Lightning Strike
Warden Build

Updated for Patch 3.25

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Lightning Strike is an Attack that can be performed with a melee weapon that converts a portion of your Physical Damage to Lightning Damage and fires Projectiles to Hit your enemies standing further away. You will use it with Trinity Support and a Claw, the reason for this is the excellent synergy a Warden has with Elemental Attacks, and a huge variety of Added Flat Elemental Damage Affixes you can find on a Claw. Claw has instant Life gained on Hit and it can benefit from the Nightblade Support Gem. There are tons of great passives near your starting location so you won't need Cluster Jewels or waste skill points on travel nodes. Trinity Support Requires you to have a somewhat equalized amount of at least two different Elemental damage types. The most important stat to look for is Flat Elemental Damage of various types - a fixed amount of added damage is better than an increase in your already existing damage.

It's a Life-based build with a high Evasion Rating - it's possible to achieve 4 or 5k of Maximum Life and up to 50k of Evasion Rating and 100% Spell Suppression Chance. It is, however, a glass cannon build - your most reliable defensive layer is to kill enemies instantly. Sometimes you do get Hit and almost anything will make you fight for your Life. The build can reach millions of DPS with the right gear. It offers fast-paced gameplay like most of the Warden builds do; you should constantly have Frenzy Charges, Onslaught, and Elusiveness. The build can be expensive mainly because of the Claw, but all the items can be upgraded endlessly.

Pick Warden for its synergy with Tinctures and Elemental Damage. The first 6 stacks of Mana Burn will have no effect, and after the next 6 stacks expire,  the Tincture will turn off on its own. The effect of it will linger for the next 6 seconds anyway due to the Enduring Suffusion. It also helps you with Mana Burn, as does Mana Leech and Mana gain on Hit. There are 4 Tinctures you may want to use but you're only allowed to pick 2. These are Rosethron, Prismatic, Sporebloom, and Oakbranch Tincures. Oakbranch grants Rage which is good, but not required if you have any other source of Rage, such as Veteran's Wrath on the Amulet. Rosethron is good if you struggle with Crit Chance and you need more Crit Chance than a Diamond Flask provides. Sporebloom one Blinds enemies on Hit and increases the Blind Effect, making your Evasion much more potent. It's the best Tincture defensive-wise. Prismatic one increases Elemental Damage. You will also allocate Oath of Winter to Freeze bosses and Avatar of the Wilds for Unbound Avatar, for 80% more Damage if Unbound. This build fosters a perfect condition for Unbound Avatar with its high Hit Rate and all three types of Elemental Ailments it inflicts with each Hit.

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1. Gameplay

Lightning Strike is a melee Attack to use with a Claw, it fires up Projectiles that improve your Clear Speed significantly. To enhance your Clear Speed even more seek extra targeting for Strike Skills and Pierce for Projectiles. Use Whirling Blades as your movement Skill, have a Blood Rage constantly up, and Link your Steelskin to a Cast when Damage Taken Skill Gem. Assassin's Mark is applied automatically. A Hydrosphere can be deployed to inflict Exposure. Use Precision, Grace, Wrath, and Herald of Ice for your Mana-Reserving Skills.

2. Build's PROS & CONS

3. Leveling tips

Start with any Attack that creates projectiles - it can be Spectral Throw, Splitting Steel, Frost Blades, and other such skills you feel comfortable with. Lightning Strike can be used as soon as level 12, but it's not crucial to use it right away. As you start putting your Skill Points specifically into Claws be sure to have one by then. Around act 2 or 3 start specializing in Elemental Damage, especially Cold Damage. You can use most of the Essences really, especially Essences of Hatred.

