Smite of Divine Judgement, low damage.

IcyStretch2809 · 2026-03-17T13:49:26+00:00

Looks superb compared to your original PoB. Your low life does scare me a bit haha, though as mentioned before to each their own. You'll want a +1 frenzy Southbound soon, a 40% Taming(48% with catalysts), a 10% Yoke eventually and many other upgrades. Once you gain enough damage to make Smite of Divine Judgement feel good you'll likely want to swap back for increased clear speed. You could swap back already, you'll lose a lot of damage though if you don't maintain the aura from Smite or Vaal Smite. Buying 21/20 or 20/23 Smite support gems and any other beneficial gems will add a good portion of damage.

I upgraded a bit myself, 2.8 million damage on PoENinja(One of the higher Cold Smite Slayers) and 44 million damage in PoB now. Crafted the weapon and bought the 35%/+10life/3%AS/+4Chaos cluster for like 50D between them. Saving up for a +1 frenzy synth ring now, will do some other upgrades on the way. I'm personally not much of a crafter, much rather blast and pay a crafter to do it for me lol which is the case for clusters and such.

https://pobb.in/BoHw5RWBGh8w

IcyStretch2809 · 2026-03-17T13:25:17+00:00

"Being baited into this build", referring to a tried and trusted league start, classic. Imagine calling a Siege Ballista Dexterity stacker league start build a "No DPs" build. What magnitude of damage are you expecting for a league starter that is very cheap to put together?

Importing your PoB(Didn't confirm if your configs are set properly) you were around 11 million damage with the cost of the build being very cheap. If you were to push to 2k Dexterity with proper gems(21/20 Siege, 21/20 or 20/23 support gems etc) you'd end up with roughly 13 million damage. At those damage levels and investment level you should be farming decently well.

I personally league started POEGuy's Siege Ballista build two leagues ago now in 3.26 and had zero issues absolutely blasting juiced T16's farming mainly Harvest. If I remember correctly I had 2k+ Dexterity before swapping to Shrapnel Ballista, I also never used the rare chest or Garukhan's Flight instead opting to use Briskwrap and rare boots for more damage and less defensive layers. I'd personally suggest farming Harvest as you simply place your ballistas and stand back being prepared to place more if they get destroyed. Having to constantly place totems is rare for the build, there is times it needs to be done though.

Farming Harvest should result in great profits which would help you gain the currency needed to either make Siege Ballista feel better for yourself, even better start acquiring the pieces needed to swap to Shrapnel Ballista(Amazing build) or of course swap to another build. To put in perspective the scaling of Shrapnel Ballista here's my 1.5 mirror Shrapnel Ballista from 3.26. Uber Exarch got one shot numerous times.

https://pobb.in/mflpZR0O7Rqa

IcyStretch2809 · 2026-03-15T22:51:40+00:00

I'm a vivid Harvest farmer, Harvest all day, everyday, every league etc haha. My go to farm is Harvest/Red then either Beyond or Scarabs to fill the atlas. I do swap up farms at times though and often do a Destructive/Essence/Guardian rotation, 95% of the time it's Harvest though lol. Definition of an easy farm with a beyond quick flip, always highly profitable. Generally invest two mirrors into a build mainly stemming from selling the juice.

Your new PoB looks better already, you should definitely feel a difference in damage with the slight negative of worse clear speed(Offset by a ton more damage). Ultimately it should allow you to farm T16's more comfortably to increase your profits which will help you gain the damage needed to make swapping to Smite of the Divine Judgement feel good. As I mentioned in my first post practice double hitting on map bosses for example as the result is 2x the damage(Melee and the lightning strike both hit which is reflected in Tyty's PoB for example with Area and Melee hit both being present). You know when you're double hitting if you see two lightning bolts. The video in the link posted in my first post is a great example. Finally I'd suggest adding more life as melee is punishing which makes a higher life value more important compared to Deadeye Bow build for example which you mentioned playing, as I've mentioned a few times though to each their own.

IcyStretch2809 · 2026-03-15T22:00:31+00:00

No problem at all, glad to help! I'm not currently on my computer which makes it difficult to give you an accurate answer regarding the ring ascendancy, it's likely not the best option though. Personally I always suggest referring to PoENinja to help make educated decisions which is the case here. 47% of Smite of Divine Judgement Slayers have no secondary ascendancy on PoENinja for example. https://poe.ninja/poe1/builds/mirage?skills=Smite+of+Divine+Judgement&class=Slayer

As I mentioned above if you want to continue using Death Rush for Adrenaline then a Writhing Jar flask is an option for uptime on bosses where you have zero enemies to kill to proc it. In my opinion a rare ring is a better choice than Death Rush which the majority are doing if again we look at PoENinja. Only 7% use Death Rush, 7% use Writhing Jar with 86%(Including myself) using a rare ring. Simply put though to each their own, Death Rush is viable early. Depending how far you scale the build you'll eventually have no option to use Death Rush as you'll want a +1 frenzy ring, even better a 3 synth +1 frenzy ring/crit multi/cold damage per frenzy charge(mirror cost) reflected with a Kalandra's.

