The Infernal Flicker Strike Ascendant build for Path of Exile (PoE) 3.25 is a high-risk, high-reward melee build that leverages the unique properties of Flicker Strike and the versatile nature of the Ascendant class. This build is designed to deliver rapid, teleporting strikes infused with fiery explosions, creating a chaotic and visually stunning playstyle. It's particularly potent in clearing large packs of enemies quickly while also being capable of handling tougher content with the right gear and setup.
Key Mechanics and Skills
Flicker Strike is the centerpiece of this build. Flicker Strike causes your character to teleport to a nearby enemy and perform a melee attack, making it ideal for rapidly clearing groups of enemies. The skill's inherent drawback—causing you to target enemies randomly—can be mitigated by proper management of Frenzy Charges, which are consumed on each use of Flicker Strike to bypass the cooldown.
To maximize the potential of Flicker Strike, this build focuses on converting physical damage to fire damage, utilizing the Infernal Blow support gem to add explosive fire effects to your attacks. The explosions created by Infernal Blow are especially effective when combined with the rapid teleportation of Flicker Strike, resulting in a chain reaction of fiery blasts that can clear entire screens of enemies in seconds.
Passive Skill Tree and Ascendancy Points
The passive skill tree for this build emphasizes the following areas:
1. Physical Damage: Nodes that increase physical damage will directly enhance both your base damage and the fire damage conversion.
2. Fire Damage: Investing in fire damage nodes further amplifies the damage output from Infernal Blow and any fire-based support gems.
3. Life Leech: Since the Flicker Strike is a melee skill, sustaining life through leech is crucial. Investing in life leech nodes and using Slayer's Overleech mechanic ensures you can sustain your health even in tough encounters.
4. Frenzy Charges: These are vital for maintaining the flow of Flicker Strike, so picking up additional Frenzy Charge nodes in the passive tree is important.
Gear and Stat Prioritization
1. Weapons: Dual-wielding high physical damage weapons, preferably with added fire damage or increased attack speed, is ideal. Look for weapons with modifiers that increase physical damage, such as fire, or provide flat-added fire damage to attacks.
2. Armor: Prioritize gear that offers life, resistances, and evasion/dodge. The use of Kaom's Heart for its massive life boost is a popular choice, although it requires sacrificing a six-link chest piece.
3. Jewels: Use Abyssal Jewels with added physical or fire damage, life, and increased damage with one-handed weapons. A well-rolled Watcher's Eye jewel with mods like "Gain % of Physical Damage as Extra Fire Damage" while affected by Anger can be a significant boost.
4. Flasks: Life flasks with instant recovery, a utility flask for curse immunity, and an Atziri's Promise for added chaos and elemental damage can complement the build well.
Support Gems
The primary link setup for this build includes:
1. Flicker Strike: The core skill.
2. Multistrike: Increases the number of Flicker Strikes per activation, improving clear speed.
3. Melee Splash: Adds area of effect damage to each hit, allowing for better mob clearing.
4. Elemental Damage with Attacks: Increases your elemental damage, synergizing with the fire damage focus.
5. Fortify: Provides defensive utility, reducing incoming damage.
6. Infernal Blow: Adds the explosive effect that triggers fiery chain reactions on kill.
Playstyle and Tips
This build requires careful management of Frenzy Charges to ensure you can continuously use Flicker Strike without interruption. It's recommended to use Blood Rage to generate Frenzy Charges passively, combined with Blood Dance boots or a Frenzy skill setup for additional charge generation.
Positioning is less important with Flicker Strike due to its teleporting nature, but be mindful of the random targeting when dealing with bosses or high-priority targets. The explosions from Infernal Blow help mitigate this randomness, as the resulting chain reactions will clear nearby enemies regardless of your exact targeting.
Endgame Viability
The Infernal Flicker Strike Ascendant build is capable of tackling endgame content such as Shaper, Elder, and Uber Elder with the right investment. The build's natural clear speed makes it an excellent choice for mapping, while the heavy focus on life leech and fire damage provides the sustain and damage needed for tougher encounters.
In conclusion, the Infernal Flicker Strike Ascendant build in PoE 3.25 offers a dynamic and thrilling playstyle, perfect for players who enjoy fast-paced, explosive combat. With the right gear and careful mechanics management, this build can be powerful and satisfying to play through all levels of content.
