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Poet's Pen Volatile Dead Berserker / Marauder - Odealo's Crafty Guide

Poet's Pen Volatile Dead Berserker / Marauder - Odealo's Crafty Guide

One of the most satisfying builds in Path of Exile patch 3.1. Very fast spellcaster build based on new corpse-based Fire spells

Poet's Pen
Volatile Dead
Berserker/Marauder
Patch 3.1 Build

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Estimated budget: low (few Exalted Orbs)
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Guide notes
March 12, 2018
-Updated Skill Trees to Patch 3.2
-As of Patch 3.2, this build is no longer supported. Berserker class is no longer viable choice for any spellcaster build. Check our Violate Dead Inquisitor for the most up to date variation of this build

This is probably one of the most satisfying builds in the game. New unique added in patch 3.1, The Poet’s Pen allows you to play this crazy build, sending Fire Balls all over the screen. Having your gem setups in both wands allows you to wear Kaom’s Heart, which combined with Mind over Matter makes it very tanky build as well. The main idea is to use an attack skill, which triggers gems socketed in The Poet’s Pen wands, casting three skills at once.

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1. Gameplay

Poet's Pen Volatile Dead Berserker is a ranged build, which will do most of the work for you. You are running around, attack with Frenzy skill and skills triggered from Poet’s Pen will clear the screen by themselves. It’s very relaxing build to play because you don’t need to aim at monsters and really high life pool combined with Mind over Matter will make you really tanky.


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2. Build's PROS & CONS

PROS
  • great clear speed
  • Over 6000 life with investment in Kaom’s Heart
  • very tanky build
  • Able to clear all endgame content with a bit of experience with this build
  • amazing damage and defense even on a low budget
CONS
  • getting all the end-game uniques can be expensive

3. Leveling tips

It’s probably one of the easiest and fastest leveling builds in the games. You can use your endgame weapons since level 12, so you don’t have to worry about changing equipment every few levels. You will also notice a huge damage increase every 25 levels thanks to Poet’s Pen increasing level of socketed gems.

Suggested leveling gem setups:

Cleave setup
Cleave Cleave - first skill you can get after killing Hillock. You will switch it to Frenzy at level 16 for triggering Poet’s Pen skills
Added Fire Damage Support Added Fire Damage Support - great buff to your DPS
Chance to Bleed Support Chance to Bleed Support - another damage buff, granting more physical damage
Volatile Dead setup (1st Poet's Pen)
Volatile Dead Volatile Dead  - it’s our main DPS skill, it will explode corpses and send Fireballs towards enemies
Elemental Focus Support Elemental Focus Support– increases elemental damage by a lot (can be used from level 18)
Concentrated Effect Support Concentrated Effect Support
Unearth setup (2nd Poet's Pen)
Unearth Unearth - it will fire projectiles and summon bone archers on impact. It also provides additional corpses for Volatile Dead
Lesser Multiple Projectiles Lesser Missiles Projectiles Support - it will send 2 additional Unearth’s projectiles. Replace with Greater Missiles Projectiles at level 38
Power Charge on Critical Strike Support Power Charge on Critical Strike Support - it will grant Power Charges which increases critical strike chance (can be used since level 18)
Frenzy setup
Unearth Frenzy - our main single target skill, which triggers spells socketed into Poet’s Pens and grants Frenzy Charges, that increases Attack, Movement, and Cast Speed. On top of that your Physical Damage is increased per Frenzy Charge
Lesser Multiple Projectiles Lesser Missiles Projectiles Support
Faster Attacks Support Faster Attacks - increases Attack Speed of your Frenzy attack, which results in the faster triggering of Poet’s Pen skills
Life Gain on Hit Support Life Gain on Hit Support - grants a lot of Life per Hit
Utility Gems
Stone Golem Stone Golem - provides additional Life Regeneration
Assassin's Mark Assassin's Mark - the recommended curse option for this build, increases critical strike chance versus cursed enemies
Anger Anger - adds a lot of additional damage

Bandits:

We recommend killing all bandits for the additional 2 passive points

Leveling Skill Trees:

32 Points Skill Tree
Priorities: 1) Heart of the Warrior 2) Golem’s Blood 3) Constitution

75 Points Skill Tree
Priorities: 1) Discipline and Training 2) Heart and Soul 3) Heart of Flame

Recommended leveling items:

