield is too low at the end of Act3. 800 es at Dominus. It's not a comfortable leveling experience and Dominus required 6 tps (but no deaths). The chaos damage from the mini bosses at dominus was pretty sketchy though. Because at this point I had only 44% chaos res and had not figured out the best way to reserve auras. But if you're a good player it's def possible to do without any deaths. In HC you can also just remove the blood magic aura for specific fights like dominus. I wanted to do everything at low life though.



Starting low life on lvl 37 is safe and easy.



Recommended base build:



https://poebuilder.com/character/AAAAAgMAf8Yc3N-KSbHXz_k374iTJxGWlS4HHklR8NUOSGyMnao2PeOEYqxfatvntMXpAhslS67ZW20Zpys1uRFQHU9qQ8BUCPTB86KjlSAtHyepflkNfOq6tAxcig==



Lvl 24(Act2/3 Normal):

ES: ~600 Unreserved life: ~150

Flasks: 3x Quicksilver, 1x life, 1x mana

- Herald of Thunder/Ice + Blood Magic lvl1-2 + Culling Strike (recommended)

This one is easy to setup, stays at 66-67% reserved. You get Herald of Thunder from quest reward and the other has to be bought.

- Blood Magic + Clarity + (redcued mana)

This one is pretty annoying because each time you level you get more hp and swapping gear around it can

put you above low life and significantly below. Not recommended.

- Timeclasp is a pretty decent ring here if you have it



Lvl 31(Act 3 Normal):

ES: ~1000 Unreserved life: ~ 300

- Add discipline and purity of elements to your auras

- 2x Lori's Lanten is possible here if you got the currency. Amethyst Rings are enough though.

- Start Transmuting every Amethyst Ring you find

- If you are a standard player you can use Shavronne's Revelation



Lvl 37 (Act 1 Cruel):

ES: ~1500 Unreserved life: ~400

- Recommended to start going low life at this level. Zahndethus Cassock gives a bunch of chaos res and es.

Will be around 50% chaos res in cruel with amethyst rings. Discipline also grants a lot of es.

- New aura combo can be used if you want:

Herald + Blood Magic(5) + Reduced Mana(3) + Added Light/Cold = 66% reserved

- Auras on Mana: Discipline + Purity + Reduced Mana(3) = 87% reserved

Use 2x mana potions to manage mana.



Lvl 49(Act 3 cruel):

ES: ~2000 Unreserved life: ~500

- New aura combo can be used if you want:

Herald of Thunder/Ice + Lightning/Cold Pen + Blood Magic + Reduced Mana = 66% reserved



Lvl 53(Act 3 cruel/ Act 1 Merc)

ES: ~2500 Unreserved life: ~550

- Purity of Elements + Blood Magic(lvl 12) + Reduced Mana(lvl 12)

68% reserved. Can be swapped a bit earlier for more life reservation. Recommended since it frees up a lot of mana.



Anything past lvl 53 depends entire on the build you want to play. If you go for an aura build then you can start running 2-3 25% auras on life. Or two 60% auras with prism guardian.



This aura calculator is very good:



I went for an MF Arc build. Currently lvl 68 with 6k Arc with LL in a 4link and 200iir. 4k ES and 800 unreserved life. Also running blood rage with 4 frenzy and 1% life regen.



The base build is suitable for: Daggers, Claws, Crit Sceptre, Aurabots, Spellcasters



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What about end game?

Let's look at a typical character for lvl 80:

4500 life

-60% chaos res



This character has an effective health pool of 2813 vs chaos damage.



Let's look at a low life character:

1000 unreserved life

75% chaos res



This character has an effective health pool of 4000 vs chaos damage.



So Chaos damage is not likely to be the cause of your death as long as you have 75% chaos res and you are paying attention.



On top of this a low life character can get ~1% life regen and run blood rage. You can use a lot of fun unqiues. You get an extra aura. Etc.



1% regen with ~3000 life and 75% chaos res is also enough to stand in desecrated ground and other degen effects.



The downside is having less effect from life flasks, not being able to run EB or CoD. Losing some gem slots. Among other things.



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Good end game items:



The Broken Crown





Highly recommended. Run auras in the helm and get massive chaos res for less than 1 chaos orb.



