Fire Trap of Blasting
Elementalist Build

Updated for Patch 3.24

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Fire Trap of Blasting has lower damage than its non-transfigured counterpart but has much higher added Fire Damage against Burning enemies. That's great news for this build, which relies on Ignite for most of its damage output. The effectiveness of added damage is very high for Fire Trap - 260%, making the added Damage for this very Skill much more potent, and it's the main reason for using this Skill at all. No other Skill with such good effectiveness of added damage has this built-in added damage component. It makes a lot of sense to make this an Ignite build, especially on an Elementalist, but the Hit-based variant is popular among Saboteurs. Fire Trap of Blasting releases no Burning Ground when activated, but that can be fixed with Flame Surge linked to Arcanist Brand, it's just a bit more hassle to create it.

Spell-based Ignite Elementalist builds are all very similar, and this one is no exception. It relies heavily on reducing enemies' Fire Resistance with debuffs and such (since you can't penetrate Resistances with Damage over Time), and then increasing the negative Resistances with Eye of Malice. You can even reach the -200% Fire Resistance cap if you fight enemies with no base Fire Resistance, although most of them have around 50% of it. The build's defence is tied to Maximum Life, a lot of Evasion Rating, capped Spell Suppression Chance, Bastion of Elements, and shifting a big portion of incoming Physical Hit Damage to be taken as Lightning and Cold. It's usually enough to endure most situations, but you still have to dodge big Hits, especially those of Physical type. You should also Blind enemies with the Disorienting Display notable or Stibinite Flask to make your Evasion more potent. Your Life Recovery comes from passive Life Regeneration and Life Flask, but it's not this build's strongest suit.

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1. Gameplay

For mapping you will use a lot of Frostblink. It should deal just enough damage to slay small enemies so we've linked it with Ignite Proliferation. Combined with Legacy of Fury, the clear speed should be great. You should also use Frostblink to crash into tough enemies. It's linked with Combustion so it reduces Fire Resistance. Fire Trap is used against more sturdy foes. For more damage, activate Malevolence and cast Arcanist Brand to trigger one of your Curses and Flame Surge. your other Curse is socketed in Profane Proxy. Infernal Cry is cast automatically. Your mana-reserving Skills are Skitterbots, Grace, Tempest Shield, and Vitality.

2. Build's PROS & CONS

3. Leveling tips

Use our Witch Leveling Guide using Ignite. It's the most efficient way to level up an Ignite build. Switch to this version any time you feel like it - you will most likely level up with Fire Trap anyway.

Bandits:

We recommend killing all Bandits for two additional Passive Points

4. Final Skill Tree, Ascendancy Points, and Pantheon

Final Skill Tree:

109 Points Final Skill Tree (does not include Unique or Cluster Jewels)
120 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 the Brine King: You cannot be Stunned if you've been Stunned or Blocked a Stunning Hit in the past 2 seconds

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

5. Final Gems links

[DPS] Fire Trap setup
	Fire Trap of Blasting - Deals less Damage, but adds more of it against Burning enemies. It results in higher damage than the regular counterpart as long as the enemy is Burning. It doesn't create Burning Ground.
	Empower Support - Gem Level increases Spell's Damage.
	Burning Damage Support - More Burning Damage with linked Skills.
	Swift Affliction Support - Less Ignite Duration, but more Damage over Time.
	Deadly Ailments Support - Use it for more Damage over Time, but less Hit Damage.
	Trap and Mine Damage Support - More Trap Damage, but less Trap Throwing Speed.

[UTILITY] Reservation setup
	Summon Skitterbots - Used to apply Curse via Profane Proxy and Shock enemies, causing them to take increased Damage. It also grants more Trap Damage.
	Tempest Shield - Adds Spell Block Chance and Shock immunity.
	Grace - More and increased Evasion Rating to dodge Attacks.
	Enlighten Support - Linked Spells Reserve less Mana.

[MOBILITY] Frostblink setup
	Frostblink - A mobility Skill with damage high enough to slay minor enemies. It's also used to apply Combustion against bosses.
	Combustion Support - Lowers Fire Resistance by an additional 10%.
	Cold to Fire Support - As you have Shaper of Flames allocated, the most efficient way to increase your damage here is to Convert most of it to Fire.
	Ignite Proliferation Support - Ignite spreads, enhancing your clear speed.

