Caustic Arrow Shadow Trickster build - Odealo's Crafty Guide

Try out one of the fastest Caustic Arrow builds out there. Our CA Trickster is capable of clearing all the content with proper investment

Caustic Arrow
Trickster-Shadow build

Updated for Patch 3.5

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Guide notes

August 16, 2018
-Build created
August 27, 2018
-Added gameplay video
December 19, 2018
-Updated for Patch 3.5

Caustic Arrow was reworked in Patch 3.4 and now it has increased Damage over Time, and additional initial Hit that also deals damage allowing Caustic Arrow to proc ailments and other on Hit effects (however, this build does not utilize it). Caustic Arrow has been one of the most popular Damage over Time skills, and with the recent changes, it can be also used in higher Tier content if you manage to get the right gear. While Caustic Arrow's DPS comes mainly from Gems and Passives, you can focus to squeeze as much defensive stats, Movement Speed and Magic-find attribute including Increased Item Rarity and Increased Item Quantity from all the other gear parts. This build focuses on maximizing defenses and Movement Speed bonuses by using Queen of the Forest and very high Evasion Rating gear while maintaining high Caustic Arrow's damage. We have also decided to use Trickster for this build, as it provides the highest Damage over Time bonuses, additional Frenzy Charges which grant higher bonuses, and very high Attack Speed bonus, which allows stacking Withered with Toxic Rain very fast.

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1. Gameplay

Our Caustic Arrow Trickster build relies on high Damage over Time caused by Caustic clouds. On top of that, you use Toxic Rain with greatly increased Attack Speed and number of Projectiles to slow down enemies and apply the Withered debuff to them which increases Chaos Damage they take. Most of the enemies will die nearly instantly in the cloud allowing you to progress faster. On the defensive part, this build utilizes very high Evasion Rating, Dodge Chance and insane Movement Speed (approximately 200% with all the gear and Flasks enabled). Keep in mind that Caustic clouds don't stack, so there is no point spamming the skill against the same target.

0:06 Tier 12 Defiled Cathedral
0:43 Tier 14 Colosseum
1:07Tier 15 Lair of the Hydra
1:39 Tier 15 Maze of the Minotaur

This video was recorded on a level 87 Trickster equipped with +3 Bow to maximize Caustic Arrow's Damage over Time

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2. Build's PROS & CONS

PROS

high AoE Damage
extreme Movement Speed increased by up to nearly 200%
very solid defenses with over 5,000 Life, 75% Chance to Evade and 75 Chance to Dodge Spells and Attacks
immune to reflect map mods
all content viable with proper investments in gear
can be played as a Magic-find character since most of your DPS and defenses come from Passives and Gems

CONS

need high investments in Essence Crafted, Elder, and Shaped gear to maximize DPS against end-game Bosses

3. Leveling

Leveling your character for this Trickster build is very easy. Caustic Arrow is one of the first skills that you can pick up as a quest reward, allowing you to use the core skill early on. Same goes for Toxic Rain, which becomes a nice addition to your DPS as soon as you reach level 12. Also, Caustic Arrow does not require any specific unique items to be powerful, it does not cost much Mana either, allowing you to use pretty much any items you find during leveling. You should feel comfortable as long as you can get some Life and Resistances on gear, and Movement Speed on your boots.

Suggested leveling Gem setups:

Caustic Arrow setup
	Caustic Arrow - your primary attack skill in this build
	Mirage Archer Support - summons a Mirage Archer on your back that uses the supported skill with slightly reduced Attack Speed and Damage
	Void Manipulation Support - increases Chaos Damage dealt
	Vicius Projectiles Support - increases the damage of your Projectiles, and the DoT they inflict

Toxic Rain setup
	Toxic Rain - used for some extra DPS and slow
	Vicius Projectiles Support
	Void Manipulation Support
	Faster Attacks Support

Utility Gems
	Blink Arrow - the only Movement Skill that can be used with Bows
	Clarity - helps a lot during leveling to sustain your Mana
	Haste - great Aura for leveling
	Stone Golem - grants increased Life Regeneration

Bandits:

Kill all the Bandits for two additional Passives Points

Leveling Skill Trees:

31 Points Skill Tree
Priorities: 1) Blood Siphon 2) Entropy 3) Fangs of the Viper 4) Fatal Toxins 5) Blood Drinker

57 Points Skill Tree
Priorities: 1) Heavy Draw 2) Finesse 3) Aspect of the Eagle 4) Toxic Strikes 5) Thick Skin

Recommended leveling items:

Silverbranch - the first unique Bow that you can use. Silverbranch of Silverbough (Fated version) can be used for the entire leveling phase
+1 to Level of Socketed Bow Gems (80-100)% increased Physical Damage 10% increased Attack Speed +30 to Accuracy Rating +10 Mana gained on Kill

Quill Rain - one of the best leveling weapons in Path of Exile. It reduces your global DPS but grants the highest Attack Speed bonus in the game
100% increased Physical Damage +(10-20) to Dexterity 100% increased Attack Speed +(25-50) to Accuracy Rating +2 Mana gained for each Enemy hit by Attacks (50-100)% increased Projectile Speed 40% less Damage

Karui Ward - the best leveling Amulet for this build. It will work well until the mid-tier mapping
+(20-30) to Dexterity +(20-30) to Strength +100 to Accuracy Rating 30% increased Projectile Speed 10% increased Movement Speed 30% increased Projectile Damage

Goldrim - the best leveling Helmet in Path of Exile
+(30-50) to Evasion Rating 10% increased Rarity of Items found +(30-40)% to all Elemental Resistances Reflects 4 Physical Damage to Melee Attackers Level Requirement reduced by 100 (Hidden)

4. Final Skill Tree, Ascendancy Points, and Pantheon

Final Skill Tree:

115 Points Final Skill Tree
115 Points Path of Building(PoB) link

Ascendancy points:

Preferably in that order:

Patient Reaper
Prolonged Pain
Weave the Arcane
Swift Killer

Pantheon:

Major God: Soul of Solaris 6% Physical Damage Reduction if there is only one nearby Enemy, 20% chance to take 50% less Area Damage from Hits

Minor God: Soul of Garukhan +5% chance to Evade Attacks if you've taken a Savage Hit recently

5. Final Gems links

[DPS] Caustic Arrow
	Caustic Arrow - your primary source of DPS. All the Support Gems used are meant to increase the damage of the Chaos DoT effect
	Vicious Projectiles Support
	Void Manipulation Support
	Swift Affliction Support - greatly increases Damage over Time
	Damage on Full Life Support
	Concentrated Effect Support

[UTILITY] Toxic Rain
	Toxic Rain - Frenzy is used to
	Greater Multiple Projectiles Support
	Withering Touch Support - grants a chance to apply the Withered debuff when you Hit an enemy, increasing Chaos Damage it takes for each stack
	Increased Area of Effect Support - increases the radius of Toxic Rain

[CURSE] Despair Aura
	Despair - recommended Curse for this build which increases Damage over Time the cursed enemies take
	Blasphemy - makes supported Curse work as an Aura around you

[UTILITY] Vaal Grace and Immortal Call
	Cast when Damage Taken Support - will auto-cast supported skills. Keep this Gem at level 1
	Immortal Call - grants brief immunity to Physical Damage. Keep this Gem at level 3
	Increased Duration Support - increases the duration of both Vaal Grace and Immortal Call
	Vaal Grace - Grace is used both as the regular Aura that increases your Evasion Rating and Movement Speed, as well as, the Vaal Aura which grants high Dodge Chance for a brief duration

[UTILITY] Phase Run and Vaal Haste
	Cast when Damage Taken Support - will auto-cast supported skills. Keep this Gem at level 7
	Phase Run - grants Phasing, which increases your Movement Speed and makes you less visible to enemies. Keep this Gem at level 9
	Increased Duration Support
	Vaal Haste - Vaal Aura that increases your Movement, Cast, and Attack Speed

[MOBILITY] Blink Arrow
	Blink Arrow
	Faster Attacks Support

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5. Gear Setup

Below you will find the recommended gear for your Caustic Arrow Trickster build. Since Caustic Arrow DPS comes from Gems and Passives mainly, most of the items can be replaced with pretty much anything (Rare Gear, Magic-find gear etc.). However, the items listed below will grant nearly 200% Movement Speed Bonus, 75% Chance to Evade, cap your Dodge Chance, and still maintain very high Caustic Arrow DoT Damage.

