10. SRS Guardian
The Summon Raging Spirits Guardian offers a seamless levelling experience in Path of Exile. Its minions actively seek out enemies, blending a dynamic play style with the convenience of a "fire and forget" minion approach. With the Guardian ascendency, both levelling and endgame content is smooth, boasting comfortable defensive nodes. Even on low investment, this build excels in endgame content and can tackle Hardcore Solo Self-Found challenges effortlessly.
What SRS Guardian Excels in:
- Best league starter in the game
- Easy to level and reach endgame
- High survivability
- Minions do everything for you
Pick SRS Guardian if you Like:
- Minion Play style
- Going fast early in the league to amass currency quickly
- Strong and well-rounded builds
SRS Guardian details:
- Summon Raging Spirits is a Minion gem primarily scaling from flat Physical Damage, inherently converted into Fire, and further boosted by Unwavering Crusade's Auras. Effective modifiers include Increased Minion Damage, Gem levels, and additional Elemental Damage. Key defensive mechanisms of the Guardian include Strong Physical Damage mitigation via Damage Shifting, Attack and Spell Block from Bastion of Hope and Tempest Shield, and high Life Regeneration. Automation streamlines the play style, allowing for straightforward execution.
- Every 15 seconds, activate your Haste Divine Blessing Support and, optionally, summon your Sentinel of Radiance every 30 seconds to taunt enemies and reduce additional damage. Utilize Vaal Haste when accessible to enhance your minions' speed further. Cast Summon Raging Spirits and let them aggressively engage enemies while you navigate the map with Shield Charge and Frostblink, adopting a "fire and forget" approach.
- Recommended items for the Guardian include Southbound, Dying Breath, Ambu's Charge, Leer Cast, and Legacy of Fury (when available). You can initially equip rare pieces with resistances and life until you acquire all necessary items for your Animate Guardian, then replace them accordingly. For higher investment, consider using Kingmaker, providing 10% less damage taken through Fortify and Culling Strike for you and your Minions.
For more information, check here: https://maxroll.gg/poe/build-guides/summon-raging-spirit-guardian-league-starter
9. Goratha’s Boneshatter Juggernaut
One of the last bastions of “true melee”, Boneshatter is a fairly notorious skill for the previous abuse cases with duration, immortality, and Mantra of Flames stacking indefinitely. Though most of it got removed or tuned down, the skill remains a staple for STRONK melee satisfaction and is sorely lacking in PoE nowadays.
What Boneshatter Excels in:
- Unbelievably tanky
- Ridiculously high damage for a melee, chonky character
- Respectable clearing, though click-intense
- True melee
Pick Boneshatter if you Like:
- Going back to the true Melee Roots.
- Hit and stun enemies on the head multiple times, traumatizing them, and yourself.
- Self-damaging builds that deal more damage the more they hurt themselves.
Boneshatter details:
- Boneshatter works because it gets increasingly more damage based on your Trauma Stacks. And with Divergent Boneshatter, you also gain 1% attack speed per Trauma. Which then gets scaled by Ashes of the Stars, doubling that effect. And when you can easily reach over 200 stacks of Trauma, this is a massive amount of damage.
- It doesn’t come without a cost, though, and it’s why almost entirely, Boneshatter builds are relegated to being Juggernauts, with a few exceptions. For each Trauma stack you have, you take increasingly more damage, reaching over 300 Trauma damage per Trauma each time you gain a Trauma Stack.
- As such, you need insane levels of Physical damage mitigation through armour, generic PDR, or even Transcendence. And that’s why Jugg is so great at dealing with that because it is by far the tankiest class in the game.
For more information, check here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u86_1qW8AZQ&t=1s&ab_channel=Goratha
8. Kinetic Bolt of Fragmentation Deadeye
Kinetic Bolt of Fragmentation offers a variant with reduced damage but capitalizes on the “shotgun” effect for its secondary projectiles. Leveraging this, we converge all Projectiles into a single spot, precisely where the enemy is located.
What Kinetic Bolt of Fragmentation Excels in:
- Hundreds of millions of Boss DPS
- Can be played on a shoestring budget
- Fairly good clearing
Pick Kinetic Bolt of Fragmentation if you Like:
- Instantly deleting bosses from existence.
- Dealing so much damage you break the game.
- Intricate and unique mechanics working together.
