Enmity's Embrace Fireball
Chieftain Build

Updated for Patch 3.26

The Best Crafty Guides by Odealo

Enmity's Embrace can provide up to 200% Fire Penetration. That's a stupidly high number, so we will try to reach it. All we need to do is have tons of Fire Resistance - 200% over the cap, to be exact. The same Ring also reduces Fire Resistance, so achieving that on top of a 90% hard cap is something that can be reasonably done only on a Chieftain. Chieftain has the Tasalio ascendancy that allows us to focus entirely on Fire Resistance, ignoring the Cold and Lightning ones. The Valako passive causes your Maximum Elemental Resistances to be equal to Maximum Fire Resistance, making it easy to cap all of them at 90%. Hinekora and Sione will improve the build, but these ascendancy passives are not terribly important.

Since Penetration works with Hits, not with DoTs, we cannot make it an Ignite build. Instead, we will pick a Fire Spell (we could use a Physical Spell as well, but then the damage would need to be converted to Fire), preferably one with good scaling; something simple. Fireball fits the bill. It has great damage effectiveness, easily scalable with Gem Level. Keep in mind, there are many other Spells and Attacks that you can use instead, and it won't change the build much; there is a huge Skill diversity among the ring-wearing Chieftains. Fireball is a Fire Projectile that explodes at the end of its journey, and these explosions can overlap to "shotgun", although it's not a reliable strategy to count on that happening each time. It's a bit more nuanced.

The defensive layering is great here. Primarily, it's 90% all Elemental Resistances with Cloak of Flame and a Helmet that redirects a big portion of Physical Damage to be taken as Elemental. Remember - it's Physical Damage that's usually the most dangerous late into the game, so you have to break it into smaller Hits. Your physical Damage Reduction is also good due to Armour, Flesh and Stone, and 5 Endurance Charges (which also reduce Elemental Damage taken). You prevent almost all damage, that's why we can afford to allocate Glancing Blows to cap our Spell and Attack Block Chance. You will only need to patch up your Chaos Resistance to be sturdy. Then there is recovery. The build has a very high Life Regeneration Rate from Vitality, Consecrated Ground, Enduring Cry, and items. It's so high that you can run RF and Approaching Flames for Spell Damage (or Cast Speed with transfigured RF) and permanent Adrenaline. If you need more durability, wear DoD or Surrender (the Shield).

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

1. Gameplay

There is more than one button to press. Fireball is the primary one that does all the damage. Battlemage's Cry and Enduring Cry have to be used once in a while to get more damage and durability, respectively. Assassin's Mark is important only against bosses. RF should stay on at all times. Flame Dash is used to travel, but linked with Combustion, it will improve your DPS slightly. Your passive skills are Clarity, Vitality, Purity of Fire, Zealotry, and Flesh and Stone.

2. Build's PROS & CONS

3. Leveling tips

Enmity's Embrace requires Level 80. Just start with something you're familiar with or that is currently good, like a Righteous Fire Chieftain. Switch to this build after you acquire all the required items. We recommend at least 100% of over-the-cap Fire Res if you're in a hurry.

Bandits:

Help Alira for 15% all resistances, or kill all for a Skill Point

4. Final Skill Tree, Ascendancy Points, and Pantheon

Final Skill Tree:

111 Points Final Passive Tree (doesn't include Unique and Cluster Jewels)
123 Points Path of Building (PoB) link

Ascendancy points:

Preferably in that order:

1. Tasalio
2. Valako
3. Sione
4. Hinekora

Pantheon:

Major God: Soul of Arakaali: 10% reduced Damage taken from Damage Over Time

Minor God: Soul of Tukohama: 3% additional Physical Damage Reduction per second you've been stationary, up to a maximum of 9%

5. Final Gems links

[DPS] Fireball setup
	Fireball - Fireball deals Fire Damage on contact and explodes upon termination. These explosions can "shotgun" if the Fireballs explode not on the target you want to "shotgun".
	Intensify Support - Increased AoE and Area Damage, which becomes more concentrated the more Intensify stacks you have. Get them by standing still and Casting.
	Increased Critical Damage Support - A big Critical Strike Multiplier bonus for Fireball.
	Pinpoint Support - 3 Additional Projectiles, but you lose one with each Intensify stack. In turn, it grants more damage per Intensify.
	Spell Echo Support - Much more Cast Speed. Skill repeats an additional time.
	Inspiration Support - Critical Strike Chance, Elemental Damage, and lower Mana Cost of linked Skills.

