Kinetic Bolt/Power Siphon
CI Raider build

Updated for Patch 3.11

The Best Crafty Guides by Odealo

Estimated budget: high

Kinetic Bolt is a new Wand Attack that fires projectiles that change direction multiple times in a zig-zag pattern. Kinetic Bolt also fires additional projectiles whenever it changes direction for massive area coverage and insane visual effect. The skill itself looks as if you had purchased an expensive MTX in the in-game store, and people would actually ask you about it in public parties. It's one of the most visually appealing builds in Path of Exile, which on top of overall enjoyment brings up infinite damage scaling via Intelligence Attribute, and very solid defenses, with around 9,000 Energy Shield, Dodge, Evasion, and substantial Leech. 

A similar variation of these builds that use either Kinetic Bolt or Kinetic Bolt can be often seen played by Assassins. True, it will most likely offer higher DPS with the extra Crit. Multiplier and additional Power Charge, but Raider is less common, fancier, has better mobility, and offers immunity to Ailments and higher Dodge/Evasion (in most cases).  

For the full list of our Path of Exile builds you can visit the following article: Odealo's Crafty Guides - Full List

1. Gameplay

This build uses two Wand Attacks. Kinetic Bolt which is used for general clearing and obliterating enemies a screen ahead and Power Siphon is used for single-target damage. Its' inherent bonus Multiplier from Power Charges, and Barrage Support Gem linked, makes this the best Attack to take down end-game Bosses. This build is based on several core mechanics which include:

1. Stacking Intelligence to increase your base Lightning Damage via Wand affix "Adds 1 to 5 Lightning Damage to Attacks with this Weapon per 10 Intelligence"
2. Chaos Inoculation Passive which makes you Immune to Chaos Damage but makes you rely solely on Energy Shield (you can completely ignore Life bonuses in this build)
3. Stacking Power Charges to increase your DPS and grant you an increased number of Frenzy Charges to boost up your stats based on Raider's Ascendancy which is achieved by using Badge of the Brotherhood Unique Amulet.

0:08 Tier 14 Spider Lair with Enslaver 0:38 Tier 15 Necropolis with Purifier 1:01 Tier 15 Overgrown Ruins with Eradicator 1:44 Tier 16 Forge of the Phoenix 2:18 Tier 16 Maze of the Minotaur 2:53 Tier 17 Shaper This video was recorded on a level 93 Raider on Harvest League Softcore. Our character had around 1300 Intelligence resulting in 8,800 Energy Shield, 750k Kinetic Bolt DPS, and nearly 4kk single-target DPS with Power Siphon

2. Build's PROS & CONS

3. Leveling tips

The fastest way to level up Ranger is with Bows as you have all the damage nodes available right from the start. However, we recommend leveling up with Wands and Kinetic Bolt/Power Siphon so that you get more familiar with this playstyle, and they are not that far behind. You can use Kinetic Bolt right from the start, but it's only good against packs of enemies, you will have hard times fighting Bosses with it. You can either use Barrage or Power Siphon + Barrage Support for that purpose or if you have trouble finding a Wand with high base damage, just use Elemental Hit with Barrage Support. On lower levels, your biggest issue will be actually base Elemental Damage, so it's important to use Added Cold/Lightning Damage Support Gems, and Rare gear with flat added Damage to Attacks. Other than that just follow up the recommended Passive Trees, and make sure to respec to full Energy Shield/Intelligence whenever you have all the equipment ready (in our case it was around level 75 shortly after we started Maps).

Suggested leveling Gem setups:

Kinetic Bolt setup
	Kinetic Bolt - your primary Attack used in this build. It offers solid clear speed on its own so it's best not to Support it with LMP or GMP on lower levels to not reduce its damage
	Added Lightning Damage Support - adds flat Lightning Damage to Supported Skills
	Added Cold Damage Support - adds flat Cold Damage to Supported Skills
	Elemental Damage with Attacks Support - core Support Gem for this setup which grants one of the best damage multipliers

Power Siphon setup
	Power Siphon - your single-target Skill which will deal massive damage to Bosses and tougher enemies
	Barrage Support - makes Supported Attacks fire additional Projectiles in quick succession and in a linear pattern
	Added Lightning Damage Support
	Elemental Damage with Attacks Support

