Path of Exile’s Bladefall Blade Blast Assassin is a good choice for the Ascendancy
In popular culture, assassins are often associated with blades. This has been the case even before that famous stealth action game about assassins. Same is true in Path of Exile, and no other build is a more quintessential example of that than the Blade Blast Bladefall Assassin. if you’re willing to spend PoE Currency on this build, check out this guide.
Advantages and Disadvantages
Much like in other build guides, there is no better place to start than the pros and cons, especially the former. Among its many upsides, the biggest and most true to its assassin role would be its fast clear speed thanks to both of its core skills and Plague Bearer. And speaking of poison damage, this is what allows the build to do well against bosses. It is only fair for it to be a boss killer; after all, it’s an assassin build.
With its two previously mentioned advantages, it also should already go without saying that the build is a good league starter. Another reason it is considered as such is because it does not require any specific Unique item to be effective.
On the other hand, its unconventional play style can be both a boon and a bane. This build works best by casting Bladefall first, which drops blades onto the ground. These are then made to explode with Blade Blast, dealing much damage.
For players that want a more hands-on approach, they are going to love this mechanic. As for those that want a simpler, more laid-back build, then they either learn to adjust for this one or go for a completely different build.
As for its downside, there is one: the build being dodge-based. While it works even in Hardcore mode, it really hurts when enemies manage to land a hit. Thankfully, it’s not that bad of a disadvantage and is more accurately described as an alternative defensive potential.
Where Plague Bearer Comes In
Now we move on to the mechanics. The basic Bladefall – Blade Blast synergy of the build has already been explained, and now for the third and more advanced core skill: Plague Bearer. For now, however, we’ll skip that and bring up an Important support gem for Blade Blast: Vile Toxins support gems.
While the Assassin is known to deal more damage with poison compared to other affinities, Blade Blast laced with poison won’t be the build’s biggest DPS ability. In fact, because you will be activating Plague Bearer, it’s going to deal less poison damage. But that’s okay, because whatever poison damage reduced by Plague Bearer is stored by the skill as Plague Value. Once you have either hit a high enough or maximum Plague Value, you will be activating the skill again in order to deal chaos damage over time.
It may seem like a hassle, but trust us – it works and it hurts. Coupled with an Increased Area of Effect support gem, you can kill more enemies at a given time with this skill, which the build considers as its ultimate weapon.
Other Abilities and Gear
As for the other support gems for Bladefall, they are the following: Increased Area of Effect, Unbound Ailments, Deadly Ailments, and Swift Affliction. Meanwhile, Bladefall needs Unleash, Spell Cascade, and Concentrated Effect support gems.
Aside from its bread-and-butter skills, it also needs a few other skills that serve other purposes. For more damage, there is Blood Rage. For a debuff that further boosts damage, have Wither with Spell Totem and Mulitple Totems support gems. For Auras, have Summon Skitterbots, Herald of Agony, and Flesh and Stone with Enlighten support gems. Lastly, for mobility, have Flame Dash with Arcane Surge and Smoke Mine with Second Wind support gems.
Finally, we go to gear. Like what has been said before, this build isn’t too reliant on Unique items. However, two of them are recommended: two Cold Iron Points for the weapon to boost your physical spells and have up to 60% critical strike chance, and the Torrent’s Reclamation for the Summon Greater Harbinger of Time skill.
As for the rest of your gear, you can fill them up with the standard Rare gear with the usual life and elemental resistance bonuses, as well as 25% increased movement for boots. Other good modifiers include increased critical strike chance, chaos damage, as well as chaos damage over time, so save up those Exalted Orbs.
The Blade Blast Bladefall Assassin isn’t your usual assassin build, and that’s what makes it better than a good number of builds of the same Ascendancy. It’s also why it’s a must-try.
