Storm Brand of Indecision Trickster - Path of Exile 3.24

Path of Exile has a lot of endgame bosses that you can eliminate. There are the "Uber" bosses that can easily destroy any character foolish enough to take them on without the proper gear. And, while there are those builds that rely on pure offense to get the job done, such characters require kiting and knowledge about boss attacks to survive.

Wouldn't it be great if there is a build that you can use to take on these pinnacle bosses without having to dodge quite often? Is there such a character that has enough firepower to eliminate them? Well, the answer to that question, if you ask us here at RPGStash, is a resounding yes.

In fact, in this article, you will learn how to create the Storm Brand of Indecision Trickster, which is definitely one of the best in terms of completing even the hardest content in the game. Whether you are fighting in fully juiced-up Delirium maps or fighting the Uber Maven, this build is definitely worth a try.

If you are interested, we highly recommend that you finish the entire thing. This is our build guide for the Storm Brand of Indecision Trickster!

Basics

The Storm Brand of Indecision Trickster is another Power Charge-stacking build in Path of Exile. Therefore, a 100% crit chance is quite doable here, and you will certainly utilize some usual items for such builds, including the Void Battery, Malachai's Loop, and Ralakesh's Impatience, to name a few.

As you can tell by the name, this build uses the new Transfigured Gem, Storm Brand of Indecision. Unlike the original, this transfigured version of Storm Brand activates only once on an enemy and then attaches itself to the next nearby target, making it ideal for mapping.

How about bosses then? Isn't the mechanic not ideal for single targets? That is actually not the case. You see, Storm Brand of Indecision does not detach and reattach itself if there is only one enemy on the screen. Because of this, you are assured that you deal the most amount of damage against bosses since they are typically alone in most scenarios.

If you are still not convinced, you will also be taking the Runebinder keystone passive so that you can attach another Storm Brand of Indecision on tough enemies and bosses.

In addition, Storm Brand of Indecision has faster activation frequency, higher damage, and better damage effectiveness than the regular Storm Brand skill gem. Hence, it is the perfect one to use, especially if you are going to do juiced-up maps and uber bosses in Path of Exile!

For survivability, this build utilizes the Chaos Inoculation keystone passive. With this allocated, your maximum HP is only one, but you are completely immune to chaos damage. As a result, you will scale energy shield on this build to ensure that you won't die. You can reach upwards of 8,000 maximum energy shield quite easily without heavy investment.

Although spell suppression is not mandatory for the Storm Brand of Indecision Trickster, you do have the option of including the said defensive layer on your character if that is what you prefer.

To increase the damage of the Storm Brand of Indecision Trickster even further, look for the following mods on your gear:

• Increased Brand Damage
• Increased Spell Damage
• Increased Elemental Damage
• Increased Lightning Damage
• Increased Area Damage1
• Increased Cast Speed
• Critical Strike Multiplier

Playstyle

Builds that utilize Brands of any sort in Path of Exile are typically viewed as difficult compared to those that use more active skill gems like Tornado Shot or Spark. However, that is not the case with the Storm Brand of Indecision Trickster.

As you enter a new map, you simply use multiple Storm Brands of Indecision on any monster that you see and watch them get destroyed by lightning damage!

When you are going against bosses in PoE, you can drop a Sigil of Power on the ground and cast Frost Shield to improve your chances of survival. Both of these spells offer added lightning damage and spell crit, so you are really getting both offense and defense when you remain in their area of effect.

If those are not enough, you have Immortal Call to rely on as well. This significantly reduces the physical and elemental damage you take when it is active. That's not all! This build also uses Summon Chaos Golem linked with Cast When Stunned Support so that you get added physical damage reduction whenever you take a stunning hit!

Ascendancy

With the gems that you will use and the passive skills that you are going to take on this build, there is no better ascendancy class than the Trickster. That is because it has notable passives that allow you to maximize evasion rating and energy shield.

Escape Artist is one of those notable ascendancy passive skills. This node increases both your evasion rating and maximum energy shield based on your equipped helmet and body armor. This is the reason why most of your gear on this build is composed of those that contain evasion and energy shield as their layers of defense.

Polymath is taken as your second notable ascendancy passive to help you breeze through the campaign. This gives you more damage and allows you to recover energy shield and mana on kill depending on how many different masteries you have allocated on the passive tree.

