Self-Chill Poison Lightning Strike
Pathfinder Build

Updated for Patch 3.22

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Pathfinder is one of the best candidates for a Poison build due to its improved Withered Effect, Poison Proliferation, and more Poison Damage. It's also the ascendancy that specializes in Flask Effect and Flask Charges Gained allowing us to have all our Utility Flasks constantly affect the character. The Poison Damage is delivered via a Pneumatic Dagger with a lot of added Elemental Damage. Usually, only Physical and Chaos damage can cause Poison but this Experimented Weapon lets us Poison with any Attack Damage caused by it. The Attack we've chosen is Lightning Strike as you can use it with a Dagger, it has excellent AoE and can target enemies far from you with Projectiles. With extra Targeting for Strike Skills from an Attack Mastery and Returning Projectiles, we'll be able to deal additional damage with each Strike. Lightning Strike deals base Physical Damage, half of it Converted to Lightning, but the damage type doesn't matter at all, the vast majority of overall DPS comes from Poison. The self-Chill builds are known for having very high Action Speed due to the reverse Chill Effect, achievable by wearing a Winterweave Ring. It's hard to overstate how effective the Action Speed is when it comes to Attack Rate. It results in an extremely high Attack Speed that applies tons of Poisons, which can be stacked up indefinitely.

The build makes use of one of the strongest defensive mechanics in the game which is shifting a portion of incoming damage to be taken as other types of damage. This way, you can focus more on only the specific types of Resistances. Tempered by War and Divine Flesh causes all the incoming Elemental Damage to be taken as Chaos and Fire Damage. To get both of these Keystones at once, it's required to use Mahuxotl's Machination Shield and Lethal Pride Keystone. To mitigate what's left employ a Ruby Flask and Arctic Armour to take much less Fire Damage, which is already Reduced by around 84% Fire Resistance. Maximum Chaos Resistance is also improved with Divine Flesh and Everlasting Sacrifice from the aforementioned Shield, resulting in around 85% Chaos Resistance. There's still Physical Damage to Mitiage, but we won't use Armour to do so. To shift almost all Physical Damage to be taken as Fire, use Cloak of Flame, a proper Rare Helmet, a good Watcher's Eye, a well-rolled Lethal Pride, and a Corrupted Mahuxotl's Machination. It's not enough for 100%, but close to 80 or 90%. The rest of the Physical Damage is mitigated with Arctic Armour, but you can use Chaos Golem and Endurance Charges if you need to. With Life Leech and Life Recovery from Life Flask, it's one of the most durable builds in the game. It's also one of the most expensive builds. The more Physical Damage you want to take as Fire, the more pricey it gets.

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

1. Gameplay

Use Lightning Strike to deal damage. Try to stay stationary to get the durability bonuses from Arctic Armour and Soul of Tukohama. Other active Skills are Ancestral Protector for damage, Steelskin for defense, and Withering Step for utility. Upon entering a map enable Blood Rage. The Curses used here are Poacher's Mark and Temporal Chains - both applied automatically on Hit. For a mobility Skill use Whirling Blades. For Auras - Grace, Anger, Malevolence, Purity of Fire, and Arctic Armour or Petrified Blood. The build excels at clearing juiced and densely packed maps with Delirium or Rituals due to the Master Toxicist, but it should be also great against bosses.

2. Build's PROS & CONS

3. Leveling tips

You can level with the well-established Toxic Rain or Poisonous Concoction. Follow our Ranger Leveling Guide with Bows/DoT. Switch to the final version around level 90 after you have already bought all the items. It's easy to die of Physical Damage if your gear is still low-budget so you will probably need to use Determination Aura and Granite Flask in such cases.

