Replica Alberon's Warpath
Poison Assassin build

Updated for Patch 3.12

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Estimated budget: high

Patch 3.12 introduced a lot of new Uniques, and among them, Replica versions of a bunch of existing ones that can be found in Grand Heists. Replica Uniques are basically a reproduction of an existing Unique Item with slightly altered attributes. Replica Alberon's Warpath Boots is among the most powerful and popular Replica Uniques out there (you can also check the complete list of all Replica Uniques here) which adds a ton of extra Chaos Damage to Attacks per 50 Points of Strength. This is one of the most powerful Strength stacking mechanic, which provides simply massive base Chaos Damage for plenty of Poison builds. The following setup can be played with plenty of skills from Melee Attacks like Earthquake, Pestilent Strike, Viper Strike, to Wand Attacks like the popular Kinetic Blast/Power Siphon Poison Wander, to Bow Attacks like Scourge Arrow which is the main skill in our recommended version. Changing between the types of abilities you are going to use, requires you to only switch a few Items and Passives (in most cases, just the Weapons and/or Off-hand items). This build offers approximately 20M DPS with Poison at max stacks with Scourge Arrow with around 1,500 Strength - an amount fairly easy to achieve without spending tens of Exalted Orbs on gear. 

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

1. Gameplay

This is a typical Scourge Arrow/Bow Build which relies on channeling Scourge Arrow to build 5 stacks and releasing it for massive DoT damage applied to enemies in all directions. Thanks to very high Life and extra Dodge, you should be easily able to take some Hits from monsters, making it quite smooth and easy to play. The base Chaos Damage for your Poison comes from Replica Alberon's Warpath Unique Boots which add very high bonus Chaos Damage for every 50 points of Strength you have. Obviously, that makes this a build where you stack Strength, which increases your damage and Life, allowing you to easily reach tens of Millions of DPS and at least 6,000 Maximum Life. We have also decided to add Toxic Rain as an extra utility Attack which will slow down enemies, trigger Steelskin via Cast on Crit. Support, and generate Power Charges for extra Crit. - you should have approximately 80% Effective Crit Chance which will greatly increase your DoT Multiplier via Perfect Agony, Dire Torment, and Haemorrhage Passives. 

0:08 Tier 16 Lair of the Hydra 0:45 Tier 16 Leyline 1:11 Tier 16 Ramparts 1:30 Tier 16 Summit This video was recorded on a level 93 Assassin with slightly over 1,400 Strength and wielding Darkscorn. This resulted in 6,600 Max Life and 20kk (theoretical) maximum DPS on Scourge Arrow - that is on maximum Poison stacks technically possible to apply. While you won't reach that DPS in actual fights, you can still take on any Boss in the game using this build

2. Build's PROS & CONS

3. Leveling tips

Leveling with Poison/Bows is quite easy, there are plenty of Skills you can use on lower levels which will deal tons of damage without any equipment required. You can use Caustic Arrow, Toxic Rain, and eventually, Scourge Arrow which will offer the highest single-target/Boss damage allowing you to easily progress through the campaign. The biggest downside of leveling up this character is the fact that you are going to have to refund a bunch of Passives, as leveling up a Strength-stacking character up front is pretty much impossible. Initially, you need to play a regular Bow character focusing on Damage over Time bonuses if you are using Caustic Arrow/Toxic Rain, or also high base Physical/Chaos damage from your Bow if you are using Scourge Arrow. You should be able to make it worthwhile respecting at around level 80 with 700~ Strength. 

Suggested leveling Gem setups:

Caustic Arrow setup
	Caustic Arrow - one of the best skills for leveling which can be supported by Mirage Archer which allows you to progress through Maps while the Mirage Archer uses the skill for you
	Mirage Archer Support - when you hit with supported skill a Mirage Archer is summoned that used Caustic Arrow with slightly reduced Attack Speed and Damage
	Void Manipulation Support - increases Chaos Damage dealt with by supported skills
	Vicious Projectiles Support - increases Caustic Arrow's Damage over Time

