Trinity Flicker Strike
Slayer build

Updated for Patch 3.25

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Flicker Strike is one of the fastest Attack Skills in the game, it teleports you to the nearest Enemy instantly to strike them with your Weapon. It has a Cooldown of two seconds, but it can be bypassed by Spending Frenzy Charge. There are a few ways to quickly generate Frenzy Charges, but the best and most reliable is Farru's Fur Armour and its Replica version. Since you have to invest heavily into Frenzy Charges anyway, the Slayer is the obvious choice for the Ascendency due to its Masterful Form, which makes your Endurance Charge limit equal to your Frenzy. It is a great boost for your defense against Physical and Elemental Damage, but it also can be utilized offensively by equipping Arn's Anguish Belt, which grants you a chance to deal Triple Damage for each Endurance Charge you have. To keep the defensive benefits you will have to use Ralakesh's Impatience Boots.

As a Slayer, you will also have access to the endless Life Leech and additional Damage reduction. You will have a lot of defense in this Build, but the randomized nature of the Flicker Strike may sometimes lead you right into your demise, especially against Bosses with heavy telegraphed attacks.

The general idea to scale your Damage is simple, you will use a high DPS Weapon and Critical Strikes. At first, you can use cheap Unique Swords like Terminus Est or Oro's Sacrifice, later upgrading them to the Rakiata's Dance, until you finally get the Voidforge. Each Sword is a bit different and requires minor adjustments, but the rest of your Setup remains identical. With so much Physical Damage reduction from the Endurance Charges using the Abyssus Helmet is a great way to gain massive amounts of Damage. It is especially strong for the Voidforge Sword, which relies on the Added Physical Damage from other sources to add 7 times as much as a random Element. 

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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. 

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, or Blade Storm. If you're using Frost Blades, be sure to pick the Cold Mastery for Damage conversion. You can try switching to the Flicker Strike at level 51 by equipping the 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. You can also use the Transfigured Flicker Strike of Power, which deals less Damage but requires Power Charges to bypass the Cooldown instead, which are trivial to generate via the Romira's Banquet Ring. You can also follow our Duelist Leveling Guide with Melee/Impale.

Bandits:

We recommend killing all the Bandits for the additional Passive Point, but helping Alira is also a good option.

Leveling Skill Trees:

34 Points Skill Tree
At first, your Critical Strike Chance will be low, so it is better to pick the Precise Technique for a reliable Damage boost. Pick nearby Damage Notables for your main Weapon, usually a Two-handed Sword. 

68 Points Skill Tree
Pick up Fortify, maximum Life, and some generic Damage boosts for your Attacks. You can switch to the Crit version after the 3rd Labirynth. 
 

4. Final Skill Tree, Ascendancy Points, and Pantheon

Final Skill Tree:

115 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. Bane of Legends
2. Brutal Fervour
3. Overwhelm
4. Masterful Form

Pantheon:

Major God: Soul of Arakaali: 10% reduced Damage taken from Damage Over Time; +40% Chaos Resistance against Damage Over Time

Minor God: Soul of Ralakesh: 25% reduced Physical Damage over Time taken while moving, Moving while Bleeding doesn't cause you to take extra Damage

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 - grants you tons of Elemental Damage and Penetration, but requires you to deal two different types of Elemental Damage to activate.
	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 Added Cold Damage Support if you don't use the Voidforge Sword.
	Multistrike Support - Flicker Strike is being repeated additional times with more Attack Speed.

[UTILITY] Aura setup
	Purity of Elements - grants you additional Elemental Resistances and makes you immune to all Elemental Ailments.
	Herald of Ice - adds Cold Damage to your Attacks and creates explosions when you kill the frozen enemy. You can also use the Herald of Purity for more Damage.
	Flesh and Stone - while in the Sand Stance, you will significantly reduce the Damage dealt by nearby Enemies.
	Arctic Armour - reduces the Physical and Fire Damage you take while using the Flicker Strike.
	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] Aspect of the Cat setup
	Aspect of the Cat - grants you Attack Speed or Damage Avoidance. You need it to generate Frenzy and Endurance Charges with the Replica Farrul's Fur.
	Less Duration Support - the Aspect will alternate more often, which leads to faster Charge generation.

[UTILITY] Assassin's Mark setup
	Assassin's Mark - this 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.

