CoD Discharge
Occultist Build

Updated for Patch 3.20

The Best Crafty Guides by Odealo

Cast-on-Death builds serve only one purpose - to kill uber bosses. When linked to this Support Gem, Spells cost no Mana, deal much more Damage, and are triggered only when a character dies. You can link them with one of the most powerful Spell in the game that is Discharge - it deals more Damage the more Charges you have - Lightning Damage per Power Charge, Cold Damage per Frenzy Charge, and Fire Damage per Endurance Charge. Pick an Ascendency with guaranteed extra Charge - it can be, for example, an Assassin with his Unstable Infusion or Slayer with Masterful Form. We've selected Occultist with Forbidden Power for more Maximum Power Charges and increased Damage per Power Charge. With Badge of Brotherhood, your Maximum Frenzy Charges equal the number of Power Charges - that's 7 or 8. With two Call of the Brotherhood Rings, almost all that Lightning Damage from Power Charges gets converted to Cold. As an Occultist, you're also specialized in Cold Damage with Void Beacon and Frigid Wake.

Not needing to worry about defenses is liberating, you can pour all your resources into more damage. To call it glass cannon would be an understatement, it's a glass claymore roomba that dies instantly from any hit and has no way to clear a map past the first six packs of monsters, then it runs out of Portals. Be sure that your character has a high level and some Invitations stored to start doing the bosses. After entering a map, use Doedre's Elixir Flasks to gain Charges, and try to dodge the first attacks. These bosses have a damage reduction at the start of fights that gradually decays over the next 8 or so seconds, to prevent exactly this style of fight. Nonetheless, it's still a valid build that can blast into smithereens any uber boss in one or two portals. It can run only on Unique Items, all of them reasonably priced. It's one of the most unique types of builds.

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

1. Gameplay

After entering the boss area try to dodge the first attacks, use all of your Flasks, and be sure that all of your damage-boosting utility Skills are enabled. These are Auras, Flame Golem, and Divergent Righteous Fire. Apply Cold Exposure with Wave of Conviction, and Unnerve the target with Doedre's Apathy. There are three Cast-on-Death setups. One with Curses - Frostbite, Elemental Weakness, and Assassin's Mark, one with Firestorm linked with Culling Strike to finish off the enemy that's very low on Life, and one with Discharge that actually deals damage. It's important to keep in mind the Trigger order of Skills: Main hand ⇒ Helmet ⇒ Body Armour ⇒ Gloves ⇒ Boots.

2. Build's PROS & CONS

3. Leveling tips

Level up using our Witch Leveling Guide using Cold DoT. We recommend switching to the final version of this build at level 100, as you will no longer be able to level up by yourself after that transition.

Bandits:

Killing all Bandits for two additional Passive Points is the best option

4. Final Skill Tree, Ascendancy Points, and Pantheon

Final Skill Tree:

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

Ascendancy points:

Preferably in that order:

1. Void Beacon
2. Frigid Wake
3. Forbidden Power
4. Unholy Authority

Pantheon (it hardly matters):

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

Minor God: Soul of Garukhan: 60% reduced Effect of Shock on you, Cannot be Blinded, You cannot be Maimed

5. Final Gems links

[DPS] Discharge setup socketed in Body Armour
	Discharge - Deals Damage around your character based on your current Charges. We recommend the Phantasmal version.
	Power Charge on Critical Support - It's used here to deal more damage per Power Charge.
	Empower Support - Increases Skill Gem Level, which increases damage.
	Concentrated Effect Support - Much more damage, but less Area of Effect.
	Elemental Focus Support - You're unable to afflict Elemental Ailments with the Skill, but the damage you deal is higher.
	Cast on Death Support - Dicharge is being cast on Death, it deals more damage and cost no Mana.

[DPS] Curse setup socketed in Weapon
	Frostbite - A Curse that lowers Cold Resistance, for you're dealing mostly Cold Damage. Use the Anomalous version for the most damage.
	Elemental Weakness - Reduces all types of Elemental Resistances.
	Assassin's Mark - Hits against the marked enemy have increased Critical Strike Chance and Crit Multiplier. Use the Anomalous version for the most damage.
	Enhance Support - Increases Quality of Curses.
	Empower Support - Increases Gem Level of Curses.
	Cast on Death Support

[UTILITY] Firestorm setup socketed in The Broken Crown
	Firestorm - A Firestorm lasts for over one second after being cast, Hitting the enemy every 0.15 seconds. It's used to finish off bosses.
	Culling Strike Support - Enemies below 10% of their Maximum Life are killed on Hit.
granted by The Broken Crown
	Cast on Death Support - The Broken Crown provides Level 20 Cast on Death.

[UTILITY] Auras setup
	Zealotry - Increases your Spell Critical Strike Chance and Multiplier.
	Summon Skitterbots - Skitterbots are used to Shock and Chill an enemy, Chill effect is great with Snowstorm and Stormrider notables.

