Trinity Flicker Strike
Slayer build

Updated for Patch 3.20

The Best Crafty Guides by Odealo

Flicker Strike is one of the fastest Attacks, it teleports you to the nearest enemy instantly to strike him. It has a cooldown of two seconds, but it can be bypassed by Spending Frenzy Charge. It's more common to see Raiders use the Flicker Strike because of their Frenzy Charges-related ascendancy Keystones, but a Slayer version has its own virtues - it's more capable to deal with Bosses, and has better AoE. You should be able to have at least 8 Maximum Frenzy Charges and generate them via Blood Rage, Notable Skill Points, and Farrul's Fur or the Replica version of it. This build uses the Unique Two-Hand Sword Voidforge - it deals a lot of Elemental Damage sourced from Physical Damage, but the damage is added at random - it adds Fire, Cold, or Lightning with each Attack. You can probably see why that's a good opportunity to use Trinity Support.

As a Slayer, you have a lot of very good Keystones to choose from your Ascendancy Skill Tree, but the Life Leech branch is the most insignificant one. Masterful Form, Bane of Legends, and Headsman are obligatory, you can then choose between Impact or Overwhelm, or have both via Forbidden Flesh and Forbidden Flame Unique Jewels, it's definitely worth getting them. The build sits between 4 to 5k of Maximum Life, it has a permanent Fortify and around 10k of Armour and Evasion, and Endurance Charges equal to your Frenzy Charges. The defenses are unimpressive, but with the very good AoE, DPS, and clear speed, the only dangerous enemies are these you can't kill with a single strike. 

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

1. Gameplay

Flicker Strike creates a unique gameplay experience, the character moves very fast, and so your clear speed relies heavily on monster density - the more of it the better. If you need a movement Skill, use Leap Slam, for a guard Spell it is recommended to have Steelskin or Immortal Call linked with CwDT. The Curse you should use is Assassin's Mark linked with Mark on Hit. Besides Bloor Rage, the other Skills granting you passive bonuses that shall be affecting you at all times are Aspect of the Cat, Hatred, Herald of Purity, and Defiance Banner. You can get other mana-reserving Skills such as Herald of Ice, Purity of Elements, Determination, or Precision. During boss fights use Ancestral Totems and activate Vaal Haste for a temporary damage bonus.

Full gameplay video:

2. Build's PROS & CONS

3. Leveling tips

Although Flicker Strike is available since level 10, you won't be able to sustain its Frenzy Charges demands so early on, use some other Melee Attack such as Cleave, Frost Blades, Sweep, or Ice Crash. If you're using Frost Blades, be sure to pick the Cold Mastery for Damage conversion. You can start using Flicker Strike as soon as level 16, that's the required level for a Blood Rage, which has a 25% chance to grant a Frenzy Charge on Kill. At level 24 get a Poacher's Mark and link it to a Mark on Hit at level 38, this way you will receive a Frenzy Charge on Kill. At level 51 equip Terminus Est, which grants Frenzy Charge on Critical Hit, be sure that your Crit chance is somewhat high - use Precision, Ice Golem, or a Sword Mastery for increased Crit, Chance. At level 68 switch to Voidforge, and one level later Farrul's Fur.

Suggested leveling Gem setups:

Frost Blades setup
	Frost Blades - A Strike Skill that creates Projectiles, it converts 60% of Physical Damage to Cold Damage. You can use any other Melee Attack you're comfortable with.
	Ancestral Call Support - Strike Skills strike additional targets for better AoE
	Ruthless Support - every third Attack deals much more Melee Damage
	Maim Support - you deal more Damage and Maim enemies on Hit

various Gems
	Ancestral Warchief - a Totem that grants you more Melee Damage
	Poacher's Mark - cursed enemies grant Life and mana on Hit, and Frenzy Charge on Kill, it can be linked with  Mark on hit Support
	Blood Rage - grants you Life Leech, Attack Speed, and a chance for a Frenzy Charge on Kill
	Precision - use for more Accuracy and Critical Strike Chance, it's good with Terminus Est
	Leap Slam - a movement Skill, particularly useful during Labirynth sequences

Bandits:

We recommend killing all the Bandits for two additional Passive Points.

