Power Siphon of the Archmage
Hierophant Build

Updated for Patch 3.23

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The build uses a new Projectile Wand Attack - Power Siphon of the Archmage. The Skill's defining trait is adding Lightning Damage to your Attacks sourced from Maximum Mana. To make it work you will need a lot of Maximum Mana and there is no better ascendancy for it than a Hierophant with its Divine Guidance and Sanctuary of Thought. This combination of passives, and the nature of Intelligence (which you will have a lot of too), encourages you to specialize in Energy Shield rather than Life. Intelligence is a very efficient way of gathering more Mana, but it also increases your Energy Shield, making it very potent here. Your Mana pool will take around half of all incoming damage with Mind over Matter so despite having Chaos Inoculation on, you will be guarded by the constantly regenerating Mana. This vast Life Pool creates a foundation of a sturdy build. You can expand on it with Armour, Reduced Physical Damage Taken, more Maximum Elemental Resistances, Block Chance, Life, Mana, and ES Regeneration.

As we have decided on a Hierophant, we may as well specialize in Totems via the Pursuit of Faith and the Ritual of Awakening. These will grant you Totem-related boons such as one additional Maximum Totem, vastly improved Totem Placement Speed, more Damage per Summoned Totem, Life, and Mana Regeneration per Totem. With Ancestral Bond, a specific Rare Shield, Panopticon, Watchtowers, and Ballista Support Gem you can summon up to 8 of these, but with no Stranglegasp Amulet it's 6 or 7. These Totems will fire for you. With Sniper's Mark and Returning Projectiles, it results in one of the best builds for a safe boss-killing. 

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

1. Gameplay

Place Totems ahead of you to kill the enemies. To go faster and gain more Damage, use Frenzy for Frenzy charges. If in need of more damage, activate your Wrath Aura and cast Arcanist Brand to apply 3 Curses on an enemy. After gaining enough Souls you can use Vaal Haste to move and attack faster. Molten Shell and Sigil of Power should be linked to CwDT and cast automatically. Your Auras are Clarity, Vitality, Precision, Determination, and Defiance Banner. You have to have a lot of your Mana Pool unreserved so these are all the Auras.

2. Build's PROS & CONS

3. Leveling tips

Follow our Templar Leveling Guide using Toems. It's a well-established way to quickly level up, even with no leveling gear. Power Siphon is affected by modifiers to Spell Damage after allocating a Wand Mastery so the transition should be smooth. Don't rush it - the build is good mostly at high levels.

Bandits:

Killing all Bandits for two additional Passive Points is the best option

4. Final Skill Tree, Ascendancy Points, and Pantheon

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

Ascendancy points:

Preferably in that order:

1. Pursuit of Faith
2. Ritual of Awakening
3. Divine Guidance
4. Sanctuary of Thought

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: 60% reduced Effect of Shock on you

5. Final Gems links

[DPS] Power Siphon of Archmage setup
	Power Siphon of the Archmage - A powerful Wand Attack that gains additional Lightning Damage based on your Maximum Mana. There's also Culling Strike and Power Charges on Hit against Rare and Unique enemies.
	Ballista Totem Support - Power Siphon should be fired via Totems.
	Returning Projectiles Support - Returning Projectiles will Hit the enemy once more. It's good for bossing but can be replaced with  Pierce Support for mapping.
	Elemental Damage with Attacks Support - More Lightning Damage with Attacks.
	Increased Critical Damage Support - Your Critical Strike Chance should be high, so using this Gem makes a lot of sense.
	Lightning Penetration Support - Use it to penetrate Lightning Resistance. The Awakened version applies Lightning Exposure so it's definitely the recommended variant.

[UTILITY] Ancestral Totems setup
	Arcanist Brand - It will trigger all the Spells linked to it while attached to an enemy. Be sure you can apply 3 Curses (more on that in the gear section).
	Conductivity - Lowers Lightning Resistance.
	Elemental Weakness - Lowers all Resistances, including Lightning.
	Sniper's Mark - The most important Curse - it causes Projectiles colliding with the enemy to Split (which is great with Returning Projectiles) and makes the target receive increased Projectile Damage.