[UTILITY] Malevolence setup
	Malevolence - Use for more Damage over Time and increases Skill Effect Duration.
	Divine Blessing Support - With Eldritch Battery you can afford to cast Malevelonce as a temporary Aura.

[UTILITY] Warcry setup
	Call to Arms - Triggers Infernal Cry automatically.
	Infernal Cry - It Covers enemies in Ash causing them to take increased Fire Damage.

[UTILITY] Arcanist Brand setup
	Arcanist Brand - Sticks to the enemy and Triggers all linked Spells in sequence. It saves you a button to press.
	Flame Surge - Creates Burning Ground, which you cannot do with the Transfigured Fire Trap. Its damage is tied to the Ignite Damage of the enemy it Hits.
	Elemental Weakness - Lowers all Elemental Resistances, including Fire Resistance.

[UTILITY] various Gems
	Shield Charge - Another mobility Skill you can use alongside Frostblink. It has no Cooldown so use it if there are no enemies nearby.
	Faster Attacks Support - Increases Attack Speed of Shield Charge so that you can move faster.
	Vitality - You still have a bit of Mana Unreserved, spend all of it on Vitality to Regenerate Life, you don't need Unreserved Mana.

[UTILITY] Flammability socketed in Profane Proxy
	Flammability - Reduces Fire Resistance, the most important Curse.

5. Gear Setup

It's a very basic Ignite Spell build - to get more damage try to increase Gem Level of Fire Trap, Burning Damage, Damage over Time Multiplier, and make your Ignites deal damage faster. Your main defensive layers are Evasion, capped Spell Suppression Chance, Bastion of Elements, and shifting Physical Damage to be taken as Lightning and Cold - this can be done with Lightning Coil and Taste of Hate. Be sure that your Gloves have Evasion to activate the Spell Suppression bonus from Evasion mastery. You will also need a bit of extra Strength and Dexterity for the Gems. Energy Shield from items alone should be enough to cast Malevolence. Crit Chance could be useful to activate Elemental Overload easier but don't put too many resources into it.

The recommended items from our list will:

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

(Helmet) Eye of Malice - The enemy has their Resistance reduced with Combustion, Curses, passives, Scorch, and Exposure, which adds up to a lot. With this Helmet, their negative Resistance is increased, resulting in around -150% Fire Resistance against enemies with base 50% Fire Resistance.

(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 - Use a weapon with increased Fire Damage, Damage over Time Multiplier, Burning Damage, and level to all Fire Spell Skill Gems. It can get very expensive.

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

(Off-hand) Rare Shield - Use the ES/Evasion Shield for Spell Suppression that can be found as an Implicit and Suffix. On top of that, look for Maximum Life and Resistances.

Min. requirements: +80 to Maximum Life +70% total Resistances +25% Chance to Suppress Spell Damage Optional affixes: Attributes Block Chance Maximum Elemental Resistances Energy Shield

(Body Armour) Lightning Coil - You have very low Armour and Physical Damage Reduction, so the most sound option is to shift Physical Damage to be taken as some other type of Damage, which this Body Armour does.

Adds 1 to (20-30) Lightning Damage to Attacks (90-120)% increased Armour and Evasion +(60-80) to maximum Life -60% to Lightning Resistance 50% of Physical Damage from Hits taken as Lightning Damage

(Gloves) Rare Gloves - You need an Evasion or mixed Evasion base with Spell Suppression, Resistances, and Maximum Life. Dexterity is commonly found on all Gloves. For the Eldritch mods seek Fire Exposure on Hit and Ignite proliferation or Fire Damage over Time Multiplier.

Recommended affixes: +70% total Resistances +80 to Maximum Life Evasion base Optional affixes: Spell Suppression Chance Dexterity

(Boots) Legacy of Fury - Scorches nearby enemies, which reduces their Fire Resistance, and "explodes" them on Kill for an even better clear speed.