[UTILITY] Blood Rage and Banner setup
	Blood Rage - It increases your Attack Speed, Life Leech, and has a chance for a Frenzy Charge on Kill.
	War Banner - places a Banner on the ground that massively boosts your Physical Damage.  Its effectiveness depends on the Valor that you gain by fighting Enemies.
	More Duration Support - increases the Duration of your buffs.
	Enhance Support - improves the Quality of linked Skills, which boosts their Duration or effectiveness.

[UTILITY] Leap Slam and Steelskin setup
	Leap Slam - A Movement Skill, you can use to jump over the ledges and walls.
	Faster Attacks Support - the Leap Slam will be considerably faster.

[UTILITY] Guard Skill setup
	Immortal Call - significantly reduces the Damage you take during the effect. Match its level to the linked Support, otherwise it won't trigger.
	Cast when Damage Taken Support - automatically triggers linked Spell when you take enough Damage. Keep it at a low level to trigger it as soon as possible.

5. Gear Setup

It's a straightforward Attack-type build, get sufficient Accuracy, Crit. Chance, Crit. Multiplier, and Elemental Damage with Attacks. The Voidforge adds 700% of your added Physical Damage as a random Element but prevents you from dealing pure Physical Damage. Ideally, you should convert your Physical Damage to any Element to not waste it, but it's often inefficient to do so. 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. For the defense, you should aim for high maximum Life and Spell Suppression, ideally on bases that grant high Armour and Evasion Ratings. You will also need to cap your Elemental Resistances and Attribute Requirements. 

(Helmet) Rare Helmet - It's a defensive-oriented option, it should get you Maximum Life, Resistances, and other various mods such as Accuracy Rating. For Eldritch mods get reduced Mana Cost of Skills and Mana Reservation Efficiency.

Min. requirements: +90 maximum Life +80% Total Elemental Resistances +10% chance to Suppress Spell Damage Optional affixes: % increased mana reservation efficiency Accuracy Rating Intelligence

(Helmet) Abyssus - Abyssus does make you vulnerable to Physical Damage, but it also provides you with a lot of DPS. It is a great choice if you don't care about occasional deaths.

+(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

(Body Armour) Farrul's Fur - at first you can use this Armour to generate Frenzy Charges. The Power Charges are very easy to generate anyway, and it lack other defensive modifiers, so you should aim to replace it soon.

(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, which require much more investments to acquire usually. It also occasionally grants you the Onslaught Buff.

(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) Terminus Est - at first you can use this Sword to sustain your Flicker Strike. It is very good for its level, but it falls out in the higher Maps.

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

(Weapon) Oro's Sacrifice - alternatively you can use this Sword for the Frenzy Charges. It is even easier to sustain Frenzy Charges as you don't need to care about Critical Strikes, but it also makes it harder to scale the Damage.

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

(Weapon) Voidforge - It's one of the two best weapons, makes it easy to create Resonances, and the Damage itself is better than that of almost any Rare Sword. Goes nicely with any additional source of Physical Damage. It is quite expensive, especially at the start of the League, but becomes more affordable over time.

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

(Weapon) Rakiata's Dance - it is the best Two-handed Weapon for its price. It is especially strong against highly Resistant Enemies, which are usually the most problematic to fight. With this Sword, you should focus on increasing the  Elemental Damage instead of adding the Physical Damage to your Attacks.

60% increased Global Accuracy Rating Adds (150-200) to (300-350) Cold Damage Adds 1 to (550-600) Lightning Damage (15-20)% increased Attack Speed Treats Enemy Monster Elemental Resistance values as inverted

(Boots) Ralakesh's Impatience - if you want to use the Arn's Anguish Belt you will need those Boots to retain the defensive bonus of your Endurance Charges.

+(15-25)% to Cold Resistance +(15-25)% to Chaos Resistance Count as having maximum number of Endurance Charges Count as having maximum number of Frenzy Charges Count as having maximum number of Power Charges

(Boots) Rare Boots - if you don't plan on using the Arn's Anguish you can use a pair of Rare Boots that provide tons of maximum Life, Spell Suppression, Elemental or Chaos Resistances, and various Avoidances. You don't need Movement Speed, as you will mostly travel via Flicker Strike or Leap Slam.

