Fire Trap Elementalist
Starter Build

Updated for Patch 3.23

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Elementalist is an ascendancy you can equip with any Elemental Damage Spell and make it work, its efficiency with handling such Skills and their correlative Elemental Ailments is apparent as you look at the Ascendancy Skill Tree. For an Ignite build it'd be hard to find a better alternative, as Shaper of Flames magnifies your Ignite Damage and guarantees to apply this Ailmet with each Hit, which is very convenient. Mastermind of Discord and Heart of Destruction, to put it simply, elevate your Damage and AoE. For a Spell, we recommend one that already deals predominantly Fire Damage to reap the benefits from the already mentioned Shaper of Flames. Fire Trap seems like one of the best options. It explodes upon activating to deal Hit Damage which can Ignite, and leaves Burning ground shortly after, which is not an Ignite, but will benefit from increases to Burning Damage nonetheless.

Fire Trap is used to inflict these two layers of Fire Damage over Time simultaneously and it also has a very high Effectiveness of Added Damage making it excellent for an Ignite build. Usually, spell casters have to invest their Cast Speed, which may be why so few of them use Traps, as Throwing Speed is a separate statistic, which on top of this obstacle is limited by the number of Traps that can be set up at one time. It's not an issue in the Ignite build as the multiple instances of Ignite cannot stack - one enemy can be affected by one Burning Ground and one Ignite at a time, which will both last over three seconds. It's not a very good Skill for clearing maps quickly, to do so use a Movement Skill with just enough damage and Ignite Proliferation to kill small enemies with one Hit. The build has average defenses - some Armour from Determination, Spell Suppression, Block Chance, Bastion of Elements from Primal Aegis, and quite a lot of Maximum Life.

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1. Gameplay

Use Flame Dash to stroll across the map, enemies near you should be instantly incinerated and the Ignite will spread to nearby opponents. The other active Spell is Wave of Conviction to apply Fire Exposure, Combustion, and Flammability Curse. Use it to weaken tough enemies. Fire Trap too shall be thrown at rare and unique enemies as it's the main damaging ability. For Auras use Determination, Malevolence, and Skitterbots. Your Guard Spell and Golem can be linked with Cast when Damage Taken. Use Infernal Cry too to cover Enemies in Ash.

2. Build's PROS & CONS

3. Leveling tips

A compelling leveling guide for this build can be found here: Witch Leveling Guide using Ignite.

Bandits:

you should kill all three Bandits for two additional Skill Points

Leveling Skill Trees:

24 Points Skill Tree
Start with Maximum Life and a lot of Fire Damage

64 Points Skill Tree
Pick Elemental overload, more Damage over Time, Fire Damage, Maximum Life, and Sovereignty for Reservation Efficiency

4. Final Skill Tree, Ascendancy Points, and Pantheon

Final Skill Tree:

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

Ascendancy points:

Preferably in that order:

1. Shaper of Flames
2. Mastermind of Discord
3. Heart of Destruction
4. Bastion of Elements

Pantheon:

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

Minor God: Soul of Abberath: 60% less Duration of Ignite on You

5. Final Gems links

[DPS] Fire Trap setup
	Fire Trap - A Spell cast by proxy, an explosion that Ignites and leaves a path of Burning Ground to deal an additional layer of Fire Damage over Time.
	Empower Support - Increases the Gem Level of Fire Trap to make it deal more damage.
	Burning Damage Support - Use it simply for more Burning Damage.
	Trap and Mine Damage Support - Lessens Throwing Speed, which is not a big issue, and in turn, grants much more Trap Damage.
	Cruelty Support - Grants the Cruelty, which is a buff for more Damage over Time. You can replace it with  Efficacy or  Deadly Ailments Support Gems if you don't have the right socket colors.
	Swift Affliction Support - Ignite and Burning Ground have reduced duration, but deal more Damage over Time.

[UTILITY] Flammability setup
	Flammability - A Curse that lowers Fire Resistance.
	Wave of Conviction - After receiving a Hit from a Wave of Conviction the enemy is exposed to Fire Damage, Reducing their Fire Resistance further.
	Combustion Support - Enemies Ignited by Wave of Conviction have reduced Fire Resistance.
	Hextouch Support - Flammability is applied on-hit with Wave of Conviction.

