Infernal Blow of Immolation
Ignite Elementalist Build

Updated for Patch 3.25

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Ignite builds rarely use Melee Attacks to inflict this Ailment because it just doesn't scale up well with a high hit rate and it's harder to inflict a strong Ignite with a single Attack rather than with a Spell. However, some great tools are to be used in this specific archetype, mainly the Controlled Blaze Support Gem and an Ashbark Tincture introduced in recent updates. We've selected Elementalist for this role because of Shaper of Flames, Mastermind of Discord, and the Golem passives. Golems are quite important, they will re-spawn after getting killed so they're similar to Auras with the buffs you're provided with. Stone Golem and Stone Golem of Safeguarding will make you durable against DoTs and Melee Hits. Ice Golem gives you the required Accuracy and some Crit Chance to proc Elemental Overload. Lightning Golem makes you Attack and Cast faster which will be of use.

Controlled Blaze Support grants a lot more Ignite Damage per Ignite inflicted recently (or re-applied Ignite), which is good with a high hit rate. It also lowers Ignite Damage if you apply Ignite too many times, so simply getting more and more Attack Speed will get you nowhere. Attacking slightly faster than 3 times a second is the key to maximizing your damage, and it's achieved rather effortlessly thanks to Lightning Golem. It's an elegant solution that combined with Blood Rage should set your Attack Speed to be just right. Ashbark Tincture with a modifier for extra Damage over Time Multiplier won't last long because of your low Mana, but that's still enough time to apply a powerful Ignite against bosses.

The build is extremely durable with its capped Attack and Spell Block Chance which are Lucky after equipping Svalinn. That's over 90% Chance to take no damage from Spell and Attacks. The occasional damage will be absorbed with Ward and Life Pool. You will use Runic gear pieces to get meaningful Ward. To not get one-shotted, you will use Cloak of Flame and 5 Endurance Charges. Endurance Charges are gained via Inexorable notable. If that's not enough, try integrating Chaos Golem and Crab Barriers into the build. Damage over Time is unlikely to kill you thanks to high Life Regeneration from Stone Golem and Fire Mastery. Against a rapid barrage of Hits that will undoubtedly break your Ward and slowly chip away at your Life, you will allocate Safeguard notable for instant ES on Block, and have an Iron Flask with 3 Charges gained when you're Hit and activated when it's full - this way your Ward will be restored rapidly. If that's not enough get the Defiance of Destiny Amulet that Recovers Life before the Hit even damages you.

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1. Gameplay

Strike enemies with Infernal Blow of Immolation. Clear speed is bearable if you have extra targeting for Stike Skills and Ignite Proliferation. To move around use Leap Slam. Flame Surge and Flammability Curse are Triggered on Block. Blood Rage and Steelskin are triggered with Automation. Stone Golem, Stone Golem of Safeguarding, Chaos Golem of Hordes, Ice Golem, and Lightning Golem will enhance your performance. Tempest Shield, Malevolence, and Anger are your Mana-reserving Skills. When fighting bosses activate your Tincture.

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. You can switch to this one after capping your Block Chance, getting enough Accuracy, allocating Shaper of Flames, and equipping the required Unique Items. You will probably need to allocate passives in the bottom-left part of a Skill Tree first, like Cannibalistic Rite, As The Mountain, Blade Master, and such.

Bandits:

Two Additional Passive Skill Points seem like the best option for this build

4. Final Skill Tree, Ascendancy Points, and Pantheon

Final Skill Tree:

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

Ascendancy points:

Preferably in that order:

1. Shaper of Flames
2. Liege of the Primordial
3. Elemancer
4. Mastermind of Dicsord

Pantheon:

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

Minor God: Soul of Gruthkul: 1% additional Physical Damage Reduction for each Hit you've taken Recently up to a maximum of 5%