Suggested leveling Gem setups:

Ice Shot setup
	Spectral Throw - use this or a similar Skill Gem to level up your character
	Elemental Damage with Attacks Support - to increase the Elemental Damage you're causing
	Added Cold Damage Support - adds flat Cold Damage to your Attacks, you can use Added Fire or Added Lightning Damage Support gems too
	Inspiration Support - it lowers Mana cost of Skills, increases Elemental Damage and Crit Chance

Aura setup
	Precision - keep it at a low level so it won't affect your Mana Pool too much, it increases your Crit Chance
	Herald of Ice - use this Herald to deal more Cold Damage, Freeze and Shatter enemies

Curse and Mobility setup
	Frostbite - lowers the Cold Resistance of your foes, you can use Curses such as Conductivity and Flammability if you're dealing more Lightning or Fire Damage
	Whirling Blades - your Movement Skill you can use with Swords, Claws, or Daggers

Bandits:

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

Leveling Skill Trees:

35 Points Skill Tree
look for Projectile Damage, Elemental Damage, and Claw Damage

73 Points Skill Tree
Get more Life, Elemental Damage, Accuracy Rating, Point Blank Keystone, Dexterity, and Fangs of Frost to deal more Cold Damage

Recommended leveling items:

Tasalio's Sign - adds a lot of Flat Cold Damage and other bonuses to help you early on

+(20-30)% to Cold Resistance Adds (7-10) to (15-20) Cold Damage to Spells and Attacks +(200-300) to Evasion Rating 50% chance to Avoid being Chilled 10% chance to Freeze Adds 40 to 60 Cold Damage against Chilled Enemies

Hrimsorrow - another great cold-related unique item for this build

+(20-30) to Strength +(40-50) to Evasion Rating +(20-30)% to Cold Resistance 100% of Physical Damage Converted to Cold Damage Reflects 100 Cold Damage to Melee Attackers

Prismweave - adds flat damage for each Element, increases your Physical Damage, Elemental Resistances, and Elemental Damage during Flask Effect

(12-24)% increased Global Physical Damage Adds (14-16) to (30-32) Fire Damage to Attacks Adds (10-12) to (24-28) Cold Damage to Attacks Adds 1 to (60-68) Lightning Damage to Attacks +(6-15)% to all Elemental Resistances 30% increased Elemental Damage with Attack Skills during any Flask Effect

Goldrim - one of the best unique leveling helmets for it gives a lot of 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)

Tabula Rasa - a Body Armour that allows you to you can connect any six Gems

Item has no level requirement and Energy Shield (Hidden) Item has 6 White Sockets and is fully linked (Hidden)

4. Final Skill Tree, Ascendancy Points, and Pantheon

Final Skill Tree:

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

Ascendancy points:

Preferably in that order:

1. Oath of Winter
2. Avatar of the Wilds
3. Enduring Suffusion
4. Experienced Herbalist

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] Lightning Strike setup
	Lightning Strike - The main damaging Attack in this build - it's a strike Skill that creates Projectiles, the main damaging component.
	Nightblade Support - more Crit Chance, Elusive Effect on Critical Strike, and enhanced effect of Elusive.
	Trinity Support - Creates Resonance Stack as you deal damage with more than one Element - these increase your Elemental Damage and Elemental Damage Penetration.
	Multistrike Support - Much more Attack Speed, but slightly lower damage.
	Inspiration Support - reduces your Mana Cost of Skill, increases Critical Strike Chance, and Elemental Damage.
	Returning Projectiles Support - Projectiles Return to you after expiring so they can deal damage twice, albeit the Returning Projectile deal less damage.

[UTILITY] Aura setup
	Grace - Evasion is the main defensive layer. Use Grace to be more likely to avoid Attacks.
	Wrath - Wrath adds Lightning Damage to Attacks.
	Herald of Ice - Adds flat Cold Damage to your Attacks and Shatters Frozen enemies increasing your clear speed.
	Enlighten Support - Linked Spells Reserve less Mana. It should not be needed, but having more Unreserved Mana is recommended.

[MOBILITY] Whirling Blades setup
	Whirling Blades - By wielding a Claw you're allowed to use Whirling Blades, one of the best movement abilities.
	Blood Rage - Increases Attack Speed and grants Frenzy Charges on Kill. It slowly Drains your Life so turn it off if you don't Leech at the moment.
	Faster Attacks Support - Increases Attack Speed for Whirling Blades so that you move faster.
	Lifetap Support - Linked Skills cost Life instead of Mana.

