Elemental Hit
Slayer Build

Updated for Patch 3.28

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Elemental Hit is a very special Attack; It deals only one type of Elemental Damage with each hit, randomly assigned each time. To make up for this inadequacy, it comes with Flat Damage for each Element, which grows alongside the Gem Level of Elemental Hit, meaning you don't need a weapon high in damage. This type of Attack builds (with Flat Damage not in the weapon) often uses The Squire Shield combined with a Rare Sword or Claw with imbued Support Gems, resulting in over 8 Support Gems for the main damaging skill. It improves damage drastically. Elemental Hit can then be scaled up with Gem Level, Attack Speed, Critical Strikes, and Elemental Penetration. The best ascendancies for such a role are Warden, Berserker, or Slayer. This guide will focus on Slayer since their passives grant Overleech for excellent Recovery, Impact for AoE and damage, and Masterful Form for Endurance Charges (sourced from the Body Armour in this case). The last ascendancy point can be spent on the Bane of Legends or an additional Ring slot from Unseen Bloodline. A lot of players don't use Flasks anyway; they wear Screams of the Desiccated, which is entirely optional.

Elemental Hit can deal only one type of Elemental Damage at a time, so looking for any "added Elemental Damage" is pretty much pointless, as it will probably be discarded. However, the Skill has all three Elemental tags, so finding a mod that would increase its Gem Level or add Critical Strike Multiplier is much easier. It will be important when searching for an Amulet and Jewels. It also lets you just plug in Trinity Support and generate Resonances like it's no one's business. The Skill has a very rare Prismatic tag, so it is heavily recommended to equip The Unseen Hue Rings with Brittle and Scorch. This improves damage.

Defensively, the build is weak to big Physical Hits. It relies on Maximum Life and has good recovery, so DoTs won't be an issue. You can improve it by capping your Chaos Resistance, Attack & Spell Block Chance, Spell Suppression Chance, and accumulating Evasion Rating. Physical Damage can be mitigated with Endurance Charges, by shifting it to be taken as Elemental, and standing in Sand Stance with Flesh and Stone active.

1. Gameplay

Whirling Blades and Elemental Hit are the bread and butter when mapping. Be sure you have Blood Rage on at all times. When fighting bosses, stay close to them, deploy Hydrosphere, and Frostblink each time they move to keep them on the Chilled Ground. Assassin's Mark is triggered automatically, and so is Berserk with Steelskin. Your passive skills are Grace, Tempest Shield or Arctic Armour, Precision, Flesh and Stone, and Blood and Sand.

2. Build's PROS & CONS

3. Leveling tips

Start as a normal Slayer. We recommend Shockwave Cyclone Slayer. It's much cheaper and more efficient to level up with. Swap to this after being able to equip the requierd items.

Bandits:

An additional Passive Skill Point seems like the best option, but you may need to help Alira to get the additional Elemental Resistances.

4. Final Skill Tree, Ascendancy Points, and Pantheon

Final Skill Tree:

101 Points Final Skill Tree (doesn't include Cluster or Unique Jewels)
123 Points Path of Building (PoB) link

Ascendancy points:

Preferably in that order:

1. Brutal Fervour
2. Impact
3. Masterful Form
4. The Unseen Hand (no Utility Flasks) or Bane of Legends

Pantheon:

Major God:  Soul of the Brine King: You cannot be Stunned if you've been Stunned or Blocked a Stunning Hit in the past 2 seconds; 100% chance to Avoid being Frozen

Minor God: Soul of Abberath: 60% less Duration of Ignite on You; 10% increased Movement Speed while on Burning Ground; Unaffected by Burning Ground