(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

(Belt) Rare Belt - Here you can find Maximum Life, Strength, Resistances, Energy Shield if you need it, Life Regeneration, and various Flask modifiers.

Recommended affixes: +80 to Maximum Life +70% total Resistances Strength Optional affixes: Flask modifiers Energy Shield Life Regeneration increased Maximum Life (Hunter's Prefix)

(Amulet) Replica Dragonfang's Flight - It's the one we recommend. It increases the Gem Level of Fire Trap, increases Mana Reservation Efficiency, reduces Attribute Requirements, and grants Resistances with Attributes. Use similar Rare Amulet if you need more Attributes or Resistances, but that should not be a concern.

+(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

Recommended Anointments: Dirty Techniques Searing Heat Whispers of Doom

(Ring) Anathema - With Anathema you may be able to apply 3 Curses instead of 2, or even up to 5 without the need to spend points on Whispers of Doom, but extra Power Charges instead. These additional Curses can be Punishment or Enfeeble.

+(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) Profane Proxy - Socket Flammability here. Your Skitterbots don't need to Chill, so put it in your Left Ring Slot.

Has 1 Socket +3 to Level of Socketed Curse Gems +(20-30)% to Cold Resistance +(20-30)% to Lightning Resistance Left Ring Slot: Your Chilling Skitterbot's Aura applies Socketed Hex Curse instead Right Ring Slot: Your Shocking Skitterbot's Aura applies Socketed Hex Curse instead

(Ring) Rare Ring - Most likely you will need a Rare Ring for Attributes and Resistances. Get some Maximum Life too, maybe even Evasion or Energy Shield.

Min. requirements: +70 to Maximum Life +70% total Resistances Optional affixes: Strength Dexterity Chaos Resistance Damage over Time Multiplier Maximum Energy Shield

(Jewels) Rare Jewels - You will use 3 Rare Jewels. Look for Maximum Life, faster ignite, increased Burning Damage, or Fire Damage over Time Multiplier.

Recommended affixes: increased Maximum Life Damaging Ailments deal damage faster Fire Damage over Time Multiplier increased Damage over Time increased Fire Damage increased Burning Damage

(Jewels) Large Cluster Jewel - Use one Fire Damage Large Cluster Jewel with passives such as Sadist, Prismatic Heart, Disorienting Display, or Smoking Remains. Sadist is unreliable because you can Shock only with Tempest Shield (Skitterbots' Shock is not your Shock), and Chill only with Frostblink (sometimes).

Recommended Affixes: 1 Added Passive Skill is Sadist 1 Added Passive Skill is Disorienting Display 1 Added Passive Skill is Prismatic Heart 1 Added Passive Skill is Smoking Remains

(Jewels) Medium Cluster Jewel - Blowback and Wasting Affliction are the best notables for more damage, but Student of Decay grants some Chaos Resistance.

Recommended Affixes: 1 Added Passive Skill is Blowback 1 Added Passive Skill is Wasting Affliction 1 Added Passive Skill is Student of Decay

(Jewels) Lethal Pride - Used mainly for more Strength. Upgrade your notables with additional Strength, increased maximum Life, increased Burning Damage, and most importantly - Ignites you inflict deal Damage 10% faster. Socket it near Instability or Overcharge.

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

(Jewels) Watcher's Eye - You're using Grace, Vitality, and Malevolence. We recommend DoT Multiplier from Malevolence and some defensive stat from Grace such as extra Evasion or Spell Suppression Chance.

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

(Flask) Taste of Hate - Use it to shift Physical Damage taken to Cold.

+40% to Cold Resistance +5% to maximum Cold Resistance (10-15)% of Physical Damage from Hits taken as Cold Damage during Effect Gain (10-15)% of Physical Damage as Extra Cold Damage during effect 30% chance to Avoid being Chilled during Effect 30% chance to Avoid being Frozen during Effect

Suggested Flasks: Life Flask with Bleed Immunity Jade Flask with increased Evasion Rating Quartz Flask with reduced effect of Curses on you Quicksilver Flask with increased Crit Chance or Movement Speed

If you have any other build requests please leave them in the comments below. We are always open to suggestions and constructive feedback.

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