Min. requirements: +100 maximum Life +80% to Total Elemental Resistances +10% chance to Suppress Spell Damage 5% Action Speed Optional affixes: Chance to Avoid Elemental Ailments Onslaught on Kill

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

Min. requirements: +100 maximum Life +80% 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 like added Physical Damage or Critical Strike Multiplier.

Min. requirements: +90 Maximum Life +80% to Elemental Resistances Optional affixes: Adds Physical Damage to Attacks Accuracy Rating Critical Strike Chance or Multiplier Attributes

(Amulet) Yoke of Suffering - you can easily apply all 3 Elemental Ailments, which will make your Enemies take up to 30% increased Damage. The Voidforge disables Physical Damage so you can't benefit from Poison or Bleed, but it is possible for the setup with Rakiata's Dance.

+(10-16) to all Attributes +(10-20)% to Fire Resistance +(10-20)% to Cold Resistance +(20-40)% to Lightning Resistance 30% reduced Duration of Ailments on Enemies (5-10)% chance to Shock Enemies take (5-10)% increased Damage for each type of Ailment you have inflicted on them Your Elemental Damage can Shock

Recommended Anointments: Frenetic

(Ring) Rare Rings - on your Rings, you should seek added Physical or increased Elemental Damage, Accuracy, Critical Strike Multiplier, and maximum Life. You will also need plenty of Resistance or Attributes.

Min. requirements: +90 maximum Life +40% to Total Elemental Resistances Optional affixes: Accuracy Rating increased Elemental Damage with Attacks Added Physical Damage to Attacks Intelligence Critical Strike Chance or Multiplier

(Gloves) Rare Gloves - look for maximum Life, Spell Suppression, and Attack Speed. You can add the Aspect of the Cat using the Bestiary. Finish it with Damage while Leeching modifier via Crafting Bench.

Min. requirements: +90 maximum Life Aspect of the Cat +10% chance to Suppress Spell Damage 15% increased Attack Speed Optional affixes: Added Physical Damage to Attacks Strike Skills target 1 additional nearby Enemy % increased Damage while Leeching % increased Damage against Chilled Enemies

(Jewel) Watcher's Eye - you can get a defensive bonus associated with Purity of Elements, or opt for the more offensive modifiers with the Precision Aura.

(4-6)% increased maximum Energy Shield (4-6)% increased maximum Life (4-6)% increased maximum Mana <Two or Three random aura modifiers> +(30-50)% to Chaos Resistance while affected by Purity of Elements Gain a Flask Charge when you deal a Critical Strike while affected by Precision (40-60)% increased Attack Damage while affected by Precision (10-15)% increased Attack Speed while affected by Precision +(20-30)% to Critical Strike Multiplier while affected by Precision

(Jewel) The Light of Meaning - with this Jewel you will easily gain 92% Chaos Resistance without any other investments. You can also opt for extra Critical Strike Chance, but it is not that important.

Passive Skills in Radius also grant +4% to Chaos Resistance

(Jewel) Lethal Pride - try to get one with bonuses to your Critical Strike Chance or Multiplier, and Intimidate Enemies on Hit. The Double Damage Chance is not as effective since you are using Brutal Charges.

Commanded leadership over (10000-18000) warriors under (Akoya-Kaom-Rakiata) Passives in radius are Conquered by the Karui Historic

(Jewel) Rare Jewels - These should provide extra Life and various Critical Strike Multiplier bonuses for Swords or Two-Handed Weapons. You can also cover lacking Resistances or Attributes.

Recommended affixes: increased maximum Life Critical Strike Multiplier Attributes Resistance

(Jewel) Large Cluster Jewel - there are a lot of viable options to choose from, but the Feed the Fury is by far the most effective one. You will probably skip the 3rd Notable to save Passive Points.

Recommended affixes: 1 Added Passive Skill is Fuel the Fight 1 Added Passive Skill is Calamitous 1 Added Passive Skill is Feed the Fury 1 Added Passive Skill is Martial Prowess

(Flask) Bottled Faith - this Flask greatly improves your Critical Strike Chance and Damage against Enemies standing on the Consecrated Ground. Enchant it to be used upon striking an Enemy, as it's the only source of Consecrated Ground in this Build.

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

Other suggested Flasks: Diamond Flask with increased Critical Strike Chance Jade Flask with bonus Evasion Rating Granite Flask with bonus Armour Rating Prismatic Tincture with Elemental Penetration

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.