Updated for Patch 3.13
The Best Crafty Guides by Odealo
Estimated budget: medium to high
Guide notes |
February 24, 2021 -Build created February 25, 2021 -Added gameplay video |
Crackling Lance is a very interesting Spell that was added in Patch 3.12 and then severely boosted in 3.13. It deals massive Lightning Damage, which is increased by each stack of Intensity (on top of the standard bonuses granted by the corresponding Support Gem). This build revolves around converting 50% of your Lightning Damage to Cold Element via Call of the Brotherhood Ring and using Trinity Support that boosts your Elemental Damage significantly. The use of Trinity is optional, as you could technically reach similar DPS with other Gems, but it's new, sounds cool, and looks cool (adds a new circular buff indicator on top).
As of Patch 3.13 Elementalist became one of the best and most popular Spell-caster classes which is oriented on increasing Elemental Damage and effects of Ailments they inflict, but also it became much more efficient to boost your damage by using different types of Golems. In this build, you are going to use five different Golems which boost your damage and survivability, by also linked to Meat Shield Support, they will taunt nearby enemies reducing the number of hits your character takes directly. For the defenses, you are looking at a very tanky Hybrid Build which around 9,000 combined Life and Energy Shield, with decent block Chance, Corrupted Soul Passive, two types of Leech, Physical Damage mitigation, and Life Recovery. Overall, this build is quite tanky, and thanks to massive DPS (over 10,000,000 Shaper DPS when fully buffed), you can easily farm all the content in the game.
You can also check our other Path of Exile builds right here: Odealo's Crafty Guides - Full List
This is a tanky Hybrid Spell-caster build which allows you to Dash/Flame Dash around Maps and obliterate everything by self-casting Crackling Lance. Entire screens of enemies will die nearly instantly, with only Bosses requiring several hits to be killed. This build offers amazing defenses, so you can basically jump into packs of enemies without worrying too much about surviving. As a character, you should be even able to easily take on most of the AoE hits the game has to "offer" - like for example Shaper's Slam. This build utilizes five different Golems, but thanks to Elementalist Ascendancy they will be resummoned automatically when slain. It leaves you with only 3 Skills that you are going to use, your Movement Spell of Choice (Flame Dash or Dash), Crackling Lance, and Hydrosphere. Hydrosphere reduces Cold and Lightning Resistances of all enemies in its' radius, and should be used mainly against Bosses - you should know that you need to hit it with Crackling Lance so that it starts pulsing and applying Cold/Lightning Exposure with increased effect from Mastermind of Discord Passive.
This build also requires Glorious Vanity Jewel, in order to gain the bonuses of Corrupted Soul Passive. It causes the damage you take to be divided nearly equally between your Life and Energy Shield, which allows you to Leech both simultaneously, greatly boosting your defenses.
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Leveling up a Witch/Elementalist is very easy. You can breeze through the campaign using Freezing Pulse and Frostbomb (which can be later switched to Crackling Lance/Hydrosphere). You can greatly increase the damage of those two Spells by adding Flat Spell Damage by Support Gems like Added Cold Damage Support and cheap Uniques like Replica Prismweave, Axiom Perpetuum which will let you quickly deal even with the toughest enemies and Bosses. You will also gain high DPS bonuses from Golems starting from Act 4, where you should be able to already have three Summoned for high DPS bonuses. Below you will find the recommended Gem setups and several Unique Items that will be extremely useful on lower levels.
