[3.26] Shaper Beam Totems | League Start to Endgame | Melt Maven on a Budget | 0-100% Atlas

VIDEO GUIDE --->>> YouTube <<<---

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Hi, my name is Baumi, and this is my build.

The Shaper has been demoted. There's a new challenger in town.

His iconic skill - the "Shaper Beam" - is what inspired this build many years ago. When GGG introduced the Scorching Ray MTX, I just had to make this.

Never officially released, there's no more perfect time for it than now. Quite literally.

Not only did we get the introduction of Mercenaries to round out the build and plug some of its holes, we also got a new set of MTX that allows us to take on the form of the Shaper himself. Perfection!

Sporting 5 Totems total, this Hierophant build can take you from league start to endgame with the same skill from level 12 onwards.

(Guide is under construction and work in progress. Stay tuned.)

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• Uber Atziri (Maven witnessed)
• Uber Elder (Maven witnessed)
• Quad Squads
• The Maven
• T17 Abomination Map Boss
• The Feared

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PoB (lvl 97 Snapshot, adjusted after Maven): https://pobb.in/KocEEwyrcvFm
Config: pseudo Merc stats added

PoB (Uber Elder Snapshot): https://pobb.in/-mvsjpu4Vafq

PoB (leveling trees): https://pobb.in/KNU9Bls8bsUt

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Current gear (lvl 97):







Merc gear (lvl 83 Flamehand):

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Q: Why Scorching Ray and why Totems?

A: Honestly? Mainly for aesthetics with the MTX.

There are technically more Cons to it than Pros when compared to other spells, but I personally don't mind all that much. Previously, the build would struggle in endgame because the Totems cannot hit with Scorching Ray, which means perma Taunt is off the table. That meant constant re-summoning of Totems, which not only was annoying af, but also hurt DPS. Yet it was the safest way to play this. This issue in particular is now resolved with a Merc that brings AoE damage, such as the Flamehand Merc.

Scorching Ray is a Fire Spell that applies a stacking debuff that deals Fire Damage over Time. Slapping this on a Totem means we can summon multiple to apply more stacks quickly. And, as we all know, standing still in PoE means death if not specifically built around that, so, it just makes sense to let Totems do the work rather than risk our own skin.

Q: Why 5 Totems and not 6 with a shield?

A: Dual sceptres with 5 Totems deals more damage. Aquiring Block, however, is a bit more challenging this way.

Do note, though, that not only does dual wielding allow for more DPS, it also grants significantly more Cast Speed. A vital stat for beam rotation speed and debuff application rate, as well as how quickly you can apply Exposure and thus maintain true DPS. Scorching Ray's turn rate is capped at 150% increased Cast Speed, so try to get as close as possible. (I get ~140% on this build.)

Q: How do you scale Scorching Ray?

A: The hands down best way to scale this spell is to get sources of extra levels to gems. This skill, like most other DoT skills, scales extremely well with levels.

You can check the vendor recipe list to learn how to "easily" craft +1 level weapons later down the road (not viable for league start).

Additionally, you can stack sources of DoT/Fire DoT multiplier (generic or Fire, doesn't matter which, as both are additive with each other and add to a global multiplier), increased/more Fire and Spell Damage (says so on the gem specifically), Cast Speed, Skill Effect Duration and sources of enemy damage taken.

For the latter, I let my Merc do some of the heavy lifting with the right setup, granting a nice boost to damage without compromising too much.

Q: Why are you not using the -5% additional Fire Exposure mastery?

A: This mastery and other sources like it (i.e. Ascendant Elementalist) are bugged with Scorching Ray on Totems specifically. It works fine if you use it yourself. This bug, to my knowledge, still hasn't been fixed and has been in the game for years now. We don't exactly know why it behaves this way. I did not bother to test it again this patch, simply because there was no mention of it in the bug fixes section of the patch notes.

Q: Why Flamehand and why these items?

