PoE: Ark's New Standard Build: Duelist, 2H Sword Crit Cyclone

NOTE: The original build idea for this came from Hegemony. I only fleshed it out. You can find him at http://www.twitch.tv/hegemonytv/



After a disaster trying to roll GGBBR on a 5L Belly of the Beast, I got stuck at GGBRR. Thus, I decided to go with it. I'll be playing a 2H Crit Cyclone. Here's the gist of the build.


Class:

Duelist

This is a melee build, and the Duelist is the best choice for it. The Duelist's start is nonpareil for a Crit Cyclone build, with notables like Master of the Arena and Mana Flows. Additionally, his central position allows us access to powerful damage circles on both the left and right sides of the tree, as well as Endurance Charges.


Offensive Strategy:
Cyclone (linked to Melee Physical, Added Fire, Faster Attacks, Increased Critical Damage)

Defensive Strategy:
7x Endurance Charges / Immortal Call / Vaal Immortal Call

Sustain Strategy:
Permanent Mana Leech on Rings, supplemented by Revelry's mana on hit. Lust for Carnage supplemented by Life Leech on Rings helps us keep our life up.


Tree:
http://poeurl.com/y1NWCTQ

http://www.pathofexile.com/passive-skill-tree/AAAAAgQAmSubLb2BR34UUmVNhNluaamUxLi-p5Bs1fiHamEhhO8S4XTteu9gSwUtQKAhYO9OdPFhUhjbhmAbquSxW686UojtQ-fA890N4JUOPG1KOd189ZAK_MWfghRxgTqKIlb6Z6BW6KcwwKZ314d2ns0UIHSgSn3SIVBHBqJYdVcNGJEX3AYgkc7ZYalzGS45DiftNrr8S6yq8pxsFlnzM4fyWm6XhxnAGh2-r6L3vhb5kFUD7hDwiDinhBK8nYoaOOw4Otgt0g==

Damage on tree is pretty heavy, but life is pretty low (Belly of the Beast helps here). This means that Ele Spike damage is unfortunately a pretty big concern.

Optional tree alterations include Heartseeker circle or Templar Life nodes, giving up some damage for either. I would give up damage for life if I were to do this in Hardcore. As it stands, this is a Softcore tree that will make you RIP in Hardcore.


Bandits:
Oak/Oak/Oak

This is self-explanatory.


Auras:
Hatred/Herald of Ash

We don't need to run Grace because we're going to be relying on Permacall. Additionally, our mana reservation % is sorta low, which allows us a buffer in case our Duelist misses.


Gearing:
I'm going to start out with pretty weak gear, which includes only a 380 pDPS sword. Once I get around 4 exa together, I'll be able to get a 470+ or 500+ pDPS sword (provided the sellers show up lol. But one of them should).

Abyssus is mandatory for this build. It doesn't have to be rolled well though, I bought a shitty rolled one for 5c.

Try to get a 5-link on your chest, but you don't really need a 6L.


Curse:
Assassin's Mark, Temporal Chains, or Enfeeble are all great choices. Warlord's Mark can be useful as a crutch if your leech is not up to par.


Variations:
You can run this build as a Scion if you want to get the Exceptional Performance circle as well as increased AoE nodes. However, your damage will suffer and you likely will not be able to get all the Endurance Charges.

PoE: Outline of Upcoming Ark's Builds

While I do have an unfortunate habit of quitting the things in my life, I won't be extending that to this mini project. I've been thinking of builds to use for the Ark's Starter Builds Project. To qualify, a build needs the following characteristics:

1) Cheap
So nothing requiring a 6L Shavs.

2) Easy for Newbies to Understand
I don't want something that has too many strange mechanical interactions that only a veteran would get.

3) Proven to Work
Path of Theorycraft is fun, but there won't be any theory here. All the builds I post will either be vetted by myself, or adapted from builds of more experienced players and famous streamers.

4) Emblematic of their Class
For example, the Duelist can do an excellent job as an Avatar of Fire/Infernal Blow build, or a Maul-wielding Groundslammer. But when you think of the Duelist, do you really think of a tough, beefy beast of a man who uses magical weaponry to throw fire everywhere? Of course not. You think of a character light on his feet and fast with his blade(s), a "Combat Rogue" in World of Warcraft parlance. And that's what I hoped to recreate with my Duelist build. I will give a representative build to every class.