Soul Drinker is similar to the Slayer's Brutal Fervour, albeit you leech energy shield instead of life. This is a great node simply because the leech effect is not removed even if your energy shield is full. This means that so long as you continuously deal damage to the enemy, you will always have energy shield leeched off of them no matter what.

For the last notable passive, you have a couple of options depending on your preference. One Step Ahead is great for mapping as it makes you immune to movement-reduction effects like Chill or Temporal Chains. You gain a bump in your action speed as well, which is definitely a nice bonus.

If you'd like a bit more tankiness, then Spellbreaker is the ideal choice. This node not only grants you a 20% chance to suppress spell damage, but it prevents an additional 10% of suppressed spell damage while your energy shield is full.

Gear

The Storm Brand of Indecision Trickster does not require a lot of PoE currency to put up. In fact, you can make this work with just a 10-Divine Orb budget to start with. Of course, you always have the option to purchase suitable upgrades, so we may include some pieces of gear in each subsection that you might want to get your hands on in the future.

Weapon

As mentioned earlier in the build guide, the Storm Brand of Indecision Trickster is a Power Charge-stacking build, which means that it uses some familiar items - one of which is the Void Battery.

The Void Battery provides a ton of spell damage based on your current Power Charges. It also gives you other good mods, such as increased cast speed, crit chance, and plus one to your Maximum Power Charges.

Shield

Another staple in Power Charge-stacking builds in Path of Exile is Malachai's Loop. This unique Harmonic Spirit Shield not only raises your Maximum Power Charges by two but it also increases your spell damage by 15% per Power Charge. That is why this shield is incredibly tough to beat.

In addition, you gain a ton of energy shield, so its inclusion in this build is definitely worth it. Do not worry about its downsides because they can easily be rectified by another piece of gear, which is going to be mentioned a bit later.

Body Armor

Thanks to the Trickster's "Escape Artist" notable passive, you are going to equip a self-crafted Carnal Armour using Deafening Essence of Woe for that guaranteed maximum energy shield prefix.

Spam the armor with the said essence until you get evasion rating, increased evasion/energy shield, some elemental resistance, and intelligence.

For the implicit modifiers, use Grand Eldritch Ichors until you get "Discipline Has 27% Increased Aura Effect" and Grand Eldritch Embers for "14% Increased Effect of Non-Curse Auras from Your Skills".

Helmet

For the helmet, you have two viable options to choose from. The first is a unique Vaal Mask called "The Vertex". What makes this special for the Storm Brand of Indecision Trickster is that it reduces the mana cost of socketed gems by half, which is great since you are going to put your main auras into this helmet. When you wear this thing, you receive other useful modifiers as well, such as increased evasion rating, energy shield, and plus one to socketed gems.

The second good helmet for this build is the Willclash. This is the ideal choice if you want a good mix of offense and defense. On the offensive side, you gain up to 5% elemental damage depending on the number of Power Charges that you have.

For the defensive side, you gain a huge boost to your evasion rating and energy shield. On top of that, you get a 5% chance to block spell damage based on your Power Charges. So, if you have, say, eight Maximum Power Charges, you essentially have an additional 40% spell block, which is something that is pretty useful, particularly when you are fighting against the uber bosses in Path of Exile!

The only reason why we did not mention this as the first option is that you will have to address the mana cost of skills by taking other notable passives. If you have that sorted out, the Willclash is something that you can wear if you do not want The Vertex.

During league start, you might not be able to purchase either of these items on the trade website. If that is the case, you can get an ilvl 82+ Hubris Circlet and use Essence of Woe (energy shield) or Spite (INT) until you get mods that can benefit the build.

Gloves

There are a lot of amazing modifiers that roll on the gloves, which is why you are going to craft them yourself. Spam an ilvl 85+ Sorcerer Gloves with Deafening Essence of Woe until you get all three energy shield prefixes, dexterity, and intelligence. For the last suffix, bench-craft "+13 to All Attributes".

When it comes to the implicit modifiers, use Grand Eldritch Ichors to get the lightning damage conversion mod. Next, spam the gloves with Grand Eldritch Embers until you obtain "25% Chance to Unnerve Enemies for 4 Seconds on Hit".

To learn everything there is to know about crafting in Path of Exile, be sure to read our ultimate crafting guide.

Boots

Willclash and Malachai's Loop both have downsides where you will lose all of your Power Charges if you reach the maximum. These can easily be rectified by equipping Ralakesh's Impatience.

These boots have a unique effect that ensures that you count as having the Maximum Number of Endurance/Frenzy/Power Charges at all times.