PraxisPraxis –great leveling ring, which reduces Mana cost of all skills
+(20-25) to maximum Mana
+(30-60) to maximum Mana
(3-6) Mana Regenerated per second
-(8-4) to Total Mana Cost of Skills
8% of Damage taken gained as Mana over 4 seconds when Hit
 
Doedre's TenureDoedre’s Tenure - extremely powerful gloves, that grant a lot of spell damage for our Volatile Dead/Unearth. Reduced Cast Speed doesn’t affect our build because spells are triggered based on your attack speed
(50-60)% increased Spell Damage
+20 to Intelligence
15% reduced Cast Speed
+32 to maximum Energy Shield
 
Karui WardKarui Ward - amazing DPS and movement speed bonuses granted by this amulet, make it the best in slot leveling item for our projectile focused build
+(20-30) to Dexterity
+(20-30) to Strength
+100 to Accuracy Rating
30% increased Projectile Speed
10% increased Movement Speed
30% increased Projectile Damage
 
Poet's PenThe Poet’s Pen - our build defining weapon, we can use it since level 12, mandatory to wear 2 of them, both with 3-linked sockets
(11-15)% increased Spell Damage
+1 to Level of Socketed Active Skill Gems per 25 Player Levels
Adds 3 to 5 Physical Damage to Attacks with this Weapon per 3 Player Levels
(8-12)% increased Attack Speed
Trigger a Socketed Spell when you Attack
 

GoldrimGoldrim - a great helmet that we can use since level 1. It provides a lot of elemental resistances

+(30-50) to Evasion Rating
10% increased Rarity of Items found
+(30-40)% to all Elemental Resistances
Reflects 4 Physical Damage to Melee Attackers
 

BriskwrapBriskwrap - nice chest, which provides additional Attack and Movement Speed. It makes the leveling much faster

10% increased Attack Speed
+(120-180) to Evasion Rating
+(30-40)% to Cold Resistance
5% increased Movement Speed
(20-25)% increased Mana Recovery from Flasks
15% increased Dexterity

 

 

4. Final Skill tree, Ascendancy Points, and Pantheon

Final Skill Tree:

116 Points Final Skill Tree
116 Points Path of Building link

Ascendancy points:

Preferably in that order:

1. Aspect of Carnage
2. Pain Reaver
3. Crave the Slaughter
4. War Bringer

Pantheon:

Major God: Soul of Lunaris- 1% additional Physical Damage Reduction for each nearby Enemy, up to 8%; 1% increased Movement Speed for each nearby Enemy, up to 8%

Minor God: Soul of Gruthkul - 1% additional Physical Damage Reduction for each Hit you've taken Recently up to a maximum of 5%

5. Final Gems links

[DPS] Frenzy 4-6L setup
Frenzy Frenzy - your main single target skill, which triggers spells socketed into Poet’s Pens and grants Frenzy Charges
Greater Multiple Projectiles Support Greater Multiple Projectiles Support - it will send 4 additional Frenzy projectiles
Curse on Hit Support Curse on Hit Support - will make supported skills apply the supported curse
Assassin's Mark Assassin's Mark - recommended curse for this build
Faster Attacks Support Faster Attacks - increases the Attack Speed of your Frenzy skill (should be used only in rare 6L body armour variant)
Life Gain on Hit Support Life Gain on Hit Support - provides extra Life on Hit  (only in rare 6L chest variant)
[AURA/UTILITY] Anger & Haste
Anger [3L]Anger - grants additional Fire Damage, scales really well with Fire Damage increase passives
Haste [3L]Haste - increases Attack, Cast, and Movement Speed
Enlighten [3L]Enlighten - reduces the amount of Mana Reserved  by your Auras
Flame Golem [1L]Flame Golem - increases your damage

[UTILITY] Rallying Cry / Immortal Call setup 

Optional setup for rare 6L chest option. With Kaom's Heart use your 4L item for either Flame Dash setup or this CwDT setup - depending if you need more mobility or defenses

Cast when Damage Taken Support Cast when Damage Taken Support - will cast supported skills (except for Rallying Cry) automatically after a certain amount of damage is taken. It is recommended to keep this gem at level 1
Immortal Call Immortal Call - grants brief immortality. Keep it on lower or equal level to CwDT Support gem in order to have it cast automatically
Increased Duration Support Increased Duration Support - increases the duration of all the supported buffs
Vaal Haste Vaal Haste - increases your Movement and Attack Speed

