Reap Assassin Shadow PoE Build

One of the most interesting Physical Spell Caster builds that were introduced in Patch 3.14

Reap Assassin
Shadow build

Updated for Patch 3.17

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Guide notes

April 16, 2021
-Build created
April 21, 2021
-Updated Skill gems
-Added gameplay video
March 11, 2022
-Updated for Patch 3.17

Build overview

Tags: [CASTER] [PHYSICAL] [LIFE] [STARTER]

Budget:

Defenses:

Boss DPS:

AoE:

Reap is one of the most interesting Spells that got introduced in Patch 3.14. It's interesting both in terms of playstyle but also general theme. It costs Life instead of Mana to cast and deals very high base Physical Damage and applies a powerful Damage over Time effect. The base Damage is around the same as that of the Vortex (one of the most popular Cold DoT Spells) but it also has up to 75% More Damage dealt from Blood Charges that are generated if enemies you Hit don't die. On top of it, it's not limited by any form of cooldowns - so basically we are looking at a Physical alternative to Vortex that has a potentially higher base DPS, faster Cast Speed, and doesn't have to rely only on the DoT effect (and reduced DoT Duration which may be an issue if you want to focus that part of the skill).

This build also uses Exsanguinate for some additional damage and extra Life Leech to recover the Life spent on skills faster. This is our initial recommendation for what to Socket in your Body Armour which should have a secondary Spell socketed in its 6 links. As the League progresses and we are done with more thorough testing, we will most likely update the guide accordingly. We will be also closely looking at potential pure DoT build based on those new skills, but with their short duration, they don't look powerful enough on their own. Time will tell...

IMPORTANT NOTE:

You should note that this build is quite expensive if you are looking to smoothly clear Red Maps and kill end-game Bosses. There are certainly better builds out there which will perform on a completely different level in that budget. This is still a great League Starter where it's very easy to level up the character thanks to the extra DoT and several sources of solid Physical Damage. It will be also easy to start farming low-level Maps, but when you eventually get there the progression to higher content becomes quite hard (and expensive).

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1. Gameplay

This is a very swift Spell Caster build which is primarily based on very high Physical Damage dealt with initial Hits from Reap and Exsanguinate which are further increased by the DoT effect those Skills inflict. Your damage is scaled by Assassin's very high Critical Strike Chance and Multiplier, and multiple Power Charges. The DoT effects which are applied are quite potent, but sadly they are not increased by Crit-related stats, they only benefit from modifiers to Spell Damage, so can be only treated as a secondary source of damage. One of the primary ways to increase your Damage as an Assassin is to increase the number of your Power Charges and with the recommended Items and Passives you should easily have at least 7 of them. Having many Power Charges greatly boots your damage via Disciple of the Forbidden Passives, as well as, Assassin's Ascendancy.

For the defenses, this build relies on high Life Pool, Dodge, Elusive, and Evasion. Obviously, you need high Life and Life Leech as your main Spells will cost Life to cast and you need to recover it fast. The two best ways are Physical Damage Leeched as Life mod on Rings and Life Leech Support Gem linked to Exsanguinate.

This video was recorded on a level 93 Assassin with +3 Staff and a total of 8 Power Charges. Reap DPS should be at approximately 8kk which isn't exactly for that kind of budget, and hopefully, GGG tweaks the skill a little bit as the rewards from using the new Blood Spells when compared to the high Life cost doesn't seem adequate. It's still an amazing Starter Build that works great at lower levels with various sources of Physical DPS but has quite an expensive transition to end-game and red Maps

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2. Build's PROS & CONS

PROS

solid AoE and clear speed
tons of damage if built properly
strong defenses based on Life, and various Buffs
can do most Maps
no specific Uniques required

CONS

vulnerable to Physical Reflect
can't do "no Leech" Maps

3. Leveling tips

For the leveling, the most important part is to use several different types of Spells so that you deal enough damage without having to spend Passives that you are not going to use later on. You are going to use Reap as your main Skill which deals solid damage, but without extra Spell Damage nodes and Crit. it won't simply deal enough damage. You should use additional Spells with a duration that have high base damage. Good examples of such Spells are Orb of Storms, Stormblast Mine, Lightning Spire Trap, or Flame Wall. All of those deal high base damage which can stack with each other, and last for a duration so you don't have to spam it constantly. Just use an extra Spell or two and boost it with some Support Gems - that should do the trick. Below you will find some basic leveling Gem setups and several extremely useful Uniques that will help you get through the campaign in no time.