[UTILITY] Steelskin setup
	Steelskin - Forms a protective barrier that absorbs some of the incoming Hit Damage for some time and stops Bleeding.
	Cast when Damage Taken Support - Steelskin is cast automatically after receiving damage.
	Lifetap Support

[UTILITY] Assassin's Mark setup
	Assassin's Mark - Increases your Critical Strike Chance and its Multiplier, and recovers your Life and Mana on Kill.
	Mark on Hit Support - Assassin's Mark is applied on Hit.
	Lifetap Support

[UTILITY] Precision setup
	Precision - Increases your Accuracy Rating and Critical Strike Chance, keep it at a low level to save Mana.
	Arrogance Support - Precision Reserves Life instead of Mana.

[UTILITY] Hydrosphere
	Hydrosphere - Applies Cold and Lightning Exposure on nearby enemies which lowers their Resistances. Your Projectiles can interact with it.

[UTILITY] Vaal Haste
	Vaal Haste - Vaal Haste might be used periodically for more Movement and Attack Speed.

5. Gear Setup

Your main defensive layers are Maximum Life, Evasion, and Spell Suppression. Try to have them high and capped, with your Elemental Resistances at 75% too. Chaos Resistance should be at least positive. Your Recovery comes from Life Leech and instant Life Gained on Hit from the Claw and there's a lot of that. Try to accumulate a lot of Evasion to reach a 90% Evade Chance, and remember about the Evasion Mastery for a 15% Spell Suppression Chance if your Body Armour, Gloves, Boots, and Helmet have Evasion, which they should have anyway. If you're using Ynda's Stand, seek a Body Armour with mixed Armour and Evasion to get at least 2000 Ward. Your Damage comes from a Claw and other minor sources of Added Damage. It scales up with Increased Elemental Damage, Attack Speed, and Elemental Penetration, obviously. You will also need all Attributes for Skill Gems and armour pieces with high defensive stats. The Mana Burn from Tinctures is not a big deal as you have some Mana Unreserved. You also have instant Mana Leech and Mana on Hit. Remember to get enough Accuracy and Crit Chance. Crit Multiplier is already high thanks to the Nightblade Support so don't focus on it too much.

(Helmet) Rare Helmet - Try to gain a lot of Evasion, Maximum Life, Resistances, and Spell Suppression Chance. For the Eldritch mods, look for Reduced Mana Cost of Attacks and Mana Reservation Efficiency.

Min. requirements: +90 maximum Life +40% to Total Elemental Resistances +10% Spell Suppression Chance Optional affixes: Evasion Intelligence

(Body Armour) Rare Body Armour - Get the most basic Life, Resistance, and Evasion. Spell Suppression and Dexterity will be good too. For the Eldritch mods, you should go for the Grace Aura effect and the Non-Curse Aura Effect.

Min. requirements: +150 maximum Life +40% to Total Elemental Resistances Spell Suppression Chance Optional affixes: Elemental Resistances Evasion

(Weapon) Rare Claw - Get a Claw, preferably the Imperial Claw for a lot of Life on Hit, with as much added Cold, Lightning, and Fire Damage as you can afford. For Suffixes, get Attack Speed, and Crit Chance.

Min. requirements: high mixed Elemental DPS Attack Speed Optional affixes: Critical Strike Chance Attributes

(Shield) Rare Shield - Here get Evasion, Maximum Life, and Spell Suppression, Resistances, or Attack Speed. Whatever you need the most.

Min. requirements: +100 to maximum Life +40% to Elemental Resistances Optional affixes: Spell Suppression Chance increased Attack Speed Accuracy Rating

(Gloves) Rare Gloves - Rare Gloves can be a source of Life, Resistances, Suppression, Dexterity, and a few rare or crafted offensive mods for increased Damage, Attack Speed, or Accuracy. For the Eldritch mods look for extra targeting for Strike Skills or Rage on Hit, and Spell Suppression Chance or additional Pierce.

