Chaos Magma Orb
Gloomfang Trickster build

Updated for Patch 3.6

The Best Crafty Guides by Odealo

Estimated budget: mediocre

Magma Orb combined with Gloomfang is one of the highest DPS Spells in Path of Exile. Gloomfang Amulet grants added Chaos Damage every time your skill has chained, and it can sum up to 120% additional Chaos Damage on the 6th chain if you manage to get all the recommended gear. The damage this build offers is simply absurd, and the only downside to it is learning Magma Balls logic and how the fun part usually happens off-screen. With the upgraded Trickster Ascendancy this build gained insane swiftness and some additional defensive utility. We have also decided to utilize Mind over Matter and Eldritch Battery Passives, which combined with Energy Shield Leech, allow you to reserve up to 100% Mana, remove the issues with spamming Magma Balls, and grant extra defenses.

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

1. Gameplay

This is one of the fastest spell-caster builds in Path of Exile. You are going to use Magma Orbs which fires fiery projectiles from your location that bounce several times and deal area damage when they hit enemies. By increasing the number of chains(bounces) the skills range is increased, and in its final form, the maximum damage is dealt off-screen. However, this is a double-edged sword. While you are far from enemies you don't have to worry about big physical hits, but on the other hand, when dealing with Bosses like Shaper or Minotaur, you may miss their animation and come in late to avoid their deadly abilities. In order to further increases your damage, Gloomfang amulet is used, which adds up to 20% additional Chaos Damage based on the number of chains Magma Orbs has completed before it hits. This brings this builds DPS to absurd levels and allows easily clearing all the content in Path of Exile. 

0:06 Tier 14 Palace 0:47 Tier 16 Lair of the Hydra 1:09 Tier 16 Maze of the Minotaur 1:40 Tier 16 Forge of the Phoenix 2:04 Shaper This video was recorded on a level 87 Trickster wearing Rat's Nest, Carcass Jack, and Rare Sceptre

2. Build's PROS & CONS

3. Leveling tips

It's recommended to level up using Magma Balls. The skill itself is not the best leveling tool, but it's good to learn how it works before you get into the end-game. It's also available right from level 1, and you can upgrade all the necessary Gems for your final build while you level up. Below you will find the basic recommended Gem setups for this build and several useful unique items that can aid you during the campaign. 

Suggested leveling Gem setups:

Magma Orb setup
	Magma Orb - the primary skill used in this build. It's recommended to use it right from the start
	Elemental Focus Support - greatly increases Elemental Damage dealt with by supported skills
	Controlled Destruction Support - increases Spell Damage at the cost of reduced Chance to Critically Hit
	Faster Casting Support

Firestorm setup
	Firestorm - later on, it will be used solely in a CwDT setup to apply Combustion debuff, while at earlier levels it is a great AoE spell for leveling
	Combustion Support - grants increased Fire Damage and reduces monsters' Fire Resistance
	Increased Area of Effect Support

Utility Gems
	Zealotry - grants increased Spell Damage
	Clarity - grants increased Mana Regeneration Rate
	Summon Lightning Golem - the recommended Golem for this build which increases your Attack and Cast Speed

Bandits:

We recommend helping Alira for increased Elemental Resistances and Critical Strike Multiplier

Leveling Skill Trees:

35 Points Skill Tree
Priorities: 1) Trickery 2) Coordination 3) Blood Drinker 4) Doom Cast

59 Points Skill Tree
Priorities: 1) Throat Seeker 2) Cruel Preparation 3) Arcanist Dominion 4) Heart and Soul

Recommended leveling items:

Goldrim - one of the best leveling helmets in Path of Exile which grants up to a total of 120% (!) increased Elemental Resistances
+(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)

Lochtonial Caress - powerful Gloves which grants increased Cast Speed and a chance to generate all three types of Charges
(10-15)% increased Attack Speed (10-15)% increased Cast Speed +(20-30) to maximum Life (15-10)% reduced maximum Mana 10% chance to gain a Power, Frenzy or Endurance Charge on Kill Conduit

