Arc Hexa-Spell Totem
Hierophant build

Updated for Patch 3.6

The Best Crafty Guides by Odealo

Estimated budget: medium

Arc is currently the most powerful Lightning skill, that chains between enemies multiple enemies, clearing whole packs of monsters with one cast. With this build, you can do it six times faster and better, thanks to six Totems that can be placed at the same time. On top of insane clear speed, Arc Totems have one of the best single target damage in the game, which makes this build great choice for farming endgame bosses like Shaper or Elder.

You can also check our other Path of Exile builds right over here Odealo's Crafty Guides - Full List

1. Gameplay

Hierophant Ascendancy is definitely our best choice, because of Pursuit of Faith and Ritual of Awakening Passives. Both provide a lot of Damage for Totems and quality of life changes, like summoning two Totems with each cast. Patch 3.5 makes it possible to have six Totems summoned at the same time, by adding Multiple Totems Support Gem, which increases summoned Totem cap by 2 and new veiled mod on shields, that increases cap by 1. 
This build has great survivability not only because of High Life and using Mind over Matter but also because all your Totems will tank a lot of incoming damage. As for the gameplay, running around, watching your Totems do the job with lightning bolts chaining all over the screen is very satisfying. This build is also recommended as a League Starter because it requires no unique items to farm even Red Maps with ease. With few investments, it's possible to kill all the Guardians and the Shaper himself.

0:06 Tier 12 Castle Ruins 0:36 Tier 13 Twinned Racecourse 1:07 Tier 14 Basilica 1:42 Tier 15 Lava Lake This video was recorded on a level 85 Hierophant on the Betrayal Softcore League

2. Build's PROS & CONS

3. Leveling tips

You are leveling with Arc, with all supporting skills that you will use in the endgame. Templar can't get or buy Arc by himself, but you can get it easily from another player or from Siosa in Act 3's Library. You can use Spell Totem for casting Arc as soon, as you take Ancestral Bond in the Passive Skill Tree. Three Totems with first Ascendancy point in Pursuit of Faith are more than enough to carry you to the mapping phase.

Suggested leveling Gem setups:

Arc setup
	Arc - your primary spell that will be used in endgame build as well
	Added Lightning Damage Support - grants additional Lightning Damage
	Lightning Penetration Support - your Arc spell's damage will penetrate Lightning Resistances, making it deal much more damage
Optional gem options:
	Spell Totem Support - link it to Arc as soon as you get Ancestral Bond node on the skill tree

Flame Dash setup
	Flame Dash - your main mobility skill
	Faster Casting Support - increases your Flame Dash casting speed and movement

Utility Gems
	Summon Ice Golem - increases your Critical Strike Chance
	Conductivity - the best curse for all Lightning builds. Reduces cursed enemies Lightning Resistances
	Wrath - grants more Lightning Damage. With Essence Worm ring it will reserve no mana

Bandits:

We recommend helping Alira for Mana Regeneration, Critical Strike Multiplier, and Elemental Resistances

Leveling Skill Trees:

29 Points Skill Tree
Priorities: 1) Light of Divinity 2) Devotion 3) Spiritual Aid 4) Ancestral Bond

62 Points Skill Tree
Priorities: 1) Quick Recovery 2) Shamanistic Fury 3) Heart And Soul 4) Lightning Walker 5) Lord of the Dead 6) Cruel Preparation 7) Shaman's Dominion

Recommended leveling items:

Le Heup of All - they provide everything - Attributes, Damage, and Resistances. Perfect choices for the whole leveling process
(10-30)% increased Damage +(10-30) to all Attributes (10-30)% increased Rarity of Items found +(10-30)% to all Elemental Resistances

Goldrim - one of the best leveling helmets in Path of Exile, will fix your Elemental Resistances during leveling
+(30-50) to Evasion Rating 10% increased Rarity of Items found +(30-40)% to all Elemental Resistances Reflects 4 Physical Damage to Melee Attackers Level Requirement reduced by 100 (Hidden)

