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Welcome to the guide on my POE 3.24 Explosive Arrow Ignite Elementalist, a build that holds a special place as my all-time favorite and a legendary one! Throughout my experience, I've played this build multiple times, achieving notable success such as farming several Divine Orbs, including three mirrors from Expeditions. Join me as we delve into the intricacies of this powerful and enduring build.
You can smoothly progress through the early maps until you're able to enhance the build to the version I've outlined here. Leveling up and increasing damage output is quite straightforward.
Moreover, the playstyle is among the safest archetypes, which makes it more accessible for casual players to enjoy the end game. The version I'm presenting here differs from others.
Hence, it's a versatile build suitable for both clearing maps and taking on bosses.
In practice, the build prioritizes the most potent ignite based on the number of arrows or fuses lodged in the target. Achieving this requires high attack speed, a moderate skill effect duration, and scaling the total number of ballistas that can be summoned.
I'll provide a comprehensive explanation of everything you need to kickstart this legendary build, eliminating the need to search elsewhere. Additionally, for the purpose of this guide, I'll demonstrate how to craft the end-game bow, quiver, and amulet tailored for this build. Even if you're not using this particular build, you can still generate significant POE Currency by crafting items for it. Given the substantial player base likely to adopt this build at the start of a league, there's ample opportunity for profit.
It's crucial to recognize that by taking the Elemental Equilibrium keystone, which imposes a 25% exposure rather than the standard 12%, we must refrain from incorporating external modifiers to flat fire damage in our build setup. To verify this, consult the tooltip for flat damage output modifiers and assess the fire damage value from the gem, alongside any external sources of cold or lightning damage to activate this buff.
Unlike many other attack skills, this one scales primarily with gem levels. Furthermore, avoid any modifiers that enable pierce, chain, or fork effects, as the goal is for all arrows to remain lodged in the target. Failure to do so will result in a loss of damage potential from the skill gem.
Additionally, the nodes near the witch class do not provide accuracy, which is essential for maintaining consistent damage output. Aim for at least a 90% chance to hit, achievable through gloves, helmet, or rings. If necessary, utilize a precision aura in the early stages.
While maximizing attack speed is advantageous, ensure a total of 45% increased skill effect duration in your passive tree. Excessive duration may lead to delays and DPS loss, while insufficient duration will hinder the maintenance of maximum fuse stacks on the target.
These considerations are paramount when configuring this build. The combined total damage may not provide a reliable assessment and can be manipulated in various ways.
Storm Cloud and Skirmish offer the most cost-effective options for a budget setup, but I advise against using Quill Rain. Eye of Malice's increased resistance for nearby enemies only functions effectively at close range. When activated, it further reduces the target's negative resistance. Additionally, Elemental Equilibrium eliminates the need for exposure sources in your gear setup.
For defense, consider a rare helmet with life, resistances, chance to mitigate spell damage, and crafted physical damage taken as elemental damage, obtainable from Korell in the Syndicate. Cloak of Flame is another potential unique option, or you can opt for a rare chest piece with life, chance to mitigate spell damage, and physical damage taken as elemental damage, unlocked from Gravicious in the Syndicate.
When selecting Storm Stride Serpentscale Boots, prioritize modifiers such as Legacy of Fury, which may take a few days to become affordable but provides a significant damage boost. If you're triggering Elemental Equilibrium with lightning damage instead of cold, Pyre can be utilized as another substantial damage multiplier, especially for those embracing a Glass Cannon approach. Ensure you have no flat fire or cold damage if employing Pyre.
Polaric Devastation serves as a potent damage amplifier for this setup, resulting in a significant increase in total damage output, often exceeding a million. However, it's essential to note that this unique item is specifically tailored for boss encounters and may come at a high cost during the early stages of the league.
Dyadian Dawn stands out as the optimal item choice for this build, being a tier 2 unique that should become readily available at an affordable price within the first few days of the league. Prioritize acquiring this item and consider obtaining the Turbulent Catalyst to further enhance its damage potential. Be cautious when incorporating multiple unique items from the suggested options, as this may lead to attribute and resistance issues. It's advisable to carefully adjust the distribution of requirements within the build, possibly utilizing rare jewels or Grand Spectrum jewels for optimization.