5. Final Gems links

[DPS] Elemental Hit setup socketed in the Weapon & The Squire
	Elemental Hit - A Prismatic Attack that deals Cold, Fire, or Lightning Damage with a Melee Hit.
	Elemental Damage with Attacks Support - More Elemental Damage with Attacks. It can be found as a built-in support gem in a weapon (Shaper's Prefix)
	Increased Critical Strikes Support - Increased Crit Chance. It can be found as a built-in support gem in a weapon (Shaper's Suffix)
	Faster Attacks Support - Increased Attack Speed. It can be found as a built-in support gem in a weapon (Shaper's Suffix)
	Increased Critical Damage Support - More Damage with Critical Strikes. You can replace it with Greater Ancestral Call Support when mapping and not fighting pinnacle bosses.
	Inspiration Support - More Elemental Damage, increased Critical Strike Chance, and lower Mana Cost of Skills, which will become important.
	Multistrike Support - Multistrike or Greater Multistrike increases Hit Rate but lowers damage slightly.
	Trinity Support - Resonances are easily generated on Elemental Hit, which results in more Elemental Damage and Elemental Penetration via Trinity.
	Ruthless Support - Every third Attack deals much more Damage.

[MOBILITY] Whirling Blades setup
	Whirling Blades - The most basic mobility Skill that you can use with a Claw or a Sword.
	Faster Attacks Support - Faster Attacks for Whirling Blades.
	Lifetap Support - Linked Skill costs Life instead of Mana.
	Hydrosphere - Applies Cold and Lightning Exposure, so that the enemy has lowered their Cold and Lightning Resistances. We've put it here to link it with Lifetap, but keep it at level 1.

[UTILITY] Blood Rage
	Blood Rage - Blood Rage drains Life but grants Attack Speed and Frenzy Charges on Kill. Be sure it's on at all times.

[UTILITY] Frostblink setup
	Frostblink - Frostblink is the most efficient way to Chill enemies with its Chilled Ground effect.
	Bonechill Support - Bonechill will cause the Chill effect from the linked Skill to also increase the damage received.

[UTILITY] Assassin's Mark setup
	Assassin's Mark - Marked enemy is more likely to receive a Critical Strike and takes increased damage from such strikes.
	Mark on Hit Support - Mark is applied automatically with Attacks.

[UTILITY] Reservation setup
	Grace - Grace adds and increases Evasion Rating, which is your primary defensive layer.
	Flesh and Stone - In Sand Stance, it makes you take up to 20% less damage from Hits caused by nearby enemies.
	Blood and Sand - More Area of Effect and slightly less Area Damage while in Sand Stance, which should be your default Stance.
	Precision - Added Accuracy and increased Critical Strike Chance. If Accuracy is not needed because you cannot miss, you can still keep it at a level 1 to benefit from some of the mods on a Watcher's Eye.
	Tempest Shield - If it helps you to cap Spell Block Chance, use it. Otherwise, switch to Arctic Armour to take less Physical and Fire Damage while stationary.
	Enlighten Support - Linked Spells Reserve less Mana.

[UTILITY] Automation setup
	Automation - Automatically casts linked Spells with Cooldown.
	Steelskin - A Guard Spell that absorbs a portion of incoming Hit Damage and stops Bleeding.
	Berserk - Consumes Rage at an increasing rate, but increases the effect of it.

5. Gear Setup

The build diverges from the typical formula for elemental attack builds by putting no pressure on the weapon's damage. It's more akin to Spell builds in this sense, as the flat damage is sourced from the Gem Level of Elemental Hit, or at least it is a more important source of it. We can take advantage of that by going for the Squire setup with a weapon with built-in Support Gems. You should then increase the Gem level further, reach 100% Crit Chance, and gather as much Crit Multiplier as possible. Attack Speed and Elemental Penetration are crucial, but there are not that many opportunities to get them. Defensively, the build relies on Maximum Life with Life Leech, high Evasion, Spell Suppression, and Block Chance for the high-end variants. You will probably need at least some Armour. Be sure you have a source of Mana Leech, Rage on Hit, Exposure, and Fortification. Accuracy should not be needed if you have crafted "Hits can't be Evaded" on a Weapon. Getting enough Attributes, especially Intelligence, can be troublesome.

(Helmet) Rare Helmet - On a Helmet, try to get Intelligence, Maximum Life, and Resistances, with maybe some Suppression Chance or Evasion if it's a Dex base. For the Eldritch mods, seek Reduced Cost of Attacks with Physical-taken-as or Reservation Efficiency.

