Blade Blast of Dagger Detonation
CoC Assassin Build

Updated for Patch 3.24

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Blade Blast of Dagger Detonation is a Physical Nova Spell centered on the player's character. It's quite a unique Skill as despite not having good damage on its own, it adds Spell Damage equal to 750% of the damage of equipped Dagger. Note that it's not Dagger's DPS, so Attack Speed hardly matters, just its Damage per Hit is something to pay attention to. We've decided to make it a Cast-on-Critical build whilst also keeping the original Physical Damage. Physical Spells with high Crit Chance can reap the benefits of Entropic Devastation Gloves and an immensely powerful Impale effect, normally restricted only to Attacks. Impale, to put it bluntly, nearly doubles the Physical Damage in any build. The high Critical Strike Chance, required for this build to work, is sourced from Power Charges and a lot of Assassin's passives. Assassin specializes in Critical Strikes, so capping Crit Chance at 100% for the Spell and Attack that triggers it should be easy.

Deadly Infusion encourages extending the Maximum Power Charge limit while staying at Maximum Power Charges at all times. To achieve this we've opted for the usual Ralakesh's Impatience and Malachai's Loop. Badge of the Brotherhood and Inner Conviction from Militant Faith also fit this archetype well. The Attack used to Trigger Blade Blast will be Cyclone - it allows you to move around and has very high Attack Speed, so achieving the desired Trigger Rate can be easily accomplished. The Spell's AoE is also not great, and without Astral Projector you will have to stay within Melee Range of the target anyway.

Assassin's Unstable Infusion and Deadly Iinfusion grant Crit Chance and Damage, while Mistwalker grants the Elusive Buff for up to a 15% Chance of Avoiding Damage and 30% increased Movement Speed. These effects are doubled via Badge of the Brotherhood, making the character abnormally likely to avoid damage. Combine it with high Evasion and capped Spell Suppression Chance; dodging hits will be your main defensive layer. You will take no Reflected Damage and no Extra Damage from Critical Strikes. You will also benefit from Life Leech and a bit of Block Chance to stay alive. The build is not very tanky, but it utilizes some good defensive mechanisms.

You can also check our other Path of Exile builds right over here Odealo's Crafty Guides - Full List

1. Gameplay

Spin around with Cyclone to trigger Blade Blast. It's pretty much a Melee build with its close trigger range and small AoE. Activate your temporary Aura occasionally. Assassin's Mark, Guard Spell, and Warcry are triggered automatically. Your Auras are Grace, Pride, Herald of Purity, Dread Banner, and maybe Haste, Zealotry, Vitality, Purity of Lightning, or Tempest Shield.

2. Build's PROS & CONS

3. Leveling tips

Start as a basic Spell Damage build, Cast-on-Crit builds are only good after you cap Crit Chance for Attack and Spells alike. One of the best ways to level up such a character is to use a build you're already familiar with - we recommend Traps. Seismic Trap may be especially fitting as it's a Physical Spell too. Follow our Shadow Leveling Guide using Traps to get a better idea of how to level up efficiently. As an Assassin, you will have access to high Crit Chance very early on if you've picked the Unstable Infusion First. You should take advantage of that and allocate Maximum Power Charge and Spell Crit Chance nodes early. Combine it with Storm Prison Wands at first and Void Batteries later.

Bandits:

you should kill all three Bandits for two additional Skill Points

4. Final Skill Tree, Ascendancy Points, and Pantheon

Final Skill Tree:

104 Points Final Skill Tree (doesn't include Unique or Cluster Jewels)
123 Points Path of Building (PoB) link

Ascendancy points:

Preferably in that order:

1. Unstable Infusion
2. Deadly Infusion
3. Mistwalker
4. Opportunistic

Pantheon:

Major God: Soul of the Brine King: You cannot be Stunned if you've been Stunned or Blocked a Stunning Hit in the past 2 seconds

Minor God: Soul of Abberath: 60% less Duration of Ignite on You

5. Final Gems links

[DPS] Blade Blast of Dagger Detonation setup
	Blade Blast of Dagger Detonation - A Physical Nova with added damage sourced from the Dagger.
	Cast on Critical Strike Support - Blade Blast is triggered on Critical Strike with Attack. Try to get the Awakened version for a higher Trigger Rate cap.
	Cyclone - It has a very high Attack Speed to trigger Blade Blast more often and it can be used while moving.
	Brutality Support - Used for more Physical Damage. It disables Elemental and Chaos Damage.
	Increased Critical Damage Support - Grants some additional Critical Strike Multiplier.
	Power Charge on Critical Support - More Damage per Power Charge.