So without further ado, let's get started on my plans and ideas. This is mostly a brainstorm list, I will narrow it down to one (or two) builds per class later.


1) Duelist
Already Completed


2) Marauder
2H Mace Groundslammer.
Rationale: This has been the textbook beginner Marauder build since I started playing this game in Beta. Marauder is pretty much synonymous with "Groundslammer" at this point.


3) Templar
Flameblast (Life)
Rationale: Flameblast is a pretty popular Templar build

Searing Bond
Rationale: Ditto

Glacial Hammer
Rationale: Captures the feel of being a "Battlemage," which, as a Str/Int Hybrid, is what the Templar essentially is.

Ele Cleave
Rationale: Easy to play, cheap, and the elemental damage on weapons thing fits perfectly with the Templar's class description

Sovyn's Lazy Pally
Rationale: Cheap and Fun, and I like it :)


4) Witch
Summoner (Life)
Rationale: The Witch is associated with being a master necromancer, and this build is cheap. But it is difficult for newbies to level with, and I've seen several newbie Summoners get frustrated with Norm Merveil.

Fire Trap (Life)
Rationale: Cheap, fits well with the idea of the Witch as a caster, and is a fun and unique playstyle :)

Freezing Pulse (Life)
Rationale: Another good option for players who like the idea of being a literal ice queen that freeze-locks everything.


5) Shadow
Ethereal Knives/Bear Trap (Life)
Rationale: It fits the Shadow's start perfectly, and is a cheap starter build that newbies will have fun with.


6) Ranger
Tornado/Puncture
Rationale: Current FotM Build, easy and fun for newbies, and fits nicely with the theme of the Ranger as a bow-wielding huntress.


7) Scion
Elemental Spectral Throw
Rationale: Pretty much the definitive Scion build for months now, and Spectral Throw is the Scion's signature move.

PoE: Duelist vs. Marauder Comparison

Note: This comparison is accurate as of Patch 1.2.x. According to State of Exile 15, Grinding Gear Games intends to change up both the Marauder and Duelist starts in later patches (specifically making the Duelist more versatile), so we'll see what happens, I guess.

First, an introduction.


Marauder:

http://www.pathofexile.com/classes/marauder

This buff barbarian, the Marauder, is the Pure Strength class of Path of Exile. He uses his powerful muscles to wield mauls that will crush his enemies into submission.


Duelist:

http://www.pathofexile.com/classes/duelist

Tall, dark, and handsome, the Duelist is the Hybrid Strength/Dexterity class in Path of Exile. He is equally comfortable wielding a giant axe as he is thrusting with his rapier.



Analysis:

Honestly, the Duelist and Marauder are fairly similar classes, and are interchangeable in several builds.

That said, there are builds where one is near categorically superior to the other. Let's start with what the Marauder does better, then let's see if the Duelist can offer a rebuttal.

The Marauder's start (the one he typically takes) involves several life nodes that do not require him to commit to any attack or spell early on. Instead, he gets to tank up while retaining full efficiency no matter what he chooses to do.

In contrast, the Duelist's start is numerically stronger, but requires him to immediately commit to melee physical damage (unless he goes for a bow build and thus uses the other side). This means that the Duelist loses efficiency in builds involving projectile or spell damage.

Thus, the Marauder can do several builds that the Duelist has no hope of doing unless the Duelist player is a troll. Here are some examples:

Flame Totem - I don't need to say anything about this, the Duelist's start is very inefficient for this, and on top of that the Marauder is much closer to the good totem nodes.

Righteous Fire - It should be fairly obvious why the Marauder is better here - The Duelist's nodes are just worthless for this build.

Iron Will/Any Spell - Ditto.

Phys Spectral Throw - Unless the Duelist takes the path on the right (the squishier and arguably worse path) out, the Marauder is better at this because the Duelist's Melee Phys Damage does not apply here.

Molten Strike - It has both a Melee Damage and a Projectile Damage component. The Duelist cannot use both.


So what exactly can the Duelist do better, and why?

