This build is outdated. Anyone interested in newest version of the build can check this thread, at the time of this writing it's the closest thing you can find to original build.

http://www.pathofexile.com/forum/view-thread/1098592/

Last update: 4/december/2014















This is a high mitigation dual wielding buid which can easily do endgame content like maps and Apex of Sacrifice.

This is not a high dps build and cannot compete with clear speed of crit builds. If you like one-shooting monsters, you will not enjoy playing this build.



In 1.1 version of the game, build used to have Iron Reflex, 68% block and spellblock, around 5500hp around level 90 and close to 20k dps.



In 1.2 version of the game the buid has been substantially improved due to introduction of easily accessible dual wiled block nodes. It's now possible to get more block with less 'traveling' on the skill tree which means more nodes can be spent on damage or mitigation.

The build now has two versions - higher damage mana based version and higher survivability blood magic version. Both versions have better offensive and defensive stats then the 1.1 buid had.



Higher dps build - up to ~32k dps with Dual strike and Melee Splash with Hatred and Frenzy charges

- 73% block and spell block

- 6000+ life at higher levels

- 80% increased life recovery from flasks

- Iron Reflex

Higher survivability build - up to ~21k dps with Dual strike and Melee Splash with Hatred and Frenzy charges

- 75% block and spell block

- 40% dodge

- 30% spell dodge

- 6000+ life at higher levels

- 80% increased life recovery from flasks

Hybrid WoE Build - Work in Progress

I have a lvl 92 scion i'm probably going to use free respec at some point to try out the build.



Stats are:

~22k pure phys dps, guessing around 26k with Herald of Ash (dps depends on accuracy, no RT)

~35k+ dps if Discipline is Replaced with Hatred (but has ~1000 less ES)

~7000 combine ES+Life (2700Life, 4300ES)

-72% block/spellblock

-ability to swap PoE+HoA with PoL+PoF

~35k+ dps if Discipline is Replaced with Hatred (but has ~1000 less ES)

~80% chance to avoid being stunned (ES+Heart of Oak)



http://www.pathofexile.com/passive-skill-tree/AAAAAgABvryzP09WguSQEYqvSshuqrXy3-8o2x3KPycqTRUgIuJH4tCBpDks6d0NW68Y28GL26cJWFyw0_yBQTXvbbQ67asLcsPMBk4qtkE0k2Nw7-O-p25phNk7KAOWbj1gQ4MJRnHhiB2qtAzqug18kycc3A2NbAsi9G0ZEVA1uacr2VsbJUuu6QJ_xsHF7Bhwu9kTL2-P-vDVSVGVLgce0NDP6euOk_wuCEcG9vynNNvnX2rviPk3189JsTWS2L2mjXVOZfA0CjdmLKam6zeDV8nEuNX4o-_-j03jplcxng==



I'd probably drop helm or one of the rings for Alpha's Howl or Dream Fragments if it turns out Freeze is an issue.

Chaos damage would probably be a problem with the build as it's using melee damage on full life.

I'd also need to buy Rings, Helm and Gloves to try out the build (my current ES gear has no accuracy). I'm currenty working on a scion hybrid version of the build and its looking pretty good so far.I have a lvl 92 scion i'm probably going to use free respec at some point to try out the build.Stats are:~22k pure phys dps, guessing around 26k with Herald of Ash (dps depends on accuracy, no RT)~35k+ dps if Discipline is Replaced with Hatred (but has ~1000 less ES)~7000 combine ES+Life (2700Life, 4300ES)-72% block/spellblock-ability to swap PoE+HoA with PoL+PoF~35k+ dps if Discipline is Replaced with Hatred (but has ~1000 less ES)~80% chance to avoid being stunned (ES+Heart of Oak)I'd probably drop helm or one of the rings for Alpha's Howl or Dream Fragments if it turns out Freeze is an issue.Chaos damage would probably be a problem with the build as it's using melee damage on full life.I'd also need to buy Rings, Helm and Gloves to try out the build (my current ES gear has no accuracy).



