Lightning Spear
Deadeye Build

Updated for Path of Exile 2 Early Access

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Lightning Spear is a Projectile Spear Attack that creates secondary lightning bolt Projectiles on impact, but the Initial one is unaffected by most projectile modifiers. That makes it good for clearing maps. It can also be empowered with Frenzy Charges to create more Splinters, but it won't affect the damage against bosses. The skill used to be overwhelmingly overpowered back in 0.3, but now its damage is more reasonable. We'll add a secondary Lightning Spear Skill here, which is Storm Lance. It strikes nearby enemies automatically once lodged into the ground, making it excellent against stationary bosses, and it won't disrupt our regular skill rotation, which consists mostly of Lightning Spear over and over. More importantly, the Storm Lance has a much higher Hit Rate, so it'll trigger the Mark Skill much quicker, which is good if we want to generate Frenzy Charges. Sniper's Mark improves the damage of the next Critical Hit. We're also using Barrage to throw more spears at once for better single-target damage. We'll pivot more into these Critical Damage improvements with Amazon. Deadeye is overall more competent at handling Frenzy Charges due to the Avidity and Thrilling Chase. These passives improve mapping. You may then allocate Gathering Winds to get much more Movement Speed and Skill Speed. Called Shots is the last passive; it enhances Mark Skills.

Amazon has a higher damage potential due to the critical-hit-related passives: Critical Hit, Penetrate, and Predatory Instinct. These grant Critical Hit Chance from excess Chance to Hit, add Physical Damage from the weapon's Accuracy, and provide conditional damage. The last point can be spent on Mystic Harvest for Life Leech or Elemental Surge for damage.

The build's durability stems from Evasion with Deflection, Maximum Life, and Maximum Energy Shield. You're welcome to grow reliant on just one of these, but with skills like Ghost Dance and passives like Spectral Ward and Subterfuge Mask, we do recommend specing into all three. The damage is good and mostly tied to the weapon and additional Skill Levels. Getting enough Crit Damage, added damage, and accuracy on a weapon is an endeavour most costly; that's why this build keeps principally to maps and is hardly praised for its pinnacle-boss killing competency.

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

1. Gameplay

Lightning Spear can kill all the weak monsters and even rares in one hit. This damage will build up enough Electrocution or Freeze to generate Frenzy Charges while mapping. Ice-Tipped Arrows, Barrage, and Storm Lance should be activated right before you start a boss fight. Sniper's Mark can be applied via Called Shots. Your passive skills are Herald of Thunder, Mirage Archer, Eternal Rage, Combat Frenzy, and Wind Dancer.

2. Build's PROS & CONS

3. Leveling tips

Begin with Twister with Whirling Slash. That combination is excellent for early acts because both skills are of tier 1. They synergize with one another - Twister Consumes the Whirlwind of Whirling Slash. It also consumes Ground Surface, so try adding Explosive Spear with Frenzy Charge into the rotation, or start wearing Wake of Destruction Boots. It requires a fair bit of Dexterity early on. On the skill tree, head for the Dance with Death Keystone right away. Start with Projectile Damage, Spear Damage, and Attack Damage. Later, specialize in Elemental Damage and Critical Hits. You can check out our Twister Amazon build or Twister Spirit Walker for more information about it. Swap to Lightning Damage if you can no longer keep up with strong enemies or if you find a suitable weapon. The overall progression is smooth.

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 import the build into PoB: Path of Building 2 code

Ascendancy points:

Deadeye; preferably in this order:

1. Gathering Winds
2. Called Shots
3. Avidity
4. Thrilling Chase

Amazon; preferably in this order:

1. Predatory Instinct
2. Critical Strike
3. Penetrate
4. Mystic Harvest

5. Final Gems links

[DPS] Lightning Spear setup
	Lightning Spear - It's the main skill for nearly all content. It's a Spear Throw that deals Lightning Damage, consumes Frenzy Charge, and Splits on impact. If you can afford to do so, we recommend implementing Rakiata's Flow, Garukhan's Resolve, and Rigwald's Ferocity.
	Deliberation - More damage, but a bigger movement penalty.
	Innervate - 35% of Damage as extra Lightning Damage for 5 seconds on killing a Shocked enemy.
	Elemental Armament - More Elemental Damage.
	Rapid Attacks - Enhanced Attack Speed.
	Fork - Projectile Forks for better area coverage. Pointless against Pinnacle Bosses.

[DPS] Ice-Tipped Arrows setup
	Ice-Tipped Arrows - Your next Attack Triggers Ice Fragments on Hit which deal Cold Damage. They'll Freeze. It could be replaced with Herald of Ice if you don't want another button to press.
	Elemental Armament
	Magnified Area - More Area of Effect.
	Short Fuse - Less Detonation Time for Ice Crystals.
	Embitter - All the extra damage is treated as Cold Damage to build up Freeze quicker.
	Freeze - More Freeze buildup.