The Vertex



Much higher es than broken crown but much more expensive and less chaos res. Good for Arc builds. Around 2ex



Prism Guardian



Incredible shield. Can reserve 3 purities and also get 37% all res from the shield. Very good for MF chars that need a lot of resist. Around 20-30c





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Build transitions:



MF Arc

https://poebuilder.com/character/AAAAAgMAS67pAt-KGyXZW20ZakPAVAj0pys1uRFQghDfsALjB6VJsiycdhEQWDI05OwfAgQHHU8tH1XGg9uLejbFw21ca4RI4vcBb18q6-RnvU-v9OmCHsHzlSA2iSY8FvMvnX_GoqMRlklR8NWVLgcee9eP-g5IbIydqjY944RirF9q2-e0xV3ypJF-MxOejDYV5_Brc7OXl0V8YeJVS0mx18_5N--Ikycc3A186rq0DFfJLKam6zeDkNb56ILHKPonqX5ZES8rCrb3Vyu9gv6z



Low Life Dagger Spectral Throw

https://poebuilder.com/character/AAAAAgMAS67pAt-KGyXZW20ZakPAVAj0pys1uRFQHU8tH8HzlSB_xqKjEZZJUfDVlS4HHg5IXfJJsdfP-TfviJMnHNwNfOq6tAwnqX5ZES8rCrb3g9sEB0yzVcaLejbFHwLDbVxrhEji9wFvUDBwUonTcNXz6ioLY0Pb50cG8uFfaqc09vyOipfQ225W9dh2feMs4axmuT5sjLVI7UGmf7GzFr9h4iaVuXyMC-ywNj1tbJ2qpcuaE3BWkBvb1Hf9vjoQe9sa53T_3iT951RRR42_BbXo1g==



MF Fire Trap Prolif

https://poebuilder.com/character/AAAAAgMAS67pAt-KGyXZW20ZakPAVAj0pys1uRFQHU8tH8HzlSB_xqKjEZZJUfDVlS4HHg5IXfJJsdfP-TfviJMnHNwnqX5ZES8rCrb3g9sEB0yzVcaLesNtXGuESOL3AW86WOxVKo1JGzbY8WysmC6Ul4U09yGw99fljp1jpLGMNuUZtDj79ZeXRXxh4lVLPV9SU5eVl_RfKuvkVyu9gv6zmZrrY7VIvjoQe9sa53RtbA186rq0DM3q6NZ714_6wuwFtbTF2-fYVH6wdm9wUTIYswNTMWyMYqw=



Crit Arc



" lDantonl

Update on my build. Took your advice and bought Voidbringers. They make for a huge improvement! I need to run a higher level clarity now but the mana cost is completely sustainable without any mana potions. Auras are now Discipline, Herald of Ice, Herald of Thunder, Purity of Ice, Purity of Lightning, Clarity.



I maximized the +1 level benefits of all three items now, such that i 3/3 gain +1 from prism guardian, 2/3 gain +1 from voidbringers.



my items are now

Spoiler







Here's the tree, took out some crit chance nodes for crit multi nodes.

Spoiler http://www.pathofexile.com/passive-skill-tree/AAAAAgMABUIHHg18DkgPxBEPES8RUBGWFm8XLxslHNwdFB1PH8ckqiepKworeCycLR8vbzW5Nuk6WDt8QZZGcUcGSVFJsUuuTLNQMFXGVdZXK1xrXIpd8l8qX2pjQ2TnbRlwUnC7cNV0VXvXfq9_xoCkgwmESInTjmSPRo_6kyeVIJUum6Gio6crrJius7QMtve2-rjKuZO9gsHzwwnDbdD118_ZE9lb217b59-K37DjaukC6rrr9ewY74jw1fId8uH3pvfX-Tf60v6z



with 7k ES, 400 unreserved life, 13k dps w/ 5 power charges, 75/78/79/75 resistances, 22% chance to block attacks 5% chance to block spells (the shield is meant to be buffed by my rumis really), ~2k eva.