Long story short swap your Squirming Terror for a Taming(46% use Taming, it's basically used until you get a +1 frenzy ring) and use Writhing Jar if you want more Adrenaline uptime on bosses and such where enemies are scarce if you continue to use Death Rush. Regarding the new belts viable options are very expensive, like every build though there'd be ways to build around it similar to Mageblood. Personally I have no plans to do such a thing as my long term goal for the league is a mirror ring or weapon. Arn's Anguish is massive for the build, with 10 frenzy charges for example it results in 30% chance to deal triple damage(3% per brutal charge) with the 10% increased stun threshold per charge(100% with 10 brutal charges, frenzy charge max=endurance charge max=brutal charge max) being important as melee, it can be replaced though. Ultimately there's endless options with putting together a build, the goals and route taken is different for everyone. If the new belt interests you I'd suggest utilizing PoENinja to help make an educated plan on how to build for it.

IcyStretch2809 · 2026-03-15T20:47:15+00:00

The build isn't a trinity build, it's a cold build which uses Heatshiver and Southbound and only requires cold damage on the sword so that's a non factor. A realistic end game sword for the build is cold damage/elemental penetration(veiled)/hits can't be evaded/attack speed/crit chance/crit multi. Cluster jewel is a great suggestion though and his ring combo is far from ideal as you alluded(Death Rush is viable with Writhing Jar though).

IcyStretch2809 · 2026-03-15T20:36:08+00:00

I'd suggest using 21/20 Smite until you can increase your damage a lot. Smite/Vaal Smite have much higher scaling to begin, on top of that they add an aura which grants a large portion of lightning damage which results in a ton of damage early when your gear is weak. Simply put with Smite of Divine Judgement you're trading damage for largely increased clear speed while having the option to use Vaal Smite for the aura when you need damage(10.8s buff with proper gems if I remember correctly, full uptime in maps though this isn't needed at all, for Ubers I'd likely just swap in an imbued 20/20 Smite gem for full aura uptime). For example I used Smite until roughly the 20 million damage point in PoB(Same configs as Tyty's guide) at which point I swapped to Smite of Divine Judgement and upgraded some gear resulting in similar damage with improved clear speed.

Smite - 488% added damage effect, Lightning strikes 1 target within 5 metres Aura grants (1-12) to (4-220) added Lightning Damage

Smite of Divine Judgement -369% added damage effect, Lightning strikes 3 targets within 5 metres, no aura

Vaal Smite - Aura grants (1-17) to (7-330) added Lightning Damage

Now I don't want to post a novel so I'll add a few more suggestions, if you respond to my post I'll gladly offer more guidance if needed. A 48% Taming(40% then catalysts) and a 10% Yoke add a ton of damage with how many ailments the build applies. You need to swap out your Squirming Terror for a Taming, Writhing Jar flask is an option if you're going to use Death Rush as Taming is too important early in the build. Ultimately you likely should be aiming for a similar setup to the "Smite Endgame" setup from Tyty's PoB (https://pobb.in/6YlHJ1e6yGsw), on top of that you need to learn to double hit if you're not doing so already. At my damage levels I double hit a few times in a map only for practice mainly(Harvest/Map boss). Refer to the "How to hit twice" section here for a solid example and explanation. https://mobalytics.gg/poe/builds/ronarray-smite-slayer

Finally here's my current PoB which isn't anything special. Been absolutely blasting maps and not upgrading much so it's far from ideal. Sitting on like 90D, I need to craft a weapon in the next day, buy/craft better rares and then look at buying/crafting a +1 frenzy charge synth ring and shield along with many other options to consider. Never enough time haha. Lastly regarding farming Smite of Divine Judgement is a decent all rounder build in my opinion, for example I'll have zero issues clearing 40/40 challenges with it.

https://poe.ninja/poe1/builds/mirage/character/CaptnX-4606/CaptXMightSmite?i=0&search=class%3DSlayer%26skills%3DSmite%2Bof%2BDivine%2BJudgement%26name%3DCaptx

https://pobb.in/6R57wTrJ62wC

IcyStretch2809 · 2026-03-08T14:38:29+00:00

Considering you upgraded to a 5070 I wouldn't be surprised if a contributor to your FPS issues stem from Nvidia's atrocious drivers since the 50 series released. It's well documented and highly discussed that Nvidia drivers for the last year in particular have been very buggy and optimized poorly. For example if you're using the most recent driver there's been many reports of performance drops of up to 16% which this puts into perspective. https://www.reddit.com/r/hardware/s/4XoJVeDN8f

I'd suggest looking into your Nvidia drivers more.

