[Top 5] Path of Exile Best Pathfinder Builds That Wreck Hard!

Updated:

05 Jan 2022

[Top 5] Path of Exile Best Pathfinder Builds That Wreck Hard!

Pathfinder. The Flaskfinder class. The one that pushes the already extremely strong mechanic that the flasks are over into OP status. Despite all the nerfs and the loss of part of its identity with the elemental and ailment nerfs, two of Pathfinder’s core tenets still remain strong. Poison and Life on Flask use. And here are some of the better builds with these archetypes!

5 – Scourge Arrow Poison Proliferation

Pods Placement with just one Scourge Arrow

There is only one item in the game that can simulate, and even then, it’s a laughable alternative, the power of PF’s poison prolif. Nothing can compete with the buttery smoothness for poison that is PF’s poison prolif, and combined with the screen-wide coverage of Scourge Arrow, nothing will stand in your way!

What the Scourge Arrow Poison Prolif Excels in:

Good single target with proper investment and positioning
Fantastic Clear speed, thanks to Poison Prolif
Permanent Flask uptime
Very flexible in gearing and not meta, so cheaper items overall
Can be extremely tanky with Divine Flesh

Scourge Arrow Poison Prolif full details:

Darkscorn is BiS and fairly cheap to get, and combining it with Nightgrip, a Ward helmet with over 700 ward, Sabatons with over 400 ward, and Skin of the Loyal to further boost Ward’s values, we can get a lot of flat chaos damage. Getting the +1 Pod helmet enchant and a +1 arrow quiver will go a long way to increase your single target if you position yourself to make a V with the boss in the middle.
Xibaqua’s Divine Flesh and Darkscorn’s Phys to Chaos damage taken conversion makes us extremely tanky when we scale our chaos resistance, able to deal with elemental and physical damage with ease, while also being nearly 100% Spell Suppressed and over 10k Evasion rating.
We make use of our second 6L with Ballistae, to pump out massive amounts of single target damage, to reach over 15 million poison DPS while charging and Focused (130%+ ailment duration mod). This build is perfect to learn the game and learn the enemies’ mechanics since it’s so well-rounded and visually clear.

For more information, check here: https://www.pathofexile.com/forum/view-thread/2551841

4 – Venom Gyre Pathfinder

Venom Gyre against Uber Elder

Several leagues ago, GGG introduced two new poison, projectile attack skills, Cobra Lash and Venom Gyre. While both are very similar to one another, Venom Gyre has the unique trait of projectiles returning to you at the end of their movement, and then being thrown outward in a nova fashion when your whirl blade away, which is fantastic for clearing.

What the Venom Gyre Pathfinder Excels in:

Very tanky.
Permanent Flasks.
Poison Proliferation makes it a fantastic mapper.
Extremely cheap and League starter/SSF viable.
Can reach over 4million poison DPS with a 4L on a Viper Strike setup for single target.

Venom Gyre Pathfinder full details:

You can play with literally any gear you find, but your goal is to get two claws with %DoT Multi with Poisons and global Dot, as well as the highest flat added chaos you can (Malicious). Ideally, they should be equal in power, and you can start using 2x Wasp’s Nest up to Red tier maps with no issue.
Dendrobate is also a fantastic damage chest piece, with a free extra link (which doesn’t really add much damage) but has a lot of % increased damage with poisons and poison duration when you hit certain attributes thresholds (which you will regardless). Alternatively, you can use a Daresso’s Defiance for massive armor and Evasion, some extra block chance, Permanent Onslaught with up to 100% Onslaught effect (40% AS/MS/CS), and a hefty life roll.
We are extremely tanky because with Iron Reflexes and how strong Pathfinder flasks are, with so much flask effect, our Jade and Granite Flasks give us massive amounts of armor, so we reach over 50,000 armor! This means we have a constant 10k Molten Shell to triple our effective life pool while it’s up!

For more information, check here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MXUHfoCLxoY

3 – Lab Runner Berserk + Self-Chill + Wave of Conviction Trapper

Wave of Conviction Trapper against Uber Elder

This is an extremely off-meta build with a unique purpose, but it’s such a well developed and graceful build that I decided to showcase it. It is certainly not a build for everyone and not only that; it is most definitely not cheap to get, with a lot gem-swapping all the time for bossing. This is a high-maintenance build, but the rewards are just as high!

What the Lab Runner Excels in:

Over 750% Movement Speed.
Permanent Berserk.
Instant Phasing Izaro.
Can clear Uber Uber Labs in less than 3 minutes.

