3.24 Blade Vortex Assassin - 2 PoB trees - which to choose?

Man that's lots of help and feedback! Thanks!

Seems like I have to make some skill tree refunds...

Do You think Lethe Shade is worth taking? Since I remember my worst enemy (apart from overpowered Unique Bosses or even last league wisp Overpowered Rares, I died a lot from DoT's (like burning, corrupted blood, even poison). I wanted to counter that through pantheon (Soul of Ralakesh) but now with Lethe Shade I was thinking of taking Soul of Ryslatha instead, for life flasks gain.

Lethe Shade is one of the strongest Keystones on the tree imo. Whenever u can get ailment immune (at least elemental) u should try to get it.

Thanks for the feedback.

So it's clear. Lethe Shade will allow me to even occasionally dump Purity of Elements (since I can take Brine King for freeze + stun immunity) in favor of other aura. Too bad I'll have to trade for lots of required Uniques which seem vital for my build xD

Other than that, it looks that my skill tree is finished:

https://poeplanner.com/AwAAAwAfAAYBAHYA4mET2YCSDnMJ-wzIkk2edYoZ1fCfTo8asF-YXzaMJz_FhMW0LpUCuUxRTSoeB32Nb_W1m4skiCY5pANeu3DjTTLP1DcpJm1Z04l8MB-TFMjZogsq8rVItZunZJqP_tiwmhOqbjcjQFzysv11vdjRtBjsvK8_7UdRf3r3g5Um2va1BW0TPTaSNVJwv41bfXAzcAbr-suHrGIVzxj1mZMd8o9bR6ziIm-E9iPISljmRV6eMVJJiqM6w7Di4kdIDqsP8l2qnTC3b1trwZYRvxZLVUf1BaQJFJ1k9evQLoJ2UUn6j4xsE_eMauzCSsoAAAgAjkzPqPBZooSZB7AXbnCLSgUAKXW8RaLtdIYcrcKF53Cx9Um2HnIEAAD______________________wAAAwAAAAMA_____________zwAAAAAFAAfiwgAAAAAAAADAwAAAAAAAAAAAA==

I've added some flask's gain on the tree + maybe I'll take Soul of Ryslatha on Pantheon.

If playing with my skill tree would prove to be a burden then I'll check that of Yours (bottom part of the tree).

Actually, I would only spec into Lethe Shade when running Purity of elements, if u're not ailment immune otherwise. (except for bosses, if u know which bosses don't do nasty ailments, but have bad degens like Maven or Shaper)

The downside of Lethe Shade is huge if u're not immune to them. Also Shock is probably the worst of all ailments, after being frozen ofc, because it will increase the one shot deaths by a huge margin. So if u're not immune to shock, u should a least run the 60% reduced shock effect Pantheon and get some reduced shock effect on one of ur flasks to reach 100% in total, especially since Lethe Shade increases the duration of the shock by 100%.

Sadly the tree u've posted is empty for me again.

I'd say try it out and correct issues when they occur, building a character urself from scratch is always a journey and it almost never turns out the way it was planned beforehand :D

For example my current char looks way different now to what I'd planned before league start, just because several problems arose that I didn't know existed :)

e: For the peoplanner link, u have to use the export function in order to get a shareable link. Maybe that's the issue.

Well ok, so Purity of Elements seems a must. So for MUST-HAVE auras:

- grace + purity of elements + herald of agony.
From calculators it seems that I can hold on to another 25% aura and here it seems like Flesh and Stone might be good (currently using it during leveling). If not, then Defiance Banner?

Assuming, that I will be running Lethe Shade with Purity of Elements, which major and minor god would You choose? (for minor I'm thinking between Ralakesh and Ryslatha. From my tree I have 2 flasks gain per second - dunno if it's enough for boss fights. On the other hand I'd have 50% DoT dmg reduction from Lethe Shade - would Ralakesh be that lifesaver?

P.S I've copied the tree as You suggested (got it minified, maybe that helps?)

https://poeplanner.com/b/eKZ

Here the normal, extended link (still seems the same as from earlier posts xD):

https://poeplanner.com/AwAAAwAfAAYBAHYA4mET2YCSDnMJ-wzIkk2edYoZ1fCfTo8asF-YXzaMJz_FhMW0LpUCuUxRTSoeB32Nb_W1m4skiCY5pANeu3DjTTLP1DcpJm1Z04l8MB-TFMjZogsq8rVItZunZJqP_tiwmhOqbjcjQFzysv11vdjRtBjsvK8_7UdRf3r3g5Um2va1BW0TPTaSNVJwv41bfXAzcAbr-suHrGIVzxj1mZMd8o9bR6ziIm-E9iPISljmRV6eMVJJiqM6w7Di4kdIDqsP8l2qnTC3b1trwZYRvxZLVUf1BaQJFJ1k9evQLoJ2UUn6j4xsE_eMauzCSsoAAAgAjkzPqPBZooSZB7AXbnCLSgUAKXW8RaLtdIYcrcKF53Cx9Um2HnIEAAD______________________wAAAwAAAAMA_____________zwAAAAAFAAfiwgAAAAAAAADAwAAAAAAAAAAAA==

Flesh and Stone is fine for defense. U could also use Herald of Purity if u need some more damage. Up to u I guess.