[MOBILITY] Flame Dash 

Optional setup for rare 6L chest option. With Kaom's Heart use your 4L item for either this Flame Dash setup or the CwDT setup - depending if you need more mobility or defenses

Flame Dash Flame Dash - your main mobility spell. Will grant Arcane Surge buff as well
Faster Casting Support Faster Casting Support - grant faster Movement Speed with FD, as well as increases its' Mana cost for the Arcane Surge Support threshold
Increased Duration Support Increased Duration Support - increases the duration of Arcane Surge buff
Arcane Surge Arcane Surge - grants increased Spell Damage and Mana Regeneration. In this setup, you should have it at around level 9 to make it proc with every cast of Flame Dash
[DPS] Volatile Dead setup
(1st Poet's Pen)
Volatile Dead Volatile Dead - your main DPS skill. Will make corpses explode and send Fireballs on enemies
Elemental Focus Support Elemental Focus Support– increases Elemental Damage
Concetrated Effect Support Concentrated Area Effect Support - increases Area Damage of explosions by a lot, at the cost of reduced area of effect
[DPS] Unearth setup
(2nd Poet's Pen)
Unearth Unearth - provides additional corpses for Volatile Dead explosions, as well as summon undead archers to aid you
Lesser Multiple Projectiles Greater Missiles Projectiles Support - increases the number of Unearth projectiles
Power Charge on Critical Strike Support Power Charge on Critical Strike Support - it will grant Power Charges which increases Critical Strike Chance

 


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5. Gear Setup

Poet's Pen Volatile Dead Berserker is a budget and beginner-friendly build. It does not require more than 4 sockets in any of the gear and does not lose any of the core DPS. Your main weapons have only 3 linked sockets, and all the other gear is used for utility and defensive gem setups. This makes this build extremely easy to gear up, and at the same time, it scales well with end-game high spell damage gear.

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Our recommended items will:

  1. Cap your resistances 
  2. Give you enough DPS/Life to start mapping successfully
  3. Save you at least a couple of hours, as it's already all planned out for you!

Stat priorities on items:

