Path of Exile Trickster Build - Move Quickly and Hide in the Shadows

PoE Trickster Guide 2019

Trickster is a hybrid class that uses mainy damage over time and poison damage to kill his enemies. He is not only a good damage dealer but also quite tanky. His passives are able to highly increase damage dealt and at the same time reduce damage taken from enemies. While playing, his main weapons are daggers and swords.

Trickster class specializes in generating frenzy charges which greatly increase his movement speed and damage. This class quite tanky and deals very good damage what makes it a very good choice for newbie players. Also, the class is not mana dependent like Assassin or Saboteur, because of Weave the Arcane passive skill.  I recommend this class if you are looking for easy and enjoyable gameplay and fast money maker. With proper build which is not that expensive, Trickster class will be able to clear maps and kill bosses very fast. His most useful passives are:

Trickster passive skills

Swift Killer - a passive skill which is based on frenzy and power charges. It gives you a 15% chance to obtain frenzy or power charge when you kill the enemy. Also, your damage per frenzy or power charge is increased by 5%. By using such passive, your maximum power or frenzy charges are increased by one point. It will highly increase your damage when you gain maximum stacks.

Weave the Arcane - amazing passive that basically makes your skills cost less mana. When using skills there is a possibility that the passive will recover 10% of your total mana. Additionally, it increases your maximum mana by 25% and reduces damage taken by 6% when you spend a total amount of 200 mana.  What is more, it completely removes Movement skills mana cost and increases casting/attack speed after using such skill.

Patient Reaper - a passive skill which basically increases your dot damage and gives you nice survivability. When you use such passive, your dot damage is increased by 50%. Additionally, the passive gives you the ability to recover your maximum life by 2% and mana by 4% after killing a minion. What is more, your life, mana essence, and energy shield recovery are increased by 70%, but only when the enemy minion is getting damaged by skill.

Harness the Void - passive which converts your non-chaos damage into EXTRA chaos damage. It means that you will deal normal damage + the damage converted from passive. The passive makes your hits having 25% chance to deal 25% extra chaos damage, 15% to deal 50% extra chaos damage, and 5% to deal 100% extra chaos damage.

Prolonged Pain - a passive skill which basically increases skills duration. It increases poison and any skill effect duration by 20%. Additionally, the passive boosts your DoT damage and by 15%, and reduces damage taken from dot skills by 10%. Very good passive when you are planning to go for depth record.

Ghost Dance - amazing passive that gives you everything you need in every build based on energy shield. It boosts your evasion rating by 20% when you have a full energy shield. Additionally, it increases your attack and casting speed by 40% when your energy shield starts to recharge. What is more, movement speed and chance to dodge attacks is increased by 10% when you have an energy shield.

Escape Artist - this passive is a typical defensive one. It reduces damage taken by 8% if you haven’t been hit recently. Additionally, it boosts your evasion rating by 5 points for every 1 energy shield you have on a helmet. Also, it gives you 1 point to maximum energy shield for every 6 points evasion rating you have on body armor.

Flicker Strike Build Guide 

Every passive skill has different specific bonuses which play a certain role in the build. In order to make your build work, you have to choose the proper passive skill set. In this part of the guide, I will show you the most popular Betrayal league build which is considered to be the best for Trickster. The build is called Flicker Strike Shadow Trickster. It is based on frenzy charges, that will let you use Flicker Strike skill. If you are going to use this build, you have to know that build is very easy to play but quite expensive. It is because of the fact that some items are very rare and it is hard to find perfect rolls, that will fit the build. Now, I will introduce you the pros and cons of such build and give some useful advice about proper itemization.