Tabula Rasa - insane leveling item, Tabula Rasa with its 6-link by itself will carry you through the leveling process
Item has no level requirement and Energy Shield (Hidden) Item has 6 White Sockets and is fully linked (Hidden)

Ungil's Harmony - it will increase your Critical Strike Chance by a lot, at an expense of little less Critical Multiplier. Also will increase your Life pool by a lot

100% increased Global Critical Strike Chance -25% to Global Critical Strike Multiplier +(30-50) to maximum Life +(30-50) to maximum Mana 40% increased Stun and Block Recovery

Axiom Perpetuum - best leveling weapon in the game for spellcasters. Lot of Additional Damage to Spells and an insane amount of Critical Strike Chance. Recommended to dual-wield them
(4-6)% increased Cast Speed (100-140)% increased Critical Strike Chance for Spells Adds (2-3) to (5-6) Fire Damage to Spells Adds (2-3) to (5-6) Cold Damage to Spells Adds 1 to (10-12) Lightning Damage to Spells

4. Final Skill tree, Ascendancy Points, and Pantheon

Final Skill Tree:

116 Points Final Skill Tree
116 Points Path of Building(PoB) link

Ascendancy points:

Preferably in that order:

1. Pursuit of Faith
2. Ritual of Awakening
3. Conviction of Power
4. Divine Guidance

Pantheon:

Major God: Soul of Lunaris 1% additional Physical Damage Reduction for each nearby Enemy, up to 8%; 1% increased Movement Speed for each nearby Enemy, up to 8%

Minor God: Soul of Gruthkul 1% additional Physical Damage Reduction for each Hit you've taken Recently up to a maximum of 5%

5. Final Gems links

[DPS] Arc Spell Totem
	Arc - your main skill that will be cast by totems
	Spell Totem Support - your main support, linked to Arc spell will make your Totems cast it
	Added Lightning Damage Support - adds a lot of additional Flat Lightning Damage
	Multiple Totems Support - not only increases the maximum number of Totem summoned by 2 but also will summon 2 of them on each cast
	Increased Critical Strikes Support - increases Critical Strike Chance by a lot, scales extremely well with Maryllene's Fallacy amulet
	Lightning Penetration Support

[UTILITY] Conductivity and Arcane Surge setup
	Conductivity - the best curse for all Lightning builds. Reduces cursed enemies Lightning Resistances and grants linked Arcane Surge buff on cast
	Spell Cascade Support - increases an area to which we apply our Curse
	Increased Duration Support - increases the duration of both linked Curse and Arcane Surge buff
	Arcane Surge Support - after casting Conductivity it will grant us Arcane Surge buff, which increases both Cast Speed and Spell Damage. You have to match the Mana Cost of Conductivity Curse to get the buff with each cast, so don't upgrade Arcane Surge above level 12 (or 14/15 if you are using Voidbringer Gloves)

[MOBILITY] Flame Dash setup
	Flame Dash - main mobility skill for faster movement through maps
	Faster Casting Support - increases Flame Dash casting speed by a lot
	Culling Strike Support - you will instantly kill enemies with less than 10% of their life by Flame Dashing through them

[UTILITY] Immortal Call and Enfeeble setup
	Immortal Call - grants brief immunity to Physical Damage. Keep it at level 8
	Cast when Damage Taken Support - will auto-cast Immortal Call. Keep it at level 6
	Increased Duration Support - increases the duration of Immortal Call and Enfeeble
	Enfeeble - this Curse will be automatically cast when you receive damage. It will decrease nearby enemies damage and their chance to hit you. Keep it at level 8

[AURA] Wrath setup (use in Essence Worm)
	Wrath - will immensely increase our Lightning Spell Damage. We are only using it in Essence Worm ring because we cannot reserve any mana in this build

[UTILITY] Ice Golem
	Cast when Damage Taken Support - will auto-cast your Golem Spell
	Summon Ice Golem - Ice Golem will increase your Critical Strike Chance

5. Gear Setup

Below you will find all the recommended and required gear for this build. Most of the items should be easily obtained, and everything can be temporarily replaced with cheaper rare items.