5. Final Gems links

[DPS] Infernal Blow of Immolation setup
	Infernal Blow of Immolation - An Attack that periodically deals damage around you, usually after attacking 6 times and detonating the charges you've accumulated.
	Burning Damage Support - More Burning Damage.
	Swift Affliction Support - Ignite has less Duration but deals more Damage.
	Deadly Ailments Support - less Damage with Hits, but more with Ailments.
	Controlled Blaze Support - It grants more Ignite Damage. To benefit from it the most, you have to recently Ignite enemies no more and no less than 13 times with the linked Skill, which is slightly over 3 Attacks a second if you fight only one enemy.
	Combustion Support - Grants more Fire Damage and reduces Fire Resistance of enemies you Ignite. For mapping you can swap it with the  Ignite Proliferation to clear better.

[UTILITY] Reservation setup
	Malevolence - More Damage over Time and Increased Skill Effect Duration.
	Anger - Adds Fire Damage to Spells.
	Tempest Shield - Adds Spell Block Chance, Shocks enemies, and grants Shock immunity.
	Enlighten Support - Linked Skills Reserve less Mana.

[UTILITY] Herald of Ash
	Herald of Ash - Use it only to improve your clear speed - it causes enemies you kill to deal Fire DoT around them. If that's not a concern, replace it with Aspect of the Crab - a Skill that can be crafted onto items. It's great with your high Block Chance.

[UTILITY] Golems they don't have to be linked
	Summon Stone Golem - Grants Life Regeneration.
	Summon Stone Golem of Safeguarding - Absorbs a big portion of Melee Damage you would receive.
	Summon Ice Golem - Increases Accuracy Rating so that you don't have to allocate Resolute Technique, which would force you to give up Elemental Overload. it also increases Crit Chance.
	Summon Lightning Golem - Increases Attack and Cast Speed so that you can easily reach the 3 Attack per Second sweet spot.
	Summon Chaos Golem of Hordes - They're useful despite granting you no buffs, and you can Summon them even if you're over your Golem Limit.

[UTILITY] Trigger setup socketed in Svalinn
	Flammability - A Curse that lowers Fire Resistance.
	Flame Surge - Creates a Burning Ground dealing Fire DoT based on the Ignite Damage of the enemy it Hits.
	Lifetap Support - These Spells will be triggered often and cost a fair amount of Mana so Lifetap is necessary to suffer no Mana Cost.

[UTILITY] Automation setup
	Blood Rage - More Attack Speed, Frenzy Chargers on Kill, and Life Leech. The Life Drain is manageable with Stone Golem and Fire Mastery for Life Regeneration.
	Steelskin - Stops Bleeding and absorbs a portion of incoming Hit Damage for some time.
	Automation - Linked Skills are Triggered whenever they're off-cooldown.

[MOBILITY] Shield Charge setup
	Leap Slam - Use it to move quicker and jump over obstacles.
	Faster Attacks Support - Leap Slam is faster.

5. Gear Setup

On the gear, you will look mainly for defensive stats as all the damage comes from a Unique Weapon. Some Accuracy will be needed, probably a bit of Attack Speed, and a lot of Dexterity. We've also opted for the Ward bases because Ward is surprisingly good with its 2-second Cooldown, Iron Flask, and capped Block Chance, You still need Life against DoTs and occasional damage while Ward is recharging. Lucky Block Chance from Svalinn is the key element of the build that improves your survivability significantly. Mix Ward with Maximum Life for a life pool of around 5k. Flat Life Regeneration is not important because you already have it, but an increased Life Regeneration Rate is much more valuable. Mana Reservation is not needed at all if you have a Level-4 Enlighten and you have crafted Mana Cost Reduction on your Ring and Amulet. You won't need a lot of Fire Resistance on your Rare items, possibly none at all, because it's provided by Cloak of Flame, Polaric Devastation, and Dyadian Dawn. Chance to Ignite is covered by Shaper of Flames. Most of your Damage is Fire as of the inherent to Infernal Blow Damage Conversion. Consider the Aspect of the Crab to be more durable against Physical Damage.

