S-TIER | BUILD MAGICIENNE DJINN VARASHTA SSF (@BlazeworksTV) | SAISON 5

Build Video

Build Overview

This Varashta Sorceress build is the league starter that Blazeworks TV takes through the 0.5.5 event league, Forbidden Rites, without a single change. The idea fits in one sentence: a Disciple of Varashta who commands djinn. Kelari’s Deception powers two attacks on both mouse buttons, a volley of daggers that inflicts Critical Weakness and an area explosion that deals most of the damage. Ruzhan’s Trap comes in next as a third damage source, and an army of skeletons acts as cannon fodder for Pain Offering. No unique items are required, everything is played SSF, and the author describes it as a three-button walking simulator.

This build’s quirk is that it can’t be played from level 1. The Command skills come from the Disciple of Varashta’s scepter, so you need to reach level 21 and finish the Trial of the Sekhemas before switching to the real setup. Blazeworks tested several ways to get through Act 1 and the start of Act 2, and grenades win out: the Sorceress has huge amounts of elemental damage on her passive tree, which makes Explosive Grenade and Gas Grenade very comfortable all the way to the Ascendancy. Two other leveling variants (minions, or elemental spells) are available on his Mobalytics guide for those who don’t like this style.

Once the swap is done, the build only gets stronger. Archon of Undeath at level 31 turns every djinn command into a boss execution, Muster at level 36 multiplies damage thanks to minion variety, and the endgame shifts to pure energy shield with Chaos Inoculation to ignore chaos damage. The recorded campaign run took 7h20 without a single death, with barely any gear.

Strengths / Weaknesses

Skill Gem Setup by Step

This build offers 7 progression steps from leveling to the final build. Select a step to see its corresponding gem setup.

Level 1 to 21 (Grenades) Level 1 to 21 (ED/C & Minions) Level 1 to 21 (ED/C & Elemental) Level 22 to 36 (Varashta Transition) Level 36 to 65 (Cartes) Early Endgame (65 – 85) Late Endgame (90+)

Level 1 to 21 (Grenades)

6 skills • 12 gemmes

Grenade explosiveExplosive Grenade

Grenade assourdissanteFlash Grenade

Grenade suffocanteGas Grenade

Bombe de givreFrost Bomb

BondissementPounce

AttritionAttrition

Level 1 to 21 (ED/C & Minions)

8 skills • 15 gemmes

Trait de chaosChaos Bolt

ExhumationUnearth

ContagionContagion

Drain d'essenceEssence Drain

Tireurs d'élite squelettiquesSkeletal Sniper

Mur de flammesFlame Wall

Guerrier squelettiqueSkeletal Warrior

Bombe de givreFrost Bomb

Level 1 to 21 (ED/C & Elemental)

10 skills • 18 gemmes

ÉtincelleSpark

ContagionContagion

Bombe de givreFrost Bomb

Boule de feuFireball

Drain d'essenceEssence Drain

BondissementPounce

Orbe des oragesOrb of Storms

Fusillade de braisesEmber Fusillade

Armure arctiqueArctic Armour

Trait de chaosChaos Bolt

Level 22 to 36 (Varashta Transition)

7 skills • 16 gemmes

Tromperie de KélariKelari's Deception

OrageThunderstorm

Offrande de douleurPain Offering

BondissementPounce

Tireurs d'élite squelettiquesSkeletal Sniper

Incendiaires squelettiquesSkeletal Arsonist

Mages de givre squelettiquesSkeletal Frost Mage

Level 36 to 65 (Cartes)

11 skills • 30 gemmes

Tromperie de KélariKelari's Deception

Piège de RuzhanRuzhan's Trap

BondissementPounce

OrageThunderstorm

Tireurs d'élite squelettiquesSkeletal Sniper

Incendiaires squelettiquesSkeletal Arsonist

Mages de givre squelettiquesSkeletal Frost Mage

Clercs squelettiquesSkeletal Cleric

Adjonction spectraleBind Spectre

Ravageurs squelettiquesSkeletal Reaver

Offrande de douleurPain Offering

Early Endgame (65 – 85)

12 skills • 43 gemmes

Tromperie de KélariKelari's Deception

Piège de RuzhanRuzhan's Trap

BondissementPounce

Offrande de douleurPain Offering

OrageThunderstorm

Meute de loupsWolf Pack

Tireurs d'élite squelettiquesSkeletal Sniper

Guerrier squelettiqueSkeletal Warrior

Mages de l'orage squelettiquesSkeletal Storm Mage

Ravageurs squelettiquesSkeletal Reaver

Clercs squelettiquesSkeletal Cleric

Adjonction spectraleBind Spectre

Late Endgame (90+)

14 skills • 60 gemmes

Ruzhan, l'Épée ardenteRuzhan, the Blazing Sword

Tromperie de KélariKelari's Deception

Piège de RuzhanRuzhan's Trap

Kélari, les Sables souillésKelari, the Tainted Sands

Guerrier squelettiqueSkeletal Warrior

Clercs squelettiquesSkeletal Cleric

Tireurs d'élite squelettiquesSkeletal Sniper

Adjonction spectraleBind Spectre

Mages de l'orage squelettiquesSkeletal Storm Mage

Ravageurs squelettiquesSkeletal Reaver

Incendiaires squelettiquesSkeletal Arsonist

Offrande de douleurPain Offering

Meute de loupsWolf Pack

ConvalescenceConvalescence

Recommended Equipment

This build’s number one rule, repeated throughout the video: pick up every helmet, sceptre and amulet, and check the vendors on every town run with the regex provided in the Mobalytics guide. A single extra minion skill level changes everything past level 21.