Toxic Rain/Scourge Arrow setup
	Toxic Rain - deals high Damage over Time from multiple spore explosions that can stack on a single enemy. It's one of the best leveling Bow skills in PoE. You can also use Scourge Arrow instead or make a second exact same setup which deals higher damage against Bosses
	Void Manipulation Support
	Vicious Projectiles Support
	Swift Affliction Support

Utility Gems
	Herald of Agony - Herald Skill which increases your Chance to Poison and Poison Damage
	Lightning Golem - grants increased Attack and Cast Speed
	Dash - the recommended Movement Spell for this build

Bandits:

We recommend killing all the Bandits for two additional Passive Points

Leveling Skill Trees:

35 Points Skill Tree
Priorities: 1) Coordination 2) Trickery 3) Hunter's Gambit 4) Blood Drinker 5) Herbalism

63 Points Skill Tree
Priorities: 1) Fatal Toxins 2) Swift Venoms - pick those two only if you are using Scourge Arrow, if you are leveling up with Caustic Arrow/Toxic Rain you can skip those for the time being; 3) Thick Skin 4) Far Sight 5) Dirty Techniques

Recommended leveling items:

Le Heup of All - one of the best leveling Rings for this build. You can use two of these for very high bonus Attributes, Damage, and Resistances
Adds 1 to 4 Physical Damage to Attacks +(10-30) to all Attributes (10-30)% increased Damage (10-30)% increased Rarity of Items found +(10-30)% to all Elemental Resistances

Silverbranch - one of the best leveling weapons for this build. It increases the level of Socketed Gems which is the best way to scale Caustic Arrow's and Toxic Rain's DoT damage. It also grants Mana on kill
100% increased Physical Damage +(10-20) to Dexterity 100% increased Attack Speed +(25-50) to Accuracy Rating +2 Mana gained for each Enemy hit by Attacks (50-100)% increased Projectile Speed 40% less Weapon Damage

4. Final Skill Tree, Ascendancy Points, and Pantheon

Final Skill Tree:

114 Points Final Skill Tree (Doesn't include Passives from Thread of Hope and Cluster Jewels)
114 Points Path of Building(PoB) link

Ascendancy points:

Preferably in that order:

1. Noxious Strike
2. Toxic Delivery
3. Mistwalker
4. Opportunistic

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 Garukhan +5% chance to Evade Attack Hits if you've taken a Savage Hit Recently

5. Final Gems links

[DPS] Scourge Arrow
	Scourge Arrow - is a channeled Bow skill that should be released always at 5 stacks. It deals massive DoT damage with Poison thanks to multiple arrows being fired from each of the pod created
	Infused Channelling Support - greatly increases the damage of linked channeled skill (Scourge Arrow in this case) and grants strong defensive buff as well
	Swift Affliction Support - greatly increased the Damage over Time of your Scourge Arrow which also applies to the Poison ailment
	Deadly Ailments Support - increases the Damage from Ailments inflicted by supported skills
	Unbound Ailments Support - increases the Damage from Ailments inflicted by supported skills
	Vicious Projectiles Support - increases Chaos Damage over Time deal by linked Skills (among other less relevant bonuses for this build)

[DPS/UTILITY] Toxic Rain
	Toxic Rain - Toxic Rain is used mainly to slow down enemies, apply debuffs, trigger Steelskin, and generate Power Charges
	Cast on Critical Strike Support - will automatically trigger Steelskin whenever it's off cooldown, providing a strong defensive shield
	Steelskin - the recommended Guard Skill used in this build which will be triggered automatically whenever off-cooldown by Cast on Crit. Support. This combination is optional, and if you don't want to spend extra money on the second 6-link, just use a 4 link Toxic Rain and a mid-level CwDT + Steelskin setup
	Mirage Archer Support - summons a spectral archer on your back which will use your Toxic Rain with slightly reduced Attack Speed and damage
	Power Charge on Critical Support - generates Power Charges for you, which increase your Critical Strike Chance
	Greater Multiple Projectiles Support - increases the number of Toxic Rain's projectiles and hence the number of spores and poisonous clouds it creates

