Home / Build / [3.14 PoE Build] LL Essence Drain + Bane Witch (Occultist)

[3.14 PoE Build] LL Essence Drain + Bane Witch (Occultist)

Intro & build description

Essence drain has always been one of my favorite builds due to its versatility, and this one is no exception. It has all the things you would want in a starter build – basic mapping gear is really cheap, it clears well, and can kill every boss in the game with relative ease. This is an Occultist version, which can achieve a higher than usual amount of energy shield, helping us survive longer in Ultimatum encounters.
Tip: transition to Low life when you have at least 3500 Energy shield.

Build Pros

  • Cheap to start - can be played in maps with 1c unique as the main weapon
  • High damage potential
  • Great boss killer
  • Reflect not a problem
  • Good defense with a high ES pool and ES regeneration

Build Cons

  • Top tier items will be quite expensive, as for most builds

Passive tree(s) and Path of Building

[3.14] Skill Tree
Path of Building

Bandits

Bandits Quest Choice
Kill all bandits

Ascendancy skill points

LabyrinthsSkill point choice
Labyrinth 1Void Beacon
Labyrinth 2Withering Presence
Labyrinth 3Vile Bastion
Endgame LabyrinthMalediction

Skill gem setup

Helm


Zealotry

Blood Magic

Clarity

Enlighten (LVL 4)


Body Armor


Bane

Despair

Enfeeble / Temporal Chains

Empower Support

Awakened Swift Affliction Support

Awakened Void Manipulation Support


Gloves


Malevolence

Enlighten Support (LVL 3 or 4)

Discipline

Portal


Boots


Immortal Call (LVL 5)

Cast When Damage Taken Support (LVL 4)

Second Wind Support

Flame Dash


2h Weapon


Essence Drain

Swift Affliction Support

Efficacy Support

Awakened Controlled Destruction Support

Empower Support (LVL 4)

Void Manipulation Support


1h Weapon


None


Offhand weapon / shield


None



Build uniques / Example rare gear


Tip: Click on the item to view it on PoE Wiki or to view similar rare items in poe.trade

Helmet

Rare ES Helm with Hunter influence

Look for Hubris Circlet with as high ES and resistances as possible. For endgame helmet, extra mod on top of that would be Hunter’s “Nearby Enemies have -9% to Chaos Resistance” mod.


Body Armour

Shavronne's Wrappings

Shavronne’s Wrappings is our endgame body armour.
Until you can get it, use rare hybrid body armour with high life and energy shield, and some resistances.


Gloves

Rare ES gloves with Elder/Hunter influence

Look for rare gloves with Elder or Hunter influence.
Main mod to look for is +(13–16)% to Chaos Damage over Time Multiplier”.

Combine that with some energy shield and resistances and you have great pair of gloves for endgame. Until you can afford gloves like that, use rare gloves with as high ES as possible and some resistances.


Boots

Rare ES boots

Use boots as an opportunity to get as much resistances as possible, since we don’t need any specific influence mods on them.

Look for 30% increased movement speed, energy shield and as much resistance as possible. You could also craft “Cannot Be Frozen” on your boots.


Left Ring

Rare ring with Crusader influence

Look for rare ring with Crusader influence.
Mods to look for – %increased maximum energy shield, +to maximum energy shield and some resistances. Rings are also great for getting some strength/dexterity.


Right Ring

Rare ring with Crusader influence

Same as previously mentioned ring.


Amulet

Presence of Chayula

Great defensive amulet for the build.

Tip: use 20 Fertile catalysts on the amulet to raise % of life converted to ES from 20% to 24%.


Belt

Rare Crystal Belt

Look for rare crystal belt with +to maximum energy shield and as much resistance as possible.


Quiver

Soul Strike

Soul Strike is great defensive budget quiver for the build.


2Hand Weapon

Rare crafted bow

Our endgame bow will cost approximately 10 Ex. Here is a link on how to craft it yourself.

When starting with this build in new league, use Cane of The Unravelling, which will carry you well into maps, where you can farm currency for the bow.


Jewel

Cluster Jewels

The build uses cluster jewels:

2x Large Cluster Jewels. Notables to look for:

– Misery Everlasting
– Unholy Grace
– Wicked Pall
– Unwavering Evil

4x Medium Cluster Jewels. Notables to look for:

– Exposure Therapy
– Vile Reinvigoration
– Eldritch Inspiration
– Wicked Pall

4x Small Cluster Jewels. Notables to look for:

– Energy From Naught


Jewel

Unique Jewels

– Energy From Within for extra ES.
– Watcher’s Eye with “+20% to Damage over Time Multiplier while affected by Malevolence”. Keep in mind, Watcher’s Eye is a pretty expensive endgame upgrade.


Flask

Flask Setup

Build uses following flasks:

1.) Quicksilver Flask of Adrenaline
2.) Witchfire Brew
3.) Cinderswallow Urn
4.) Basalt Flask with bleed removal
5.) Quartz Flask with freeze removal / Rumi’s Concoction



Feel free to share your thoughts/experiences/tips about the build in comments section below.

About gems

Always tries to keep up with the game, its ever-changing mechanisms and explain them in understandable manner.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

crucible items