Vaal Blight/Essence Drain
CI Trickster Build

Updated for Patch 3.18

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Blight is a channeling type of Spell similar to Scorching Ray or Lightning Tendrils, it deals Chaos Damage Over Time, gaining more stages the longer it is being Channeled. The Spell applies a debuff which deals the Damage over Time, much like Poison but it can stack up to 20 times. The spell itself does not Hit, so it limits our choice of Support Gems. Blight due to its Channeling nature is commonly used against the toughest opponents, for killing the lesser enemies you'll find in great numbers when mapping, use Essence Drain with Contagion. These two Spells synergize very well with each other - Essence Drain provides the Damage and Regenerates Life (ES with Zealoth's Oath) and Contagion makes both Spells spread to other enemies when one of them dies, basically killing everything on the screen. 

The build is surprisingly similar to Toxic Rain - the mods you crave the most are Chaos Damage Over Time. There are however some key differences - Toxic Rain is an Attack, not a Spell. You'll be using Chaos Inoculation which grants you immunity to All Choas Damage. Ghost Dance and Escape Artist Ascendancy Kesyones work really well with Energy Shield and Blocking/Evading/Dodging Hits. Patient Reaper is another Defensive Keysone provided by Trickster Ascendancy - it recovers a lot of your Life and Mana. The build is Flexible - it requires no Unique items and even the Weapon types and Keystones differ from Player to Player. 

In path 3.16 Damage over Time builds has received a buff by allowing players to allocate more points on their skill tree that improve this type of damage with more options to choose from. Base defense stats such as Evasion Rating and Energy Shield are elevated to a layer of defense equal to Maximum Life. Trickster being an Ascendancy that specializes in dealing Damage over Time while relying on Evasion Rating combined with Energy Shield is now in a much better state than he was before. Using Contagion and then Essence Drain with Blight was the most popular way to play Trickster back then, it was a cheap and powerful build that required no Uniques - now it will be even better than it was before.

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

1. Gameplay

When mapping - use Contagion and then Essence Drain on a pack of mobs. With the increased density of enemies, the effectiveness of this strategy goes up as well since the range it can spread is limited. The enemies will die almost instantly. To deal with Bosses use Blight and the Vaal version of it. Vaal Blight is especially good here since it doesn't require being Channeled and so allows you to be more mobile. For dodging - Flame Dash seems like the best option.

This video features a level 94 Trickster with casual equipment. You can find all the details and specific stats in the PoB listed. The DPS could have been nearly doubled with more DoT Multiplier, better Wand, and some Influenced Items. It still allowed us to farm most of the Bosses, but fights against Guardians for example took a bit longer than they potentially could have. Either way, we hope it gives you a general understanding of how this build works and performs in Maps. This video was recorded in Patch 3.15 - we should have a newly updated gameplay footage ready within the next few days

2. Build's PROS & CONS

3. Leveling tips

At some point during leveling, you'll have to switch to CI. Make sure you have enough ES on your items and then Respec Skill point on your Tree. You can safely start with Essence Drain as your Main Skill as soon as level 12 and use it with Contagion, it's good with the right gear. Before you're level 12, use Bane. There aren't many Unique items that can help you with leveling except the generic ones. I suggest using Essence of Envy on Jewellery for more Chaos Damage.

Suggested leveling Gem setups:

Essence Drain setup
	Essence Drain - Essence Drain thanks to its spreading through Contagion is an amazing Spell for leveling as well
	Efficacy Support - increases your Spell Damage and Damage over Time, whereas, both apply to Essence Drain
	Void Manipulation Support - increase Chaos Damage dealt by Supported Skills
	Controlled Destruction Support - grants very high bonus Spell Damage at the cost of reduced Critical Strike Chance which is irrelevant for Essence Drain as it's purely DoT build

Blight setup
	Blight - a Channeling Spell you can start using right away. It's used to deal additional Damage while you already have the ED's DoT applied to an enemy
	Infused Channeling Support - increases your Damage while Channelling but also grants Infused buff for extra DPS and defensive bonuses
	Efficacy Support
	Void Manipulation Support

Aura setup
	Malevolence - used for more Damage over Time. The best Aura for this and pretty much any other DoT build
	Clarity - Clarity will resolve your mana issues if you happen to have any

Bandits:

KIll all three Bandits for two additional Skill Points

Leveling Skill Trees:

34 Points Skill Tree
Go for Atrophy by taking Entropy and Growth and Decay

66 Points Skill Tree
This is what your Skill Tree could look like just before you transition to pure ES. Take some more Maximum Life and for a path to Zealoth's Oath.