Wanderlust - perfect Boots for leveling
+5 to Dexterity (20-40)% increased Mana Regeneration Rate +(10-20) to maximum Energy Shield 20% increased Movement Speed Cannot be Frozen

Le Heup of All - this Ring provides all the important stats for leveling

(10-30)% increased Damage +(10-30) to all Attributes (10-30)% increased Rarity of Items found +(10-30)% to all Elemental Resistances

Lifesprig - one of the best weapon options for leveling on the early levels
(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:

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

Ascendancy points:

Preferably in that order:

1. Ghost Dance
2. Escape Artist
3. Swift Killer
4. Harness the Void

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] Magma Orb
	Magma Orb - your primary source of DPS
	Spell Echo Support - makes supported Spells repeat and additional time with greatly increased Cast Speed
	Controlled Destruction Support
	Elemental Focus Support
	Energy Leech Support - this Gem provides very high bonus damage while you are Leeching, and since you use your Energy Shield instead of Mana, you should be Leeching all the time when you cast spells
	Concentrated Effect Support - increases Area Damage at the cost of reduces skill's radius

[UTILITY] Firestorm setup
	Firestorm - used as a low-level auto-cast utility Spell that applies Combustion debuff and instantly kills enemies below 10% Life. Use this Gem at level 12
	Cast when Damage Taken Support - will auto-cast Firestorm when you take enough damage. Keep it at level 8
	Combustion Support - makes enemies ignited by supported Spell have reduced Fire Resistance
	Culling Strike Support - makes Firestorm instantly kill enemies below 10% Life

[AURA]  Zealotry and Anger
	Zealotry - grants increased Spell Damage and Spell Critical Strike Chance
	Anger - grants increased Fire Spell Damage
	Enlighten - reduces the amount of Mana Reserved by linked Auras

[UTILITY] Lightning Golem
	Cast when Damage Taken Support
	Summon Lightning Golem - increases your Attack and Cast Speed

[MOBILITY] Shield Charge setup
	Shield Charge  - the best Movement Skill if you are using a shield and a one-handed weapon (Sceptre in this case). Do not force yourself to upgrade this Gem to the maximum level
	Faster Attacks Support  - makes the movement with Shield Charge much faster
	Fortify Support  - grants Fortify buff for better defenses

[DEFENSE] Immortal Call setup
	Immortal Call - grants brief Physical Damage immunity. Keep this Gem at level 3
	Increased Duration Support - will extend the duration of Immortal Call
	Cast when Damage Taken Support - will auto-cast supported spells after a certain amount of damage is taken by the player. Do not upgrade it above level 1
	Vaal Haste - grants briefly increased Attack, Cast, and Movement Speed

5. Gear Setup

Below you will find all the recommended gear for this build. Most of the items should be easy to acquire, just make sure to alter your searches depending on the Elemental Resistances you find on specific Rare Gear. Keep in mind that all of the items listed below except for Gloomfang can be replaced with random Rares.

Using this opportunity we would like you to visit our PoE marketplace where you can buy Currency, Items, and Power leveling services offered by other players. You will find the link to it on top of the page on the main bar.

The recommended items from our list will:

1. Help you cap your Elemental Resistances 
2. Give you enough Life, DPS, and Energy Shield to start mapping successfully

(Helmet) Rat's Nest - my favorite pick for this build. It grants very high bonus damage and even more swiftness for this character

15% increased Attack Speed (60-75)% increased Global Critical Strike Chance 150% increased Evasion Rating (20-25)% increased Rarity of Items found 10% increased Movement Speed 10% reduced Character Size

Helmet enchantment: Magma Orb Chains an additional 2 times

(Weapon) Rare Sceptre - the best in the slot, but at the same time it can get very expensive depending on your desired stats

Min. requirements: 60% Spell Damage 10% Cast Speed 90% Critical Strike Chance for Spells Optional affixes: #% of Fire Damage added as Chaos Damage Added Fire Damage to Spells

(Weapon) Doryani's Catalyst - very decent pick and at the same time it's cheap and easy to obtain

