The Golden Charlatan
Mana-Intelligence-Evasion-stacker
Hierophant Build

Updated for Patch 3.29

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The build utilizes many new mechanics introduced in patch 3.29. The Unblinking Eye employs increases in Evasion to also work on Spell Damage. You can increase your Evasion with Omeyocan Boots (or its Vestigial Implicit put on any other global drop Unique Boots), which grant you 20% increased Evasion Rating per 500 Mana. There's also Energy Shield and Evasion Mastery for 1% increased Evasion Rating per 10 Intelligence. Every 2 Intelligence grants 1 Maximum Mana by default, and you may now see where this is going. By stacking both Maximum Mana and Intelligence, we can reach over 1000% increased Spell Damage, which is a lot.

The flat damage to be increased comes from Frostmage Support. This Gem adds Cold Damage to Spells equal to a quarter of your Reserved Mana, but also increases the Spell Cost rapidly. The Mana Cost gets so high that most players are forced to abandon the idea of using Mana as a Resource altogether, and so is the case here, where we allocate the From Below ascendancy Keystone gained by socketing proper Reclaimed Malevolence somewhere on the Skill Tree. It works like Soul Taker but for Spells - you no longer have to be restricted by the Mana Cost of Spells. Intelligence-and-Mana-stacking can provide you with tons of Energy Shield. Every 10 Intelligence grants 1% increased maximum Energy Shield, and the Flat ES is obtained from a specific Watcher's Eye mod, Radiant Faith (from Forbidden Jewels), and gear pieces. All this results in around 20k ES, sustained with ES Leech and some base Regeneration. You should also aim for 20k Maximum Mana, almost all of it Reserved.

The build uses The Golden Charlatan, since we don't really need a weapon with actual stats to gain Gem Levels or to increase Spell Damage; all this is guaranteed by the aforementioned combination of items. The Golden Charlatan grants a random Shrine Buff upon killing a Rare on Unique enemy, so the build is heavily mapping-oriented. It can deal with Uber bosses, but it doesn't make a lick of sense to farm them using it. You may as well combine it with Headhunter and Wine of the Prophet, because the whole archetype is one of the more expensive ones in the game.

1. Gameplay

Rolling Magma and Pact of Beidat are the two Skills the build uses the most. Pact enhances the next 8 Casts, and such improved spells will cover an entire screen with Magma. For continuous Casting, you will run out of Pact in less than 2 seconds. Frostblink of Wintry Blast is a movement ability that also improves damage via Bonechill and has decent damage on its own after linking it with Frostmage. Assassin's Mark or Sniper's Mark must be cast manually on bosses that you assume will take a while to slay. Your passive skills are Purity of Elements, Flesh and Stone, Discipline (or Grace), and Clarity. You can also add an Animated Guardian or a Spectre. Radiant Faith ensures its safety.

2. Build's PROS & CONS

3. Leveling tips

The build requires a specific combination of high-level items and many passives allocated, so it comes together at around level 85 to 90, with all the items prepared, of course. You have to have a different Templar to play through the acts and early maps. We recommend a Hierophant Wander with Kinetic Fusillade Totems. We have such a build prepared already. It's one of the most popular starting and leveling builds that you may as well complete the whole atlas with.

Bandits:

An additional Passive Skill Point seems like the best option.

4. Final Skill Tree, Ascendancy Points, and Pantheon

Final Skill Tree:

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

Ascendancy points:

Preferably in that order:

1. Arcane Blessing
2. Divine Guidance
3. Sanctuary of Thought
4. Any passive within reach to turn into From Below

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 Abberath: 60% less Duration of Ignite on You; 10% increased Movement Speed while on Burning Ground; Unaffected by Burning Ground

5. Final Gems links

[DPS] Rolling Magma setup
	Rolling Magma - It's the main damaging ability. Great for clearing maps and with Pact of Beidat, but you may replace it with almost any other Spell.
	Frostmage Support - A core component of the setup to provide you with flat Cold Damage sourced from Maximum Mana,
	Greater Chain Support - Rolling Magma will chain 13 times (22 when Empowered) with it to cover the entire screen.
	Greater Spell Echo Support - Spell repeats additional times with much more Cast Speed and damage.
	Invert the Rules Support - Chance to treat Resistances as Inverted, so there's no point in reducing enemies' Resistances anymore, which would be too big of a commitment anyway.
	Arcane Surge Support - 20% increased Cast Speed and 35% more damage. It can be replaced with Increased Critical Damage if you hope to get a Diamond Shrine while mapping, which guarantees 100% Crit Chance.

