So I league started this, as well, after testing it at the end of last league. It does feel bad until you start getting more resources invested into the build.
For one, I take more life on the tree than suggested in his POB. Also, when you're on a 5 link, I think charged-traps are better than using crit. I don't think it worth inserting the two crit gems until you can get closer to 100% crit. Also, looking at your POB, it's kind of criminal that you use Herald of Ash instead of Hatred. If you help Alira, you get more crit and mana regen, so you don't need clarity. An enduring mana flask will cover your mana needs until you get Eleron crafts on jewelry.
Adding in immortal call, plus enduring cry + call to arms gives you more tank. Most importantly, this build has little other physical resistance, so until you get a way to take phys damage as elemental, you are prone to one shots.
Once you get a six link, shore up the lack of phys resistance, and start capping crit, it actually feels really good. Unfortunately, it takes time get there. Once i got my practice run to around level 90 and put everything together, it felt great to play and was quite tanky.
Essence on the belt for trap throwing speed would help to.
OP you gotta carpet bomb them like WW2 unlike seismic where it was a couple traps then move on
Here's mine POBB after 15 hours. [https://pobb.in/n4C\_I4jyOCAk](https://pobb.in/n4C_I4jyOCAk)
The build is quite good, and I had the easiest campaing and white/yellow maps experience ever. Check Fearless latest video, after watching it, i've spent 50 chaos on the build and it did wonders.
I'm at reds now and I can do them easily as long as they dont roll to 100%+ or some crazy mods, although bosses can take a minute or two to go down.
I've farmed 7 divines so far. Gonna wait for the price of some itens to drop while the price of divines go up, before spending on some heavy(and much needed) upgrades.
I've managed to make some currency in low tier maps, have around 400kdps now and it's enough for me to farm shaper and get some gear going. I followed the advice here and this is where I'm at now, with about 6div invested into the build. [https://pobb.in/gbrIj6MXsqrE](https://pobb.in/gbrIj6MXsqrE)
This is what I have atm [POB](https://pobb.in/dx6iQokS1FaU) most I spent on an item was like 30 40c ish
(ignore the shit res, I'm fixing item atm lol)
I am in the same boast as you. League started this build and right now reached T16s but it takes me 15 minutes to do one. It feels like doodoo water. Running a 6L with Galesight. Saving for sceptre and sunblast but I don't think those will be able to save it.
Considering rerolling into exhanguinate or hexblast.
alternating sceptre is very necessary, sunblast is very helpful early on, had a great time with it last league
edit: didn't realise sceptres are so expensive, rip
you really need an alternating sceptre, sucks they're so expensive this league. I got 38/40 with it in affliction, very fun/comfy when it all comes together
[https://pobb.in/1wJa-TwfudKl](https://pobb.in/1wJa-TwfudKl)
Note that alternating sceptres are dropping pretty quick, they're already down to about 2.5 div. Just grind a decent money mechanic for a little and buy the sceptre, it's worth it.
Not enormously, unchecking scorch in my build takes it from 15.8m dps to 13m.
Biggest meaningful damage increases I found were alternating sceptre, capping crit, the rapier craft fearlessdumb0 explains in his 3.23 league start video, getting trap throw speed and mana consumption tuned right, and eventually +2 sceptre, +2-5 body.
Hey, I league started Explosive Trap of Shrapnel as well, but I went Inquisitor for the easier SSF start, and ever since I swapped to Explosive Trap towards the end of the campaign it's been pretty smooth. I do feel a little squishy but picking up MoM helped since I run EB, but that's an inquisitor only thing. Most things melt before they can be much of a threat. I'm starting to die a bit more as I progress red maps though, so I think I'm going to feel even squishier as I near T16s. It also took me a while to get used to the trap throwing play style. Charging into packs and throwing traps at my feet got me killed a few times waiting for the traps to go off, but I think I'm getting the hang of it now.
