Essence Drain of Desperation
Trickster Build

Created for Patch 3.25

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The Essence Drain is a Spell that applies a Damaging Chaos Debuff to the Enemy it Hits. It applies the Debuff to a single Enemy, but you can also use the Contagion Spell to spread the Debuff to nearby Enemies. The Transfigured Essence Drain of Desperation deals almost twice as much Damage as the original version, but instead of healing you, it causes you to lose Life proportional to the Debuff Damage. It is not technically a Damage, so you can't mitigate it with Resistances or any other form of Damage Reduction. The only known way to survive this Debuff is to avoid it completely by using a proxy. If you combine this Skill with a Trap Support the Debuff will be directed at the remote device that disappears after triggering the Spell anyway. Using the Trap in a Build like this can be a bit unwieldy at first, but due to the Trap Arming Speed, you can Throw the Trap first and then use the Contagion, which resembles the original gameplay the most. 

Both Trickster and Occultist are good Ascendencies for a Chaos Damage over Time Build, although the Trickster offers vastly better defensive options. The Polymath grants tons of Damage multiplier for any type of Skill but also offers excellent Life Recovery while defeating hordes of Enemies. You will also have lots of Evasion and Energy Shield, easily cap the Spell Suppression Chance, and passively slow down nearby foes. Additionally, you will use the Aspect of the Spider to further slow down Enemies, making it very easy to safely maneuver between your Enemies. 

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

1. Gameplay

Throw a Trap with the Essence Drain and Cast the Contagion Spell, which will spread the Essence Drain to nearby Enemies. To improve your Damage against Bosses use the Despair Curse to lower their Chaos Resistance and apply Wither to increase the Chaos Damage they take. For Movement use Shield Charge or Frostblink. 

2. Build's PROS & CONS

3. Leveling tips

You can level up using a regular Essence Drain and Contagion combo since Act 1. It should be very fast and effective on its own. Look for Rare Items that improve your Spell Damage, raise Gem Levels of Chaos Spells, and try to keep your Elemental Resistance on a fairly high level. You can check out our Ranger Leveling Guide with Bows/DoT in PoE to see more tips!

Bandits:

Kill all Bandits to get an additional Passive Tree Skill Point, or help Alira to gain additional Resistance.

Leveling Skill Trees:
41 Points Passive Tree
Pick up Chaos Damage and a bit of Life or Mana Notables nearby. If you use the Trap Setup right from the start, pick up the Trap Notables to make it smoother.

80 Points Passive Tree
Get Spell Suppression and AoE Notables. The Pain Attunement will greatly boost your Damage if you use the Petrified Blood. Aura and Mana Notables will allow you to use more Auras. 

4. Final Skill Tree, Ascendancy Points, and Pantheon

Final Skill Tree:

90 Points Final Passive Tree  
120 Points Path of Building (PoB)

Ascendancy points:

Preferably in this order:

1. Polymath
2. Swift Killer or One Step Ahead
3. Escape Artist
4. Spellbreaker

Pantheon:

Major God: Soul of Arakaali: 10% reduced Damage taken from Damage Over Time; +40% Chaos Resistance against Damage Over Time

Minor God: Soul of Ralakesh: 25% reduced Physical Damage over Time taken while moving, Moving while Bleeding doesn't cause you to take extra Damage

5. Final Gems links

[DPS] Essence Drain of Desperation setup
	Essence Drain of Desperation - fires a Projectile that applies a Damage over Time effect on the Enemy. The Transfigured version deals significantly more Damage but has to be used via proxy.
	Trap Support - turns your Skill into a Trap that can be thrown and triggered by Enemies walking over it.
	Void Manipulation Support - improves your Chaos Damage deal by your Spell. The Awakened version also raises the Active Gem level by 1.
	Empower Support - raises the Gem levels of your Essence Drain.
	Swift Affliction Support - lowers the Duration of your DoT Effects but greatly improves their Damage.
	Trap and Mine Damage Support - a very strong Support Gem that simply grants more Damage for Traps than any other Support Gem in the Game.

[UTILITY] Contagion setup
	Contagion - an AoE Debuff that deals a small amount of Damage and spreads the Essence Drain Debuff onto other Enemies.
	Faster Casting Support - improves your Cast Time with the Contagion.
	Increased Area of Effect Support - enhances the Radius of the Contagion, which allows it to spread Debuffs further.
	Intensify Support - another Support Gem used to improve the AoE of Contagion.

[UTILITY] Aura setup
	Petrified Blood - prevents you from Recovering Life over 50% but half of the Damage Taken is delayed over time.
	Malevolence - an offensive Aura that grants you a lot of Damage for DoT Effects.
	Grace - a defensive Aura that grants tons of Evasion Rating. You can also use the Purity of Elements for Ailment Immunity and easier gearing.
	Enlighten Support - significantly lowers the Reservation Cost of Supported Auras.