  1. Life
  2. Elemental Resistances
  3. Fire/Elemental/Spell Damage
  4. Critical Strike Chance & Multiplier
  5. Attack Speed (you should have a min. of 4 attacks per second)
Rat's Nest(Helmet) Rat's Nest - beginner and budget-friendly option for the helmet slot. Grants a lot of extra attack speed and critical strike chance
15% increased Attack Speed
(60-75)% increased Global Critical Strike Chance
150% increased Evasion Rating
(20-25)% increased Rarity of Items found
10% increased Movement Speed
10% reduced Character Size
Starkonja's Head(Helmet) Starkonja’s Head – best in slot helm for this build, grants Attack Speed, Life, and Critical Strike Chance
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
Poet's Pen(Weapon) 2x The Poet’s Pen - the only weapon you can use for this build. It triggers all the core spells
(11-15)% increased Spell Damage
+1 to Level of Socketed Active Skill Gems per 25 Player Levels
Adds 3 to 5 Physical Damage to Attacks with this Weapon per 3 Player Levels
(8-12)% increased Attack Speed
Trigger a Socketed Spell when you Attack
Belly of the Beast(Body Armour) Belly of the Beast - it’s a good option for the body armour slot. It provides elemental resistances and life, doesn’t need any sockets because 4-linked helmet for the Barrage setup is more than enough
3% reduced Movement Speed (Hidden)
(150-200)% increased Armour
(30-40)% increased maximum Life
+(10-15)% to all Elemental Resistances
50% increased Flask Life Recovery rate
Extra gore
Kaom's Heart(Body Armour) Kaom's Heart - the best in slot item for the build. Grants amazing defensive bonuses as well as increased Fire Damage
Has no Sockets
+500 to maximum Life
(20-40)% increased Fire Damage
Zodiac Leather(Body Armour) Zodiac Leather - until you can afford the Kaom's Heart, you can use any rare body armour, with decent life and elemental resistance. It doesn’t need any sockets because 4-link in helm for our frenzy setup is enough
5% reduced Movement Speed (Hidden)
30% reduced Chance to Block Attacks and Spells
(600-650)% increased Armour
10% reduced Movement Speed
50% increased Shock Duration on You
Take no Extra Damage from Critical Strikes
Rare Boots(Boots) Rare Life/Res. boots - get a pair with the highest maximum Life bonus you can afford
Min. requirements:
60 maximum Life
20% increased Movement Speed
25% Fire Resistance
25% Lightning Resistance
25% Cold Resistance
Darkray Vectors(Boots) Darkray Vectors – nice boots. They provide additional movement speed, dodge chance per frenzy charge and 1 additional maximum frenzy charge
(40-70)% increased Armour and Evasion
+(20-40)% to Lightning Resistance
5% increased Movement Speed per Frenzy Charge
+1 to Maximum Frenzy Charges
40% reduced Frenzy Charge Duration
25% reduced Light Radius
2% chance to Dodge Attacks per Frenzy Charge
Belt(Belt) Rare Life/Res. belt - again, we try to grab one with the highest maximum life and elemental resistances bonuses
Min. requirements:
90 maximum Life
35% Fire Resistance
35% Lightning Resistance
35% Cold Resistance
Optional affixes:
Increased Elemental Damage with Attack Skills
Stygian Vise(Belt) Rare Stygian Vise - if you are playing this build on Abyss league it's the recommended choice for the belt slot. Grants amazing boost with the extra Abyss jewel socketed
Min. requirements:
90 maximum Life
35% Fire Resistance
35% Lightning Resistance
35% Cold Resistance
Optional affixes:
Increased Elemental Damage with Attack Skills
Amulet(Amulet) Rare Life/Res. Amulet
Min. requirements:
60 maximum Life
10% All Elemental Resistances
25% Cold Resistance
25% Fire Resistance
Optional affixes:
increased Elemental Damage with Attack Skills
increased Global Critical Strike Multiplier
increased Global Critical Strike Chance
Attributes
Maximum Mana
Opal RingOpal Ring(Ring) Rare Life/Res. Opal Rings
Min. requirements:
60 maximum Life
15% All Elemental Resistances
increased Elemental Damage with Attack Skills
Optional affixes:
Attributes
Maximum Mana
Rare Gloves(Gloves) Rare Life/Res. Gloves - extra attack speed may be a good addition in end-game versions of this build
Min. requirements:
60 maximum Life
25% Fire resistance
25% Lightning resistance
25% Cold resistance
Optional affixes:
increased Attack Speed
Atziri's Acuity(Gloves) Atziri's Acuity - one of the best gloves in Path of Exile for crit-based builds. They have been significantly nerfed in patch 3.1 but still remain a very good pick. They temporarily grant Vaal Pact after kills, which means you can skip this passive in your Tree. You need to find additional 25% of each elemental resistance on other gear parts, if you decide to choose this over the rare pair listed above
+(60-80) to Intelligence
+(60-75) to maximum Life
(200-220)% increased Armour
(25-35)% increased Global Critical Strike Chance
Gain Life and Mana from Leech instantly on Critical Strike
abyss jewel(Jewels) Abyss Jewels - this should provide additional life and flat damage added to spells
Recommended affixes:
maximum Life
Flat Added Damage to Spells (recommended 2+ such affixes)
Optional affixes:
Elemental Resistances 
maximum Mana
Cobalt Jewel(Jewel) Rare jewels - they should provide extra Life and damage bonuses
Recommended affixes:
% increased maximum Life
% increased Generic/Area/Spell/Fire Damage
% increased Attack Speed
Optional affixes:
% increased Projectile Speed
% increased Global Critical Strike Chance
% increased Global Critical Strike Multiplier
The Wise Oak(Flask) The Wise Oak – this flask grants additional elemental penetration, so your highest resistance should be Fire
During Flask Effect, 10% reduced Damage taken of each Element for which your Uncapped Elemental Resistance is lowest
During Flask Effect, Damage Penetrates (10-15)% Resistance of each Element for which your Uncapped Elemental Resistance is highest
Other suggested Flasks:
  1. Bubbling Divine Life Flask of Staunching (immunity to bleeding)
  2. Bubbling Divine Life Flask of Iron Skin (increased armour)
  3. Experimenter’s Basalt Life Flask of Heat  (immunity to freeze and chill)
  4. Experimenter’s Diamond Flask of Iron Skin (more critical strike chance and armour)
The Wise OakDivine Life FlaskDivine Life FlaskBasalt FlaskDiamond Flask


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