Advantages

Very good clear speed ( with the proper gear, you will clear maps very fast. The build has lots of movement speed because of Flicker Strike skill. Also, you will deal very good damage so mapping will be fast and fun for players)

Ability to do all content in the game (with such build, players will be able to kill everything, For some better monsters you will need quite a different setup, what may be a disadvantage as well, but most of the builds do not offer such diversity)

Is not mana dependent (skills you gonna use won't require mana, so you don’t have to focus on this factor. This makes the build very fun to play because you can use skills as many times you want)

Disadvantages

Fighting in close range (because of such factor you are exposed for damage from minions which dodging will be possible only if you have high evasion)

Frenzy charges dependent (there is a possibility that you will not regenerate enough Frenzy Charges and in the result, you won't be able to use your main source of damage which is Flicker Strike skill)

Budget unfriendly ( some items may be quite expensive so I do not recommend this build for beginners, because you will not be able to afford the proper gear and in a result, gameplay won't be enjoyable

Equipment

Gear is a very important factor when it comes to building your character. You have to remember to pick items that will cooperate with each other, otherwise, your build will be incomplete and probably won’t deal enough damage to farm efficiently. In this part of the guide, I will show you the best items for Flicker Strike build and describe them in detail. Because of the fact that path of exile kind of a grinding gear game, you have to keep in mind that you will frequently change your items set.

a) Weapon

For the perfect starting weapon, you should choose Gorebreaker Spiked Club. You can wear such a weapon at level 10. Also, you have to buy two of them in order to maximize your damage. Such weapon highly boosts your damage and attack speed. It increases your damage by 331% and attack speed by 20%. It’s an insane boost, especially on low levels. You will use these two maces to level 28.

When you reach 28 level you will start using cyclone skill, so you have to switch your weapon for Shiversting Bastard Sword. This sword gives you even more damage and works perfectly with cyclone skill. When you reach 48 level you have to change your weapon for Rigwald's Charge Highland Blade. Such a sword will significantly boost your damage, movement speed, and attack speed.

If you don’t wanna spend currency for Rigwald you can wait for level 51 and equip your main weapon Terminus Est Tiger Sword. This sword is mandatory for this build and there is no better equivalent to replace it. Basically, it boosts your damage, but the most important thing is the fact that it grants 1 frenzy charge for each critical hit. Thanks to that you can use your main ability all the time and easily farm currency.

b) Helmet

The best starting helmet for your build should have a high amount of elemental resistances. You can choose between unique Goldrim Leather Cap or a rare one. I highly recommend buying Golding since it increases your elemental resistances by 35%. In the early game, it is a very important attribute.

In the late game, you can choose between Starkonja's Head Silken Hood or Abyssus Ezomyte Burgonet. If you lack survivability you should get Starakonja’s helmet. It decreases damage taken by 50% when on low life and gives you tons of health. Additionally, it gives some offensive stats as well as attack speed and critical strike chance. If you have enough resistances and you are tanky enough you can switch starakonja’s for abyssus. It gives you a huge boost to your damage output but at the same time, your survivability is decreased by at least 50%. In my opinion, having Abyssus is highly recommended if you are going to make high-end game content like shaper or atziri.

c) Belt

In the early game, the best possibility is to have a belt which will increase your elemental damage and elemental resistances. Try to find a simple rare belt with at least 15% increased elemental resistances. It is also nice to have around 20% increased elemental damage in order to increase your offensive stats.

In the late game, you have to start looking for a belt called Phoenix Clasp Stygian Vise. It is expensive but it gives you an enormous boost to dps and survivability. By wearing such a belt you can increase your elemental damage and Elemental resistances up to 50%. A Stygian Vise with good resistances and life rolls is always solid for any build. A lot of player survivability comes from this belt. There is no better alternative for this build.

d) Gloves

In order to find the best starting gloves, you should focus on the one which will increase your elemental resistances and attributes needed to level up your gems. This build always lacks strength so remember to pick gloves with such attribute. When it comes to attributes pick gloves which will increase your elemental resistances by at least 20%. In the late game, I recommend buying Tombfist Steelscale Gauntlets. The best one will have 2 abyssal sockets in it. There are no better alternatives. By socketing murderous and searching eye jewels, gloves give us maim and intimidation which boosts our damage. Additionally, such gloves boost our amount of health by maximum life attribute in it. You can also get corrupted Tombfist Steelscale Gauntlets which gives you a possibility to curse enemies with enfeeble. But remember that such gloves are quite expensive and it might be hard to get them.

