Poison Spectral Helix
Assassin Starter Build

Updated for Patch 3.17

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Spectral Helix is an Attack simial to Specrat Throw which has been in the game for a long time now - it uses your Melee weapon as a Projectile. With Spectral Helix your weapon orbits around its starting location over four times piercing all targets and bouncing off the walls up to three times if there are any. Due to the high effectiveness of added and base damage as for an attack with such good AoE, it can be played as a Poison Assassin build as is in this case. A Crit-based build with Perfect Agony and Toxic Delivery to mix the Critical Strikes and Poison mechanics results in steady and high damage output.

As an Assassin, it's easy to reach a 100% Crit Chance and 100% chance to Poison on Hit so it should be of no concern. Use the Uniques such as The Wasp Nest, Ungil's Harmony, and Carcass Jack - these items are usually very cheap, but despite their price, more than often are still better options than their Rare counterparts. The defensives of the build are pretty solid, you have over 5k of Maximum Life, a lot of Evasion Rating with Ghost Dance, permanent Elusive buff, Spell Suppression Chance, Block Chance, Armour, and some Energy Shield on top of that. It's a starter build that can be done with almost no investment.

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

1. Gameplay

Spectral Helix is not the best tool for clear speed, you'll be using it only occasionally to kill rare monsters and incubate Poison, use Plague Bearer, its damage is sufficient enough to deal with the packs of monsters. To apply a Withered debuff use Withering Step and Withering Touch combined with Ancestral Protector, it's especially useful during long flights. Apply Despair manually or with a Unique Flask, and use Flame Dash as your Travel Spell. Steelskin or Molten Shield is a good choice for a Guard Spell. For Auras use Precision, Grace, Determination, and Defiance Banner.

This video was recorded on a level 94 Assasin using Wasp Nest, Ungild's Harmony, and Carcass Jack. Generally a very low-budget equipment, that allowed us to easily farm Tier 16 Maps, making it one of the best League Starter setups available currently

2. Build's PROS & CONS

3. Leveling tips

Cobra Lash is a very similar attack to the one you will be using later, you can start with it as it's available at level 1. On your Skill Tree and gear look for more Chaos Damage, Damage over Time, and Claw Damage. Keep your Accuracy Rating, Chance to Poison, Resistances, and Maximum Life high. You won't need to respec any Skill Points, the transition to the final build is gradual and intuitive.

Suggested leveling Gem setups:

Cleave setup
	Cobra Lash - Cobra Lash is the best leveling Skill for Poison builds as it can be used since level 1, it's also homing
	Lesser Multiple Projectiles Support - more Projectiles for faster clearing
	Chance to Poison Support - with this Support Gem alone your Chance to Poison is 80%
	Vicious Projectiles Support - the best Support Gem for Poisoning Projectiles

various Gems
	Whirling Blades - use it to move faster and avoid attacks
	Faster Attacks Support - makes your Whirl faster
	Despair - a Curse that lowers Chaos Resistance
	Malevolence - Aura which makes you deal more DoT, the effect of Poison lasts longer

Bandits:

Kill all three bandits and be rewarded with two additional Skill Points

Leveling Skill Trees:

34 Points Passive Tree
Allocate the two Chaos Clusters and some Maximum Life nodes
 

71 Points Passive Tree
allocate the Claw Masteries, go for more Critical Strike Chance, Life, and Perfect Agony
 

Recommended leveling items:

Le Heup of All - provides you with Attributes, Damage, and Elemental Resistances

Adds 1 to 4 Physical Damage to Attacks +(10-30) to all Attributes (10-30)% increased Damage (10-30)% increased Rarity of Items found +(10-30)% to all Elemental Resistances

Goldrim - the best leveling Helmet, it grants 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 Level Requirement reduced by 100 (Hidden)

Tabula Rasa - has six white sockets that are always linked

Item has no level requirement and Energy Shield (Hidden) Item has 6 White Sockets and is fully linked (Hidden)

Viper's Scales - it has some useful stats, Poison immunity, and increased Chance to Poison on Hit

(80-100)% increased Armour and Evasion +(30-40) to maximum Life +(15-25)% to Cold Resistance 5% increased Movement Speed 20% chance to Poison on Hit with Attacks Cannot be Poisoned

Mortem Morsu - it requires level 34 and is one of the best options for you at this stage of the game

(75-100)% increased Physical Damage 20% increased Attack Speed 25% increased Critical Strike Chance +40% to Global Critical Strike Multiplier (10-20)% of Physical Damage Converted to Chaos Damage 25% reduced Enemy Stun Threshold with this Weapon 60% chance to Poison on Hit

4. Final Skill Tree, Ascendancy Points, and Pantheon

Final Skill Tree:

117 Points Final Passive Tree (doesn't include Cluster or Unique Jewels) 
117 Points Path of Building (PoB) link 

Ascendancy points:

Preferably in that order:

1. Noxious Strike
2. Toxic Delivery
3. Opportunistic
4. Ambush and Assassinate

Pantheon:

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

Minor God: Soul of Shakari: You cannot be Poisoned while there are at least 3 Poisons on you; 50% less Duration of Poisons on You

5. Final Gems links

[DPS] Spectral Helix setup
	Spectral Helix - Fires a copy of your weapon in a form of a Projectile spiraling outwards, dealing its damage, and Poisoning enemies
	Unbound Ailments Support - Poison deals more damage and lasts longer
	Added Chaos Damage Support - makes you deal more Chaos damage and adds Chaos Damage to Skills
	Void Manipulation Support - you now deal more and increased Chaos Damage, but no Elemental Damage
	Vicious Projectiles Support  - Projectile's speed is reduced, but you gain an additional 50% of Chaos and Physical DoT and 10% more Hit damage
	Nightblade Support - you gain an Elusive buff on Critical Strike granting you more mobility, chance to avoid damage, Crit. Chance and Crit. Multiplier

[UTILITY] Plague Bearer setup
	Plague Bearer - the Skill used during clearing maps, it deals Chaos DoT around you but requires a previous incubation, it can be charged up by dealing Poison Damage
	Increased Area of Effect Support - increases the Area of Effect of Plague Bearer
	Enhance Support - Quality of Plague Bearer increases its AoE, but with Divergent Quality - its damage

[UTILITY] Curse and Flame Dash setup
	Despair - Cursed enemies have reduced Chaos Resistance
	Flame Dash - a movement Spell that allows you to teleport over a short distance
	Faster Casting Support - you can cast the linked Spells Faster

[UTILITY] Mana-reserving setup
	Defiance Banner - Grants you more Armour and Evasion rating while reducing nearby enemies' Critical Strike Chance
	Grace - you have additional and increased Evasion Rating
	Determination - you have additional and increased Armour
	Precision - increases your Accuracy and Critical Strike Chance

[UTILITY] Ancestral Totem setup
	Ancestral Protector - a Totem granting you 20% more Attack Speed as it stays active
	Withering Touch Support - Totem's Hits apply a stack of Withered Debuff
	Multiple Totems Support - You can place two more Totems to stack Withered Debuff faster
	Faster Attacks Support - by attacking faster the Totems stack the Withered debuff with greater efficiency

[UTILITY] Steelskin
	Steelskin - you take reduced damage from Hits for a short time or until you take too much damage

[MOBILITY] Withering Step setup
	Withering Step - refreshes your Elusive Buff and increases its effect while applying 6 Withered Debuff stacks on nearby foes
	Increased Duration Support - Withering Step lasts longer

6. Gear Setup

The Wasp Nest, Ungil's Harmony, and Carcass Jack are the three Unique Items you should get, the sooner the better. To increase your Damage get rare items with mods increasing your Attack Speed, Damage over Time - for Poison or for Chaos, and increased Ailment Duration. Be sure that your Hit Chance and Chance to Deal Critical Strike is 100%, you can then start looking for Critical Strike Multiplier, with Perfect Agony it will also affect your Poison Damage. To increase your survivability get Maximum Life, Resistances, Spell Suppression Chance, and Evasion Rating with some Energy Shield as it will be restored with Ghost Dance when you take a Hit. Armour, Block Chance, and Chaos Resistance are secondary layers, not as important as the aforementioned stats. It's a starter build, it's cheap.

Our recommended items will:

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

(Helmet) The Gull - with the new Atlas system you can easily exploit Shrines for massive  bonuses, making this Helmet one of the best options for almost any build at nearly 0 cost

Trigger Level 1 Create Lesser Shrine when you Kill an Enemy (120-150)% increased Evasion and Energy Shield +(30-45) to maximum Energy Shield +(60-80) to maximum Life +(30-40)% to Cold Resistance 75% increased Effect of Shrine Buffs on you 50% increased Duration of Shrine Effects on you

(Helmet) Rare Helmet - a rare Helmet can be used mainly for higher defensive stats and easier accessibility. If you can afford one, you can also try getting the multiplier to Chaos Damage dealt to nearby enemies

Min. requirements: +80 to maximum Life 60% Total Elemental Resistance Optional affixes: Nearby enemies have -#% Chaos Resistance Accuracy Rating Attributes

Helmet enchantments: Spectral Helix enchantment mods

(Weapon) The Wasp Nest - it's your best option to get all the expected stats on a weapon for a cheap price

+40 Life gained for each Enemy hit by Attacks (150-170)% increased Physical Damage (20-25)% increased Attack Speed (20-25)% increased Critical Strike Chance +(330-350) to Accuracy Rating 20% chance to Poison on Hit Attacks with this Weapon deal 80-120 added Chaos Damage against Enemies affected by at least 5 Poisons