Utility Skills
	Clarity - grants increased Mana Regeneration which might be extremely useful on lower levels
	Wrath - grants high extra Lightning Damage to your Attacks
	Herald of Ice - grants added Cold Damage to your Spells and Attacks and causes AoE explosions when you kill Frozen enemies increasing your clear speed

Bandits:
You should kill all the Bandits for two additional Passive Skill Points. If you have a very high-level character you can also switch to Alira for additional Critical Strike Multiplier

Leveling Skill Trees:

31 Points Skill Tree
Priorities: 1) Finesse 2) Aspect of the Lynx 3) Herbalism 4) Primeval Force 5) Blood Drinker

68 Points Skill Tree
Priorities: 1) Coordination 2) Elder Power 3) Arcing Blows 4) Ballistic Mastery

Lvl. 70+ Life Skill Tree - Skill Tree at around level 72 when you should respec to CI/Energy Shield which doesn't include Cluster Jewels that you should have at that Point for high DPS bonuses
Lvl. 70+ CI/Energy Shield - what you should have after switching to CI/Energy Shield. You should have the same Large Cluster Jewel here, and Thread of Hope Jewel with a Very Large Ring modifier to allocate Foresight, Deep Wisdom, Arcane Focus etc. 
 

Recommended leveling items:

Karui Ward - pretty much the best leveling Amulet you can get in PoE for this build. It grants everything you need, and you should be able to easily find cheap ones with Freedom of Movement Anointment for even better mobility on lower levels
+(20-30) to Dexterity +(20-30) to Strength +100 to Accuracy Rating 30% increased Projectile Speed 10% increased Movement Speed 30% increased Projectile Damage

Storm Prison - a great low-level Wand with high added Lightning Damage
(11-15)% increased Spell Damage (40-60)% increased Physical Damage Adds 1 to (35-45) Lightning Damage (15-25)% increased Mana Regeneration Rate +1 to Maximum Power Charges (25-35)% chance to gain a Power Charge on Kill

Shade of Solaris - a very interesting pick for a leveling Weapon. It will give your Kinetic Bolt a massive 300% Attack Damage bonus at level 30. It has basically no Base damage though so you will rely solely on Added Elemental Damage from other sources
(17-21)% increased Spell Damage Gain (10-20)% of Elemental Damage as Extra Chaos Damage Critical Strikes deal no Damage 200% increased Spell Damage if you've dealt a Critical Strike in the past 8 seconds

Praxis - a great leveling spell-casters Ring. Will help you maintain your Mana throughout the earlier levels

+(20-25) to maximum Mana +(30-60) to maximum Mana (3-6) Mana Regenerated per second -(8-4) to Mana Cost of Skills 8% of Damage taken gained as Mana over 4 seconds when Hit

Goldrim - one of the best leveling Helmets in the game which offers a lot of Elemental Resistances
+(30-50) to Evasion Rating 10% increased Rarity of Items found +(30-40)% to all Elemental Resistances Reflects 4 Physical Damage to Melee Attackers Level Requirement reduced by 100 (Hidden)

Prismweave - the best Belt for this build which grants a lot of added Elemental Damage to Attacks
(12-24)% increased Global Physical Damage Adds (7-8) to (15-16) Fire Damage to Attacks Adds (5-6) to (12-14) Cold Damage to Attacks Adds 1 to (30-34) Lightning Damage to Attacks +(6-8)% to all Elemental Resistances 30% increased Elemental Damage with Attack Skills during any Flask Effect 10% increased Elemental Damage with Attack Skills

4. Final Skill Tree, Ascendancy Points, and Pantheon

Final Skill Tree:

116 Points Skill Tree 
116 Points Path of Building(PoB) link 

Ascendancy points:

Preferably in that order:

1. Quartz Infusion
2. Avatar of the Veil
3. Way of the Poacher
4. Avatar of the Slaughter

Pantheon:

Major God: Soul of Solaris 6% additional Physical Damage Reduction while there is only one nearby Enemy; 20% chance to take 50% less Area Damage from Hits

Minor God: Soul of Garukhan +5% chance to Evade Attack Hits if you've taken a Savage Hit Recently