[UTILITY] CwDT setup
	Cast when Damage Taken - Linked Spells are Triggered after taking enough damage.
	Molten Shell - Guard Spell that absorbs a portion of incoming Hit Damage.
	Sigil of Power - Forms a Sigil on the ground, inside of which enemies deal less damage, and you gain added Lightning Damage. Spending Mana while inside of it will increase its potency.

[UTILITY] Wrath setup
	Wrath - Use it for more Spell Damage and added Lightning Damage to Attacks.
	Divine Blessing Support - Wrath is a temporary Aura. You will be able to afford it, you have a lot of Unreserved Mana.
	Inspiration Support - Divine Wrath costs less Mana.

[UTILITY] various gems
	Frenzy - It won't deal damage, but you can Attack with it to gain Frenzy Charge on Hit. Link it with  PCoC if you have a chance.
	Vaal Haste - Vaal Haste will boost your Movement and Attack Speed for a moment.
	Flame Dash - A simple Movement Skill to dodge attacks and move faster.

[UTILITY] Auras setup
	Defiance Banner - Increases your Armour and Evasion Rating. Nearby enemies have reduced Critical Strike Chance.
	Determination - Adds and increases Armour to take less Physical Damage from hits.
	Vitality - Regenrates Life over Time, or Energy Shield after allocating Zealot's Oath.
	Clarity - Regenerates Mana over Time. Very important.
	Precision - Adds Accuracy Rating and Increases Critical Strike Chance.

6. Gear Setup

It's a Mana build so you need a lot of Mana, and one of the most efficient ways to gain more of this resource, besides the generic Maximum Mana mods, is Intelligence. Intelligence also increases your Energy Shield which you rely on as much as Mana for mitigating damage, because it's a Chaos Inoculation build with Mind over Matter and Divine Guidance. The Divine Guidance also grants you the Transfiguration of Mind, making your Maximum Mana affect your damage directly. To keep your ES and Mana at high levels, you will rely on basic Regeneration, as Totems cannot leech these for you. Zealot's Oath causes your Life Regeneration to apply to ES so getting it is a bright idea. Your other defensive layers are Armour and other sources of reduced Physical Damage taken (like Endurance Charges). For more Damage, seek Spell Damage, Attack Damage, Lightning Damage, Lightning Penetration, various Critical Strike mods, and Attack Speed. Reaching a 100% Critical Strike Chance is very hard but possible with expensive gear. Accuracy is not an issue due to one of the Wand Masteries and Precision. Getting enough Dexterity and Strength might be. You should be able to apply 3 Curses.

Our recommended items will:

1. Cap your resistances at 75%
2. Provide you with enough DPS and Life to start mapping

(Helmet) Mind of the Council - Most of its stats are beneficial. Maximum Mana, ES, a portion of incoming Lightning Damage taken from Mana, and added Lightning Damage from Mana are good. Try to reduce the effect of Shock on you with Jewels or Pantheon. Placing Totems won't drain a lot of your Mana.

(230-260)% increased Evasion and Energy Shield +(15-20) to maximum Energy Shield (20-30)% increased maximum Mana 10% chance to Shock +20% chance to be Shocked 30% of Lightning Damage is taken from Mana before Life Attack Skills have Added Lightning Damage equal to 6% of maximum Mana Lose 3% of Mana when you use an Attack Skill

(Weapon) Rare Wand - Only the best of Rare Wands can compete with Piscator's Vigil. Look here for Maximum Mana, Attack Speed, Critical Strike mods, and Spell Damage.

12% increased Attack Speed 25% increased Critical Strike Chance 60% increased Spell Damage +80 to Maximum Mana Optional affixes: Global Critical Strike Multiplier increased Elemental Damage with Attack Skills Attacks with this Weapon Penetrate #% Elemental/Lightning Resistance increased Spell Damage per Intelligence (Synthesised Implicit)

(Weapon) Piscator's Vigil - It's an excellent weapon, all of its stats are useful, even if they're not particularly powerful.

(33-37)% increased Spell Damage No Physical Damage (10-18)% increased Attack Speed (20-30)% increased Critical Strike Chance +(340-400) to Accuracy Rating Attacks with this Weapon have (100-115)% increased Elemental Damage Damage with Weapons Penetrates 5% Elemental Resistances

(Off-hand) Rare Shield - Here we would recommend getting Maximum Mana, Resistances, Energy Shield, Intelligence, and of course the extra Maximum Totem.