Ensure you have a life flask with immunity to Bleed and Corrupted Blood, as these utility flasks can be crucial for survival. While they are optional, your flask sustainability heavily relies on defeating monsters. For challenging boss encounters, consider equipping up to four life flasks to bolster survivability.
In our gem setup, we need to manually generate frenzy charges using Frenzy since Manaforged Arrows cannot be utilized in this configuration. If prioritizing defense, you may opt for Determination instead of Haste. Combining Flame Surge, Flammability with Arcanist Brand provides a significant debuffing capability, complemented by the Burning Damage Support for Flame Surge.
Securing the appropriate socket colors for a 6-link setup can be challenging. Utilizing the crafting bench to obtain three of the required colors is advisable. Alternatively, tainted Chromatic Orbs offer an easier solution but necessitate corruption of the item. If fortunate enough to acquire four red sockets, Empower surpasses Deadly Ailments in effectiveness. The absence of the old Vorici method is lamentable in this regard.
If you have yet to acquire the Polaric Devastation ring, consider using Infernal Cry linked to Call to Arms to apply the covered with ash effect. Alternatively, Steelskin linked with Automation Support serves as another viable option.
Typically, players would opt for Lifetap across all skills in this setup.
However, in my iteration, prioritizing Mana Regeneration Rate proves more beneficial as it creates additional flexibility, especially considering the scarcity of available sockets. This explains our utilization of an amulet boasting high Mana Regeneration Rate, which synergizes with the Clarity aura we've incorporated. Should you encounter early setbacks, resorting to an enduring mana flask remains a viable option.
In terms of Mana Reservation, Sovereignty and Mana Mastery suffice to maintain the auras essential to the build. Should complications arise prior to acquiring Mana Mastery, options include removing Haste temporarily or maintaining Clarity at a lower level in your aura configuration. Incorporating Precision necessitates adjusting one of the major auras accordingly.
The Leveling section of the guide holds significant importance for all players, including veterans.
This build demonstrates a dynamic and somewhat fragile nature. Each notable and keystone selected serves a purpose and holds value. While Spiritual Command could enhance attack speed scaling, prioritizing basic necessities during league start takes precedence, hence its omission in the initial setup.
During Acts 1 to 4, the build functions as a caster setup. However, transitioning to Explosive Arrow post-Shaper of Flames acquisition entails substantial changes in the passive tree, gear, and gem configuration. Primal Bond should not be taken until after this switch, and testing the build with Explosive Arrow is crucial. If lacking accuracy in gear, employing the Precision aura is advisable, even if it means sacrificing one of the major auras.
In the early stages, Ballista Totem Support may seem underwhelming. It's recommended to level the gem from Act 1 in your off-hand. Primal Manifestation significantly boosts the effectiveness of Ballista Totems at this point. Prioritizing nodes at the top left over those towards the south is advisable. Upon obtaining Sovereignty, acquiring two major auras alongside Clarity becomes viable. Adjusting the Clarity gem's level or using an Enduring mana flask until acquiring Mana Reservation mastery may be necessary. These nodes, along with the amulet, aid in addressing attribute requirements.
Upon reaching maps, prioritize obtaining resistances along with a rare jewel to address any deficiencies. Once Elemental Equilibrium is acquired, regularly checking the tooltip for any flat fire damage from gear becomes essential.
There are 2 straightforward methods to craft the bow.
Firstly, using fossils—corroded, metallic, and jagged—can yield +1 and +2 prefixes, albeit at a potentially high cost, requiring an item level above 50. Alternatively, employing a Shrieking Essence of Dread, once a prefix with elemental damage with attacks and an open prefix is obtained, can be used. Subsequently, using the crafting bench to add 'cannot roll attack' modifiers, along with at least one open prefix and one open suffix, ensures the successful addition of +1 with an Exalted Orb. Clearing the suffixes with 'prefixes cannot be changed' and 'scour' follows, simplifying the crafting process of the main hand weapon.