[UTILITY] Wither
	Wither - applies a debuff to enemies which increases Chaos Damage they take. It will be cast automatically by your Spell Totems
	Spell Totem Support - allows you to summon Totems which will cast Wither and debuff enemies
	Multiple Totems Support - allows you to create additional Totems with each cast, greatly increasing the speed at which you apply the maximum number of Withered stacks
	Faster Casting Support

[UTILITY] Auras
	Malevolence - the best DPS Aura for DoT builds which greatly increases your damage output
	Precision - you should have enough free Mana to use a level 10-14 Precision in your build which increases your Accuracy Rating and Critical Strike Chance
	Herald of Agony - increases your Chance to Poison and damage you deal with it
	Enlighten Support - reduces Mana Reservation Cost of linked skills. It's best to use a level 3 or higher Enlighten Gem

[UTILITY] Dash and Enduring Cry
	Dash - recommended mobility Skill used in this build
	Enduring Cry - generates Endurance Charges and grants extra Life Regeneration and Physical Damage reduction
	Blood Magic Support - makes linked Spells cost Life instead of Mana. This is optional but makes it easier  to travel when you can't Leech Mana from enemies
	Second Wind Support - allows you to store additional charges on linked skills and reduces the cooldown on both Dash and Enduring Cry

5. Gear Setup

Below you will find all the recommended gear for our Replica Alberon's Warpath Scourge Arrow Assassin build. The only must-have (and build-defining) equipment you need is the Replica Unique pair of Boots. Other than that you can use any random Rares, though some Unique Items provide so high Strength bonuses that they are extremely hard to replace. 

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(Helmet) Rare Helmet - the best possible option for this build. You can get a high Strength bonus on top of defensive bonuses like Life and Resistances here

Min. requirements: 50 Strength 60 Maximum Life 80% Total Elemental Resistances

Helmet enchantment: Scourge Arrow deals 40% increased Damage Scourge Arrow creates an additional spore pod at Maximum Stages

(Body Armour) Rare Body Armour - you are looking to get % increased Strength which can be found on Elder and Warlord pieces. You should also aim to get high Life and Resistances bonuses here depending on your available budget

Min. requirements: 100 Maximum Life 10% Increased Strength Optional affixes: Elemental Resistances Strength

(Weapon) Darkscorn - very solid and easy to obtain Bow for this build. It has a chance to deal 300% more Damage with Poisons, which is basically the same as 60% Chance to inflict 100% more Damage that you would want on a Delve Crafted Rare Bow that

+(15-25)% to Global Critical Strike Multiplier (130-150)% increased Physical Damage Adds (15-20) to (25-30) Physical Damage 20% increased Attack Speed (15-30)% increased Global Accuracy Rating 25% of Physical Damage Converted to Chaos Damage 25% of Physical Damage from Hits taken as Chaos Damage 20% chance for Poisons inflicted with this Weapon to deal 300% more Damage

(Weapon) Rare Delve Crafted Bow - possibly the BiS Items for this build. You are looking to Craft it with Corroded Fossils for "60% chance for Poisons inflicted with this Weapon to deal 100% more Damage". Other than that, you can look for Chaos DoT Multiplier, Damage over Time, Added Chaos Damage to Attacks, or just extra Attack Speed bonuses

Min. requirements: 60% chance for Poisons inflicted with this Weapon to deal 100% more Damage 20% Chaos Damage over Time Multiplier Optional affixes: Damage over Time Added Chaos Damage to Attacks Attack Speed

(Weapon) Rare Quiver - aim for high defensive bonuses and Chaos DoT Multiplier

Min. requirements: 75 maximum Life 70% Total Elemental Resistances 18% Chaos Damage over Time Multiplier Optional affixes: Attack Speed Accuracy Rating

(Boots) Replica Alberon's Warpath - mandatory pair of Boots without which you won't be able to play this build properly

(15-18)% increased Strength +(180-220) to Armour +(9-12)% to Chaos Resistance 20% increased Movement Speed Cannot deal non-Chaos Damage Adds 1 to 80 Chaos Damage to Attacks per 50 Strength

Boot enchantment: 16% increased Attack and Cast Speed if you've Killed Recently Adds 120 to 180 Chaos Damage if you've taken a Critical Strike Recently