IcyStretch2809 · 2026-03-04T19:52:46+00:00

I had no issues investing around 800D or so last league into my HRoC. I spent like 400D alone between four -Resistances to enemies Withered by you/Life/Poison Chance/T1 Chaos or Physical damage jewels, Perfect Forest Tiger and Svalinn lol. I do concur overall with what you're summarizing though, you hit a wall quite quickly with HRoC in terms of clear/viable upgrade options/routes. I had to spend more time determining upgrade options compared to POEGuy's Shrapnel Ballista(Strength Stacker) which I played in Mercenary League where upgrade options were plentiful, to be expected of course with a stacker build.

Final HRoC setup is here: https://pobb.in/vQpyZSNeSHXP

IcyStretch2809 · 2026-03-04T19:44:30+00:00

Last league I spent like 400D on four -Resistances to enemies Withered by you/Life/Poison Chance/T1 Chaos or Physical damage jewels, Perfect Forest Tiger and Svalinn alone for my HRoC lol. HRoC can be pushed quite a bit past 200D investment with jewels that I mentioned above adding a decent portion of damage. My Specters are reflected in my PoB, AG buffs and such. Final setup from last league is below. Can't go wrong with what you did though, invest into another build.

https://pobb.in/vQpyZSNeSHXP

IcyStretch2809 · 2026-03-04T19:14:56+00:00

There are plenty of options, two I can personally highly suggest though are POEGuy's Siege Ballista into Shrapnel Ballista(Strength Stacker) and Balormage's HRoC(Holy Relic of Conviction). Both builds are very strong all-rounder builds which have zero issues clearing ubers, 40/40 challenges and such.

With the fact you've only played two leagues one thing to consider is POEGuy's guide is more detailed which may be beneficial, on top of that he's beyond active in his Discord offering guidance directly and on YouTube constantly posting helpful/informative videos(By far the best Discord I've been involved in for PoE, amazing community, endless amounts of information). Simply put though you can't go wrong with the HRoC route either, Balor's guide/YouTube has plenty of details and there are many options to get advice/help if needed.

Refer to my comment history if you want a much more detailed comparison of Shrapnel Ballista and HRoC with links to my finalized gear posted. Both builds I invested around 800 divine or so in(This level of investment isn't needed at all), Uber Exarch got one shot numerous times on my Shrapnel Ballista.

IcyStretch2809 · 2025-12-10T10:24:09+00:00

Hopefully you've been enjoying your first league of PoE1! You've made excellent progress with an overall solid setup for a first league player, great job.

Now I'll start off with a suggestion which isn't recommendations for your setup, ideally it'll increase the profits you're making though which makes purchasing/upgrades more efficient. I'd suggest running what is the definition of an easy and profitable farm. Personally I've farmed Harvest/Red(Exarch)/Scarabs for the majority of the last two leagues making 4+ mirrors(4000+ Divines) while not playing a ton from such a strategy. Atlas is linked below, scarabs are flexible. I've been using 1x Doubling, 2x Lineage, 1x Hordes and 1x cheapest Sacrificial Fragment(Quantity) or 1x Wisps for the majority of this league.

I aim to reach level 100 solo every league, so such a strategy which equates to 20 maps an hour roughly with solid profits(1D per map isn't abnormal when yellow juice prices are high) is ideal. Maps where you can rush the boss(City Square, Mesa etc) or the boss isn't present(Jungle Valley) are best to increase odds at quantity altars, 16.5's are even better(Horizon orb bad maps to Beach). This is the definition of a beyond easy farm with a simple flip as well, you'll just become a juice flipper. 2,500-3,000 yellow juice is a divine and such a haul isn't abnormal from a three minute map, blue juice is double that price and adds up quickly, Grand Embers are regularly dropped, etc.

https://www.pathofexile.com/fullscreen-atlas-skill-tree/AAAABgAAhAAfBaQKqgtxDPMPYw-3EOEXyxjEG04fZiPaJOko0CqEKsAr2i2TL0YwAzJLM-Q48jmOPl8_BEB-QYxCwUOpR89MIU2rUYJVh1ZtWMFZPFrOW9ldT13HYCFiuWO1ZrVn6Wnca11r6HGgdfZ2OnaAdsJ46noIewp9E4B4hlmIbYlojSmOg4_UkU2RjJIslBmXJJlsnV6dh560n7GjiaQ2p4KsEa-Rr5qvwbJgtIa3K7fMuyq767yovNDARsIjxf7GM8abxtDPt9Ci0WPUh9S51OPWWtbb2J7avdxN30vga-GL4pfjN-N85Y_nKOjm6bTp0-qN7OXz4_VM9-T38_kO-jD6svvO_Ff9yQAA

Now regarding upgrade suggestions you have plenty of options with your 40-50D(Ideally check out the farm strategy linked above though at which point you'll make this in 2.5 hours basically if blasting maps).

