TbXie's Essence Drain Contagion Trickster Passive Skill Tree & Gem Links (PoE Trial of the Ancestors 3.22)
Passive Skill Tree, PoB, and Gem Links
You can find an optimized Path of Building here. Every build I release will use the community fork of Path of Building, which is maintained and updated in a much more regular fashion than the original one. You can find PoB’s Fork, by LocalIdentity, here.
If you are not comfortable with Path of Building, PoePlanner’s website offers you a non-PoB alternative to import the code from the above link. It is highly recommended you install Path of Building to follow builds most optimally.
Progression Advice
Since this build works as soon as you swap to it at level 12, you’ll be completely fine to follow the PoB in the guide and play the build from an early point.
If you’re not comfortable with Path of Building, here’s a PoePlanner to give you an idea of how your tree should look like whenever you’re at about that level.
Gem Links
Essence Drain – Main Link (6-Link)
Essence Drain’s base damage scales fairly hard with gem levels! Try to pick up a 21/20 as soon as possible. For the Awakened Controlled Destruction, it’s a really QoL big upgrade as it adds Cast Speed. Most of the other Awakened Gems are fairly cheap so get them as soon as possible!
- Essence Drain (ideally level 21)
- Awakened Controlled Destruction Support
- Efficacy Support
- Awakened Swift Affliction Support
- Awakened Void Manipulation Support
- Empower Support (4) or Cruelty Support
Vaal Blight
Vaal Blight is your single target skill whenever the enemy is already affected by an Essence Drain DoT. Use regular Blight when you find intervals to stand next to the boss and channel it. Use Vaal Blight in AoE scenarios, as it is really good at clearing packs.
Contagion
Contagion is what spreads your ED DoT when you’re running through maps. Since it doesn’t matter how much damage it deals whatsoever, you’re linking it to utility supports!
Wither Totems
Since Wither increases the amount of damage taken by your ED DoT tremendously, you’re going to put down Wither Totems on any target that’s giving you any type of challenge! We’re linking them to supports that maximize the stacks uptime!
Mobility
For the mobility spell of choice, we chose Flame Dash, as I feel like it’s the most mobile of the movement skills at our disposal. Since you most likely socket this in one of your two 3-socket slots, this is also where you put the Despair. Manually curse bosses after they’ve been hit by dots to massively amplify the damage they take!
Auras
The Auras you’re using on this build are obviously there to boost your Damage over Time & Defenses. Link them to an Enlighten Support to keep your mana healthy.
- Malevolence
- Grace
- Enlighten Support Level 4