[MOBILITY] Flame Dash setup
	Flame Dash - We recommend using the Divergent Flame Dash as the mobility Skill. Much like a Fire Trap it Hits to Ignite and leaves Burning Ground. Use it to move faster and to kill smaller enemies. You can replace it with Anomalous Frostblink or Anomalous Bodyswap.
	Ignite Proliferation Support - Ignite spreads across targets so it's able to affect enemies further away. Use the Anomalous version for even more AuE.
	Empower Support
	Burning Damage Support

[UTILITY] Aura setup
	Malevolence - Use it for more Damage with Ailments, DoT, and Skill Effect Duration.
	Determination - Grants additional Armour and increases it to mitigate Physical Damage.
	Summon Skitterbots - Skitterbots Chill, Shock, and grant more Trap Damage.
	Enlighten Support - Increases the Mana Reservation Efficiency for linked Auras.

[UTILITY] CwDT setup
	Cast when Damage Taken - It will activate linked spells upon taking a certain amount of Damage.
	Summon Flame Golem - Summons Flame Golem which increases your Damage. You might also use other Golems instead.
	Steelskin - A guard Spell that stops Bleeding and conjures a barrier to mitigate incoming damage for some time.

[UTILITY] Precision setup
	Precision - Use low-level Precision for increased Crit Chance, you should Strike Critically at least once every 8 seconds to activate Elemental Overload.
	Arrogance Support - Makes linked Aura reserve Life instead of Mana. Do so so that you may allocate Reservation Mastery for extra Maximum Elemental Resistances.

[UTILITY] Infernal Cry
	Infernal Cry - Covers Enemies in Ash so that they take increased Fire Damage. Enemies affected by this Warcry explode on death.

6. Gear Setup

It's an Ignite build, true, but keep in mind that half of your Damage is not Ignite, but more broad Fire Damage over Time, or Burning Damage. If you've played Righteous Fire build then you already know how to gear up. Prioritize the Gem Level of your Fire Spells, especially the main Fire Trap socketed in Body Armour. Burning Damage is commonly found on a Weapon and Jewels. To increase Ignite Damage look for "Ignite Deal Damage Faster". It's extremely good as it allows you to apply another Ignite sooner while also increasing your DPS, but as already stated, it's better to look for the more inclusive Burning Damage modifiers if possible. On your other gear pieces get some Strength, Dexterity, Maximum Life, Armour, and Spell Suppression. Increases to Reservation Efficiency shouldn't be needed unless you want to include an extra Aura like Vitality. You won't need any Unique Items, but some of them are extremely fitting for this build specifically. A lot of the gear pieces you can buy from Righteous Fire players, there's a lot of them and their items are usually fitting. You can use two Weapons or a Weapon with a Shield.

Our recommended items will:

1. Cap your resistances at 75%
2. Provide you with enough DPS and Life to start mapping

(Helmet) Rare Helmet - A regular Helmet with just the most basic defensives will do the work, but there are a few exotic Helmet mods that RF players tend to use that you can borrow to increase the damage of your second setup with the Moblity Skill.

Min. requirements: +80% to Elemental Resistances +70 to maximum Life Optional affixes: Spell Suppression Chance Chaos Resistance Dexterity Nearby Enemies have -#% to Fire Resistance Socketed Gems are Supported by Level # Burning Damage (Elder) Socketed Gems are Supported by Level # Concentrated Effect (Elder) Socketed Gems deal 30% more Elemental Damage (Essence)

(Helmet) Eye of Malice - With Whispers of Doom anointed, and Elemental Weakness as your second Curse you can drastically lower enemies' Fire Resistance, which is then doubled (the "increased" Resistances are further lowered).

(400-500)% increased Evasion and Energy Shield +(20-40)% to Fire Resistance +(20-40)% to Cold Resistance 25% chance to inflict Cold Exposure on Hit 25% chance to inflict Fire Exposure on Hit Nearby Enemies have 50% increased Fire and Cold Resistances

(Weapon) Rare Wand/Dagger/Sceptre - Getting a weapon that increases the Level of Fire Trap by one is rather easy. On top of that, try to get as much Burning Damage as you can afford or maybe even a mod to increase the key Gem Level once more.