Crafting the quiver's cost varies based on desired mods and crafting luck. For double dot multi, a fractured base cannot be used as an Influence Orb must be applied. Beginning with a Broadhead Arrow Quiver or Primal Arrow Quiver, one rolls alterations until acquiring a Tier 3 to Tier 1 dot multi with attacks, subsequently augmenting a prefix to it. Regaling to make it rare and then blocking all attack mods to achieve increased damage with bow skills follows.
For those aiming for double dot multi, applying a Hunter Influence Orb for the final suffix is necessary, although caution is advised as acquiring a mod related to poison or chaos is irreversible. In cases where tier 1 or tier 2 life is not obtained, using Orb of Annulment while having 'cannot roll attack mods' prevents the removal of the damage over time modifier. Even if chaos dot multi is obtained with a Hunter's Exalted Orb, the item can still be sold for a favorable price.
Obtaining +2 on the amulet requires considerable patience with thousands of alterations until +1 to the level of all skill gems is achieved. Alternatively, purchasing a base with this mod pre-existing is advisable, with the item level needing to be at least 76. Converting it into one prefix with +1 level of all gems alongside one suffix may necessitate Beast crafting. Bench crafting the appropriate mods, followed by using Harvest augment with removal to obtain +1 to fire skill gems, leads to achieving a total of +2. If this proves challenging, opting for an amulet with +1 and damage over time multiplier is a viable alternative.
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Recently, an officially supported private competition event is in full swing. Have you joined Merciless Gauntlet? It's widely considered the hardest event in Path of Exile, boasting the most brutal monster stat bonuses. If you're not prepared, you'll likely end up running and dying.
While Merciless Gauntlet offers generous rewards, please note that it's a class competition, and only those who reach the top of each class can claim their individual rewards! However, the harder the challenge, the more fun it is.
Thus, nearly every challenger I've seen is using the top-tier Ascendancy set, rather than the standard set. They're all debating which build setup is best for advancing and farming POE currency, but there's one unique item that remains constant across all of these plans: Ephemeral Edge.
If you ask veteran Exiles what the strongest item in the game is, some will say Mageblood, others Best-in-Slot Simplex Amulet, but I'll definitely say Ephemeral Edge, even though it suffered a significant nerf in Path of Exile 3.26.
But that comparison isn't entirely fair. The key to Mageblood's strength lies in its Timeless mechanic, which is virtually unaffected by any balance changes. Its power is directly tied to flasks, which are unlikely to be nerfed, making it inherently overpowered. For many players who run a different build in each league, it's a sought-after unique item.
But Ephemeral Edge is different. Its power is built on the meta of the past few leagues, and many other factors contribute to its strength and potential. Even though it lost 25% of its stat bonus in Path of Exile 3.26, it's still incredibly strong.
Now, things are getting a little crazy, because when we think of Ephemeral Edge, we usually think of Trickster. Don't get me wrong, while there are many excellent non-Trickster builds in this league that utilize this unique weapon, only Trickster class can maximize the potential of this sword through its efficient maximum energy shield scaling.
But in Merciless Gauntlet, there's no base class like Trickster; it's not an option you can choose. However, this doesn't mean that the Ephemeral Edge is unusable.
So, why is a unique item still one of the most important items in any ultimate build, even after the nerfs?
To understand this, we need to go back to the 3.18 update: Sentinel League. In this update, seven Uber Pinnacle bosses were added to the game. While not directly related to Ephemeral Edge, this addition was significant.
Then, in 3.19: Kalandra League, the developers made a key update to the item. Before this patch, Ephemeral Edge was not a particularly useful weapon, to say the least.
In the 3.19 patch notes, this item had a new attack modifier that increased maximum lightning damage by 20% of Energy Shield.
Initially, this change went unnoticed until people realized how ridiculous this was for Animate Guardian, which could directly grant a massive maximum Energy Shield, thus dealing insane maximum lightning damage.
After this issue was discovered, PoE 3.23 quickly patched it, and it would later scale solely with the player's Energy Shield.
Fast forward to PoE 3.24, everyone's favorite, Necropolis League. This patch added several important pieces to the puzzle, but none more so than T17 map. At this point, Uber Pinnacle boss had already appeared in several leagues in the game. But the addition of T17 map would once again alter the endgame and completely reshape the meta-game.