5. Final Gems links

[DPS] Kinetic Bolt setup (socketed in Gloves with additional Supports)
	Kinetic Bolt - your primary Attack used in this build which clears screens of enemies
	Inspiration Support - increases Elementa Damage, Critical Strike Chance, and reduces Mana Cost of Supported Skills
	Energy Leech Support - grants Energy Shield Leech and high Damage bonuses if you are Leeching Energy Shield and when it's full
	Greater Multiple Projectiles Support - increases the number of Kinetic Bolt's Projectiles which grants this skill massive area coverage
Gems granted by Rare Crafted Gloves:
	Faster Attacks Support - greatly increases Attack Speed
	Faster Projectiles Support - increased Projectile Damage and Speed, which also increases the range of Kinetic Bolt

[DPS] Vaal Power Siphon
	Vaal Power Siphon - your primary Attack for single-target DPS and Boss fights. It deals massively increased damage to a single enemy thanks to the use of Barrage Support. It also has increased damage based on the number of Power Charges
	Inspiration Support
	Barrage Support - makes Supported Skills fire additional projectiles in a quick succession turning Power Siphon into a deadly single-target Attack
	Elemental Focus Support - greatly increases Elemental Damage dealt by Supported Skills
	Elemental Damage with Attacks Support
	Damage on Full Life Support - grants very high bonus Damage while you are at Full Life, and in CI builds you always are

[UTILITY] Auras
	Discipline - grants a very high bonus Energy Shield. You can try to get a level 21 Discipline as it's one of the primary sources of Energy Shield for your character
	Wrath - grants high Added Lightning Damage to Attacks which is the best DPS-oriented Aura for this build
	Precision - increases your Accuracy Rating and Critical Strike Chance. Use a low level (1-5) Precision Gem so that it doesn't reserve too much Mana
	Enlighten Support - reduces Mana Reservation cost of linked Spells

[UTILITY] Immortal Call/Golem
	Immortal Call - one of the best Guard Spells in PoE. It grants brief but powerful damage mitigation bonuses. Keep this Gem at level 12 so that it's triggered by Cast when Damage Taken Gem
	Summon Ice Golem - Ice Golem increases your Crit. Chance and Accuracy Rating. Use a level 12 Gem here
	Cast when Damage Taken Support - will trigger linked Spells automatically. Keep this Gem at level 10

[MOBILITY] Dash
	Dash - the recommended Movement Skill for this build. It allows you to progress faster through Maps and avoid big Attacks and Spells from Bosses
	Second Wind Support - increases the number of available Dash's charges and reduces its cooldown
	Enhance Support - if you don't know what to put in the last empty socket you may just Support Dash with Enhance to reduce its' Cooldown further

[UTILITY] Wave of Conviction
	Cast when Damage Taken Support - in this setup it's used on level 1 for more frequent casts
	Wave of Conviction - applies Lightning Exposure to enemies, reducing their resistance to Lightning Damage. Use a level 7 Wave of Conviction Gem
	Curse on Hit Support - Wave of Conviction will also apply your linked Curse
	Assassin's Mark - the recommended Curse for this build which increases your Crit. Chance

5. Gear Setup

Let's get down to the most interesting part of our guide. Before we start, you might want to visit our PoE Orbs Marketplace and restock your PoE Orbs as items in this build can cost a fortune (lowest budget you are looking at is around 50 Exalted Orbs, with no upper limit to that). You should understand that this build is rather expensive and doesn't offer much flexibility in terms of equipment - you need equipment with Intelligence and Energy Shield, and such equipment can get pricy. A lot of items here and mandatory, and the number of required Uniques somewhat force you to get standard Rares with high Resistances and Attributes in other slots.

