Dear exiles, the Path of Exile 3.21: Crucible will start tomorrow. Today mmogah.com will share the top 8 league starter builds with you. These builds include KobeBlackMamba's 5 starter builds, and 3 min-max scaling starter builds. Now let's begin.
Top 5 League Starters
Introduce
● There is a small meta shakeup with nerfs to Saboteur Traps (Seismic Trap) and Poisonous Concoction.
● Meta will be affected by GGG's decision on Stance Swapping for "Permanent" Adrenaline.
● Bow League Starters are hyped due to additional projectiles on the skill tree, Vaal Lightning Arrow, and Ice Shot.
5. Cold Dot
● This build can be played on Occultist, Elementalist, Trickster, or Hierophant.
● It is great for League Mechanic with its ground coverage and defensive chill.
● This build has decent Mapping Speed with the potential to do Ubers with enough gear investment.
● This build involves skill rotation with lots of buttons (Creeping Frost, Vortex, Cold Snap, Frost Bomb).
● It needs zero gear requirement to get all Voidstones.
● This build scales hard with skill gem levels and has the potential to reach 30M+ DoT DPS.
4. Boneshatter
● This build can be played on Juggernaut or Slayer.
● It is great for Mapping with Built-in AoE Clear.
● This build is not the best for Bossing and is heavily reliant on totems for a single target.
● This build is extremely tanky with Juggernaut and is capable of doing all Ubers with around 2 to 3M DPS.
● It will be vastly buffed compared to 3.20 if we have access to Permanent Adrenaline and Onslaught.
● It is not the best for late-game scaling if you are interested in a build with infinite scaling.
3. Toxic Rain Ballistas
● This build can be played with or without Ballistas on Champion or Pathfinder.
● Pathfinder received a massive buff with Nature's Reprisal (50% Increased Effect of Withered and Stack Application).
● All Around Build for Mapping and Bossing, allowing you to do damage on the move.
● Ballista Variant takes advantage of Wilma's Requital, which allows your cast speed also to affect attack speed.
● It scales with Damage over time Multiplier, Attack Speed, and Gem Levels.
● Pathfinder Variant will solve all Recovery Issues with the new Master Surgeon.
● Delayed DoT Damage may not be for everyone.
● It is not the best build to min-max.
2. Venom Gyre (Bow)
● Venom Gyre is an elemental damage hit-based build, which scales Crit and Attack Speed.
● Insane mapping speed with the ability to trivialize Ubers with enough gear.
● It is a very similar tree to Bows, so you can respec to Tornado Shot after you have farmed enough PoE currency.
● This is a great build to min-max due to a plethora of upgrades.
● This build's playstyle may be hit-or-miss as it requires you to use Whirling Blades to shoot out blades you catch.
● This build has potential massive buff with Adrenaline and additional projectiles on Passive Tree.
● It is not the tankiest build but has great recovery with Life Gain on Hit.
1. Righteous Fire/Fire Trap
● This build can be played on Juggernaut, Inquisitor, or Elementalist.
● It scales with Gem Level and Damage over Time Multiplier.
● This build is ridiculously tanky and great for beginners who hate dying and button-intensive playstyle.
● It is great for Mapping and Crucible League Mechanic.
● Atrocious Boss Damage until you have 8L Helmet for RF and 6L Chest for Fire Trap.
● Ubers should not be your goal if you decide to play this build.
● It is not great for late-game scaling if you are looking for a build to insta-kill Bosses.
Final Thoughts
● Playstyle is king.
● It would help if you chose a league starter based on your goals and what content you plan to play.
● It would help if you evaluated how long you plan to play your league starter for and how much you hate releveling a new character.
● Crucible League Mechanic will be greatly beneficial for builds that can have lingering ground damage.
● Adrenaline Stance Swapping will be a true game-changer.
Top 3 Min-Max League Starters
Introduce
● Lots of players only want to play one character in a league, allowing them to fully min-max it.
● Most league starters do not have infinite endgame scaling because they are not crit.
● Most top-tier league starters scale with Gem Levels and Damage over Time Multiplier.
● Playing a League Starter that will serve as your primary character all league can be a huge time and money saver.
3. Frost Blades Trickster
● Many people tried this build in 3.20 and were pleasantly surprised at how it was able to do all the Ubers.
● This build is great for map clearing, but a single target suffers without activating the freeze threshold with Heatshiver.
● Even though the build is not a defensive powerhouse, freezing and chilling all mobs will make you rarely die.
● It scales with flat elemental damage, crit multi, attack speed, and freeze duration.
● Totem is reliant on the damage.
● New Mastery that grants 50% Increased Damage Taken.
2. Venom Gyre Deadeye
● Your character received a huge buff with an additional projectile on the skill tree and potential for Dual Wielding.
● It scales with additional projectiles, flat elemental damage, crit multi, and attack speed.
● This build has a unique playstyle with Whirling Blades, which triggers Tornado and Flame Wall.
● This build requires zero gear to function, clear T16s, and get all your Voidstones.
● This build can reach levels of DPS to phase all Ubers instantly.
● If you like that playstyle, it is easy to transition into an endgame bow build.
● Cluster jewels drastically boost DPS and can add projectiles.
1. Lightning Arrow (ROA/TS) Deadeye
● Rain of Arrows has been the best way to level up a bow character.
● Passive Tree Rework has led to the ability to gain 2 Projectiles.
● Vaal Lightning Arrows is added in 3.21, which should help out a single target.
● Bow builds have a major weakness of the Red Map Wall, where your single target is just not there.
● It scales with additional arrows, attack speed, crit multi, and flat damage.
● You will transition to Tornado Shot for ultra late-game due to its superior shotgunning capabilities.
● The ceiling is lower in 3.21 due to the removal of additional arrows from Synthesis Implicit.
● Crucible Passive Tree can be game-breaking for bows as it will have strong 2H passive tree.
Final Thoughts
● Honorable Mention: Wave of Conviction Ignite into Vortex or EK Ignite
● Playstyle is still king, as these builds are all Attack-Based Crit Builds.
● Heatshiver Rarity could be nerfed.
● Defensively, none of these builds are powerhouses, meaning you will never be to AFK the game like Righteous Fire.
● 2 Additional Projectiles is crazy for Tornado Shot Swap.
● You can easily spend all league trying to get upgrades for these builds while reaching the DPS threshold to kill all Ubers instantly.
Conclusion
You can start your new league by choosing the build that works best for you. I hope you can break through in your path. Have a nice time!
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