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Our recommended items will:

Cap your resistances
Give you enough DPS/Life to start mapping successfully

Stat priorities on items:

Life
Elemental Resistances
Chaos/Damage over Time
Evasion Rating

(Helmet) Starkonja's Head - one of the most popular Helmets in Path of Exile. Grants very high defensive bonuses
50% reduced Damage when on Low Life +(50-70) to Dexterity 10% increased Attack Speed 25% increased Global Critical Strike Chance (100-130)% increased Evasion Rating +(80-100) to maximum Life 150% increased Global Evasion Rating when on Low Life
Helmet Enchantments: 40% increased Caustic Arrow Damage
(Weapon) Rare +3 Bow - the best in the slot
Min. requirements: +1 level to Socketed Gems +2 levels to Socketed Bow Gems Optional affixes: increased Damage over Time - Master crafted
(Weapon) Silverbough - is a rather cheap +2 Bow that greatly increases your DPS at the cost of reduced Attack Speed
+1 to Level of Socketed Gems +1 to Level of Socketed Bow Gems (80-100)% increased Physical Damage Adds (15-25) to (50-60) Physical Damage 10% increased Attack Speed +30 to Accuracy Rating +10 Mana gained on Kill
(Quiver) Rare Quiver - used mainly for defensive stats
Min. requirements: 80 maximum Life 35% Fire Resistance 35% Lightning Resistance 35% Cold Resistance Optional affixes: increased Global Accuracy Rating
(Body Armour) Queen of the Forest - mandatory item for this build. It grants very high Evasion Rating and Movement Speed bonuses
3% reduced Movement Speed (Hidden) (200-240)% increased Evasion Rating +(60-70) to maximum Life +(6-10)% to Fire Resistance +(26-40)% to Cold Resistance +(11-25)% to Lightning Resistance 25% reduced Movement Speed 1% increased Movement Speed per 450 Evasion Rating, up to 100% -(50-40) Physical Damage taken when Hit by Animals
(Boots) Atziri's Step - one of the best in the slot for this build. This pair grants high Movement Speed, Evasion Rating, and extra Dodge Chance
180% increased Evasion Rating +(55-75) to maximum Life 30% increased Movement Speed (14-16)% chance to Dodge Spell Hits
Boots Enchantments: 0.6% of Damage Leeched as Life and Mana if you've Killed Recently 80% chance to Avoid being Stunned if you've Killed Recently
(Belt) Rare Belt - with high defensive stats
Min. requirements: 80 maximum Life 35 Strength 30% Fire Resistance 30% Lightning Resistance 30% Cold Resistance Optional affixes: increased Life Flask Recovery Rate
(Amulet) Impresence (Chaos) - is one of the best picks for this build. It greatly increases Damage over Time and lets you use Despair Curse/Aura without the Mana Reservation cost
+(10-16) to all Attributes (30-40)% increased Damage over Time Adds (17-19) to (23-29) Chaos Damage +(50-70) to maximum Life +(17-23)% to Chaos Resistance 100% reduced Despair Mana Reservation Gain Maddening Presence for 10 seconds when you Kill a Rare or Unique Enemy
(Ring) Rare Rings - with high defensive stats
Min. requirements: 55 maximum Life 100 Evasion Rating 35 Intelligence Optional affixes: Elemental Resistances Chaos Resistance
(Gloves) Rare Gloves - used mainly for the defensive stats, but can also provide increases DPS if you manage to find a proper pair of Gripped Gloves
Min. requirements: 55 maximum Life 380 Evasion Rating 25% Fire Resistance 25% Cold Resistance 25% Lightning Resistance Optional affixes: increased Projectile Damage
(Jewels) Rare Jewels
Recommended affixes: maximum Life Chaos Damage/Damage over Time/Projectile Damage Intelligence
(Flask) Witchfire Brew - the best utility Flask for this build. It greatly increases your Damage over Time
100% increased Evasion Rating Creates a Smoke Cloud on Use 50% increased Charges used (25-40)% increased Damage Over Time during Flask Effect Grants Level 21 Despair Curse Aura during Flask Effect
Other suggested Flasks: Bubbling Divine Life Flask of Staunching (Bleeding immunity) Bubbling Divine Life Flask of Heat (Chill and Freeze immunity) Ample Jade Flask of Reflexes (increased Evasion Rating) Ample Quartz Flask of Adrenaline (Dodge Chance and Movement Speed)