Poet's Pen
Storm Call/Lightning Warp
Assassin Shadow
Build updated for Patch 3.3

The Best Crafty Guides by Odealo

Estimated budget: low (few Exalted Orbs)

Since the introduction of Poet's Pen wands, they have been the core items for various powerful and enjoyable builds. What describes Poet's Pen builds, is good mobility (since you usually socket a movement Spell in one of the wands) and very high damage. These are in general, very enjoyable and, at the same time, totally end-game viable builds.

You can also find the full list of our other Path of Exile Builds right here: Odealo's Crafty Guides - Full List

1. Gameplay

As most of the Poet's Pen builds, our build utilizes the Frenzy attack skill. Frenzy is a ranged attack that has high Attack Speed, and generates Frenzy Charges for even higher Attack Speed and increased damage. Each time you attack with Frenzy, your spells socketed in Poet's Pen wands will be triggered. This will make you teleport to the targeted location, and Storm Call will be cast. This is repeatedly done with insane speed, making you breeze through maps and deal crazy burst damage.

2. Build's PROS & CONS

3. Leveling tips

Poet's Pens are excellent leveling weapons. You can wield them from level 12, and you don't have to worry about the weapon slots forever. Merely upgrade other gear, which should increase your defenses (top priority) and grant Attack Speed and Spell Damage bonuses.

Suggested leveling Gem setups:

Frenzy setup
	Frenzy - your primary attack skill. Attack with this skill to trigger Poet's Pens spells. Until you reach level 16, just use Elemental Hit instead
	Faster Attacks Support - great buff to your FB's DPS
	Life on Hit Support - grants good Life recovery

1st Poet's Pen
	Lightning Warp - your main mobility skill which teleports you to target location after a short delay. It also deals Lightning AoE damage at your original position and the destination
	Storm Call - core DPS AoE spell of this build. During the leveling phase, you should use more Spells, as the number of support gems is limited, that's why you can find Storm Call in the first of your wands
	Concentrated Effect Support

2nd Poet's Pen
	Storm Call - used again to create more markers for an extra burst
	Spell Cascade Support - it will make Storm Call affect a wider area
	Elemental Focus Support - increases Elemental Damage

Utility Gems
	Ice Golem - the best Golem for this build. It increases your Critical Strike Chance
	Assassin's Mark - the recommended Curse for this build. It increases Critical Strike Chance versus cursed enemies
	Herald of Thunder - adds additional Lightning damage to spells and attacks

Bandits:

We suggest helping Alira for additional Crit. Multiplier and Resistances

Leveling Skill Trees:

32 Points Skill Tree
Priorities: 1) Trickery 2) Coordination 3) Coldhearted Calculation 4) Cruel Preparations

63 Points Skill Tree
Priorities: 1) Blast Radius 2) Occultist's Dominion 3) Mind over Matter 4) Quick Recovery 5) Blood Drinker

Recommended leveling items:

Praxis - an excellent leveling ring. It reduces the Mana cost of skills allowing you to spam Frenzy
+(20-25) to maximum Mana +(30-60) to maximum Mana (3-6) Mana Regenerated per second -(8-4) to Total Mana Cost of Skills 8% of Damage taken gained as Mana over 4 seconds when Hit

Doedre’s Tenure - the best leveling gloves for Poet's Pen builds. They significantly increase Spell Damage at the cost of reduces Cast Speed, but since Poet's Pen builds rely on Attack Speed instead, the adverse effect is negligible
(50-60)% increased Spell Damage +20 to Intelligence 15% reduced Cast Speed +32 to maximum Energy Shield

The Poet’s Pen - core item for this build. It can be used starting at level 12 and should be acquired as soon as possible
(11-15)% increased Spell Damage +1 to Level of Socketed Active Skill Gems per 25 Player Levels Adds 3 to 5 Physical Damage to Attacks with this Weapon per 3 Player Levels (8-12)% increased Attack Speed Trigger a Socketed Spell when you Attack

4. Final Skill tree, Ascendancy Points, and Pantheon

Final Skill Tree:

115 Points Final Skill Tree
115 Points Path of Building link

Ascendancy points:

Preferably in that order:

1. Ambush and Assassinate
2. Opportunistic
3. Unstable Infusion
4. Deadly Infusion

Pantheon:

Major God: Soul of Lunaris- 1% additional Physical Damage Reduction for each nearby Enemy, up to 8%; 1% increased Movement Speed for each nearby Enemy, up to 8%