[UTILITY] Reservation setup can be socketed in a Helmet if it has Reservation Efficiency Corruption
	Purity of Elements - Resistances with immunity to Elemental Ailments. It's hard to cap Resistances without it.
	Discipline - Adds Energy Shield. You can replace it with Grace if you value high Evasion over a larger Life Pool.
	Flesh and Stone - Stay in the Sand Stance to take less Hit Damage from nearby sources.
	Clarity - Used only to enable a Watcher's Eye mod for ES sourced from Mana. Can be kept at level 1, although it won't make much of a difference.
	Enlighten Support - You can link the three most expensive Auras with Enlighten to Reserve less Mana.

[MOBILITY] Frostblink setup
	Frostblink of Wintry Blast - The Movement ability that teleports you over a short distance. This variant has no Cooldown but does have Cast Time.
	Bonechill Support - Enemies will take increased damage equal to the effect of Chill of Chilled Ground left by Frostblink.
	Frostmage Support
	Faster Casting Support - Faster Casting for faster movement. It can be replaced with Unbound Ailments if you prefer a bit more damage.

[UTILITY] Raise Spectre setup
	Raise Spectre - Use a Pale Seraphim, or Primal Crushclaw. You can also buy Corpses like Guardian Turtle, Pain Artist, or Forest Tiger. Radiant Faith provides it with a lot of Energy Shield. Animated Guardian can be used alongside or instead of it. Check our best AG items here.
	Minion Life Support - More Minion Life so that it won't die.
	Meat Shield Support - Less damage taken and increased Movement Speed for the Minion.
	Empower Support - Gem Level translates into Minion Life.

[UTILITY] Other skills
	Pact of Beidat - Empowers the next 8 Spells. It grants 35% more damage, 6 additional Chains, and 8 additional areas from which the Cast occurs. It vastly improves damage and clear speed, but inflicts a debuff.
	Cooldown Recovery Support - Increased Cooldown Recovery for Pact of Beidat and Convocation.
	Convocation - Recalls your Minions back to you so they won't wander off.
	Automation - Convocation is cast automatically.
	Sniper's Mark - Marked enemies take increased Projectile Damage, which forks on Hit. You could replace it with Assassin's Mark if you're mapping, because it's better if you happen to have a Diamond Shrine.

5. Gear Setup

The build scales Mana and Intelligence; other stats are derived from it. Most of the gear pieces have to be Unique, so there's not a lot to tinker with (except for Corrupting them); Rare items are that much more important. Intelligence-and-Mana-stacking is expensive. You're aiming for 2000 intelligence. Having more of it is, in theory, possible, but absurdly expensive. Flat ES can be gained from Prefixes, but it also comes from Int via Watcher's Eye mod and Radiant Faith. You can get close to double that amount with triple T1 Energy Shield Rares, which is also expensive. All Mana should be Reserved, and you won't need any additional Reservation Efficiency. Flat added Spell Damage is not in demand; that comes from Frostmage. Increased Spell Damage comes from The Unblinking Eye, so it's also pointless. Jewels and Cluster Jewels are equally crucial; there, you will need to accumulate Intelligence and Mana, as usual.

(Helmet) The Unblinking Eye - Increases damage by over 1000%; increases to Evasion are gained from Evasion and Energy Shield Mastery and the Omeyocan mod on your Unique Boots. You could also put the "Increases and Reductions to your Evasion Rating also apply to your Spell Damage" mod as a Vestigial Implicit on Mindspiral for more Mana and Energy Shield, but it would lose half of its value.

+(15-20)% chance to Suppress Spell Damage +(50-100) to Dexterity (120-160)% increased Evasion and Energy Shield Increases and Reductions to your Evasion Rating also apply to your Spell Damage Physical Damage Reduction is zero

(Body Armour) Rare Body Armour - Crusader or Shaper mod for increased Intelligence and Maximum Mana is a must-have. At least increased Intelligence. Then, craft a Suffix for increased Attributes. The rest can give you flat Energy Shield and flat Intelligence.