[UTILITY] Reservation Setup
	Zealotry - More Spell Damage, Critical Strike Chance for Spells, and Consecrated Ground upon Hitting Rare or Unique enemies.
	Flesh and Stone - Stay in the Sand Stance to take up to 20% less Physical Damage from nearby enemies.
	Purity of Fire - You will need all the Fire Resistance you can get, so Purity of Fire is a must-have. Remember to increase its Gem Level and your Aura Effect if you have the opportunity.
	Enlighten Support - Linked Spells Reserve less Mana.

[UTILITY] Warcry Setup
	Battlemage's Cry - Additional base Critical Strike Chance depending on Power, which is Infinite in our case. That's 3.25% added Crit Chance.
	Enduring Cry - Grants maximum Endurance Charges and 13% of Maximum Life Regeneration per second.
	More Duration Support - More Duration for Warcries' buff effects.
	Urgent Orders Support - Warcries can be performed much faster.

[UTILITY] Life Reservation Setup
	Vitality - Additional Life Regeneration.
	Clarity - Additional Mana Regeneration.
	Arrogance Support - Linked Spells Reserve Life instead of Mana.

[MOBILITY] Flame Dash Setup
	Flame Dash - Your movement ability. You will also use it to damage enemies you dash into, and to apply Combustion.
	Elemental Proliferation Support - Ignite caused by Flame Dash Proliferates, resulting in a much improved clear speed.
	Combustion Support - Ignited enemies have -10% to Fire Resistance.

[UTILITY] Remaining Gems
	Assassin's Mark - Marked enemy is more likely to be struck critically and receives more damage from Critical Strikes.
	Righteous Fire of Arcane Devotion - Grants 25% more Cast Speed. Deals Fire Damage over Time based on your Maximum Mana, which won't do any real harm due to your Fire Res and Life Regen.

6. Gear Setup

It's a Fire Damage Spellcaster with high Crit Chance. This build has, however, one additional unique source of scaling up the damage via Fire Resistance. It revolves around equipping Enmity's Embrace to gain tons of Fire Penetration, up to 200%. It's difficult to achieve since the Ring reduces your Fire Res (much like the Annihilating Light does), but possible nonetheless. The easiest way to reach this 200% overcapped Fire Res is Mageblood. It's actually so efficient that we can deviate from the standard Wands Spellcasters use and pivot towards Mystic Refractor. This high Fire Resistance also enables permanent Adrenaline from Annihilation's Approach. The rest of your gear is rather simple - Spell Damage, Crit Chance, and Cast Speed. For Durability, try to redirect Physical and Chaos damage to be taken as Fire or Elemental Damage. Gain some Armour and Physical Damage Reduction whenever it's possible, and cap your Attack and Spell Block Chance (with Glancing Blows). It's mainly a Life Build, ES is present, but not important. Reservation Efficiency will not be needed. Life Regeneration is very useful to sustain the self-inflicted DoT.

(Helmet) Rare Helmet - Look for Maximum Life, Fire Resistance, and preferably Chaos Resistance, Armour, or Life Regeneration modifiers. For the Eldritch mods, get Physical Damage taken as Fire and Cast Speed.

Min. requirements: +100 to Maximum Life +40% to Fire Resistance Optional affixes:  increased Life Regeneration Rate Regenerate # Life per second Attributes Chaos Resistance Armour

(Weapon) Mystic Refractor - It has some damage, Projectile Speed, and, most importantly, additional Projectiles with the inability for them to Pierce, Chain, Fork, Split, and Return. You don't want your Fireballs to do any of these interactions because that prevents them from exploding on the first target they hit. This can be achieved with Kineticism as well.