[UTILITY] Aura setup
	Clarity - grants a bit of Mana Regeneration. Adjust the Gem level to the amount of your Unreserved Mana.
	Aspect of the Spider - covers nearby Enemies in Webs, increasing their Damage Taken and slowing their Movement Speed.
	Arrogance Support - causes linked Auras to Reserve your Life instead of Mana.

[UTILITY] Wither setup
	Wither -  applies a stacking Debuff that greatly increases the Chaos Damage Taken by affected Enemies.
	Spell Totem Support - automatically Casts Wither at the closest Enemy.
	Multiple Totems Support - you will Summon more Totems that apply the Wither faster.

[UTILITY] Curse setup
	Despair - your main offensive Curse, it lowers the Chaos Resistance of affected Enemies.

[UTILITY] Movement setup
	Frostblink - an instant teleport that Chills nearby Enemies to slow them down even more. You can also use the Withering Steps to inflict Wither and improve your running Speed.

[UTILITY] Guard setup
	Immortal Call - a Guard Skill that provides a decent amount of Damage mitigation even at the low Gem Levels.
	Cast when Damage Taken Support - you should keep this Setup at the lowest Gem Level possible to Trigger it as soon as you start taking any amount of Damage.

6. Gear Setup

The Build does not rely on specific Unique Items for functionality, but you should aim to include some of them for their powerful modifiers. On Rare Items, you should look for bonuses to Spell Damage, Chaos Gem Levels, or Damage over Time Multiplier. To bolster your defense look for maximum Life, Evasion, Energy Shield, Suppression Chance, and Elemental and Chaos Resistance. You will also need plenty of Strength for the Gem Requirements, and a bit of Mana Reservation Efficiency on your Helmet. Use Beastcrafting to add the Aspect of the Spider to any piece of your Gear. 

(Helmet) Rare Helmet - use the Essence of Loathing to get Mana Reservation Efficiency on your Helmet. It should also provide maximum Life, Suppression, and Resistance. You can add the Aspect of the Spider here to ease the Crafting process.

Min. requirements: +100 to maximum Life 8% increased Mana Reservation Efficiency  +10% chance to Suppress Spell Damage 50% to Elemental Resistance Optional affixes: % of Physical Damage from Hits taken as Fire Damage Attributes  Grants level 20 Aspect of the Spider % increased Area of Effect Chaos Resistance

(Weapon) Cane of Kulemak - a well-rolled Cane of Kulemak is a great Weapon that can be beaten only by the finest Rare Weapons. Look for bonuses to Spell Damage, Support Gem Levels, and Damage over Time Multiplier.

+22% Chance to Block Attack Damage while wielding a Staff (60-90)% increased Unveiled Modifier magnitudes Recommended Unveiled Modifiers:  (100-109)% increased Spell Damage (36-40)% increased Mana Regeneration Rate +(44-48)% to Chaos Damage over Time Multiplier +2 to Level of Socketed Support Gems +(5-8)% to Quality of Socketed Support Gems

(Weapon) Rare Weapon - at later stages you can use two Wands with bonuses to Spell Damage, Chaos Gem Levels, and Damage over Time Multiplier.

Min. requirements: 80% increased Spell Damage +1 to Level of All Chaos Spell Skill Gems +20% Chaos Damage over Time Multiplier Optional affixes: +1 to Level of All  Spell Skill Gems +#% Damage over Time Multiplier

(Body Armour) Doppelgänger Guise - a perfect Armour for this Build. It grants you an insane amount of Physical and Chaos Damage Reduction, as well as a lot of Energy Shield and Evasion Rating. The Life Regeneration is also useful to offset the Petrified Blood effect.

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

(Belt) Rare Belt - look for simple maximum Life, Strength, and Resistance. It can also improve your Flask Sustain. It should always be a Stygian Vise as a Base to Socket extra Abyss Jewel.

Min. requirements: +100 to maximum Life +40 to Strength +60% total Elemental Resistance Optional affixes: Chaos Resistance #% increased maximum Life #% increased Chaos Damage

(Boots) Rare Boots - here you should try to get your Movement Speed bonuses and Ailment Avoidance. Don't forget about the usual maximum Life and Resistance either.

Min. requirements: +100 to maximum Life +30% increased Movement Speed +60% total Elemental Resistance Optional affixes: Chaos Resistance #% chance to gain Onslaught on Kill #% chance to Suppress Spell Damage #% chance to Avoid Elemental Ailments

(Gloves) Rare Gloves - your Gloves can slightly improve your Damage and AoE with special modifiers, but you should focus on the usual Life, Suppression, and Resistance.