Recommended leveling items:

Le Heup of All - a rung such as this is great for leveling due to Elemental Resistances, Attributes, and a small Damage increase

Adds 1 to 4 Physical Damage to Attacks +(10-30) to all Attributes (10-30)% increased Damage (10-30)% increased Rarity of Items found +(10-30)% to all Elemental Resistances

Goldrim - use Goldrim for more Elemental Resistances

+(30-50) to Evasion Rating 10% increased Rarity of Items found +(30-40)% to all Elemental Resistances Reflects 4 Physical Damage to Melee Attackers Level Requirement reduced by 100 (Hidden)

Tabula Rasa - saves a lot of trouble when looking for the right sockets early in the game

Item has no level requirement and Energy Shield (Hidden) Item has 6 White Sockets and is fully linked (Hidden)

Cane of Unravelling - you can use this weapon to increase your Chaos Damage, Gems Level, and it generates Power Charges

+20% Chance to Block Attack Damage while wielding a Staff +(40-55)% to Chaos Damage over Time Multiplier (20-30)% increased Chaos Damage 2% increased Cast Speed per Power Charge +2 to Level of all Chaos Spell Skill Gems Gain a Power Charge after Spending a total of 200 Mana Regenerate 2 Mana per Second per Power Charge

4. Final Skill Tree, Ascendancy Points, and Pantheon

Final Skill Tree:

117 Points Final Skill Tree (doesn't include Cluster Jewels)
117 Points Path of Building (PoB) link

Ascendancy points:

Preferably in that order:

1. Patient Reaper
2. Prolonged Pain
3. Swift Killer
4. Escape Artist

Pantheon:

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: +5% chance to Evade Attack Hits if you've taken a Savage Hit Recently

5. Final Gems links

[DPS] Blight setup
	Vaal Blight - a Channeling Spell that deals Chaos Damage over Time. Vaal version of this Skill will undoubtedly help you when fighting bosses, Hindering them with increased effectiveness.
	Controlled Destruction Support - more Spell Damage but reduced Critical Strike Chance, which is not an issue since you can't Critically strike with Blight anyway.
	Infused Channeling Support - increases your defenses and grants you more damage
	Efficacy Support - use for more Damage over Time
	Swift Affliction Support - use for more Damage over Time
	Void Manipulation Support - use for more Chaos Damage

[DPS] Essence Drain setup
	Essence Drain - a projectile that will deal Chaos Damage over Time upon Hitting the enemy, it will spread along with Contagion when the opponent dies.
	Controlled Destruction Support - grants more Spell Damage, but less Area of Effect
	Efficacy Support - use it for more Damage over Time and increased Skill Effect Duration
	Void Manipulation Support - more Chaos Damage

[UTILITY] Contagion setup
	Contagion - Applies a Debuff on the enemy, it will spread to nearby enemies when the one affected by it dies along with Essence Drain. When dealing with mobs, cast it first and then hit them with Essence Drain.
	Intensify Support - provides more AoE for Contagion
	Increased Area of Effect Support - even more AoE for Contagion

[UTILITY] Aura setup
	Vaal Discipline - use Discipline for more ES and Vaal Discipline when in dangerous situations
	Malevolence - best Aura for increasing your Damage over Time
	Grace - Grace will provide you with more Evasion Rating increasing your survivability
	Enlighten Support - Reduces the amount of Mana Reserved from linked Auras

[UTILITY] Curse, Cold Snap, and Tempest Shield setup (Socketed in Trigger Wand)
	Despair - a Curse to lower enemies Chaos Resistance, It will be cast automatically every 8 seconds when in Wand.
	Cold Snap - use to generate Frenzy Charges, It will be cast automatically every 8 seconds when in Wand.
	Tempest Shield - a minor buff that increases your Block Chance, It will be cast automatically every 8 seconds when in Wand.

[UTILITY] Immortal Call setup
	Immortal Call - you take much less Physical and Elemental Damage for a short amount of time, keep it at level 3
	Cast when Damage Taken - will cast your Immortal Call after you take a certain amount of damage, keep it at level 1

[MOBILITY] Shield Charge setup
	Shield Charge - use Shield Charge to move around the map, you can alternatively use Flame Dash linked with Arcane Surge or Second Wind instead
	Faster Attacks Support - link with Shield Charge for faster movement

6. Gear Setup

There are some Unique Items worth recommending, for example, Atziri's Step, Crown of the Inward Eye, or Allelopathy. The price can vary from cheap to extremely pricey. With cheap gear, you'll be able to run red Maps with ease, but with the expensive one, it is quite likely to survive most hits on T16 maps with more than 10k ES. There are three stats to look for: Energy Shield, Elemental Resistances until capped, and Chaos Damage over Time (that includes Chaos Damage and Damage over Time). On items look for Strength and Dexterity.