Min. requirements: +90 maximum Life +40% to Total Elemental Resistances +10% Spell Suppression Chance Optional affixes: Dexterity increased Critical Strike Chance Accuracy Rating increased Damage with Hits against Chilled/Burning/Shocked Enemies

(Gloves) The Celestial Brace - There is no Evasion on these Gloves so you won't be able to get 15% Suppression from the Evasion Mastery, but if you can reach 100% without it, consider these Gloves for a lot of Attack Speed and Fortify on Hit.

(80-120)% increased Armour 1% increased Attack Speed per Fortification +(1-10) to maximum Fortification Melee Hits from Strike Skills Fortify

(Boots) Rare Boots - Maximum Life and Movement Speed are a must-have. Resistances, Suppression, and Evasion should be here too. For the Eldritch mods seek Chaos Resistance and increased Elusive Effect.

Min. requirements: +90 maximum Life 30% increased Movement Speed Optional affixes: Resistances Spell Suppression Chance Evasion Attributes

(Belt) Rare Belt - A Belt should have Strength, Resistances, Maximum Life, and Increased Elemental Damage with Attacks.

Min. requirements: +80 maximum Life +40% to Total Elemental Resistances increased Elemental Damage with Attacks Strength Optional affixes: Armour and Evasion increased Maximum Life

(Belt) Ynda's Stand - This Belt is good if you don't get Hit often, or if you dodge, avoid, or block almost every Attack. Combine with a Body Armour that has a lot of Armour, Evasion, or Both.

(20-30)% increased Stun Duration on Enemies Regenerate (30-50) Life per second +(20-30)% to Fire Resistance +(20-30)% to Cold Resistance Gain Ward instead of 50% of Armour and Evasion Rating from Equipped Body Armour

(Amulet) Rare Amulet - What you shall be interested in besides the obvious defensive and Life mods are Crit Chance, Attributes, and Gem Level for Lightning Skills.

Min. requirements: +90 Maximum Life +40% to Elemental Resistances +1 to Gem Level of all Lightning Skill Gems Optional affixes: Critical Strike Chance Attributes Chaos Resistance

Recommended Anointments: Veteran's Wrath Divine Judgement Claws of the Falcon

(Ring) The Taming - Two Taming Rings are your best options. It's a lot of Elemental Damage and Elemental Resistances.

+(8-10)% to all Elemental Resistances (30-40)% increased Elemental Damage with Hits and Ailments for each type of Elemental Ailment on Enemy +(20-30)% to all Elemental Resistances 10% chance to Freeze, Shock and Ignite

Jewel) Lethal Pride - Used mainly for Strength, which it grants a lot of if socketed near Fervour notable. Some of the notable upgrades can be fitting too, like the 4% increased Maximum Life.

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

(Jewel) Rare Jewels - Look for Affixes with Maximum Life, Elemental Resistances, Attributes, or added Elemental Damage with Claws. Abyss Jewels are valued more than the regular ones since they add flat values instead of increasing your existing ones.

Recommended affixes: increased maximum Life Critical Strike Chance Attributes Resistances Critical Strike Chance with Elemental Skills Added Elemental Damage with Claws

(Jewel) Watcher's Eye - The Auras you're using are Grace, Wrath, Precision, and Vaal Haste. Look for Attack Speed or Attack Damage from Precision and any defensive mods from Grace.

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

Other suggested Flasks and Tinctures: Life Flask with Bleeding immunity/removal Jade Flask with increased Evasion Silver Flask with increased Movement Speed Rosethron Tincture (Crit Chance) with Elemental Penetration Prismatic Tincture (Elemental Damage) with Melee Weapon Attack Speed Sporebloom Tincture (Blind with Blind Effect) Oakbranch Tincture (Rage on Hit)

If you have any other build requests, please leave that in the comments below.

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