Kinetic Bolt of Fragmentation details:
- Directional changes or interactions trigger the Kinetic Bolt of Fragmentation's secondary projectiles like Piercing and Hitting enemies. Additional Projectiles boost single target damage, augmented by Sniper's Mark and Focal Point Passive for increased efficiency in boss fights. Concentrate all projectiles on one enemy with a Returning Projectiles Support Gem or Nimis Ring, maximizing damage, especially with the Far Shot modifier.
- Deadeye's synergistic passives, such as Far Shot and Endless Munitions, provide extra Projectiles and mobility via the Tailwind Effect. Ralakesh's Impatience Boots facilitate Power Charge stacking, complemented by items like Badge of the Brotherhood and Graven's Secret for enhanced Elemental Recoup and Critical Chance. A well-equipped Wand with flat Damage and relevant modifiers maximizes damage potential.
- Kinetic Bolt excels against various foes, especially bosses, when positioned closely for optimal DPS. Frostblink and Haste offer mobility options, while Guardian's or Divine Blessing Support activates key Auras like Wrath and Grace. Automated triggers for Immortal Call and Sniper's Mark enhance survivability and damage output.
For more information, check here: https://odealo.com/articles/kinetic-bolt-of-fragmentation-deadeye-build
7. Blink Arrow/Mirage Arrow Necromancer
BAMA builds use the skills Blink Arrow and Mirror Arrow to create clones of themselves that attack enemies with bows. These clones are considered minions and benefit from minion damage and other modifiers. BAMA builds can be very versatile and powerful, as they can deal high damage from a safe distance, while also having good mobility and survivability.
What BAMA Excels in:
- Fantastic League Starter
- Insanely strong bossing
- Extremely Tanky
- Can do all content
Pick BAMA if you Like:
- Minions, but done differently
- An army of Copies of yourself
- Easy play style
BAMA Necromancer details:
- This build prioritizes navigating the toughest endgame content by layering multiple defensive strategies to fortify the necromancer against diverse threats. Utilizing a combination of aura-based defences, we incorporate Grace, Determination, and Defiance Banner to scale armour and evasion, enhancing our physical damage reduction to 90% and evasion chance to 81%. The addition of Perfect Warlord Spectre grants Endurance Charges, further bolstering resilience against physical damage.
- Additionally, we achieve 100% Spell Suppression, ensuring maximum protection against spell-based damage, while attaining Elemental Ailment Immunity through carefully chosen Abyss Jewels and passive skills. Critical Hit Immunity is achieved via specialized equipment such as Watcher's Eye and Curse Mastery, significantly reducing damage from critical strikes, a crucial defence in endgame encounters. With the option of Kingmaker for the Animate Guardian, is enhanced by an additional +10 fortification, solidifying our defences further.
- To begin your journey with Blink/Mirror Arrow, aim to acquire the necessary gems early on. If possible, start using these skills from level 10 to familiarize yourself with their play style, similar to totems. Obtaining Blink Arrow may require creating a mule character (Ranger or Duelist) to defeat Brutus in Act 1, while Mirror Arrow can be obtained from Siosa in Act 3. Alternatively, if you prefer not to mule a character, consider levelling with Summon Raging Spirits (SRS) until reaching Act 3, where you can acquire both Blink Arrow and Mirror Arrow from Siosa. SRS offers a smooth levelling experience without specific gear requirements, making it a practical choice for the initial acts before transitioning into the full build.
For more information, check here: https://www.pathofexile.com/forum/view-thread/3460500
6. Detonate Dead of Chain Reaction Trickster
Detonating a Corpse is a straightforward method to deal high damage in Path of Exile, with the explosion's potency tied to the Corpse's maximum Life. The new Detonate Dead of Chain Reaction enables up to 8 corpses to explode in a wide radius. To initiate the chain reaction, summon Corpses with Desecrate. Enhancing this play style, we utilize a double Cast on Critical Strike Setup, facilitated by Manaforged Arrows and Lifetap Supports. With a single Attack, trigger Detonate Dead and Blast Rain, which then sets off Desecrate.