Our recommended items will:

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

(Helmet) Rare Helmet - get as much Energy Shield as possible, for the remaining mods you can additionally look for are of course Elemental Resistances and "Nearby Enemies have -#% to Chaos Resistance"

Min. requirements: +40 to maximum Energy Shield 120% increased Energy Shield Optional affixes: Elemental Resistances Nearby Enemies have -#% to Chaos Resistance

(Helmet) Crown of the Inward Eye - Crown of the Inward Eye provides you with a lot of Defenses, definitely one of the best Uniques for this build

333% increased Armour and Energy Shield (9-21)% increased maximum Life, Mana and Global Energy Shield Transfiguration of Soul Transfiguration of Body Transfiguration of Mind

Helmet enchantments: 24% increased Blight Area of Effect 40% increased Blight Damage Blight has 30% increased Hinder Duration 40% increased Essence Drain Damage 24% increased Contagion Area of Effect

(Weapon) Rare Wand - Look for Spell Damage, Chaos Damage, and Damage over Time. It is very useful to have socketed spells automatically trigger every 8 seconds. The best approach is to craft "Can have up to 3 Crafted Modifiers" since you can craft Chaos Damage over Time as well.

Min. requirements: +1 to Level of all Spell Skill Gems Trigger a Socketed Spell when you Use a Skill, with a 8 second Cooldown (crafted) 50% increased Spell Damage Optional affixes: +1 to Level of all Chaos Spell Skill Gems +#% to Damage over Time Multiplier +#% to Chaos Damage over Time Multiplier

(Shield) Rare Shield - Intelligence-based Shield is able to contain a lot of Energy Shield but not much else. Chance to block and Elemental Resistances are useful here.

Min. requirements: +100 to maximum Energy Shield 80% increased Energy Shield Optional affixes: Chance to Block Chance to Block Spell Damage Elemental Resistances increased Area of Effect

(Body Armour) Rare Body Armour - Energy Shield and Evasion Rating are the most important stats to look for in Body Armour, that's why it's a good idea to craft additional Quality, especially when your base provides both - ES and Evasion.

Min. requirements: +130 to maximum Energy Shield 80% increased Energy Shield Optional affixes: Increased Evasion Rating and Energy Shield Elemental Resistances +#% to Quality Evasion Rating

(Boots) Rare Boots - Movement speed - increased by around 30% is a must-have. Focus more on Elemental Resistances than ES here, Boots are usually not the place to look for ES.

Min. requirements: +30 to maximum Energy Shield 30% increased Energy Shield +70% to Elemental Resistances +25% increased Movement Speed Optional affixes: % chance to gain Onslaught for 4 seconds on Kill Cannot be Frozen % chance to avoid Projectiles

(Boots) Atziri's Step - use this pair of Unique boots if you need a cheap and solid defensive option. They Provide no ES nor Elemental Resistances - find yourself decent Rare Boots if you lack these stats.

+(20-26)% chance to Suppress Spell Damage 180% increased Evasion Rating +(55-75) to maximum Life 30% increased Movement Speed

(Gloves) Rare Gloves - Elder/Hunter Suffix and Warlord's Prefix can give you some Chaos Damage over Time increase. You can use Essence of Delirium for the "Socketed Gems deal 30% more Damage over Time" mod and use it with Essence Drain, which is a highly recommended move.

Min. requirements: +16% to Chaos Damage over Time Multiplier Optional affixes: Socketed Gems deal 30% more Damage over Time Increased Energy Shield Elemental Resistances +# to Level of Socketed AoE Gems +# to Level of Socketed Projectile Gems +# to Level of Socketed Intelligence Gems

(Gloves) Allelopathy - Allephaty brings some noticeable changes to your build - it's great if you don't mind having your Blight Skill only 5-linked, with an option to 6-link your Essence Drain instead. It has one of the best offensive stats and can increase your ES.

Grants Level 22 Blight Skill (20-30)% increased Damage over Time (100-120)% increased Energy Shield 10% increased Area of Effect Blight has (20-30)% increased Hinder Duration You cannot be Hindered

(Belt) Rare Crystal Belt - Crystal Belt gives you 80 ES from Implicit Mod for free, so it's a base you should use. It's also a good place to look for Elemental Resistances - around 70% in total.