[UTILITY] Herald of Thunder setup
	Herald of Thunder - Improves your clear speed with Lightning Bolts on killing a Shocked enemy.
	Neural Overload - Herald will Electrocute enemies that have some of the Electrocution built up already.
	Lightning Mastery - Additional Gem Level for Herald of Thunder for more damage.
	Execute - Deals 50% more damage to enemies on Low Life.
	Concentrated Effect - Lowers Area of Effect but grants more Area Damage.
	Lightning Penetration - Penetrates a big portion of Lightning Resistance, which results in more damage.

[UTILITY] Called Shots setup
	Called Shots - Linked Mark is re-applied on a different enemy once Triggered, making it good in situations where there are two or more strong enemies.
	Sniper's Mark - The next Critical Hit removes the Mark from the enemy to grant you a Frenzy Charge and deal more damage. It's the main source of Frenzy Charges during boss fights.
	Charge Profusion - 30% chance to grant you one extra Frenzy Charge. You could move it to the Combat Frenzy setup, but here it plays a more important role.
	Cooldown Recovery - Lowers the Cooldown for the Mark, which is 2 seconds by default.
	Charged Mark - Creates Shocked Ground when the Mark triggers.
	Eternal Mark - Mark can activate twice on the same target.

[UTILITY] Wind Dancer setup
	Wind Dancer - More Evasion until you get hit. Then, it breaks and hits nearby foes.
	Blind - Wind Dancer Blinds; your Evasion is more effective against Blinded enemies.
	Rage - Generates Rage on Hit.
	Cooldown Recovery

[UTILITY] Combat Frenzy setup
	Combat Frenzy - Grants you a Frenzy Charge when you Electrocute or Freeze an enemy.
	Charge Profusion
	Precision - 30% increased Accuracy Rating. It may not be needed with the right gear.

[UTILITY] Eternal Rage
	Eternal Rage - Generates Rage over time, which is important for damage. You could add some unrelated Support Spirit Skills here, such as Precision or Clarity.

[UTILITY] Ghost dance
	Ghost dance - If you have high ES and Evasion, definitely go for Ghost Dance to restore ES more effectively, albeit conditionally.

[UTILITY] Trinity
	Trinity - It is a 100-Spirit Buff that grants up to 57% more Elemental Damage, albeit with conditions hard to fulfill. It requires consistent and alternating damage output of two different Elements, the second one being Fire.

[UTILITY] Mana Remnants
	Mana Remnants - Spawns Mana Remnants on killing or critically hitting an enemy afflicted with Elemental Ailments, like Shock.
	Harmonic Remnants
	Remnant Potency
	Khatal's Rejuvenation

[UTILITY] Mirage Archer setup
	Mirage Archer - You can passively employ an Archer that will stand still and use the linked setup before vanishing. To set it up, Dodge Roll.
	Lightning Spear - We're using Lightning Spear yet again, as this build is set up to extract the most damage from this very skill.
	Cooldown Recovery
	Deliberation
	Elemental Armament
	Elemental Focus

[UTILITY] Barrage setup
	Barrage - Empower your next Attack to make it repeat additional times per Frenzy Charge consumed. It has a long Cooldown.
	Prolonged Duration
	Perpetual Charge
	Heightened Charges
	Cooldown Recovery
	Efficiency

[UTILITY] Storm Lance setup
	Storm Lance - Lodges a Spear in the ground that deals Lightning  Damage continuously. It can be empowered with a Frenzy Charge.
	Deliberation
	Multishot
	Elemental Armament
	Blindside
	Vorana's Siege

6. Gear Setup

Spear is your Priority. It has to have high Damage - Physical mixed with Lightning. To get more damage, seek Critical Hit Chance and increased effect of Shock. Electrocute buildup speed may be great, as you're supposed to wear Kitoko's Current Gloves. If you're not, be sure you can gain Frenzy Charges from the Combat Frenzy some other way. To deal more damage against bosses, besides the obvious Crit Damage, Flat Damage, Attack Rate, and Penetration, look for a way to generate Frenzy Charges even more efficiently. Here, we have equipped Serpent's Egg to achieve it. Lightning Penetration and Attack Speed are good, but don't go out of your way to get them. Spirit is very desirable, as we've listed more Spirit Skills that you'll probably manage to get. Your defences are Maximum Life and Evasion. Maybe Block Chance and Energy Shield.