[UTILITY] Auras setup
	Grace - Added and increased Evasion Rating to avoid Attack Hits.
	Pride - Enemies nearby take increased Physical Damage. The Effect is twice as effective after four seconds.
	Zealotry - Used mainly for the Consecrated Ground and 15% more Spell Damage. Crit Chance is not needed, you should reach the cap without this bonus. If you struggle with Mana Reservation Efficiency, which you probably will, don't use it at all and replace it with  Purity of Lightning or  Tempest Shield.
	Enlighten Support - Linked Spells Reserve less Mana.

[UTILITY] Battlemage's Cry setup
	Battlemage's Cry - Causes all increases to Spell Damage to apply to Attacks, making Cyclone stronger. It also increases the Critical Strike Chance.
	Call to Arms - Casts Battlemage's Cry automatically.
	Increased Area of Effect Support - Increases AoE of a Warcry to gain more Power.
	Increased Duration Support - Increases Duration of a Warcry.

[UTILITY] Auras setup
	Dread Banner - Increases the Impale effect and lowers the Accuracy rating of nearby enemies, so that you will Evade more Attacks.
	Herald of Purity - Grants 12% more Physical Damage.
	Enlighten Support

[UTILITY] Assassin's Mark setup
	Assassin's Mark - Marked enemy is more likely to receive Critical Strike and takes more damage from Critical Strikes.
	Mark on Hit Support - Triggers linked Mark when you Hit a Rare or Unique enemy with an Attack.

[UTILITY] Frostblink
	Frostblink - A simple mobility Skill that you can replace with something similar. It's used for quick dodges.

[UTILITY] CwDT setup
	Cast when Damage Taken - Triggers linked Spell after taking enough damage.
	Immortal Call - A Guard Spell that reduces Physical and Elemental Damage. It can be switched with  Steelskin which lasts longer.

[UTILITY] Haste setup
	Haste - Haste grants Movement, Cast, and Attack Speed. If it messes up your Trigger Rate, you will have to replace it with some different Aura, like  Zealotry or  Vitality.
	Divine Blessing Support - You can afford Haste as a temporary Aura with the Eldritch Battery allocated.

6. Gear Setup

It's a CoC build so the most important will be capping your Crit Chance for Cyclone and Blade Blast at 100%. Accuracy is not needed if you have a Dagger with an open Prefix. Cap your Elemental Resistances and get at least positive Chaos Resistance. You should have one source of Life Leech if you don't have Clever Thief Allocated and one source of ES Leech if you haven't picked up ES Leech on the Skill Tree. ES is used only as a Mana Pool, but you will run out of it quickly if you plan to rely only on Recharge. To get more Damage, get items with additional Maximum Power Charges and a Dagger with high Physical Damage. Your clear speed is limited by your Movement Speed, making this stat quite important. A lot of additional Reservation Efficiency is needed if you want to fit Zealotry. Strength is also required. With an Awakened CoC, your Trigger Rate Cap is at 7.58 casts per second, meaning you have to Hit with Cyclone at the same rate or exactly twice as fast. Adjust it by increasing your Attack Speed. CoC builds usually aim for around 10 Cast/second, but there is no way to increase the Trigger Rate, the Cooldown Recovery Rate is too scarce due to the Uniques and Ascendancy present. Remember you can Corrupt your Unique Items; Body Armour can increase the Gem Level of Blade Blast for example.

Our recommended items will:

1. Cap your resistances at 75%
2. Provide you with enough DPS and Life to start mapping

(Helmet) Rare Helmet - You're looking for something with Maximum Life, Resistances, maybe Attributes and Suppression. For the Eldritch mods, get Reservation Efficiency and increased Damage per Power Charge.