Leveling Skill Trees:

25 Points Skill Tree
Pick Master of the Arena, Art of the Gladiator, Life Leech. Mana Leech, Chance to gain Onslaught and Phasing on Kill, and some Maximum Life

57 Points Skill Tree
Get more Maximum Life, Fortify Mastery, and Sword nodes such as Blade of Cunning, Fatal Blade, and Bladednacer. If you're using a two-hand Sword, pick Destroyer and Titanic Impacts. If you're using Frost Blades go for Cold Mastery and convert your damage.
 

Recommended leveling items:

Blackheart - A leveling Ring for Attack builds you can use since level 1, it adds a lot of Chaos Damage.

Adds 1 to 4 Physical Damage to Attacks Adds (10-15) to (20-25) Chaos Damage to Attacks Regenerate (10-15) Life per second 10% chance to Cause Monsters to Flee

Meginord's Girdle - Great for the first few levels, it grants Damage, Life, and Cold Resistances.

+(25-35) to Strength +25 to Strength Adds 10 to 20 Physical Damage to Attacks 10% increased maximum Life +(10-20)% to Cold Resistance 25% increased Flask Life Recovery rate

Goldrim - A helmet that grants you 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)

Redbeak - It is a good Sword for the first few acts, it has all the stats that an Attack build needs.

40% increased Global Accuracy Rating 100% increased Damage when on Low Life 50% increased Physical Damage Adds 2 to 6 Physical Damage 10% increased Attack Speed +(20-30) to maximum Life +2 Life gained for each Enemy hit by Attacks

Terminus Est - One of the best leveling weapons that ensure a steady Frenzy Charge generation and a lot of damage.

+360 to Accuracy Rating (180-220)% increased Physical Damage 20% increased Attack Speed (50-75)% increased Critical Strike Chance +10 Mana gained on Kill 10% increased Movement Speed Gain a Frenzy Charge on Critical Strike

Oro's Sacrifice - It's also a very good Sword to start with, but it cannot deal Physical Damage, be sure to invest in increased Fire Damage or a Chance to Ignite (there's no need for damage conversion yet).

30% increased Elemental Damage with Attack Skills No Physical Damage Adds (425-475) to (550-600) Fire Damage (10-15)% increased Attack Speed 20% chance to Ignite 10% increased Physical Damage taken 10% increased Fire Damage taken Culling Strike against Burning Enemies Gain a Frenzy Charge if an Attack Ignites an Enemy

4. Final Skill Tree, Ascendancy Points, and Pantheon

Final Skill Tree:

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

Ascendancy points:

Preferably in that order:

1. Impact
2. Bane of Legends
3. Overwhelm (if using Terminus Est with not enough Crit. Chance)
4. Masterful Form (if you have Replica Farrul's Fur)
5. Headsman

Pantheon:

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

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] Flicker Strike setup
	Flicker Strike - It's the Attack that automatically seeks an enemy, and teleports the character to it to Strike it. If you have a Frenzy Charge, it will be consumed in order to bypass the cooldown.
	Elemental Damage with Attacks Support - Increases the Elemental Damage with Attack, which is the only type of damage you're dealing.
	Trinity Support - It's a mandatory Support Gem when using a weapon such as Voidforge, you can easily create Resonances.
	Close Combat Support - Deals more damage the closer you are to the opponent, Flicker Strike teleports you as close as it's possible. It also provides you with a Combat Rush buff.
	Melee Physical Damage Support - Grants more Melee Physical Damage and slightly lowers Attack Speed. You can replace it with  Inspiration Support too for comparable results.
	Multistrike Support - Flicker Strike is being repeated additional times with more Attack Speed.