Suggested leveling Gem setups:

Reap setup
	Reap - the core Spell used in this build. Start using it as soon as it becomes available for your character. It deals high base damage with the extra DoT effect which is just perfect for leveling. The only downside is that most core Support Gems don't become available early on
	Efficacy Support - the first great Support Gem that becomes available for Reap. It increases both the Hit damage as well as the DoT effect
	Controlled Destruction Support - greatly increases Spell Damage at the cost of reducing Reap's Crit. Chance
	Concentrated Effect Support - this Gem grants massive DPS buff but reduces Reap's radius. You should decide for yourself if you need it for leveling. Later on, you are switching it to Brutality anyway

Lightning Spire Trap setup
	Lightning Spire Trap - a very powerful Trap Spell which is one of the best ways to deal extra damage when you are using Ancestral Bond Passive
	Elemental Focus Support
	Faster Casting Support - increases the frequency at which Lightning Spire Trap hits enemies
	Trap and Mine Damage Support - greatly increases the damage of your Lightning Spire Trap

Orb of Storms setup
	Orb of Storms - another great AoE spell that has decent duration and can hit Bosses constantly with Lightning damage while you are fighting them with Reap
	Elemental Focus Support
	Added Lightning Damage Support - adds extra Lightning Damage to linked Spells

Utility Gems
	Clarity - Mana management can get tricky on lower levels so it's best to fix it by using Clarity Aura
	Herald of Purity - you can use any Herald Skills during leveling that doesn't hurt your Mana pool too much. We have chosen Herald of Purity as it greatly increases the damage of your Reap, and it's one of the skills that you are going to use later on
	Dash - the recommended Mobility Spell used in this build

Bandits:

We recommend helping Alira for extra Crit. Multiplier and Resistances. Also killing all the Bandits for two additional Passive Points is an okay option

Leveling Skill Trees:

30 Points Skill Tree
Priorities: 1) Trickery 2) Fangs of the Viper 3) Blood Drinker 4) Arcanist's Dominion

64 Points Skill Tree
Priorities: 1) Cruel Preparation 2) Serpent Stance 3) Purity of Flesh 4) Devotion

Recommended leveling items:

Praxis - one of the best leveling Rings for this build which reduces the base Mana Cost of all your Spells. It will help you freely use all the different Spells that you want to use to maximize your DPS
+(20-30) to maximum Mana +(30-60) to maximum Mana Regenerate (3-6) Mana per second -(8-4) to Total Mana Cost of Skills 8% of Damage taken gained as Mana over 4 seconds when Hit

Le Heup of All - this Ring provides everything you need during the leveling phase. It's recommended to use at least one for a high Attribute bonus that may be required to use all the Intelligence Gems and equipment
(10-30)% increased Damage +(10-30) to all Attributes (10-30)% increased Rarity of Items found +(10-30)% to all Elemental Resistances

Goldrim - one of the best leveling Helmets in PoE which solves all your Resistances issues on lower levels
+(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)

Axiom Perpetuum - one of the best leveling Weapons for Spell Casters. It adds tons of Elemental Damage to your Spells and on lower levels, you can dual-wield it for a massive DPS boost
12% increased Elemental Damage Adds (2-3) to (5-6) Fire Damage to Spells Adds (2-3) to (5-6) Cold Damage to Spells Adds 1 to (10-12) Lightning Damage to Spells (4-6)% increased Cast Speed (100-140)% increased Critical Strike Chance for Spells

4. Final Skill Tree, Ascendancy Points, and Pantheon

Final Skill Tree:

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

Ascendancy points:

Preferably in that order:

Mistwalker
Opportunistic
Unstable Infusion
Deadly Infusion

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 Garukhan: 60% reduced Effect of Shock on you