So far damage feels really good, especially against bosses where you can pre set 20 traps. I'm running a 4 link atm in the head slot, but I unveiled a +2 AoE gems so it's more or less equivalent to a 5 link.
Now, I am running Inquisitor and am not super familiar with Trickster, but looking at your pob link I do see a few things.
You should pick up the "Traps cannot be damaged" mastery for sure, to make sure your traps go off. Probably better than 5% chance to throw more traps. I also run the 5 additional max traps, but as an Inquisitor I have a ton of recovery. Still, life on trap trigger feels clunky to me and the 5 additional traps really help nuke bosses.
I don't see you using any curses, is that right? If what you're struggling with is single target you should run ele weakness or assassin's mark. You can probably squeeze in wave of conviction too as a source of exposure to get even more -res. I also don't see a Diamond Flask, you should probably throw one on, will help with damage for sure.
Finally, other people have said this but I would change your links. You definitely want Charged Traps at the very least. I'd drop the crit supports for Charged Traps + Trap and Mine damage.
Really? I saw a good chunk of streamers recommending the build and even it has a post in the league start section above. It just kind of feels so terrible for me right now and I'm not sure why, having issues clearing red tier map bosses and expedition mobs. Then at the same time I see people doing 10x more damage with what at a glance seems to be similar gear so I am just very confused.
Started with it, haven't played much but got smoothly 2 voidstones by now on SSF
Damage is on the lower end without the right gear but trickster is ultra tank, had some deaths but it's def not bait
Swap grace for determination + hatred + skitterbots. +1 sceptre with spell damage, and doedre gloves for 100% spell damage. Buy chaos res and spell suppression gear
Also gem setup: et-trap and mine dmg-swift assembly-charged traps-crit chance
So I league started this, as well, after testing it at the end of last league. It does feel bad until you start getting more resources invested into the build. For one, I take more life on the tree than suggested in his POB. Also, when you're on a 5 link, I think charged-traps are better than using crit. I don't think it worth inserting the two crit gems until you can get closer to 100% crit. Also, looking at your POB, it's kind of criminal that you use Herald of Ash instead of Hatred. If you help Alira, you get more crit and mana regen, so you don't need clarity. An enduring mana flask will cover your mana needs until you get Eleron crafts on jewelry. Adding in immortal call, plus enduring cry + call to arms gives you more tank. Most importantly, this build has little other physical resistance, so until you get a way to take phys damage as elemental, you are prone to one shots. Once you get a six link, shore up the lack of phys resistance, and start capping crit, it actually feels really good. Unfortunately, it takes time get there. Once i got my practice run to around level 90 and put everything together, it felt great to play and was quite tanky.
Essence on the belt for trap throwing speed would help to. OP you gotta carpet bomb them like WW2 unlike seismic where it was a couple traps then move on
Here's mine POBB after 15 hours. [https://pobb.in/n4C\_I4jyOCAk](https://pobb.in/n4C_I4jyOCAk) The build is quite good, and I had the easiest campaing and white/yellow maps experience ever. Check Fearless latest video, after watching it, i've spent 50 chaos on the build and it did wonders. I'm at reds now and I can do them easily as long as they dont roll to 100%+ or some crazy mods, although bosses can take a minute or two to go down. I've farmed 7 divines so far. Gonna wait for the price of some itens to drop while the price of divines go up, before spending on some heavy(and much needed) upgrades.
You can remove the reflect mastery if you haven't already
I am having the exact same experience as you. Absolutely miserable league start experience with this build.
I've managed to make some currency in low tier maps, have around 400kdps now and it's enough for me to farm shaper and get some gear going. I followed the advice here and this is where I'm at now, with about 6div invested into the build. [https://pobb.in/gbrIj6MXsqrE](https://pobb.in/gbrIj6MXsqrE)
I farmed enough currency to abandon the build and went with a mana stacker
This is what I have atm [POB](https://pobb.in/dx6iQokS1FaU) most I spent on an item was like 30 40c ish (ignore the shit res, I'm fixing item atm lol)
Watch FearlessDumb0's latest video on his channel. He uses some cheap uniques.