10% increased Cast Speed Skills fire (2-3) additional Projectiles (10-20)% increased Projectile Speed (30-50)% increased Projectile Damage Projectiles cannot continue after colliding with targets

(Off-hand) Rare Shield - We have used Shield to gain extra damage and Maximum Fire Res, among other things, since there are lots of very desirable mods to be found here. That requires an ES Shield. Dawnbreaker or Surrender may be better defensive options.

Min. requirements: +100 to Maximum Life +40% to Fire Resistance Optional affixes:  +3% to maximum Fire Resistance +1 to Level of all Fire Spell Skill Gems increased Spell or Fire Damage increased Spell Critical Strike Chance increased Chance to Block Chance to Block Spell Damage Chaos Resistance

(Body Armour) Cloak of Flame - Cloak of Flame is just the best defensive option if your Fire Resistance is 90%. We will also need that 75% regular Fire Resistance from it.

+(50-75)% to Fire Resistance (40-75)% increased Ignite Duration on Enemies Reflects 100 Fire Damage to Melee Attackers 40% of Physical Damage taken as Fire Damage

(Boots) Annihilation's Approach - If we can sustain the 6000 Fire DoT, we can have Adrenaline on permanently. A powerful buff. It also grants Chill immunity, Freeze immunity, and a bit of Movement Speed.

Grants Level 20 Approaching Flames Skill (60-100)% increased Armour and Evasion 30% increased Movement Speed Cannot be Chilled Cannot be Frozen Take 6000 Fire Damage per Second while Flame-Touched Gain Adrenaline when you become Flame-Touched Lose Adrenaline when you cease to be Flame-Touched

(Gloves) Rare Gloves - Same as with Helmet - Maximum Life, Fire Resistance, Life Regeneration, and maybe Chaos Resistance with Attributes. If you don't apply Fire Exposure via Mercenary or other skills, get it as an Eldritch modifier. If not - Fire Damage Leeched as Life. For the second mod, try to gain Unnerve on Hit.

Min. requirements: +100 to Maximum Life +40% to Fire Resistance Optional affixes:  increased Life Regeneration Rate Regenerate # Life per second Attributes Chaos Resistance Armour

(Belt) Rare Belt - Flask uptime is important; that's why we need a Belt that ensures they're always on. Mageblood would be the best, but you can have 100% flask uptime with the Traitor from Brutal Restraint, Flask Prefixes for faster recharge, and a proper Belt. Hunter's Micro-Distillery Belt can be quite good here.

Min. requirements: +120 to Maximum Life +40% to Fire Resistance Optional affixes:  Attributes Regenerate # Life per second Flasks applied to you have increased Effect increased Flask Effect Duration reduced Flask Charges used increased Flask Charges gained Gain a Flask Charge when you deal a Critical Strike (Hunter's Prefix) increased Cast Speed during any Flask Effect (Hunter's Suffix) increased Maximum Life (Hunter's Prefix)

(Amulet) Replica Dragonfang's Flight - Adds 3 levels to Fireball, if you have the right version, some Attributes, Resistances, reduced Attribute Requirements, and Reservation Efficiency.

+(10-16) to all Attributes +3 to Level of all <Random Skill> Gems +(5-10)% to all Elemental Resistances (5-10)% increased Reservation Efficiency of Skills Items and Gems have (10-5)% reduced Attribute Requirements

(Amulet) Defiance of Destiny - A defensive option that instantly recovers some of your Life before you get hit. It's good if you need that extra durability against many hits, like when doing high-tier maps.

(20-30)% increased Mana Regeneration Rate +(60-80) to maximum Life +(10-40)% to Fire Resistance +(10-40)% to Cold Resistance +(10-40)% to Lightning Resistance Gain (10-20)% of Missing Unreserved Life before being Hit by an Enemy

(Amulet) Leadership's Price - It's easy to match your Strength and Intelligence since we expect you to use lots of red Tattoos for Fire Resistance. The rewards for doing so are Confluxes. Scorch lowers Resistances, Brittle grants additional Crit Chance against the target, and Sap lowers damage. It's very fitting, even more so if you can Shock with Minions (Skitterbots, for example) or Mercenary. Note that you can no longer Ignite. Ignore Max Cold and Max Lightning Resistances.