For melee builds, the Duelist's start is stronger than that of the Marauder. Notables like Master of the Arena, Acceleration, Dervish, Testudo, and Leather and Steel are all great choices, but the Duelist has one supremely underrated advantage over the Marauder: Mana Flows.

A Resolute Technique build will use mana leech to sustain its main attack. But even then, you cannot sustain it perfectly (because unless you get Vaal Pact, the leech is not instant. Also there's desync, enemies running away, etc). I've experimented with using and not using Mana Flows on my Reave Duelist, and it makes a massive difference in maintaining DPS uptime.

On a related note, Crit builds that want to sustain their attack with mana leech will enjoy Revelry in the Duelist's part of the tree, which gives mana on hit.

Speaking of which, the Duelist is in a place that lets him access Crit nodes on both the left side and right side of the tree, while the Marauder struggles to run across to the right side.

And of course, the Duelist is better for Dualwielding builds, and can much more easily get to Acrobatics/Phase Acrobatics/Ondar's Guile.

So the Duelist is better for melee builds and builds that want to employ Crit, Evasion, or Dualwielding.


What About Ground Slam?

2-handed Ground Slam is probably the most iconic Marauder build there is. Now I know that people will flame me for this, but I would argue that it's better as a Duelist. The reason is that until GGG buffs Blood Magic, it will be inferior to using mana leech to sustain attacks and running 2 auras. And because of Mana Flows, the Duelist can do this much more efficiently than the Marauder can. Acceleration is another powerful node that lets the Duelist get Dex more easily, as well as a crapton of Attack Speed.

Sure, the Marauder will be slightly tankier than the Duelist, so it's up to debate which one you prefer. But I would go with the Duelist here.


Conclusion:

While they have their similarities, the Duelist and the Marauder are different men. The Duelist is more of a one-trick pony, but he is an unrivaled master of melee weaponry. In contrast, the Marauder is a resilient, unyielding man who can go down a variety of build paths.

CK2: GoT Mod: Patch 0.8 Review

WARNING: The net is dark and full of spoilers. Read at your own risk.

Another day, another patch! This one's an interesting one, so let's see some of the more salient points.

As an aside, this means that my House Osgrey game is corrupted and finished, as it is incompatible with the new patch. I may post the funnier screens later.


- Added an event if Victarion goes to Dany in AFFC, Moqorro will offer conversion to R'hllor

Interesting bit of flavor I guess.


The Golden Company can invade Young Griff style anytime they have a commander/courtier of House Blackfyre with a claim on e_iron_throne

This is big. The Golden Company may only have 10,000 men. But if they invade a fractured Westeros fighting a brutal civil war, that could very well be enough to seize the Iron Throne.

That said, the Aegon's Invasion event doesn't always fire in GoT for me (for some reason). Bug, perhaps? I'll reintstall.


- Made take prisoner as wife decisions available for both men and women

So you can capture (and do horrible things) to your own personal Sansa Stark.


Night's Watch Revamp

I don't think this sounds like a "Revamp," but the Devs haven't told us everything they added. There's likely a lot of flavor to be had. I guess we'll have to play and see.


- Lords imprisoned by their liege can no longer ask for repayment on loans until they are released

The human player will abuse this to no end.


- Added some formable titular kingdoms for Essos
- Added titular kingdoms for the recently added high lordships in Westeros

Good addition for gameplay purposes I think.

Path of Exile: Ark's Starter Builds I - Duelist

So this is something I thought I would do for fun. The new Path of Exile patch is out, and while I haven't been playing much because of work, I have respecced my Reave Duelist, leveled him up, and made a cool crib (Hideout).

Anyways, here's the deal. Path of Exile is a fairly "hardcore" game, in that it requires a substantial knowledge base on the part of the player. But as of Forsaken Masters, it requires less time invested to grind for crazy gear, because you can just use the masters to craft the missing mod. And the changes to life on level/life multipliers mean that GGG made it easier to get by with less life on your gear, because you're getting less out of it (and more life intrinsically).

So it's a better time than ever for newbies to get into Path of Exile. To that end, I've decided to post a build for each of the classes, that is meant to be unique and emblematic of the class. I will be soliciting help from the PoE Subreddit IRC, as well as other resources.


We'll start with the Duelist.



