Level 85 Poisonous Concoction of Bouncing Pathfinder^3.26

Notes

Easy League Starter for 3.27!
Live Played on Twitch.tv/p4wnyhof - Youtube.com/p4wnyhof
Grafts will improve strength of the build - Graft Section will be added as soon as we get the chance to experiment with them Live.


Act 1
General Setup
Look for MS boots in town and use a Bow
Try to buy a Flat Physical Damage Quiver and Iron Rings when you can afford them
Vendor Armor Scraps or Whetstones for more Scrolls of Wisdom

Before heading to the Coast:
Look for a GGG item in town
If none are available, look for at least a GG 2-Link item
Also, pick up any GGG gear that ISNT a Bow for later use
Try to find a good Shield before Level 12, ideally with a Movement Speed implicit

>>>> Important Flask Reminder <<<<
Make sure you have two Mana Flasks before Brutus and Merveil
Otherwise, you will struggle with mana during those fights

Level 1
Take Caustic Arrow from the quest reward
Link it to Momentum
Level a Burning Arrow in any Green Socket for use against Brutus
Use Caustic Arrow for all clearing up to Brutus

Before leaving town:
Check Tarkleigh for a Serrated Arrow Quiver
If he does not have one, check again later when you return

Level 4
After completing Mud Flats and reaching The Submerged Passage, teleport back to The Coast and complete the Medicine Chest quest on the Tidal Island

Then:
Take Mirage Archer from Nessa
Take Snipers Mark and Dash from Tarkleigh
Buy Pierce from Nessa

Link Setup
Caustic Arrow - Mirage Archer - Pierce

Let Mirage Archer do most of the work - attack once to trigger it, then keep moving
Use Snipers Mark on Rares and Bosses for a DPS boost
Use Dash as your Movement Skill on cooldown

Optional Purchases (Pre-Brutus)

Try to buy Iron Rings and a Rustic Sash from Nessa if you can afford them
Look for a Short Bow from Tarkleigh
If you encounter an Essence Monster, kill it and use the Essence on your Bow for a useful modifier
You will get a guaranteed Essence from the Dweller quest - use it on any White (Normal) Bow you have

Level 9-10
Start looking for a Shield to use at Level 12
Replace your Caustic Arrow with Burning Arrow when fighting Brutus
After the fight, switch back to Caustic Arrow and drop the Burning Arrow gem

In Town (After Brutus)
Take Void Manipulation from Nessa and let it level in a spare socket
Take Precision from Tarkleigh and activate it
Keep it around Level 3-4 to avoid mana issues
Right-click the + notification to stop it from leveling further

Buy Frostblink from Nessa and replace Dash
You will have enough Intelligence to use it thanks to Primal Spirit
Keep Frostblink at Level 3 to prevent attribute problems later
Frostblink only gains minor cooldown improvements per level, so do not worry about maxing it now

Level 12 Swap to Poisonous Concoction
When you hit Level 12, switch to Poisonous Concoction (PConc)
!!Nessa will give you one for free upon entering Merveils Caverns!!

Get to Level 12 before fighting Merveil
Use Poisonous Concoction to defeat her it is much faster, especially with good Life Flasks and Withering Step

In Town
Buy the following from Nessa:
Volley
Withering Step
Shield Charge
Faster Attacks

New Link Setup:
Poisonous Concoction - Void Manipulation - Volley
If you do not have a GGG 3-Link yet, just run:
Poisonous Concoction - Volley

Keep checking town vendors in Acts 1/2 every few levels for a GGG item

Gear & Gem Adjustments
Remove your Bow and equip a Shield
Look for one with Movement Speed or Elemental Resistances
Prioritize Life, Resistances, and any Attributes you are missing
Starting in Act 2, you can craft resistances using the Crafting Bench in your Hideout

Drop These Skills
Caustic Arrow
Mirage Archer
Pierce

You now only need:
Frostblink
Shield Charge
Snipers Mark
Withering Step
Poisonous Concoction

Use Snipers Mark only on bosses until Act 3, when you replace it with Temporal Chains
Use Withering Step on Bosses to apply Wither. Avoid using it otherwise since it triggers cooldowns on Frostblink
You can cancel Shield Charge early using Frostblink for smoother movement
If that feels awkward, just use Shield Charge normally and reserve Frostblink for crossing gaps

If you are short on sockets or Strength:
Use Shield Charge without Faster Attacks temporarily
Or keep Shield Charge at a lower level to meet Attribute requirements

TLDR on PCONC
From now on, you must upgrade your Life Flask every time you can
PConc scales heavily from the Recovers X Life value on your flasks ??? this is your main damage scaler for Acts 1-10
The bigger the number on your flask, the better
Transmute your Flasks to try to get a x% Increased Recovery Prefix