+(10-16) to all Attributes +(-3-3)% to maximum Fire Resistance +(-3-3)% to maximum Cold Resistance +(-3-3)% to maximum Lightning Resistance You have Scorching Conflux, Brittle Conflux and Sapping Conflux while your two highest Attributes are equal Cannot Ignite, Chill, Freeze or Shock

Recommended Anointments: Vigour Doom Cast Influence

(Ring) Rare Ring - Ideally, you want a Reflected Ring with a lot of Maximum Life, Fire Resistance, and unobstructive additions. Cogwork Rings will be great too.

Min. requirements: +100 to Maximum Life +40% to Fire Resistance Attributes Optional affixes:  increased Cast Speed Global Critical Strike Multiplier Non-Channelling Skills have -7 to Total Mana Cost

(Ring) Enmity's Embrace - A core item. With 200% Fire Resistance over the 90% hard cap, it provides you with 200% Fire Penetration. Try to get one with a roll that reduces your Fire Resistance only by 65% because it's troublesome enough even at its lowest.

(5-7)% increased maximum Life +(30-50) to Strength (10-20)% increased Fire Damage (75-65)% reduced Fire Resistance Take (300-500) Fire Damage when you Use a Skill Damage Penetrates Fire Resistance equal to your Overcapped Fire Resistance, up to a maximum of 200%

(Jewel) Rare Jewels - On regular Jewels, look for Fire Resistance, Maximum Fire Resistance, Maximum Life, Attributes, and Crit Multiplier.

Recommended affixes: increased Maximum Life Fire Resistance Global Critical Strike Multiplier Critical Strike Multiplier for Spell Damage Attributes

(Jewel) Brutal Restraint - If you have no Mageblood, you will probably need the Balbala version of Brutal Restraint to get The Traitor Keystone and have your Ruby Flask always active.

Denoted service of (500-8000) dekhara in the akhara of (Asenath-Balbala-Nasima) Passives in radius are Conquered by the Maraketh Historic

(Jewel) The Red Nightmare - You can socket it where the small Strength travel nodes are plentiful and Tattoo them over so that they grant Fire Resistance. It will get you extra Attack Block Chance.

Gain (6-10)% of Fire Damage as Extra Chaos Damage Passives granting Fire Resistance or all Elemental Resistances in Radius also grant Chance to Block Attack Damage at 50% of its value

(Jewel) The Light of Meaning - The Fire Damage version will increase your damage. Socket it near the Sentinel notable and combine with Unnatural Instinct.

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

(Jewel) Unnatural Instinct - Socket it near the Shaper notable so that it overlaps with The Light of Meaning, resulting in more Fire Damage.

Allocated Small Passive Skills in Radius grant nothing Grants all bonuses of Unallocated Small Passive Skills in Radius

(Jewel) Watcher's Eye - You're using Clarity, Vitality, Purity of Fire, and Zealotry. Look for Cast Speed via Zealotry mods, Life Recovery of all kinds from Vitality, or reduced Mana Cost of Skills from Clarity. Purity of Fire has nothing.

(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 - Since we have tons of Penetration (from the Ring) and flat damage (from Fireball Gem Level), all we need is increases to Fire or Spell Damage. We've used a large 12-passive no-notables Spell Damage Cluster Jewels with additional Fire Resistance on each node.

Recommended Affixes: Added Small Passive Skills also grant: #% increased Cast Speed Added Small Passive Skills also grant: +#% to Fire Resistance Added Small Passive Skills have 35% increased Effect

Suggested Flasks: Ruby Flask with increased Armour Granite Flask with increased Movement Speed Silver Flask with reduced effect of Curses on you Diamond Flask with increased Critical Strike Chance Bismuth Flask with additional Elemental Resistances

6. Mercenary Setup

There are several good picks. One is a Merc that would use Zealotry or Purity of Fire (sadly, no Merc uses Purity of Elements) so that you don't have to Reserve Mana yourself. Then there are Mercs that cast some buffs or debuffs, such as Cover enemies in Ash, cast Firewall, or have Aspect of the Spider. Then, there are Curses. These can be applied with Rings and Corrupted Gloves on Hit, and we are looking for Punishment, Enfeelbe, Flammability, or Purity of Elements. It's better if these are Skills on a character rather than items. We have narrowed choices to 3 good options: Storming Zealot with Zealotry, Tornado of Elemental Turbulence to Hinder, and Wave of Conviction for Exposure; Eruptor with Ashen Fissure to Cover enemies in Ash, Flame Link, Consecrated Path, Purity of Fire, and Determination; or Flamehand with Purity of Fire, Flammability, Flame Wall, and Anger.