For Pantheons, well since u're ailment immune I'd strongly advice u figure out a way to get stun immune later on and switch from Brine King to Lunaris/Solaris.

For minor Pantheons, mhm I think it doesn't matter that much. Ralakesh is always strong to not get randomly killed by a nasty bleed or corrupting blood, since ur're hitting alot and very fast.
Ryslatha on the other hand is handy against enemies that have life regen/consecrated ground or bosses that get healed by Maven :D

I think it's personal taste aswell. For Bosses always go Ryslatha.

Ah and btw. keep in mind, if u're using Lethe Shade u can't use Blood Rage, otherwise that will trigger Lethe Shade and u'll never have the 50% less damage timeframe.

The minimized link worked btw.

- Just realized, since u're a crit build, u could also utilize the 25% chance to gain a flask charge mastery instead of 1 life flask charge every 3 seconds. Not sure if its better, but it works for ur utility flasks aswell.

- You skilled into 95% spell suppression, which imo is way too much. U should try to get some suppression from ur gear, that would open up at least 3 skill points.

- Since u already skilled into the wheel u should also get "Influence", 14% aura effect is pretty strong.

- For Damage, u should consider getting the physical nodes with "Force Shaper" at the top right of the tree aswell. It's 10% extra phys as chaos damage, like Ming's Heart.

- I don't think Survivalist is worth it, unless u really need the resistances.

- I don't like Resourcefulness either, u're wasting 3 points for that instead of connecting through the middle and opening up Revenge of the Hunted instead

- U didn't go for Whispers of Doom, that's big for damage. U definitely want Despair at least against bosses ontop of Temp Chains from Asenath's

- At last, the dot mastery 10% less damage over time is also very useful, even with lethe shade.

ok, just some random thoughts on the tree :D I changed it up, like I'd run it probably, but of course u don't have to.

https://poeplanner.com/b/eK0

/edit: just realized u're crit immune anyway so changed it up again

Yay! Seems like my tree is ALMOST finished :D

1. Flesh and Stone vs Herald of Purity I'd have to choose one cuz of mana reservation limit (Grace+Purity+Agony) and now that You mentioned it I have some inquiries:

- are enemies likely to hit those Heralds instead of me? If yes then it may work as a an additional line of defense, kinda...? (less enemies willing to hit me xD)
- do those Heralds of Purity leave bodies behind when killed? I was thinking, that Devouring Diadem may use their corpses for regen (400 per corpse per 4 seconds) vs boss fights - does it work that way?

Also, Flesh and Stone's blood stance gives 11% more damage taken by enemies while Herald 12% more physical damage dealt by me. Which is better?
Plus, Herald would work defensively (Herald minions aggro + their corpse regen) and offensively (12% more phys dmg) at the same time while Flesh and Stone defensively OR offensively, one at a time. And finally I can take Smoke Bomb flask for blind so it leaves Flesh and Stone with that 15% less dmg vs far enemies. Would that 15% less dmg work against bossess? Should I be that afraid about ranged enemies since I'm melee char and one way or another I MUST reach mobs in a matter of seconds within my melee range? If not then maybe:

Flesh and Stone vs mobs, Herald of Purity vs bossess?

Is my thinking correct or is there a mechanic I am not aware of?

2. Pantheon - here seems like everything is clear. Major: Brine for Stuns then eventually Lunaris/Solaris. Minor: Ralakesh / Ryslatha (situational - will test it out empirically :P )

3. Thanks for the info on Lethe Shade. I was playing Venom Gyre Build with Blood Rage - good to know it doesn't work with Lethe Shade since I was dying very often from DoT's... too bad Lethe Shade won't help here xD

4. I've changed that 1 life flask every 3 seconds to 25% chance to gain flask charges on crit. Then Ryslatha on bosses and Ralakesh on mobs.