Min. requirements: increased Intelligence (Shaper/Crusader Suffix) increased maximum Mana (Shaper/Crusader Prefix) increased Attributes (crafted Suffix) Optional affixes: Intelligence high Maximum Energy Shield

(Weapon) The Golden Charlatan - It's a star of the build. Grants Shrine buff on Rare/Unique Kill and adds Maximum Mana equal to half of Intelligence, which comes to roughly a quarter or a third of your total flat Mana.

+50 to Strength and Dexterity +200 Intelligence Requirement (200-300)% increased Physical Damage (10-16)% increased Attack Speed (100-200)% increased Critical Strike Chance Critical Strikes with this Weapon do not deal extra Damage Gain a random Shrine Buff for 30 seconds when you Kill a Rare or Unique Enemy +1 to maximum Mana per 2 Intelligence

(Gloves) Rare Gloves - On Gloves, you will need mainly Intelligence, Mana, and flat Energy Shield. You can add Resistances if you struggle with that. For the Eldritch mods, try to get Unnerve on Hit and increased Damage per Intelligence.

Min. requirements: high Maximum Energy Shield +70 to Maximum Mana +50 Intelligence Optional affixes: Elemental Resistances

(Gloves) Shaper's Touch - If you don't need Resistances and you have another way of Unnerving foes, definitely consider Shaper's Touch Gloves. They can get you another 300 to 400% increased Damage.

(80-120)% increased Armour and Energy Shield +2 Accuracy Rating per 2 Intelligence +1 Life per 4 Dexterity +1 Mana per 4 Strength 1% increased Energy Shield per 10 Strength 2% increased Evasion Rating per 10 Intelligence 2% increased Melee Physical Damage per 10 Dexterity

(Boots) Omeyocan - The very important "20% increased Evasion Rating per 500 Maximum Mana" can be made into a Vestigial Implicit, so you can technically wear any global-drop Boots; preferably ones that offer the best stats, like Rainbowstride, Sin Trek, March of the Legion, or Three-Step Assault.

(15-20)% increased maximum Mana +(25-30)% to Lightning Resistance 30% increased Movement Speed 20% increased Evasion Rating per 500 Maximum Mana You have Onslaught while not on Low Mana Lose 7% of Mana per Second

(Belt) Headhunter - Headhunter fits this build perfectly; you gain mods on Rare monster kills, as you gain a random Shrine with The Golden Charlatan. It will be more difficult to cap resistances without Mageblood, but at least you can use many more Unique Flasks here.

+(25-40) to maximum Life +(40-55) to Strength +(40-55) to Dexterity +(50-60) to maximum Life (20-30)% increased Damage with Hits against Rare monsters When you Kill a Rare monster, you gain its Modifiers for 60 seconds

(Amulet) Rare Amulet - A Simplex Amulet with increased Intelligence, increased Attributes, and increased damage per Intelligence would be the best. It is, however, very expensive. A regular Amulet base is much more accessible.

Min. requirements: increased Attributes (Shaper Suffix) increased Intelligence (Crusader Suffix) Optional affixes: 1% increased Damage per 15 Intelligence (Crusader Prefix) Intelligence Maximum Mana Maximum Energy Shield Elemental Resistances

Recommended Anointments: Forethought Arcane Will

(Ring) Nimis - Rolling Magma Projectiles will Return to you after they terminate, which increases your damage against tough enemies.

+(20-30)% to Lightning Resistance +(30-50) to Dexterity (25-35)% increased Projectile Damage Projectiles Return to you Projectiles are fired in random directions

(Ring) Shavronne's Revelation - You can socket it in the right ring slot for 250 Mana and ES Regeneration. Rare Rings cannot get you that much Mana, but they can provide many other useful mods.

(7-10)% increased Cast Speed +(60-75) to Intelligence Right ring slot: You cannot Regenerate Mana Right ring slot: Regenerate 6% of Energy Shield per second Right ring slot: +250 to maximum Mana Left ring slot: You cannot Recharge or Regenerate Energy Shield Left ring slot: Regenerate 40 Mana per Second Left ring slot: +250 to maximum Energy Shield

(Ring) Rare Ring - Helical Ring would let you have only one Prefix, which should be Maximum Mana. The effect of Suffixixes will be increased, and there, you can go for Intelligence and Global Crit Multiplier.