Min. requirements: +90 to Maximum Life 40% total Resistance Intelligence Optional affixes: Spell Suppression Chance Attributes Evasion Rating

(Body Armour) Rare Body Armour - Use an Evasion or Evasion-Armour Body Armour with Maximum Life, Resistances, Spell Suppression, and additional Physical Damage Reduction. For the Eldritch mods, search for Fortify on hit and Endurance Charges.

Min. requirements: +120 to Maximum Life 40% total Resistance Additional Physical Damage Reduction Spell Suppression Chance Optional affixes: Attributes Evasion Rating

(Weapon) Rare Weapon - Damage is irrelevant. You will need a Shaper's Claw with built-in Support Gems, the most important of which are Increased Critical Strikes and Elemental Damage with Attacks. Then, shift your focus to Attack Speed. Socket your Elemental Hit setup here.

Min. requirements: Socketed Gems are supported by Elemental Damage with Attacks (Shaper Prefix) Socketed Gems are Supported by Increased Critical Strikes (Shaper Suffix) Hits can't be Evaded (crafted Prefix) Optional affixes: Socketed Gems are supported by Melee Splash (Shaper Suffix) Socketed Gems are Supported by Faster Attacks (Shaper Suffix) Socketed Skills deal 40% more Attack Damage (Shaper Prefix) increased Attack Speed

(Off-hand) The Squire - The Support Gems in the Squire are remotely linked to your one-hand weapon, resulting in a 9-or-more link setup when accounting for the imbued gem.

120% increased Block Recovery Has 3 Sockets All Sockets are White +(5-8)% to Quality of Socketed Support Gems Socketed Support Gems can also Support Skills from your Main Hand (100-150)% increased Armour and Evasion +(3-5)% Chance to Block

(Gloves) Admiral's Arrogance - Levels to Elemental Hit are crucial, so aim for 3. Chance for Maximum Rage on any Hit is also very helpful. These are expensive, but you can try Corrupting them for +1 max Frenzy Charge.

(6-12)% increased Attack Speed (100-140)% increased Armour (10-20)% chance that if you would gain Rage on Hit, you instead gain up to your maximum Rage +(1-3) to Level of all Melee Skill Gems

(Boots) Rare Boots - Boots are refreshingly simple: Movement Speed, Resistances, and Maximum Life. Optionally Spell Suppression with Chance to Avoid Elemental Ailments. For the Eldritch mods, get Action Speed and Chance to Avoid Elemental Ailments.

Min. requirements: +90 to Maximum Life 40% total Resistance 30% increased Movement Speed Optional affixes: Attributes Chance to Avoid Elemental Ailments Spell Suppression Chance

(Belt) Rare Belt - A non-unique Belt should have Maximum Life, increased Elemental Damage, Resistances, and possibly Strength or other crafted Attribute.

Min. requirements: +100 to Maximum Life 80% total Resistance increased Elemental Damage with Attacks Optional affixes: Attributes increased Maximum Life (Hunter Prefix)

(Amulet) Rare Amulet - If you can't afford a Focused Amulet with Crit Multiplier and Level to any Elemental Skill Gems, settle for Maximum Life, Resistances, and Attributes.

Min. requirements: Level of all Cold/Fire/Lightning Skill Gems +#% to Global Critical Strike Multiplier Optional affixes: Attributes Maximum Life Resistances

(Amulet) Yoke of Suffering - Yoke is very good when paired with Unseen Hue and The Taming, as it increases the damage enemies take per Elemental Ailment on them.

+(10-16) to all Attributes +(10-20)% to Fire Resistance +(10-20)% to Cold Resistance +(20-40)% to Lightning Resistance 30% reduced Duration of Ailments on Enemies (5-10)% chance to Shock Enemies take (5-10)% increased Damage for each type of Ailment you have inflicted on them Your Elemental Damage can Shock

Recommended Anointments: Sione's Ambition

(Ring) The Unseen Hue - The Unseen Hue should allow you to inflict Brittle with Prismatic Skills, and get you some additional Resistances. You can use a second Ring with Scorch or even a third with Sap since they're so good.

