💣Velyna's Poets Pen Blade Blast 💣 All Content | Easy Start | Melt Endgame | 2 Button Gameplay

Pros

• Smooth levelling: Physical spells get us through leaguestart with ease, blade vortex scales the same as blade blast and we get it act 1. We can literally use it until T16s while gathering gear for ultimate CoC destruction.
• 2 Button gameplay: I often run through maps using only attack + dash, sometimes not even flasks.
• Budget start: Basically zero requirements before hopping into early maps, with multiple large upgrades available early for cheap.

Cons

• Transition: Similar to a LowLife build, CoC will require many different things to work properly. If you leaguestart this be ready to spend awhile as BV while gathering gear. Luckily it feels fine.
• Not immortal: This build has multiple layers of defence, but eventually hits will get through your evade/dodge/block. If you facetank minotaur with damage mods you'll eventually die.

Bosses and Stuff

• Cortex
• Awakener 8
• T16 Tropical Island

This can be leaguestarted in softcore, I have no idea if it's hardcore viable but imagine it is with decent gear.

SSF is probably possible, cluster jewels are an issue though. Would be very hard to achieve the finalized version.

Installer

This version is updated faster and has extra features. The PoB links in the guide all use this and there might be differences from the standard one.

Uninstall PoB before installing this or you might get errors.

- The trees for new characters can be found in the Leaguestart PoB at bottom left. -

---Attack---

---Aura---

---Movement---

Ethereal Knives + Chance to Poison + Pierce is what I ran until getting BV

Look for GGR and GBB 3Links.

Clarity and Vitality become available after Brutus, use both but keep vitality near level 1 and only level clarity as much as needed for sustain.

Blade Vortex is a quest reward near end of act and I switched to it right away.

--Attack--

---Aura---

---Movement---

Help Alira, make sure you get the new supports in and grab skitterbots.

---Attack---

---Aura---

---Movement---

I rushed to library right after opening the sewer passage because the gems it gives access to are massive for us.

Look for a GBBB 4Link.

From first lab take Unstable Infusion.

At this point you will be pathing towards Winter Spirit and then Influence so DPS will lag, don't worry we will fix that soon.

---Attack---

---Aura---

---Movement---

---CWDT---

Make sure to get Unleash near the end of act 4, and a CWDT setup as well.

---Attack---

---Aura---

---Movement---

---CWDT---

Start trying to buy Hrimsorrow gloves and a Highwayman ring as soon as possible.

When you get a Cerberus Limb and 30% block shield later you drop the ring it's ONLY for leaguestart leech.

Second lab take Deadly Infusion, third lab Mistwalker.

---

USE LEAGUESTART PoB

This is a CoC/Poet's Pen build but since we can't level/gear up as that in a fresh league we need a basic setup to farm with. You can use whatever you want and respec later, here I have provided a Blade Vortex build that uses a lot of the same gear for easy upgrade later. With all the stuff here you should be able to farm pretty well and for some things its actually really good (like expedition)

Hrimsorrow: First thing you buy should be the gloves, without question.

6L Chest: Corrupted 6L chests and white 6L bases from card sets become cheap pretty early, I recommend investing in one before carcass jack becomes possible in order to have DPS for farming. I would get this near the very start, then switch over to gathering shield/cerberus/clusters etc.

Cerberus limb: can take a little while to become available and might be expensive at first, just make sure whatever shield you buy has 30% block for when you do get it.

Intuitive Leap: You can't run both Heralds without this, priority buy.

Clusters: These have a huge impact on early game dps, and can be used during transition into CoC then upgraded later so don't hesitate to buy them. It's ok to get 9-10 passives on the large to save money but 4 on medium and 2 on small is recommended.

Vaal Blade Vortex: This is fantastic for farming things like Expedition or delve nodes, wherever large groups of mobs appear together. Also good for boss DPS it's just really nice all around. Don't worry about quality, carcass jack will take care of that when you get it.

---

Don't switch to Transition PoB until you gather everything here.

This is the absolute minimum gear level you should have before switching to the CoC + Poets Pen setup. If the starter BV is working for you and currency is stacking up try for Farruls chest, Asenaths gloves and overleech Glorious Vanity as well before switching.


Chest: The Carcass Jack you should already have works fine to start, then upgrade to farrul's.

Inward Eye: Don't miss the enchant more blades is more damage.

Poet's Pen: Need 2 of these, ideally with crit corrupt but those are pricey.

Gloves: Ideally, you have either Asenaths or High Templars with enfeeble/temp chain. If not just go for something like what I had here. Curse implicit, some life and resist is really all you need. Can be hard to set up and color the sockets but the curse is worth it.

Jewellery: Between our rings/belt/amulet we need to cover:

- One big accuracy roll

- Assassins Mark

- Life gain on spell hit

- Aspect of Cat (once you have farruls)

- Life + Resists

- MAYBE life regen, to help with blood rage until you get overleech (optional kinda)

If you don't need a lot of resist, it isn't too bad getting assassin+life gain on spell hit with crafted life rings similar to above. All you need for the cat aspect is one open suffix somewhere between these 4 slots. If that isn't possible you just have to replace later when it's needed, not a big deal.


Clusters: 9-10 passive large with force multiplier and iron breaker works at first, there isn't a huge amount of value left on the tree at this point anyway. You want at least the overwhelming malice medium, and enduring composure small. If you can fit in a life small cluster that's even better.

Watchers: Double damage pride at very least. A clarity mod to help with sustain is a great secondary if you can get both as is precision crit multi.

21 Blade Blast: These should be pretty cheap without quality so you may as well have one.

Misc: When you make a character transition like this, it is best to have on hand:

- 50 regrets

- 200 chromatics

- 50 vaals (for bench crafting corrupted stuff)

- enough cash on hand to make sure resists get balanced.

---

USE ENDGAME PoB


Farruls: Everything here is good, we like armour/evasion and life plus cat aspect is attack speed + crit so both buffs work.

Inward Eye: There are a few useful corrupts here: +1 power charge/%life/life regen.

Poet's Pen: In the late stages of the build, you can run a second curse on corrupted asenaths. Having crit corrupted poet's pen will help with the crit lost from assassins mark in that case.

Asenaths Attack crit, +1frenzy and curses are all good implicits here.

Boots: I don't feel the cooldown recovery is super important, just go for life+movespeed+tailwind.

Belt: Overwhelm is basically penetration for phys damage, it feels good against tanky map bosses. Get that plus as much life+res as you can.

Amulet: Aim for at least +1 gem level and life, getting the +2 is a massive upgrade. You don't need the crit but it's nice if you want to drop ass mark for enfeeble.

Rings: I put my cat aspect here, and got lucky with double gain on spell rolls. You only need the life gain though. Also make sure to get the big flat accuracy roll.

Glorious Vanity: Needs to be Ahuana but the number doesn't matter.

Inertia: Corrupted Blood immune is pricey, but worth it.

• Unstable Infusion
• Deadly Infusion
• Mistwalker
• Opportunistic

Alira

Major: Brine King

Minor: Shakari

This is my standard setup, feel free to run whatever you want.