Min. requirements: +1 to Level of all Fire Spell Skill Gems 100% increased Fire/Burning Damage Optional affixes: +1 to Level of all Spell Skill Gems Damage over Time Multiplier Increased Fire Damage +#% to Fire Dmaag over Time Multipleir

(Off-hand) Rare Shield - Shield can get you a lot of Resistances, Maximum Life, Spell Suppression, and even Maximum Elemental Resistances. You don't have to use it, but we recommend doing so.

Min. requirements: +80 to Maximum Life +70% to Elemental Resistances Optional affixes: Attributes Chance to Suppress Spell Damage Chaos Resistance Block Chance Maximum Elemental Resistances

(Body Armour) Skin of the Lords - The best option if you value damage above all. Be sure to find a copy with the right colors and innocuous Keystone.

Item has no level requirement and Energy Shield (Hidden) Sockets cannot be modified +2 to Level of Socketed Gems 100% increased Global Defences You can only Socket Corrupted Gems in this item Item has 6 Sockets and is fully linked (Hidden) <Random Keystone>

(Body Armour) The Brass Dome - The best option if you value survivability. The Extra Maximum Elemental Resistances and Armour are great as you probably won't have a lot of them.

(350-400)% increased Armour +(1-5)% to all maximum Elemental Resistances Strength provides no bonus to Maximum Life Take no Extra Damage from Critical Strikes

(Body Armour) Rare Body Armour- A well-balanced option that can be the most expensive one too. Try to get as much Maximum Life as possible, followed by Resistances and Spell Suppression Chance. Extra Gem Level can be found on Warlord or Shaper Armours.

Min. requirements: +100 to Maximum Life +60% to Elemental Resistances Optional affixes: You Can Apply Additional Curse increased Armour Mana Reservation Efficiency Spell Suppression Chance +1 to Level of Socketed Active Skill Gems

(Boots) Rare Boots - Get rare Boots with Maximum Life, Movement Speed, Resistances, Attributes, and Spell Suppression Chance.

Min. requirements: +50% to Elemental Resistances +60 to Maximum Life 30% increased Movement Speed Optional affixes: Chaos Resistance Spell Suppression Chance Attributes Cannot be Frozen

(Boots) The Stampede - There's not much there, except the increased Cooldown Recovery for Travel Skills, which is great for this build in particular.

(100-150)% increased Evasion and Energy Shield (30-40)% increased Stun and Block Recovery (50-80)% increased Cooldown Recovery Rate of Travel Skills (30-40)% increased Mana Regeneration Rate while moving Your Movement Speed is 150% of its base value

(Boots) Legacy of Fury - Use Legacy of Fury to Scorch your enemies so that they'll receive increased Elemental Damage, and explode on death.

(200-300)% increased Armour and Evasion 30% increased Movement Speed Nearby Enemies are Scorched (30-50)% increased Effect of Scorch (30-40)% chance when you Kill a Scorched Enemy to Burn Each surrounding Enemy for 4 seconds, dealing 8% of the Killed Enemy's Life as Fire Damage per second

(Gloves) Rare Gloves - Get a pair of basic Gloves with modifiers to increase your defenses. Fire Exposure and Ignite Proliferation can be added via Eldritch Implicits.

Min. requirements: +70 to Maximum Life +50% to Elemental Resistances Optional affixes: Attributes increased Damage over Time Spell Suppression Chance

(Belt) Immortal Flesh - Immortal Flesh is a great option for a lot of Maximum Life and Life Regeneration, but you'll need to figure out some extra Elemental Resistances.

+(25-40) to maximum Life +(75-100) to maximum Life Regenerate (200-350) Life per second Regenerate (8-10) Mana per second -(25-15)% to all Elemental Resistances -(50-40) Physical Damage taken from Attack Hits 40% increased Armour while not Ignited, Frozen or Shocked

(Belt) Rare Belt - Rare Belt with Maximum Life, Strength, and Resistances is what you should look for.

Min. requirements: +80 to maximum Life +90% to Total Elemental Resistances Strength Optional affixes: Flask modifiers Chaos Resistance increased Maximum Life

(Amulet) Ashes of the Stars  - Ashes of the Stars is a good pick for this build. It increases the Gem Level and quality of all Skills and increases your Reservation Efficiency.

