Class: Ranger Witch Duelist Marauder Shadow Templar

This PoE 3.19 Witch Phantasmal Cremation Necromancer build can tank all but the deadliest mechanics in the game and extreme degens that you aren't immune to already.

 

The Concept

Phantasmal Cremation, Ashes of the Stars

Above all else, you NEED these two items for the build to even function.
Okay, so why?
Phantasmal Cremation Quality gives a "2% chance to explode a nearby corpse when firing projectiles per 1% quality" and we manage to reach upwards of 50% quality by combining the gem with the new Ashes of the Stars amulet for a 100% chance to explode corpses.

What this actually translates to:

Cremation linked with GMP Fires 8 projectiles per second per geyser. Every time a projectile is FIRED a nearby corpse is detonated for 4% of the corpses life as fire damage=we explode 24 corpses per second. 30/s with Dying Sun active.

We then spam unearth at the feet of the thing we want to die while our geysers are active. This will cause nice overlapping explosions for massive damage as we scale corpse life with Phantasmal Unearth

We scale the level and quality of this gem to eventually achieve level 95 corpses for insane damage when detonated (upwards of 1 million damage per explosion as you minmax).

That's really it. It doesn't take a lot of opportunity cost to scale the damage in this way, leaving a TON of room for scaling our defenses with tree and gear to make ourselves nigh unkillable.

 

 

Pros & Cons

+ Welcome to immortality. This build can tank all but the deadliest mechanics in the game and extreme degens that you aren't immune to already. Sirus Die Beam? Easy. Getting double teamed by Kosis and Omniphobia in wave 30 Simulacrum? CHILD'S PLAY! Could probably do Maven Memory game and Sirus Meteor if you really wanted to push a button for guard skill/frost shield, but that's excessive.

+ And we have DPS. Immortal and DPS?! INSANE! We reach upwards of 30 million DPS in ideal situations (boss standing still with dying sun etc...) but basically each corpse we detonate can reach upwards of 1 million damage per explosion. (For Reference, the Uber Elder fight in the compilation video was at around 500k damage per explosion)

+ Build scales very well. Every upgrade you make is impactful in a noticeable way and has a very high ceiling.

+ Outside of the Phantasmal Cremation, cost of entry is not that high for a tanky build to clear "normal" endgame. Guardians/Elderslayers, for example, can be cleared easily without the use of a Phantasmal Unearth.

+ Immune to Elemental Ailments. Thanks POE! :D

+ Overall, the build cleverly utilizes some niche mechanics to deliver immensely satisfying gameplay.

Alas, we cannot have the cake and eat it too. As powerful as the build is, there are downsides:

- First and foremost, this is NOT a clearspeed build. If you are very proactive and get into the rhythm of dropping a geyser on a pack and moving on, then it'll feel fun and engaging for mapping. That said, it's not a zoom zoom mapper by any means and you're pushing a lot of buttons. I would say, B- tier mapper down to C tier if you're lazy with buttons.

- It's actually worse than a 2-button build. You spam some Unearth, lay down some geysers, often you have to cast Unearth again to get the 3rd one down because the first 1-2 are consuming all your corpses AND THEN you spam Unearth at the feet of the Big Bad to kill it. This is particularly annoying with bosses that run around a lot (Maven+Sirus, for example). Corpse Pact cast speed DOES help a lot with this though--Just takes some practice.

- Cost of the main Phantasmal Gems (Cremation+Unearth) is a bit high. This is mainly due to their scarcity. They will basically cost 8-10x the cost of a Prime Regrading Lens each.

- Degens can be problematic if you're not paying attention/immune to them. Generally will be fine thanks to high max resists for cold/lightning dots. We are immune to ignites, take no extra damage from bleeds (pantheon), and should get corrupted blood immunity from a jewel. All that really leaves is burning ground, which can be conditionally dealt with via pantheon as well.

- You might find yourself unlearning boss mechanics and your skills as a player may wither due to "getting rusty" because you can ignore so many mechanics.

 

 

Passive Tree & PoB

Path of Building Link:

Level 98 w/ Melding of the Flesh: https://pastebin.com/sBfy9V5K

This is an early peak at the build prior to melding of the flesh or cluster jewels: https://pastebin.com/Yx2ugbA1 

This is the uber endgame POB that's worth a few mirrors probably...still has room for improvement.

The Crit Edition: https://pastebin.com/yivNQ35Z

 

 

Gems Setup

Main 6-link setup: Phantasmal Cremation is required

Phantasmal Cremation - Greater Multiple Projectiles - Hypothermia - Elemental Focus - Awakened Elemental Focus - Concentrated Effect

Awakened GMP would be ideal for dps.
Anamolous GMP can be used to bring mana costs down.
Level 5 Awakened Fire Pen gives chance to inflict Exposure on hit. I would recommend getting this, or exposure on hit on gloves.

4L Phantasmal Unearth:

Phantasmal Unearth - Greater Multiple Projectiles - Enhance - Empower

Phantasmal Unearth is not REQUIRED for the build to function but will skyrocket your damage once you've obtained it. Awakened GMP can be used for convenience. Basically, sometimes you'll cast Unearth and Bone Offering Triggers, consuming 5(all) of the spawned corpses. Woke GMP would still leave you with one corpse to cast Cremation onto. It's an expensive way to solve a minor annoyance, but worth mentioning

3 link weapon:

Combustion - Bone Offering - Purifying Flame

Bone Offering because we are Necromancer. Divergent is great as it benefits from the Ashes of the Stars' quality boost for some extra block chance.

Divergent Purifying Flame - same deal, benefits from Ashes to cause enemies on consecrated ground to take increased damage. Linked to combustion to apply that debuff.