(Helmet) Rare Helmet - the BiS Helmet for this build. It can give you solid Energy Shield, Intelligence, and you can get an additional Power Charge on it

Min. requirements: 150 Energy Shield 50 Intelligence 70% Total Elemental Resistances Optional affixes: +1 to Maximum Power Charges

Helmet enchantment: Power Siphon fires 2 additional Projectiles Kinetic Bolt changes direction 2 additional times

(Body Armour) Rare Body Armour - again, Rare Armour will be the best for Intelligence stacking. Find a piece with high base Energy Shield and increased Intelligence affix

Min. requirements: 550 Energy Shield 10% Increased Intelligence Optional affixes: Intelligence Elemental Resistances

(Weapon) Rare Crafted Wand - getting a Wand with Added Lightning Damage per 10 Intelligence is a must-have in this build

Min. requirements: Adds 1 to 5 Lightning Damage to Attacks with this Weapon per 10 Intelligence Adds av. 125 Lightning Damage to Attacks Optional affixes: Critical Strike Multiplier Attack Speed Increased Spell Damage per 16 Intelligence

(Shield) Atziri's Reflection - the Best in Slot shield in this build. It has high base Intelligence, Evasion, and Energy Shield, and on top of it, it grants Curse Immunity making it easier to play with extra Unique Flasks

6% increased Movement Speed +(40-60) to Intelligence (180-200)% increased Evasion Rating +(180-200) to maximum Energy Shield +(20-30)% to all Elemental Resistances Curse Reflection Unaffected by Curses (15-20)% increased Effect of your Curses

(Boots) Rare Boots - aim for the highest possible Energy Shield and a Chance to gain Elusive otherwise you will lack a lot of Dodge and Badge of the Brotherhood bonuses will go to waste

Min. requirements: 100 Energy Shield 35 Intelligence 25% increased Movement Speed Chance to gain Elusive on Critical Strike Optional affixes: Elemental Resistances

Boot Enchantment: 16% increased Attack and Cast Speed if you've Killed Recently 10% Chance to Dodge Attack Hits if you've taken a Critical Strike Recently

(Belt) Rare Belt - can provide the highest possible defensive bonuses

Min. requirements: 80 Energy Shield (Crystal Belt) or 10% Increased Energy Shield (Crusader Belt) 10% Increased Attributes (Hunter/Elder affix) 80% Total Elemental Resistances Optional affixes: Elemental Damage with Attacks Attributes

(Amulet) Badge of the Brotherhood - possibly the BiS Amulet for this build, depending on the number of your Maximum Power Charges. It will give you between 2 and 4 Maximum Frenzy Charges which offer massive bonuses for the Raider

+(16-24) to Dexterity and Intelligence (7-10)% increased Cooldown Recovery of Travel Skills per Frenzy Charge (7-10)% increased Effect of Elusive on you per Power Charge (20-25)% chance to lose a Frenzy Charge when you use a Travel Skill (20-25)% chance to lose a Power Charge when you gain Elusive Your Maximum Frenzy Charges is equal to your Maximum Power Charges

(Amulet) Rare Amulet - if you can't afford proper Circle of Anguish Rings, just go for Rares with high defensive stats. Possibly Opal Rings for some extra DPS bonuses. Rare Rings make it much easier to match all the Attribute Requirements in this build

Min. requirements: 12% Increased Intelligence 30% Critical Strike Multiplier Optional affixes: Energy Shield/% Maximum Energy Shield Damage per Power Charge Damage per 15 Intelligence Damage Penetrates #% Lightning Resistance Attributes

Recommended Anointments: Tranquility Heart of Thunder Wandslinger (major bonus will affect Power Siphon only)

(Rings) Rare Rings - basically aim for high Intelligence bonuses and additional Crusader affixes for high Lightning damage bonuses

Min. requirements: 50 Intelligence 70% Total Elemental Resistances Optional affixes: Energy Shield Elemental Damage with Attacks Damage per Power Charge Added Lightning Damage per Power Charge

(Gloves) Rare Gloves - you need to get additional Support Gems here for your Kinetic Bolt Skill

Min. requirements: 100 Energy Shield Socketed Gems are Supported by level # Faster Attacks Socketed Gems are Supported by level # Faster Projectiles Optional affixes: Socketed Attacks have +#% to Critical Strike Multiplier Intelligence Elemental Resistances

(Jewel) Large Cluster Jewel - you should get one Large Cluster Jewel with Veteran Defender and Fuel the Fury Passives. Mana Leech is mandatory, and Veteran Defender grants extremely important Attributes. The third Passive should just give you some extra Attack Damage

Recommended affixes: 1 Added Passive Skill is Fuel the Fury 1 Added Passive Skill is Veteran Defender Optional affixes: 1 Added Passive Skill is Advance Guard 1 Added Passive Skill is Precise Retaliation