I'll call this the "Spartacus" Build, as it's a Dualwield Evasion fighter. I consider it representative of what it means to be a Duelist because a Duelist is a Strength/Dexterity hybrid, and that is what this class is. We are strong enough to wield swords, but our defense is our sheer agility and our uncanny ability to read

I would like to credit ColbyCheeze with the original idea for this build, as he ran it during a 2 week race a few months ago. To my knowledge, he has not updated the build for 1.2, but that's what we're here for!


Tree:
http://poeurl.com/yZ3qKGl

http://www.pathofexile.com/passive-skill-tree/AAAAAgQAmSu9gUd-FFJlTYTZbmlY276nU9_STe_jm4PAD2NwhO80k3TttkF6704qYEtbrwUt3Q0Y2yzp_MXBixUgVvpnoNungUEi4ipNd9eHdglYNe9H4j8nfytKfVywbbTQgUrIMHzWitP8Ou2kOW6qUUeNfbXyjb8j9jWS3-8Ftd3nTZKjiv6P2L0o28Ls1CMb9kxgTeP-Ch3KtMUwcYO9BLGmV_JFYqzdqJVmMZ464Z2qbIxLeAOHNj06QnByG63jhNN-wJx9dac0_ro=

As you level your tree, you will start with grabbing Block, Life, and Dualwield nodes on the way to Ondar's Guile, Acrobatics, and Phase Acrobatics. You may wish to grab Mana Flows and/or Revelry for leveling purposes. The Duelist is a mana-hungry man.

Later on, you will want to grab nodes like Mind Drinker.

Feel free to grab 30 point Strength and Intelligence nodes as necessary.


Bandits: 
Oak/Oak/Kill

You can grab Kraityn in Cruel if you wish.


Gems:
Attack: Dual Strike/Melee Splash/Melee Physical Damage/Multistrike/Faster Attacks

For your other gems, you'll want to use Temporal Chains as your curse (get some Int on gear). Cast When Damage Taken will be linked to Enduring Cry, Immortal Call, and Increased Duration, as is textbook.

For auras, you will run Hatred for sure. I suppose Grace/Hatred is ideal, but this build will find it difficult to run Dualstrike on such a low mana pool without Resolute Technique (meaning that you CAN miss, which stops your consistent mana leech). So let's assume that Grace/Hatred is a bit of a pipe dream, which it is for this build.

Colby ran Hatred/Purity of Lightning in the race. Purity of Lightning is pretty much required if you plan to use a Lightning Coil. But if not, then you will run Hatred/Herald of Ash. 

You COULD link Blood Magic to your Dual Strike if you desperately want to run Grace/Hatred, but that is suboptimal. Better to get mana leech on rings (and Mind Drinker notable) and save the gem slot for more damage.

For the rest of things, you will use Leap Slam to get around, you can even link it to Culling Strike and Item Rarity. You can link Blood Magic to your curse, mobility, and utility spells if you want (I would) If you want to use a different Culling setup, link Cleave or Cyclone to Culling Strike/Item Rarity.


Gear:
If you are playing this in a Softcore league, you don't necessarily require any specific uniques. Currently, I'm playing an Evasion Melee build without a Lightning Coil in Softcore. And it's fine for the most part, just watch out for Ethereal Knives users.

The things listed below are recommendations. You can play around all of them, though it will cost you some DPS or survivability.

You'll want Life Leech rolls on a ring and an amulet, and 2% Mana Leech on the other ring (unless using Warlord's Mark as a curse). Slitherpinch is another option for leveling purposes. Once you get Mind Drinker and Blood Drinker, you can dump these requirements for whatever you want. You could play around this with linking Blood Magic to Dual Strike, or linking Life Leech to it, but either choice will cost you a gem slot. Better to get Leech on gear/nodes, and it's not that hard (especially with Masters crafting).

You'll want at least a 5L chest. A 4L is workable, but will slow your clearspeed down.

Aside from that, just cap your resists and get some life. Get some Int on gear if possible. Make sure your weapons have nice pDPS.

Uniques...Lightning Coil is required if this is a Hardcore build, to make you oneshot proof (as the physical damage you take will be converted into Lightning). Bringer of Rain (get it?) is a good option to take you close to the block cap. Wings of Entropy is a good choice for a weapon. However, this build can function without all of these.