Pros

- relatively cheap (its possible to make it work with less then 5ex even on Standard league)

- do not need any 6L items

- 73% to 75% block and spellblcok

- 80/75/79 elemental resistances

- reflect is not a problem (even multiple levels of reflect are perfectly ok)

- due to good physical damage, you dont need a lot of life leech to reach leech rate cap

- due to increased life recovery from flasks passive nodes, can recover almost 1800hp with divine instant recovery flasks

- able to do all maps and all bosses, from lvl 66 to 79 maps, including normal Atziri and uber double vaal and uber triboss



Cons

- low damage (even higher dps mana based version of the build has low damgage compared to crit builds)

- needs blood rage for life leech if you cant find LL on gloves and both rings while still capping resistances

- no regen maps are somewhat difficult to run with Blood Rage and require higher usage of life flasks



Note: This used to be a cheap build, but The Bringer of Rain was bumped to 'rare unique tier' in 1.2.0 patch which drastically increased it's price (costs up to 10ex in the beginning of the league). The build is still one of the cheapest endgame viable builds for both SC and HC leagues. It's also possible to reach very high level and play endgame without BoR, check 'Q&A' section of the guide to see an example of gear used by Beyond (HC) player who reached lvl 89 without BoR.









Atziri speed run

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



Olmec's Sanctum full map run

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fg0hj1QeNvE



Death and Taxes full map run

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mvPhZ0GDvxk



Atziri video with commentary and a bit of Cleave testing

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0moztOf1SNU



Mana based version video

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W5KcxYy8Cww



Shrine Piety

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b-lL6HjQlzE



Academy Double Boss

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fl-lHXRalzs



Crematorium Megaera

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9XEqOoKYqOU



Precinct Spinecrack

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4RW02I0UDxM



Old 1.1 videos

Double Vaal -

Triboss -

Atziri -

Shrine Piety -

Dominus Palace -

Dominus Merciless - Double Vaal - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KB5KIWgpRcE Triboss - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SLX_E-r21lA Atziri - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8eCVRu_e9RY Shrine Piety - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zHmP7K5BeZw Dominus Palace - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uYXi6rUxyzo Dominus Merciless - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3wbjykcUC3M











I play with legacy Bringer of Rain, but non-legacy version was used for defensive and offensive stats screenshots. Stats in the spoilers are for higher survivability version of the build.

Defensive Stats

Offensive Stats with Hatred and Frenzy Charges

Old 1.1 Stats















Level 92 higher survivability skill tree http://www.pathofexile.com/passive-skill-tree/AAAAAgQBAnEDhwSzBbUJWAxfFE0UUhUgFm8Y2xo4G60cpx3KIuIj9iSqJ-0o2ypNLOkwcTB8MZ4yiTSTNZI17zbpOkI64TrtPC0_J0d-R-JKfUrIS3hNkk3jTipRR1OlVvpX4lnzW69csGNwZU1mnmegbBZttG5pbqpwcnKpfNl9dYFBhNmHGYd2jX2Nv5AKkFWZK6IAo4qkOaZXp4SpaKyqtfK2Qbc-vYG-p8AawYvE9sau0IHTftP81CPYvdun3Q3dqN3n3-_jauw47g7veu_j8kX60vxL_MX-Cv6P_ro=

Level 92 mana skill tree (higher dps skill tree) http://www.pathofexile.com/passive-skill-tree/AAAAAgQBmSu9gUd-FFJlTYTZbmm-p-_jY3A0k7ZBTioppVuvGNvBi9unCVhcsNP8gUE17220Ou3dDfzFZ6CHdkp9VvruDqOK73rTfn11_rpwcgOHG60j9k2SkAos6aaNdU5l8BUgIuJH4tCBpDkqTT8nSshuqrXy3-8o2x3KNZLYvf4K8kU64aZXMZ63PohaoEJewMauHKcMX1OlPC3E9ift_EtsFocZrKpyqXzZWfPAGpBVp4QaOOw4V-IyiQSzAnEUTaIAqWhmnvrSNunjaiSqFm8XL2TnVdaApE3j_o8=

Players interested in mana based version should check skill gem setup for information about mana skill cost and gear needed to sustain attacks.





Normal - Oak

Cruel - Kraityn

Merciless - Oak











What gear is essential for the build to work?



Wings of entropy - adds 10% block chance while dual wielding and adds 25% block chance applied to spells.





The Bringer of Rain - adds 15% block chance. 10% chance to gain endurance charge on block grants you a lot of endurance charges even without Cast when damage taken + Enduring cry.

It helps a lot but its possible to play without one. Check 'Q & A' section of the guide to see an example of gear without Bringer





Stone of Lazhwar - 50% block chance applied to spells. It also gives you intelligence, which you need for auras and faster cast speed which is very usefull for castin immortal call.





Rainbowstride - 20-25% block chance apllied to spell. With WoE, Lazhwar and these boots you have 95-100% block chance applied to spells.



Other gear you need?