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/TRIGGER] Frenzy setup
	Frenzy - primary attack skill for this build. It triggers the Spells socketed in Poet's Pen wands
	Greater Multiple Projectiles Support - increases the number Frenzy's projectiles by 4. It is used mainly to help you apply supported curses
	Curse on Hit Support - will make Frenzy apply your supported curses
	Assassin's Mark - recommended Curse for this build. It increases the chance for cursed enemies to be critically hit
	Conductivity - second DPS-oriented curse we recommend using. It reduces monsters' resistance to Lightning Damage
	Faster Attacks Support - increases the Attack Speed of Frenzy skill

[AURA/UTILITY] Arctic Armour & Haste
	[3L]Arctic Armour - grants high Physical damage mitigation
	[3L]Haste - increases Attack, Cast, and Movement speed
	[3L]Enlighten - reduces the amount of Mana Reserved  by your Auras
	Ice Golem - increases your Critical Strike Chance and Accuracy Rating

[DEFENSE] Immortal Call setup
	Cast when Damage Taken Support - will auto-cast supported skills after a certain amount of damage is taken by the player. It is recommended to keep this Gem at level 1 for most frequent casts
	Immortal Call - grants brief immunity to Physical Damage
	Increased Duration Support - increases the duration of Immortal Call and Vaal Haste
	Vaal Haste - increases your Movement and Attack Speed

[UTILITY] Flame Dash
	Flame Dash - used mainly for the Arcane Surge buff since you can travel much faster with the Lightning Warp
	Faster Casting Support - grant speedier movement speed with Flame Dash
	Increased Duration Support - increases the duration of Arcane Surge buff
	Arcane Surge Support - grants increased Spell Damage and Mana Regeneration. You should have the Gem at around level 9 to make it proc with every cast of Flame Dash

[DPS] Lightning Warp setup (1st Poet's Pen)
	Lightning Warp - your main mobility Spell. It will teleport you to the targeted location, dealing additional Lightning Damage
	Less Duration Support - lowers the delay before you get teleported
	Swift Affliction Support - used for the reduced duration

[DPS] Storm Call setup
	Storm Call - a powerful Lightning/AoE Spell which is the primary source of DPS in this build
	Lightning Penetration Support - makes supported Spells penetrate Lightning Resistance
	Increased Critical Strikes Support - increases the chance for Storm Call to Critically Hit (and also trigger the Lighting Bolt from Choir of the Storm amulet)

5. Gear Setup

Poet's Pen Inquisitor is budget and beginner-friendly build. It does not require anything above 4 links and the core items shouldn't cost more than few Exalted Orbs. Your main weapons have only 3 sockets, and all the other gear is used for utility and defenses. This allows most of the items to be standard Life/Res rares, making the gear very easy to obtain. At the same time, the build scales very well with end-game high Spell Damage gear.

If you would like to try out this build but lack POE Currency, we are delighted to invite you to our POE Market section where you can buy cheap Orbs and Unique Items.

Our recommended items will:

1. Cap your resistances 
2. Give you enough DPS/Life to start mapping successfully
3. Save you at least a couple of hours, as it's already all planned out for you!

(Helmet) Rat's Nest - very good helmet for this build. It is also very cheap and easily accessible even early in the League

15% increased Attack Speed (60-75)% increased Global Critical Strike Chance 150% increased Evasion Rating (20-25)% increased Rarity of Items found 10% increased Movement Speed 10% reduced Character Size

(Helmet) Starkonja’s Head - another great helmet option for this build. In comparison to Rat's Nest, it provides much higher defensive utility

50% reduced Damage when on Low Life +(50-70) to Dexterity 10% increased Attack Speed 25% increased Global Critical Strike Chance (100-130)% increased Evasion Rating +(80-100) to maximum Life 150% increased Global Evasion Rating when on Low Life

(Weapon) The Poet’s Pen - you have to dual wield this wands. This is the mandatory item for this build. You will be triggering spells socketed in Poet's Pen with your attack skills (Frenzy)

(11-15)% increased Spell Damage +1 to Level of Socketed Active Skill Gems per 25 Player Levels Adds 3 to 5 Physical Damage to Attacks with this Weapon per 3 Player Levels (8-12)% increased Attack Speed Trigger a Socketed Spell when you Attack

(Body Armour) Belly of the Beast - always a good choice for any Life build

3% reduced Movement Speed (Hidden) (150-200)% increased Armour (30-40)% increased maximum Life +(10-15)% to all Elemental Resistances 50% increased Flask Life Recovery rate Extra gore

(Body Armour) Carcass Jack - another good option for this build. Provides decent defensive bonuses and increased Area Damage

3% reduced Movement Speed (Hidden) (120-150)% increased Evasion and Energy Shield +(50-70) to maximum Life +(9-12)% to all Elemental Resistances 20% increased Area of Effect (40-50)% increased Area Damage Extra gore