A: Expedition's End allows all damage to freeze, and Yoke of Suffering allows all Elemental Damage to shock. Since Freeze and Shock are calculated based on damage taken, it makes absolute sense to use a Flamehand with a big hit skill such as Flameblast, because we debuff the enemy's Fire Resistance to negative values, which the Flamehand can take direct advantage of. This means it's much easier to freeze and shock enemies you otherwise could not. However, in general, the Merc you use is flexible and ultimately entirely up to you. Whether you want to instead use a Flaming Charlatan with Zealotry for more Spell Damage, or a Kineticist for more AoE clear, it's up to you.

Pyroshock Clasp is better than Kaom's Binding in my specific scenario, because my Merc isn't always dancing around/stays close to the enemy at all times, but with high chance to ignite, this isn't an issue in most cases. (Please note that maps with ailment avoidance will have to be rerolled if you want the Merc to do their thing. And stuff like Proximity Shield will prevent this if they are not inside the bubble.)

It's absolutely vital that you give your Flamehand items with chance to shock, and chance to freeze and ignite. They still need such sources to be able to apply those ailments in the first place (they don't always have those). I highly recommend you use eldritch gloves with the Freeze spread implicit, because not every mob gets frozen sometimes, and this allows a single frozen enemy to spread Freeze to the rest of the pack.

Q: What about Righteous Fire and Pain Attunement?

A: I admittedly started using Low Life + Pain Attunement rather late, at around lvl 87, mainly because my gear was shit and I felt a bit too squishy otherwise. You can start using RF as soon as you sort out your regen. You can also use it in combination with a life flask just for burst damage against bosses, if you cannot sustain it yet.

Q: Why are you using Ward gear?

A: It's simple, really. Energy Shield gets interrupted by damage taken, such as from RF. Armour and Evasion Rating do nothing for us, because we are not scaling any of it. Ward, on the other hand, got buffed to 2 seconds (down from 4) restoration time, does not get interrupted by Damage over Time, and blocks damage from a single hit before being broken.

Sounds kinda bad at first until you factor in Block. This makes Ward relevant for annoying attacks such as Abyss stalkers (goes invisible/invulnerable and sneak attacks you) and the like. I'd also be using additional Endurance Charges (6 in total) and Aspect of the Crab, but I did not manage to do so at this time of writing.

This means, on the high end, you could pair this with a Mageblood for some really nice damage reduction with an Iron Flask (potentially >1k Ward), which was my original plan, but the league has been really rough for me (I'm from the EU) and my progress has been rather slow with the constant setbacks.

Q: How are you mitigating damage aside from Ward and Block?

A: I use automated Steelskin to not only mitigate damage from hits, but also to grant me Arcane Surge. It also automatically removes Bleeding. Furthermore, I raise my max resists with flasks, use high Life Regen and defensive Pantheons such as Ralakesh for Phys DoT. I also use Purity of Elements for complete (elemental) ailment immunity. On top of that, I have at least 4 Endurance Charges at all times, with the potential to go up to 6, plus Level 30 Aspect of the Crab that gives up to 24% PDR at 12 stacks. You can also spec into the anti-Wither mastery once you obtain Corrupted Blood immunity elsewhere. You have a lot more leeway in how you approach defenses once you get your hands on a Mageblood, which is why I'm on the hunt for one myself.

Q: Why the reduced Reflected Damage taken mod on your flask?

A: To help against monsters that summon a Voodoo Doll (taunts nearby enemies to attack it and deals Reflected Damage to you). That's it, basically. There's not any other (more) useful flask mod to use.

Q: Got any useful (general) tips?

A: Sure. First, you want to keep an eye on Mana Cost and Arcane Surge. In general, it shouldn't be possible for you to go below the stated threshold with my setup, but just in case: Your Steelskin costs Mana when it activates, which is juuuust enough to fulfill the requirement for the Arcane Surge buff. Summoning Totems costs a lot of Mana, which is why I'm reducing the cost in the first place.