(Helmet) Rare Helmet - Go for the Ward base with Maximum Life and Resistances. For the Eldritch mods get reduced Mana Cost of Attacks and a portion of Physical Damage taken as Elemental, preferably Fire.

Min. requirements: 500 Ward +100 to maximum Life +40% to Total Elemental Resistances Optional affixes:  Attributes  Chaos Resistance

(Body Armour) Cloak of Flame - It protects you from Physical Damage, grants Fire Resistance, and increases Ignite Duration on enemies, all of which is great.

+(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

(Weapon) Story of the Vaal - Story of the Vaal may be the best weapon. It has quite decent base damage, Accuracy Rating, Attack Speed, and up to 75% more Damage with Ignite for Attacks, which is a lot.

+400 to Accuracy Rating (180-210)% increased Physical Damage (10-15)% increased Attack Speed 50% of Physical Damage from Hits with this Weapon is Converted to a random Element Hits with this Weapon always Ignite, Freeze, and Shock Hits with this Weapon Freeze Enemies as though dealing (150-200)% more Damage Hits with this Weapon Shock Enemies as though dealing (150-200)% more Damage Ignites inflicted with this Weapon deal (50-75)% more Damage

(Weapon) Rebuke of the Vaal - A well-rolled Rebuke of the Vaal is slightly better than Story of the Vaal, given you have Shaper of Flames and your highest damage type is always Fire.

+460 to Accuracy Rating Adds (49-98) to (101-140) Physical Damage Adds (49-98) to (101-140) Fire Damage Adds (49-98) to (101-140) Cold Damage Adds 1 to (210-250) Lightning Damage Adds (49-98) to (101-140) Chaos Damage (10-20)% increased Attack Speed

(Off-hand) Svalinn - You have your Block Chance capped for both Spells and Attacks. Use this Shield to make them Lucky. It also triggers Socketed Spells on Block which is useful.

+(10-20) to maximum Life (10-15)% Chance to Block Spell Damage +(100-150) to Ward -10% to maximum Chance to Block Attack Damage -10% to maximum Chance to Block Spell Damage Chance to Block is Lucky Trigger a Socketed Elemental Spell on Block, with a 0.25 second Cooldown

(Gloves) Rare Gloves - As was the case with the Helmet, seek only Ward, Maximum Life, and Resistances. For the Eldritch mod get extra Targeting for Strike Skills and Fire Exposure on Hit.

Min. requirements: 300 Ward +100 to maximum Life +40% to Total Elemental Resistances Optional affixes:  Dexterity Chaos Resistance

(Boots) Rare Boots - Seek Ward, Maximum Life, Movement Speed, and Resistances on your Runic Boots. For the Eldritch mods try to get faster Ignite and increased Effect of Stone Golems' Buffs.

Min. requirements: 400 Ward 30% increased Movement Speed +40% to Total Elemental Resistances Optional affixes:  Maximum Life Chaos Resistance

(Belt) Dyadian Dawn - Dyadian Dawn makes your Ignites deal Damage much faster and that's its main selling point. Its other mods are also quite useful.

+(25-35) to Strength +(70-85) to maximum Life +(20-40)% to Fire Resistance +(20-40)% to Cold Resistance 1% of Attack Damage Leeched as Life against Chilled Enemies Ignites you inflict with Attacks deal Damage 35% faster Deal no Physical Damage

(Amulet) Rare Amulet - On the Amulet you can get a lot of Dexterity, Maximum Life, Resistances, and a crafted Prefix for Reduced Mana Cost of Skills.

