Soulrend/Bane
Chaos DoT Trickster build

Updated for Patch 3.6

The Best Crafty Guides by Odealo

Estimated budget: mediocre

Soulrend and Bane are two new gems, that are introduced in patch 3.6. They are both Chaos Damage over Time Gems, that synergize with each other very well. Soulrend is a projectile skill, that pierces through all enemies, applying DoT effect in an area around enemies. Bane skill not only applies DoT but also all linked the Curses on each cast, dealing much more damage for each Curse applied this way. On top of massive chaos damage, this build has insane Defense, thanks to curses like Enfeeble or Temporal Chains and Energy Shield leech from Soulrend. It's also a great starter build because it doesn't require expensive uniques to start dealing massive damage.

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

1. Gameplay

In order to reach the maximum potential of this build, you need to cast Bane on packs of enemies to apply all the curses and then send projectiles that should kill whole packs in no time. For your movement, you are going to use Shield Charge and Quicksilver Flasks which combined with Trickster's Ghost Dance will make you move through maps with lightning speed. 

0:06 Tier 13 Malformation 0:52 Tier 14 Crimson Temple 1:20 Tier 14 Park 2:00 Tier 16 Elder Strand This video was recorded on a level 87 Trickster using Cerberus Limb and mainly Rare Gear

2. Build's PROS & CONS

3. Leveling tips

For leveling, we are going to use Blight, before we can switch to Bane/Soulrend setup. Every node on the Passive Skill Tree that we are picking for the final build will boost our leveling skills as well, so leveling should be very fast and easy. On top of that, we can add Spell Totem that will cast Wither to increase Chaos Damage Taken by enemies.

Suggested leveling Gem setups:

Blight setup
	Blight - one of the first available Chaos spells in PoE
	Lesser Poison Support - adds additional Chaos damage
	Void Manipulation Support - increases Chaos damage

Soulrend setup
	Soulrend - this will be your main skill. Start using it as soon as it's possible to buy it from a vendor
	Swift Affliction Support - insane damage boost to Damage over Time which is our main source of damage
	Greater Multiple Projectiles Support
	Efficacy Support - more DoT and Spell damage

Bane setup
	Bane - this will be our secondary skill. It will apply more DoT and cursed linked to it
	Swift Affliction Support - insane damage boost to Damage over Time which is our main source of damage
	Temporal Chains - insane survivability curse, lowering enemies Attack and Movement speed
	Despair - increases Chaos and DoT damage versus cursed enemies

Utility Gems
	Malevolence - a great aura that increases Damage over Time
	Discipline - grants additional Energy Shield

Bandits:

We recommend killing all bandits for 2 Passive Skill Points

Leveling Skill Trees:

35 Points Skill Tree
Priorities: 1) Soul Thief 2) Atrophy

61 Points Skill Tree
Priorities: 1) Essence Surge 2) Arcane Expanse 3) Corruption 4) Unnatural Calm 5) Whisper of Doom

Recommended leveling items:

Goldrim - one of the best leveling helmets in Path of Exile, will fix your Elemental Resistances during leveling
+(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)

Lochtonial Caress - powerful Gloves, which provide Cast Speed and Power/Frenzy/Endurance Charges generation
(10-15)% increased Attack Speed (10-15)% increased Cast Speed +(20-30) to maximum Life (15-10)% reduced maximum Mana 10% chance to gain a Power, Frenzy or Endurance Charge on Kill Conduit

Wanderlust - perfect boots granting a lot of Movement Speed that you can use since level 1
+5 to Dexterity (20-40)% increased Mana Regeneration Rate +(10-20) to maximum Energy Shield 20% increased Movement Speed Cannot be Frozen

Le Heup of All - they provide everything - Attributes, Damage, and Resistances. Perfect choices for the whole leveling process

(10-30)% increased Damage +(10-30) to all Attributes (10-30)% increased Rarity of Items found +(10-30)% to all Elemental Resistances

Lifesprig - great leveling wand, that adds a lot of Spell Damage and Cast Speed. It's recommended to dual-wield them
(4-6)% increased Cast Speed (100-140)% increased Critical Strike Chance for Spells 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. 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:

1. Ghost Dance
2. Escape Artist
3. Patient Reaper
4. Prolonged Pain

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] Soulrend
	Soulrend - your primary source of DPS
	Swift Affliction Support- insane damage boost to Damage over Time which is our main source of damage
	Void Manipulation Support
	Controlled Destruction Support - high Spell Damage boost at the exchange of reduced Critical Strike Chance, which doesn't affect our build
	Greater Multiple Projectiles Support - this is our support for faster map clear. For bossing it's recommended to use Empower gem
	Efficacy Support - a great boost to both Spell and DoT damage
Optional gem options
	Empower - should replace Greater Multiple Projectiles Support for bosses. Increases level of Soulrend, which scales really well

[UTILITY] Bane setup
	Bane - this will be our secondary skill. It will apply more DoT and Curses linked to it
	Swift Affliction Support - insane damage boost to Damage over Time which is our main type of damage
	Temporal Chains - insane defensive Curse, which lowers enemies' Attack and Movement speed
	Despair - increases Chaos and DoT damage versus cursed enemies

[AURA] Malevolence, Discipline, and Clarity
	Malevolence - a great Aura that increases Damage over Time
	Discipline - grants additional Energy Shield
	Clarity - grants Mana Regeneration
	Enlighten - reduces the amount of Mana Reserved by linked Aura

[DPS] Contagion setup
	Contagion - use it to keep Arcane Surge buff active
	Arcane Surge Support - after casting Contagion you will gain the Arcane Surge buff which increases Spell Damage and Cast Speed
	Faster Casting - increases Contagion's cast speed
	Increased Area of Effect Support - increases the AoE of Contagion

[MOBILITY] Shield Charge setup
	Shield Charge  - the best Movement Skill if you are using a shield
	Faster Attacks Support  - faster movement with Shield Charge
	Fortify Support  - grants Fortify buff for more survivability

[DEFENSE] Immortal Call setup
	Immortal Call - grants brief Physical Damage immunity. Keep this Gem at level 3
	Increased Duration Support - will extend the duration of Immortal Call
	Cast when Damage Taken Support - will auto-cast supported spells after a certain amount of damage is taken by the player. Do not upgrade it above level 1

5. Gear Setup

This Soulrend/Bane Trickster is a moderately expensive build. Below you will find all the recommended gear. If you would like to have the end-game items also added here please let us know in the comments below. 

If you are looking for cheap PoE Currency, we would love to invite you to visit our PoE Market section that can be accessed via the menu bar on top of the page.

The recommended items from our list will:

1. Help you cap your Elemental Resistances 
2. Give you enough DPS and Energy Shield to start mapping successfully

(Helmet) Rare Helmet - this is our best choice for fixing both Elemental Resistances and Energy Shield

Min. requirements: 250 to Energy Shield 30% to Fire Resistance 30% to Lightning Resistance 30% to Cold Resistance

(Helmet) The Vertex - optional Helmet if you don't need more Elemental Resistances. Provides a lot of defensive stats and reduces Mana Cost of linked skills

+1 to Level of Socketed Gems (245-280)% increased Evasion and Energy Shield +(30-40) to maximum Energy Shield +(24-30)% to Chaos Resistance Enemies Cannot Leech Mana From you Socketed Gems have 50% reduced Mana Cost

Helmet enchantment: Soulrend deals 40% increased Damage

(Weapon) Cerberus Limb - definitely Best in Slot weapon for this build. Adds a lot of DPS and Energy Shield

(70-100)% increased Spell Damage (15-20)% increased Cast Speed 0.5% of Spell Damage Leeched as Life if Equipped Shield has at least 30% Chance to Block +1 to Maximum Energy Shield per 5 Armour on Equipped Shield +5 to Armour per 5 Evasion Rating on Equipped Shield +20 to Evasion Rating per 5 Maximum Energy Shield on Equipped Shield

(Weapon) Rare Spell Dagger - a good alternative to Cerberus Limb. Aim at highest Spell/Chaos Damage and Damage Over Time

Min. requirements: 70% Spell Damage 10% Cast Speed 20% Damage over Time Optional affixes:  +25% to Non-Ailment Chaos Damage over Time Multiplier

(Shield) Rare Shield - if you are using Cerberus Limb, this is the best option. Rare Shield with the highest Armour will grant very high bonus Energy Shield

Min. requirements: 2200 Armour 25% Lightning Resistance 25% Cold Resistance

(Shield) Rare Shield - if you are using Rare Wand, then this is the best option. Try to get one with highest Energy Shield and Spell Damage