[UTILITY] Aura setup
	Hatred - Makes you deal more Cold Damage, and grants you Physical Damage as Extra Cold Damage.
	Herald of Ice - Increases Cold Damage, adds Cold Damage to your Attacks, and allows you to Shatter frozen enemies.
	Herald of Purity - It's used only for the "12% more Physical Damage" bonus.
	Defiance Banner - Increases your Armour and Evasion Rating while reducing the Critical Strike chance of nearby opponents.
	Precision - Adds Accuracy and increases Critical Strike Chance, even a low-level one is good, but increase it if you have enough Reservation Efficiency.
	Enlighten Support - Linked Spells have increased Mana Reservation Efficiency.

[UTILITY] Ancestral Totems setup
	Ancestral Warchief - totem that grants you more Melee Damage
	Ancestral Protector - grants you more Attack Speed as it stays active
	Multiple Totems Support - allows you to summon both - Ancestral Warchief and Protector at the same time

[UTILITY] Assassin's Mark and Blood Rage setup
	Assassin's Mark - Assassin's Mark increases your Critical Strike Chance, Critical Strike Multiplier, and grants Life and Mana on Kill with a small chance for a Power Charge
	Mark on Hit Support - curses an opponent you hit with the linked Mark
	Blood Rage - it increases your Attack Speed, Life Leech, and has a chance for a Frenzy Charge on Kill
	Lifetap Support - linked Skills cost Life instead of Mana

[UTILITY] Leap Slam and Steelskin setup
	Leap Slam - a Movement Skill, you can use it to jump over the ledges and walls
	Steelskin - Guard Spell that reduces the damage you take from hits for a short time
	Faster Attacks Support - Leap Slam can be used more frequently
	Lifetap Support

[UTILITY] Vaal Haste
	Vaal Haste - Vaal Haste is used for increased Attack and Movement Speed for a short duration, but if you have a way to generate Rage (it's commonly found on Gloves) use  Berserk instead.

5. Gear Setup

It's a straightforward Attack-type build, get sufficient Accuracy, Crit. Chance, Crit. Multiplier, and Physical Damage. Bury in mind that you're not dealing any Physical Damage, Voidforge "Converts" your Physical Damage by granting Extra Physical Damage as Elemental Damage, and then disabling the Physical part of it entirely (you still want to Convert this damage as it does exist, it's just suppressed by Voidforge's affix). You should invest in Physical Damage as all the damage bonuses will apply. Seek added and increased Physical or Cold Damage, with Cold Mastery and Herald of Ice you can Convert your Physical Damage to Cold, Voidforge does not allow you to deal Physical Damage anyway, so don't let that go to waste. If you have Masterful Form and a good source of Endurance Charges, equip Arn's Anguish as your Belt, it transforms your Endurance Charges to Brutal Charges, each granting a 3% chance to Triple your Damage. Some Rare Items such as Rings could grant you an Extra Frenzy Charge or added Damage per Frenzy Charge. Your Defenses are Maximum Life, Elemental Resistances, and Chaos Resistance. If you're using Farrul's Fur or its replica, be aware that one of your Rare items has to have an open Suffix that would allow you to craft the Aspect of the Cat via Beastcrafting on it. Forbidden Flame and Forbidden Flesh are especially beneficial there as there are five great Keystones on your Ascendancy Skill Tree.

(Helmet) Rare Helmet - It's a defensive-oriented option, it should get you Maximum Life, Resistances, and other various mods such as Accuracy Rating.

Min. requirements: +70 maximum Life +80% to Total Elemental Resistances Optional affixes: Nearby enemies take #% Increased Elemental Damage Critical Strike mods Accuracy Rating Intelligence

(Helmet) Abyssus - Abyssus does make you vulnerable to Physical Damage, but it also provides you with a lot of DPS. Great softcore Helmet.