Min. requirements: +120 to maximum Energy Shield (including Implicit) +70% total Elemental Resistance Optional affixes: Evasion Rating Increased Maximum Energy Shield Increased Energy Shield from Body Armour Regenerate # Energy Shield per second while a Rare or Unique Enemy is Nearby

(Amulet) Rare Amulet - Hunter's Influenced Amulet allows you to increase the Level of all Choas and Intelligence Skill Gems and you can roll Chaos Damage over Time Multiplier here as well so keep that in mind when looking for bases. Look for Strenght as Implicit for your Shield Charge and Immortal Call Gems

Min. requirements: +13% to Chaos Damage over Time Multiplier +30 to Strenght +60% total Elemental Resistance Optional affixes: 30% increased Chaos Damage +1 to Level of all Chaos Skill Gems +1 to Level of all Intelligence Skill Gems

Recommended Anointments: Tranquility

(Ring) Rare Ring - We recommend using Moonstone Ring for more ES, Iolite Rings for more Chaos Damage, or Two-stone Rings for Elemental Resistances. Elemental Resistances and ES are the most important mods on this gear piece. You can try your luck with Essences of Envy for more Chaos Damage

Min. requirements: +30 to Strenght +50 to maximum Energy Shield +60% total Elemental Resistance Optional affixes: Increased Maximum Energy Shield Increased Chaos Damage Channelling Skills have -# to Total Mana Cost

(Jewel) Rare Jewels - They should provide extra ES. If you need Elemental Resistances or Attributes you can find them here. Look for one with Corrupted Blood Immunity

Min. requirements: 8% Increased Maximum Energy Shield Optional affixes: Elemental Resistances Chaos Damage Over Time Multiplier Increased Spell Damage Increased Spell Damage while holding a Shield Attributes

(Jewel) Watcher's Eye - +#% to Damage over Time Multiplier while affected by Malevolence is basically the only mod to look for here

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

(Jewel) Spreading Rot - Usually, just one Spreading Rot is enough. Due to its extremely low price, it's the best place to look for Corrupted Blood Immunity as Corrupted Implicit

(7-13)% increased Chaos Damage With at least 40 Intelligence in Radius, Blight inflicts Withered for 2 seconds With at least 40 Intelligence in Radius, Blight has 50% increased Hinder Duration

(Jewel) Energy From Within - place it next to Melding and allocate the cluster with it for a huge bonus to your ES

(3-6)% increased maximum Energy Shield Increases and Reductions to Life in Radius are Transformed to apply to Energy Shield

(Jewel) Transcendent Mind - place it next to Instability for more Damage over Time

-1 Intelligence per 1 Intelligence on Allocated Passives in Radius +3% to Damage over Time Multiplier per 10 Intelligence on Unallocated Passives in Radius 3% increased Mana Recovery Rate per 10 Intelligence on Allocated Passives in Radius 2% reduced Mana Recovery Rate per 10 Intelligence on Unallocated Passives in Radius

(Jewel) Large Cluster Jewels - you won't need Cluster Jewels, but if you want to increase your damage look for Unvaveringly Evil Notable - it's extremely useful since it grants you Stun Immunity while Channeling Blight

Recommended affixes: 1 Added Passive Skill is Unvaveringly Evil 1 Added Passive Skill is Wicked Pall 1 Added Passive Skill is Unholy Grace 1 Added Passive Skill is Unspeakable Gifts

(Jewel) Medium Cluster Jewels - Brush With Death is a great defensive Notable. Try to find ones with Damage Over Time and Chaos Damage bonuses. Vile Reinvigoration is a great combination of offensive and defensive stats

Recommended affixes: 1 Added Passive Skill is Eldritch Inspiration 1 Added Passive Skill is Circling Oblivion 1 Added Passive Skill is Brush With Death 1 Added Passive Skill is Vile Reinvigoration

(Jewel) Small Cluster Jewels - If you can't find any decent Rare Jewel, you can allocate Untouchable - for more Evasion and chance to Dodge Hits, Energy From Naught - for more ES, or Vile Reinvigoration

Recommended affixes: 1 Added Passive Skill is Untouchable 1 Added Passive Skill is Energy From Naught 1 Added Passive Skill is Vile Reinvigoration

(Flask) Rumi's Concoction - one of the best defensive flasks in the game, it protects you from hits and increases your Armour Rating

+1500 to Armour +(8-12)% Chance to Block Attack Damage during Flask effect +(4-6)% Chance to Block Spell Damage during Flask effect

Other suggested Flasks: Alchemist's Quicksilver Flask of Adrenaline Perpetual Quartz Flask of Warding (removes Curses) Seething Life Flask of Curing (Immune to Poison) Experimenter's Jade Flask of Reflex (More Evasion Rating)

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.