Playstyle:
First, shout "I AM SPARTACUS."

Basically, cast Temporal Chains, run at people, and start Dual Striking. Use Leap Slam to chase or run, and use your Culling setup on rares and bosses. It's pretty basic, really.

CK2, GoT Mod: House Osgrey, Part I

WARNING: The net is dark and full of spoilers. Read at your own risk.

I decided to do a fun game that would take a random house in the Reach from being landed knights to being the king of Westeros. On the way, I hope to show off some of the unique features of the Game of Thrones Mod.

So I picked House Osgrey, beginning in Robert's Rebellion. Under House Gardener, House Osgrey used to be powerful lords. BUT THAT ALL CHANGED WHEN THE FIRE NATION ATTACKED. House Targaryen installed the Tyrells as rulers of the Reach, and House Osgrey's fortunes slowly dwindled until they were just landed knights. They struck a deal with Daemon Blackfyre to regain their lands, but then the Blackfyres lost.

It's now nearly 90 years after those events, and here's where I come in. I plan to lead House Osgrey back to its former glory and beyond!

We begin as a lazy, stubborn knight who is more concerned with drinking and whoring than with the game of thrones. But then he receives a call to arms: The Reach has remained loyal to King Aerys II, and House Osgrey is obliged to support the Tyrells!

Red marks the lords that remained loyal to Aerys. Note that Walder Frey has thrown his lot in with the Mad King...if Robert wins, there will be no mercy.

Robert is stronger than Randyll, but Randyll is the more skilled warrior. Randyll knows that a slashing sword and shield will not penetrate Robert's thick plate armour, so he used a two-handed Estoc to thrust into the chinks in Robert's armor before taking him down.

Yet even that didn't end the rebellion, as Stannis claimed that the Mad King still should be brought to justice, and he continued the fight.

Ten thousand wildlings assault the Eyrie, forcing Jon Arryn to divert his armies. Meanwhile, Rhaegar and Stannis bitterly fight each other in the Stormlands and Crownlands, but it's obvious that Stannis' superior numbers are winning.

Aerys II falls in combat, and Rhaegar assumes the throne. Being a more likeable dude, he may get a few more lords to declare for him. But probably not, given the performance of his soldiers.

And Stannis has emerged triumphant, although he immediately begins his reign with harsh punishments for the Lords who defied their Paramounts (Walder Frey, Jon Connington, Marq Grafton, etc). Also his wife is a hambeast from a no-name family for some reason, when Stannis could have got any bish he wanted...stupid AI.

To celebrate the end of the war, Ser Martyn goes back to doing what he was always fond of: booze and bishes. Yet he also enters a tournament, reasoning that if he wins, he will bring glory to his house, and possibly be able to woo prettier women than his rather plain wife.

And he won round after round...up until he was sent against Randyll Tarly :(

We'll end here.

Random Crap from a Joffrey Game

WARNING: The net is dark and full of spoilers. Read at your own risk.

WARNING: There will be references to rape and torture in this post. It's nothing that you haven't read about already in GoT, but I thought I would just say it, because in this playthrough I was fully roleplaying Joffrey, which included doing things I would never do IRL.

The King who lost the North. And his head.

And I made Sansa kiss it. Huehuehue.

Although Joffrey married Margaery, he continued forcing himself on Sansa when he got bored.

Notice that she died of gonorrhea. But I'm not infected, so how could she have been infected if we were monogamous?

Wait a minute...

Call me a medieval Maury. With the power of DNA-testing (using the console to see who the baby's real dad is), I found out that I am NOT the father, so I disinherited this brown-haired fool and made his blond-haired little brother the true heir-apparent. Then I tortured the bastard to death.

And then this happened. Big mistake, bish.

Joffrey's cruelty knows no bounds.

Later, even the Lannisters got fed up with the second coming of the Mad King, so they deposed him in a bloodless coup to be replaced by his son Lancel, who proved to be a kind and just man, and ten times the king Joffrey was.

"Rains of Castamere" event, only Lannisters have access to this (basically, it lets them play "The Rains of Castamere" at feasts, and IIRC you can boost relationships with vassals this way).