5. Final Gems links

[DPS] Reap setup (socketed in +3 Physical Staff)
	Reap - The primary Spell used in this build which deals massive damage in a radius around the targeted area and applies a powerful Physical DoT. It costs Life instead of Mana by default, so you either need Life Leech on Rings or to use Exsanguinate to replenish some Life from its' Leech
	Brutality Support - core Support Gems which grants a massive bonus to Physical Damage
	Concentrated Effect Support - grants very high bonus Spell Damage which applies to both the Hit Damage and Reap's DoT
	Spell Echo Support - makes Reap repeat itself with greatly increased Cast Speed offering an amazing DPS bonus. It's best to use the Awakened version of this Gem
	Power Charge on Critical Support - grants massive DPS bonus when you have plenty of Power Charges like you do in this build
	Empower Support - increases the level of Reap which is one of the best ways to scale its' base damage. If you can't afford a level 4 of this Gem, you will be better off with Cruelty Support or Increased Critical Damage Support

[DPS/UTILITY] Exsanguinate setup
	Exsanguinate - your secondary source of DPS but also a very useful Utility Skill. You are going to use it with Chain and Life Leech Support so that it offers some better clear speed and a more consistent way to replenish your Life. If you are using Kaom's Heart you will be unable to use this entire setup, and then it's mandatory to have Leech on Rings
	Brutality Support - the best way to increase this skill's DPS
	Cruelty Support - more Damage with Hits, and more Damage over Time
	Chain Support - causes Tendrils created by the skill to chain to extra enemies, applying more Dots and Leeching more Life
	Life Leech Support - causes you to Leech tons of Life with Exstanguinate which is necessary to replenish Life quickly
	Arcanist Brand - it makes using Exsanguinate to be triggered by the Brand, which allows you to spam your Reap while Exsanguinate deals extra damage and Leeches additional Life

[UTILITY] Vulnerability setup (via Ring affix)
	Vulnerability - the best Curse/Hex for this build which increases Physical Damage taken by affected enemies. It's best to apply it via a Ring affix to limit the number of active Spells you are using. If you don't have it on your Ring, either cast it manually against Bosses or link it to a low-level Cast when Damage Taken Gem

[UTILITY] Auras setup
	Pride - the core Aura for this build which greatly increases your Physical Damage against enemies in its radius. It also allows you to equip powerful Watcher Eye's Jewel with Pride Aura modifiers. It's best to socket Pride and the following Gems in the 4 items that you have your Aspect of the Spider crafted so that it benefits from the Enlighten as well
	Herald of Purity - grants Physical Damage multiplier which is one of the best ways to scale your DPS
	Enlighten Support - reduces Mana Reservation cost of linked Auras/Spells

[UTILITY] Dash/Warcry setup
	Arcane Surge Support - use a level 7 Arcane Support so that each cast of Dash grants you increased Spell Damage, Cast Speed, and Mana Regen
	Enduring Cry - a Warcry that allows you to generate Enduring Charges (Brutal Charges if using the Arn's Belt) and instantly recover some Life
	Dash - the recommended mobility Skill for this build
	Second Wind Support - reduces the cooldown of linked Spells and adds extra charges to Flame Dash/Dash

[UTILITY] Steelskin
	Steelskin - the best Guard Spell for this build which grants a protective shield that absorbs some of the incoming damage. Use whenever off cooldown

[UTILITY] Golem setup
	Summon Stone Golem - assuming you have the extra sockets thanks to the use of Vulnerability on Ring, you should be able to get a Stone Golem liked to Cast when Damage Taken for extra Life Regeneration
	Cast when Damage Taken Support - automatically summons your Golem after you take a certain amount of damage

[UTILITY] Vitality
	Vitality - a very important Aura for this build that allows you to regenerate Life quickly after spending it to cast Reap. You also can use a Watcher Eye's Jewel with extra Life Leech

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5. Gear Setup

Below you will find the recommended gear for our Reap Assassin build. This build does not necessarily need any specific Uniques so you should be able to replace any piece of listed equipment with random rares with Life/Crit/Spell Damage Rare. Obviously, you are looking to increase the number of your Maximum Power Charges, which is the most efficient way to scale your damage, other than that you want as high Life as possible because of the casting cost of your core Spells, and since it's a Crit. build, both Critical Strike Multiplier and Critical Strike Chance stats are extremely important here.

