[ 3.18 ] KissMeQuick's Smooth Sailing Shadow— A Short & Easy Beginner's Build for Running Acts Fast

INTRODUCTION

Waddap Playaz!
Here's a smooth leveling method that I've tested shortly before the Ultimatum league which requires only 4 links and works even with white items.



Act 5 boss, all white items, 4 links.
This leveling tree is buffed in 3.16 with plenty of nice QoL features

The goal of this build is to provide as smooth passage with as little effort as possible to maps for other builds that aren't strong during leveling.
This build is strong because of many very powerful nodes being in close proximity for the skills chosen.

- You do not have to make any trades
- Very good for SSF and it's playstyle
- You can use this guide as a first timer
- Very little gem and tree busy work
- You can league start with it for any build
- You do not need more than 4 links at act 10
- Top damage, good survivability, no uniques, no nerfs, no problems

This guide is very short and there is nothing complex, simply follow the tree and buy the gems while keeping a few notes in mind - that's it!

After you've finished your acts and have enough refund points, path yourself to the build which you originally wanted to map with.

If you do not have a chaos damage build - consider that you will need 10 - 30 refund points.

PATH OF BUILDING

The pathing for this build stops at 63 points. After that you should have enough damage to finish the acts and you should start working towards nodes which your next build has.

Swap between different trees here:


Download the Path of Building Community program from here:
https://github.com/PathOfBuildingCommunity/PathOfBuilding

TREES

3.16 Path of Building Community - 30, 60 & 80 points.
https://pastebin.com/qYnbRpuS

GEMS

Set left click to walking.
Right click on your attacking skills and enable always attacking without moving.



You must use at least main skill, Vitality, Despair, 1 movement skill - everything else use only if you have the sockets for it.

Act 1

Main skill
Caustic Arrow, Pierce( Swap after getting Piercing Shots node), Mirage Archer, Void Manipulation


Ballista
Shrapnel Ballista, Added Fire Damage, Volley


Movement
Dash


Auras
Vitality


Act 2

Main Skill
Concentrated Effect


Totem
Add Culling Strike


Auras
Summon Skitterbots


Act 3

Main Skill
Swift Affliction


Movement Skill
Add Second Wind


Curse
Despair, Impending Doom


Hexblast
Hexblast, Controlled Destruction( Act 2)


Act 4

Hexblast
Decay


Ballista
Swap to Greater Volley


Golem
Stone Golem


ARMOR & WEAPONS

You have two things you have to remember when sorting through items.

1) Armor and jewellery has to have as much life and resistances as possible, preferably both; all character resistances except chaos at least 60% after at Act 5.



2) As many linked appropriate sockets as possible for all of your skills.



If you have mid tier life and 1 mid tier resistance roll on your each of your items, you will be resistance capped with this build.
These two criterion are very easy to fulfill!

FLASKS



One or two of them for speed, roll them with transmutes as early as you want.



Always at least 1 life flask, remember that only one life flask can heal you at a time.
Try to get anti-bleed flask from act 6 forward.



Jade & Sulphur
If any of these drop, use them - evasion and armor are very strong before maps.

ASCENDANCY, BANDIT

You should choose the ascendancy of another guide or build which you will be later playing because the cost of refunding ascendancy points is 5 per passive which is not worth it.

For the bandit you should be taking Alira as it gives you a strong resistance boost early on.

THAT'S IT, FOLKS!

Leave your questions down below and I'll do my best to answer to them (:

My ultimatum league start
2 labs, all passives, 30 chaos earned in currency without rushing or buying any items.


https://pastebin.com/Ae97hEZK

Wrong pastebin link (it's your Duelist leveling guide instead).

"

Banga65 wrote:

Wrong pastebin link (it's your Duelist leveling guide instead).

Thanks! Fixed.

Thanks for the guide, it's really dope.
By the way, if you are like me and don't like CA, you can as well use Toxic Rain which would open up the slot of Pierce Support. You could use Vicious Projectiles instead, giving you way higher base dps with your main skill.

I'm guessing bow doesn't matter, just links right?

"

Nevzat wrote:

I'm guessing bow doesn't matter, just links right?

Pretty much any stat is fine as long as it provides good links.

"

Banga65 wrote:

Thanks for the guide, it's really dope.
By the way, if you are like me and don't like CA, you can as well use Toxic Rain which would open up the slot of Pierce Support. You could use Vicious Projectiles instead, giving you way higher base dps with your main skill.

Yeah, Toxic Rain should be viable as well but it has a lower dot period which allows us to cast less spells.

Thanks for the guide! Would you happen to have a lootfilter for leveling with this build?

You stop mentioning stuff after act 5, I'm assuming after getting the act 5 gems then you just cruise through the rest w/o any changes?