To be clear, you will still see your Power Charges being removed from the "buff bar" located at the top-left portion of your screen due to Malachai's Loop. However, their effects still remain regardless.

Amulet

The Badge of the Brotherhood is quite a good amulet to use in Power Charge-stacking builds. That is because of its unique effect where your Maximum Frenzy Charges are equal to the number of Power Charges that you have.

Each Frenzy Charge, if you do not know, increases your cast speed and movement speed by 4%. So, if you have eight Frenzy Charges, for example, you will gain a considerable 32% boost to these stats!

Cast Speed is incredibly useful for the Storm Brand of Indecision Trickster simply because the spell skill gem itself has the line: "Increases and Reductions to Cast Speed Also Apply to This Skill's Activation Frequency".

Once you have obtained the Badge of the Brotherhood, make sure to anoint it with Explosive Runes (Amber Oil, 2x Azure Oils) for that increased Brand attachment range and crit strike multiplier.

Rings

You are going to wear two unique rings for the Storm Brand of Indecision Trickster. Because mana is so tight on this build, you will get your hands on Shavronne's Revelation. This unique Moonstone Ring grants 250 mana and energy shield if you put it in the left ring slot. Besides that, the mana regeneration mod is a nice bonus.

The other ring should be reserved for the Precursor's Emblem Two-Stone Ring. Acquire one with the following modifiers:

• 5% Increased Damage per Frenzy Charge
• 3% Increased Energy Shield per Power Charge

Although not mandatory, you can use Tempering Catalysts to improve the energy shield mods on both Precursor's Emblem and Shavronne's Revelation.

Belt

Graven's Secret is an interesting choice for the Storm Brand of Indecision Trickster. This Maven-only drop converts your Power Charges to Absorption Charges. A single Absorption Charge allows you to recoup 12% of the elemental damage you take as energy shield, making you virtually unkillable!

Now, you might be deterred by the fact that your Power Charges will be converted to Absorption Charges if you are wearing Graven's Secret, but that is not the entire picture. Remember Ralakesh's Impatience? The boots ensure that you have the effects of your Maximum Power Charges at all times. So, even if you have Graven's Secret equipped, you still gain increased crit chance and spell damage (via Malachai's Loop).

In the endgame, you can transition to the Mageblood if you have enough currency to buy one. This belt is just so amazing no matter what build you use in Path of Exile. If you are struggling with mana or you're having trouble capping your elemental resistances, this thing can address that and more!

Flasks

• Diamond Flask
• Jade Flask
• Silver Flask
• Quicksilver Flask (mapping)/Bismuth Flask (elemental resistances)
• Oriath's End/Bottled Faith (Offense)
• Taste of Hate (Defense)

Flask Mods

• 55% Increased Critical Strike Chance (of Incision)
• 60% Increased Evasion Rating (of the Impala)
• 40% Additional Elemental Resistances (of the Rainbow)
• 17% Increased Cast Speed (of the Horsefly)

Jewels

There are certain jewels that you must use in order to make your whole experience playing the Storm Brand of Indecision Trickster a lot better. Start by acquiring a Militant Faith (High Templar Dominus) to turn the nearest keystone into Inner Conviction for that “more” spell damage per Power Charge modifier. This timeless jewel is inserted in the slot next to “Instability” on the passive tree. As to what other mods you need to look for in a Militant Faith, you can go with brand damage, area damage, elemental resistances, or reduced mana cost of skills.

The Watcher's Eye is always a great addition to any build in PoE. That said, aim to get this jewel with any of these mods:

• Wrath

  • Damage Penetrates % Lightning Resistance (Best)
  • % Lightning Damage is Leeches as Mana
  • % Increased Lightning Damage

• Zealotry

  • Critical Strikes Penetrate % of Enemy Elemental Resistances
  • % Increased Cast Speed
  • Consecrated Ground You Create Causes Enemies to Take % Increased Damage

• Discipline

  • Gain Energy Shield per Enemy Hit

• Grace

  • % Increased Movement Speed
  • % Chance to Suppress Spell Damage
  • % Chance to Evade Attack HIts

That Which Was Taken is a newly added jewel in the 3.23 Affliction League that grants you the effects of several Charm modifiers. This jewel is an amazing addition to the build, which is why you should get one that has any of the following modifiers:

• % Increased Area of Effect per Power Charge
• You and Nearby Allies Have +% to Elemental Resistances
• (16-25)% Increased Effect of Your Marks
• % Increased Effect of Onslaught on You
• (6-8)% Increased Effect of Your Curses
• (130-160%) Increased Critical Strike Chance Against Enemies on Full Life
• (71-100)% Increased Critical Strike Chance if You Haven't Dealt a Critical Strike Recently
• +% to Critical Strike Multiplier per Power Charge
• +% Critical Strike Chance While at Maximum Power Charges
• Critical Strikes Have Culling Strike
• Damage Penetrates % of Enemy Elemental Resistances
• Magic Utility Flasks Applied to You Have % Increased Effect
• Gain % of Maximum Mana as Extra Maximum Energy Shield

To round out the jewels that you will use for the Storm Brand of Indecision Trickster, you should obtain one Large Cluster Jewel and a couple of Medium Clusters as well.

On the Large Cluster Jewel (Lightning Damage), use Harvest Reforge Defense until you get Storm Drinker and Prismatic Heart. There should also be a third notable passive, which must be situated at the middle to save you two skill points.

• Storm Drinker

  • Damage Penetrates 8% Lightning Resistance
  • 0.5% of Lightning Damage Leeched as Energy Shield

• Prismatic Heart

  • +10% to All Elemental Resistances
  • 30% Increased Elemental Damage

For the two Medium Cluster Jewels (Brand Damage), use Harvest Reforge Speed until obtain Brand Loyalty and Remarkable.

• Brand Loyalty

  • Enemies Take 3% Increased Damage from Brands for Each of Your Brands Attached to Them

• Remarkable

  • 8% Increased Cast Speed with Brand Skills
  • Skills Which Create Brands Have 35% Chance to Create an Additional Brand

Gems

There is some room for gem variety in this build. Apart from the auras, as well as the support gems you are going to link to Storm Brand of Indecision, you have the freedom to replace the remaining gems to anything that you like.

Body Armor

• Storm Brand of Indecision
• Awakened Added Lightning Damage
• Awakened Lightning Penetration
• Energy Leech Support
• Increased Critical Damage Support
• Power Charge on Critical Support

Storm Brand of Indecision is the bread and butter of this build. When used, you create a magical Brand that attaches to an enemy, sending a devastating beam of lightning energy that deals significant amounts of damage.

To boost the damage of Storm Brand of Indecision even further, it is linked to Awakened Added Lightning Damage, Awakened Lightning Penetration, and Increased Critical Damage Support.

Since you have the Chaos Inoculation keystone passive allocated, Energy Leech Support is an important gem to use. Each time Storm Brand of Indecision deals damage, you will leech energy shield in the process. This support gem also gives you a "more" damage multiplier while your energy shield is full.

Now, you are probably wondering why Power Charge on Critical Strike Support is included in this setup even though you already have Ralakesh's Impatience equipped. Well, you're just taking advantage of this support gem's &"4% more Damage per Power Charge" modifier.

Helmet

• Discipline
• Grace
• Zealotry
• Enlighten Support

Discipline is a mandatory aura for the Storm Brand of Indecision Trickster because it gives you a significant boost to your energy shield. What';s more, you can benefit from a Watcher's Eye jewel, particularly one that has bonuses that are enabled when you have this aura active.

Zealotry is a great way to improve the damage output of this build. This is due to the fact that this aura grants more spell damage and increased spell critical strike chance when it is turned on.

Grace synergizes perfectly with the Trickster's Escape Artist's notable ascendancy passive. This aura provides a considerable increase to your evasion rating. Now, because this gem has a steep DEX requirement, especially at higher levels, only raise its level as far as the stats of your character permit.

Enlighten Support is there as a way to activate all of these auras with some mana left for your Storm Brand of Indecision.

Boots

• Raise Spectre
• Guardian's Blessing Support
• Meat Shield Support
• Wrath

You might be wondering why this build uses the Raise Spectre gem even though it is technically not a minion build. Well, in Patch 3.23, Grinding Gear Games introduced usable corpses that you can purchase from the Breaker of Oaths NPC in the Viridian Wildwood. That said, you must buy the Dark Marionette from him. Why is that, you ask?

Included in this gem setup is the Guardian's Blessing Support which essentially allows you to use one aura for free. The aura remains active so long as the spectre you have raised is alive. This can easily be addressed by the Dark Marionette simply because this minion can resurrect itself immediately upon death!

As you can see, you have just taken advantage of an amazing interaction between a raised spectre (Dark Marionette) and Guardian's Blessing Support to make Wrath cost no mana at all!