Lab Runner full details:

First off, this build is expensive. Enlightens, Enhances, Empowers, big-ticket corrupted items, and a lot of gear swapping. That said, it’s unparalleled when it comes to clearing the Uber Uber Labs.
We use so many synergies to achieve the Self-Chill and Permanent Berserk. Ichimonji for Buff effect, Scold’s Bridle to hit ourselves with each skill cast, which then is converted to cold damage through Hrimsorrow, so we are instantly Chilled, because of Auxium making it so our Chill and Freeze threshold is based off on Energy Shield (and we don’t have any because of Agnostic). We have Permanent Onslaught while we are on full Mana, and our Mana Regen also regens Rage because of Chain Breaker Timeless Jewel’s Keystone.
To do damage, we use traps and pre-layer them before Izaro Rises up, and we instantly phase him due to our Chest Piece having +4 gem levels, our Amulet having +1 Physical, and all our Aura and Buff Effect to maximize our damage and speed.

For a full breakdown, check here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EcDzAVV_ZBg&t=527s

2 – HollyPhantom’s Poisonous Concoction

Poisonous Concoction AoE Overlap

Another Flavor of the Month build that gained popularity in two iterations, Pathfinder and Occultist. While both have their own merits, PF has the better, smoother playstyle. As it happens with many new skills, they come out of the oven over-tuned and way too strong, and PConc was no different.

What HollyPhantom’s Poisonous Concoction Excels in:

League Start, HC, SSF, Gauntlet viable.
Scales with Flask charges and gear.
Can do all content.
Fast and buttery smooth clear.
Overlapping of Projectiles makes it so it has great single target.

HollyPhantom’s Poison Concoction full details:

Because of how massive the base AoE of Poison Conc is, and how it is thrown while using Volley or Greater Volley, stacking as many projectiles, while still having the penalties in damage make it so all our damage is overlapped, and for poison builds, the more you hit, the better.
The Poison prolif makes it so only your strongest poison proliferates to another enemy when you kill a monster, chaining poisons through packs and clearing the screen nearly instantly. It’s also a fantastic way of dealing with Proximity Bubbles since the prolif bypasses them.
Poisonous Concoction works by disabling your main hand weapon and throwing your Life flask at the enemy, and as such, the more inherent Life a flask can regen, the higher the damage it deals, up to 3% of Flask Recovery. It also has a massive amount of base flat Chaos Damage, a good critical chance (which can enable Perfect Agony if you so choose it), and makes it perfect for leveling since you won’t need to worry about getting new weapons every few minutes.

For more information, check here: https://www.pathofexile.com/forum/view-thread/3187488

1 – Ashriel’s Flaskoholic Poison Blade Vortex

Blade Vortex at Max Stages

Once upon a time, Poison BV was meta and overpowered, though most prominently with Assassin instead of Pathfinder. What most people seem to have forgotten is that while it’s nowhere near as strong as it was, it’s still a fantastic build that scales really well with investment and has one of the best clear in the game to this day, not compared to Self-Chill or HH.

What Ashriel’s Flaskoholic Poison Blade Vortex Excels in:

Low budget to start, scales quickly with some investment.
You clear as fast as you can walk, and we run at over 150% movement speed!
Surprisingly Tanky.
Infinite Flasks.

Ashriel’s Flaskoholic Poison Blade Vortex full details:

Dual Wielding Cold Iron Point (granted, they are more expensive this league, but not impossible to acquire) to boost our BV to level 26 or 27 if you’re rich (If you’re uber rich, then 28 or 29 with a +2 Amulet and Asenath’s Gentle Touch Gloves) will massively increase our BV’s damage. With Solstice Vigil, our BV can last upwards of 10 seconds, making it so we barely have to cast it to sustain it.
The Solstice Vigil also synergizes well with Aspect of the Spider for its free Temporal Chains mana reservation, but if you’re going through the Asenath’s alternative, you’ll need to grab Aspect of the Spider from another source instead of Fenumus’ Weave (easy Aspect of the Spider).
There is a new tech with Charges Gained on Hit and PF’s Master Surgeon that essentially makes you immortal during mapping, and even bossing, that keeps us topped off in life and permanent flask, a pseudo-Mageblood, if you will. Woolfio has done several videos about it, so I’d recommend you to follow him on Youtube!

For more information, check here: https://www.pathofexile.com/forum/view-thread/3165565