Suggested leveling Gem setups:
Freezing Pulse setup | |
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Freezing Pulse - one of the best Spells for leveling. It fires long-range projectiles that deal higher damage the closer you are to your enemy. You should get the First Snow Threshold Jewel for it as soon as possible |
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Added Cold Damage Support - adds additional Cold Damage |
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Added Lightning Damage Support - adds high flat Lightning Damage |
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Faster Casting Support |
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Elemental Focus Support - greatly increases Elemental Damage dealt, and its one of the core Gems you will use on higher levels |
Frost Bomb setup | |
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Frost Bomb - creates a pulsing Sphere on the ground which deals a moderate amount of Damage with each tick and applies powerful Cold Exposure to enemies. It will work best against Bosses, but also provides some extra AoE damage against big packs of enemies |
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Bonechill Support - increases the effect of Chill and Cold Damage you deal to affected enemies |
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Hypothermia Support - greatly increases your Damage against Chilled enemies |
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Added Cold Damage Support |
Utility Gems | |
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Clarity - grants increased Mana Regeneration which might be extremely useful on lower levels |
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Herald of Ice - the best Herald for this build as it grants damage bonus Cold damage and causes AoE explosions when you slay Frozen enemies |
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Dash - the best mobility skill for this build |
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Frostbite - the recommended Curse for the leveling phase as it grants the highest bonus to your Cold DPS |
Bandits:
You should kill all the Bandits for two additional Passive Skill Points
Leveling Skill Trees:
30 Points Skill Tree
Priorities: 1) Frost Walker 2) Heart and Soul 3) Discipline and Training 4) Light of Divinity 5) Devotion
64 Points Skill Tree
Priorities: 1) Annihilation 2) Golem Commander 3) Intensity 4) Melding
Recommended leveling items:
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+(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) |
12% increased Elemental Damage 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 (4-6)% increased Cast Speed (100-140)% increased Critical Strike Chance for Spells |
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(12-24)% increased Global Physical Damage Adds (7-8) to (15-16) Fire Damage to Spells Adds (5-6) to (12-14) Cold Damage to Spells Adds 1 to (30-34) Lightning Damage to Spells +(6-8)% to all Elemental Resistances 10% increased Elemental Damage 30% increased Elemental Damage during any Flask Effect |
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+(20-25) to maximum Mana +(30-60) to maximum Mana (3-6) Mana Regenerated per second -(8-4) to Mana Cost of Skills 8% of Damage taken gained as Mana over 4 seconds when Hit |
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+15 to Dexterity +15 to Intelligence (100-150)% increased Evasion Rating 15% increased Movement Speed (5-10)% of Damage taken gained as Mana over 4 seconds when Hit 10% increased Movement Speed for you and nearby Allies |
Final Skill Tree:
117 Points Skill Tree (doesn't include Passives from Cluster Jewel and Intuitive Leap)
117 Points Path of Building(PoB) link (includes all Passives and Items)
Ascendancy points:
Preferably in that order:
Pantheon:
Major God: Soul of Solaris 6% additional Physical Damage Reduction while there is only one nearby Enemy; 20% chance to take 50% less Area Damage from Hits
Minor God: Soul of Gruthkul 1% additional Physical Damage Reduction for each Hit you've taken Recently up to a maximum of 5%
[DPS] Crackling Lance | |
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Crackling Lance - the primary and build-defining skill that is self-casted in this setup. It builds up Intensity stacks and deal greatly increased damage with consecutive cats. It will have 50% of its' damage converted to Cold so that it generates all types of Resonance stacks |
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Trinity Support - hits you deal with Elemental Damage generate Resonance charges of the other two Elements, so if you deal both Lighting and Cold Damage with Crackling Lance, you will generate all three types of Resonance charges, greatly increasing your Elemental Damage |
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Intensify Support - grants a very strong damage multiplier based on the number of Intensify charges; basically increasing it when you are stationary, with each consecutive hit |
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Inspiration Support - reduces the Mana Cost and increases Elemental Damage of your Crackling Lance |