(Weapon) Rare Spear - It doesn't even need high Attack Speed, just raw per-hit damage. Physical Damage (later converted) and Lightning Damage with Gem Level for relevant (Projectile) Skills or Crit modifiers will be best. High Accuracy is also in demand,

Min. requirements: increased Physical Damage added Physical Damage +# to Level of all Projectile Skills Optional affixes: Added Lightning Damage with Attacks increased Elemental Damage with Attacks Critical Damage Bonus Critical Hit Chance increased Attack Speed local Accuracy

(Off-hand) Rare Buckler - If you haven't allocated Dance with Death, you can benefit from an off-hand. A buckler will be good, but you can wield regular Shields as well. Go for basic Max Life/Resistances with either more Evasion or Block Chance.

Min. requirements: Maximum Life Elemental Resistance Optional affixes: Increased Block Chance increased Evasion Rating Dexterity Maximum Elemental Resistances

(Off-hand) Sacred Flame - Fire Resistance via Purity of Fire, 100 Spirit, and a lot of extra Fire Damage. Heavily recommended.

Spirit: 100 Grants Skill: Level (18-20) Purity of Fire Gain (40-60)% of Damage as Extra Fire Damage Allies in your Presence Gain (20-30)% of Damage as Extra Fire Damage Allies in your Presence Regenerate (2-3)% of their Maximum Life per second Enemies in your Presence Resist Elemental Damage based on their Lowest Resistance

(Helmet) Rare Helmet - Besides Maximum Life and Resistances, a Helmet offers Intelligence, Dexterity, Accuracy, and Critical Hit Chance.

Min. requirements: Maximum Life Elemental Resistance Optional affixes: Attributes Accuracy Rating Increased Critical Hit Chance

(Gloves) Kitoko's Current - Electrocution is a very desirable Lightning Ailment that renders your enemies completely incapacitated. Put on these Gloves to apply it.

(30-50)% increased Energy Shield +(10-20) to Dexterity (10-15)% reduced Attack and Cast Speed Lightning Damage from Hits contributes to Electrocution Buildup

(Gloves) Rare Gloves - Against Pinnacle Bosses, it's better to equip Rare Gloves with lots of Added Damage and Projectile Levels for some straight-up damage.

Min. requirements: +2 to Level of all Projectile Skills (Kolr's Hunt Suffix) Adds Physical Damage to Attacks Adds Lightning Damage to Attacks +40% total Resistance Optional affixes: Attributes Maximum Life Evasion or Maximum Energy Shield

(Boots) Rare Boots - Your Boots shall increase your Movement Speed and grant you additional Maximum Life with Resistances of any type.

Min. requirements: increased Movement Speed Elemental Resistance Maximum Life Optional affixes: Attributes Evasion Rating

(Amulet) Serpent's Egg - Frenzy Charge retention is the most significant merit when mapping. Use this Amulet to gain more of them.

(12-20) to increased Rarity of items found +(10-20) to all Attributes +(17-23)% to Chaos Resistance (20-30)% increased Mana Regeneration Rate Gain an additional Charge when you gain a Charge

(Amulet) Rare Amulet - On the Rare Amulet, try getting Skill Levels and Spirit, with some Crit modifiers on top.

Min. requirements: +2 to Level of all Projectile Skills Spirit Optional affixes: increased Critical Hit Chance increased Critical Damage Bonus Defences

(Ring) Rare Ring - Rings' Suffixes can get you a lot of Resistances and Attributes. Prefixes may roll Maximum Life and added Damage to Attacks. There's also Accuracy and Life on Kill, which can be good.

Min. requirements: Maximum Life Resistances Attributes Optional affixes: Accuracy Evasion Rating Added Physical or Lightning Damage Life per Enemy Killed

(Belt) Rare Belt - Not many particularly useful mods on a Belt; mostly Maximum Life and Resistances again. We recommend Headhunter for such a build instead.

Min. requirements: Elemental Resistance Maximum Life Optional affixes: Charm Slots Strength Flask or Charm modifiers

(Body Armour) Rare Body Armour - If you want more Spirit, you can get it on a Body Armour. There are no other exotic mods to seek, just plain Evasion, Evasion mixed with Energy Shield, raw Energy Shield, Maximum Life, and Resistances. Quatl's Molt may be a temporary substitute.

Min. requirements: Maximum Life Elemental Resistance Optional affixes: Evasion Rating Maximum Energy Shield Spirit

(Jewel) Rare Emerald Jewels - Emeralds present themselves with a typical mod pool for builds of that type. Look for ones listed below, especially Critical Hit mods.

Optional affixes: increased Damage with Spears increased Critical Hit Chance increased Critical Damage Bonus increased Lightning Damage increased Electrocute Buildup

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

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