Our recommended items will:

1. Cap your resistances 
2. Give you enough DPS/Life to start mapping successfully

(Helmet) Rare Helmet - this is a very solid option for this build. Picking up a rare helmet will make it much easier to cap Elemental Resistances and wear the other required unique gear

Min. requirements: 80 maximum Life 25% Fire Resistance 25% Cold Resistance 25% Lightning Resistance

Helmet enchantments: Arc chains additional time

(Weapon) Divinarius - it's a perfect weapon for early mapping. It provides us with a lot of Spell Damage and Critical Strike Chance, which should be more than fine for White and Yellow Maps

30% increased Global Critical Strike Chance (50-70)% increased Spell Damage (80-100)% increased Critical Strike Chance for Spells +10 Life gained on Kill +5 Mana gained on Kill 10% increased Area of Effect

(Weapon) Rare Wand - this will be our best in slot weapon. We need to focus on the highest flat Lightning Damage to Spells, Spell Damage and Critical Strike Chance for spells

Min. requirements: 80% increased Spell Damage Adds 5 to 90 Lightning Damage to Spells 70% increased Critical Strike Chance for Spells Optional affixes: Increased Cast Speed Gain % of Elemental Damage as Extra Chaos Damage Global Critical Strike Multiplier

(Shield) Rare Shield - from patch 3.5 we can craft +1 to the number of summoned Totems to shield, so it's our best offhand shield for this build

Min. requirements: 30% increased Spell Damage 80% increased Critical Strike Chance for Spells 80 to maximum Life +1 to maximum number of Summoned Totems Optional affixes: Increased Cast Speed

(Body Armour) Skin of the Loyal - we will have more than enough Resistances on other gear slots, so we should maximize our Damage on Body Armour. Look for Damage corrupted one

Sockets cannot be modified +1 to Level of Socketed Gems 100% increased Global Defences Item has 6 Sockets and is fully linked (Hidden) Optional corruptions: Increase Damage +2 to level of socketed Lightning Gems

(Body Armour) Rare Armour - great pick for early game, before you get currency for corrupted Skin of the Loyal

Min. requirements: 80 maximum Life 25% Fire Resistance 25% Cold Resistance 25% Lightning Resistance Optional affixes: Increased Level of Socketed Gems Attributes

(Boots) Rare Boots - they are the best choice if you need to fix your resistances. Get with highest Life, Resistances and Movement Speed

Min. requirements: 70 maximum Life 25% Fire Resistance 25% Cold Resistance 25% Lightning Resistance 25% Movement Speed

(Boots) Kaom's Roots - a very solid option. Kaom's Roots provide very high bonus Life and you have more than enough sockets in your other gear

Has no Sockets Cannot be Knocked Back +(150-200) to maximum Life Action Speed cannot be modified to below base value Unwavering Stance

(Boots) Windshriek - great option if you want to have an additional curse on your enemies. Then you can curse them with both Enfeeble and Conductivity at the same time

(200-250)% increased Armour +(10-15)% to all Elemental Resistances 25% increased Movement Speed (10-20)% increased Elemental Damage Enemies can have 1 additional Curse (Hidden) 60% increased Area of Effect of Curse Skills

Boot enchantment: 16% increased Attack and Cast Speed if you've Killed Recently

(Gloves) Voidbringer - a nice alternative to Rare Gloves if you can afford to lose Resistances. These gloves offer a huge boost for your Critical Strike Chance

+1 to Level of Socketed Elemental Gems (125-150)% increased Critical Strike Chance for Spells (180-250)% increased Energy Shield (80-40)% increased Mana Cost of Skills +(15-20) Energy Shield gained on Kill

(Gloves) Rare Gloves - if you need to fix your Resistances and increase Maximum Life they are the go-to choice