Bandits:

you should kill all three Bandits for two additional Skill Points

4. Final Skill Tree, Ascendancy Points, and Pantheon

Final Skill Tree:

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

Ascendancy points:

Preferably in that order:

1. Master Toxicist
2. Nature's Reprisal
3. Nature's Adrenaline
4. Nature's Boon

Pantheon:

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

Minor God: Soul of Tukohama: 3% additional Physical Damage Reduction per second you've been stationary, up to a maximum of 9%

5. Final Gems links

[DPS] Lightning Strike setup
	Vaal Lightning Strike - It's a Projectile Melee Strike much like Frost Blades or Molten Strike. We're using Lightning Strike due to its long range, good AoE, and extra Pierce.
	Elemental Damage with Attacks Support - It simply grants more Elemental Damage.
	Multistrike Support - Vastly improves your Attack Rate.
	Unbound Ailments Support - More Poison Damage and Duration, both contribute to your DPS.
	Vicious Projectiles Support - Projectiles deal more Poison Damage, but your Attack Speed is reduced.
	Returning Projectiles Support - Projectiles Return to you to deal damage and apply Poison again.

[UTILITY] Auras setup
	Anger - Anger adds a lot of Fire Damage to Attacks.
	Purity of Fire - Provides you with Fire Resistance and Maximum Fire Resistance, which is important.
	Malevolence - Use for more Damage over Time and increased Skill Effect Duration.
	Enlighten Support - Linked Skills Reserve less Mana.

[MOBILITY] Whirling Blades/Withering Step setup
	Whirling Blades - Use it to move around quickly.
	Withering Step - Withering Step makes you Elsuisve and applies a few WIthered stacks instantly.
	Faster Attacks Support - This allows you to use Whirling Blades much faster.
	Lifetap Support - Linked Skills cost Life instead of Mana.

[UTILITY] Mark setup
	Poacher's Mark - Marked enemies will instantly grant you Life and Mana on Hit which is good with the high Attack Rate that you have. It's also a 5% chance to gain a Frenzy Charge on Hit against such targets and 100% to get one on Kill.
	Lifetap Support
	Mark on Hit Support - Applies linked Mark automatically against Rare and Unique enemies.

[UTILITY] Ancestral Protector setup
	Ancestral Protector - This Totem grants you more Attack Speed as it stays active.
	Multiple Totems Support - You can now summon two additional Totems.
	Culling Strike Support - Hits against enemies that are below 10% of their Maximum Life will kill them.

[UTILITY] Grace
	Grace - Adds and increases Evasion Rating. Grace should Reserve no Mana at all with the right Aul's Uprising.

[UTILITY] Blood Rage
	Blood Rage - Generates Frenzy Charges on Kill, grants Life Leech, and Attack Speed, all while slowly draining your Life.

[UTILITY] Arctic Armour
	Arctic Armour - Makes you take less Physical and Fire Damage while Stationary and immunity to Freeze. However, if you can afford to do so, switch to  Petrified Blood (it reserves a bit more Mana).

[UTILITY] Steelskin
	Steelskin - Absorbs 70% of incoming Hit Damage for some time, and can take over 2000 Damage.

[UTILITY] Temporal Chains
	Temporal Chains - This Curse should be applied via the Corrupted Implicit on your Gloves. It makes your Poison last longer and reduces the Action Speed of your enemies.

6. Gear Setup

The build requires a lot of Uniques, nearly all of the ones listed here are mandatory. The goal is to shift all incoming damage to Chaos or Fire Damage. It's hard to do so with Physical Damage, but we've managed to take 84% of it as Fire too. You will have almost no Armour and no Lightning or Cold Resistance. All the Fire Resistances will be provided with the Cloak of Flame and a Ruby Flask. 135% of Chaos Resistance is sourced from The Golden Rule and Progenesis, but it's good to have some extra for when you're not Poisoned. Your Maximum Fire and Chaos Resistance should be around 85%. The Life Recovery comes from Life Flask and Life Leech. You can reach a 100% Spell Suppression Chance. The damage is sourced from a Weapon and high Attack Rate. A good Dagger will be especially important. Get some extra Accuracy from a Helmet or a Weapon. Reservation Efficiency, Reduced Mana Cost of Attacks, and Intelligence with Strength are also crucial.

Our recommended items will:

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

(Helmet) Rare Helmet - Blizzard Crown would be the best choice due to the added flat Damage and no downside. Look here for the Maximum Life, Phys taken as Fire for Prefixes, and Chaos Resistance for a Suffix. Other good Suffixes are Accuracy and Suppression. Also, remember to craft the Eldritch Implicit for another Phys taken as Fire.