Anything that helps you cap your elemental resistances and, if possible, get you some chaos resistance so you can outregen Blood Rage degen.

Belt with block and stun recovery and reduced flask charges used, similar to this one:



Block and stun recovery on belt is more useful in this build then ipd on rustic sash as the build does not have Unwavering Stance and theres no block recovery nodes for dual wield block in the tree.

Reduced flask charges helps you get more uses out of the same flask. For instance, if you roll 20extra charges on ruby flask, and have 14% or more reduced flask charges used on an item, you can use that Ruby flask 3 times instead of just 2. It also allows you to use Hallowed life flasks 6 instead of 5 times if you have 20extra charges on it.



Gear i'm using

Gear used on Standard

Gear used to kill Atziri on day 4 of 1 Month SC league at lvl 82





Gear:

Gear:

Old Gear used on Ambush











BoR (4L) - not much to say here.

Dual Strike + Melee splash + Multistrike + Blood magic < blood magic version

Dual Strike + Melee splash + Multistrike + Added fire < mana version

Cleave + Multistrike + Added fire + Increased AoE/Conc Effect - works with both build versions as long as you have enough mana unreserved and 2% mana leech



WoE (4L + 2L) - 4 Socket WoE is a minimum you need (if you plan on using selfcast EC), 6S is perfect, because two skills are in it, Leap slam and Enduring Cry so you need a minimum of 4L setup in it, or 4L+2L if you have 6S woe.

4L - Leap slam + Faster attacks + Enduring cry + Blood magic

3L/4L - Leap slam + Faster attacks + Blood magic (+ Culling strike)

2L - Cast when damage taken (lvl4) + Enduring cry or Blood magic + Enduring cry



Gloves and Boots

4L - Immortal Call + Increased duration + Blood rage + Blood Magic

4L - Reduced mana + Purity of Fire + Purity of Lightning + Grace/Hatred/Purity of ice

Build can switch auras, Grace for more defense and Hatred for more damage.



Modified skill gem setup

" cavantese

- WoE - 4L(immortal call + vaal haste + blood rage + increased duration) - 2L(leap slam + faster attacks)

- cwdt (1) + enduring cry (5) + enfeeble (5) + increased aoe

- hatred + purity of elements/lightning + herald of ash/purity of fire + reduced mana I'm using slightly different gem setup (modified mana version):- WoE - 4L(immortal call + vaal haste + blood rage + increased duration) - 2L(leap slam + faster attacks)- cwdt (1) + enduring cry (5) + enfeeble (5) + increased aoe- hatred + purity of elements/lightning + herald of ash/purity of fire + reduced mana

cavantese is using a different skill gem setup which i like a lot as it has both Enfeeble and Vaal haste. Downside is he had to drop Culling Strike and doesn't have an option to add CwDT, but i dont think either of the downsides is a big problem and it ofers a boost to map clear speed. If you're looking for more dps i suggest you try this gem setup. You can also swap Enfeeble with Vulnerability if you want more damage.



Aura setup

In my opinion, it's best to use Hatred + Purity of Lightning (PoL) + Purity of Fire (PoF). However, lower and mid level maps, especially if you're overleveled, can be run without PoF and PoL. If you have enough resistances on your gear to reach cap on fire and lightning resistance with Purity of Elements (PoE), you can switch PoF and PoL with Herald of Ash and PoE.

So there are two basic aura setups you can switch between:

Higher max resistances: Hatred + Purity of Lightning + Purity of Fire

Higher dps: Hatred + Herald of Ash + Purity of Elements



Cleave

I do not have a 20/20 Cleave to show exact dps with it, but my tests with lvl 16 Cleave made me believe that 20/20 Cleave would be a good replacement for Melee Splash gem.

There is also an option of completely dropping Dual Strike and using Cleave both as single target and aoe attack.



4L Bringer of Rain setup for blood magic version of the build would be:

Cleave + Multistrike + Added Fire + Blood magic

Note that if you're using Hatred, Purity of Elements and Herald of Ash, as long as you have 2% mana leech and enough mana for high leech rate cap, you can run this setup on mana even in tankier version.

