Archmage Spark
Stormweaver Build

Updated for Path of Exile 2 Early Access

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The Archmage is a Skill that reserves a large amount of Spirit to empower your Spells with an extra 8% Lightning Damage per 100 maximum Mana you have. The goal here is to obtain as much Mana as possible. At merely 4000 maximum Mana you will gain 320% Extra Lightning Damage which triples your Damage output, but with better Items, you can reach even over 6000 Mana or more. The Extra Damage scales from your base Damage, so you will also want the regular bonuses like Spell Damage or additional Gem Levels. 

The Archmage can work with any Spell, but the Spark is arguably the best Skill in the game currently. It can easily cover large areas with fast Projectiles which makes up for extremely good clear speed, but also those Projectiles can bounce off of walls, which makes them extremely potent in small arenas or corridors, as after bouncing they can Hit the same Enemy again, leading to powerful Damage against Bosses. 

On top of that, you can use the Mana Tempest and Sigil of Power to massively empower your Spells as long as you remain inside their effects. They add a great amount of Damage to your Spells and depend on your maximum Mana just as well. 

The Build uses Eldritch Battery Keystone to convert all your base Energy Shield into Mana, but you will still have plenty of Energy Shield to protect you from harm thanks to the particular interaction with two Unique Items. This is possible as the modifiers that grant you Extra Energy Shield from your Mana and Life granted by Atziri's Disdain Helmet and The Everlasting Gaze bypass the Eldritch Battery conversion. However, your main defense is your Mana. Thanks to the Mind over Matter Keystone 100% of the Damage is taken from Mana before Life, so the Energy Shield is just an addition to protect you from smaller hits. 

The Stormweaver Ascendency grants you a permanent Arcane Surge Buff and greatly increases its Effect. It grants you a lot of Cast Speed and Mana Regeneration. It also allows you to Shock your Enemies twice, which greatly increases the damage they take from all sources. The fourth Ascendency Notable option is flexible. You can choose to empower your Lightning Exposure effect to remove an additional 20% Lightning Resistance of your Enemies, but you can also pick the Elemental Storm that deals a decent amount of Damage and appears automatically when you land a Critical Strike.  

You can also check our other Path of Exile 2 builds right over here Best PoE2 Builds List

1. Gameplay

You will be mainly using Spark as your primary ability. Against Bosses, you should use Mana Tempest and Sigil of Power to enhance your Damage, and Orb of Storms and Conductivity to greatly reduce the defenses of your Enemies. Your primary defense is Energy Shield.

2. Build's PROS & CONS

3. Leveling tips

The main gameplay style doesn't change much during leveling. You can start using Spark very early on and successfully use it during the entire campaign. The main difference is Passive Tree - the Archmage requires level 58 to use, so you will have no benefit from Mana at first. You should focus on generic bonuses to Lightning and Elemental Spell Damage bonuses instead. 

[DPS] Spark setup
	Spark - you can start using your main Skill very early into the campaign. It releases Lightning Projectiles that Damage Enemies on their way.
	Arcane Tempo - increases your Cast Speed.
	Acceleration - makes your Projectiles faster, increasing their area coverage and a chance to Hit Enemies after chaining from terrain.
	Persistence - makes your Projectiles last longer.

[DPS] Orb of Storms setup
	Orb of Storms - creates an Orb that fires Lightning beams at nearby Enemies when you use a Lightning Spell.
	Overabundance - allows you to summon two Orbs at the same time.
	Controlled Destruction - increases the Damage of your Orb but disables Critical Strikes.

[Utility] Mana Tempest setup
	Mana Tempest - creates a storm that empowers your Spells with Extra Damage.
	Premeditation - increases the Damage of Spells affected by Mana Tempest.

[Utility] Conductivity setup
	Conductivity - a Curse that lowers the Lightning Resistance of your Enemies.
	Focused Curse - increases the effect of your Curse.