What Detonate Dead of Chain Reaction Excels in:
- Fun and unique Cast on Crit build
- Very Tanky
- Can do all Content
- High bossing DPS and damage Uptime
Pick Detonate Dead of Chain Reaction if you like:
- Massive, screen-wide Explosions
- CoC Builds
- Linear Scaling
Detonate Dead of Chain Reaction details:
- As your primary Triggering Skill, Rain of Arrows of Saturation offers excellent Area Coverage and a built-in delay between each falling Arrow, perfect for continuous Spell triggering. While Manaforged Arrows can't trigger the same Skill, Blast Rain serves as a strong alternative for the Cast on Crit Setup, albeit not as efficient as Rain of Arrows. The Corpse Explosion stems from a spell but isn’t considered a spell. To enhance Damage, focus on generic modifiers, adding Minion Damage modifiers after anointing the Spiritual Aid Notable on your Amulet. Critical Strike Chance is addressed with the Leadership's Price Amulet, granting access to Brittle, Scorch, and Sap Conflux for additional ailment infliction while dealing Fire Damage. Brittle is particularly crucial, offering up to 6% base Critical Strike Chance.
- Desecrate summons corpses matching the Area Level, though their qualities vary. Utilize the Raise Spectre Gem to include more durable monsters in the Desecrate pool; Kitava's Herald in the Canals of Act 10 boasts the highest possible Life among Spectres. After summoning it once, the Raise Spectre Gem can be discarded.
- While assembling the setup may be complex, the gameplay is straightforward once complete. Use Rain of Arrows to trigger Detonate Dead of Chain Reactions, Blast Rain, and Desecrate. Assassin's Mark serves as the main Curse, though you can increase your Curse Limit and add Flammability, Enfeeble, or Elemental Weakness. For Movement, Frostblink proves invaluable, allowing seamless use without interrupting Attacks.
For more information, check here: https://odealo.com/articles/detonate-dead-of-chain-reactions-trickster
5. Arc of Surging Trickster
The Arc of Surging introduces a compelling twist to the standard Arc, diverting its behaviour to Split towards 9 targets upon hitting the initial enemy, making it a potent single-target ability when paired with the Hydrosphere Spell. By striking the Hydrosphere, the Arc can Split up to 10 times, resulting in 40 Hits per cast with the assistance of the Unleash Support. This play style emphasizes high damage per cast over cast speed, with Energy Blade and Spellblade Support recommended for enhancing lightning damage sourced from the Energy Shield. The Inquisitor Ascendency is ideal for this build, offering the Battlemage effect, efficient scaling of energy shield, critical strike chance, and damage, along with defensive benefits such as constant regeneration.
What Arc of Surging Excels in:
- Instant bossing one-shots
- Interactive gameplay
- Extremely tanky
Pick Arc of Surging if you like:
- Blinking enemies out of existence
- Feeling like a Sith Lord
- Methodical gameplay and positioning
Arc of Surging details:
- The Build relies heavily on specific Unique Items to bolster your Energy Shield, with the Ivory Tower Armor providing a significant portion based on reserved life from auras. Complementing this setup, the Rathpith Globe shield offers substantial damage and Critical Chance bonuses, synergizing well with maximum life scaling.
- Additional attribute-focused Unique Items like Cyclopean Coil or Eyes of the Greatwolf are essential. Your few Rare Items should prioritize lacking resistances, attributes, maximum life, or Spell Suppression. To enhance damage outside of attributes, prioritize Critical Strike Multiplier. While most Resistances come from Flasks, some may be needed on remaining Rare Items.
- When the Arc of Surging strikes the Hydrosphere, it splits up to 10 times, directing all splits towards nearby enemies. The Unleash Support allows for extra repeats, overriding the hit cooldown, yielding a total of 40 hits per cast. Augmenting Seals boosts Burst potential but elongates recharge intervals. Start the fight by placing the Hydrosphere, but make sure it's not too close to your target to avoid accidentally locking onto the Boss instead. The Arc of Surging splits when it hits the first enemy. To weaken your opponent, use the conductivity and Elemental Weakness Curses.
For more information, check here: https://odealo.com/articles/arc-of-surging-inquisitor-build
4. Fulcrum Self Ignite Chieftain
This Chieftain build heavily relies on the Hinekora, Death Fury Chieftain's Passive, where enemies killed have a 5% chance to explode, dealing 500% of their Life as Fire Damage. Scaling up this damage involves igniting enemies with massive base Hit Fire Damage, reflected back to the character via the Fulcrum weapon and mitigated by the Tasalio Passive. The resulting Ignite proliferates to nearby enemies, dealing millions of Damage over Time, triggering more explosions in dense enemy situations.