[UTILITY] Hatred setup
	Hatred - Hatred grants more Cold Damage for your Discharge.
	Arcane Surge Support - While having an Arcane Surge you deal more Damage with Spells.
	Divine Blessing Support - Hatred is a temporary Aura and has an increased Effect. Use a Divergent Version to lower Mana Cost.
	Inspiration Support - Inspiration is used here only to lower the Mana Cost. We recommend a Divergent version.

[UTILITY] Other Skills
	Summon Flame Golem - Anomalous Flame Golem would increase your Damage by 24%.
	Righteous Fire - Divergent RF grants you more and increased Spell Damage, but be quick, it drains your Life very fast.
	Wave of Conviction - Applies Exposure which reduces Elemental Resistance.

6. Gear Setup

There's not a lot of room when it comes to adjusting the build, we would recommend equipping all the unique gear pieces with an exception of a Helmet and Boots. Jewels will be vastly more expensive - you will need three good Large ones, creating 9 regular jewel sockets. Rare Jewels, at their best, would outclass any other type of Jewel. To get more damage, invest in Skill Gem Level, Maximum Power Charges, and Crit Multiplier. You may struggle with Mana. If that's the case, anoint Dreamer and pick up Mana Mastery for reduced Mana Cost of Skills. To survive three sips from Doedre's Elixir, you will need some Chaos Resistance, but it's provided by other Flask and gear pieces.

Our recommended items will:

1. Cap your resistances at 75%
2. Provide you with enough DPS and Life to start mapping

(Helmet) Rare Helmet - On a Rare Helmet seek a modifier for an extra Maximum Power Charge (Warlord's Prefix) or Reduction to Cold Res for nearby enemies (Redeemer's Suffix). A Corrupted Helmet could also get you an extra Maximum Power Charge.

Min. requirements: +1 to Maximum Power Charges Nearby Enemies take 9% increased Elemental/Cold Damage Optional affixes: +1 to Level of Socketed AoE Gems Item Rarity/Quality modifiers increased Elemental Damage Chaos Resistance While a Pinnacle Atlas Boss is in your Presence, 23% increased Frostbite Curse Effect While a Pinnacle Atlas Boss is in your Presence, 8% increased Damage per Power Charge While a Pinnacle Atlas Boss is in your Presence, Damage Penetrates 10% Cold Resistance

(Helmet) The Broken Crown - You can use it to save a Gem socket, increase your Damage, and get some Chaos Resistance with Attributes.

Socketed Gems are supported by Level 20 Cast on Death +(10-15) to all Attributes 20% increased Damage when on Low Life (60-100)% increased Armour and Energy Shield +(50-70) to maximum Energy Shield 20% reduced Mana Regeneration Rate +(43-61)% to Chaos Resistance

Helmet enchantments: 40% increased Discharge Damage

(Weapon) The Annihilating Light - It triples your Elemental Damage making it the best Staff for Elemental Damage builds.

+18% Chance to Block Attack Damage while wielding a Staff (70-60)% reduced Elemental Resistances Deal Triple Damage with Elemental Skills

(Body Armour) Dialla's Malefaction - It's a Body Armour you can use to increase the Gem Level or Quality of socketed Gems.

Gems can be Socketed in this Item ignoring Socket Colour Gems Socketed in Red Sockets have +2 to Level Gems Socketed in Green Sockets have +30% to Quality Gems Socketed in Blue Sockets gain 100% increased Experience Has no Attribute Requirements

(Body Armour) Skin of the Lords - Skin of the Lords is good as it increases the level of socketed Gems by two, but it needs the right colors.

Item has no level requirement and Energy Shield (Hidden) Sockets cannot be modified +2 to Level of Socketed Gems 100% increased Global Defences You can only Socket Corrupted Gems in this item Item has 6 Sockets and is fully linked (Hidden) <Random Keystone>

(Boots) Legacy of Fury - It's only used to Scorch enemies with increased effectiveness.

(200-300)% increased Armour and Evasion 30% increased Movement Speed Nearby Enemies are Scorched (30-50)% increased Effect of Scorch (30-40)% chance when you Kill a Scorched Enemy to Burn Each surrounding Enemy for 4 seconds, dealing 8% of the Killed Enemy's Life as Fire Damage per second (Scorched Enemies have -10% to Elemental Resistances)

(Boots) Rare Boots - If you're using a Rare Helmet you will probably need Rare boots for Strength, Dexterity, and Chaos Resistance. From Red orbs, you can get Flame Golem's Buff Effect or Scorched Ground. There's one useful Corruped implicit for one extra Maximum Endurance Charge, not very good.