If you do not have a source of exposure, use Wave of Conviction instead of Divergent Purifying Flame.

Auras:

Anomalous Purity of Elements benefits from our amulet to provide a little bit extra all elemental resistances. Base quality is fine though.

Tempest Shield can be Divergent if you need extra spell block, but is expensive.

Determination/Discipline are self explanitory.

3L/Sockets in Shield:

Defiance Banner can go anywhere. Shield charge+Faster attacks together is the important part here.

2L CWDT:

If you are struggling for sockets, you can drop the CWDT link and just put Molten Shell on left click.

Put  Purity of Ice in Unset ring with +2 Socketed gems or other source of +2 levels.

Only need to use this if you are trying to MAX out your Melding of the Flesh Resistances to 90% +2 gems brings it to level 23 for +5% max cold res baseline.

For the last two, find a socket for Flame Dash somewhere.

And if you do not have a curse on hit ring, you can always self cast a curse. I chose punishment as is debilitates enemies when the hit (they get slowed and deal 10% less damage) as well as being a monstrous damage boost once enemies are on low life (50% life or less). Self casting curses feels instant because of Corpse Pact Ascendnacy as well as being able to gain Doom for 30% increased effect. Again, just find a slot for it.

 

 

Gear Setup

Required Items

For the build to function, you *need* Phantasmal Cremation and Ashes of the Stars. Try to get as high %Quality and Reservation rolls on the amulet as possible.

As mentioned in the Defenses section, Aegis Aurora is the lynchpin of our defenses--providing ES recovery on block, +5% Max Cold Res, and a healthy amount of armor+energy shield.

Incandescent Heart provides for us up to 20% more damage from the Elemental as Extra Chaos mod, huge amounts of elemental mitigation, as well as nice armor+energy shield. Technically, not needed to play the build, but it is BiS and relatively inexpensive.

Helmet

You want to get the enchantment with "Unearth Spawns corpses with +5 Level" on a Hubris base (ideally). Craft with Dense fossils for high ES.

If you are trying to fit in Purity of Ice, you will want to hit it with Eldritch Ichors until you get Mana Reservation Efficiency. Use Grands for 9%.

Amulet

Vital for this build as previously mentioned.

For anoints, I like Charisma for the extra aura effect and reservation efficiency.

Rings

For rings, Unset rings are ideal. Get one with +2 level of socketed gems for a level 21 purity of ice to get it to +5% max cold res. Or +3 on a level 20 gem.

For other stats, you want to look for:
Any missing resists
Strength
Dexterity
Energy Shield.

Weapon

If you can afford it, get a fractured +1 to Phys spells or +1 to all spells sceptre. You can craft onto it from there, looking for these types of mods:
- +1 to Physical or All Spells (For boosting Unearth)
- %Increased Fire Damage/Elemental Damage
- Unveiled Trigger mod or open suffix for the bench craft
- Fire as Extra Chaos Damage (Bench Craft option)

IMPORTANT

Spell damage modifiers DO NOT work on Cremation Explosions as the explosions are not "spell" damage. So getting big spell damage on your weapon is pretty pointless. Don't do it.

Gloves 

+1 to Level of Socketed Gems
+2 to Level of Socketed AoE Gems
+2 to Level of Socketed Projectile Gems
10% increased Cast Speed
+1 to Maximum Frenzy Charges

+5(really 6) Hands of the High Templar are the highest level boost for Unearth you can get currently.
That said, the new implicits from the Eldritch mod pool have made me reconsider what is BiS for gloves:

Inflict Fire Exposure on Hit, applying -12% to Fire Resistance
+2% to maximum Cold Resistance
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
+1 to Level of Socketed Strength Gems
+1 to Level of Socketed Dexterity Gems
+1 to Level of Socketed Intelligence Gems
+2 to Level of Socketed AoE Gems
Adds 4 to 9 Physical Damage to Attacks
10% increased Area of Effect
+1 to Level of Socketed Projectile Gems
Projectiles Pierce an additional Target

+2% Max Cold Resistance is for those who are utilizing the Melding of the Flesh unique jewel as it then reads "+2% Max Ele Res"
Furthermore, getting Fire Exposure on hit means we can drop all other sources of exposure.
All of that and you still get +5 to Unearth.
Crafting These Gloves

Boots

For basic necessities, get you a pair of decent Sin Treks for MS+Dex+ES.

When you are looking to improve on that you can get some nice ES Sorc Boots and roll increased effect of Bone Offering with Eldritch Embers for some extra block chance.

Body Armour

Incandescent Heart. It's got damage, armour, ES, and elemental mitigation. It's all we need. You *could* get a grasping mail with 100% increased global defenses with some implicits or something. But it's probably not worth the effort.

Flasks

Quicksilver
40% increased Movement Speed
Requires Level 50
Used when Charges reach full
Gain 6 Charges when you are Hit by an Enemy
48% less Duration
Immunity to Bleeding and Corrupted Blood during Flask Effect

Granite Flask
+1500 to Armour
Requires Level 46
Used when Charges reach full
Gain 4 Charges when you are Hit by an Enemy
54% increased Armour during Flask effect

Dying Sun Ruby Flask
Used when you Hit a Rare or Unique Enemy, if not already in effect
136% increased Charges per use
42% less Duration
17% increased Area of Effect during Flask Effect
Skills fire 2 additional Projectiles during Flask Effect

These 3 are the core ones for me, other two slots are flexible to what you want. Just make sure you get the "gain charges when hit by an enemy" mod and craft the "Used when charges reach full" enchant from your crafting bench on them.