• Main weapon (before level 21): a crossbow bought from the vendor right after Beira. Blazeworks invested his two Artificer’s Orbs and some Storm Runes into a rare crossbow with increased physical damage, which carried him to the Ascendancy.
• Sceptre (after the swap): essential, it’s what carries the command skills. A +1 to minion skill levels is already excellent, more is even better. Without a sceptre in stock, gambling with the remaining gold is the fallback. Abyss currencies are used to craft it.
• Shield: off-hand as soon as you switch to minions. It provides more than enough defense for the campaign.
• Talisman: bought in town as early as Act 1 to carry Pounce. The Frenzy Talisman base has the best base attack speed and speeds up the leap, worth grabbing as soon as it drops.
• Chest armor and armor pieces: pure armor or a hybrid of armor and energy shield throughout the campaign. The switch to pure energy shield happens in the endgame, with Chaos Inoculation.
• Helmet and amulet: the top priority for minion skill levels. The shrine wish in the second Interlude gave the author a +2 minions amulet with Spirit.
• Rare jewelry: several late-campaign vendors offer rare rings, amulets and sceptres, including one vendor unlocked by helping an NPC in the northeast of the crossing map, in the second Interlude. Belts, rings and amulets found in Act 1 also sell for a lot to gather the 7,000 gold for the reset.
• Runes: buy every rune from the rune vendor in the last Interlude before the end of the campaign.
• Late Endgame uniques: the campaign is completed with no uniques, but the 90+ variant’s grid shows a few, all optional: the Evergrasping Ring, the Rite of Passage, Beira’s Anguish and Nascent Hope talismans, and two jewels, Voices and Heart of the Well. They are not required to start the build.

Gameplay Tips

• Boss rotation: Pounce onto the boss to apply the debuff and break its armor, X to return to human form, Pain Offering to sacrifice a minion, then the daggers from Kelari’s Deception, and finally loop the explosion until the boss dies.
• Alternate left click and right click: both facets of Kelari’s Deception go on the two mouse buttons. The daggers apply Critical Weakness, the explosion deals the bulk of the damage and grows stronger with each consecutive use.
• Wait for Archon of Undeath before a boss: once you’ve gained the buff, a 20-second grace period prevents you from regaining it. Check that it’s available before engaging, for example on the jungle ruins monkey in Act 3.
• Frost Bomb constantly during leveling: it applies elemental exposure on bosses and rares, and grants a Cold Infusion that boosts Spark. On Crowbell, recast it every time you move between zones.
• One minion of each type: archer, frost mage, incendiary, and warriors with the starting scepter, until Spirit runs out. This variety feeds Muster from level 36 onward.
• Magnified Area I for clear, Concentrated Area on bosses: this swap improves single-target damage, but if you forget, just keep Magnified Area I.
• Save up 7,000 gold from Act 1 onward: that’s the price of the full tree reset button at the Hooded One when it’s time to swap.
• Campaign Rituals: Forbidden Rites set up in every zone. Engage them as you like, the rewards are worth it, and the build handles them with no trouble.

Acts 1 and 2 with grenades: the ramp toward the Sorceress Varashta build

It all starts on the beach with the starting staff and Spark, enough to kill the Miller. From the Clearfell camp onward, Renly’s gem reward is saved for the first crossbow: Beira’s loot is enough to buy it in town, and the gem is then used to cut Explosive Grenade, the main skill until the Ascendancy. The chest in the abandoned camp guarantees a level 1 gem for Frost Bomb. The optional Devourer of the Mud Burrow offers a support gem for Multishot I, and the next one goes toward Elemental Armament I.

What follows is a standard gem progression: the Rust King drops a level 3 gem that levels up Explosive Grenade, the next one is used to cut Flash Grenade supported by Multishot I and Pin I, then Pounce is cut onto the talisman bought in town. After Asinia, the author buys back a rare crossbow with physical damage, slots in both of the Artificer’s Orbs and some Storm Runes, and this weapon holds up until Act 2. The Crowbell of the Hallowed Grounds grants two passive points, and Pounce makes it possible to skip the Farmlands blockade to grab Una’s loot.

At level 14, Gas Grenade joins the bar, cut ahead of time with the first level 5 gem obtained in town, back in Act 1. The Exploit the Elements passive tree node then adds significant damage for Count Geonor: Frost Bomb kept up permanently, alternating Gas Grenade and Explosive Grenade, with an occasional Flash Grenade to blind him. The King in the Mists drops a spear gem along the way, cut into Attrition for boss damage. In Act 2, the guaranteed tier 2 support gem from the Devastated Camp is set aside for Bidding I after the Ascendancy, and the boss of the mines drops a decent chest armor.