Min. requirements: 70 maximum Life 25% Fire Resistance 25% Cold Resistance 25% Lightning Resistance Optional affixes: Maximum Mana

(Belt) Rare Belt

Min. requirements: 70 maximum Life 25% Fire Resistance 25% Cold Resistance 25% Lightning Resistance Optional affixes: Increased Flask Effect Duration

(Belt) Stygian Vise - the best in the slot, you can put additional Abyss Jewel in them to increase Spell Damage

Min. requirements: 70 maximum Life 25% Fire Resistance 25% Cold Resistance 25% Lightning Resistance Optional affixes: Increased Flask Effect Duration

(Amulet) Marylene's Fallacy - a cheaper alternative for high-end Rare Amulet. It will make your Critical Strikes hit like a truck and make them instantly kill enemies under 10% Life

+(80-120) to Accuracy Rating +(210-240)% to Global Critical Strike Multiplier +(80-100) to Evasion Rating (10-15)% increased Light Radius 40% less Critical Strike Chance Critical Strikes have Culling Strike

(Amulet) Rare Amulet - it's a quite good option, will provide big DPS boost with Global Critical Strike Multiplier and more Life

Min. requirements: 60 maximum Life 10% All Elemental Resistances 25% Global Critical Strike Multiplier 15% Spell Damage Optional affixes: Increased Critical Strike Chance

(Ring) Rare Ring - if you cannot afford Essence Worm/Mark of the Shaper combo these are your best bet for boosting DPS

Min. requirements: 40 maximum Life 10% All Elemental Resistances 25% Increased Lightning Damage Optional affixes: Attributes

(Ring) Mark of the Shaper - use it only if your other ring is Elder Essence Worm. This combo of rings will provide the best DPS boost

(15-25)% increased Elemental Damage Adds (13-18) to (50-56) Lightning Damage to Spells (6-10)% increased maximum Energy Shield (6-10)% increased maximum Life (60-80)% increased Spell Damage if your other Ring is an Elder Item Cannot be Stunned by Spells if your other Ring is a Shaper Item 20% chance to Trigger Level 20 Summon Volatile Anomaly on Kill

(Ring) Essence Worm - perfect ring, allowing to use Wrath aura without reserving mana. Try to get the Elder version of it for the combo with Mark of the Shaper

+2 to Level of Socketed Aura Gems Socketed Gems Reserve No Mana 40% increased Mana Reserved

(Jewel) Abyss Jewels - with added flat Lightning Damage to Spells

Recommended affixes: Added Lightning Damage to Spells Increased Critical Strike Multiplier maximum Life

(Jewel) Rare Jewels - they should provide extra Life and damage

Recommended affixes: increased maximum Life increased Spell Damage increased Global Critical Strike Multiplier Optional affixes: increased Lightning Damage increased Cast Speed

(Jewel) Clear Mind - since we are not reserving any Mana for Mind over Matter this Jewel will provide a huge Spell Damage boost

(20-30)% increased Mana Regeneration Rate (40-60)% increased Spell Damage while no Mana is Reserved

(Flask) The Wise Oak - this flask increases your Lightning Penetration. Remember to have your Lightning Resistance higher than other Resistances

During Flask Effect, 10% reduced Damage taken of each Element for which your Uncapped Elemental Resistance is lowest During Flask Effect, Damage Penetrates (10-15)% Resistance of each Element for which your Uncapped Elemental Resistance is highest

Other suggested Flasks: Seething Divine Life Flask of Heat (immunity to Chill and Freeze effects) Experimenter's Diamond Flask of Warding (immunity to Curses) Experimenter's Silver Flask of Adrenaline (increased Movement Speed) Bubbling Sanctified Mana Flask of Staunching (immunity to Bleeding)

If you have any other build requests please leave that in the comments below. We are always open to suggestions and constructive feedback.

Pictures used in this article are the intellectual property of Grinding Gear Games.