[3.22] Crit Prismatic Burst Saboteur 10M+ no ramp instant DPS, big freezes and shocks!

Haven't seen anyone do an end-game viable, hit based Prismatic Burst (PB) build yet so here's my take on it.

Links:
- POB: https://pobb.in/G2ST2EGEH6Ws
- Video Guide: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W3VmT-E8nro

Gameplay Overview:

- Blade Flurry triggers Prismatic Burst (PB) which is a gloriously huge AoE explosion to instantly kill packs and most rares in one tap. We use Triggerbots to double the explosions without any downsides of extra mana cost since Prismatic Burst does not cost mana! Blade Flurry has an extra hit when it stops channeling, granting another Prismatic Burst (PB) trigger for smooth gameplay.

- Frostblink around so we can keep channeling Blade Flurry between packs if needed. Also Frostblink grants Bonechill for bigger DPS.

- Occasionally cast Temp Chains and Vulnerability to keep Cooldown Reduction (CDR) and Double Damage bonus from Balance of Terror. Can do this while Frostblinking so you don't have to stop moving.

Pros:
- Excellent bosser on a budget of around 10 to 15 div. 65% shock on maven, perma-frozen metamorph/essence mobs.
- Respectable clear, even if it lacks chain explosions. Packs and most rares are one-shot.
- Off-meta and unique skill to scale with pretty tri-elemental visuals
- Kills Maven witnessed Conquerors in T16 maps in 5 ~ 10 seconds even with tanky map mods
- Instantly heal to full when killing mobs thanks to dual Divinarius daggers.
- Mana is not really an issue.
- Low socket impact allows for flexibility. Cast on Death Portal viable without DPS loss.

Cons:
- Requires Forbidden Shako for good DPS, not SSF viable.
- Only ~28k eHP without Steelskin can be squishy for tanking boss hits. Probably not HC viable. Currently I'm not Spell Suppression capped so I die to random bursts of spells from Essence mobs.
- Regen is not that good, powerful DoTs can be dangerous if Life Flasks are down and there are no trash mobs to kill.
- Lots of uniques make resist cap a bit tricky. Luckily tattoos and our abyss jewels can help.

Build Mechanics Explained:
Spoiler

Prismatic Burst
Prismatic Burst is a triggered spell that costs no mana. Gem levels do not scale it, so we have to use the Forbidden Shako to get a high gem level. The second skill in the Shako does not affect PB, only the triggered attack. Keep that in mind when shopping and build planning. PB starts to scale it's flat damage even better once it reaches gem lvl 30+. Therefore Shako is BIS.

Important PB stats to help with dmg scaling:

- Spell & elemental damage: increased, more. Flat added is a waste since PB has so much of it already.
- Elemental Penetration: We deal ele damage after all. Elemental Mastery for 25% chance to treat resistances as inverted is a big DPS boost as well.
- Crit chance and Crit damage. Mandatory for big DPS
- Enemies take increased damage: 65% shock and Cold Mastery for frozen enemies take inc dmg. Note this mastery applies to ALL damage!
- Cooldown Recovery: helps trigger more PB
- Accuracy: if your attack misses, you don't trigger PB and deal zero dmg.
- Attack speed: Need the right amount so your attack rate matches PB trigger rate. Use in-game tooltip here. My build has .3s Blade Flurry with .29s PB trigger for nearly perfect alignment. If Blade Flurry was .28s attack time, my DPS gets cut half due to mismatched trigger rates. Temporary buffs like Onslaught can be bad if you have a perfect trigger setup. Avoid these buffs unless you can consistently maintain them.

Blade Flurry
This is the best skill to trigger PB for multiple reasons, many of which were discovered by trail/error and feel. Smooth gameplay is key here!

- Far better AoE reach than Cyclone and Static Strike! Keep safe distance from mobs. Both Cyclone and Static Strike require you to play far too close to mobs. This both reduces your clear speed, and survivability.
- Blade Flurry has a release hit as well, not just while channeling! Tapping the button will get you a PB trigger during the channel, and another one once you start moving and the release part of Blade Flurry hits. This makes for very smooth gameplay.
- Vaal Blade Flurry grants 50% less damage. Perfect "oh shit" button if you need to suddenly tank a random hit

Saboteur
The PERFECT ascendency for PB since all nodes improve DPS dramatically!
- Triggerbots double the PB explosions without the mana cost penalty
- Like Clockwork gives us CDR. Very important!
- Explosive Expert is massive DPS boost. We chill, shock, and ignite all the time thanks to being basically crit capped.
- Born in the Shadows: Get this if you're not accuracy capped and need extra survivability. It's a very noticeable impact. Bomb Specialist is great too if you're struggling to reach 65% shock consistently.