+(20-25) to all Attributes Adds 40 to 60 Physical Damage to Attacks +(100-125)% to Melee Critical Strike Multiplier (100-120)% increased Armour (40-50)% increased Physical Damage taken

Helmet enchantment: increased Flicker Strike Damage per Frenzy Charge

(Body Armour) Rare Body Armour - You can put this one on if you can't afford a better, unique Body Armour yet. It should provide you with basic defensive stats and additional Crit. Chance.

Min. requirements: +100 maximum Life Attacks have +1% to Critical Strike Chance Optional affixes: Maximum Life% Elemental Resistances Enemies you Kill have a chance to Explode, dealing a tenth of their Maximum Life

(Body Armour) Farrul's Fur - It's one of the best Body Armours for builds of this type, especially since it grants you Frenzy Charges.

(100-150)% increased Armour and Evasion +(80-100) to maximum Life Aspect of the Cat has no Reservation +2 seconds to Cat's Stealth Duration Gain up to your maximum number of Frenzy and Power Charges when you gain Cat's Stealth You have Phasing while you have Cat's Stealth

(Body Armour) Replica Farrul's Fur - It's very similar to Farrul's Fur, but instead of Power Charges, you gain Endurance Charges. It also gives you an Onslaught instead of Phasing and longer Cat's Agility instead of Cat's Stealth. It's especially good with Masterful Form and Arn's Anguish.

(100-150)% increased Armour and Evasion +(80-100) to maximum Life +2 seconds to Cat's Agility Duration Aspect of the Cat has no Reservation Gain up to your maximum number of Frenzy and Endurance Charges when you gain Cat's Agility You have Onslaught while you have Cat's Agility

(Weapon) Voidforge - It's the best weapon, makes it easy to create Resonances, and the Damage itself is better than that of any Rare Sword.

30% increased Elemental Damage with Attack Skills (5-8)% increased Attack Speed +(90-100) to maximum Life Your Elemental Damage can Shock Gain 700% of Weapon Physical Damage as Extra Damage of a random Element 20% increased Area of Effect for Attacks Deal no Non-Elemental Damage

(Boots) Darkray Vectors - The most important mods here are additional Maximum Frenzy Charge and Movement Speed with Evasion Rating per 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 10% increased Evasion Rating per Frenzy Charge

(Belt) Rare Belt - A regular Belt with Life and Resistances is good, but you should definitely swap it later for Arn's Anguish for the most DPS.

Min. requirements: +100 maximum Life +75% to Total Elemental Resistances 30% increased Elemental Damage with Attack Skills Optional affixes: increased Damage Armour increased Maximum Life

(Belt) Arn's Anguish - The Belt that introduces Brutal Charges to your build. Brutal Charges massively increase your Damage, but the Endurance Charges have of course their own merits. Use only with the Masterful Form Keystone.

(15-25)% increased Stun and Block Recovery +1 to Maximum Endurance Charges +(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 - Amulets offer a huge variety of useful stats, besides Life and Resistances, seek Accuracy, Intelligence, and some offensive mods.

Min. requirements: +60 Maximum Life +70% to Elemental Resistances Optional affixes: Adds Physical Damage to Attacks Accuracy Rating Critical Strike Chance or Multiplier Attributes increased Area of Effect Physical Attack Damage Leeched as Mana

(Amulet) Crystallised Omniscience - It's good, only if you have enough Attributes, Accuracy Rating, Evasion Rating, Physical Damage, and Maximum Life. Equipping it would dramatically alter the rest of the gear and even the Passive Skill Tree.

+(10-16) to all Attributes Modifiers to Attributes instead apply to Omniscience +1% to all Elemental Resistances per 10 Omniscience Penetrate 1% Elemental Resistances per 10 Omniscience Attribute Requirements can be satisfied by (15-25)% of Omniscience

Recommended Anointments: Frenetic Panopticon

(Ring) Rare Rings - A ring with added or increased Physical or Elemental Melee Damage, Accuracy, Attack Speed, or Critical Strike mods, on top of Maximum Life and Elemental Resistances is good to go.