(Weapon) Rare Shield - If you want to run all the Auras you will need to get some Reservation Efficiency, you can easily get it on a Shield and socket your Auras there

Min. requirements: Socketed Gems have #% increased Reservation Efficiency +80 to maximum Life Optional affixes: Elemental Resistances Chance to Block Evasion Rating

(Body Armour) Dendrobate - grants a very high DPS bonus if you can match the two listed Attribute requirements. You already have a 100% Chance to Poison, but the extra Added Chaos Damage from the Gem can also come in handy

Socketed Gems are Supported by Level 10 Lesser Poison (130-150)% increased Evasion and Energy Shield +40 to maximum Energy Shield +(15-25)% to all Elemental Resistances (75-100)% increased Damage with Poison if you have at least 300 Dexterity (15-25)% increased Poison Duration if you have at least 150 Intelligence

(Body Armour) Belly of the Beast - inexpensive Body Armour that grants a lot of Maximum Life making it a decent pick for mid-game

(150-200)% increased Armour (30-40)% increased maximum Life +(10-15)% to all Elemental Resistances 50% increased Flask Life Recovery rate Extra gore

(Body Armour) Rare Body Armour - a more situational choice, it can grant you more Life, Resistances, and additional Crit. Chance, but it is also more expensive than Carcass Jack

Min. requirements: +80 to maximum Life Attacks have +1% to Critical Strike Chance +60% to Elemental Resistances Optional affixes: You can apply an additional Curse Enemies you Kill have a chance to Explode, dealing a tenth of their Maximum Life as Physical Damage increased Area of Effect

(Boots) Atziri's Step - one of the cheapest pairs of boots which are not bad if you don't mind the lack of Elemental Resistances

180% increased Evasion Rating +(55-75) to maximum Life 30% increased Movement Speed +(21-24)% chance to Suppress Spell Damage

(Boots) Rare Boots - aim for Movement Speed, Life, resistances, and some other mods that'd make it a better choice than Atziri's Step

Min. requirements: +60 to maximum Life 25% increased Movement Speed +50% to Elemental Resistances Optional affixes: You have Tailwind if you have dealt a Critical Strike Recently chance to gain Onslaught for 4 seconds on Kill Evasion Rating

(Gloves) Rare Gloves - Gloves have an abundance of useful Affixes, it's a good place to seek some of the offensive stats such as Accuracy Rating and Attack Speed

Min. requirements: +50 to maximum Life +70% to Elemental Resistances Optional affixes: increased Attack Speed Evasion Rating +#% to Chaos Damage over Time Multiplier increased Global Critical Strike Chance Accuracy Rating

(Belt) Rare Belt - get more maximum Life, Resistances, and Strength since it's very common on a Belt

Min. requirements: +100 to Maximum Life +80% to Elemental Resistances Optional affixes: increased Maximum Life Strength increased damage

(Amulet) Ungil's Harmony - It gives you a lot of Critical Strike Chance, but these strikes won't deal extra damage, you don't mind it since your Damage scales with Critical Strike Multiplier directly via Perfect Agony making it the most efficient way to get Crit. Chance

+(16-24) to Dexterity and Intelligence (250-350)% increased Global Critical Strike Chance Your Critical Strikes do not deal extra Damage +(30-50) to maximum Life +(30-50) to maximum Mana 40% increased Stun and Block Recovery

Recommended Anointments: Corruption Heart of Darkness Atrophy

(Ring) Rare Ring - Life and Resistances are your priorities, you probably will be forced to craft the mods which reduce Mana Cost of Skill. Additionally, look for a Despair Curse on hit so that you won't have to cast it manually.

Min. requirements: +70% to Elemental Resistances +50 to Maximum Life Optional affixes: Accuracy Rating Evasion Rating Curse Enemies with Despair on Hit increased Attack Speed Strength and Intelligence Non-Channelling Skills have -7 to Total Mana Cost

(Jewel) Rare Jewels - acquire a copy with a mod for increased Maximum Life, get the missing Attributes and stats, and check for increased Chaos DoT

Recommended affixes: 7% increased maximum Life Elemental Resistances Attributes increased Damage over Time increased Attack Speed, Crit Chance, or Crit Multiplier while holding a Shield, or with One-Handed Melee Weapons increased Poison Duration chance to Poison on Hit

(Jewel) Watcher's Eye - an Expensive Jewel that you should later acquire, it can grant you various enchantments correlated to the Auras you're using

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

(Flask) Witchfire Brew - use for more Evasion, it reduces the Accuracy of the enemies via Smoke Cloud, and grants you a temporary Despair Curse Aura

20% more Evasion Rating Creates a Smoke Cloud on Use 50% increased Charges per use Grants Level 21 Despair Curse Aura during Flask Effect

Suggested Flasks: Quicksilver Flask with Bleeding immunity/removal Life Flask with random ailment removal Diamond Flask with random ailment removal Granite Flask with random ailment removal

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.