4. Final Skill Tree, Ascendancy Points, and Pantheon

Final Skill Tree:

Click on the image to open the Passive Tree preview in a new window Or use the full browser version: Passive Tree

Ascendancy points:

Preferably in this order:

1. Constant Gale
2. Strike Twice
3. Force of Will
4. Scouring Winds or Tempest Caller

5. Final Gems links

[DPS] Spark setup
	Spark - fires multiple Lightning Projectiles that travel in random directions, Damaging Enemies upon contact.
	Arcane Tempo - increases your Cast Speed.
	Acceleration - makes your Projectiles faster, increasing their area coverage and a chance to Hit Enemies after chaining from terrain.
	Persistence - makes your Projectiles last longer.
	Considered Casting - grants a massive amount of Damage but slows down your Casting Speed.
	Inspiration - lowers the Mana Cost of your Skills.

[DPS] Orb of Storms setup
	Orb of Storms - in the later stages of the game the Damage dealt by this Skill becomes insignificant, but it works great as a Utility Skill.
	Lightning Exposure - allows you to apply Lightning Exposure when you Shock an Enemy with this Skill.
	Strip Away - further enhances the effect of your Exposure.
	Font of Mana - standing near the Orb will improve your Mana Regeneration Rate.
	Overcharge - improves the effectiveness of your Shocks. You might also use the Conduction to increase the Chance to Shock instead.

[DPS] Elemental Storm setup
	Elemental Storm - it is granted by your Ascendency. It triggers when you land a Critical Strike. It deals a small amount of damage 4 times per second and is very useful for dense packs of monsters, often encountered in Breaches or Rituals.
	Elemental Focus - disables inflicting Shock but increases the Damage.
	Controlled Destruction - improves the Damage but disables Critical Strikes, which this Skill can't deal anyway.
	Ingenuity - lowers the Cooldown of Elemental Storm.
	Fire Mastery - this Skill counts as every type of Element, so you can use Fire or Cold Mastery Supports to raise its level.

[UTILITY] Conductivity setup
	Conductivity - a Curse that lowers Enemy Lightning Resistance. With additional bonuses on the Passive Tree, it will lower the Resistance by up to 65%.
	Heightened Curse - increases the Effect of your Curse.
	Focused Curse - the Curse will activate nearly instantly.

[UTILITY] Mana Tempest setup
	Mana Tempest - creates a storm that empowers your Spells with Extra Damage but drains your Mana at accelerating tempo.
	Premeditation - increases the Damage of Spells affected by Mana Tempest.
	Murderous Intent - Spells empowered by Mana Tempest will also Cull Enemies.

[UTILITY] Sigil of Power setup
	Sigil of Power - places a Rune on the ground that grants you extra Damage when you spend enough Mana. This Skill can only be obtained from Staffs which you can use on your second Weapon Set.
	Magnified Effect - increases the AoE of the Skill.

[UTILITY] Archmage setup
	Archmage - the main focus of this Build, it adds Extra Lightning Damage to your Spells depending on your maximum Mana.
	Lightning Mastery - increases the level of your Achmage Skill. Reaching level 21 will grant you an additional 1% Extra Damage per 100 Mana.

[UTILITY] Blink setup
	Blink - it reserves your Spirit and replaces your Dodge Roll with a quick teleport with a short Cooldown. You won't have enough Spirit to use it together with Archmage, but you can bind it to your second Weapon Set.

6. Gear Setup

The Gearing process is very easy and straightforward. You will want to stack as much Mana and Energy Shield as possible to power up the Archmage. To improve the Damage you should aim for bonuses to Lightning Gem Levels, Spell Damage, and Cast Speed. Mana Regeneration Rate is also very important, as your Mana Cost will ramp up very quickly. The Intelligence grants Mana, but you will also need a bit of Dexterity and Strength. For defense, you only need Elemental Resistance and as much Energy Shield as possible. You will use Chaos Inoculation Keystone, so you can skip Chaos resistance or maximum Life on your Gear. 

(Weapon) Rare Wand - the Archmage grants a lot of Extra Damage, which is based on the initial base Damage of your Spells. Look for bonuses to Lightning Gem Levels, Cast Speed, and Spell Damage. You won't need the Sigil of Power Skill on your main Wand - you can use a Weapon Swap for that.

Min. requirements: +3 to level of all Lightning Spell Skills 70% increased Spell Damage 25% increased Cast Speed Optional affixes: +# to maximum Mana #% increased Mana Regeneration Rate

(Shield) Rare Shield - use a Shield with a high Block Chance and a huge amount of Elemental Resistance. It allows you to get more valuable modifiers on your other Gear pieces.