[UTILITY] Mercenary Skills
	Zealotry - Available on Storming Zealot. Normally, you need to have it on and Reserve 50% of your Mana.
	Tornado of Elemental Turbulence - Available on Storming Zealot. Hinders enemies so that they move more slowly.
	Wave of Conviction - Available on Storming Zealot. Applied Exposure that reduces Fire Resistance by 15%.
	Ashen Fissure - Available on Eruptor. Covers enemies in Ash so that they take increased Fire Damage; very useful.
	Flame Link - Available on Eruptor. Adds a bit of Fire Damage to Spells.
	Consecrated Path - Available on Eruptor. Creates Consecrated Ground to reduce the effect of Curses and grants Life Regeneration.
	Purity of Fire - Available on Eruptor and Flamehand. It's much better to cast it yourself since the Gem Level and Aura Effect, which you can scale easily, grant more Fire Res and Max Fire Res.
	Determination - Available on Eruptor. Grants Armour, which is good, you will need that. Physical Damage is dangerous.
	Flammability - Available on Flamehand. It reduces Fire Resistance, which is not as good as on most builds, since you already penetrate 200% Fire Res; what's another 17-36? Punishment is better damage-wise.
	Flame Wall - Available on Flamehand. Fireballs passing through Flame Wall have added Fire Damage.
	Anger - Available on Flamehand. Adds some Fire Damage to Spells and Attacks. A minor upgrade.

(Helmet) Rare Helmet - You want a Helmet that reduces the Fire Resistance of nearby enemies. It won't do a lot when compared to your 200% Penetration, but it's still an upgrade.

Min. requirements: Nearby Enemies have -9% to Fire Resistance (Warlord Suffix) +80% total Elemental Resistance Optional affixes: Chaos Resistance

(Helmet) Ylfeban's Trickery - Over time, it can stack some useful Curses on an enemy. Almost half of all Hexes are of use. Just be sure that your Mercenary has some kind of Taunt or is Melee to get hit.

Trigger Level 10 Shock Ground when Hit Adds 1 to (60-80) Lightning Damage to Spells and Attacks (130-170)% increased Energy Shield +(25-35)% to Lightning Resistance Curse Enemies which Hit you with a random Hex, ignoring Curse Limit

(Helmet) Blood Price - Nearby enemies have 8% of their Life Reserved, so you start a fight with already damaged foes. Useful against bosses.

24% reduced maximum Life Regenerate (200-250) Life per second 100% increased Stun and Block Recovery Nearby Enemy Monsters have at least 8% of Life Reserved

(Weapon) Kingmaker -The best weapon a companion can wear. It adds Fortification, Critical Strike, Culling Strike, and Item Rarity.

(300-360)% increased Physical Damage (7-12)% increased Attack Speed (30-40)% increased Critical Strike Chance Nearby Allies have 30% increased Item Rarity Nearby Allies have Culling Strike Insufficient Mana doesn't prevent your Melee Attacks Nearby Allies have +50% to Critical Strike Multiplier Nearby Allies have +10 Fortification

(Body Armour) Doppelgänger Guise - Mercenary will always be Sane. That's tons of Life Regeneration and Less Physical Damage taken for them.

Grants Level 20 Unhinge Skill (40-60)% more Critical Strike Chance while Insane Enemies Killed by your Hits are destroyed while Insane (40-30)% less Physical and Chaos Damage Taken while Sane Regenerate 10% Life over one second when Hit while Sane

(Body Armour) Garb of the Ephemeral - It causes you to take no extra damage from Crits and prevents you from having your Action Speed lowered below its base value.