e) Boots

In the early game, you have to get boots which will increase your movement speed and elemental resistances. The movement speed will help you to clear story maps faster, and elemental resistances will boost your survivability. Rare boots which will boost your movement speed by 20% and elemental resistances by 15% should be enough in the beginning. Boots like Dragon Tread Shagreen Boots will be perfect. In the late game, you should craft or buy boots with 40% + resistances of each type. It is a priority if you want to cap your resistances. Then you should focus on movement speed and maximum life attributes. Finding such boots is a hard and expensive task, but worth trying, because with good boots, you can wear an Abyssus helmet which boosts your damage a lot.

f) Armor

In order to start the game with nice damage output, your starting armor should be appointed with six linked sockets. With such armor, you will be able to level up your gems straight from the beginning and also deal insane damage. The best armor you can get in the early game is Tabula Rasa Simple Robe. It gives you the possibility to socket six gems without a specified type. Thanks to that you will be able to modify your gems without any problems. What is more, this armor is not so expensive so getting it in early levels should not be a problem.

In the late game, you should focus on looking for armor with Aspect of the Cat Skill and good amount of resistance. You can also get Belly of the Beast Full Wyrmscale which will boost your survivability by adding 40% to your maximum life and up to 15% of resistances. If you decide to buy the Belly of the Beast, remember that you will need Aspect of the Cat in a different part of your gear. Luckily such skill can be found in boots, gloves or helmets as well.

g) Rings

In the beginning, you will need rings with high elemental resistances and elemental damage. You should also focus on attributes which you need to level your gems. If you lack strength you should buy the ring with such an attribute. For this build, there are no mandatory rings that you have to get in the late game. It is totally up to you what type of ring you will wear. I recommend buying rings with a high amount of resistance in order to cap them and health to boost your survivability.

h) Amulet

For the first amulet, you should get the one that will increase your maximum life and elemental resistances. Also, it is nice to have some additional attributes in it. Since your build lack strength, you should look for an amulet with such an attribute. When you reach the end game, you should consider getting Aul's Uprising Onyx Amulet. It is pretty expensive, but such amulet is mandatory for this build. Since you are going to use all auras that boost your damage, you have to get an amulet that will completely remove Hatred mana reservation. There is also a possibility to buy rare amulet with resistances and life but this will be connected with some changes in gems.

i) Potions

Potions play a very important role in character build. There are many different kinds of potions which allow you to increase your damage, regenerate your health or even make you invisible for enemies. The build does not require any life regenerators so we will focus on potions which mainly increase your damage and life leech.

The first recommended potion for this build is called Atziri's Promise Amethyst Flask. The potion is responsible for converting your physical and elemental damage to chaos damage. Additionally, such potion gives you a very nice boost to your life leech and survivability. Mandatory potion for fast and convenient mapping.

Next potion you should consider getting is Lion's Roar Granite Flask. This potion is responsible for increasing your physical damage output. It perfectly cooperates with atrziri flask. Both potions fulfill each other and boost your damage output. What is more, this potion gives you a very nice amount of armor which significantly boost your survivability.

The third potion which is necessary for this build is Sin's Rebirth Stibnite Flask. This potion is expensive, but it gives you a strong boost to your statistics and damage. It is all about the Unholy Might effect which this potion gives. It converts 30% physical damage into EXTRA chaos damage. This makes this potion a perfect combo with Lion’s Roar and Atziri’s Promise.

The penultimate potion I recommend to use with this build is Experimenter's Diamond Flask of Reflexes. This potion gives you a nice boost to your critical strike chance and evasion. Thanks to this potion you will be able to aa void more attacks from opponents and at the same time deal more damage to them. It is very important to find the one which will have increased duration by at least 30%.  