Min. requirements: +50% increased Block Chance +50% total Elemental Resistance Optional affixes: Attributes

(Shield) Mahuxotl's Machination - this Shield increases the effect of Socketed Soul Cores by a significant amount. You should use Soul Cores of Zalatl that raise your Mana by 2% each.

(333–666)% increased Armour and Energy Shield (333–666)% increased effect of Socketed Soul Cores

(Amulet) The Everlasting Gaze - This Amulet is very important to increase your defense. It will be your main source of Energy Shield, as the Extra Energy Shield bypasses the Eldritch Battery Keystone.

(20–30)% increased Mana Regeneration Rate +50 to maximum Mana 50% increased Mana Regeneration Rate Gain (20–30)% of Maximum Mana as Extra Maximum Energy Shield

(Amulet) Rare Amulet - you can opt for a Rare Amulet that will grant you tons of Damage. You will still have decent defense thanks to the Mind over Matter Keystone.

Min. requirements: +120 to maximum Mana +2 to Level of all Spell/Projectile Skills +50% total Elemental Resistance Optional affixes: #% increased Mana Regeneration Rate % increased maximum Mana +# to Spirit

(Belt) Ingenuity - it is the best Belt in the game for nearly every Build. Your Rings simply offer significantly more valuable modifiers than any Rare Belt could. It is very powerful, but not mandatory.

20% of Flask Recovery applied Instantly (40–80)% increased bonuses gained from Equipped Rings

(Belt) Rare Belt - at first you can use a Rare Belt that offers a lot of maximum Mana, Elemental Resistances, and possibly Strength. It will make buying good Rings much easier.

Min. requirements: +140 to maximum Mana +50% total Elemental Resistance Optional affixes: Strength +# Charm slots

(Helmet) Atziri's Disdain - it is a great defensive option. The Damage bypassing your ES is actually a good thing, as it will be easily countered by your Mana Regeneration.

+(40–60) to maximum Mana (10–20)% increased Rarity of Items found (20–25)% of Damage taken bypasses Energy Shield Gain (25–30)% of Maximum Life as Extra Maximum Energy Shield

(Helmet) Rare Helmet - a good Rare Helmet with tons of Energy Shield and flat Mana will greatly boost your Damage. Rising your Mana will also improve your defense, just not to the same extent as the Atziri's Disdain.

Min. requirements: +150 to Energy Shield +100 to maximum Mana +50% total Elemental Resistance Optional affixes: +# to Intelligence

(Body Armour) Rare Armour - on your Body Armour look for the biggest amount of Energy Shield you can afford. It will be directly converted into Mana. you could also look for some Elemental Resistance and Spirit if possible.

Min. requirements: +600 to Energy Shield Optional affixes: +50% total Elemental Resistance +# to Spirit

(Gloves) Rare Gloves - here you can get a bit of Energy Shield and tons of Mana, Elemental Resistances, or Attributes.

Min. requirements: +100 to Energy Shield +150 to maximum Mana +50% total Elemental Resistance Optional affixes: +# to Intelligence

(Boots) Rare Boots - you should never use Boots that provide less than 30% Movement Speed. Other than that, look for Energy Shield, Mana, and Resistance.

Min. requirements: +50 to Energy Shield 30% Movement Speed +100 to maximum Mana +50% total Elemental Resistance Optional affixes: +# to Intelligence

(Ring) Rare Rings - here you will need a lot of Mana Regeneration Rate and Cast Speed, those modifiers are very scarce on other pieces of your gear. Flat Mana or Intelligence are also very good.

Min. requirements: +20% increased Cast Speed 60% increased Mana Regeneration Rate +100 to maximum Mana Optional affixes: Attributes Elemental Resistance

(Jewel) Rare Jewel - the Jewels can improve your Damage in many ways. The Projectile Speed is especially valuable for your Clear Speed, but it only appears on Emerald Jewels, which have a much more limited pool of useful mods. Try to get at least Jewel with Mana on Kill modifier.

Min. requirements: #% increased Mana Regeneration Rate Recover (1–2)% of Mana on Kill % increased Projectile Speed % increased Damage % increased Cast Speed % increased Skill Effect Duration % chance to Pierce an Enemy % increased Magnitude of Shock you inflict

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