Min. requirements: +100 to maximum Life +60% total Elemental Resistance Optional affixes: Grants level 20 Aspect of the Spider % increased Area of Effect #% chance to Suppress Spell Damage Chaos Resistance

(Ring) Replica Dragonfang's Flight - simply the best Amulet for this Build. It offers everything you would need: Gem Levels, Attributes, Resistances, and Reservation Efficiency for both Life and Mana.

+(10-16) to all Attributes +3 to Level of all <Random Skill> Gems +(5-10)% to all Elemental Resistances (5-10)% increased Reservation Efficiency of Skills Items and Gems have (10-5)% reduced Attribute Requirements

(Ring) Rare Ring - at first you will need a simple Ring to cap your Resistances and Attribute requirements and grant you plenty of maximum Life and minimum Frenzy Charges. At higher investments, you can use Essences to add the DoT Multiplier or Chaos Damage modifiers on top of that.

Min. requirements: +100 to Maximum Life +80% total Elemental Resistance Optional affixes: Chaos Resistance Non-Channelling Skills have -(7-6) to Total Mana Cost increased Chaos Damage Damage over Time Multiplier +1 to minimum Frenzy Charge

(Jewel) Rare Jewels - use Jewels to cover lacking Resistances or Attributes. Other than that, look for maximum Life and Damage over Time Multiplier. You can also use the bonuses to Spel or Trap Damage, but they are not very effective.

Min. requirements: increased maximum Life Recommended affixes: DoT Multiplier Spell or Chaos or Trap Damage Resistances Attributes Corrupted Blood cannot be inflicted on you

(Jewel) Rare Abyss Jewels - the Abyss Jewel doesn't offer too lucrative Damage modifiers, so you should look for defensive or utility modifiers instead.

Min. requirements: increased maximum Life Recommended affixes: Spell or Chaos Damage over time Resistances Attributes % increased Reservation Efficiency of Skill  Corrupted Blood cannot be inflicted on you

(Jewel) Large Cluster Jewel - the Cluster Jewels are much more effective at increasing your Chaos Damage than the regular Passive Tree. Look for any combinations of those modifiers, and optionally include extra bonuses like Resistance or Attributes on small Notables.

Recommended affixes: 1 Added Passive Skill is Unholy Grace 1 Added Passive Skill is Unwaveringly Evil 1 Added Passive Skill is Touch of Cruelty 1 Added Passive Skill is Wicked Pall

(Jewel) Medium Cluster Jewel - the Medium Clusters offer a lot of Damage too. You can also use one Cluster that boosts the Damage and Trigger Area for your Traps for smoother gameplay.

Recommended affixes: 1 Added Passive Skill is Flow of Life 1 Added Passive Skill is Vile Reinvigoration 1 Added Passive Skill is Student of Decay 1 Added Passive Skill is Unwaveringly Evil 1 Added Passive Skill is Wicked Pall 1 Added Passive Skill is Careful Handling 1 Added Passive Skill is Set and Forget

(Jewel) Watcher's Eye - you can get a large amount of extra Damage over Time Multiplier while using the Malevolence aura thanks to this Jewel. You can mix it with other utility options for Grace or Clarity, but it might be very expensive.

(4-6)% increased maximum Energy Shield (4-6)% increased maximum Life (4-6)% increased maximum Mana <Two or Three random aura modifiers> Recommended Aura mods: +(18-22)% to Damage over Time Multiplier while affected by Malevolence Non-Channelling Skills have -(10-5) to Total Mana Cost while affected by Clarity

(Jewel) The Light of Meaning - it is a simple Jewel that adds tons of extra Chaos Damage to all the nearby Passives that you would pick up anyway.

Passive Skills in Radius also grant 6% increased Chaos Damage

(Jewel) Ancestral Vision - with 100% Avoidance you become fully immune to all Elemental Ailments. It would be quite hard to reach that amount without this Jewel. You might need to overcap your Spell Suppression to reach that goal.

+(5-10) to Dexterity Modifiers to Chance to Suppress Spell Damage also apply to Chance to Avoid Elemental Ailments at 50% of their Value

(Flask) Progenesis - the best defensive Flask in the game, it will effectively grant you 25% more Life as you will easily offset the Damage taken over Time.

(20-10)% reduced Charges per use (-35-35)% increased Duration When Hit during effect, 25% of Life loss from Damage taken occurs over 4 seconds instead

Suggested Flasks: Life Flask  with Bleeding Removal Quicksilver Flask with Curse Effect Reduction  Quartz Flask with Stun Avoidance or Life Regeneration  Jade Flask with Evasion Rating bonus

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

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