What Fulcrum Self Ignite Excels in:
- Practically immortal
- Clearing as fast as you walk
- 0-button play style
- Auto-bomber
Pick Fulcrum Self-Ignite Chieftain if you Like:
- Massive chain reactions of explosions
- Hitting DoT DPS without effort
- Be essentially immortal to everything
Fulcrum Self Ignite Chieftain:
- To initiate this chain reaction, use Fire Trap and Righteous Fire alongside Winterweave and Frostblink for Chill effects. Prioritize reaching 90% Resistance to all Elements and 200k Armour, focusing on Maximum Fire Resistance. Additionally, allocate the Armour and ES Mastery for mitigation against Chaos Damage from Hits. Further bolster defence with Progenesis Flask, Defiance of Destiny Amulet, and curse-proofing measures, such as the Rational Doctrine for Consecrated Ground.
- Scale damage by prolonging Ignite Duration and investing in Burning and Ignite Damage, heavily prioritizing defences against enemy density. Maximize Fire Resistance and consider Chaos Resistance, while leveraging Life Regeneration and Life on kill mechanics. Incorporate Vaal Breach for additional monster spawns and focus on maintaining defensiveness against Chaos Damage and Damage over Time effects.
- Penance Mark, a skill provided by the new Warlock Wildwood Ascendancy, spawns 3 Phantasms upon hitting the target, with a 1-second cooldown. This effect scales with Mark effectiveness. Trigger Penance Mark with Incinerate, benefiting from its buffs and enemy debuffs, while its high hit rate ensures significant healing. Combined with Righteous Fire, Incinerate's damage output (roughly 1m) is sufficient to eliminate the spawned Phantasms, which explode for 500% of their life.
For more information, check here: https://odealo.com/articles/fulcrum-ignite-auto-bomber-chieftan-build
3. Caustic Arrow of Poison/Scourge Arrow of Menace Pathfinder
This build uses a transfigured gem, Caustic Arrow of Poison, to fire an arrow that deals chaos damage and poisons enemies. The poison damage scales with the base physical and chaos damage of the hit, and can stack multiple times on the same target. The build also uses the Pathfinder ascendancy class, which offers many advantages for poison builds, such as increased poison duration, damage, and proliferation, as well as flask effectiveness and recovery. The build is suitable for both beginners and veterans, as it can clear maps fast, deal with bosses easily, and survive most threats. The build is also relatively cheap to start and can be upgraded with more expensive items later on.
What CAofP/SAofM Excels in:
- Easy to reach DOT Cap
- Very low budget requirements
- Fun play style
- Nearly immortal
Pick CAofP/SAofM if you Like:
- Bow Playstyle that isn’t Tornado Shot
- DoT Builds
- Poison Proliferation
CAofP/SAofM details:
- For the optimal ascendancy progression, prioritize Master Toxicist, Nature's Reprisal, Nature's Adrenaline, and Nature's Boon, focusing on nodes that increase chaos damage over time, damage over time multiplier for poisons, and chance to poison to reach 100%. Charge Mastery is crucial for generating Frenzy, Endurance, or Power charges upon enemy kills, while Reservation Mastery with Charisma enhances mana reservation efficiency for additional skill usage. Additionally, invest in nearby life per cent nodes on the skill tree for survivability.
- Scourge Arrow of Menace excels in swiftly eliminating large enemy groups, spreading poison damage across the screen with the Master Toxicist ascendancy. Nature's Boon provides flask charge generation and a chance to conserve charges, enhancing sustain. Utilize Grace for high evasion and Clarity to manage Scourge Arrow's mana cost. Herald of Purity augments physical damage and summons extra targets for enemies. Steelskin is recommended as the guard skill due to its effectiveness without relying on frequent potion use.
- Caustic Arrow of Poison and Scourge Arrow of Menace, both transfigured gems, enhance single-target and AoE damage, respectively, making this build a hybrid with superior damage output. Withering Step applies Phasing and Wither to enemies, boosting chaos damage and triggering Elusive for increased movement speed and dodge chance. Summon Flame Golem provides damage increase, life recovery, Culling Strike, and additional target distraction. Ultimately, combining Scourge Arrow of Menace and Caustic Arrow of Poison forms the strongest poison bow build in the game.