(Jewel) Small Cluster Jewels - make sure to get two Small Cluster Jewels with the Energy from Naught Passive. Jewels with 3 Small Passives and additional Intelligence/Energy Shield bonuses on the small ones will be the BiS for this build

Recommended affixes: 1 Added Passive Skill is Energy from Naught Optional affixes: Added Small Passive Skills also grant: +# to Intelligence Added Small Passive Skills also grant: +# to Maximum Energy Shield

(Jewel) Thread of Hope - it allows you to pick six powerful and extremely important Passives without having them connect to your Tree. Make sure to pick one with "very large" Ring

Only affects Passives in <size> Ring Passives in Radius can be Allocated without being connected to your tree -(20-10)% to all Elemental Resistances Passives allocated: Deep Wisdom Arcane Focus Coordination Overcharged Harrier

(Jewel) Transcendent Flesh - grants massive Crit. Multiplier when socketed to the very left of your Skill Tree

-1 Strength per 1 Strength on Allocated Passives in Radius +7% to Critical Strike Multiplier per 10 Strength on Unallocated Passives in Radius 3% increased Life Recovery Rate per 10 Strength on Allocated Passives in Radius 2% reduced Life Recovery Rate per 10 Strength on Unallocated Passives in Radius

(Jewel) Transcendent Spirit - an extremely important Jewel if you didn't get any extra Accuracy on your gear. It will let you get 100% Chance to Hit enemies

-1 Dexterity per 1 Dexterity on Allocated Passives in Radius 3% increased Movement Speed per 10 Dexterity on Allocated Passives in Radius +125 to Accuracy Rating per 10 Dexterity on Unallocated Passives in Radius 2% reduced Movement Speed per 10 Dexterity on Unallocated Passives in Radius

(Jewel) Fertile Mind - a must-have Jewel in this build. It grants around 140 Total Dexterity when socketed right above Ranger's starting point

+(16-24) to Intelligence Dexterity from Passives in Radius is Transformed to Intelligence

(Jewel) Watcher's Eye - a very powerful Unique Jewel which grants massive bonuses to your Damage based on the Aura modifiers it carries. One with two useful modifiers will cost a lot (most likely 30 Exalted Orbs or more) but it is surely worth it if you want to min-max your build

(4-6)% increased maximum Energy Shield (4-6)% increased maximum Life (4-6)% increased maximum Mana <Two or Three random aura modifiers> Recommended Aura modifiers: Damage Penetrates (10-15)% Lightning Resistance while affected by Wrath (40-60)% increased Lightning Damage while affected by Wrath +(30-50)% to Critical Strike Multiplier while affected by Precision (40-60)% increased Attack Damage while affected by Precision

(Flask) Dying Sun - one of the best Flasks for this build which increases the number of your Skills' projectiles (it applies both to Kinetic Bolt and Power Siphon)

+50% to Fire Resistance 20% less Fire Damage taken (-10-10)% increased Charges used Skills fire 2 additional Projectiles during Flask Effect (15-25)% increased Area of Effect during Flask Effect

(Flask) Atziri's Promise - this is one of the best utility Flasks for this build which grants insane DPS bonus and extra Leech

+35% to Chaos Resistance 2% of Chaos Damage Leeched as Life during Flask effect Gain (15-20)% of Physical Damage as Extra Chaos Damage during effect Gain (10-15)% of Elemental Damage as Extra Chaos Damage during effect

(Flask) Bottled Faith - one of the most powerful (and the most expensive) Flasks in Path of Exile. It grants very high bonus Critical Strike Chance and increases the damage you deal to enemies on the Consecrated Grounds it creates

Recharges 1 Charge when you Consume an Ignited corpse Enemies Ignited by you during Flask Effect take 10% increased Damage Recover (1-3)% of Life when you Kill an Enemy during Flask Effect Recover (1-3)% of Mana when you Kill an Enemy during Flask Effect Recover (1-3)% of Energy Shield when you Kill an Enemy during Flask Effect <One Veiled Mod>

Other suggested Flasks: Ample Diamond Flask of Reflexes (Crit and Evasion Rating) Ample Quicksilver Flask of Staunching (Movement Speed and Bleed immunity)

If you have any feedback about this build or suggestions for the next one, please let us know in the comments below! 

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