Our recommended items will:

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

Stat priorities on items:

Life
Elemental Resistances
Critical Strike Multiplier
Spell Damage
Maximum Power Charges
Critical Strike Chance
Cast Speed

(Helmet) Rare Helmet - the BiS option as it can grant high defensive stats but also additional Power Charge or even two with corrupted Implicit modifier
Min. requirements: 80 Maximum Life +1 to Maximum Power Charges Optional affixes: Critical Strike Multiplier Elemental Resistances Attributes
Helmet enchantments: Reap deals 40% increased Damage
(Weapon) Rare Staff - preferably with +3 to All Physical Spell Skill Gems as it's the best way to scale your Reap's DPS. Getting it and extra Spell Damage on Capacity Rod would be the best option, but also extremely expensive
Min. requirements: +3 to All Physical Spell Skill Gems 100% Increased Spell Damage 25% Cast Speed Optional affixes: Critical Strike Multiplier Increased Damage per Power Charge
(Body Armour) Rare Armor - possibly the best option as it can also grant a ton of Max Life, but also provides the second 6 links for your secondary DPS Spell. You can also get Spell base Crit. Chance from Shaper or Hunter affixes. You can use any base but one with a Strength requirement will be the easiest to get 3 Red Sockets
Min. requirements: 100 Maximum Life 10% Maximum Life Optional affixes: Elemental Resistances Socketed Spells have +#% to Critical Strike Chance
(Body Armour) Kaom's Heart - a solid and budget-friendly option that grants simply tons of Life but makes you unable to use Exsanguinate
Has no Sockets (20-40)% increased Fire Damage +500 to maximum Life
(Boots) Rare Boots - just grab the highest possible Life, Elemental Resistances, and Movement Speed you can afford. End-game Boots should also have Tailwind on them
Min. requirements: 70 maximum Life 70% Total Elemental Resistances 30% Movement Speed Optional affixes: You have Tailwind if you have dealt a Critical Strike Recently
Boot enchantment: 10% Chance to Dodge Attack Hits if you've taken a Critical Strike Recently 16% increased Attack and Cast Speed if you've Killed Recently
(Gloves) Rare Gloves - once again, mainly look for defensive stats and possibly extra Spell Damage or Crit. Chance. If you don't have the recommended Medium Cluster Jewel with Unnerve, you may as well try getting it here
Min. requirements: 100 maximum Life 70% Total Elemental Resistances Optional affixes: Spell Damage Attributes
(Belt) Rare Belt - preferably Stygian Vise for the extra Abyss Jewel which can grant extra damage and Life
Min. requirements: 110 maximum Life 100% Total Elemental Resistances Optional affixes: Maximum Life % Attributes Global Physical Damage
(Belt) Arn's Anguish - an amazing Belt that grants tons of bonus Life and changes your Endurance Charges to Brutal Charges which give you a chance to deal extra Damage
(15-25)% increased Stun and Block Recovery +(600–700) to Armour (12–15)% increased maximum Life +(40–60)% to Fire Resistance Modifiers to Minimum Endurance Charges instead apply to Minimum Brutal Charges Maximum Brutal Charges is equal to Maximum Endurance Charges Gain Brutal Charges instead of Endurance Charges
(Amulet) Rare Amulet - the BiS option as it can give you tons of extra Life and DPS-oriented stats. Preferably you want a +1 level to Physical Skill Gems on it
Min. requirements: 70 maximum Life 30% Global Critical Strikes Multiplier Optional affixes: +1 to All Physical Skill Gems Attributes Elemental Resistances
Recommended Anointments: Constitution Arcane Potency
(Ring) Rare Rings - aim for high Life bonuses and Resistances, and possibly the Vulnerability Curse. Extra useful stats are Crit. Multiplier and Attributes (if needed). If you don't have the Vitality Watcher's Eye with Leech, you can get it here too.