For more information, check here: https://mbaker2307.wixsite.com/pathofexileguide/scourge-arrow-of-menace-and-caustic-arrow-of-poison
2. Penance Brand of Dissipation Inquisitor
The revamped Penance Brand of Dissipation shines as a boss-fighting tool. Unlike its predecessor, it detonates either after hitting 20 times or when its duration ends, packing more punch per hit. To optimize its impact, focus on extending its duration and boosting the Activation Rate by ramping up your Cast Speed. With enough speed, it hits the 20 Energy cap in just 5 seconds, then stays potent for another 5 to 7 seconds.
What Penance Brand of Dissipation Excels In:
- Fantastic Bosser
- Easy to play
- Tanky
- Perfect for Sanctum
Pick Penance Brand of Dissipation if you Like:
- Massive nukes
- Easy Brand play style
- Breezing through Sanctum without a care
Penance Brand of Dissipation details:
- You can utilize Hierophant's Sign of Purpose via Forbidden Jewels to double the brand's damage as it nears expiration, ensuring continuous damage even after your demise. This approach, combined with the Brand's persistent nature, guarantees significant boss damage, though it's not particularly durable or efficient for map clearing. However, a few brands are typically sufficient to vanquish any foe.
- For optimal performance, the build focuses on maximizing Critical Strike Chance and converting the Brand's remaining Physical Damage to Elemental, preferably Lightning. Call of the Brotherhood Rings can further enhance damage output by converting to Cold Damage and applying Cold Ailments. Medium Cluster Jewels with Grand Design and Remarkable are crucial for extending Brand Duration and increasing Cast Speed, while Large Cluster Jewels featuring notable enhancements significantly augment the build.
- Use Penance Brand to eliminate enemies, marking tougher foes with Assassin's Mark, and activating Vaal Haste for increased damage output. Maintain Righteous Fire permanently, employ Flame Dash and Enduring Cry as needed, and ensure optimal passive skill allocation. With a focus on rare items over Uniques and careful attention to modifiers to enhance durability and damage output, this Inquisitor build excels in boss encounters, offering potent damage potential and survivability.
For more information, check here: https://odealo.com/articles/penance-brand-inquisitor-templar-build
1. Tornado Shot Deadeye
Tornado Shot has historically been a top-tier, high-budget speed farming build in Path of Exile. However, recent patches have strengthened Bow builds like Elemental Tornado Shot, making them viable even on affordable gear levels, suitable for first characters in fresh leagues. In this guide, we feature a Tornado Shot Deadeye Build designed for a moderate budget, excelling in both clear speed and damage output while maintaining defensive capabilities for a smooth mapping experience. The guide outlines the progression to the final build in several steps and offers advice on further investment to enhance the character beyond the initial budget constraints.
What Tornado Shot Excels in:
- Best Headhunter build user
- Fantastic Clearing
- High Single target
- Best farming build
Pick Tornado Shot MF if you Like:
- Divines raining down upon you
- Blasting through screens within seconds
- Screen wide clearing
Tornado Shot MF details:
- Tornado Shot offers a dynamic play style, concentrating primary projectiles on single targets while secondary projectiles clear large areas, reaching off-screen with increased Projectile Speed. With Deadeye’s Tailwind, movement is swift, and monsters are swiftly dispatched. Up to three ballista totems bolster single-target damage. The build is streamlined, relying on 3 or 4 hot keys and automated setups like Manaforged Arrows Support + Frenzy and Sniper's Mark + Mark On Hit Support, operating on a “kill them before they kill us“ philosophy.
- Key stats for the build include Additional Arrows and Projectile Speed, crucial for scaling Tornado Shot with gear upgrades. The skill comprises primary and secondary projectiles, with the former aimed at the cursor's location and piercing enemies, while the latter are spawned where the primary projectiles are aimed and shot randomly. The shotgun effect allows multiple hits on one enemy, particularly effective against bosses, with each set of secondary projectiles potentially hitting the same enemy multiple times.
- Tornado Shot's scalability with additional arrows makes it a potent choice. The build gains extra arrows from the passive skill tree, Ascendancy passives, a rare Quiver, and the Dying Sun flask. Chain from the Ricochet Ascendancy passive aids secondary projectiles in seeking out additional targets, while increased Projectile Speed extends their range, contributing to exceptionally fast clear speed. Optimal single-target damage is achieved by positioning the cursor behind enemies, maximizing secondary projectile hits.
For more information, check here: https://www.poe-vault.com/guides/manni-tornado-shot-deadeye-build-guide