Min. requirements: +80 to Maximum Life Chaos Resistance 8% of Physical Damage taken as Fire Damage (crafted) 7% of Physical Damage taken as Fire Damage (Eater's Implicit) Optional affixes: Spell Suppression Chance Attributes Chaos Resistance Accuracy

Helmet enchantments: Lightning Strike enchantment

(Weapon) Rare Pneumatic Dagger - Here you will need as much flat Elemental Damage as you can afford, combined with Attack Speed and DoT modifiers for Poison or Chaos Damage. It has the be the Experimented type of Dagger that allows you to Poison with Elemental Damage.

Min. requirements: Adds Fire, Cold, or Lightning Damage 15% increased Attack Speed DoT modifiers Optional affixes: increased Chaos Damage over Time Chaos Damage over Time Multiplier

(Off-Hand) Mahuxotl's Machination - It's used for the +5% to all Maximum Resistances, and to shift half of all Elemental Damage to be taken as Chaos. Tempered by War Keystone from Lethal Pride will shift the remaining Cold and Lightning Damage to be taken as Fire, this way you will take only Fire, Chaos, and a bit of Physical Damage. It only requires Life Leech to work. You can Corrupt it for a chance to gain "8% of Physical Damage from Hits taken as Fire Damage".

Corrupted Soul Divine Flesh Eternal Youth Everlasting Sacrifice Immortal Ambition Vaal Pact

(Body Armour) Cloak of Flame - It makes you take 40% of Physical Damage as Fire. It's better than Lightning Coil as it prevents not only Hit Damage but also Physica DoTs, and grants tons of Fire Resistance.

+(50-75)% to Fire Resistance (40-75)% increased Ignite Duration on Enemies Reflects 100 Fire Damage to Melee Attackers 40% of Physical Damage taken as Fire Damage

(Boots) Rare Boots - Here you will need to gain a lot of Chaos Resistance, Movement Speed, and Maximum Life. For the remaining mods, you can get Freeze Avoidance Prefix (if not using Arctic Armour) and Attributes, Suppression, or Resistances Suffix.

Min. requirements: +70 to maximum Life 25% increased Movement Speed Chaos Resistance Optional affixes: Spell Suppression Chance Freeze immunity

(Gloves) Snakebite - Snakebite will provide you with a lot of Accuracy and Poison Chance, which should be 100% after combining it with Icefang Orbit and a few small nodes on a Skill Tree. It's also a source of DoT Multiplier for Poison. Remember to Corrupt them for the Temporal Chains on-Hit Curse.

(150-180)% increased Evasion Rating +(60-70) to maximum Life 2% increased Attack Speed per Frenzy Charge 6% increased Accuracy Rating per Frenzy Charge 10% reduced Frenzy Charge Duration per Frenzy Charge Attacks have 60% chance to Poison while at maximum Frenzy Charges +5% to Damage over Time Multiplier for Poison per Frenzy Charge

(Belt) Rare Belt - On Belt, get Strength, Maximum Life, and Chaos Resistance. You may also afford a Belt with various Flask modifiers on top of that.

Min. requirements: +30% to Chaos Resistance +80 to Maximum Life 30 Strength Optional affixes: Flask modifiers

(Amulet) Darkness Enthroned  - If you have good Abyss Jewels go for the Darkness Enthroned. This way you can get more Life, Strength, Resistances, and also added Damage to Attacks,

Has 1 Abyssal Socket Has 1 Abyssal Socket (50-100)% increased Effect of Socketed Abyss Jewels

(Amulet) Aul's Uprising (Dexterity)  - Grace's version of Aul's Uprising is the best pick as the Dexterity variants improve your Flask Charges gain. Additionally, it gives you some Life.

+(10-16) to all Attributes +(20-30) to Dexterity (15-20)% increased Evasion Rating +(50-70) to maximum Life Nearby Enemies grant 25% increased Flask Charges <Random Dexterity aura> has no Reservation

Recommended Anointments: Whispers of Doom

(Ring) Icefang Orbit - This Ring makes you Chilled while you're Poisoned which is important for a self Chill build. You will become Poisoned while Hitting an enemy via The Golden Rule. It also Chills your enemies.