Starting at Level 42 (when you get Hallowed Life Flasks):
Use Alterations to roll for a better Recovery Value
Ignore other mods only the life recovery amount matters
The flask duration is irrelevant only focus on the total life recovered

Be conservative with your Alteration use until you finish Act 3
You will need plenty of Alts to purchase Skill Gems
However, always use a Transmute on your flasks if you can
Always carry 2-3 Life Flasks
You will burn through Flask Charges quickly
Running out of charges will cause a major drop in DPS during Bosses
You cannot fully sustain flask charges on Bosses
Be conservative with usage
Avoid attacking during Immunity Phases to preserve charges


Act 2
Bandits Choice
Help Alira
+15% Elemental Resistances is excellent for league start

Level 18
Take Herald of Agony from Greust quest reward
Buy Blood Rage from Yenna

Blood Rage Details:
Grants a buff giving a chance to gain Frenzy Charges on kill
Increases Attack Speed
Buff refreshes on every mob kill
Assign to a comfortable keybind and press at the start of each zone
The attack speed from Blood Rage synergizes strongly with Shield Charge

Level 22
Take Vicious Projectiles from Silk after killing The Weaver
Socket it somewhere to gain experience
This will be used for your 4-Link on Poisonous Concoction

Act 2 Summary
Focus on acquiring:
GGG and GG for 3-4 link setups (4 Link will probably not be available until Act3/4 - Gambling helps immense in Act 3!)
Poisonous Concoction
Vicious Projectiles
Void Manipulation

Keep picking up Yellow items to get Alterations for gem purchases
Ensure your Flasks are upgraded regularly as they scale PConc damage


Act 3
Start looking for
GGGG for Poisonous Concoction - Lesser Multiple Projectiles - Void Manipulation - Vicious Projectiles
GGGB for Act 6 and beyond, where you will replace Vicious Projectiles with Unbound Ailments from Lilly in Act 6
RGG for Shield Charge - Faster Attacks  Momentum
You can buy Momentum from Nessa in Act 1 once you have a free socket

Level 26
Take Grace from Clarissas reward
Buy Temporal Chains and Purity of Elements from her as well

Auras Setup
Use Purity of Elements together with Herald of Agony as your two Auras (Drop Precision here)
Grace will be added later in Act 6 once you have the Charisma notable along with Thrill of Battle and its Mana Mastery

For now, place Grace in a socket so it gains experience and is leveled up when you eventually activate it

Curse Update
Remove Snipers Mark
Use Temporal Chains instead as your curse on Rares and Bosses

Library Quest
You can safely skip the Library and Siosas Quest
Simply proceed to Act 4
You will be able to purchase any missing Gems from Lilly in Act 6


Act 4
Go to Act 1 and buy an extra Poisonous Concoction from Nessa before doing Lab
Once you complete it, you will be given one use of the Font
The Font allows you to transform a Skill Gem into a random Transfigured Skill Gem of the same color
Use your extra Poisonous Concoction here and hope for the chance to get Poisonous Concoction of Bouncing

Future Labs
Starting with the Act 10 Lab, you can get a special option that says:
"Change a Skill Gem into its transfigured version."
This will instantly allow you to upgrade Poisonous Concoction into Poisonous Concoction of Bouncing the superior version of the skill

When to Run Lab
Do Lab after reaching Level 31 when your gems have upgraded
If you feel unsafe while fighting Izaro:
Turn off Purity of Elements - Use Grace instead for better defense

If You Get Bouncing
If you obtain Poisonous Concoction of Bouncing, use it ASAP over your normal version
Bouncing causes you to throw a single Flask that bounces several times depending on how many additional Projectiles you have

Benefits:
Consumes fewer Flask Charges
Has a higher DPS ceiling than normal PConc

Upgrades After Bouncing
Once you have Bouncing, upgrade to Greater Volley available in Act 4
Replace Vicious Projectiles with Greater Multiple Projectiles from the same vendor
If you do not have enough Orbs of Alchemy for these, you can always buy them later in Act 6 from Lilly once you have more currency

NOTE
It is completely fine if you do not get Poisonous Concoction of Bouncing while leveling
Acquiring it will be your first goal as soon as you reach Maps
It is easy to farm later if you want to obtain your own copy
Consider it a lucky bonus if you happen to get Bouncing early


Act 5
Nothing Special for you to do here - Keep Blasting through - Don't forget your passive points (Service to Science, Kitavas Torment).