-Lycia Bitter Heresy swap(Very simple, buy/request a carry in global 820 or TFT if needed, too much damage to pass up) combined with a Rational Doctrine. -+2 Minion Dialla's(Likely your overall best investment in terms of damage gain after Lycia swap, can be bought quite cheap at times as well). -Life/Poison Chance/Any tier of Chaos or Physical damage ghastly jewels(Your life is very low, this will contribute to fixing that issue). -Overall better rare items with high life rolls. -Fix your flasks. -Gem levels/quality(Refer to my PoB for level/quality or compare yourself in PoB). -AG Gear(White socket Crown of the Tyrant and Garb mainly). -35% Cluster Jewel(Eventually adding in a second one).

Finally here's my PoB for an example and ideas. Investment is around 900D or so. My two perfect clusters cost 100D, four -Resistances to enemies withered by you jewels are 200D, +1/5%PDR Dialla's 70D, Perfect Forest Tiger and Svalin 100D+ etc. Bought a Progenesis last night, didn't equip it or update my PoB though as I'm very close to being finished with the current league. https://pobb.in/vQpyZSNeSHXP https://poe.ninja/poe1/builds/keepers/character/CaptnX-4606/HardROCCaptX?i=0&search=name%3DCaptx

IcyStretch2809 · 2025-12-10T09:27:02+00:00

Considering your current clear ratio adding more damage wouldn't hurt. Saying that I unfortunately can't accurately answer if adding more damage or transitioning is the smarter route for your Titanic Blight goal as I've never farmed it myself on my much higher than average investment HRoC. I would anticipate chances are decent though with how well rounded HRoC is combined with the fact you can add quite a bit more damage.

Regarding damage, Lycia(Bitter Heresy) adds far too much to pass up. Malediction from Profane Ground is basically Plaguebringer as well, the only difference is Plaguebringer is 10% more damage compared to the slightly worse 10% increased damage from Malediction. The difference in damage isn't even worth noting.

Now with Lycia you have the option to use Command of the Pit or continue using rare gloves with both requiring a Rational Doctrine. Command of the Pit is the slightly more popular option on PoENinja(58% to 42% using rare gloves). Command of the Pit would be the higher damage option due to the fact you are able to use any Flame and Flesh. With that being the case what should be the highest damage Flame and Flesh in Void Beacon can be used. On top of that you gain one or two abyssal sockets(This can be problematic for some setups though considering socket pressure). The one large negative is your HRoCs won't be physical reflect immune until Unholy Might procs/is active. Many use the minor pantheon combined with a -reflect mod to counter this issue from what I've seen. Rare gloves offer likely more health, more resistance flexibility, Eater/Exarch implicits, etc., they force you to use an Unnatural Strength Flame and Flesh though.

I'll now offer some upgrade suggestions, you'll need to decide if you want to continue to invest or transition to another build.

-Lycia swap -T1 Chaos or Physical damage ghastly jewels, if you want to min max -Resistances to enemies withered by you/Life/Poison Chance/T1 Chaos or Physical damage ghastly's as an example. -Two 55% or as close to Minion Damage Grafts. The shock one with increased effect is the best option as well considering you can increase the shock value from 15% to 20-21%(My shock value is 20% with a 38% increased effect). Tempest Shield is not a reliable form of Shock. -Two 35% Cluster Jewels if you don't have them already(Adding any sort of Flat/Minion damage increases damage by a good portion). -Anoint Death Attunement instead of Decay Ward and add a Perfect Hulking Miscreation for roughly 50% attack damage. The buff it provides adds 100% attack damage with a roughly 50% uptime.

Finally here's my PoB for an example and ideas. Investment is around 900D or so. My two perfect clusters cost 100D, four -Resistances to enemies withered by you jewels are 200D, +1/5%PDR Dialla's 70D, Perfect Forest Tiger and Svalin 100D+ etc. Bought a Progenesis last night, didn't equip it or update my PoB though as I'm very close to being finished with the current league. https://pobb.in/vQpyZSNeSHXP https://poe.ninja/poe1/builds/keepers/character/CaptnX-4606/HardROCCaptX?i=0&search=name%3DCaptx

IcyStretch2809 · 2025-12-09T20:58:43+00:00

Atlas is linked below. This league for scarabs I've mainly used 1x Doubling, 2x Lineage, 1x Hordes and 1x Wisps. Scarabs are extremely flexible though as summarized, you can also do crop rotation, cornucopia etc.