The last option for this build is Taste of Hate Sapphire Flask. Such potion is not that necessary to have and you can replace it with any HP flask, but it will work perfectly with Hatred skill. It converts your physical damage as EXTRA cold damage. Such potion will significantly boost your damage, especially when you use the rest of the potions mentioned above.

j) List of Gems

Weapon - 6 linked sockets - one green, one blue and four red

Flicker Strike ( your main skill. It teleports the player to a nearby enemy minion and hits it with the weapon. When there are no monsters nearby, the skill will teleport the player into random nearby place)

Increased Critical Strike Support ( such gem increases the chance for a critical strike with a supported gem. Remember to support only skills that have the possibility to deal critical strike)

Multistrike Support ( support gem which is used to repeat attack skills that are linked with this gem. It will repeat the skill twice after use. In this case Flicker Strike will be used three times instead of one)

Melee Splash Support (this gem makes your single target attack skills, do aoe damage)

Melee Physical Support ( such gem boosts your physical damage up to 50%)

Damage on Full Life Support ( gem which grants more physical damage when you are on a full life. It can boost your bonus damage up to 50%)

Helmet – 4 linked sockets are mandatory for this build – two blue, one red and one green

Herald of Ash (gem which gives you self buff. Such buff increases your damage output. It converts your physical damage into fire damage. Additionally, it adds burning damage which deals which is some kind of dot damage. It reserves mana when activated)

Herald of Purity (such gem adds physical damage to your spells and attacks. Additionally it summons Sentinel of Purity that will fight on your side dealing damage to enemy minions. It reserves mana when activated)

Curse on Hit ( helps you to inflict a curse on enemies. It triggers linked curse when you hit an enemy. Perfect combo with Assassin’s Mark)

Assassin’s Mark ( such gem inflicts a curse on enemies and makes them more vulnerable for critical strikes. Also, when you kill the cursed enemy it gives you life and mana, and a chance to gain power charge)

Gloves - 4 linked sockets - one green and three red sockets

Immortal Call (makes you invulnerable for physical attacks when activated, remember to keep it on the 3rd level)

Increased Duration Support (increases duration of linked supported skill)

Cast When Damage Taken Support ( activates linked buffs when you receive damage)

Vaal Haste (gem which increases your casting and attack speed while active. Additionally it buffs your Movement speed by 13% for you and your allies)

Boots - 4 lined sockets two red and two green sockets

Leap Slam ( gem which gives you attacks skill that leaps to a target area. Additionally the skill deal damage and knock back enemies)

Fortify (buff gem which reduces damage by 20% taken from hits for 4 seconds)

Hatred ( gem which casts an aura. Such aura grants EXTRA cold damage based on your Physical damage. It can increase up to 36 % cold damage for you and your allies)

Faster Attacks Support (boosts the attacks speed of any supported skill up to 44%)

Body Armor - 6 linked sockets are mandatory for this build 4 red sockets and two green

Ancestral Protector (summons a totem which uses melee strikes to attack enemies. When a player  is in the range of the totem, it grants increased attack speed by 20%)

Blood Magic (skill which makes the player spend health instead of mana to use skills. Very important gem for this build. Also, it sets your mana to 0)

Chance to Bleed (when using, supported skills have a 25% chance to inflict bleed on attacked minions. Also, it boosts your physical damage with weapons)

Maim (gem which can debut enemies and decrease their movement speed by 30% for 4 seconds)

Summon Ice Golem (gem which gives you a possibility to summon Ice Golem which boosts your critical strike chance and accuracy when active)

Culling Strike Support (skills supported by this gem instantly kills enemies with 10% of their maximum HP or lower. It means that if minion will have 190 HP out of 2000,  it will die straight after getting hit by ability)

k) Skill Tree

Skill tree for Flicker Strike Trickster Shadow with the ascendancy

l) Bandits

In order to boost your damage and survivability, you should consider helping Alira. You can also kill all bandits for additional two skill points but buff from Alira will give you more boost for your character.

m) Pantheon                                          

Soul of Solaris - Very good choice to boost your survivability. It reduces your physical damage taken when there is one nearby enemy. Perfect for fighting with bosses.

Soul of Gruthkul - it reduces damage taken for each taken hit. It gives you 1% for each hit, up to 5%.

n) Jewels

In normal jewels we should look for:

- maximum life

- maximum melee damage

- increased global critical strike chance

- increased global physical damage

- increased cold damage

- some resistances if you need to reach required caps

Abyssal jewel should have following stats (you put it into abyss socket in stygian vise belt)

- increased maximum health

- added cold damage to spells

- physical damage converted to ice damage

- resistances if you need to reach required caps