You will want to avoid "less Recovery", "no regen" and "monsters cannot be taunted" map mods. The first two are self-explanatory, though "less Recovery" simply means you can't run RF but can still run the map, whereas the "cannot be taunted" mod is bad on several fronts. For one, monsters will constantly chase you instead of going for your Totems, which is not only dangerous for you and super annoying, but it's even more annoying because it can mess with the targeting of your Totems. I do run it from to time, but I do not like that mod. Max resists penalty map mod falls into the same category as less Recovery.

An absolutely crucial gameplay tip that takes some practice to get down (and that I still fail to adhere to myself at times) is to let your Totems do the scouting and to try and not run around near them when you place them. With the limited summoning range and zoomed in perspective, this is really hard to resist, but you will learn it the hard way once you get past level 95 and run rippy maps. It really does take some time getting used to, and I still often catch myself failing to do so. Do as I say, not as I do, as the saying goes. ;)

<reserved for future updates>

Video guide has been added!

That was fun to make. I hope you enjoy. :)

This makes me nostalgic. Haven't played Scorching Ray in years, love the concept.

I know you mention it some in your initial post, but do you have a mock PoB or general write-up of an upgrade path from where you're going from here?

What other notable upgrades would you say there are besides MB + Iron Flask, and how do you see scaling your damage even further?

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xemath#7523 написал:

I know you mention it some in your initial post, but do you have a mock PoB or general write-up of an upgrade path from where you're going from here?

What other notable upgrades would you say there are besides MB + Iron Flask, and how do you see scaling your damage even further?

I'm still working on that. The market isn't exactly saturated right now and this build suddenly seems to be taking off more than I expected, so please excuse me for keeping a lid on it for now. :) I'm still trying to buy the items before they no longer exist. :D

But yes, there's a couple more essential (and significant) upgrades you can add. For the record, you obviously don't need those, but I'd like to have them. ;) I usually provide my PoB template that has those, but this time I didn't, for the reasons mentioned above.

Edit: I guess the one I can say right now, since I can't afford it anyway, is a Watcher's Eye with Purity of Elements + Malevolence mod. It's unusually expensive this league, so I'm assuming more folks are playing RF or something.

This build is very good. Ive done Uber lab on 70 lvl before kitava, and already doing T16 maps with 74 lvl xDD But tell me one. Why the hell you need that much resistances?? I have 200+ ele res xDD Do you prepare this build for Melding of the Flesh? xD

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Pitekooo#4729 написал:

This build is very good. Ive done Uber lab on 70 lvl before kitava, and already doing T16 maps with 74 lvl xDD But tell me one. Why the hell you need that much resistances?? I have 200+ ele res xDD Do you prepare this build for Melding of the Flesh? xD

Nice! Glad to hear it's working out for you.

What do you mean by that? If you mean my overstacked resists, it's purely coincidence from when I geared up my character. You do need some, though, mainly to counteract Exposure and penalties from eldritch altars. Specifically more Cold and Lightning res overcapped when you are running Eater altars like I do. I'm still hunting for a Mageblood on the side, so yeah. I do want that Iron flask setup for that FeelsGood moment. >:)

Edit: Out of curiosity, what kind of Merc are you running? Same as me or ...?

Baumi!

Thanks so much for sharing the build, I'm super enjoying going through the campaign with it.

Leveled with rolling magma up to 38 and with the multiple totems support, I'm able to comfortably run the totems without any damage issues.

Super excited to finally find the build that I'm enjoying lol. Been going through many weird builds to scratch the itch.

Merc i found a toxicologist early on with malevolence and ran purity of elements for some immunity, comfiest leveling ever!



Level 49 switch to soul mantle with kikazaru ring for the reduced effect of curses and self-flagellation for ez damage.

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Ludrasiel#7600 написал:

Baumi!

Thanks so much for sharing the build, I'm super enjoying going through the campaign with it.

Appreciate the feedback. It's so nice to hear that people are enjoying it.