Thx to Symeon_Stareyes for pointing that out " Symeon_Stareyes



Gear:

Spoiler



Health: 5438

Mana: 640

DPS(Concentrated Effect):38,570 I've been using this build for running Atziri and just wanted to let people know it's possible to follow the Blood magic tree with phase acrobatics and still run cleave off mana with the right aura setup. Using Hatred+Purity of Elements+Herald of Ash and a 2% mana leech ring you can get ~40k DPS with concentrated effect. You can also run Immortal Call and Enduring Cry off cast when damage taken as opposed to self-casting and run Atziri without dying.Gear:Health: 5438Mana: 640DPS(Concentrated Effect):38,570

4L Bringer of Rain setup for mana version of the build would be:

Cleave + Multistrike + Added Fire + Increased Area of Eeffect / Concentrated Effect

In this version i would recommend using Increased Area of effect for faster map clear speed and switching to Concentrated effect for difficult bosses.



Blood Rage

This the reason why build has so many life regeneration points and the reason why you want as much chaos resistances on gear and skill tree as possible. With -15% chaos resistance and 4.8% life regen, its possible to completely outregenerate blood rage degeneration on normal maps and have only slight degeneration on half regen and shocking ground maps.

While in ideal case scenario, player with perfect gear does not need blood rage for leech at all, gear with stats good enough to support the build using no resistance helm, chest and amulet would be possibly even mirror worthy.

I find it a lot easier supporting this skill with a few extra skill points on the tree that also benefit me in other ways, then acquiring a couple hundreds of exalted orbs for perfect rings and gloves.

Leveling note: while leveling, supporting blood rage is not easy so its better to use life leech amulet instead of stone of lazhwar. I usually level with Carnage Heart, but any 4%+ life leech amulet is ok. I switch Carnage Heart with Stone of Lazhwar once i hit level 70-71 maps or once i get enough life regen, whichever happens first.

Alternatively, you can use Warlords Mark for leveling, but be aware that rare and unique monsters have reduced curse effectiveness on them, so cursing for example Piety with Warlod's Mark level 20 will mean you only get around 2% life leech instead of 6.9%.



Supporting mana cost of the skills

Mana based version of the build requires 2% mana leeched from physical attacks on one of the rings or gloves. Another requirement is high total mana pool, 750 or more mana in total and at least 80 unreserved mana. Mana leech rate cap is 12.5% of total mana so with 750 mana player can leech around ~90 mana per sec and, with mana regeneration, that is usually enough to support attacks. If attacks are not continuous and character reverts to normal attacks every once in a while, it is advised to take more 'increased maximum mana' nodes or 'reduced mana cost of skills' nodes to be able to support skills using mana.









Did new 1.2.0 skill tree buff the build?

Yes, and it buffed it a lot!

New skill tree brings a huge increase in life and block which as a result has build with higher survivability and greatly increased damage.



Is Bringer of Rain absolutely mandatory?

No, check the post written by Fujira who has a BoR, but decided not to use it as he feels build is tanker and has more dps with rare chest and helm:

Spoiler " Fujira



I managed to buy BoR finally but after trying it and losing 8k out of 19k dps and 500 hp I decided that I will try this build without BoR and stay at my 57/61 block/spellblock.



Have 5500 hp currently and 42% reduction with grace, running grace/hatred but will switch to grace/determination at the same time as I change my 6L to added fire instead of life leech and going to run blood rage constantly. Im at 18 positive chaos res so I was waiting for this to do the swap in my build. Point is that I will be hit a bit more than with BoR but with my Hp pool and reduction should still be fine.



I will link my gear below:







I am now lvl 89 in beyond league



I am running the exact build of the mana based tree that is posted so no difference there, only the 6L and the helm/body armour are different.



The _only_ sketchy bosses so far are Dominus on 74/78 that I wont solo on beyond and the beyond boss which shoots fire-lasers and can oneshot you. All the other bosses and exiles I solo with ease. So a bit of an update to those who are interested in a variation of this build, its not very viable of course cause I got really lucky with a 6L WoE.I managed to buy BoR finally but after trying it and losing 8k out of 19k dps and 500 hp I decided that I will try this build without BoR and stay at my 57/61 block/spellblock.Have 5500 hp currently and 42% reduction with grace, running grace/hatred but will switch to grace/determination at the same time as I change my 6L to added fire instead of life leech and going to run blood rage constantly. Im at 18 positive chaos res so I was waiting for this to do the swap in my build. Point is that I will be hit a bit more than with BoR but with my Hp pool and reduction should still be fine.I will link my gear below:I am now lvl 89 in beyond leagueI am running the exact build of the mana based tree that is posted so no difference there, only the 6L and the helm/body armour are different.The _only_ sketchy bosses so far are Dominus on 74/78 that I wont solo on beyond and the beyond boss which shoots fire-lasers and can oneshot you. All the other bosses and exiles I solo with ease.

Can you use a different class for this build?