Min. requirements: 70 maximum Life 90% Total Elemental Resistances Physical Damage Leeched as Life Optional affixes: Global Critical Strike Multiplier Curse Enemies with Vulnerability on Hit, with 20% increased Effect Attributes
(Jewel) Militant Faith - one of the best Unique Jewels you can use, which should convert Pain Attunement notable to Inner Conviction. It will grant 3% more Spell Damage for each Power Charge that you have. The best extra mod is additional Elemental Resistances on it
Carved to glorify (2000-10000) new faithful converted by High Templar (Avarius-Dominus-Maxarius) Passives in radius are Conquered by the Templars Historic <two random mods of devotion>
(Jewel) Watcher's Eye - grants high bonus stats and Pride Aura modifiers. The best one for this build grants you a high chance to deal double damage. It's optional, you may as well use a more powerful regular or Abyss Jewel here with Crit. Multiplier and bonus Life
(4-6)% increased maximum Energy Shield (4-6)% increased maximum Life (4-6)% increased maximum Mana <Two or Three random aura modifiers> Recommended Aura Modifiers: (0.8-1.2)% of Damage leeched as Life while affected by Vitality (8-12)% chance to deal Double Damage while using Pride
(Jewel) Intuitive Leap - allows you to pick up several useful Passives without connecting them to your Tree. You can socket it right above Herbalism to get it alongside other powerful Passives
Passives in Radius can be Allocated without being connected to your tree Allocated Passives: Herbalism Heartseeker Survivalist
(Jewel) Thread of Hope - you need this Jewel with the "Very Large Ring" modifier so that you can pick up three important Notable Passives from the left side of the Skill Tree without connecting them to your Tree. It has to be socketed right above Devotion Passive
Only affects Passives in Very Large Ring Passives in Radius can be Allocated without being connected to your tree -(20-10)% to all Elemental Resistances
(Jewel) Large Cluster Jewel - we recommend using one with tons of extra Physical Damage and two Medium Cluster Jewels socketed for very important bonuses
Recommended Passives: 1 Added Passive Skill is Force Multiplier 1 Added Passive Skill is Exploit Weakness 1 Added Passive Skill is Master the Fundamentals
(Jewel) Medium Cluster Jewel - Medium Cluster Jewels offers tons of extremely valuable bonuses including Culling Strike and Unnerve. If you can't afford both on a single Jewel you can split it into two cheaper ones with Exploit Weakness as an additional Passive
Recommended affixes: 1 Added Passive Skill is Master of Fear 1 Added Passive Skill is Wish for Death 1 Added Passive Skill is Exploit Weakness
(Jewel) Rare Jewels - they should provide extra Life and Damage bonuses
Recommended affixes: maximum Life Critical Strike Multiplier Optional affixes: Physical/Area Damage
(Jewel) Abyss Jewel - just aim for extra Life and maybe some added Physical Damage to Spells
Recommended affixes: maximum Life Critical Strike Multiplier Optional affixes: Added Damage to Spells Chance to Hinder enemies on Spell Hits
(Flask) Bottled Faith - the best Utility Flask for this build which greatly increases your Critical Strike Chance and DPS. It also helps you regenerate Life when casting Spells
40% increased Damage Creates Consecrated Ground on Use (30-15)% reduced Duration Consecrated Ground created by this Flask has Tripled Radius Consecrated Ground created during Effect applies (7-10)% increased Damage taken to Enemies (100-150)% increased Critical Strike Chance against Enemies on Consecrated Ground during Flask effect
(Flask) Kiara's Determination - it makes you immune to a lot of unpleasant Ailemts and effects while also granting Onslaught
Onslaught Immune to Freeze, Chill, Curses and Stuns during Flask Effect (80-60)% reduced Duration
Other suggested Flasks: Bubbling Divine Life Flask of Staunching (immunity to Bleeding) Experimenter's Diamond Flask of Warding (Curse Immunity) Ample Quicksilver Flask of Heat (increased Movement Speed)