Lightning Arrow
Deadeye Build

Updated for Path of Exile 2 Early Access

The Best Crafty Guides by Odealo

Lightning Damage Deadeye is currently one of the strongest archetypes. It deals mostly Converted Lightning and a bit of Cold Damage, so with high enough damage you will frequently Shock and Freeze. Conversion is sourced from Herlad Skills and your Active Skills, which are primarily Lightning Arrow and Lightning Rods. Lightning Arrow is a basic Attack that's good for clearing. Combined with Herald Skills and an automated Voltaic Mark, your clear speed is one of the highest in the game. Lightning Rods is, on the other hand, a much better skill against stationary targets, as it deals extremely high damage in the exact spot where the Rods are. These Rods don't just deal damage passively, you have to activate them. To do so, Hit them with a Chaining Lightning beam sourced from Orb of Lightning, which releases beams each time you yourself use a Lightning Skill, and Ball Lightning, which is Triggered when you Shock, so that you don't have to do anything but attack with your main damaging ability.

Pick Deadeye for Far Shot and Endless Munitions. Your damage heavily relies on additional Projectiles and Attack Speed. Try to keep a distance from your enemies to get the damage bonus from Far Shot. Gathering Winds increases Evasion, makes you move, and attack faster. With high Evasion, Wind Ward becomes a great tool to mitigate the damage that you cannot Evade. Combine it with Wind Dancer to protect yourself from Melee Damage.

You can also check our other Path of Exile 2 builds right over here Odealo's Crafty Guides - Full List

1. Gameplay

Attacks with Lightning Arrow to slay regular enemies. Against bosses use your Lightning Rods with Orb of Storms (preferably two Orbs), and Ball Lightning, Triggered with Cast on Shock. Herald of Thunder will increase your clear speed. Introduce Cold Damage with Herald of Ice to Freeze bosses if your Physical Damage is high enough. You can then automate your Voltaic Mark with Cast on Freeze. Occasionally, use Escape Shot to Escape or Freeze.

2. Build's PROS & CONS

3. Leveling tips

Start with Lightning Arrow and Lightning Rods. it's similar to how you will play it later on. To activate Rods use Orb of Storms, you won't have enough Spirit and other resources for Ball Lightning that's cast on Shock until later on. Keep upgrading your Bow as you level up.

[DPS] Lightning Arrow setup
	Lightning Arrow - Sends a Lightning Arrow which will hit three additional enemies near its target with beams of lightning
	Martial Tempo - 25% more Attack Speed.
	Innervate - Grants extra Physical as Lightning Damage, but only for 3 seconds after you kill a Shocked enemy with the Lightning Arrow.

[DPS] Lightning Rod setup
	Lightning Rod - Fires Arrows that stay in the ground; you can then Hit the Rod with a Chaining beam from the Lightning Arrow and Orb of Storms. Use it against tough targets.
	Concentrated Effect - Rods land in a concentrated area to maximize single-target damage.
	Scattershot - Adds two additional Arrows, their quantity is crucial.

[UTILITY] Orb of Storms setup
	Orb of Storms - It will target the Lightning Rods to activate them each time you use a Lightning Skill, which is Lightning Rod. Make sure to cast it over these Rods.
	Magnified Effect - Increased AoE so that it's easier to Hit Rods. It's not required once you get good at it.
	Chain - Adds one additional Chain to target one additional Rod per activation.

[UTILITY] other gems
	Herald of Ice - Use it if you have enough Cold Damage to Freeze. If you don't, look for Added Cold Damage on your gear.
	Herald of Thunder - Improves your damage and clear speed with Lightning Bolts.

4. Final Skill Tree, Ascendancy Points, and Pantheon

Final Skill Tree:

Click on the image to open the Passive Tree preview in a new window Or use the full browser version: Passive Tree

Ascendancy points:

Preferably in this order:

1. Gathering Winds
2. Far Shot
3. Endless Munitions
4. Wind Ward

5. Final Gems links

[DPS] Lightning Arrow setup
	Lightning Arrow - Sends a Lightning Arrow which will hit three additional enemies near its target with beams of lightning, making it great for clearing packs of mobs.
	Primal Armament - It's 25% more Weapon Elemental Damage.
	Martial Tempo - 25% more Attack Speed.
	Ice Bite - You're aiming at high Physical Damage, later partially Converted. This Support Gem grants you extra Physical as Cold Damage for 3 seconds after you Freeze an enemy, so be sure you can Freeze with Lightning Arrow.
	Innervate - Grants extra Physical as Lightning Damage, but only for 3 seconds after you kill a Shocked enemy with the Lightning Arrow.
	Mobility - You want to keep some of your Movement Speed while attacking.