Duelist is the best class for this build. Scion has to waste 4 and Ranger 5 points to complete the build. Ranger is slightly better then scion because it can start the build with life and evasion nodes, but both classes need to drop Profane Chemistry cluster which is a loss of 60% increased life recover from flasks. That is a very big disadvantage and i do not recommend starting the build with anything other then Duelist.



Does the build have problems with reflect?

No, reflect is a non issue with this build.

If you need proof, check Atziri run with commentary in video section, there you can see the build hitting mirror Atziri and completely and easily outleeching the damage.

Only times when people have problems with reflect when playing WoE+BoR build is if they're not following carefully planned and thoroughly tested skill tree and skill gem setup posted in this guide.

I can't stress this enough. Reflect is a non-issue. If you're having problems with reflect, check your skill tree and gem setup, if either is not the same as i've posted and you've made some 'adjustments', don't come whining about reflect being an issue.



Why not take Ondar's Guile? Its only 2 points away

While Ondar's Guile is very useful in some builds, its not as good in this one. I've tested it and i don't think its necessary because Evasion, Dodge and Block already prevent so much attack damage that whatever goes trough can be outleeched/outregenerated. Also, once in melee range, blind in Bringer double's evasion chance.

It takes 2 points to get to Ondar's which is better spent on more life since that helps with all damage, not just _ranged attacks_. But since its only 2 points, you can test it out and make a call about it yourself.



Can i/should i use molten strike?

You should use whatever skill you like playing, but using skills other then Dual Strike/Cleave means you'll have to adjust the build for that skill.

Molten strike is a great skill, but problem is that less then 1/3 of tooltip damage is actual physical damage (assuming you're using hatred). That means it requires a lot higher life leech then Dual Strike and Cleave if you want to hit leech rate cap. One of the reason why this build has high survivability is because its very sustainable and damage that does get trough defenses is easily outleeched. With less leech, you'll depend on flasks more then you would with physical attacks.

If you have currency for it, its always a good idea to buy fire version of Doryani Invitation belt if you plan on using Molten strike. Corrupting Wings of Entropy and Stone of Lazhwar can give you another 2% of fire damage leeched as life. All of those options are expensive (and corrupted lazhwar means you're losing intelligence it provides too), so its a good idea to first get those items before you make the switch to molten strike.



Why don't you take resistance or attribute nodes on the skill tree?

This is an item progression game, ideally you want to take as many damage and life nodes on the tree and get resistances/attributes/evasion/armour from gear you're using. It's ok to take some of those nodes while leveling, but once you reach endgame and it takes a while until you reach that next level and get another point, its better to upgrade your gear so you can use precious points on better nodes.



I have a 6L Wings of Entropy, is that good for this build?

It's not very useful, but if you have one, you can add both 'Cast when Damage Taken' setups to a single setup and add a curse (defensive would be Enfeeble and offensive Vulnerability). So the gem setup can look like this:

CoDT/BM + EC + IC + Increased duration + Blood Rage + Enfeeble/Vulnerability



Will you write a leveling guide?

I plan on writing a proper leveling guide sometime in the future, but i don't have time to do it atm. I wrote some levling tips that can help you a bit if you're new to the game:

Spoiler " ogrec



Leveling skills i'd be using in new league are dual strike and cleave (which is buffed now)



Leveling should look something like this imo:

Duelist start >



DW block, damage and life >



More damage, block and life >



Resolute Technique and more damage >



Sovereignty >

Here i'd also take axe/sword/mace nodes, depending what i'm leveling with, but preferably axe nodes (Fell the weak)

After that its time to head into ranger area.



In terms of items, first thing build needs is Wings of Entropy and enough chaos can be farmed in fellshrine, city of sarn and docks for Wings. With wings its pretty easy to rush trough act 3 and start farming piety for enough currency to get Bringer of Rain and also build up 66 map pool (since piety drops decent amount of maps). If leech cant be obtained on the gear, its also a good option investing some currency in carnage heart which can be used instead or lazhwar and rainbowstrides in lower level maps (66-69). After starting lvl 70maps, usually around level 75+ depending on map drops, its time to start looking for rings, gloves and belt that would allow switching to rainbows, lazhwar and blood rage. In SC leagues i used to level with 2H weapon and molten strike + blood magic on tree till i had enough money to buy WoE, but new skill tree doesn't go anywhere near bm anymore. I used to level with dual wield in hc leagues, which was slower, but shouldn't be anymore with so many new dual wield points.Leveling skills i'd be using in new league are dual strike and cleave (which is buffed now)Leveling should look something like this imo:Duelist start > https://poebuilder.com/character/AAAAAgQAZU0UUkd-vYGZK4TZ1fjEuG5pvqfv4zSTY3Cbg1PfWNs=