Min. requirements: Strength Dexterity Chaos Resistance Optional affixes: Chaos Resistance While a Pinnacle Atlas Boss is in your Presence, (70–72)% increased Effect of the Buff granted by your Flame Golems Drops Scorched Ground while moving

(Gloves) Surgebinders - Increased Damage per each Charge, by up to 140% in the best-case scenario.

(90-110)% increased Armour and Evasion (4-7)% increased Elemental Damage per Frenzy Charge (4-7)% increased Physical Damage per Endurance Charge (4-7)% increased Spell Damage per Power Charge 10% chance to Steal Power, Frenzy, and Endurance Charges on Hit

(Belt) String of Servitude - "+(20–25)% to Critical Strike Multiplier during any Flask Effect" is the best possible implicit, resulting in up to +75% Crit Multiplier. Another good mod is the increased effect of Hatred.

<(1-2) Random corrupted implicit modifiers> Implicit Modifier magnitudes are tripled Level Requirement reduced by 100 (Hidden)

(Amulet) Badge of the Brotherhood - Your Maximum Frenzy Charges are equal to your Maximum Power Charges, it's a substantial boost to your damage, as you only stack Maximum Power Charges.

+(16-24) to Dexterity and Intelligence (7-10)% increased Cooldown Recovery Rate of Travel Skills per Frenzy Charge (7-10)% increased Effect of Elusive on you per Power Charge (20-25)% chance to lose a Frenzy Charge when you use a Travel Skill (20-25)% chance to lose a Power Charge when you gain Elusive Your Maximum Frenzy Charges is equal to your Maximum Power Charges

Recommended Anointments: Dreamer Counterweight Storm Weaver

(Ring) Call of the Brotherhood - Converts nearly all your damage to Cold. Use two of these Rings with Catalysts for Elemental Damage.

+(12-16)% to Cold and Lightning Resistances +(15-25) to Intelligence (15-25)% increased Lightning Damage (30-40)% increased Mana Regeneration Rate 40% of Lightning Damage Converted to Cold Damage Your spells have 100% chance to Shock against Frozen Enemies

(Jewel) Rare Jewels - Look for Crit Multiplier, Prefixes are usually more specific, and thus more potent. Remember that Discharge counts as Fire, Cold, and Lightning Skill.

Recommended affixes: +#% to Critical Strike Multiplier for Spell Damage +#% to Critical Strike Multiplier with Fire Skills +#% to Critical Strike Multiplier with Cold Skills +#% to Critical Strike Multiplier with Lightning Skills +#% to Critical Strike Multiplier with Elemental Skills +#% to Global Critical Strike Multiplier Attributes

(Jewel) Watcher's Eye - You could find an affix to penetrate Elemental Resistances via Zealotry mod, or Cold Resistance with Hatred.

(4-6)% increased maximum Energy Shield (4-6)% increased maximum Life (4-6)% increased maximum Mana <Two or Three random aura modifiers>

(Jewel) Large Cluster Jewels - Use three Cold Damage Large Cluster Jewels with Snowstorm, Stormrider, or Blanketed Snow for Prefixes, and any Suffix notable.

Recommended affixes: 1 Added Passive Skill is Snowstorm 1 Added Passive Skill is Stormrider 1 Added Passive Skill is Blanketed Snow 1 Added Passive Skill is Widespread Destruction 1 Added Passive Skill is Doryani's Lesson 1 Added Passive Skill is Disorienting Display

(Jewel) Small Cluster Jewel - Doedre's Apathy from Small Cluster Jewel with Curse Effect Unnerves enemies you Curse, they then take increased Spell Damage.

Recommended affixes: 1 Added Passive Skill is Doedre's Apathy

(Flask) Bottled Faith - Bottled Faith increases the Damage the enemies receive while on Consecrated Ground it creates.

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 (100-150)% increased Critical Strike Chance against Enemies on Consecrated Ground during Effect

(Flask) Atziri's Promise - Adds some extra Damage in form of Chaos Damage and Chaos Resistance.

+35% to Chaos Resistance Gain (5-8)% of Elemental Damage as Extra Chaos Damage during effect 2% of Chaos Damage Leeched as Life during Effect Gain (5-8)% of Physical Damage as Extra Chaos Damage during effect

(Flask) Doedre's Elixir - Grants Charges on use, but you will also take damage, so be careful. With some Chaos Resistance, you should be able to use three of them in a short sequence to gain 9 of all Charges.

(250-300)% increased Charges per use Removes 80% of your maximum Energy Shield on use You take 50% of your maximum Life as Chaos Damage on use Gain (1-3) Power Charges on use Gain (1-3) Frenzy Charges on use Gain (1-3) Endurance Charges on use

Other suggested Flasks: none

If you have any other build requests please leave that in the comments below. We are always open to suggestions and constructive feedback.

Pictures used in this article are the intellectual property of Grinding Gear Games.