Not only did this completely change what players could farm and how they could farm it, but it also significantly increased the requirements for farming it. You needed a very strong, well-rounded build to reliably run T17, which meant a lot of checkboxes on both offense and defense.
But patch 3.24 added more than just T17 map. It also introduced Perandus Pact unique jewel, which was later repackaged as The Light of Meaning and is now a drop exclusive to The King of the Mists.
The maximum energy shield version of this jewel is a crucial component of most Ephemeral Edge builds, boosting their energy shield.
Next came the 3.25 Settlers of Kalguur League, arguably the most significant update impacting Ephemeral Edge builds. This patch introduced new, more powerful base types, allowing items to provide more basic defense without relying on auras.
This change catapulted Trickster into the top tier.
Escape Artist, combined with a well-crafted Necrotic Armor and Lich's Circlet, provides the foundation for a massive energy shield pool, providing both defensive and offensive capabilities through Ephemeral Edge.
Coincidentally, Trickster not only boasts powerful scaling but also possesses a powerful Arsenal tool for Path of Exile's endgame, allowing you to ignore T17 action speed bonus and gain incredible resiliency through the overachievement of Energy Shield.
Of course, the base type changes affect more than just Trickster. In fact, in POE 3.26, we've seen Elementalist gain several well-performing Ephemeral Edge builds, including Ignite Eviscerate. This build was already performing well in patch 3.25, but thanks to Elementalist rework, it's now even more powerful.
Now, with Secrets of the Atlas expansion, the developers are also introducing T16 maps influenced by memories, known as T16.5 maps. These maps can be quite exciting, and unlike T17 maps, they can also include your favorite map layouts. However, they still carry T17 modifiers, making them quite difficult to map, so you need a well-rounded build, and Ephemeral Edge is often your best choice.
In the current Merciless Gauntlet competition, you need a powerful character with a good balance between offense and defense. There are only a handful of builds that currently offer a reasonable balance in terms of energy shield, and Ephemeral Edge is one of them.
The average maximum energy shield for an Ephemeral Edge build is around 15,000 to 20,000. While many builds have much higher maximum shields, we're only looking at the average, which is roughly 3 to 4 times the effective hit value of the average life build.
A maximum energy shield of 15,000 to 20,000 means that, with the current nerf modifiers, Ephemeral Edge can deliver 2,250 to 3,000 maximum lightning damage. This is equivalent to a decent two-handed weapon, if not better.
Remember that being able to scale both damage and defense is a good thing, but it's not always a strong one, as evidenced by the current scaling of Righteous Fire. But what's different about Ephemeral Edge is that, even after the nerf, it still provides far more damage than Energy Shield you can get in the current league.
In short, given the current game balance, Ephemeral Edge build is practically tailor made for the current Gauntlet event.
And I don't think this is a Trickster issue. Even without Trickster, the other Ascendancy classes would have taken over. They might not be as good as Trickster, but they'd still be viable and a second-best option. And that's exactly what I expect to see in Gauntlet, they'll all do pretty much the same thing.
Merciless Gauntlet is a Path of Exile private league event, popular among players for its exceptional difficulty, challenge, and generous rewards. Therefore, you can also think of it as a short-term challenge designed for experienced players.
This event runs from July 31, 2025, to August 10, 2025, for just ten days. Players can compete and earn points by leveling up characters and defeating bosses, aiming to climb the leaderboards.
Considering that the original Path of Exile game hasn’t been updated in the past year, Merciless Gauntlet event is a long-awaited return, so almost every veteran player is excited about it. More importantly, this is the first Gauntlet ever to not feature a base Ascendancy build; you can only choose PoE Ascendancy build, which completely changes the existing build landscape.
As the event progresses, many interesting builds are emerging, but before we dive in, let’s quickly review Merciless Gauntlet event and discuss how it differs from the base league.
If you’re unfamiliar with Gauntlet event, think of it as Path of Exile on Hard Mode. It’s a Hardcore Solo Self-Found event, so you can’t trade, and if you die, you lose your character.