Min. requirements: 80 Maximum Life +60% Total Resistances Optional affixes: Chaos Resistance Nearby Enemies take 9% increased Physical Damage increased Mana Reservation Efficiency of Skills Spell Suppression Chance Strength

(Weapon) Rare Dagger - Aim for the Imperial Skean, it has a high base Attack Speed. Its Prefixes must increase its Physical Damage and add Physical Damage. It will affect your Blade Blast DPS. Attack Speed is not as important, but it can help you with trigger rate. Craft the "Hits can't be Evaded" Prefix.

Min. requirements: Hits can't be Evaded (crafted) increased Physical Damage added Physical Damage Optional affixes: +1 to Level of all Physical Spell Skill Gems Global Critical Strike Multiplier increased Attack Speed

(Off-hand) Malachai's Loop - Increased Damage per Power Charge and two additional Maximum Power Charges with no downside as long as you pair it up with Ralakesh's Impatience.

(10–15)% increased Spell Damage (210–250)% increased Energy Shield +2 to Maximum Power Charges 20% chance to gain a Power Charge on Hit (12–16)% increased Spell Damage per Power Charge Lose all Power Charges on reaching Maximum Power Charges Shocks you when you reach Maximum Power Charges

(Body Armour) Lightning Coil - A good defensive pick, mainly on account of its Physical Damage shift. Remember that you have no Armour at all to mitigate Physical Damage. To make it even better, implement Topaz Flask and Graven's Secret.

Adds 1 to (20–30) Lightning Damage to Attacks (90–120)% increased Armour and Evasion +(60–80) to maximum Life -60% to Lightning Resistance 50% of Physical Damage from Hits taken as Lightning Damage

(Body Armour) Doppelgänger Guise - It's another good defensive option. Provides you with some Life Regeneration and reduces Physical and Chaos Damage Taken while Sane.

Grants Level 20 Unhinge Skill (40–60)% more Critical Strike Chance while Insane Enemies Killed by your Hits are destroyed while Insane (30–40)% less Physical and Chaos Damage Taken while Sane Regenerate 10% Life over one second when Hit while Sane

(Boots) Ralakesh's Impatience - Generating Frenzy and Power Charges is not a huge issue, but if one wants to fully benefit from Malachai's Loop, these boots are mandatory.

+(15–25)% to Cold Resistance +(15–25)% to Chaos Resistance Count as having maximum number of Endurance Charges Count as having maximum number of Frenzy Charges Count as having maximum number of Power Charges

(Gloves) Entropic Devastation - Your Blade Blast can now Impale on Critical Strikes, which nearly doubles your DPS.

Grants Call of Steel (100–150)% increased Evasion and Energy Shield (30–50)% increased Effect of Impales inflicted with Spells Critical Strikes with Spells inflict Impale

(Belt) Rare Belt - Rare Belt should get you Maximum Life, Resistances, and Strength. Increased Life, increased Global Physical Damage, and increased Cooldown Recovery Rate can be found on Influenced Belts.

Min. requirements: +80 to Maximum Life +80% to Elemental Resistances Optional affixes: increased Maximum Life Life Regeneration increased Global Physical Damage Cooldown Recovery Rate increased Damage Chaos Resistance Strength

(Belt) Graven's Secret - Has a lot of Lightning Resistance, Maximum Power Charge, and introduces Absorption Charges. These will Recoup around 120% of Elemental Damage as Energy Shield, making it good with Lightning Coil.

(15–25)% increased Stun and Block Recovery +(60–70) to maximum Energy Shield (16–20)% increased maximum Mana +(40–60)% to Lightning Resistance +1 to Maximum Power Charges Modifiers to Minimum Power Charges instead apply to Minimum Absorption Charges Maximum Absorption Charges is equal to Maximum Power Charges Gain Absorption Charges instead of Power Charges

(Amulet) Badge of the Brotherhood  - Provides you with additional Frenzy Charges resulting in a lot more Damage. The effect of Elusive from Mistwalker and Cooldown Recovery Rate for Frostblink is increased by around 100%.