Min. requirements: +60 to maximum Mana Intelligence +1 to Maximum number of Summoned Totems (Shaper's Prefix) +80% to Elemental Resistances Optional affixes: increased Spell Damage increased Attack Speed Maximum Energy Shield

(Off-hand) Atziri's Reflection - It would be a great choice, but a Rare Shield with its extra Totem is probably still a superior option. It grants tons of Intelligence, Evasion, ES, increases the effect of Curses, and provides you with invaluable Curse "immunity".

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 Hex Reflection Unaffected by Curses (15-20)% increased Effect of your Curses

(Body Armour) Rare Body Armour - Get a Body Armour with suitable and basic defences and Maximum Mana/Intelligence, or go for a Hunter's Armour with bonus Crit Chance and extra Curse. Armour with no influence can be improved with Eldritch Implicits like the increased effect of Curses/Auras, Maximum Resistances, Frenzy/Power/Endurance Charges, and increased Armour/ES, increased Wrath Aura Effect, or even Mana/ES Recovery Rate.

Min. requirements: around 600 Energy Shield +80 to Maximum Mana Elemental Resistances Optional affixes: You can apply an additional Curse (Hunter's Prefix) increased Intelligence Intelligence +# to Spell Critical Strike Chance (Hunter's Suffix)

(Body Armour) Incandescent Heart - The defensive option. With Chaos Inoculation it makes you take 25% less Elemental Damage. Its other boons are not that significant. Use it if your Armour or Physical Damage Reduction is high, it can bottleneck your survivability - a lot of damage in this game is of Physical type.

(220-240)% increased Armour and Energy Shield +(80-90) to maximum Life (0.8-1)% of Attack Damage Leeched as Life Gain (10-20)% of Elemental Damage as Extra Chaos Damage 25% of Elemental Damage from Hits taken as Chaos Damage (20-30)% increased Light Radius Light Radius is based on Energy Shield instead of Life

(Boots) Rare Boots - Here focus on Energy Shield, Mana, Intelligence, and Movement Speed. For Eldritch mods get Action Speed, Resistances, Chance to avoid being Shocked, or chance to avoid any Elemental Ailments.

Min. requirements: +60 to Maximum Mana 25% increased Movement Speed Elemental Resistances Optional affixes: Intelligence increased Energy Shield

(Gloves) Rare Gloves - The most basic defences with Maximum Mana are the most important. Any Gloves can get you Dexterity so it's a good idea to get it here. For Eldritch mods, get increased Attack Speed, Crit Chance for Attacks, and extra Pierce for Projectiles, or increased effect of Marks.

Min. requirements: +60 to maximum Mana +80% to Elemental Resistances increased Energy Shield Optional affixes: Attributes Armour increased Attack Speed Intelligence

(Gloves) Breathstealer - These may seem like a weak option at first glance, but we believe that the additional Anoint and a good Corrupted Implicit (like Attacks have +#% to Critical Strike Chance, Curse Enemies with Elemental Weakness on Hit, increased Attack Speed, or increased maximum Energy Shield) can make it an excellent addition.

(100-150)% increased Armour and Evasion +(30-50) to maximum Mana +(10-16)% to all Elemental Resistances (5-10)% increased Attack and Cast Speed Create a Blighted Spore when your Skills or Minions Kill a Rare Monster

(Belt) Rare Belt - Belts can easily roll Strength so get it here. Maximum Mana, Energy Shield, and increased Elemental Damage with Attack are your other priorities. Armour and Life Regeneration can be gained here as well.

Min. requirements: +50 to Maximum Mana +50 to Strength Optional affixes: Armour Elemental Resistances Life Regeneration increased Elemental Damage with Attacks

(Amulet) Atziri's Foible - This Amulet is used for its Mana, Mana Regeneration, and reduced Attribute Requirements - all of these are very useful in this build. Heavily recommended.

(20-30)% increased Mana Regeneration Rate +100 to maximum Mana (16-24)% increased maximum Mana (80-100)% increased Mana Regeneration Rate Items and Gems have 25% reduced Attribute Requirements

(Amulet) The Eternal Struggle - This Amulet has a lot of Attributes, and it increases your ES & Armour. Try to get one with a stronger Eater mod - you already have Culling Strike.

