Essence Drain/Contagion and Blight Trickster Gear, Jewels, and Flasks

Path of Building

Here is our PoB

Gear Summary / TL;DR

These items strike a balance between power and cost-effectiveness. If you want to explore more options for Gear (both budget and high-end), Flasks, or get more information on alternatives and specialty items, please ensure you read the Gear, Jewels, and Flasks section in its entirety.

Our recommendation:

Item Slot	Item Name
Head	Rare Evasion/Energy Shield Helmet
Amulet	Rare Amulet
Chest	Rare Evasion/Energy Shield Chest
Gloves	Rare Evasion/Energy Shield Gloves
Boots	Rare Evasion/Energy Shield Boots
Belt	Rare Stygian Vise
Rings	Rare Iolite Ring and Rare Unset Ring
Weapons	Rare Prophecy Wand

Armour

Chest

Searing Exarch/Eater of Worlds Evasion/Energy Shield base

Implicits

1. % increased effect of Non-Curse Auras
2. Determination/Malevolence increased Aura effect (defensive vs offensive choice)

Use Deafening Essence of Loathing to get 10% Increased Mana Reservation Efficiency and a combination of the following:

1. +% chance to Suppress Spell Damage
2. +# Evasion and Energy Shield
3. +% increased Evasion and Energy Shield
4. +# to maximum Life
5. [Uncapped] Elemental Resistances

Helmet

Searing Exarch/Eater of Worlds Evasion/Energy Shield base

Implicits:

1. Increased Mana Reservation Efficiency
2. Despair Curse Effect

Use Deafening Essence of Loathing to get 10% Increased Mana Reservation Efficiency and a combination of the following:

1. +% chance to Suppress Spell Damage
2. +# Evasion and Energy Shield
3. +% increased Evasion and Energy Shield
4. +# to maximum Life
5. [Uncapped] Elemental Resistances

Recommended Labyrinth Enchants:

1. 40% Increased Essence Drain Damage
2. 30% Increased Essence Drain Duration
3. 12% Increased Contagion Area of Effect

Essence Drain duration is actually better than damage in some cases, particularly when dealing with monoliths, as it allows your Essence Drain to bounce for longer and propagate throughout the entire pack. We still recommend the damage enchant for all-round purposes, but the disparity is smaller than in previous leagues.

Gloves

Hunter influenced Evasion/Energy Shield Base

1. +% chance to Suppress Spell Damage
2. +% to Chaos Damage over Time Multiplier
3. +% increased Evasion and Energy Shield
4. +# to maximum Life

If unable to get Hunter Influenced Gloves can do Searing Exarch/Eater of worlds and Get Chaos Dot Multi and Chaos Damage Leeched as life implicits

Boots

1. % Increased Movement Speed (25%+)
2. [Uncapped] Elemental Resistances
3. +# to Maximum Life
4. +% chance to Suppress Spell Damage
5. +# to Evasion Rating/Maximum Energy Shield

Recommended Labyrinth Enchants:

1. 16% increased Attack and Cast Speed if you’ve Killed Recently
2. 2% Life Regenrated if you have been hit recently

Weapon and Shield

Weapon

Wands are the best choice for this build due to their Spell Damage implicits.

1. +1 to Level of all Spell Skill Gems
2. +1 to Level of all Chaos Spell Skill Gems
3. +% to Chaos Damage over Time Multiplier
4. +% to Damage over Time Multiplier
5. %% increased Spell Damage

Later you want Hunter influenced wands.

1. One with Curse Enemies with Despair on Hit, with 40% increased Effect
2. One with Malevolence has 40% increased Aura Effect

Accessories

Amulet

A Rare Amulet, Prioritize stats as follows:

1. [Uncapped] Elemental Resistances
2. +1 to Level of all Skill Gems
3. +1 to Level of all Chaos Skill Gems
4. +# to Maximum Life
5. +# to all Attributes (as Needed)
6. +% to Damage over Time Multiplier

Rings

Rare Iolite Ring and Unset Ring are the best choices in most situations. Prioritize stats as follows:

1. [Uncapped] Elemental Resistances
2. +# to Maximum Life
3. +# to Evasion Rating
4. +# to maximum Energy Shield
5. % Increased Chaos Damage (Crafted)
6. +# to Attributes (as needed)
7. % Increased Damage (Crafted)

If you are using Impresence (Chaos) and want to incorporate Blasphemy Support with your Despair, you will want to use an Unset Ringwhich can roll # to Level of Socketed Gems (up to +3 at Item Level 76). Drop Malevolence from the link that also has Despair and Flesh and Stone, replacing it with Blasphemy Support. Place Malevolence in the +# to Gem Level Unset Ring.

Belt

A Stygian Vise is the best belt base to use. Prioritize the stats of your belt as follows:

1. [Uncapped] Elemental Resistances
2. +# to Maximum Life
3. +# to Strength
4. +# to Armour
5. +% increased Maximum Life (once you can get an elder base)

One of the main reasons to use a Stygian Vise is that we want to have an Abyssal Socket so we do not need to waste a Jewel Socket. By acquiring an Abyss Jewel with % Chance to Gain Onslaught for 4 Seconds on Kill, we forego the need to use a Silver Flask entirely. This increases clear by boosting Movement and Cast Speed. This affix can only be found on Searching Eye Jewels and Murderous Eye Jewels. Prioritize the affixes as follows:

1. % Chance to Gain Onslaught for 4 Seconds on Kill
2. +# to Maximum Life
3. % Increased Damage over Time while Dual Wielding
4. % Increased Movement Speed if You’ve Killed Recently

Any other useful stats you can find or make use of, such as Resistances, are perfectly fine — Onslaught is by far the most important and it is worth using a Jewel with that and nothing else if necessary.

Jewels

Large Cluster Jewels

We use 8 passive Large Cluster Jewels with % increased Chaos Damage

We want to get a combination of the following Notables:

1. Touch of Cruelty
2. Unwaveringly Evil
3. Unspeakable Gifts
4. Wicked Pall
5. Unholy Grace

Medium Cluster Jewels

We use 4 passive Medium Cluster Jewels with Chaos Damage over Time Multiplier

We want to get the following notables:

1. Flow of Life
   #Student of Decay

Small Cluster Jewels

We use 2/3 (if having mana issues) passive Small Cluster Jewels with Increased Mana Reservation Efficiency

We want to get the following notables spread amongst the cluster jewels we use:

1. Sublime Form
2. Mortifying Aspect
3. Uncompromising
4. Master of Command (high budget only)

Flasks

• Taste of Hate
• Experimenter’s Jade Flask of the Antelope
• Experimenter’s Granite Flask of Pangolin
• Experimenter’s Basalt Flask of Pangolin
• Experimenter’s Quicksilver Flask of Adrenaline

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