Experts of Path of Exile are incredibly sick of hearing about how the Scion is a "jack of all trades, master of none." It's true that she's the only class that starts in the middle of the passive map and this makes her less likely to specialize in a single area. It's assumed that players take the middle ground with her and try to do a little bit of everything and then end up doing nothing correctly. True enough, this is a rookie trap that some amateurs fall into.
The "master of none" bit is really what irks the pros in Path of Exile. Taking a look at how to get the highest damage total from a single spell gem? It's likely a Scion that can achieve that. Wondering how much protection it takes to make a character virtually invincible? The Scion does this best. And what's even scarier is that this example of a DPS machine and an unbreakable tank can be part of the same build for those who are willing to take a little advice first.
Updated on November 16th, 2021 by Hodey Johns: The Scion remains a top-tier choice for players who enjoy the game but it remains a difficult choice for newcomers to grasp. As a result, fewer classes need more help than the Scion. Once it is leveled up, the class is golden, it's just a matter of living long enough to get there. To assist with this endeavor, several entries have been added to this list, all of which pertain to leveling up the class, not just the idealized build at the end of the game. That can be hard to envision since the Scion is basically designed for the endgame, but it can be at least a tolerable ride to this top with a few extra tips.
13 Look At The Ascendant Tree First
Players usually don't need to look at their Ascendancy choices until they beat the Lord's Labyrinth for the first time. This means they can spend their time with the primary passive tree first and spend time figuring out how trading with other people works.
The Scion does not have that luxury. She only has a single Ascendancy choice called, creatively, the Ascendant. The choices within this tree focus on very specific aspects of the passive skill tree, amplifying certain passive skills while ignoring others. Gamers should know how they will fill out this tree before investing any points into the passive tree.
12 Have Single Target And Group Damage Abilities
Being a class that tends toward extremism, it can be tempting to put all of the focus into a single ability. The new corrupted items can make players want to give in by taking a piece of gear that punishes certain attributes and elevates others.
This is actually encouraged, but always make sure to have at least one ability that can handle waves of enemies and one that can handle single-target duties. Both situations will be encountered and hoping for group damage spells to take out big bosses or to pick off individuals one-by-one is a pipe dream.
11 Go To Extremes
Looter games are still very much alive this year and Path of Exile is a happy part of that group. However, for players to fall in love with the game, they need to find a specialty. The Scion, initially, has nothing of that sort.
This is easily fixed by carving a path to the outside passives as a priority. The temptation can be to stay close to the starting point, but this mistake will mean the class has a lot of health and mana but nothing good to do with it.
10 Take Advantage Of The Sacrificial Gems
Of all the new introductions in the Ultimatum expansion, the ones the Scion can most utilize are the sacrificial gems. These gems will work with support runes and abilities alike, generally penalizing one aspect of something while bolstering another.
Naturally, this plays right into the Scion's hands, as it genuinely treats health and mana totals like junk stats. There are eight new gems, most of which the Scion can leverage into something useful. Balance works for some classes, not this one.
9 Connect Opposing Passives
After going to one extreme, go quickly to another. The only reason to play the Scion at all is to do two wildly different things at a high level instead of just one.
Be creative with this freedom. Elemental archers and aura-buffed slayers are two of the many brilliant builds that people have done with the Scion. The opposite ends of the tree are kept opposite because their synergy is overpowered. Be overpowered.
8 Capitalize On Easy Jewel Slots
Perhaps the single greatest advantage of the Scion is the easy access to extra jewel slots. By only deviating a few points off of the path, she can do what no other class can do by getting multiple sockets by the middle of the game.
Other classes might try to boast about their Ascendany bonuses, but this advantage eclipses all of that. By leveling up spells and support gems, the Scion will more than make up for any of these niche bonuses that she misses out on.
7 Support Gems Are The Best
Because the Scion will be spread a little thin, it's not a great idea to invest in loads of active skill gems. It can be nice to feel like there is a spell for everything, but this will drain her resource pool quickly if she needs to execute more than four of five abilities in each battle.
Therefore, it's best to have only a couple of skill gems, then bolster them with support gems to amplify their effects. This focused strategy alone is what makes the Scion potentially the hardest hitter with the best tanking abilities.
6 Be Half Of A Tank
While it can be tempting to specialize in two offensive-minded areas of the skill tree, it's highly recommended to throw at least one branch deeply into some tanking abilities. This gives the Scion a coveted build in just about any RPG.
Beginners need to learn a lot about the game, and they tend to forget that defense is always important. Everyone always has dreams about getting so powerful that they don't need to think about defense. That's never going to happen, especially in Path of Exile.
5 Equip A Two-Handed Weapon
Shields and one-handed weapons have their place in the game, but not for a Scion. It's all about burst and survival through dealing damage, not damage negation, absorption, or even dodging with mobility. If that doesn't sound right, pick a different class.
The two-handed weapons deal more damage and work in conjunction with an array of passives that go well with the Scion. The attack speed might not always be the best, but when it comes to overall damage-per-second, this is, without question, the superior option.
4 Choose Attacks Or Spells
The Scion has many options for how to synergize, but sadly attack boosts do not boost spell damage and vice versa. As a result, it's best to think ahead of time and decide whether the Scion should do extensive physical or spell damage.
That doesn't mean that swords can't be imbued with huge fire stats or arrows can't have lightning all over them. It only means that players who do this should choose which primary damage source is the most important. It makes figuring out how to beat a heist much easier.
3 Get Life And Mana Leech
Though everyone wants to advise about how to build a character most intelligently, there are a few favorite abilities for the Scion. Specifically, anything that focuses on life and mana leech will be a favorite.
The reason behind this is that her base health and mana will likely be low with points spent on damage and not resources. To bypass this weakness, make the damage itself act as the font of health and mana so that the Scion can keep putting up huge numbers without sacrificing for stability.
2 Prioritize Burst Damage
Slow and steady might win the race for other classes, but the Scion is at her best when focusing on big spells with big numbers attached to them. As a side effect of the low health and mana pools, this means that she's more prone to dying in a prolonged encounter.
The solution is to avoid wars of attrition. Invest in skill gems and passive traits that do quick and sudden blasts of damage. The harder the Scion hits, the faster the fight is over and the more likely she is to survive.
1 Plan On Late Game Success
This is a tough class to play early. Because she doesn't begin with a single specialty, this is, without much controversy, the weakest class until the halfway point. After the player gets the specialties, gems, and skills in place, watch out.
This class is not merely successful in the late game, it is hysterically fun. Creativity is encouraged as players love to experiment with the Scion's potential. The eye-popping numbers will come, it just takes patience and practice.
Path of Exile was released on October 23, 2013, and is available on PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and PC.