Min. requirements: 350 Energy Shield 25% Lightning Resistance 25% Fire Resistance 50% Spell Damage

(Body Armour) Rare Body Armour - definitely best in the slot, try to get one with highest Energy Shield possible

Min. requirements: 600 Energy Shield 29% Fire Resistance 29% Lightning Resistance 29% Cold Resistance

(Amulet) Rare Amulet - with the right stats this will be best in slot

Min. requirements: 40 maximum Energy Shield 20% increased Maximum Energy Shield 15% increased Spell Damage 20 All Attributes

(Amulet) Aul's Uprising - a great alternative to Rare Amulet which can remove the Mana Reservation cost for Discipline

+(10-16) to all Attributes +(20-30) to Intelligence (15-20)% increased maximum Energy Shield +(50-70) to maximum Life 2% additional Chance to receive a Critical Strike Nearby Enemies have an additional 2% chance to receive a Critical Strike Discipline Reserves no Mana

(Ring) Vivinsect - a great option if you can afford to increase Mana Reservation cost of the socketed Aura. Socketing Discipline or Malevolence here will greatly increase their effect thanks to increased Gem level

+5 to Level of Socketed Aura Gems Socketed Gems have 10% increased Mana Reservation +(15-25) to all Attributes 15 Life Regenerated per second for each Uncorrupted Item Equipped -2 to Total Mana Cost of Skills for each Corrupted Item Equipped <One Veiled Mod>

(Ring) Rare Ring - the best pick. Should grant added Energy Shield and cap your Elemental Resistances

Min. requirements: 40 to maximum Energy Shield 12% to all Elemental Resistances 29% to Fire Resistance/Cold/Lightning Resistance Optional affixes: Strength

(Boots) Rare Boots - get a pair with the highest maximum Energy Shield and Movement Speed bonuses you can afford

Min. requirements: 150 Energy Shield 20% increased Movement Speed 29% Fire Resistance 29% Lightning Resistance 29% Cold Resistance

Boot enchantment: 16% increased Attack and Cast Speed if you've Killed Recently

(Belt) Rare Belt

Min. requirements: 100 Energy Shield 22% Fire Resistance 22% Lightning Resistance 22% Cold Resistance

(Belt) Bated Breath - best in the slot. Grants increased Damage and very high maximum Energy Shield bonus

+(9-20) to maximum Energy Shield 10% increased Damage +(15-25) to Intelligence +(20-30) to maximum Energy Shield 20% increased maximum Energy Shield 50% increased Energy Shield Recharge Rate

(Gloves) Rare Gloves - extra Attack Speed may be a good addition for faster movement with Shield Charge

Min. requirements: 150 Energy Shield 29% Fire resistance 29% Lightning resistance 29% Cold resistance Optional affixes: increased Attack Speed

(Gloves) Vixen's Entrapment - insane Gloves that were added to the game in Synthesis League. They allow you to apply an additional Curse and grant Energy Shield Leech. Best for our build if you can afford to lose the Elemental Resistances a Rare pair would provide

+64 to maximum Energy Shield You can apply an additional Curse 16% increased Cast Speed with Curse Skills 0.2% of Spell Damage Leeched as Energy Shield for each Curse on Enemy Trigger Socketed Curse Spells when you cast a Curse

(Jewels) Rare Jewels

Recommended affixes: increased Maximum Energy Shield increased Spell Damage/Spell Damage while holding a Shield increased Chaos Damage Optional affixes: increased Cast Speed increased Damage over Time

(Jewels) Abyss Jewels - priority is maximum Life and flat damage to spells

Recommended affixes: maximum Energy Shield added Damage to Spells Optional affixes: increased Spell Damage increased Cast Speed

(Flask) Witchfire Brew - a great boost to Damage over Time

50% increased Charges used (25-40)% increased Damage Over Time during Flask Effect Grants Level 21 Despair Curse Aura during Flask Effect

Suggested Flasks: Chemist's Sulphur Flask of Heat (immunity to Freeze and Chill) Perpetual's Basalt Flask of Warding (immunity to Curses) Chemist's Quicksilver Flask of Adrenaline (increased Movement Speed) Experimenter's Aquamarine Flask of Staunching (immunity to Bleeding)

If you have any other build requests please leave that in the comments below.

Pictures used in this article are the intellectual property of Grinding Gear Games.