<<Random Searing Exarch implicit>> <<Random Eater of Worlds implicit>> +(20-50) to Strength +(20-50) to Dexterity +(20-50) to Intelligence (10-15)% increased Global Defences Critical Strikes inflict Malignant Madness if The Eater of Worlds is dominant Kill Enemies that have 15% or lower Life on Hit if The Searing Exarch is dominant

(Amulet) Stranglegasp - There are a lot of extremely powerful notables on a tree that you simply cannot access. Use Stranglegasp to get them. It's a good option if you don't struggle with Mana Regeneration or Attributes.

+(10-16) to all Attributes Can have 3 additional Enchantment Modifiers

Recommended Anointments: Surveillance Watchtowers Ironwood Panopticon Arcing Blows

(Ring) Rare Ring - Rings should be a source of mostly Attributes. Resistances, Maximum Mana, and other stats which are listed here, are great and can resolve a lot of issues you may have encountered.

Min. requirements: +50 to maximum Mana Attributes 20% increased Elemental Damage with Attack Skills Optional affixes: maximum Energy Shield increased Attack Speed increased Mana Regeneration Rate Life Regeneration Non-Channelling Skills have -7 to Total Mana Cost (crafted Prefix)

(Ring) Anathema - You should be able to apply 3 Curses. Anathema lets you apply even 4 if you have a convenient way of casting them. It shouldn't be needed if you allocated Whispers of Doom, and have a specific mod on a Rare Body Armour.

+(15-25) to maximum Energy Shield +(30-40) to Intelligence (10-15)% increased Cast Speed (10-20)% chance to gain a Power Charge when you Cast a Curse Spell Your Curse Limit is equal to your maximum Power Charges

(Jewel) Rare Jewels - Maximum Mana, ES, and Critical Strike mods are the most valuable, but if you lack any other necessary stats you can easily get them here too.

Recommended affixes: increased Maximum Mana increased Maximum Energy Shield increased Attack Speed Critical Strike mods Attributes Resistances

(Jewel) Large Cluster Jewel - You can get one or two of these Lightning Damage Large Cluster Jewels, mostly because of the immense power of Scintillating Idea notable.

Recommended affixes: 1 Added Passive Skill is Scintillating Idea 1 Added Passive Skill is Widespread Destruction 1 Added Passive Skill is Prismatic Heart 1 Added Passive Skill is Storm Drinker

(Jewel) Medium Cluster Jewel - Totem or Critical Strike-themed Medium Cluster Jewels should be fine. Get one Sleepless Sentries for sure - it grants you Onslaught.

Recommended affixes: 1 Added Passive Skill is Sleepless Sentries 1 Added Passive Skill is Ancestral Echo 1 Added Passive Skill is Snaring Spirits 1 Added Passive Skill is Basics of Pain 1 Added Passive Skill is Pressure Points

(Jewel) Small Cluster Jewel - Scintillating Idea is so good that you can invest in Small Cluster Jewels to get more of them. You can also save some Skill Points if you happen to have it on a good Megalomaniac.

Recommended affixes: 1 Added Passive Skill is Scintillating Idea

(Jewel) Healthy Mind - This one can be socketed near Cruel Preparation or Quick Recovery to gain a lot of extra Mana.

(15-20)% increased maximum Mana Increases and Reductions to Life in Radius are Transformed to apply to Mana at 200% of their value Corrupted

(Jewel) Lethal Pride - Use it only if you struggle with Strength - it can be socketed near Instability. It's a very efficient way of gaining this Attribute.

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

(Jewel) Watcher's Eye - Wrath's Lightning Penetration and Extra Energy Shield sourced from Mana as Clarity mod are the best. Your other Autas are Determination, Precision, and Vitality.

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

(Flask) Bottled Faith - You may need an extra Critical Strike Chance from this Flask. It also increases your overall damage during boss fights.

40% increased Damage Creates Consecrated Ground on Use (30-15)% reduced Duration Consecrated Ground created by this Flask has Tripled Radius Consecrated Ground created during Effect applies (7-10)% increased Damage taken to Enemies (100-150)% increased Critical Strike Chance against Enemies on Consecrated Ground during Effect

Other suggested Flasks: Basalt Flask with reduced Curse Effect on you Quicksilver Flask with reduced Curse Effect on you Diamond Flask with increased Critical Strike Chance Granite Flask with increased Armour Silver Flask (not needed with Sleepless Sentries) with increased Attack Speed

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.