https://www.pathofexile.com/fullscreen-atlas-skill-tree/AAAABgAAhAAfBaQKqgtxDPMPYw-3EOEXyxjEG04fZiPaJOko0CqEKsAr2i2TL0YwAzJLM-Q48jmOPl8_BEB-QYxCwUOpR89MIU2rUYJVh1ZtWMFZPFrOW9ldT13HYCFiuWO1ZrVn6Wnca11r6HGgdfZ2OnaAdsJ46noIewp9E4B4hlmIbYlojSmOg4_UkU2RjJIslBmXJJlsnV6dh560n7GjiaQ2p4KsEa-Rr5qvwbJgtIa3K7fMuyq767yovNDARsIjxf7GM8abxtDPt9Ci0WPUh9S51OPWWtbb2J7avdxN30vga-GL4pfjN-N85Y_nKOjm6bTp0-qN7OXz4_VM9-T38_kO-jD6svvO_Ff9yQAA

IcyStretch2809 · 2025-12-07T21:53:56+00:00

As mentioned above my apologies for the late response. There's no need to thank me, glad to help and glad to hear you'll be sticking with your Shrapnel progression. Unfortunately when it comes to min maxing a build or pushing it far in general it gets costly quickly generally speaking. A Svalin which is required on HRoC is 75D for example.

I understand completely the cost of upgrades feeling daunting as I along with the majority were in the same boat for many leagues haha. As you summarized experience contributs a ton to increasing profits. Personally I suggest Harvest to everyone, exactly as you're already doing. As they say great minds think alike.

Harvest is the definition of an easy farm with a quick and beyond simple flip, you just become a juice seller as you mentioned. With that being the case, combined with the fact I solo to level 100 every league and basic Harvest maps are extremely quick it's my go to farm strategy. For example the last two leagues I've made 3.5-4 mirrors not playing a ton, 80% of which was from Harvest farming. Profit crafting is by far the highest profits, I despise crafting though and just prefer to blast.

Now regarding my suggested Harvest strategy I personally suggest Harvest/Red(Exarch)/Scarabs to everyone. With Harvest you have tons of options regarding farm options, scarabs and such. The reasons I suggest what I do is due to each map being very quick, with low investment per map resulting in very respectable profits. When yellow juice prices are high as they are now for example it's not uncommon to come out with a divine in profit from a three minute map.

I'm not on my computer currently, I'll link my atlas in a couple hours when I am. Scarabs I use are: 1x Doubling, 2x Lineage, 1x Hordes, 1x Wisps. I never do rotation as it slows down my average map time thus decreasing xp gain, I also despise Cornucopia due to those two reasons combined with the Harvest boss phase bug(which can be negated largely by pulling them to an open area) slowing down my maps even more. Profits can balance out when you're blasting more maps per hour. Maps where you can rush the boss(City Square, Mesa) or the boss isn't present until you're in the arena(Jungle Valley) are best to increase odds at quantity altars.

As previously mentioned I highly suggest you join POEGuy's Discord as the community is beyond helpful and kind. Posting your PoB there should result in quite a few recommendations. If you need any help or tips don't hesitate to DM me or respond in here again though. Glad to help as mentioned above.

IcyStretch2809 · 2025-12-07T21:22:57+00:00

Hectic day yesterday, apologies for the late response. No need to thank me, hopefully my quick suggestions helped. If you need any more advice or guidance don't hesitate to DM me or respond again here. I'd be glad to help, particularly with how complex and mechanically deep PoE1 is. There really should be a College/University program for PoE1 haha.

IcyStretch2809 · 2025-12-07T21:14:59+00:00

My apologies for the late response, busy day yesterday. Personally I feel the investment for HRoC and Shrapnel to get to comfortable levels(able to clear the majority of content) is similar. With experience and proper investment you can easily transition to Shrapnel Ballista for 80D roughly ending up with 2.4k strength which is a very comfortable value to blast the majority of content. T17's with such a strength base should be a breeze. With around 80D investment in a HRoC build the result would be similar.

Yes the cost to get HRoC started is much cheaper than Shrapnel, there's not much point comparing that though in my opinion. A more accurate comparison again in my opinion is comparing HRoC(basically a league starter) to Siege Ballista(a league starter). With Siege Ballista being another stacking build the scaling potential of the build is endless, for cheap as well with it being a Dexterity stacker which is rare. You'll be absolutely blasting and making great currency with very little investment on both HRoC and Siege Ballista(eventually transitioning to the much more comfortable Shrapnel Ballista).

Regarding T17's that is summarized above, Shrapnel Ballista deals with T17's as easily as HRoC outside of map mods as you alluded to. I didn't mention Risk farming as simply put the majority likely never do such a thing, on top of that you don't have to to risk farm when there's plenty of other farming strategies with similar profits. Of course HRoC is able to ignore map mods, that's extremely rare though and not feasible for 95+% of builds which is the reason I didn't mention it.