DW block, damage and life > https://poebuilder.com/character/AAAAAgQAZU0UUkd-vYGZK4TZ1fjEuG5pvqfv4zSTY3Cbg1PfWNtbr04qtkEJWNunwYsY29P8XLBKfYd2Z6D8xd0N More damage, block and life > https://poebuilder.com/character/AAAAAgQAZU0UUkd-vYGZK4TZ1fjEuG5pvqfv4zSTY3Cbg1PfWNtbr04qtkEJWNunwYsY29P8XLBKfYd2Z6D8xd0N2L01krXybqpKyD8nKk0VICzpHcoo29_v Resolute Technique and more damage > https://poebuilder.com/character/AAAAAgQAZU0UUkd-vYGZK4TZ1fjEuG5pvqfv4zSTY3Cbg1PfWNtbr04qtkEJWNunwYsY29P8XLBKfYd2Z6D8xd0N2L01krXybqpKyD8nKk0VICzpHcoo29_vfNlyqayqJ-3E9jwtxq63Pv4KOu1ttDXvgUE= Sovereignty > https://poebuilder.com/character/AAAAAgQAZU0UUkd-vYGZK4TZ1fjEuG5pvqfv4zSTY3Cbg1PfWNtbr04qtkEJWNunwYsY29P8XLBKfYd2Z6D8xd0N2L01krXybqpKyD8nKk0VICzpHcoo29_vfNlyqayqJ-3E9jwtxq63Pv4KOu1ttDXvgUEaOKeEkFXAGlnzgKQXL_rSZp5k51XW42o26Q== Here i'd also take axe/sword/mace nodes, depending what i'm leveling with, but preferably axe nodes (Fell the weak)After that its time to head into ranger area.In terms of items, first thing build needs is Wings of Entropy and enough chaos can be farmed in fellshrine, city of sarn and docks for Wings. With wings its pretty easy to rush trough act 3 and start farming piety for enough currency to get Bringer of Rain and also build up 66 map pool (since piety drops decent amount of maps). If leech cant be obtained on the gear, its also a good option investing some currency in carnage heart which can be used instead or lazhwar and rainbowstrides in lower level maps (66-69). After starting lvl 70maps, usually around level 75+ depending on map drops, its time to start looking for rings, gloves and belt that would allow switching to rainbows, lazhwar and blood rage.