(Body Armour) Inpulsa's Broken Heart - another nice DPS-oriented body armour option

3% reduced Movement Speed (Hidden) +(60-80) to maximum Life (20-50)% increased Damage if you have Shocked an Enemy Recently (25-40)% increased Effect of Shock Unaffected by Shock Shocked Enemies you Kill Explode, dealing (5-10)% of their Maximum Life as Lightning Damage which cannot Shock

(Boots) Rare Life/res boots - simply aim for the highest affordable defensive stats

Min. requirements: 70 maximum Life 25% increased Movement Speed 20% Fire Resistance 20% Lightning Resistance 20% Cold Resistance

(Boots) Inya's Epiphany - another decent option. These boots provide amazing DPS bonus, though it will be harder to cap the resistances

+(50-70) to maximum Life 25% increased Movement Speed (5-8)% increased Intelligence 5% increased Damage per Power Charge 25% chance that if you would gain Power Charges, you instead gain up to your maximum number of Power Charges

(Belt) Rare Life/Res. belt - again, we try to grab one with the highest Life and Elemental Resistances

Min. requirements: 100 Maximum Life 35% Fire Resistance 35% Lightning Resistance 35% Cold Resistance

(Amulet) Choir of the Storm - best in slot amulet for this build. It grants insane DPS bonuses

+(20-30) to Intelligence (10-20)% increased maximum Mana Critical Strike Chance is increased by Lightning Resistance 50% increased Lightning Damage Trigger Level 20 Lightning Bolt when you deal a Critical Strike

(Ring) Rare Life/Res. Opal Ring

Min. requirements: 75 maximum Life 30% Fire Resistance 10% Cold Resistance 10% Lightning Resistance increased Elemental Damage Optional affixes: Attributes maximum Mana

(Ring) Berek's Grip - very important part of this build. It grants Life and Mana Leech, as well as adds additional Lightning Damage to your Spells and Attacks

+(12-16)% to Cold and Lightning Resistances (25-30)% increased Cold Damage Adds 1 to (50-70) Lightning Damage to Spells and Attacks +(30-40) to maximum Life 1% of Damage Leeched as Life against Shocked Enemies 1% of Damage Leeched as Mana against Frozen Enemies

(Gloves) Rare Life/Res. Gloves - preferably with increased Attack Speed

Min. requirements: 65 maximum Life 15% Fire Resistance 20% Lightning Resistance 20% Cold Resistance Optional affixes: increased Attack Speed

(Gloves) Atziri's Acuity - the best in slot pair of gloves for this build. They are very expensive though and will require you to adjust Elemental Resistances on other parts of your gear (Rare ring, boots, and belt)

+(60-80) to Intelligence +(60-75) to maximum Life (200-220)% increased Armour (25-35)% increased Global Critical Strike Chance You have Vaal Pact if you've dealt a Critical Strike Recently

(Jewels) Abyss Jewels - these should provide additional life and flat damage added to spells

Recommended affixes: maximum Life Flat Added Damage to Spells (recommended min. 2 such affixes) Optional affixes: Elemental Resistances  maximum Mana

(Jewel) Rare Jewels - these should provide extra Life and damage bonuses

Recommended affixes: % increased maximum Life % increased Generic/Area/Spell/Lightning Damage % increased Attack Speed Optional affixes: % increased Global Critical Strike Chance % increased Global Critical Strike Multiplier

(Flask) The Wise Oak - very important Flask, which provides Lightning Penetration, as long as your uncapped Lightning Resistance is the highest

+35% to all Elemental Resistances During Flask Effect, 10% reduced Damage taken of each Element for which your Uncapped Elemental Resistance is lowest During Flask Effect, Damage Penetrates (10-15)% Resistance of each Element for which your Uncapped Elemental Resistance is highest

(Flask) Vessel of Vinktar - with added Lighting Damage to Spells. Requires a Shock removal Flask if you aren't using Inpulsa's Broken Heart

+50% to Lightning Resistance +6% to maximum Lightning Resistance (80-100)% increased Charges used Shocks nearby Enemies during Flask effect, causing 10% increased Damage taken You are Shocked during Flask effect, causing 50% increased Damage taken Adds (15-25) to (70-90) Lightning Damage to Spells during Flask effect 20% of Lightning Damage Leeched as Life during Flask effect

Other suggested Flasks: Bubbling Divine Life Flask of Staunching (immunity to bleeding) Experimenter’s Diamond Flask of Reflexes (more Critical Strike Chance and Evasion) Experimenter’s Quicksilver Flask of Heat (increased Movement Speed and Freeze/Chill immunity)

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.