(180-230)% increased Energy Shield +600 Strength and Intelligence Requirement Gain a Divine Charge on Hit +10 to maximum Divine Charges You gain Divinity for 10 seconds on reaching maximum Divine Charges Lose all Divine Charges when you gain Divinity Nearby Allies' Action Speed cannot be modified to below Base Value Nearby Enemies cannot deal Critical Strikes

(Body Armour) Blunderbore - Brutal and Massive Shirnes make the character larger, stronger, more durable, and add knockback on hit.

+(8-12)% to all Elemental Resistances +(500-700) Strength Requirement (80-120)% increased Armour (50-75)% increased Effect of Shrine Buffs on you You have Lesser Brutal Shrine Buff You have Lesser Massive Shrine Buff

(Boots) Rare Boots - They can be a source of Brittle Ground if you can't cause it yourself. Besides that, just look for the basic defensive stats.

Min. requirements: Drops Brittle Ground while moving (Exarch Implicit) +80% total Elemental Resistance Optional affixes: Chaos Resistance

(Gloves) Rare Gloves - Merc's Gloves should have Eldritch mods for Exposure and Unnerve on Hit if you don't have them on your Gloves. We also heavily recommend a double-corrupted Gloves (like Hands of the High Templar) for Enfeeble, Elemental Weakness, or even Temporal Chains on Hit. Remember to pair that up with Anathema.

Min. requirements: +80% to Elemental Resistances Optional affixes: chance to Unnerve Enemies for 4 seconds on Hit Inflict Fire Exposure on Hit Resistances Maximum Life

(Gloves) Hand of Heresy - Enemies Hit with a Melee Attack deal no Chaos Damage. Good when your Merc Attacks fast and your Chaos Resistance is not capped.

(40-80)% increased Armour and Energy Shield (15-25)% increased Life Regeneration rate 15% increased Area of Effect of Aura Skills Excommunicate Enemies on Melee Hit for 3 seconds

(Belt) Kaom's Binding - It has the "Nearby Enemies Convert 25% of their Physical Damage to Fire" mod that causes you to take less Physical Damage, which is welcome.

+(25-35) to Strength +(30-40) to Strength +(300-500) to Armour Take no Burning Damage if you've stopped taking Burning Damage Recently Nearby Enemies Convert 25% of their Physical Damage to Fire

(Amulet) Xoph's Heart - Covers nearby enemies in Ash. They take increased Fire Damage. If you have the Eruptor with Ashen Fissure, just get them a Rare Amulet or The Eternal Struggle.

+(20-30) to Strength +(20-30) to Strength 25% increased Fire Damage +(25-35) to maximum Life +(20-40)% to Fire Resistance Nearby Enemies are Covered in Ash

(Ring) Rare Rings - Rare Rings may be used to apply some Curses on Hit. Corrupted Rings can increase the Effect of some Auras the Merc is using. Other than that, look for Resistances and Life.

Min. requirements: +80% to Elemental Resistances Optional affixes: Curse Enemies with Flammability on Hit (Warlord Suffix) Curse Enemies with Elemental Weakness on Hit (Hunter Suffix) Zealotry has #% increased Aura Effect (Corrupted Implicit) Maximum Life Chaos Resistance

(Ring) Anathema - It will be needed if your Merc is applying any Curse on Hit. Doedre's Damning can be used instead if it's just one Curse, but if it's two or more, you will need Anathema.

+(15-25) to maximum Energy Shield +(30-40) to Intelligence (10-15)% increased Cast Speed (10-20)% chance to gain a Power Charge when you Cast a Curse Spell Your Curse Limit is equal to your maximum Power Charges

(Ring) Grattus Signet - If your Merc has a Spell that Hits, use this Ring to Unnerve enemies so that they take increased Spell Damage.

(20-30)% increased Global Critical Strike Chance (5-10)% increased Attack Speed (5-10)% increased Cast Speed +(40-60) to maximum Energy Shield +(30-50) to maximum Life Attacks inflict Unnerve on Critical Strike for 4 seconds Spells inflict Intimidate on Critical Strike for 4 seconds

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.