32% increased Elemental Damage Socketed Gems are Supported by Level 20 Elemental Proliferation Adds (65-85) to (100-160) Physical Damage (11-15)% increased Attack Speed (6-10)% increased Cast Speed (30-40)% increased Global Critical Strike Chance 0.2% of Elemental Damage Leeched as Life (80-100)% increased Elemental Damage

(Shield) Rare Shield - look mainly for offensive stats, but some extra Life and Elemental Resistances will be helpful

Min. requirements: 60% Spell Damage 90% Critical Strike Chance for Spells 60 maximum Life Optional affixes: Elemental Resistances

(Body Armour) Carcass Jack - one of the best Armours for this build. It grants very high bonus damage

(120-150)% increased Evasion and Energy Shield +(50-70) to maximum Life +(9-12)% to all Elemental Resistances (40-50)% increased Area of Effect (40-50)% increased Area Damage Extra gore

(Amulet) Gloomfang - build-defining item. It grants increased damage each time your skills chain

(48-56)% increased Mana Regeneration Rate 0.5% of Chaos Damage Leeched as Life Lose (15-10) Life for each Enemy hit by your Spells Lose (25-20) Life for each Enemy hit by your Attacks Skills Chain +1 times Projectiles gain (15-20)% of Non-Chaos Damage as extra Chaos Damage per Chain

(Ring) Mark of the Shaper - grants very high bonus damage if your other Ring is an Elder item

(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) Rare Elder Ring - it's important to get a Ring which curses enemies with Warlord's Mark on Hit

Min. requirements: 55 maximum Life 30 Strength Curses enemies with level # Warlord's Mark on Hit Optional affixes: Elemental Resistances Attributes

(Boots) Rare Boots

Min. requirements: 70 maximum Life 25% increased Movement Speed 30% Fire Resistance 30% Lightning Resistance 30% Cold Resistance

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

(Belt) Rare Stygian Vise - you can use any Rare Belt, but Abyssal Jewels grant very high bonuses so it's the optimal pick

Min. requirements: 80 maximum Life 30% Fire Resistance 30% Lightning Resistance 30% Cold Resistance 30 Strength

(Gloves) Maligaro's Virtuosity - this is a very cheap pair of Gloves, but it's not stopping them from providing the highest damage bonus for this build. Corrupted pair with increased Critical Strike Chance for Spells is the best in the slot option

+(20-30) to Dexterity 5% increased Attack Speed 50% increased Global Critical Strike Chance +(20-30)% to Global Critical Strike Multiplier (60-80)% increased Evasion Rating

Glove corruption: Spells have +#% to Critical Strike Chance

(Jewels) Inevitability - two such Jewel are required. It increases the number of Magma Orb's projectiles and the area of effect with each consecutive chain

(10-15)% increased Fire Damage With at least 40 Intelligence in Radius, Magma Orb has 10% increased Area of Effect per Chain With at least 40 Intelligence in Radius, Magma Orb fires an additional Projectile

(Jewels) Rare Jewels

Recommended affixes: increased maximum Life increased Spell Damage/Spell Damage while holding a Shield/Fire Damage/Area Damage increased Critical Strike Multiplier Optional affixes: increased Cast Speed

(Jewels) Abyss Jewels - priority is maximum Life and flat Damage to Spells

Recommended affixes: maximum Life added Chaos Damage to Spells added Fire Damage to Spells Optional affixes: Critical Strike Multiplier

(Flask) Atziri's Promise - this Flask grants very high bonus damage and extra Leech

+35% to Chaos Resistance 2% of Chaos Damage Leeched as Life during Flask effect Gain (15-20)% of Physical Damage as Extra Chaos Damage during effect Gain (10-15)% of Elemental Damage as Extra Chaos Damage during effect

Suggested Flasks: Bubbling Divine Life Flask of Staunching (immunity to Bleeding) Ample Basalt Flask of Warding (immunity to Curses) Ample Diamond Flask of Reflexes (increased Crit. and Evasion) Ample Silver Flask of Heat (immunity to Freeze and Chill)

If you have any other build requests please leave that in the comments below. We will also appreciate any feedback about this build. We are looking forward to upgrading all our content with your help.

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