The Varashta swap at level 21: Kelari’s Deception and the tree reset

After Balbala’s Ascendancy token and the small Jamanra at the gates of Halani, the caravan heads for the Trial of the Sekhemas. Once Disciple of Varashta, the first two Ascendancy points go into Kelari’s Deception, which grants the two abilities that will carry the character through to the end. Back in town: every crossbow skill is pulled from the gem menu with a Ctrl-click and stashed in the vault, and all the minion gear accumulated so far gets equipped, sceptre and shield first. The full respec button at the Hooded One costs the 7,000 gold saved up, and the tree is rebuilt according to the guide’s plan.

On the gem side, Bidding I is cut with the tier 2 gem kept in reserve and slotted into Kelari’s skill. Magnified Area I and Concentrated Area swap in and out between clear and bosses. Pain Offering, cut with a spare level 7 gem, sacrifices one minion to strengthen the others, and this buff also applies to the command skill’s damage. In the Mastodon Badlands, the guaranteed level 2 support gem from the effigy becomes Marked for Death on Pounce: the leap now shreds boss armour, a massive gain.

From there, the campaign plays itself on autopilot. The Sun Clan relics from the hyenas, the passive points from Kabala and the final letter in Act 2, the Shrine of the Sisters in the Spire of Deshar for 10% lightning resistance, and Pounce to cross the collapsed bridges of the Path of Mourning. The author was under-levelled against Jamanra in the video, but strongly recommends reaching level 31 before that fight.

Archon of Undeath: the level 31 turning point

Archon of Undeath is the node that turns this Varashta Sorceress build into a boss-killing machine. The buff triggers on using minion command skills and grants 25% additional damage along with 200% cooldown recovery on abilities. Blazeworks picks it up at the start of Act 3, at the same time as cutting Thunderstorm into a level 5 gem supported by Living Lightning to round out single-target damage, a step doable as early as Act 2 but by no means mandatory.

The only catch is the 20-second grace period after gaining the buff, during which it can’t be regained. Late in the endgame, the author states that Archon of Undeath will have no cooldown at all. Until then, the habit to build is simple: check the buff is ready before every boss, as with the monkey boss of the Jungle Ruins. The rest of Act 3 then flows without resistance: the Chimeral Wetlands, Blackjaw for permanent fire resistance, the guaranteed amulet from the swamp behemoth, and the waypoint to the Trial of Chaos.

Muster, spectres and Spirit: growing the army up to the Interludes

At level 36, in the Waterways, Kelari’s third support gem slot opens up, and Muster goes straight in with a level 3 gem. This support rewards minion variety, hence the emphasis since level 21 on an archer, a frost mage, a fire-thrower and warriors. The Bog Witch in the Ashen Bog then grants 30 Spirit points, to be immediately converted into a minion type you don’t have yet. In Act 4, the island’s crab gives a guaranteed level 4 support gem that pushes Bidding I to tier 2 on both djinn skills, and the shark fin brought back to the village NPC adds 30% armour, evasion and energy shield.

The Interludes are used to grow the army. The Chaos Viper in the third Interlude grants 40 Spirit points, invested into Skeletal Cleric with a level 13 gem. In the ravine, the author’s favourite spectre is the Powered Zealot, the one that fires lightning bolts, to be bound with Bind Spectre and supported with Pierce I, and a Lesser Jeweller’s Orb can even add shock to it. Watch out for the boss that wakes up in the ravine: stand behind it, its lightning attack can be an instant kill.

The second Interlude offers the two passive points from the worm and the scorpion, the shrine wish for an amulet and a jewel, the Molten One’s gift for life, then the boon zone at the edge of the map for 5% of all elemental resistances. The goal is clear before heading into the endgame: max out resistances, click the Blackwood’s omen altars for a possible Omen of Whittling, and buy all the runes from the last Interlude’s rune merchant before the final boss.

Ruzhan’s Trap, Chaos Inoculation and what comes next in the endgame

After Doryani, the Trial of Chaos grants the next two Ascendancy points, spent on the fire djinn Ruzhan to unlock Ruzhan’s Trap. This is the build’s third and final offensive skill: from here on, every skill used up to level 100 is in place, all that’s left is to scale them up. The endgame swaps armour for pure energy shield and takes Chaos Inoculation, which makes the character immune to chaos damage and trivialises Forbidden Rites’ Rituals. The build’s speed also allows for efficient farming of the reworked Trials of Chaos.

Blazeworks has spent more than 250 hours on this character, reaching level 99 in hardcore before dying to an Act 3 boss he puts down to a misplay. He’s preparing a dedicated endgame guide and will play this build in duo on hardcore trade at league launch, running wisp strategies. The Early Endgame and Late Endgame tabs above already show the final target: Wolf Pack, Skeletal Storm Mage, Skeletal Reaver and Convalescence round out the army, and both djinns Kelari and Ruzhan are kept permanently summoned.

Skill Tree