Min. requirements: +65 maximum Life +65% to Total Elemental Resistances increased Elemental Damage with Attacks Optional affixes: increased Melee Damage Accuracy Rating increased Attack Speed Added Physical Damage to Attacks Intelligence Critical Strike Chance or Multiplier

(Ring) Mark of the Elder - Mark of the Elder adds a lot of Cold and Attack Damage to your Attacks, but your other Ring has to be Shaper-influenced.

Adds (3-4) to (10-14) Physical Damage to Attacks 20% chance to Trigger Level 20 Tentacle Whip on Kill Adds (26-32) to (42-48) Cold Damage to Attacks (6-10)% increased maximum Energy Shield (6-10)% increased maximum Life (60-80)% increased Attack Damage if your other Ring is a Shaper Item Cannot be Stunned by Attacks if your other Ring is an Elder Item

(Gloves) Rare Gloves - When it comes to Attack builds, gloves offer you a lot of useful affixes, you can, for example, get Accuracy Rating, Added Damage to Attacks, increased Attack Speed, and Critical Strike mods.

Min. requirements: +70 maximum Life +400 Accuracy Rating Optional affixes: Added Damage to Attacks Strike Skills target 1 additional nearby Enemy Elemental/Chaos Resistance increased Melee Damage increased Attack Speed increased Global Critical Strike Chance

(Gloves) Kaom's Spirit - A very good pair of Gloves, just be sure that you have a decent Life Regeneration, Life Leech, and to make them even better, use a Corrupted version with increased Attack Speed or an extra Maximum Frenzy Charge.

+(50-70) to maximum Life +(20-30)% to Fire Resistance (0.3-0.5)% of Physical Attack Damage Leeched as Life Life Recovery from Regeneration is not applied Regenerate 1 Rage per second for every 100 Life Recovery per second from Regeneration

(Jewel) Watcher's Eye - Hatred's Cold Damage Penetration, Physical to Cold Conversion, or increased Cold Damage should be of your interest, you can also look for other mods associated with 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>

(Jewel) Intuitive Leap - Allocate it near Fervour and pick up every single notable in its radius.

Passives in Radius can be Allocated without being connected to your tree

(Jewel) Rare Jewels - These should provide extra Life and various damage bonuses for Swords or Two-Handed Weapons.

Recommended affixes: increased maximum Life increased Physical/Area/Melee Damage with a two-handed melee weapon Critical Strike Multiplier or Chance Intelligence

(Jewel) Large Cluster Jewel - Sadist is by far the best Notable on a Large Cluster Jewel, Fuel the Fight can be a Mana Leech source, and Prismatic Heart increases your Elemental Damage and Elemental Resistances.

Recommended affixes: 1 Added Passive Skill is Fuel the Fight 1 Added Passive Skill is Prismatic Heart 1 Added Passive Skill is Sadist 1 Added Passive Skill is Widespread Destruction 1 Added Passive Skill is Martial Prowess

(Flask) Lion's Roar - The best flask for the Melee Physical Damage builds, it also grants you more Armour.

+1500 to Armour Adds Knockback to Melee Attacks during Flask effect Knocks Back Enemies in an Area when you use a Flask 75% chance to cause Enemies to Flee on use (7-10)% more Melee Physical Damage during effect

(Flask) Bottled Faith - An expensive Flask that increases your damage by a lot.

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) Cinderswallow Urn - It grants you Onslaught and increased Damage against Ignited enemies, don't use it if you have Replica Farrul's Fur

Onslaught +90 to Maximum Charges Recharges 5 Charges when you Consume an Ignited corpse (175-200)% increased Charges per use Enemies Ignited by you during Flask Effect take (7-10)% increased Damage Veiled Suffix <One of the three modifiers>

Other suggested Flasks: Quicksilver Flask with increased Attack Speed Life Flask with random ailment removal Diamond Flask with increased Critical Strike Chance

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.