(15-25)% increased Elemental Damage +(5-30)% to Fire Resistance +(5-30)% to Cold Resistance +(5-30)% to Lightning Resistance (6-12)% increased Attack and Cast Speed (10-20)% increased Effect of Non-Damaging Ailments <Random prismatic skill modifier>

(Ring) The Taming - Taming is a Ring with tons of Elemental Resistances and damage against enemies that are affected by Chill, Freeze, Shock, Ignite, Sap, Scorch, and Brittle. With two Unseen Hues, it should increase damage by 200%.

+(8-10)% to all Elemental Resistances (30-40)% increased Elemental Damage with Hits and Ailments for each type of Elemental Ailment on Enemy +(20-30)% to all Elemental Resistances 10% chance to Freeze, Shock and Ignite

(Jewel) Lethal Pride - Lethal Pride is used to get Strength and upgrade notables with various boons, such as Fire Resistance, Maximum Life, Melee Critical Strike Multiplier, and Rage on Hit.

Commanded leadership over (10000-18000) warriors under <Akoya • Kaom • Rakiata> Passives in radius are Conquered by the Karui Historic

(Jewel) The Light of Meaning - You can socket it in a place where it affects the most passives, and get a copy that grants Chaos Resistance since you'll struggle with it tremendously.

<Random modifier that grants bonus stats to passive skills in radius>

(Jewel) Forbidden Flesh & Flame - The Duelist has many great passives to choose from. Headsman and More than Skill are the best ones.

Allocates <random Ascendancy Notable> if you have the matching modifier on Forbidden Flame Allocates <random Ascendancy Notable> if you have the matching modifier on Forbidden Flesh

(Jewel) Ancestral Vision - With 100% Spell Suppression Chance and a good pair of Boots, you can reach 100% Avoidance of all Elemental Ailments.

+(5-10) to Dexterity Modifiers to Chance to Suppress Spell Damage also apply to Chance to Avoid Elemental Ailments at 50% of their Value

(Jewel) Replica Reckless Defence - With 100% Avoidance of all Elemental Ailments, this Jewel is the most efficient way to gain the missing Block Chance.

+(2-6)% Chance to Block Spell Damage +(2-6)% Chance to Block Attack Damage +10% chance to be Frozen, Shocked and Ignited

(Jewel) Rare Jewels - In this build, you can get Jewels with four modifiers that would increase Crit Multiplier due to the magnitude of Tags on Elemental Hit, but such Gems are absurdly expensive. You can go for missing Attributes, Resistances, Block Chance, Reservation Efficiency, and Maximum Life here as well.

Recommended affixes: increased Maximum Life Reservation Efficiency Block Chance Critical Strike Multiplier (various applicable types) Attributes Resistances

(Jewel) Watcher's Eye - Your Auras are Grace and Precision. On a Watcher's Eye, seek Spell Suppression or Attack Hit Avoidance from Grace, and Crit Chance with Crit Multiplier from Precision.

(4-6)% increased maximum Energy Shield (4-6)% increased maximum Life (4-6)% increased maximum Mana <Two or Three random aura modifiers>

(Jewel) Large Cluster Jewel - If you aim to cap your Block Chance, go for Large Cluster Jewels with Prodigious Defence and Strike Leader. If all you need is damage: Feed the Fury, Fuel the Fight, and Martial Prowess.

Recommended affixes: 1 Added Passive Skill is Feed the Fury 1 Added Passive Skill is Fuel the Fight 1 Added Passive Skill is Martial Prowess 1 Added Passive Skill is Prodigious Defence 1 Added Passive Skill is Strike Leader

Other suggested Flasks and Tinctures: Life Flask with immunity to Corrupted Blood Diamond Flask with increased Critical Strike Chance Rosethorn or Prismatic Tincture with Elemental Penetration Jade Flask with increased Evasion Silver Flask with crafted Life Regeneration Quicksilver Flask with increased Movement Speed

If you have any other build requests, please leave that in the comments below.

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