Min. requirements: +80 Maximum Life 80 Dexterity +40% to Elemental Resistances Non-Channelling Skills have -7 to Total Mana Cost Optional affixes: +#% to Damage over Time Multiplier +#% to Fire Damage over Time Multiplier (Hunter's Suffix) Malevolence has #% increased Mana Reservation Efficiency (Hunter's Suffix) Anger has #% increased Mana Reservation Efficiency (Warlor's Suffix) Chaos Resistance

(Amulet) Defiance of Destiny - It can be a great secondary defensive layer against multiple Hits received in a short period. It's even good when you take a lot of Damage over Time and get hit at the same time which happens often. Ward doesn't protect you from DoTs after all.

(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

Recommended Anointments: Charisma Burning Brutality

(Ring) Rare Rings - You may find Maximum Life, Dexterity, Accuracy, Resistances, and maybe some Attack Speed useful here. Craft Prefix that lowers the Mana Cost of all Skills by 7.

Min. requirements: +90 Maximum Life +40% to Elemental Resistances Non-Channelling Skills have -7 to Total Mana Cost Dexterity Optional affixes: Chaos Resistance Accuracy Attack Speed

(Ring) Polaric Devastation - Grants Resistances, some Damage, Ignite Duration, and, most importantly, Covers enemies in Ash if you put in on the right (left) ring slot. Enemies will take increased Fire Damage and move Slower.

(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

(Jewel) The Light of Meaning - The Light of Meaning with increased Fire Damage, socketed near, Stamina, will improve your damage substantially.

Passive Skills in Radius also grant 6% increased Fire Damage

(Jewel) Forbidden Flame & Flesh - Shaper of Flames, Heart of Destruction, or Elemancer can be good. Get the cheapest pair available.

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

(Jewel) Rare Jewels - Maximum Life with Damage over Time and Faster Ignite are the best set of mods to find on a Jewel, but if you're short on Resistances, Accuracy, or Attack Speed, they are here too.

Recommended affixes: increased maximum Life Attributes Resistances increased Attack Speed Accuracy Damaging Ailments deal damage faster Damage over Time Multiplier Fire Damage over Time Multiplier

(Jewel) Watcher's Eye - You're using Malevolence and Anger. Malevolence has Damage over Time Multiplier or faster Ignite and Anger has increased Fire Damage. These are the best options on a Watcher's Eye.

(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 - You can use one or two Large Cluster Jewels specialized in Fire or Attack Damage. Attack Cluster is good because it has notables for Attack Speed such as Fuel the Fight or Martial Prowess. Fire Cluster can provide you with Fire Exposure and Fire Damage.

Recommended affixes: 1 Added Passive Skill is Calamitous 1 Added Passive Skill is Fuel the Fight 1 Added Passive Skill is Martial Prowess 1 Added Passive Skill is Burning Bright 1 Added Passive Skill is Master of Fire 1 Added Passive Skill is Corrosive Elements 1 Added Passive Skill is Smoking Remains

(Jewel) Medium Cluster Jewel - Burning Damage Medium Cluster Jewels grant a lot of damage. Most of their notables are fitting. Fan the Flames is excellent, it proliferates Ignite for a much better clear speed.

Recommended affixes: 1 Added Passive Skill is Cooked Alive 1 Added Passive Skill is Wasting Affliction 1 Added Passive Skill is Circling Oblivion 1 Added Passive Skill is Exposure Therapy 1 Added Passive Skill is Fan the Flames 1 Added Passive Skill is Wasting Affliction.

(Flask) Oriath's End - The explosions on kill will enhance your clear speed if that's needed, but it shouldn't be if you have Ignite Proliferation or Fan the Flames.

+35% to all Elemental Resistances (20-40)% increased Charge Recovery Enemies you Kill during Effect have a (20-30)% chance to Explode, dealing a tenth of their maximum Life as Damage of a Random Element

Other suggested Flasks and Tinctures: Flagellant's Life Flask with Bleeding immunity/removal Flagellant's Silver Flask with crafted Life Regeneration Flagellant's Iron Flask with increased Ward Flagellant's Quicksilver Flask with increased Movement Speed Ashbark Tincture with added Damage over Time Multiplier

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.