There are modifiers that increase the strength of monsters based on the area’s level, making the campaign more difficult. However, defeating these enemies also rewards more PoE currency and points. Therefore, you can upgrade your gear during the slightly more difficult Atlas Mapping phase to prepare for the final, more challenging boss fight.
In addition to the relevant monster modifiers, boss mechanics have also undergone specific changes. For example, Brutus in Act 1 can cast Hydra Cannon in the arena, and the Depraved Trinity boss in Act 9 now has Maven’s Brain Blast, which fires energy beams into the arena.
Gauntlet is now a points-based competition, meaning that completing various tasks, whether it’s killing Uber Sirus or completing Maven’s Invitation, will earn you points.
More importantly, Gauntlet is also a class competition. Therefore, the highest-scoring player in each class will receive a prize. There will also be an overall and runner-up prize. This class competition promotes class build diversity, and we’ll see many new builds developed specifically for this event.
So, let’s take a look at some of the top three class builds in Merciless Gauntlet so far.
Currently, the most popular class is Marauder, thanks to Ancestral Commander.
Ancestral Commander now boasts extremely powerful defensive abilities, such as an additional 3 maximum Endurance Charges or a Defiance of Destiny buff, making it an excellent performer in the rigors of Gauntlet.
Furthermore, this Ascendancy also has a notable feature: it significantly increases the cooldown recovery rate of Warcries, making it a great alternative to Berserker’s Warbringer node and making Ancestral Commander an excellent choice for slam builds.
Slam builds are incredibly powerful in PoE 3.26. This not only gives Intimidating Cry a longer Double Damage Exerted Attack duration, but also means your Warcries will fire more frequently, leading to more consistent Earthshatter explosions.
Ancestral Commander has a total of nine maximum Endurance Charges: three from basic skills, three from the passive skill tree, and three from Ascendancy node. Combined with the substantial armor and maximum elemental resistance bonuses, this build is quite durable, especially for mapping and farming.
Right now, the second-most-played class in Gauntlet is surprisingly Shadow, with Servant of Arakaali becoming a popular choice because of several excellent poison builds.
Currently, Shadow is led by Poison Summon Raging Spirits (SRS) build. This particular build utilizes Servant of Arakaali’s notable Skincrawlers and combines it with crafted Abyss Jewels to give minions a 100% chance to poison.
Also, a free level 15 Envy combined with Added Chaos Damage Support provides base damage for applied poisons.
Now, you’ll notice that this build’s defense is significantly weaker than Ancestral Commander, but it’s worth noting that some of this defense isn’t fully realized yet. This is because Aspect of the Spider not only increases the damage taken by enemies, but also reduces their damage dealt by 15%.
This build also puts a lot of effort into blocking, nearly reaching the upper limit of spell and attack block, but due to the skill path being on the left side of the passive tree, spell suppression is lacking.
The final class on this list is Duelist with Paladin. Paladin is an interesting Ascendancy class. There are some Banner Slammer and Slam setups, but you’ll notice that most of these lack primary damage skills. This is because they use support builds primarily to help their mercenaries deal the majority of their damage.
This unique setup makes Paladin build a perfect match for the new mercenaries added to this Gauntlet event, and there are many ways to enhance them. This includes Infinite Power Warcries and Taunts, Increased Flask Effect and Flasks you used to apply to Linked Targets modifiers, and an enhanced Aura Effect when you have Linked Targets.
Now, Purity of Elements not only provides elemental ailment immunity for you and your mercenaries, but also provides a significant amount of additional resistances, giving you and your mercenaries greater flexibility in your gear.
But the most important part of this type of build is, of course, the mercenaries themselves. Finding the right mercenaries in Gauntlet, with the right skills and support links, is no small feat.
However, much of the damage dealt by the mercenaries comes from Paladin’s support abilities. First and foremost is Flame Link, which provides flat fire damage and bonus flat fire damage based on your maximum life. And this build has a significant increase in maximum life.
But perhaps even more important is Pyroclast Mine of Sabotage, a setting from March of the Legion. Once you’ve laid the mine, it delivers absolutely amazing flat damage, making it perfect for boss fights.
On top of that, Paladin also provides a host of powerful defensive buffs to both himself and his mercenaries, all at 100% duration, including massive life regeneration from Enduring Cry and maximum resistance scaling from Ancestral Cry.