Obviously the main problem with my build is chaos damage. It's the only thing I've actually died from, notably desecrated patches in maps and rogue exiles that use chaos damage. rare mobs / trash mobs that deal chaos damage are fine however, so I'd say 85% of the time I'm playing this build i feel very safe. I have not faced any huge chaos bosses, i'm sure they would wreck this build pretty hard.



All that said, i've really been enjoying playing low life without shavs/lorica. @KrabbsatanUpdate on my build. Took your advice and bought Voidbringers. They make for a huge improvement! I need to run a higher level clarity now but the mana cost is completely sustainable without any mana potions. Auras are now Discipline, Herald of Ice, Herald of Thunder, Purity of Ice, Purity of Lightning, Clarity.I maximized the +1 level benefits of all three items now, such that i 3/3 gain +1 from prism guardian, 2/3 gain +1 from voidbringers.my items are nowHere's the tree, took out some crit chance nodes for crit multi nodes.with 7k ES, 400 unreserved life, 13k dps w/ 5 power charges, 75/78/79/75 resistances, 22% chance to block attacks 5% chance to block spells (the shield is meant to be buffed by my rumis really), ~2k eva.Obviously the main problem with my build is chaos damage. It's the only thing I've actually died from, notably desecrated patches in maps and rogue exiles that use chaos damage. rare mobs / trash mobs that deal chaos damage are fine however, so I'd say 85% of the time I'm playing this build i feel very safe. I have not faced any huge chaos bosses, i'm sure they would wreck this build pretty hard.All that said, i've really been enjoying playing low life without shavs/lorica.



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MF Arc Progress:



Lvl: 83

DPS: 9000 Arc

ES: 5600

Life: 900/2700

Map level: 73



Gear:











---100% increased rarity and high damage while leveling.If you've played the game for a while then you are probably bored of the normal leveling progress.There has been a few threads talking about low life end game builds without Solaris Lorica or Shavs.I wanted to see if it was possible to level while on low life starting from level 24 when we can use the Blood Magic gem to be on permanent low life.---Reserving 66% of life with blood magic gem and auras to be on low life. Getting 75% chaos res so chaos damage becomes a non issue.---This leveling process won't work for the first character in a league because of gems and uniques. It's also closely tied to specific builds and not a generic leveling build.The total cost for non quest gems and required uniques is about 3-8 fusings/alchs depending on how much you want to haggle.This cost will pay for itself from the 100% rarity boots due to all the alteration orbs you'll find while leveling.I had 31 fusings from alts by the time I reached lvl 66.---There are many uniques tied to being on low life and many of the are available from early levels.These are the most important ones:Up to 100 es from level 1. Also gives Pain Attunement (30% more spell damage on low life)Price: 1fusing/alch or lessVery high chaos res and es for it's levelPrice: 1fusing/alch or less100% increased damage on low life, best spellcaster weapon early on.Espescially when combined with Herald of Thunder, vaal skills etc.The damage output makes up for only grabbing defensive nodes early on.About 1k DPS on Lightning Tendrils at lvl 30 is pretty goodPrice: 1fusing/alch or lessPretty terrible boots apart from the 100% rarityPrice: 1fusing/alch or lessOk chaos res and good ele res on low lifeOptionalPrice: 3fusings/alchEDIT: The price has gone up significantly. Don't buy unless you plan to use it endgame---Recommended items to buy:Gems:2x Blood Magic2x Reduced manaCulling StrikePurity of ElementsLife Leech (optional)---Progression:I do not recommend going low life on lvl 24. The chaos damage is not the problem. Most chaos mobs deal little to no damage. I was never at risk from them (including spinesnap and sewers). But the energy shield is too low at the end of Act3. 800 es at Dominus. It's not a comfortable leveling experience and Dominus required 6 tps (but no deaths). The chaos damage from the mini bosses at dominus was pretty sketchy though. Because at this point I had only 44% chaos res and had not figured out the best way to reserve auras. But if you're a good player it's def possible to do without any deaths. In HC you can also just remove the blood magic aura for specific fights like dominus. I wanted to do everything at low life though.Starting low life on lvl 37 is safe and easy.Recommended base build:https://poebuilder.com/character/AAAAAgMAf8Yc3N-KSbHXz_k374iTJxGWlS4HHklR8NUOSGyMnao2PeOEYqxfatvntMXpAhslS67ZW20Zpys1uRFQHU9qQ8BUCPTB86KjlSAtHyepflkNfOq6tAxcig==Lvl 24(Act2/3 Normal):ES: ~600 Unreserved life: ~150Flasks: 3x Quicksilver, 1x life, 1x mana- Herald of Thunder/Ice + Blood Magic lvl1-2 + Culling Strike (recommended)This one is easy to setup, stays at 66-67% reserved. You get Herald of Thunder from quest reward and the other has to be bought.- Blood Magic + Clarity + (redcued mana)This one is pretty annoying because each time you level you get more hp and swapping gear around it canput you above low life and significantly below. Not recommended.- Timeclasp is a pretty decent ring here if you have itLvl 31(Act 3 Normal):ES: ~1000 Unreserved life: ~ 300- Add discipline and purity of elements to your auras- 2x Lori's Lanten is possible here if you got the currency. Amethyst Rings are enough though.- Start Transmuting every Amethyst Ring you find- If you are a standard player you can use Shavronne's RevelationLvl 37 (Act 1 Cruel):ES: ~1500 Unreserved life: ~400- Recommended to start going low life at this level. Zahndethus Cassock gives a bunch of chaos res and es.Will be around 50% chaos res in cruel with amethyst rings. Discipline also grants a lot of es.- New aura combo can be used if you want:Herald + Blood Magic(5) + Reduced Mana(3) + Added Light/Cold = 66% reserved- Auras on Mana: Discipline + Purity + Reduced Mana(3) = 87% reservedUse 2x mana potions to manage mana.Lvl 49(Act 3 cruel):ES: ~2000 Unreserved life: ~500- New aura combo can be used if you want:Herald of Thunder/Ice + Lightning/Cold Pen + Blood Magic + Reduced Mana = 66% reservedLvl 53(Act 3 cruel/ Act 1 Merc)ES: ~2500 Unreserved life: ~550- Purity of Elements + Blood Magic(lvl 12) + Reduced Mana(lvl 12)68% reserved. Can be swapped a bit earlier for more life reservation. Recommended since it frees up a lot of mana.Anything past lvl 53 depends entire on the build you want to play. If you go for an aura build then you can start running 2-3 25% auras on life. Or two 60% auras with prism guardian.This aura calculator is very good: https://poe.mikelat.com I went for an MF Arc build. Currently lvl 68 with 6k Arc with LL in a 4link and 200iir. 4k ES and 800 unreserved life. Also running blood rage with 4 frenzy and 1% life regen.The base build is suitable for: Daggers, Claws, Crit Sceptre, Aurabots, Spellcasters---What about end game?Let's look at a typical character for lvl 80:4500 life-60% chaos resThis character has an effective health pool of 2813 vs chaos damage.Let's look at a low life character:1000 unreserved life75% chaos resThis character has an effective health pool of 4000 vs chaos damage.So Chaos damage is not likely to be the cause of your death as long as you have 75% chaos res and you are paying attention.On top of this a low life character can get ~1% life regen and run blood rage. You can use a lot of fun unqiues. You get an extra aura. Etc.1% regen with ~3000 life and 75% chaos res is also enough to stand in desecrated ground and other degen effects.The downside is having less effect from life flasks, not being able to run EB or CoD. Losing some gem slots. Among other things.---Good end game items:The Broken CrownHighly recommended. Run auras in the helm and get massive chaos res for less than 1 chaos orb.The VertexMuch higher es than broken crown but much more expensive and less chaos res. Good for Arc builds. Around 2exPrism GuardianIncredible shield. Can reserve 3 purities and also get 37% all res from the shield. Very good for MF chars that need a lot of resist. Around 20-30c----Build transitions:MF ArcLow Life Dagger Spectral ThrowMF Fire Trap ProlifCrit Arc----MF Arc Progress:Lvl: 83DPS: 9000 ArcES: 5600Life: 900/2700Map level: 73Gear: @RickJamesWitch



http://www.youtube.com/user/69zirc/videos Last edited by Krabbsatan on Mar 13, 2015, 5:25:09 PM Last bumped on Jun 21, 2016, 4:42:57 PM