Adds 1 to 4 Physical Damage to Attacks +(20-30) to Dexterity 25% chance to Poison on Hit (40-60)% increased Damage with Poison You are Chilled when you are Poisoned Non-Chilled Enemies you Poison are Chilled Poisoned Enemies you Kill with Hits Shatter

(Ring) Winterweave - A very important Ring that reverses the effect of Chill on you, granting you up to 30% increased Action Speed, which increases the speed of your Attack and Movement.

+(20-30) to maximum Life Adds (12-15) to (25-30) Fire Damage to Attacks Adds (12-15) to (25-30) Cold Damage to Attacks +(20-40) to maximum Life +(25-30)% to Cold Resistance 10% increased Movement Speed while Ignited The Effect of Chill on you is reversed

(Jewel) Rare Jewels - On the Murderous Abyss Jewels you will encounter added Elemental Damage to Attacks which are the best mods in terms of offense. The affixes you can get on the regular Jewels are increased Maximum Life, extra Attributes, Chaos Resistance, and increased Mana Reservation Efficiency.

Recommended affixes: Added Elemental Damage with Dagger Attacks Adds Elemental Damage to Attacks increased Maximum Life Attributes increased Mana Reservation Efficiency Chaos Resistance

(Jewel) Large Cluster Jewel - On your Large Cluster Jewels seek the Attack notables like Fuel the Fight, Feed the Fury, and Martial Prowess for Leech and DPS. Intelligence and Chaos Resistance are also good to have.

Recommended affixes: 1 Added Passive Skill is Fuel the Fight 1 Added Passive Skill is Feed the Fury 1 Added Passive Skill is Martial Prowess Intelligence Chaos Resistance

(Jewel) Medium Cluster Jewel - Spiked Concoction is a source of Alchemist's Genius that improves your Flask Effect and increases Flask Charges gained. It's a must-have, and getting a Belt with it will be too expensive and inefficient.

Recommended affixes: 1 Added Passive Skill is Spiked Concoction 1 Added Passive Skill is Brewed for Potency Intelligence Chaos Resistance

(Jewel) Small Cluster Jewel - Volatile Presence increases the Reservation Efficiency of Anger by 50%. The small node or two should increase your Reservation Efficiency as well.

Recommended affixes: 1 Added Passive Skill is Volatile Presence Intelligence Chaos Resistance Added Small Passives have increased Effect

(Jewel) Lethal Pride - It provides you with Strength and Tempered by War Keystone that shifts Cold and Lightning Damage to be taken as Fire Damage. You will no longer need Cold and Lightning Resistances at all. What's also important to note is the possibility of improving your Notables with "5% of Physical Damage from Hits taken as Fire Damage". You may find one or two of these if you socket it near the Supreme Ego Keystone.

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

(Jewel) The Golden Rule - The Golden Rule reflects your Poisons back to you until you have 100 of them. It basically caps your Chaos Resistance, and combined with Icefang Orbit, grants you a permanent chill effect. It is worth considering to pick up a mod to be Unaffected by Poison when using it

(30-40)% increased Armour while Bleeding Bleeding you inflict is Reflected to you +1% to Chaos Resistance per Poison on you Poison you inflict is Reflected to you if you have fewer than 100 Poisons on you

(Jewel) Watcher's Eye - There are two good mods to look for - "Unaffected by Poison" from Malevolence, and "10% of Physical Damage from Hits taken as Fire Damage" from Purity of Fire. Try to get both.

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

(Flask) Progenesis - Progenesis shifts a portion of incoming Hit damage to be taken as DoT. It's expensive, but it improves your survivability considerably if you have a Life Leech or Life Recoup. As a Pathfinder you can additionally rely on your Life Flask to always have some Charges to quickly replenish the missing Life. You also have some instant Life Leech and a high Attack Rate.

+35% to Chaos Resistance (20-10)% reduced Charges per use (-35-35)% increased Duration When Hit during effect, 25% of Life loss from Damage taken occurs over 4 seconds instead

Other suggested Flasks: Jade Flask with increased Evasion Silver Flask with increased Attack Speed Life Flask with instant Life Recovery and Bleed immunity Ruby Flask with reduced effect of Curses/Shock

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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