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Spell Echo Support - makes supported Spell repeat itself an additional time. This Gem has an even more powerful Awakened variant |
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Added Lightning Damage Support - grants high bonus Lightning Damage added to your Crackling Lance. It also has an Awakened variant |
[UTILITY] Golems | |
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Summon Flame Golem - you are going to use all 5 Golems that actually benefit this build, so only Carrion will be left behind. Flame Golem increases your Damage directly |
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Summon Lightning Golem - Lightning Golem increases your Attack and Cast Speed (only the latter matters for us in this build) |
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Summon Ice Golem - increases Accuracy Rating (irrelevant) and Critical Strike Chance |
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Summon Chaos Golem - grants high Physical Damage mitigation |
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Summon Stone Golem - increases Life Regeneration |
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Meat Shield Support - makes linked Golem defensive, meaning they will take less damage and Taunt enemies that try to attack you |
[UTILITY] Auras | |
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Zealotry - increases your Spell Damage and Spell Critical Strike Chance. Combined with powerful Aura modifiers you can get from Watcher's Eye, this is the best Aura for this build DPS-wise |
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Wrath - increases your Lightning Spell Damage significantly |
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Herald of Ice - grants extra Cold Damage to Spells, but why you mainly want to have it, are the explosions it causes when you kill Frozen enemies. If by any chance you don't have enough Mana or your Mana Regeneration is too slow, you may consider removing Herald of Ice entirely from your skill set |
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Enlighten Support - reduces the Mana Reservation cost of linked Spells |
[UTILITY] Hydrosphere | |
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Hydrosphere - a powerful AoE utility Spell which applies Cold and Lightning Exposure to nearyb enemies. The effect is increases by using Mastermind of Discord Passive |
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Awakened Hextouch Support - the Awakened version of this Gem allows you to apply a second Curse via Hydrosphere's pulses |
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Elemental Weakness - one of the best Curses for this build. Asssuming you are applying Assassin's Mark via your Ring, this is the best secondary one you can use here |
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Increased Area of Effect Support |
[UTILITY] Flame Dash/Steelskin | |
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Flame Dash - the recommended Movement Skill for this build. It allows you to progress faster through Maps and avoid heavy damage |
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Arcane Surge Support - causes linked Spells to grant Arcane Surge buff when you spend a certain amount of Mana on them. Keep this Gem at level 5 so that it is triggered after each cast of Flame Dash |
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Second Wind Support - increases the Cooldown Recovery Speed of linked spells and adds an additional charge on Flame Dash |
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Steelskin - grants a protective shield that absorbs incoming damage |
[UTILITY] Assassin's Mark (Ring affix) |
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Assassin's Mark - the best Curse for this build which increases your effective Crit. Chance and generates Power Charges on kills. It has to be applied by an affix on a Shaper Ring |
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Below you will find the recommended gear for our Crackling Lance Elementalist. Most of the gear is optional, with only Call of the Brotherhood and Glorious Vanity Jewel being the must-have Items. All the other equipment can be replaced with random Rares and/or Uniques that offer similar stats and utility. Overall, this build can get pretty expensive, but it can be played on a medium budget as well
We guarantee that our list will:
Stat priorities on items:
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333% increased Armour and Energy Shield (9-21)% increased maximum Life, Mana and Global Energy Shield Transfiguration of Soul Transfiguration of Body Transfiguration of Mind |
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Recommended affixes: 90 Maximum Life Optional affixes: Elemental Resistances Critical Strike Multiplier Attributes |
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Helmet enchantment: Crackling Lance deals 40% increased Damage Crackling Lance has 16% increased Cast Speed |
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Recommended affixes: 110 Maximum Life 60% Total Elemental Resistances Gain 10% of Maximum Life as Extra Maximum Energy Shield Optional affixes: Attributes |
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(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 |