5. Skill tree:
I have switched to Your tree with minor change: Whisper of Doom - I reminded myself that IT WAS the skill I wanted to take as anointment :D And Yes, Im using Despair on bosses - I switch it with faster casting on my boots (Spell Totem Support - Multiple Totems - Wither - Faster Casting/Despair) :P As for Whisper of Doom as anointment, I got myself Doedre's Damning early on, so I was thinking on saving annointment and those 4 skill points. Since obtaining "additional curse" through crafting is hard I can use those 4 skill points and anointment on something else, and here are my skill tree ideas:

no. 1 https://poeplanner.com/b/ekh - with Your tree I'd need to obtain 33% of spell suppression from gear and here I have little options left since I will be using lots of Uniques. 33% spell suppression would need to be fulfilled through rare: boots, 1 ring, 1 amulet. With my adjusted tree I'd need to obtain 17% spell suppression through 1 amulet and boots.

no. 2 https://poeplanner.com/b/ekx - here I've put those 4 points into Perfectionist (somwehat stun immunity) and 6% Life. The problem is I'd need to fill 33% spell suppression and additional curse with boots, ring and an amulet. I'll be somewhat resistant to stuns and can take Lunaris/Solaris instead of Brine King.

no. 3 https://poeplanner.com/b/ek2 4 points into Intuition + Quickstep

no. 4 https://poeplanner.com/b/eky 4 points into Intuition + increased poison dmg and cast (serpentine slinger node)

My main point is I'd like to acquire Whisper of Doom through anointment or gear and save 4 points. If I manage to fulfill those 4 skill points and have Whisper of Doom through gear maybe I'll take Dirty Techniques anointment?

Alright, I actually had to load up my PF to check Flesh and Stone, but unfortunately it doesn't quite work like u think.

1. The increased physical damage taken from Blood Stance doesn't increase ur poison damage unfortunately. It's applied after the damage calculation for ur poisons, so it only increases the "hit"-damage of ur BV. If it were "increased chaos damage taken", it would be good.

That's why I only saw Flesh and Stone as a defensive mechanic from the start. U don't have to use smoke bomb either, enemies that are in range of flesh and stone are automaticaly blinded giving u a nice dodge bonus and for everyone outside the circle u get the 16% less damage taken.
I'd say it's a pretty good Skill, especially since u have to run to the mobs first and those 16% help to not get killed while doing so.
Flesh and Stone also works on bosses, but it less effective, since u're trying to be at the boss anyway.

For Herald of Purity, the minions do defenitely help with tanking some monsters and even taking some boss hits from time to time, but it's very hard to quanitify. I'd say it's nice to have, but I wouldn't call it much of a defensive layer. I don't think they leave corpses, but I'm not sure on that.

U could definitely swap the 2 skills between bossing and mapping, if u want.

2. I forgot u were using that many uniques, so yeah getting spell suppression is quite hard with that in mind. U can get 14% from boots, but that's it.
Now there's two more options:
#1 is utilizing tattoos for 2% spell suppression each. Assuming u have T1 suppression on boots, u would need 19% suppression from tattos, so that's 10 dexterity notes. If u can spare those attributes, I'd say it's the best option.
#2 is the Suppression Mastery "Chance to Suppress Spell Damage is Lucky". It's somewhat of a "cheap" option, but I'm using it on almost all my SC characters, because it saves alot of points/suffixes on gear. What "Lucky" means is, that ur chance to suppress is rolled 2 times and the best option is chosen. So a spell hits u and now the game rolls for suppression on 66% chance and after that, it rolls again on 66% chance. If any of those 2 rolls falls in the 66% frame, that role is taken and the hit counts as "suppressed". Maybe u're familiar with double rolls in D&D games, it's the same logic.
U will likely never hit 100% suppression with lucky, but u'll get to 90%+ easy.

3. Alright, Whispers of Doom as an anoint is very expensive and I wouldn't do it if u are already pathing through that area. But it is an option if u desperately need the points of course.

I like tree #2 the most, also because it's probably the closest to the tree I made :D
The Stun avoidance wheel with Perfectionist is interesting and something I'm using myself at the moment. U can combine it with either Eldritch implicits on boots or stun avoidance tattoos aswell to get 100% chance to avoid stuns. Those are the easiest options at least.

For annointing, if not Whispers of Doom I'd probably choose Acrimony over Dirty Techniques. Faster Ailment damage is not that useful with poisons, because it doesn't really increase ur damage, it only increases ur dps. Meaning u're doing the same damage, but in a shorter time frame.
So basically ur poisons tick faster, but also last a shorter duration, which means u can't stack as many poisons on the enemy. It cancels out in the end.
It's still not a bad stat, because it will increase ur mapping speed, since the damage is more frontloaded, but I wouldn't prioritize it over "real" damage multipliers.

So yeah, I'd advice tree #2 with the suppression mastery and utilize some of those tattoos. How u handle Whispers of Doom is up to u, but I wouldn't use another unique for it... u're already pretty unique heavy. U need rares for life and resists.

Ok, so I have something to hold onto ;)

Lots of feedback, I'v learned some mechanics I wasn't aware of.

Thany You very much for Your help - I appreciate that!