[Sentinel Duelist] PoE 3.18 Lightning Strike Champion Starter Build

This PoE 3.18 Sentinel Duelist Champion Lightning Strike Build is fully SSF, HC, and League Start capable. With mediocre SSF gear you can farm T16 maps. With great gear you can farm 100% Delirious maps and do bosses.

 

Pros & Cons

 

Skill Tree

Ascendancy: Unstoppable Hero, Fortitude, Inspirational, First to Stike/Last to Fall

Pantheon: Your Choice

Bandit: Kill All or take Alira and respec when ready

Passive Tree & PoB

Path of Building Link: https://pobb.in/41Rp900V0ki6

HC PoB: https://pobb.in/mV0uBdnxqmaQ

 

Gems Setup

Early Leveling Skills

Lightning Strike 3L: (V) Lightning Strike - Ancestral Call - Lifetap

Lightning Strike 4L: (V) Lightning Strike - Ancestral Call - Fortify - Lifetap then Trinity (Make sure Trinity is building max resonance, but it should be with Anger and Herald of Ice on)

Switch out of Lifetap when you have an enduring mana flask or the mana leech claw node (Soul Raker).

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6L: Vaal Lightning Strike - Trinity - (A) Elemental Damage with Attacks - Nightblade - (A) Added Lightning Damage - Ancestral Call until you've gotten +1 Strike, then Inspiration

4L: Enlighten - Anger - Precision - Herald of Ice

4L: Static Strike - Rage - Cast on Critical Strike - Wave of Conviction If you have a Farrul's. Sub Frenzy - Power Charge on Critical in place of CoCS and WoC until then. Or, choose your favorite form of getting Frenzy and Power Charges.

3L: Ancestral Protector - Blind - Culling Strike

2L: CWDT - Steelskin

Others to Slot where/if you can: Enduring Cry for HC Only, Smoke Mine, Phase Run, Defiance banner

Conductivity until you get a Shaper Ring with Assassin's Mark on Hit (Early on, pair it with OoS, Hextouch, and PCoCS for auto-curse and charge generation with one cast)

If you have a Farrul's and want 100% charge uptime, put Less Duration on item with Aspect of the Cat.

 

Gear Setup

WEAPON

Imperial Claw
+46 Life gained for each Enemy hit by Attacks
Adds 27 to 54 Cold Damage
Adds 12 to 298 Lightning Damage
27% increased Attack Speed
Can have up to 3 Crafted Modifiers
27% increased Critical Strike Chance
Attacks with this Weapon Penetrate 12% Elemental Resistances

Lvl 82 Imperial Claw with T1 Lightning, T1-4 Fire and/or Cold, T1 or T2 Attack Speed, +Crit Chance or open Suffix to craft it. Other nice things are Crit Multi, + Elemental Dmg with Attacks, or crafting on Penetrates Ele Resistance (Prefix). The shown claw is self crafted using about 100 Chaos to Spam it, a YOLO Annul to remove +Mana and Multimodding. In a normal setting it probably costs 5-7 Ex to craft something similar.

SHIELD

6% increased Movement Speed
85% increased Evasion Rating
+74 to maximum Life
+15% to all Elemental Resistances
+45% to Fire Resistance
15% chance to Avoid Elemental Ailments
Reflects 22 Physical Damage to Melee Attackers

Supreme Spiked Shield for 4% Spell Dodge

CHEST

Farrul's Fur for charge generation. Replica is fine just requires socketing Power Charge on Crit into Static Strike and forgoing Wave of Conviction

HELMET

Blizzard Crown
Adds 82 to 127 Cold Damage
Your Hits treat Cold Resistance as 10% higher than actual value
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+26 to Dexterity
+73 to maximum Life
+43% to Lightning Resistance
+5 to maximum Fortification
+1 to Level of Socketed Projectile Gems
Projectiles Pierce an additional Target

ilvl 80+ Crusader Helmet prioritizes defense by giving added Fortify effect. Blizzard Crown is BIS. You can also go ilvl 85 Crusader helm for -9% lightning resistance on nearby monsters.

GLOVES

Grants Level 20 Aspect of the Cat Skill
10% increased Dexterity
+78 to maximum Life
0.27% of Physical Attack Damage Leeched as Mana
Strike Skills target 1 additional nearby Enemy
23% chance to Avoid Elemental Ailments

Lvl 80+ Hunter for Strike Skills target 1 additional enemy. Gripped Gloves are BIS

BOOTS

+58 to Evasion Rating
+59 to maximum Life
+34% to Chaos Resistance
35% increased Movement Speed
You have Tailwind if you have dealt a Critical Strike Recently
+17% to Fire and Cold Resistances

Lvl 75+ Hunter Boots for Tailwind. Extra Credit if you Awakener Orb it with Lvl 81+ Shaper Boots to get 31-35% Ele Avoidance as well.

RINGS

Lvl 80+ Shaper Ring for Assassin's Mark on Hit, Mark of the Elder Steel Ring.

OTHER STUFF

Allocation: Cheap: Elemental Focus / Medium: Panopticon or Sleight of Hand / Endgame: Claws of the Falcon or Tenacity

JEWELS

+15% to Critical Strike Multiplier with One Handed Melee Weapons
8% increased Global Critical Strike Chance
+18% to Critical Strike Multiplier with Lightning Skills
2% increased Attack and Cast Speed

No Unique Jewels Required! Prioritize Life, Attack Speed, and Crit Chance/Multi.

Get anything with Corrupted Blood for endgame.

Watcher's Eye: Not mandatory, but focus on Crit Multi if you can. Anger or Precision.