(Belt) Rare Belt - Belts can have some crazy Strength bonuses so it's good to reserve a solid portion of your budget for this piece

Min. requirements: 80 Strength 10% Increased Attributes 60 Maximum Life Optional affixes: Maximum Life% Increased Damage

(Amulet) Astramentis - the best Amulet for this build which adds a ton of extra Strength and covers up all your needs for other Attribute Requirements. Make sure to use Catalysts to increase its Attribute bonuses even further

+(10-16) to all Attributes +(80-100) to all Attributes -4 Physical Damage taken from Attack Hits

Recommended Anointments: Dire Torment

(Ring) Rare Rings - aim for bonus Strength (obviously) and defensive bonuses like Life and Resistances

Min. requirements: 60 maximum Life 55 Strength 90% Total Elemental Resistances Optional affixes: Non-Channelling Skills have -# to Total Mana Cost

(Gloves) Rare Gloves - again, you want Strength and high defensive stats. If you have your Resistances capped, you may also try finding a pair with extra Chaos DoT Multiplier

Min. requirements: 50 Strength 60 Maximum Life 70% Total Elemental Resistances Optional affixes: Chaos Damage over Time Multiplier Damage while Leeching

(Jewels) Large Cluster Jewel - you should get one Large Cluster Jewel which will host two Medium Cluster Jewels for extra Chaos DoT Multiplier and two Split Personality Jewels which can add a lot of extra Life and Strength. Two listed Passives are a must-have, if you can get a third one useful for this build, then it's even better

Recommended affixes: 1 Added Passive Skill is Fuel the Fight 1 Added Passive Skill is Tempered Arrowheads

(Jewels) Medium Cluster Jewel - you should use two exact same Medium Cluster Jewels with Haemorrhage and Exposure Therapy Passives for the highest DPS bonus

Recommended affixes: 1 Added Passive Skill is Haemorrhage 1 Added Passive Skill is Exposure Therapy

(Jewels) Split Personality - use two of these for very high bonus Life and Strength (you need to make sure you buy the ones with those stats on them). They have to be socketed to the bottom-left of your Passive Tree to have better effect

This Jewel's Socket has 25% increased effect per Allocated Passive Skill between it and your Class' starting location <Two random modifiers> Recommended modifiers: Maximum Life Strength

(Jewels) Inertia - converts Dexterity on Passives in radius to Strength. You should use three of those for very high bonus Strength as you will have a lot of Dexterity around Shadow's and Ranger's Starting points

+(16-24) to Strength Dexterity from Passives in Radius is Transformed to Strength

(Jewels) Thread of Hope - allows you to pick up Bravery (and adjacent Life), Fury Bolts, Disciple of the Unyielding, Disciple of the Slaughter Passives without having to connect them to your Tree. Just make sure to get one with Medium Ring modifier on it

Only affects Passives in a Medium Ring Passives in Radius can be Allocated without being connected to your tree -(20-10)% to all Elemental Resistances Allocated Passives: Bravery Fury Bolts Disciple of the Unyielding Disciple of the Slaughter

(Jewels) Coralito's Signature - this Flask grants the highest Poison Damage bonuses out of all Flasks in the game. You also aim to have a high Critical Strike chance (approx. 80% with all the gear) so this Flask bonus damage is irreplaceable

Your Critical Strike Chance is Lucky Take 30 Chaos Damage per Second during Flask effect 25% chance to Poison on Hit during Flask effect Your Critical Strikes do not deal extra Damage during Flask effect (50-75)% increased Duration of Poisons you inflict during Flask effect Grants Perfect Agony during Flask effect

(Flask) Witchfire Brew - grants increased Damage over Time and Curses nearby enemies with Despair

100% increased Evasion Rating Creates a Smoke Cloud on Use Gain Unholy Might during Flask Effect Immunity to Ignite during Flask effect Removes Burning on use

Other suggested Flasks: Bubbling Divine Life Flask of Staunching (immunity to Bleeding) Experimenter's Silver Flask of Heat (Freeze immunity) Experimenter's Quicksilver Flask of Warding (Curse 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.