That’s it! We’ll likely see some really great builds perform well in boss fights over the next few days, but for now, these builds are worth using and have the potential to help you secure a spot on the final leaderboard!
While the full release of Path of Exile 2 is still a way off, a new League patch is on the way during Early Access.
Yes, the developers previously promised that Path of Exile 2, like the original game, would release major updates approximately every four months. While patch 0.3.0 is a bit late, it’s finally confirmed for its August 29th release.
It’s less than a month until the patch goes live, but as usual, the developers are remaining tight-lipped. We’ll likely only see the details during the livestream a week before the new League release.
However, there’s still some news; they’re always good at keeping players excited. Through developer interviews and related posts, we’ve been able to uncover some of the new features in the upcoming 0.3.0 patch, from new Acts to boss battles and a brand new trading system. Let’s take a closer look!
Like the previous major update, POE 2 0.2.0, patch 0.3.0 introduces a brand new league. This means a completely reworked economy, featuring new characters, new Stash Tabs, and a dedicated league mechanic.
Once the new league launches, your current character will be transferred to Standard League, where you’ll start from scratch, just like in most action RPGs.
This rework also means a completely new economy. So, if you’re an early trader or flipper, with keen market observation and intuition, you have a good chance of earning a significant amount of POE 2 currency from trading items in your first few days and successfully conquering the market.
Additionally, in this 0.3.0 update, we’ll focus on improving inefficient skill gems and addressing difficulty scaling issues.
This update aims to increase the utility of weaker skill gems so they can better adapt to the endgame and hopefully improve the overall gaming experience.
Regarding difficulty adjustments, especially in the late game, the developers hinted that they may tweak monster health, damage, or other factors to improve the gameplay experience and reduce player frustration.
These changes have brought many nearly forgotten skill gems back to life in the endgame. I’d love to know which skill gems you’d like to see buffed and why.
From what we know so far, there’s a lot going on in this patch. While the official patch notes are expected a week before the game’s release, here’s what we’ve learned from developer interviews.
First and foremost, all signs point to a new Campaign Act, replacing Act 1 Cruel. This will take place on the island of Karui, a tribe mentioned in Path of Exile, with rich laws and potentially expanding the Karui mythology.
While unconfirmed, developers have hinted, particularly in Kamil’s recent interviews, that a new tribal-themed class will be added, and Druid is clearly one of them, perfectly fitting the game’s setting and musical style.
As with all Leagues, patch 0.3.0 will introduce a new core mechanic. This League will probably feature some tribal-themed content, such as combat trials, ancestral challenges, or themed boss mechanics tied to the Karui lore.
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As we mentioned earlier, the boss fights in patch 0.3.0 will be tribal-style, directly from official sources.
In a recent interview with POE 2 Music Director Kamil Orman-Janowski, he revealed the word “tribal.” This word alone hints at the style, tone, and atmosphere of the upcoming boss fights.
Imagine we could see new Leagues centered around ancestral spirits, primal encounters, and perhaps even new multi-stage encounters with responsive music and mechanics.
Kamil also confirmed that the upcoming patch will include more music, so expect new themes and ambient music, especially related to these new encounters.
Kamil’s enthusiasm for the 0.3.0 music and boss themes suggests this update will feature a lot of Karui vibes. The end-of-act boss fights are always so well done, and I can’t wait to see what they create to spice up our next League upgrade.
Finally, this update will also see a rework of Path of Exile 2’s item system. While the developers are being coy about the specifics, based on past League updates and developer goals, we can expect the following.
Patch 0.3.0 will probably add new unique items and crafting features, which are almost a staple of every major update. These could come in the form of League-specific rewards or new systems tailored to the tribal faction, or more specifically, Druid’s primal abilities.
Don’t forget, Path of Exile 2’s League mechanics are likely to see some improvements, all of which will be present in the 0.3.0 update.
There’s also news about a new trading system. While there’s no guarantee it’ll be implemented in patch 0.3.0, the developers have confirmed that improvements to the trading system are underway and are on their roadmap. By the end of the year, the trading interface is expected to be smoother, and even some Auction House functionality may be implemented.