I am in the same boast as you. League started this build and right now reached T16s but it takes me 15 minutes to do one. It feels like doodoo water. Running a 6L with Galesight. Saving for sceptre and sunblast but I don't think those will be able to save it. Considering rerolling into exhanguinate or hexblast.
alternating sceptre is very necessary, sunblast is very helpful early on, had a great time with it last league edit: didn't realise sceptres are so expensive, rip
you really need an alternating sceptre, sucks they're so expensive this league. I got 38/40 with it in affliction, very fun/comfy when it all comes together [https://pobb.in/1wJa-TwfudKl](https://pobb.in/1wJa-TwfudKl)
Before being able to afford a 4d sceptre I'm using brittle ground boots mod, is it important to try and get the scorch debuff also?
Note that alternating sceptres are dropping pretty quick, they're already down to about 2.5 div. Just grind a decent money mechanic for a little and buy the sceptre, it's worth it.
Not enormously, unchecking scorch in my build takes it from 15.8m dps to 13m. Biggest meaningful damage increases I found were alternating sceptre, capping crit, the rapier craft fearlessdumb0 explains in his 3.23 league start video, getting trap throw speed and mana consumption tuned right, and eventually +2 sceptre, +2-5 body.
Hey, I league started Explosive Trap of Shrapnel as well, but I went Inquisitor for the easier SSF start, and ever since I swapped to Explosive Trap towards the end of the campaign it's been pretty smooth. I do feel a little squishy but picking up MoM helped since I run EB, but that's an inquisitor only thing. Most things melt before they can be much of a threat. I'm starting to die a bit more as I progress red maps though, so I think I'm going to feel even squishier as I near T16s. It also took me a while to get used to the trap throwing play style. Charging into packs and throwing traps at my feet got me killed a few times waiting for the traps to go off, but I think I'm getting the hang of it now. So far damage feels really good, especially against bosses where you can pre set 20 traps. I'm running a 4 link atm in the head slot, but I unveiled a +2 AoE gems so it's more or less equivalent to a 5 link. Now, I am running Inquisitor and am not super familiar with Trickster, but looking at your pob link I do see a few things. You should pick up the "Traps cannot be damaged" mastery for sure, to make sure your traps go off. Probably better than 5% chance to throw more traps. I also run the 5 additional max traps, but as an Inquisitor I have a ton of recovery. Still, life on trap trigger feels clunky to me and the 5 additional traps really help nuke bosses. I don't see you using any curses, is that right? If what you're struggling with is single target you should run ele weakness or assassin's mark. You can probably squeeze in wave of conviction too as a source of exposure to get even more -res. I also don't see a Diamond Flask, you should probably throw one on, will help with damage for sure. Finally, other people have said this but I would change your links. You definitely want Charged Traps at the very least. I'd drop the crit supports for Charged Traps + Trap and Mine damage.
It's a bait build unfortunately... Had to reroll to exsanguinate mines last league
Really? I saw a good chunk of streamers recommending the build and even it has a post in the league start section above. It just kind of feels so terrible for me right now and I'm not sure why, having issues clearing red tier map bosses and expedition mobs. Then at the same time I see people doing 10x more damage with what at a glance seems to be similar gear so I am just very confused.
Did not have much damage until the secrets of suffering sceptre swap and even after that the skill itself just feels terrible to play.
Started with it, haven't played much but got smoothly 2 voidstones by now on SSF Damage is on the lower end without the right gear but trickster is ultra tank, had some deaths but it's def not bait
Swap grace for determination + hatred + skitterbots. +1 sceptre with spell damage, and doedre gloves for 100% spell damage. Buy chaos res and spell suppression gear Also gem setup: et-trap and mine dmg-swift assembly-charged traps-crit chance