Path of Exile Shadow High Dmg Sample Build Guide

Path of Exile Shadow High Dmg Sample Build Guide by VictorDoom

had good times with this shadow.. got to level 86 in Closed beta and got 1st in ladder :(

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vureUSIc3lY

Also Apo made a variation of the shadow build that worked pretty well in HC, maybe if you guys are interested you can persuade him to post it (he died with kripp unfortunately at the double alire map thingy)

VIDEOS

Video of me soloing double vaal w ele weakness, thanks to Zlader for the map!:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BMqWlYDxm8Q&feature=youtu.be

Video of double vaal with Feels the ranger (he recorded it):http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y7t44Gj8TfI&feature=youtu.be

Build:Passive skill tree build

Gear and Skills:

Gear and skills have been lost due to the OB wipe

Cleave(main attack skill):With lightning penetration support, dps is 22+k(with bloodrage) and diamond flask is 80k+. With lightning penetration the numbers are lower but the actual dps is better than the added lightning damage support.

attack speed on cleave is 5.06 and the mana cost is 36, DO NOT LEVEL THIS GEM, i did have it leveled for a long time for some reason, and recently used 19 scours to level it down to 1, since the level only adds extra phys dmg[useless for this build] and mana cost.

i only use dual strike on bosses and rares for last hitting, i ahve the IIR and IIQ gems linked for more drops with culling strike.i also sue it on reflect rares, its much safer using dual strike than cleave because you will only get the damage back from a single target.Otherwise its a replaceable skill, use what ever skill you like, flicker works quite well too.

Mana: 700, i recommend getting some mana nodes early on until you find gear with mana mods, then you can respec back to whatever nodes you like that’s if you intend on using fast swords.
If you want to use axes, or slower swords with triple ele, mana cost wont be that high, so you dont need too much of it, dont forget to use the mana leech gem!

Energy Shield:With this gear and passives my es is at 10k.You can easly reach 10k if you dont use wake of destruction boots, or if you get better gloves than what i use.

You will need 2 or 3 diamond flask, 1 optional granite(good in the lower levels) for when the going gets tough and 2 mana flasks will be enough.
I use diamond flasks on bosses and tougher rares, usualy i try to conserve them because you never know what you might run into.

Bloodrage is a must, its perfect with CI, easy way to get those awesome frenzy charges.

Auras: discipline, wrath, anger, hatred. i suggest you use all three, if you cant just use the one that gives you the most dps, discipline is a must though.

Elemental weakness as a curse, ups the dps quite a lot, especially when paired with the lightning penetration gem.

Decoy totem for when you run into a room full of archers, or monsters that you might not be able to handle.

Whirling blades OR Leap Slam with ele proliferation for freezing enemies as you flee if you need to. Im also going to de-level this gem too, so DO NOT LEVEL THIS GEM

Tips and Tricks:

When to spec to CI: I specced into CI when i was in the first act of merciless, there i found decent es gear drops that i could wear to increase my es a decent amount. You could also wait until merciless and get the es gear you need and just alt it until it gives decent es+a rez, that way you can conserve orbs and actually have sem-decent gear in case you dont find decent rares, so i suggest you keep all the alts you find until merciless.

At what time to pick which nodes: You start off by getting the first Nullification node, then arcing bloes(that should keep your dps up for a long time) then you go through the first frenzy charge to the second nullification node, then you go to Unnatural Calm and Arcane Focus ES nodes, from there stack as much ES as possible!!! You will spec out of it when you have high enough ES gear!. After youve stacked enough es from these areas you go for Storm Cast and Blast Radius and then twards catalyze, Then if your gear and ES is high enough you get CI, then you continue to get ele nodes, and critical mutliplier you take at twards the end of the build. DO NOT pick all the dex nodes i have picked only if you will use high level rapiers in the end-game, if you go for axes just try to get Accuracy mods on them, those mods spawn pretty commonly on ele axes.

How to get proper elemental weapons easily (axes or swords, both work):Triple elemental damage weapons are obviously the best for this build, but the main damage source is the lightning damage, so you can just transmute+alt white base items for the lightning damage you need, dont forget to get the fast ones, there are some rapiers with 1.7 attack spees youc an get pretty easy to have a big lightning damage roll. Cheap and easy until you stack up on some orbs to buy the good ones from other people, or until you find them. Do not regal the weapons you alt, because with that regal you might use you can buy some decent ones.

You will need some accuracy on some pieces of gear for this build, easiest place to get it is your weapons, you can also get it on rings, helmet,gloves and amulet.

For a 4L chest cleave should have: cleave-concentrated effect-weapon elemental damage-mana leech.
For a 5L chest cleave: cleave-concentrated effect-weapon elemental damage-faster attacks OR lightning penetration-mana leech

For this build you will need just high es gear with semi-decent rez, you gain a LOT of rez from passives, you might be able to get away with a piece of gear that has no res at all!

Eye of Chayula is vital, if you want to try this build out, i strongly recommend you get one.So stack up on the high orbs cause one might cost from 2 to 6 gcps!

The rest is just ele rings/belt with rez and accuracy if you can.

Downsides: -You can not leech ES, this is the major downside of this build, when youre es is low its time to flee the fight.
-Es regenration delay is also low, so when you do flee, it will take some time until your ES starts regenerating so be sure you run away to a place where mobs cant attack you. Be very careful in maps with curses like vulnerabilty, patches of burning ground, slow regen.
-You can not do maps that have elemental reflect, you will also have a hard time killing elemental reflect mobs.
-High es gear is pretty expensive
-Getting frozen is a bitch because of CI

Upsides:-Insane damage
-Very high ES
-High clearing speed
-Elemental gear is pretty common and elemental damage is easy to stack.
-You will never have problems on killing bosses

That seems about it, if you have any questions just post them,i’m happy to respond to anything you might need to know.