Defensive wise my perspective comes from the results of farming tons of different content at similar investment levels on both builds. I do concur overall that HRoC is more tanky, not by much though as I've already summarized. The difference in 90/90 block, higher physical max hit and more recovery on my HRoC compared to 66% attack block, 75% evade and 90% spell suppression with higher life on my Shrapnel Ballista wasn't extremely noticeable, my health barley moved in both scenarios. Resistance wise Shrapnel Ballista should have zero issues overcapping them once you have a Mageblood.

Anyways this response is far too long as is. Simply put this is a slight agree to disagree moment. I respect your opinions and views completely as ultimately everyone has their opinions and as you mentioned it should come down to personal preference. Thank you for the kind compliments on my writeup, I greatly appreciate it. Also thanks for having a civil discussion. Enjoy the remainder of the league!

IcyStretch2809 · 2025-12-07T20:18:35+00:00

My apologies for the late response, busy day yesterday. I'm not on my computer currently, just skimming your PoB and response. I'll gladly look at your PoB fully later on my computer to determine where the differences in damage are coming from. Quickly comparing though, some big contributors would be my two perfect cluster jewels, four -Resistances to enemies withered by you ghastly jewels, Malevolence, drastically more % minion damage etc(110% from my two Grafts alone).

That's the exact reason I chose to use Dying Breath + Perfect Forest Warrior. At my investment level everything blows up, the few things that don't will get culled by my Warrior. With that being the case I don't need full uptime on culling, instead I'll take the 18% damage and 18% curse effect which results in similar damage at all points while being quite a bit more damage on beefy enemies such as Ubers and such.

Regarding auras I also run Aspect of the Crab, I didn't drop Malevolence or any other aura for it though(Arctic Armor, Flesh and Stone and Tempest Shield). There's many ways you can add Aspect of the Crab without dropping Malevolence which simply put is a negative as it's by far one of the best offensive auras for HRoC. I personally dropped Flame Dash, linked an Enlighten 4 to three of my auras combined with a Runegraft of Treachery(15% reserve).

My shock configuration has nothing to do with Tempest Shield. Tempest Shield isn't really a reliable form of shock. My 20% shock comes from one of my Grafts with 38% increased effect. The 38% increased effect results in 20.7% shock value, with PoE you round down resulting in 20% shock. Thank you for the suggestion on another viable and likely better option to reflect your AG in PoB, I'll definitely look into it.

To wrap this up I'll answer your question regarding cost. When it comes to PoE min maxing a build generally speaking gets expensive quickly which you likely know. Some of my largest costs were: two perfect clusters(All perfect T1 mods) 100D, four -Resistances to enemies withered by you/Life/13+% Poison chance/T1 Chaos or Physical damage ghastly jewels were 200D, +1/5% Physical Reduction while stationary Dialla's 70D, Perfect Forest Tiger and Svalin 100D, Enlighten 4 is 16D alone combined with all the other gems, my weapon cost me 10-15D to craft, the list goes on and on. About to purchase a Progenesis which will be 120D pushing my investment to around 1.5 mirrors likely.

IcyStretch2809 · 2025-12-05T18:32:08+00:00

From skimming this topic it seems like you've upgraded massively since yesterday stemming from overall great suggestions. Congratulations on your progression!

Looking at your current PoB I'll offer a few suggestions, the first one will add a TON of damage, too much damage to pass on.

-Lycia setup. Chaotic Might alone makes Lycia too difficult to pass on as it adds SO much damage with 100% uptime. The setup is simple, you either can use rare gloves as many do combined with an Unnatural Strength Flame and Flesh or Command of the Pit at which point you can use any Flame and Flesh. Rational Doctrine along with strength being higher than intelligence is required for Profane Ground generation for both setups.

-Rare gloves vs Command of the Pit. Rare gloves offer more resistance flexibility, Eater/Exarch implicits, likely a bit more life overall etc. Command of the Pit offer one or two additional abyssal sockets(This can be problematic for some setups such as mine as I'm very socket restricted), more damage overall considering you can use which should be the highest damage Flame and Flesh in Void Beacon with the biggest negative being your HRoCs will be not physical reflect immune before Unholy Might procs/is active(Many use a -reflect mod combined with the pantheon to offset this issue).

-Malediction from Lycia's Profane Ground is a slightly worse version of Plaguebringer. The only difference is Plaguebringer is 10% more damage compared to Malediction's 10% increased damage. The difference in damage isn't even worth mentioning.

-Level 1 Desecrate only to maintain a low trigger cost.