Charge Stacking
We stack Power Charges so we can use Militant Faith Timeless Jewel to grant 3% more spell damage per power charge in addition to the crit chance. We then use Badge of the Brotherhood amulet + Ralakesh's Impatience boots to get Frenzy Charges equal to our Power Charges. Overall this is a very strong combo that gives us a massive DPS boost. With my noobie 7 power charges, I get 21% more spell damage, 350% inc crit chance, 28% more damage (frenzy charge), 28% inc attack speed, and 35% crit multi (passive tree).


Gear
Spoiler

- Weapon: Divinarius. This dagger is insane! Lots of spell damage, and crit multi. Both are primary damage scaling stats for our build and allow us to drop Inc Crit Damage as a support.
- Helmet: Forbidden Shako is BIS. Simple as that.
- Body Armour: Shroud of the Light, stack abyss jewels to get elemental resist penetration, % increased life/mana. Our abyss jewels can also roll 2% or 3% CDR, along with flat +life and other stats we are missing.
- Boots: Ralakesh's Impatience is probably BIS. As mentioned above, the charge stacking is just too good to pass up. I was running a rare with an abyss jewel and had better survivability but I wanted more DPS. Rare boots can also roll CDR implicit but I was never able to roll it on mine.
Amulet: Badge of the Brotherhood is really strong as mentioned above. A sleeper option would be Choir of the Storms. The lightning bolts are about 1.2M DPS in my PoB. A rare amulet works too if you want more survivability.
- Belt: Anything with CDR works. Ideally a Stygian Vise with CDR and resists can be crafted for about 3 to 4 divine. Awakeners Orb slam one with CDR and all ele resist. Then prefixes cannot be changed, block armour and hit with Veiled Chaos to guarantee +Life and mana regen. Don't be like me and waste 8div on harvest reroll life in the hopes to get %life and +life before realizing how rare it is...
- Gloves: Any rare with abyss socket crafted on it. Can also try hands of the high templar with +spell crit chance corruption
- Rings: Any rare with ele + chaos resists. The build can feel res starved at times so fill them out here.


Skill Links
Spoiler

- Prismatic Burst from Helmet: Vaal Blade Flurry, Increased Critical Strikes, Power Charge on Critical Strikes, and Awakened Increased AoE. Swap AoE for Conc Effect on pinnacle atlas bosses and difficult maven invitations. Other options are Inc Crit Damage, Hypothermia, and Inspiration. Check your setup for which one is best.
- Auras: Zealotry for spell damage, Grace so we can evade stuff, Precision so our attacks hit and our spell damage can crit a bit more
- Mobility: Frostblink, Bonechill, Inc AoE support. Chill enemies and make them take increased cold damage. Also Frostblink is instant so we can cast it while channeling.
- Curses: Assassins Mark is BIS since it helps us cap our crit chance. If you can fit more curses then Elemental Weakness is a good option too. We automate Assassins Mark using Mark on Hit support. We self cast Temporal Chains and Vulnerability. Both are linked to Faster Casting Support. Try to cast this while you Frostblinking so you're not waiting to cast
- Guard Skills: Steelskin would be a good choice here but I don't use it due to the strength requirement and not wanting to press another button. Cast on Death Portal feels better
- Other: Hydrosphere, Inc Duration, Inc AoE. It's a small damage boost but the added exposure can be helpful. I also have Void Sphere in this 4L for ToTA memes but idk if it actually helps all that much with how little I've invested in Void Sphere.


If you made it this far thanks for checking out the guide. Please don't buy all the Shakos. I still need to get one with lvl 35 Prismatic Burst :D
Last edited by GeorgeTheG#4084 on Oct 6, 2023, 4:53:58 AM
Last bumped on Jan 3, 2024, 7:20:50 PM
Perfect Crime does not work with prismatic burst, at least as of 3.23.
Just completed the Ascendancy, Prismatic Burst still triggers only once,
at the location of the hit monster not the triggerbots, which is easy to see ingame.

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