Patch 0.2.0 brought a UI upgrade and new inventory tabs, so we expect 0.3.0 to continue this trend. They’re constantly working on polishing and fixing bugs, so get ready for a smoother experience in the new Leagues.
In short, update 0.3.0 is coming on August 29th, and you can expect new campaign content, clan-themed boss battles, new classes, system upgrades, and, of course, a brand new League to explore.
So, what does all this mean for you? Whether you’re a casual or hardcore player, the more mature 0.3.0 Leagues seem like the perfect time to join the game. New acts mean a better leveling experience, more quest options, and a new story to delve into; changes to skill gems mean more builds to try; and the trading system upgrades may finally fix one of the game’s biggest pain points.
That’s all we know about the changes coming to POE 2 0.3.0. We’ll also share the full patch notes once the patch is officially released, so stay tuned!
Have you found your best build yet? If not, don’t worry, we are here to provide you with the answer!
Here, we will share the 8 best Area of Effect (AoE) builds in Path of Exile 3.26 and briefly describe their key mechanisms and core equipment. You can choose the best build according to your play style and play style, shuttle through the battlefield full of explosions and loot, and completely control the map.
First, let’s introduce the first build, Lightning Arrow Deadeye. This is a high-speed bow setup designed to achieve excellent map clearing capabilities through efficient projectile-based AOE.
It focuses on scaling flat elemental damage through Lightning Arrow and Artillery Ballista, and gets better results by clearing enemy groups with penetrating and returning projectiles.
Key offensive attributes of this build include added elemental damage, attack speed, projectile modifiers, frenzy charges, and even critical strike scaling.
Early on, you’ll want to take advantage of Precise Technique to boost damage, then switch to a Critical Focus setup once you get a powerful Spine Bow.
Then defensively, this build will stack evasion, 100% spell suppression, and Elemental Ailment Avoidance through Ancestral Vision, while also being bolstered by Grace, Blind, Life Leech, and Life on Hit Recovery. Projectile speed plays a key role in clearing speed, allowing off-screen kills and boosting damage through Bow Mastery.
More importantly, we can minimize mana consumption by using Eldritch mods, unique rings, and Inspiration Support.
While this build has super high mapping speed and is extremely efficient at clearing maps, it has limited potential in boss fights and is less survivable for hardcore players.
Therefore, it’s best suited for new players who focus on clearing speed and don’t have a higher PoE currency budget. Still, this build offers flexible gear selection, allowing you to gradually upgrade to high-end bows and jewelry as you progress through the game.
Then there’s Explosive Arrow Ballista, a hybrid of ranged traps and minions that excels at map clearing and has a powerful mid-air explosion. It primarily casts stationary turrets through Ballista skill, firing Explosive Arrows for massive AOE damage.
Offensively, this build can stack fire damage, projectile damage, and even critical hits. Defensively, it focuses on evasion, life, and damage reduction through flasks and jewels.
This build is perfect for players who are looking for a unique turret playstyle with extremely high clearing speed and good survivability. Strategic placement of Ballista and Traps will reward players for careful map navigation and situational awareness, giving it an added tactical layer beyond simple skill attacks.
Next up is Poisonous Concoction Pathfinder Build, which focuses on sustained poison damage through Concoction skill and has extremely strong tanking capabilities.
Concoction skill fires a projectile that applies a deadly poison over time, and it makes full use of Pathfinder Ascendancy to give it a longer skill cast time, which allows it to apply damage and survivability buffs over time.
Offensively, it is able to stack multiple chaos damage, poison buffs, and get critical hits supported by strong projectile speed and multi-flask effects.
Defensively, this build relies on evasion, energy shields, and increased life regeneration. Early upgrades will use similar poison-based attacks, and then transition to high DPS poison buffs in the mid-game.
This build is low-cost, easy to equip, and provides a solid clearing speed and considerable boss damage. It’s ideal for players who want a smooth mapping and strong persistence experience with poison mechanics while enjoying the utility and survivability of flasks.
Plus, it has a host of easy-to-learn unique skills and low-priced equipment, making it particularly attractive for players looking for an efficient and economical league start.