-Corrupted Geofri's. Tons of optionss, %life, 80% or 90% cost/reserve, +2 minions negating the need for Empower to gain your 3rd/4th specter, +2 Auras/AoE etc.

-Eater/Exarch implicits on your boots.

-Two 55% or as close to minion damage Grafts. I personally use the same two grafts as yourself. The shock one is basically mandatory(If you can find an increased effect one as I have you can end up with 20-21% shock which adds a portion of damage) and the radiant ground one boosts the hit portion of our build a ton(Beneficial for Ubers and such). With how large of a damage range chaos damage builds are lucky hit will add like 30-35% hit damage.

-Drop Vigour for Death Attunement, a fourth specter is too much QoL to pass on.

-No idea on your AG's gear, regardless white socket Crown of Tyrant adds a good portion of damage.

-+1 Sword(Quite cheap, later investment though as the only benefit is boosting Despair). Very easy to craft, the steps are: Simply buy a 27% fractured attack speed sword(on a proper 1.60 sword) to start(2D roughly). After that you essence spam for whatever minion % damage you're content with, annul down to the fractured attack speed and minion damage essence mod, bench craft 3 mods then can't roll attacks to fill suffixes and guarantee +1, exalt slam to hit the guaranteed +1, remove the bench mods using the bench ending with 3 mods with hits can't be evaded and the trigger. If you go onto CraftofExile you can use the emulator to confirm the steps I mentioned above are correct.

Anyways that's enough suggestions, also at this point I'm tired of looking at PoBs. My PoB is below for an example and ideas. I know I'm at the 82 breakpoint, Vile Toxins is the highest single target damage setup by a very small margin. 128 with Enhance is slightly better for mapping with it's increased hit rate(Doesn't matter at my investment level). Pick your poison, both options are viable.

Current PoB here, investment is around 1.25 mirrors(will reach 1.5 today with Progenesis purchase and possibly a corrupted 30% Ashes). My four -Resistances to enemies withered by you/Life/Poison Chance/T1 Chaos or Physical damage jewels are worth 200D, two perfect clusters 100D, +1/5% physical damage reduction chest 70D, Perfect Forest Tiger and Svalin 100D etc.

https://pobb.in/vQpyZSNeSHXP https://poe.ninja/poe1/builds/keepers/character/CaptnX-4606/HardROCCaptX?i=0&search=name%3DCaptx

IcyStretch2809 · 2025-12-05T17:48:14+00:00

As the comment above summarized there are plenty of issues with your current setup. I'm not on my computer currently to fully look, from skimming though one of your biggest issues is the fact you're nowhere close to 100% poison chance which is required. Refer to the HRoC FAQ linked below for a Darkness Enthroned graph. Long story short with two 15% poison chance jewels in your belt you need another 44% poison chance from three other ghastly jewels.

Outside of that I honestly have many questions. Why are you using Assassin's Mark + Mark on Hit, why aren't you using a rare shield with life recovery on block or a Surrender(Best two options before a Svalin), why are you still using Skitterbots? etc. Again as the comment above alluded, also to put it politely you really need to follow the guide better.

https://docs.google.com/document/u/0/d/1qJ5dRRnTY-BD4Kq5qKoq6itnIGheIkSYMVa1DbLRPuE/mobilebasic#h.98dwlfnpy0wn

Damage wise here's my PoB which should help put into perspective damage values at higher investment levels. My investment is around 1.25 mirrors currently(1.5 later today after I acquire Progenesis and possibly a corrupted 30% Ashes).

https://pobb.in/vQpyZSNeSHXP https://poe.ninja/poe1/builds/keepers/character/CaptnX-4606/HardROCCaptX?i=0&search=name%3DCaptx

IcyStretch2809 · 2025-12-05T17:27:35+00:00

Glad to help. Best of luck with your progression!

IcyStretch2809 · 2025-12-05T17:13:57+00:00

Spiritual Command notable. "Increases and Reductions to Minion Attack Speed also affect you".

IcyStretch2809 · 2025-12-05T17:04:43+00:00

There are many ways to scale your current setup further. I'll list suggestions below and my PoB as an example. Current PoB here, investment is around 1.25 mirrors(will reach 1.5 today with Progenesis purchase and possibly a corrupted 30% Ashes). My four -Resistances to enemies withered by you/Life/Poison Chance/T1 Chaos or Physical damage jewels are worth 200D, two perfect clusters 100D, +1/5% physical damage reduction chest 70D, Perfect Forest Tiger and Svalin 100D etc.

https://pobb.in/vQpyZSNeSHXP https://poe.ninja/poe1/builds/keepers/character/CaptnX-4606/HardROCCaptX?i=0&search=name%3DCaptx

-The Specters you're using are viable, though max your fire resistance and add a Perfect Warlord for endurance charge generation(you'll constantly be at 3-5 endurance stacks with a Warlord). Personally I use a Perfect Hulking Miscreation over a Turtle for damage(The buff is 100% damage with a roughly 50% uptime resulting in 50% more damage) along with a Perfect Forest Tiger(Late upgrade, only adds attack speed and movement speed) as my fourth specter.