+(10-16) to all Attributes (5-10)% increased Experience Gain of Gems +1 to Level of all Skill Gems +(20-30)% to Quality of all Skill Gems

(Amulet) Replica Dragonfang's Flight  - It's most likely better than Ashes in all aspects, but it might be a bit more expensive too. The additional Quality of the Fire Trap is not important anyway.

+(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) Rare Amulet  - An Amulet with Maximum Life, Resistances, Attributes, Damage over Time Multiplier, Burning Damage, and an extra level or two to Fire Trap is a good choice.

Min. requirements: +60 Maximum Life +80% to Elemental Resistances Optional affixes: Fire Damage Over Time Multiplier +1 to Level of all Fire Skill Gems Attributes

Recommended Anointments: Dirty Techniques Arsonist Growth and Decay Whispers of Doom

(Ring) Berek's Respite - You can use this Ring for all the minor generic bonuses, and to spread Ignite on opponents' death so that you can save on one Support Gem socket in your mobility setup.

+(12-16)% to Fire and Lightning Resistances Adds (20-25) to (30-50) Fire Damage to Spells and Attacks (25-30)% increased Lightning Damage +(30-40) to maximum Mana When you Kill a Shocked Enemy, inflict an equivalent Shock on each nearby Enemy When you Kill an Ignited Enemy, inflict an equivalent Ignite on each nearby Enemy

(Ring) Polaric Devastation - Put it in your right ring slot to cover enemies in Ash. It's great only if you don't use Infernal Cry.

(15-25)% increased Elemental Damage (15-25)% increased Global Critical Strike Chance +(20-40)% to Fire Resistance +(20-40)% to Cold Resistance (10-20)% increased Duration of Ailments on Enemies Left Ring slot: Cover Enemies in Ash for 5 seconds when you Ignite them Right Ring slot: Cover Enemies in Frost for 5 seconds when you Freeze them

(Ring) Pyre - A Ring with a lot of Cold and Fire Resistances with Burning Damage that destroys enemies on kill, that has no Maximum Life modifiers whatsoever.

+(20-30)% to Cold Resistance +(25-35)% to Fire Resistance (60-80)% increased Burning Damage 40% of Cold Damage Converted to Fire Damage 10% increased Light Radius Ignited Enemies Killed by your Hits are destroyed

(Ring) Rare Ring - You could get a regular Ring with Maximum Life, Resistances, and Attributes. For more damage, you can seek modifiers like DoT Multiplier, or even some Attributes with Flammability on Hit.

Min. requirements: +70 Maximum Life 60% to Elemental Resistances Optional affixes: Flammability on Hit +#% to Damage over Time Multiplier Dexterity Strength Chaos Resistance

(Jewel) Rare Jewels - On Jewels, try to get modifiers for an increased Maximum Life with some offensively-oriented ones like Burning Damage.

Recommended affixes: Elemental or Chaos Resistances Damaging Ailments deal damage #% faster Attributes Maximum Life Burning Damage

(Jewel) Watcher's Eye - Malevolence's modifiers on a Watcher's Eye are excellent. Get one for an extra DoT Multiplier or Faster Ignite.

(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 - Any Notable from a Fire-oriented Cluster Jewel would be appreciable, but getting a good one is a luxury and there are more than enough good passives on a skill tree already.

Recommended affixes: 1 Added Passive Skill is Cremator 1 Added Passive Skill is Burning Bright 1 Added Passive Skill is Prismatic Heart 1 Added Passive Skill is Sadist 1 Added Passive Skill is Widespread Destruction 1 Added Passive Skill is Smoking Remains

(Jewel) Medium Cluster Jewel - There's a distinct set of Medium Cluster Jewels that increase Burning Damage with suitable Notables on them, you may want to get such Jewels in order to min-max the build.

Recommended affixes: 1 Added Passive Skill is Lord of Drought 1 Added Passive Skill is Master of Fire 1 Added Passive Skill is Blowback 1 Added Passive Skill is Burning Bright 1 Added Passive Skill is Flow of Life

Other suggested Flasks: Quicksilver Flask with an increased Movement Speed Quartz Flask with increased Evasion Rating Granite Flask with increased Armour Rating Seething Life Flask with Bleeding immunity/removal or Jade Flask Amethyst, Silver, or Basalt Flask

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.