Last update: 4/december/2014This is a high mitigation dual wielding buid which can easily do endgame content like maps and Apex of Sacrifice.This is not a high dps build and cannot compete with clear speed of crit builds. If you like one-shooting monsters, you will not enjoy playing this build.In 1.1 version of the game, build used to have Iron Reflex, 68% block and spellblock, around 5500hp around level 90 and close to 20k dps.In 1.2 version of the game the buid has been substantially improved due to introduction of easily accessible dual wiled block nodes. It's now possible to get more block with less 'traveling' on the skill tree which means more nodes can be spent on damage or mitigation.The build now has two versions - higher damage mana based version and higher survivability blood magic version. Both versions have better offensive and defensive stats then the 1.1 buid had.- relatively cheap (its possible to make it work with less then 5ex even on Standard league)- do not need any 6L items- 73% to 75% block and spellblcok- 80/75/79 elemental resistances- reflect is not a problem (even multiple levels of reflect are perfectly ok)- due to good physical damage, you dont need a lot of life leech to reach leech rate cap- due to increased life recovery from flasks passive nodes, can recover almost 1800hp with divine instant recovery flasks- able to do all maps and all bosses, from lvl 66 to 79 maps, including normal Atziri and uber double vaal and uber triboss- low damage (even higher dps mana based version of the build has low damgage compared to crit builds)- needs blood rage for life leech if you cant find LL on gloves and both rings while still capping resistances- no regen maps are somewhat difficult to run with Blood Rage and require higher usage of life flasksNote: This used to be a cheap build, but The Bringer of Rain was bumped to 'rare unique tier' in 1.2.0 patch which drastically increased it's price (costs up to 10ex in the beginning of the league). The build is still one of the cheapest endgame viable builds for both SC and HC leagues. It's also possible to reach very high level and play endgame without BoR, check 'Q&A' section of the guide to see an example of gear used by Beyond (HC) player who reached lvl 89 without BoR.I play with legacy Bringer of Rain, but non-legacy version was used for defensive and offensive stats screenshots. Stats in the spoilers are for higher survivability version of the build.Stats for mana based version of the build are shown in this video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W5KcxYy8Cww Players interested in mana based version should check skill gem setup for information about mana skill cost and gear needed to sustain attacks.Normal - OakCruel - KraitynMerciless - OakWings of entropy - adds 10% block chance while dual wielding and adds 25% block chance applied to spells.The Bringer of Rain - adds 15% block chance. 10% chance to gain endurance charge on block grants you a lot of endurance charges even without Cast when damage taken + Enduring cry.It helps a lot but its possible to play without one. Check 'Q & A' section of the guide to see an example of gear without BringerStone of Lazhwar - 50% block chance applied to spells. It also gives you intelligence, which you need for auras and faster cast speed which is very usefull for castin immortal call.Rainbowstride - 20-25% block chance apllied to spell. With WoE, Lazhwar and these boots you have 95-100% block chance applied to spells.Anything that helps you cap your elemental resistances and, if possible, get you some chaos resistance so you can outregen Blood Rage degen.Belt with block and stun recovery and reduced flask charges used, similar to this one:Block and stun recovery on belt is more useful in this build then ipd on rustic sash as the build does not have Unwavering Stance and theres no block recovery nodes for dual wield block in the tree.Reduced flask charges helps you get more uses out of the same flask. For instance, if you roll 20extra charges on ruby flask, and have 14% or more reduced flask charges used on an item, you can use that Ruby flask 3 times instead of just 2. It also allows you to use Hallowed life flasks 6 instead of 5 times if you have 20extra charges on it.BoR (4L) - not much to say here.Dual Strike + Melee splash + Multistrike + Blood magic < blood magic versionDual Strike + Melee splash + Multistrike + Added fire < mana versionCleave + Multistrike + Added fire + Increased AoE/Conc Effect - works with both build versions as long as you have enough mana unreserved and 2% mana leechWoE (4L + 2L) - 4 Socket WoE is a minimum you need (if you plan on using selfcast EC), 6S is perfect, because two skills are in it, Leap slam and Enduring Cry so you need a minimum of 4L setup in it, or 4L+2L if you have 6S woe.4L - Leap slam + Faster attacks + Enduring cry + Blood magic3L/4L - Leap slam + Faster attacks + Blood magic (+ Culling strike)2L - Cast when damage taken (lvl4) + Enduring cryBlood magic + Enduring cryGloves and Boots4L - Immortal Call + Increased duration + Blood rage + Blood Magic4L - Reduced mana + Purity of Fire + Purity of Lightning + Grace/Hatred/Purity of iceBuild can switch auras, Grace for more defense and Hatred for more damage.is using a different skill gem setup which i like a lot as it has both Enfeeble and Vaal haste. Downside is he had to drop Culling Strike and doesn't have an option to add CwDT, but i dont think either of the downsides is a big problem and it ofers a boost to map clear speed. If you're looking for more dps i suggest you try this gem setup. You can also swap Enfeeble with Vulnerability if you want more damage.In my opinion, it's best to use Hatred + Purity of Lightning (PoL) + Purity of Fire (PoF). However, lower and mid level maps, especially if you're overleveled, can be run without PoF and PoL. If you have enough resistances on your gear to reach cap on fire and lightning resistance with Purity of Elements (PoE), you can switch PoF and PoL with Herald of Ash and PoE.So there are two basic aura setups you can switch between:I do not have a 20/20 Cleave to show exact dps with it, but my tests with lvl 16 Cleave made me believe that 20/20 Cleave would be a good replacement for Melee Splash gem.There is also an option of completely dropping Dual Strike and using Cleave both as single target and aoe attack.4L Bringer of Rain setup