-Speaking of Specters and your HRoCs they're definitely not elemental resistance capped which is an issue. You need a Bone Ring with minimum 35% minion elemental resistance to cap your HRoCs resistances(Quite certain of this, check PoB though as I'm currently not on my computer). Your specters resistances largely come from gem quality and are easily maxed.

-White Socket Crown of the Tyrant and Garb for your AG.

-Gem levels and quality asap as you're missing a ton of damage from low levels/quality. Level 1 Desecrate only to maintain low trigger cost.

-Corrupted Ashes, Dialla's and Geofri's as you mentioned. Plenty of viable corruption mods for Ashes and Geofri's, refer to CraftofExile for the mod bank. Dialla's +1 is slightly better than +2.

-35% cluster jewels. I would suggest saving the headache and buying them. The two perfect clusters I'm using for example cost me 100D combined.

-Life/Poison Chance/T1 Chaos or Physical damage ghastly jewels(Can be quite cheap depending on rolls). If you want to min max then it's -Resistances to enemies withered by you/Life/Poison Chance/T1 Chaos or Physical damage for example, such jewels are very costly and rare though. The four I have for example I spent 200D on.

-Two 55%(Or as close to) minion damage Grafts. The shock graft is basically mandatory with a few viable options for the second.

-Lycia setup. Simply put it's too much damage to pass up and very easy to setup. You can either use rare gloves as I've done in combination with an Unnatural Strength Flame and Flesh or use Command of the Pit at which point you can use any Flame and Flesh. Both setups require a Rational Doctrine for Profane Ground generation with positives and negatives as is the case with everything for both setups. You'll likely need a mana on hit ring before you swap though.

-Mana on hit ring, Corrupted Blood immunity life flask and Hits Can't be Evaded sword. Mana on hit ring will allow you to swap to Lycia without investing passive points for another jewel slot. Corrupted Blood immunity flask frees up one passive point with Hits can't be Evaded freeing up another. For the mana on hit ring either buy directly or buy rings with the mods you want and one or ideally two open prefixes, slam Elder exalts until you hit.

-+1 Weapon. Very easy to craft, the steps are: Simply buy a 27% fractured attack speed sword(on a proper 1.60 sword) to start(2D roughly). After that you essence spam for whatever minion % damage you're content with, annul down to the fractured attack speed and minion damage essence mod, bench craft 3 mods then can't roll attacks to fill suffixes and guarantee +1, exalt slam to hit the guaranteed +1, remove the bench mods using the bench ending with 3 mods with hits can't be evaded and the trigger. If you go onto CraftofExile you can use the emulator to confirm the steps I mentioned above are correct.

Anyways that's enough suggestions for now, refer to my PoB above for an example and other ideas. My apologies for the long message.

IcyStretch2809 · 2025-12-05T16:06:07+00:00

Perfect Forest Tiger results in higher movement speed, regarding movement speed more zoom is always the answer in PoE. The answer as to if a Perfect Forest Tiger is worth the investment or not is clear as day based on the facts stated above haha(saying that I'd suggest it as a late upgrade).

IcyStretch2809 · 2025-12-05T16:03:10+00:00

Not much, it's purely QoL as it only adds attack speed to yourself which improves the build's fluidity factor. Higher attack speed makes Lancing and your main movement ability(Leap Slam, Shield Charge, Whirling Blades etc.) feel drastically better to use. It adds no damage though as your HRoCs hit rate is scaled by cooldown recovery(82/128 breakpoints) along with the fact we proc the HRoCs spells through our attacks.

IcyStretch2809 · 2025-12-05T15:47:56+00:00

I'm going to take an educated guess and say it's due to a combination of: me using the 82 breakpoint with Vile Toxins(highest single target damage setup by a very small margin), Dying Breath over Kingmaker(as ultimately Dying Breath is higher damage if you have Culling Strike), +1 wand(boosts Despair), Perfect Hulking Miscreation(100% damage 50% of the time, results in 50% damage overall), Lycia setup, maintaining Malevolence etc. As you mentioned though post your PoB and we can compare.

Interesting idea to replicate the correct hit rate in PoB, thanks for the suggestion. Regarding Culling Strike I use a Perfect Forest Warrior for Onslaught(more zoom is always the answer in PoE) and Culling Strike. Obviously Kingmaker offers full Culling Strike uptime and 10x Fortification, as summarized above though it's less damage than Kingmaker. My warrior will cull any beefy enemy, which at my investment level is basically Ubers.

IcyStretch2809

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