Community Showcase - 3.15 Week 6 Meta Roundup - What Builds Are Doing Well - Forum

Originally posted to Youtube as a video. Sorry about the krangled formatting in places here.

https://youtu.be/P1bPm9WZZIs

I've also posted this on my blog as a presentation: https://www.sirgog.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/Meta-Roundup-Week-6.pdf (PDF) or https://www.sirgog.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/Meta-Roundup-Week-6.odp (same document in Open Office Impress presentation format)

Top Ascendancies (level 96+ characters)

Necro 2360
Raider 2311
Glad 1974
Asc 1852
Occ 1452
Dead 1309
Heiro 1193
Bers 539
Assas 526
Guard 440
Sabo 418
Slay 288
Ele 274
Jug 203
Path 203
Champ 149
Chief 138
Trick 133
Inquis 120

HC note: Gladiator and Champion rise at the expense of everything else
SSF note: Gladiator and Saboteur rise at the particular expense of Ascendant (mostly due to Unnatural Instinct being simultaneously extremely powerful on Scions, and almost unavailable)

Defensive Layers by Popularity (96+)

This likely has some errors. I'm much less confident in this data than the other two sections.

Explanation:

Spoiler

● There’s several ways to try to stay alive in POE.
● Generally these revolve around specific keystones. QUICK RECAP:
● Dodge: This playstyle takes Acrobatics, Phase Acrobatics and Wind Dancer. As Acrobatics krangles your ability to scale
block, armour and ES, it is almost always paired with Evasion. Takes enough life to survive small hits (~4500).
● Chaos Inoculation: Stack ES and rely upon block to mitigate damage then your ES pool to soak it. Synergizes very
poorly with dodge.
● Glancing Blows: This keystone is often (not always) used alongside “recover X on block” nodes and a light investment
in block. Usually a shield, or one of the specific staves that work well with it like (Replica) Duskdawn.
● Max Block: This playstyle sacrifices much more for defence than Glancing Blows but is much more durable. The
Gladiator’s Versatile Combatant is the best way to achieve this defensive layer, although there are others.
● Mind Over Matter: A large mana pool and decent life pool with either MOM keystone or Cloak of Defiance provide a
large effective health pool. Often uses Immortal Call or a high level CWDT-Steelskin.
● Molten Shell Life: Generally identifiable by the use of the skill gem Molten Shell (and/or its Vaal version) these builds
typically have 10000+ armour with readily managed buffs, and use this to turn MS into a large ablative shield alongside
a good life pool, Fortify, block and Endurance Charges. Often at endgame these builds seek out Divine Flesh as well.
Could work without Molten Shell back when Juggs were good.
● Glass Cannon: How I typically play. Defensive layer is not getting hit by manually dodging. Still invests a bit in life.
Often uses Blast Freeze (large cluster) to preemptively freeze enemies.
● Extreme Glass Cannon: Best approach in Delve. Plays Dodge AND Chaos Inoculation and absolutely no investment in
defence, not even resists. Dies to one hit from everything. Can do extraordinary damage.

Dodge 31% Most Ranger builds
CI 20% Most Witch builds. Many Guardians alongside Glancing Blows.
Glance 6% Most Templars.
Block 12% All Gladiators.
MOM 12% Hierophants and Occultists
MS Life 16% All Duelists and Marauders
GC 6% Estimate of popularity.
UltraGC 0.2% Only a few dozen players this league.

Primary Skills - 30 high performers

Honourable mentions (this is mostly positions 63 to 31)

Spoiler

Spectral Helix. Freezing Pulse. Volatile Dead. Ethereal Knives
Aura Stacker. Frost Blades. Winter Orb. Stone Golem. Penance
Brand. Scourge Arrow. Essence Drain. Rage Vortex. Lightning
Trap. SRS. Arc. Boneshatter. Ancestral Warchief totems. Herald of
Thunder. Bane. Siege Ballista. RF. Lancing Steel. BV. Consecrated
Path. Ice Crash. Cold DOT. Blight. HoAG. Zombies. Lacerate.
Icestorm. Death Aura. Molten Strike. Glacial Cascade Mines.