[DPS] Lightning Rod setup
	Lightning Rod - Fires Arrows that stay in the ground; you can then Hit the Rod with a Chaining beam from the Lightning Arrow, Ball Lightning, and Orb of Storms. Use it against tough targets.
	Concentrated Effect - Rods land in a concentrated area to maximize single-target damage.
	Scattershot - Adds two additional Arrows, their quantity is crucial.
	Heft - 30% more Maximum Physical Damage, which you should have a lot of, later Converted.
	Rising Tempest - 12% more Elemental Damage for every Cold or Fire Skill used in the past 4 seconds. It's an Escape Shot in our case.
	Inspiration - 40% less Mana Cost for the linked Skill.

[UTILITY] Orb of Storms setup
	Orb of Storms - It will target the Lightning Rods to activate them each time you use a Lightning Skill, which is Lightning Rod. Make sure to cast it over these Rods.
	Chain - Adds one additional Chain to target one additional Rod per activation.
	Magnified Effect - Increased AoE so that it's easier to Hit Rods. It's not required once you get good at it.
	Unleash - You can summon two Orbs per Cast if you don't do it often, which you shouldn't. Requires Overabundance or else it will do nothing.
	Overabundance - +1 to Maximum Orb of Storms. Overrides the one Orb limit, but reduces its Duration.
	Persistence - Orb of Storms lasts longer.

[UTILITY] Herald of Ice setup
	Herald of Ice - It converts all your Physical Damage to Cold, but you still have Skill-level Conversion from Herald of Thunder and Skills themselves, so the majority of your Attack Damage will be of the Lightning type. The Skill causes you to Shatter Frozen enemies on Kill making it another great tool for clearing maps. It's required to Cast on Freeze.
	Elemental Focus - Inability to inflict Elemental Ailments, but more Elemental Damage.
	Cold Mastery - Increases Gem Level of Herald of Ice.
	Longshot - Shattered enemies deal more damage when exploding if they're far from you.

[UTILITY] Herald of Thunder setup
	Herald of Thunder - Converts Physical Damage to Lightning. Even with Herald of Ice, your Lightning Attacks will deal three-quarters Lightning damage and one-quarter Cold Damage. It deals damage to enemies after a kill.
	Conduction - 100% more Chance to Shock.
	Lightning Mastery - Increases Gem Level of Herald of Thunder.

[UTILITY] Cast on Shock setup
	Cast on Shock - You should be able to Shock frequently to trigger the Ball Lightning Skill often. You don't need it during mapping, activate it against bosses.
	Ball Lightning - Its only purpose is to Hit Lightning Rods.
	Impetus - Cast on Shock gains 40% increased Energy.
	Energy Retention - 35% Chance to refund half of the Energy when the Skill is Triggered.
	Deceleration - Ball Lightning moves slower, hovering over the rods for a bit longer.

[UTILITY] Cast on Freeze setup
	Cast on Freeze - Your Cold Damage should be high enough to Freeze every now and then. It will Trigger Voltaic Mark. If you don't have enough Spirit just cast it manually.
	Voltaic Mark - Voltaic Mark is used for a 50% more Shock Chance and a 30% increased effect of Shock. During mapping, it also deals AoE damage which definitely helps.

[UTILITY] Escape Shot setup
	Escape Shot - The only Cold Attack you use yourself. Use it to escape enemies that pose a danger to you. You can also use it to Freeze enemies and trigger Voltaic Mark.
	Holy Descent - Creates Consecrated Ground, which halves the Curse Effect and grants Life Regeneration.

[UTILITY] Wind Dancer setup
	Wind Dancer - A protective Persistent Buff that grants you more Evasion. Upon being Hit with a Melee Attack it knocks enemies back and Triggers Gale Force.
	Blind - It also Blinds enemies on Hit, making you more likely to Evade Attacks.

6. Gear Setup

You don't need any Unique Items except Thief's Torment to get Mana on Hit. On your Bow and Quiver look for high Physical Damage with Attack Speed, Gem Level for Projectile Skills, and Added Cold Damage to Freeze enemies more easily. To host all the Persistent Buffs you will need some extra Spirit. Dexterity and Intelligence are required to equip skills and equipment.

(Ring) Thief's Torment - Use it against bosses to gain Mana on Hit and to not run out of Mana.

+(120–160) to Accuracy Rating (30–40)% increased Rarity of Items found +(10–15)% to all Elemental Resistances Gain 25 Life per Enemy Hit with Attacks Can't use other Rings Gain 15 Mana per Enemy Hit with Attacks 50% reduced Duration of Curses on you

(Off-hand) Asphyxia's Wrath - It's good if you can't yet manage to Freeze enemies, and it should not be needed later.

Adds 1 to 3 Physical Damage to Attacks (5–10)% increased Attack Speed +(5–10)% to Cold Resistance Enemies Chilled by your Hits increase damage taken by Chill Magnitude Attacks Gain (5–10)% of Damage as Extra Cold Damage

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.