+(16–24) to Dexterity and Intelligence Your Maximum Frenzy Charges is equal to your Maximum Power Charges (7–10)% increased Cooldown Recovery Rate of Travel Skills per Frenzy Charge (7–10)% increased Effect of Elusive on you per Power Charge (20–25)% chance to lose a Frenzy Charge when you use a Travel Skill (20–25)% chance to lose a Power Charge when you gain Elusive

Recommended Anointments: Overcharge

(Ring) Precursor's Emblem - Precursor Emblem can be expensive, especially if it provides one Maximum Power Charge. Its other bonuses for Power of Frenzy charges could be beneficial.

+(12-16)% to Cold and Lightning Resistances 5% increased maximum Energy Shield 5% increased maximum Life +20 to Dexterity and Intelligence <Two Frenzy Charge mods and one Power Charge Mod> or <One Frenzy Charge mod and Two Power Charge Mods>

(Ring) Rare Ring - Prioritize Maximum Life, Strength, and Elemental or Chaos Resisance. Life Leech is a common Prefix that's useful if you don't have any other source of it. A Ring with a Maximum Power Charge would be very expensive.

Min. requirements: +40% Total Elemental Resistances +60 to Maximum Life Non-channelling Skills have -7 to Total Mana Cost (crafted) Optional affixes: +1 to Maximum Power Charges (synthesized implicit) Strength Chaos Resistance Global Critical Strike Multiplier Physical Attack Damage Leeched as Life increased Attack Speed

(Jewel) Rare Jewels - Jewels should increase your Maximum Life and Critical Strike Multiplier. Reservation Efficiency can be found here if needed. You will use up to 6 of these Jewels.

Recommended affixes: increased Maximum Life Mana Reservation Efficiency Attack Speed Critical Strike Multiplier

(Jewel) Militant Faith - The Dominus' variant of Militant Faith shall grant you Inner Conviction for more Spell Damage per Power Charge. The secondary Devotion mod may reduce your Mana Cost of Skills or increase the Aura Effect.

Carved to glorify (2000-10000) new faithful converted by High Templar Dominus Passives in radius are Conquered by the Templars Historic <two random mods of devotion>

(Jewel) The Perandus Pact - Seek "Passive Skills in Radius also grant 6% increased Physical Damage". Put it near Fervour.

Passive Skills in Radius also grant <random stat>

(Jewel) Watcher's Eye - Your Auras are Grace, Pride, temporary Haste, and maybe Zealotry. The single most important mod is the one for 2 additional Impales while using Pride.

(4-6)% increased maximum Energy Shield (4-6)% increased maximum Life (4-6)% increased maximum Mana <Two or Three random aura modifiers>

(Jewel) Large Cluster Jewel - Two Physical Damage Cluster Jewels with listed Notables should be used in this build.

Recommended affixes: 1 Added Passive Skill is Force Multiplier 1 Added Passive Skill is Battle-Hardened 1 Added Passive Skill is Master the Fundamentals 1 Added Passive Skill is Furious Assault

(Jewel) Medium Cluster Jewel - If your character level is high you should be able to fit one Medium Cluster Jewel with Quick Gateway and Pressure Points.

Recommended affixes: 1 Added Passive Skill is Quick Gateway 1 Added Passive Skill is Pressure Points

(Jewel) Small Cluster Jewel - Listed Notables yield some additional Reservation efficiency for specific Auras that may be needed.

Recommended affixes: 1 Added Passive Skill is Sublime Form 1 Added Passive Skill is Destructive Aspect 1 Added Passive Skill is Righteous Path 1 Added Passive Skill is Master of Command

Other suggested Flasks: Life Flask with Bleed Removal Diamond Flask with increased Critical Strike Chance Silver or Jade Flask with increased Attack Speed or Reduced Effect of Curses on you Quicksilver Flask with increased Movement Speed Quartz Flask with increased Evasion Rating

If you have any other build requests please leave that in the comments below. We are always open to suggestions and constructive feedback.

Pictures used in this article are the intellectual property of Grinding Gear Games.