cipher question

[fly2fishs]

Is cipher still powerful in POE 2 compared with POE 1.

What would be a good build for a cipher

[Hebruixe]

Yes, they are still powerful. With the right build, they actually surpass their former glory in POE1.

 

Single-class Ascendant Cipher is the way to go. This subclass is totally broken and awesome.

 

Crowd control is still very effective.  When you get Time Parasite, it's Game Over for all your enemies. You basically become Neo from The Matrix. You can spam all your spells with no cost and almost no cast/recover time. Put Disintegrate + Recall Agony on all enemies around the battlefield. Relax and watch them melt into oblivion. Or spam Amplified Wave for massive AoE damage and knock downs.

 

I recommend the following build:

 

Race: Hearth Orlan (10% of hits converted to crits, as long as you're targeting the same enemy as an ally is targeting)

Origin: White that Wends

Weapon: one pistol in main hand, with offhand empty. (Thundercrack is a great pistol, especially with Overload enchantment. Google it!)

Proficiency: Pistol. (Greatly increases reload speed, at the cost of accuracy. Only use this modal if your chance to hit is 86% or greater after activating it. Use Borrowed Instinct to get above 86% if possible.)

Battlefield Position: Ranged (hiding behind entire party). Never melee.

 

Might: 15 (-1 due to Hearth Orlan)

Constitution: 3

Dexterity: 18

Perception: 18 (+1 due to White that Wends)

Intelligence: 18

Resolve: 3 (+1 due to Hearth Orlan)

 

Must-have spells:

 

Whispers of Treason (cheapest single-target crowd control available)

 

Draining Whip passive (makes it much easier to reach Ascended status) 

 

Recall Agony (30% increase to all damage taken by target)

 

Pain Link (25% of damage taken by target ally is reflected back to ALL ENEMIES around him -- perfect thing to cast on your tank at the start of battle!)

 

Borrowed Instinct (+20 to accuracy, increasing success rate of your spells, and helping you generate focus faster and more reliably)

 

Ringleader (AoE charm that can turn the tide of battle when enemies are grouped in a cluster)

 

Amplified Wave (massive AoE damage + knock downs)

 

Disintegration (massive single target damage-over-time)

 

Stasis Shell (long-term stun that can remove deadly enemies from battle until their friends are dealt with)

 

Time Parasite (vastly improves action speed and recovery speed...it's most effective when cast on groups of enemies, and can be spammed during Ascended for stacking bonuses)

 

Shared Nightmare passive (vastly increases the size of all AoE's, especially when you have Ascended status)

 

Death of 1000 cuts (strong damage-over-time spell that adds even more damage to all attacks inflicted on the target)

 

There are plenty more spells and passives to consider, but I leave those choices to your discretion. Play around with the various abilities...you can always respec if you don't like something, or want to try new spells. Hope you enjoy Ciphering. I certainly did!

Edited May 19, 2018 by Hebruixe