for blood magic version of the build would be:Cleave + Multistrike + Added Fire + Blood magicNote that if you're using Hatred, Purity of Elements and Herald of Ash, as long as you have 2% mana leech and enough mana for high leech rate cap, you can run this setup on mana even in tankier version.4L Bringer of Rain setup for mana version of the build would be:Cleave + Multistrike + Added Fire + Increased Area of Eeffect / Concentrated EffectIn this version i would recommend using Increased Area of effect for faster map clear speed and switching to Concentrated effect for difficult bosses.This the reason why build has so many life regeneration points and the reason why you want as much chaos resistances on gear and skill tree as possible. With -15% chaos resistance and 4.8% life regen, its possible to completely outregenerate blood rage degeneration on normal maps and have only slight degeneration on half regen and shocking ground maps.While in ideal case scenario, player with perfect gear does not need blood rage for leech at all, gear with stats good enough to support the build using no resistance helm, chest and amulet would be possibly even mirror worthy.I find it a lot easier supporting this skill with a few extra skill points on the tree that also benefit me in other ways, then acquiring a couple hundreds of exalted orbs for perfect rings and gloves.while leveling, supporting blood rage is not easy so its better to use life leech amulet instead of stone of lazhwar. I usually level with Carnage Heart, but any 4%+ life leech amulet is ok. I switch Carnage Heart with Stone of Lazhwar once i hit level 70-71 maps or once i get enough life regen, whichever happens first.Alternatively, you can use Warlords Mark for leveling, but be aware that rare and unique monsters have reduced curse effectiveness on them, so cursing for example Piety with Warlod's Mark level 20 will mean you only get around 2% life leech instead of 6.9%.Mana based version of the build requireson one of the rings or gloves. Another requirement is high total mana pool, 750 or more mana in total and at least 80 unreserved mana. Mana leech rate cap is 12.5% of total mana so with 750 mana player can leech around ~90 mana per sec and, with mana regeneration, that is usually enough to support attacks. If attacks are not continuous and character reverts to normal attacks every once in a while, it is advised to take more 'increased maximum mana' nodes or 'reduced mana cost of skills' nodes to be able to support skills using mana.Yes, and it buffed it a lot!New skill tree brings a huge increase in life and block which as a result has build with higher survivability and greatly increased damage.No, check the post written by Fujira who has a BoR, but decided not to use it as he feels build is tanker and has more dps with rare chest and helm:Duelist is the best class for this build. Scion has to waste 4 and Ranger 5 points to complete the build. Ranger is slightly better then scion because it can start the build with life and evasion nodes, but both classes need to drop Profane Chemistry cluster which is a loss of 60% increased life recover from flasks. That is a very big disadvantage and i do not recommend starting the build with anything other then Duelist.No, reflect is a non issue with this build.If you need proof, check Atziri run with commentary in video section, there you can see the build hitting mirror Atziri and completely and easily outleeching the damage.Only times when people have problems with reflect when playing WoE+BoR build is if they're not following carefully planned and thoroughly tested skill tree and skill gem setup posted in this guide.If you're having problems with reflect, check your skill tree and gem setup, if either is not the same as i've posted and you've made some 'adjustments', don't come whining about reflect being an issue.While Ondar's Guile is very useful in some builds, its not as good in this one. I've tested it and i don't think its necessary because Evasion, Dodge and Block already prevent so much attack damage that whatever goes trough can be outleeched/outregenerated. Also, once in melee range, blind in Bringer double's evasion chance.It takes 2 points to get to Ondar's which is better spent on more life since that helps with all damage, not just _ranged attacks_. But since its only 2 points, you can test it out and make a call about it yourself.You should use whatever skill you like playing, but using skills other then Dual Strike/Cleave means you'll have to adjust the build for that skill.Molten strike is a great skill, but problem is that less then 1/3 of tooltip damage is actual physical damage (assuming you're using hatred). That means it requires a lot higher life leech then Dual Strike and Cleave if you want to hit leech rate cap. One of the reason why this build has high survivability is because its very sustainable and damage that does get trough defenses is easily outleeched. With less leech, you'll depend on flasks more then you would with physical attacks.If you have currency for it, its always a good idea to buy fire version of Doryani Invitation belt if you plan on using Molten strike. Corrupting Wings of Entropy and Stone of Lazhwar can give you another 2% of fire damage leeched as life. All of those options are expensive (and corrupted lazhwar means you're losing intelligence it provides too), so its a good idea to first get those items before you make the switch to molten strike.This is an item progression game, ideally you want to take as many damage and life nodes on the tree and get resistances/attributes/evasion/armour from gear you're using. It's ok to take some of those nodes while leveling, but once you reach endgame and it takes a while until you reach that next level and get another point, its better to upgrade your gear so you can use precious points on better nodes.It's not very useful, but if you have one, you can add both 'Cast when Damage Taken' setups to a single setup and add a curse (defensive would be Enfeeble and offensive Vulnerability). So the gem setup can look like this:CoDT/BM + EC + IC + Increased duration + Blood Rage + Enfeeble/VulnerabilityI plan on writing a proper leveling guide sometime in the future, but i don't have time to do it atm. I wrote some levling tips that can help you a bit if you're new to the game: Last edited by ogrec on Dec 10, 2014, 2:36:24 PM