Next on the list is Poison SRS Necromancer build, which centers around summoning Spirits to deal continuous poison damage. Necromancer Ascendancy will maximize the damage and survivability of minions, increasing poison effects and clearing speed.
Offensively, this build combines the minions’ attacks with powerful poison damage buffs, making full use of critical strikes and chaos damage nodes. Defensively, the advantage of this build is that minions can act as the front line, while players can use energy shields and life regeneration to stay alive.
This build is perfect for players who want to become minion masters and is also suitable for low difficulty games and Solo Self-Found (SSF) with its strong poison mechanics and excellent map efficiency.
Its main advantage is the ability to quickly clear the enemy team without direct engagement, providing a safer way to play, especially for players who are not familiar with poison or minion mechanics.
Next up is Ice Shot of Penetration Miner Deadeye, which focuses on fast clearing and bursting cold damage around Ice Shot combined with Miners. Deadeye Ascendancy can greatly increase projectile damage and accuracy.
Offensively, it combines a lot of cold damage scaling, new projectiles, and critical strikes with Mines deployment to achieve safe ranged play. Defensively, this build has good survivability with a lot of evasion, dodge, and life leech.
This build is ideal for players who like safe ranged tactical play and pursue fast clearing. The dual gameplay of direct shooting and mines allows you to maintain a flexible engagement distance, allowing it to adapt to various map layouts and boss mechanisms.
Then, we have to mention the build that focuses on melee bleed damage and has strong survivability, Bleed Gladiator.
Gladiator Ascendancy can enhance bleed effects, life recovery and armor, and can use fast attacks and bleed stacking to tear through enemies at super fast speeds.
On the offensive side, it focuses on physical damage, attack speed and bleed bonuses, while using buffs such as Fortify to improve defense. On the defensive side, it focuses on high life, armor and block chance, as well as bleed immune gear.
This build is best suited for players who like melee combat, which can provide good boss damage and strong map survivability, especially for players who like powerful defense and bleed mechanisms. It is definitely worth a try.
And it can also work perfectly with many unique weapons to increase the probability and effect of bleeding, making it flexible to adapt to various game styles, including solo or team games.
Next, move on to Volcanic Fissure of Snaking Berserker, a melee slam build with ranged attack capabilities and extremely fast clearing speed.
This build focuses on scaling damage with multiple Volcanic Fissures per cast, Autoexertion & Warcries to enhance attack speed and damage burst. Finally, it further amplifies the duration of the burst damage with Prismatic Tincture.
Note that your cursor control is key. You need to place it outside of the boss to maximize Volcanic Fissure AOE damage.
For Berserker Ascendancy, you should focus on Warbringer, then Rite of Ruin, and Aspect of Carnage. These provide strong synergy with Warcries, high damage, and movement speed.
On the defensive side, it mainly counteracts the life decay of Berserker through Endurance charges, Fortify/Debilitate, Spell Suppression, Life Leech, and Glorious Vanity.
Overall, this build has a lightning-fast map clearing speed and strong coverage, which is not only durable but also easy to use. More importantly, the mechanics of this build will reward precise positioning and timing, making it more attractive to players who like active play styles, while also providing room for trying different Warcries and Flask setups.
Finally, we come to Vortex of Projection Archmage Hierophant, which can use Vortex skill to cause continuous freezing damage. And Hierophant Ascendancy can provide strong mana and energy shield, allowing it to cast spells continuously.
On the offensive side, it can improve summon damage, skill damage, and critical strike. On the defensive side, it benefits from the high energy shield, mana regeneration, and Ascendancy buffs.
This build focuses on skill damage and survivability in the early game, and then transitions to high energy shields, excellent clearing speed and good boss damage.
Overall, it is more suitable for players who want to have a strong Archmage, continuous AOE and strong defense. And because of the continuous continuous damage bonus effect, it performs well in boss battles and can even clear a large number of enemies effortlessly. This makes it one of the favorite builds for casters who focus on survivability.
Here are the 8 most popular AoE builds in PoE 3.26 at present. These builds can maximize the efficiency of players clearing monster groups on the map, allowing you to easily kill enemies and bosses!