Meat Shield Support is just a means of bolstering the Dark Marionette's defenses.

Gloves

• Sigil of Power
• Frost Shield
• Increased Area of Effect
• Increased Duration Support

Sigil of Power and Frost Shield are incredible spells that you should use whenever you take on tough monsters or bosses in PoE. The former grants you added lightning damage, while the latter absorbs damage before your energy shield is depleted, thus improving your survivability manifold.

Increased Area of Effect is a good support gem because it basically increases the coverage of the aforementioned spells, giving you enough room to move around to dodge attacks or whatnot.

Increased Duration Support is just the cherry on top so that you do not have to cast Sigil of Power and Frost Shield often.

Weapon

• Immortal Call
• Flame Dash
• Arcane Surge Support

Immortal Call is a temporary buff that significantly reduces the elemental and physical damage you take from enemy hits.

Flame Dash is your main travel skill for this build. You can replace it with Frostblink if you want a way to slow enemies down.

Both of the above-mentioned skill gems are linked to Arcane Surge so that you gain increased cast speed and mana regeneration whenever you spend enough mana.

Shield

• Assassin's Mark
• Summon Chaos Golem
• Cast When Stunned Support

Assassin's Mark allows your Storm Brand of Indecision to gain increased crit chance and crit strike multiplier against cursed enemies. Since it is not linked to Mark on Hit Support, you'd have to cast it manually. However, you only really need to do so when fighting bosses.

Now, don't feel obligated to use Assassin's Mark. If you want to use Conductivity or Elemental Weakness, you can certainly go for any of them instead.

Summon Chaos Golem is just a nice way to get some more physical damage reduction for your character. It is automatically cast when you take a stunning hit thanks to Cast When Stunned Support.

Secondary Ascendancy

One of the best mechanics that GGG has introduced since Path of Exile's inception is the Wildwood Ascendancies. These are secondary ascendancy classes that work in tandem with your main one (in this case, the Trickster).

Having said that, the only secondary ascendancy class for this build is the Wildwood Primalist. Aside from providing you with an additional inventory for your stuff, this class enables you to equip three Charms that possess some incredibly powerful mods. Speaking of which, here are the ones that we recommend for the Storm Brand of Indecision Trickster:

• Damage Penetrates % of Enemy Elemental Resistances
• You and Nearby Allies Have +% to Elemental Resistances
• % Increased Critical Strike Chance Against Shocked Enemies
• +% to Critical Strike Multiplier per Power Charge
• % Increased Effect of Marks
• Culling Strike
• % Increased Effect of Non-Damaging Ailments You Inflict with Critical Strikes
• +% Chance to Suppress Spell Damage
• % Increased Mana Reservation Efficiency of Skills
• % Increased Area of Effect per Endurance Charge
• (130-160)% Increased Critical Strike Chance Against Enemies on Full Life
• (10-15)% Chance to Gain Onslaught for 4 Seconds on Kill
• Consecrated Ground You Create Applies % Increased Damage Taken to Enemies

Passive Tree

Passive Tree for Storm Brand of Indecision Trickster

POB

Main Setup

Alternative Setup (with Mageblood)

Final Thoughts

If there is one build that we recommend that you use to take down even the pinnacle bosses in Path of Exile, the Storm Brand of Indecision Trickster is definitely a top contender.

This build can work with minimal investment, but the good news is that you can take things a step further by purchasing some notable upgrades, such as the Mageblood, some Forbidden Jewels, and the Impossible Escape, among many others.

Even though it is not as straightforward as other skill gems in PoE, the Storm Brand of Indecision is still relatively easy to use. It feels clunky at first, but once you get the hang of it, this skill can eliminate enemies without issue!

This character is also incredibly tanky thanks to the synergy between items, passive skills, and the Trickster's ascendancy nodes.

So, if you are looking for a build that slaps, the Storm Brand of Indecision Trickster should be higher up on your list!

With all of that said, good luck on your adventures in Wraeclast, Exile!

PROS

+Storm Brand of Indecision sends beams of lightning to destroy enemies with ease

+Incredible boss-killing potential

+Can take on even the uber bosses in the game thanks to its amazing survivability and offensive prowess

+Capable of finishing an entire map in less than three minutes

+Is very affordable to put up, with some notable upgrades that can be purchased later on

CONS

-Brand playstyle may not appeal to everyone

-Clunky to use at first

-Requires some knowledge about the mechanics at play to optimize one's bossing and mapping experience