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Recommended affixes: 100% Lightning Spell Damage Added Lightning Damage to Spells 30% Cast Speed Optional affixes: Critical Strike Chance for Spells +2-3 to All Lightning Spell Skill Gems |
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+18% Chance to Block Attack Damage while wielding a Staff +2 to Level of all Lightning Spell Skill Gems +(80-120) to Intelligence (30-50)% increased Lightning Damage Adds (5-15) to (100-140) Lightning Damage to Spells 40% increased Strength Requirement Damage Penetrates 20% Lightning Resistance |
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Recommended affixes: 70 Maximum Life 25% Increased Movement Speed 90% Total Elemental Resistances Optional affixes: Attributes Gain Elusive on Critical Strike |
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Boot Enchantment: 16% increased Attack and Cast Speed if you've Killed Recently 18% reduced Mana Cost of Skills if you've been Hit Recently |
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Recommended affixes: 100 Maximum Life 80% Total Elemental Resistances Optional affixes: Increased Damage (Generic/Elemental/Lightning) Maximum Life % |
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Recommended affixes: 60 Maximum Life 40 Dexterity 35% Critical Strike Multiplier Optional affixes: #% Reduced Mana Reserved (if necessary) Spell Damage Mana Regeneration Rate |
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Recommended Anointments: Doom Cast (best DPS) Charisma (in case of Mana issues) |
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Recommended affixes: 50 Maximum Life 80% Total Elemental Resistances Trigger Level # Assassin's Mark when you Hit a Rare or Unique Enemy Optional affixes: Mana/Mana Regeneration Rate Attributes |
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+(12-16)% to Cold and Lightning Resistances +(15-25) to Intelligence (15-25)% increased Lightning Damage (30-40)% increased Mana Regeneration Rate 40% of Lightning Damage Converted to Cold Damage Your spells have 100% chance to Shock against Frozen Enemies |
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Recommended affixes: 100 Maximum Life Optional affixes: Spell Damage Elemental Resistances Global Critical Strike Chance / Elemental Damage if you've dealt a Critical Strike Recently Attributes |
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Recommended affixes: 1 Added Passive Skill is Doryani's Lesson 1 Added Passive Skill is Prismatic Heart 1 Added Passive Skill is Snowstorm |
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1 Added Passive Skill is Master of Fear 1 Added Passive Skill is Wish for Death |
Recommended affixes:|
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Passives in Radius can be Allocated without being connected to your tree Passives allocated: Enigmatic Defense Discord Artisan Mystic Bulwark Prodigal Perfection Blast Radius |
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+1 to maximum number of Golems +1 to maximum number of Summoned Golems if you have 3 Primordial Items Socketed or Equipped |
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Recommended affixes: maximum Life Global Critical Strike Multiplier Optional affixes: Chance to Hinder enemies on Spell hit Added Lightning Damage to Spells |
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Bathed in the blood of (100-8000) sacrificed in the name of (Ahuana-Doryani-Xibaqua) Passives in radius are Conquered by the Vaal Historic |
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(4-6)% increased maximum Energy Shield (4-6)% increased maximum Life (4-6)% increased maximum Mana <Two or Three random aura modifiers> Recommended Aura modifiers: Consecrated Ground you create while affected by Zealotry causes enemies to take (8-10)% increased Damage (100-120)% increased Critical Strike Chance against Enemies on Consecrated Ground while affected by Zealotry Critical Strikes Penetrate (8-10)% of Enemy Elemental Resistances while affected by Zealotry (40-60)% increased Lightning Damage while affected by Wrath(40-60)% increased Lightning Damage while affected by Wrath |
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Recommended affixes: maximum Life Global Critical Strike Multiplier/Critical Strike Multiplier with Elemental / Fire Skills Optional affixes: Increased Spell/Area Damage Elemental Resistances |
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40% increased Damage Creates Consecrated Ground on Use (30-50)% increased Duration Consecrated Ground created by this Flask has Tripled Radius +(1-2)% to Critical Strike Chance against Enemies on Consecrated Ground during Effect Consecrated Ground created during Effect applies (7-10)% increased Damage taken to Enemies |
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+3000 to Armour +(14-20)% Chance to Block Attack Damage during Flask effect +(6-10)% Chance to Block Spell Damage during Flask effect |
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Other suggested Flasks:
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If you have any feedback about this build or suggestions for the next one, please let us know in the comments below!
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