Min. requirements: Intelligence Maximum Mana Global Critical Strike Multiplier (Essence of Scorn Suffix) Optional affixes: increased Cast Speed Elemental Resistances

(Jewel) Bound By Destiny - You want to get a copy with a specific modifier that increases your Intelligence if you have 2 Crusader items. These are your Body Armour and Amulet, maybe Gloves.

(10–15)% increased Intelligence if 2 Crusader Items are Equipped

(Jewel) Reclaimed Malevolence - Search for a very specific copy that will turn your Conviction of Power, Pursuit of Faith, Illuminated Devotion, or Sign of Purpose into From Below; the ascendancy Keystone that lets you Cast Spells even if you don't have enough Mana. You can copy and paste items from the market into PoB to check if they work. Socket it into the socket near Quick Recovery so it won't mess up your travel nodes too much.

Binding (100-8000) souls to phylacteries to sustain Zorath Passives affected are Conquered by the Abyssal Historic

(Jewel) Healthy Mind - Socket it near the Instability notable to gain Mana from Cruel Preparation. It also increases Mana by up to 20%.

(15-20)% increased maximum Mana Increases and Reductions to Life in Radius are Transformed to apply to Mana at 200% of their value

(Jewel) Watcher's Eye - Look for one specific mod on it: Gain (6-10)% of Maximum Mana as Extra Maximum Energy Shield while affected by Clarity. It's a lot of flat ES.

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

(Jewel) Forbidden Flame & Flesh - On these Jewels, get the Guardian's Radiant Faith ascendancy Keystone. It grants flat ES equal to 10% of Reserved Mana; you should have almost all of it Reserved.

Allocates <random Ascendancy Notable> if you have the matching modifier on Forbidden Flesh Allocates <random Ascendancy Notable> if you have the matching modifier on Forbidden Flame

(Jewel) Large Cluster Jewel - A 12-passive Spell Damage Large Cluster Jewel should possess mods that enhance its small nodes with Intelligence, Maximum Mana, and Cast Speed, preferably.

Recommended affixes: Added Small Passive Skills also grant: increased Cast Speed Added Small Passive Skills also grant: to Intelligence Added Small Passive Skills also grant: Maximum Mana Added Small Passive Skills have 35% increased Effect

(Jewel) Small Cluster Jewel - Small Cluster Jewels should have the exact same small node enhancements as your Large ones, but the inherent passives on them must provide Maximum Mana.

Recommended affixes: Added Small Passive Skills also grant: increased Cast Speed Added Small Passive Skills also grant: to Intelligence Added Small Passive Skills also grant: Maximum Mana Added Small Passive Skills have 35% increased Effect

(Flask) Dying Sun - Two additional Projectiles for Rolling Magma with each Cast.

+40% to Fire Resistance +5% to maximum Fire Resistance (125-150)% increased Charges per use (60-40)% less Duration (10-20)% increased Area of Effect during Effect Skills fire 2 additional Projectiles during Effect

(Flask) Stormblood (Lightning) - With this Flask, you can inflict Shock with non-Lightning Damage; you don't deal any Lightning Damage, but could greatly benefit from Shock.

+40% to Lightning Resistance +5% to maximum Lightning Resistance (20-40)% chance to gain a Flask Charge when you deal a Critical Strike 50% reduced Duration All Damage from Critical Strikes can apply Lightning Ailments during effect

(Flask) Oriath's End - If you want to clear maps faster and don't have any other source of explosions on kill, try Oriath's End.

+35% to all Elemental Resistances (20-40)% increased Charge Recovery Enemies you Kill during Effect have a (20-30)% chance to Explode, dealing a tenth of their maximum Life as Damage of a Random Element

(Flask) Wine of the Prophet - It's an expensive Golden Flask that grants a random buff on each use. It suits this build as most of these buffs will have a visible positive effect on you.

30% increased Rarity of Items found +60 to Maximum Charges (20-100)% increased Charges per use Grants a random Divination Buff for 20 seconds when Used

Other suggested Flasks and Tinctures: Quicksilver Flask with increased Movement Speed Silver Flask with increased Item Rarity (crafted) Jade Flask with increased Evasion Stibnite Flask with reduced Effect of Curses Topaz, Ruby, and Sapphire Flasks for Mageblood

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

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