Act 6
In Act 6, allocate Charisma along with Thrill of Battle and its Mana Mastery that grants 12% increased Mana Reservation Efficiency
With these three, you can now drop Precision and activate Grace
This adds a strong defensive layer and makes the rest of the Campaign much smoother

Lillys Quest
Complete Lillys Quest to clear the Beach as soon as you reach Act 6
From Lilly, buy the following gems:
Steelskin
Automation
Unbound Ailments

Socket Management
This will be the only real hurdle of playing Poisonous Concoction fitting in all the Skill Gems from Lilly at once
You will likely not have enough sockets to equip everything immediately
If you must delay something, skip using Automation and Steelskin until later

Automation Setup
Link Steelskin - Automation
Then, activate Automation just like an Aura it will automatically cast Steelskin on cooldown

Main Link Update
Add Unbound Ailments to your Poisonous Concoction link as soon as you obtain a 4-Link setup
Until then, if you have spare sockets, place it somewhere to let it level up
You can continue using Vicious Projectiles until you switch to Poisonous Concoction of Bouncing
Unbound Ailments is slightly stronger than Vicious Projectiles if you have GGGB available


Act 7
You can now complete your second Lab and select Master Toxicist as your ascendancy node
This will noticeably improve your clear speed and provide more DPS while your Utility Flasks remain active during Bosses


Act 8-9
Don't miss your Passive Points.


Act 10
After rescuing Bannon from the Rooftop (the first quest in Act 10), return to Town and take a Silver Flask as your quest reward
With this flask, you can safely drop Graceful Assault and reassign those points elsewhere

Optional Flask Preference
If you prefer not to frequently press your Silver Flask for Onslaught uptime, you may keep Graceful Assault until approximately Level 80
Alternatively, wait until you unlock the Hybrid craft

"Movement Speed & Onslaught on Kill" for your Boots
Swap to this craft ASAP once available

Third Lab
In Act 10, complete your third Lab and take Natures Adrenaline
This will provide better uptime on your Flasks and prepare your build for adding Replica Sorrow of the Divine once purchased
Before Kitava
Ensure you complete Lab before fighting Kitava to avoid the -30% Elemental Resistance penalty


Endgame - Mapping
Once you defeat Kitava in Act 10, your first priority is obtaining PConc of Bouncing, the Transfigured upgrade to the standard PConc.
Next, focus on making currency to afford:

Replica Sorrow of the Divine
Lightning Coil for defence
Asenath's Gentle Touch if budget allows, for faster clear

Perform your fourth Lab around Level 80 once you have:
PConc of Bouncing
Replica Sorrow
Either Mark of Submission or Asenath's (if affordable)

Early Unique Targets
Mark of Submission solid early Ring; replace with Asenath's when possible
Asenath's Gentle Touch excellent for clear; can socket Temporal Chains to automate its effect
Price target: ~3-5 Chaos Orbs or lower for early purchase

Flask Priority
Pathfinder flasks are essentially permanent stats due to Nature's Adrenaline uptime
Upgrade quickly and automate utility flasks using Instilling Orbs + Glassblowers in the Crafting Bench
Keep five automated utility flasks ready for instant activation

Playstyle
Spam Shield Charge + Frostblink on cooldown while rushing forward
PConc of Bouncing stacks poisons quickly, prolifing via Asenath's and Master Toxist
Drop Withering Step once Bouncing is obtained; it maintains ~15 Withers independently

Corrupting Blood
Acquire Corrupting Blood Immunity via Blood Altar craft on Life Flask

Endgame - PConc of Bouncing
Replaces standard PConc, bouncing 1 flask per projectile multiple times
With Greater Multiple Projectiles, Greater Volley, Fury Valve, Multishot, and base chains, each flask bounces ~13 times
Increases DPS by hitting multiple times on single targets through bounce mechanics
Chain nodes (Projectile Mastery + Follow-Through) amplify first and last bounce damage
Poison Mastery adds ~300% initial poison damage, nuking first target; prolif handles pack clear

Obtaining PConc of Bouncing
Two methods:
Buy directly 
Farm in third Lab
Check Lab Font for transfigure option (~10-15 runs average)

Random Transfigured gems may sell for 5-10 Chaos


Earlygame - Uniques to Prioritize
Replica Sorrow of the Divine
Solves mana via Eldritch Battery
Energy Shield protects mana; permanent recharge ~60 ES/sec
Automate with Instilling Orbs + Glassblowers

Leper's Alms
Strong early DPS + Spell Suppression

Fury Valve
Grants +2 Projectiles and bonus DPS per chain

Lightning Coil
Converts 50% physical damage to lightning
Use Topaz Flask to manage resistance

Betrayal's Sting
25-40% More DPS via unique roll
Elemental resistance reduction managed with topaz flask and suffixes

Asenath's Gentle Touch
Explosions for clear, guaranteed on-hit Temporal Chains