Updated for Patch 3.17
The Best Crafty Guides by Odealo
Guide notes | |||
December 08, 2021 -Build created March 07, 2022 -Updated for Patch 3.17 |
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Build overview | |||
Tags: [TOTEM] [ELEMENTAL] [HYBRID] | |||
Budget: Defenses: |
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Boss DPS: AoE: |
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Hierophant's Siege Ballistas are extremely powerful Totems when played with the right gear. It's a Dexterity-Stacking build that among many other Unique items that scale with Dexterity uses Iron Commander. This Bow extends the maximum number of Ballista Totems you can have summoned at once - one per 200 Dexterity. You will deal converted Cold Damage that you can source from Hyrri's Demise and Passives. Hierophant's Ascendancy offers two great keystones for such build - Pursuit of Faith and Ritual Awakening, especially the latest - it's a complete gamechanger since it regenerates your Mana, Life, and adds Damage per Summoned Totem, which can be safely assumed you will have 15 of at the same time.
It's a Life build, but your Life pool is rather small - 4 to 5k, but because of the totemic nature of the gameplay it's actually really safe. Add to that over 20k Armour, 100% Chance to Suppress Spell Damage, and rapid Life Regen - with that you're most vulnerable to Attack Hits that could deal a lot of Chaos or Elemental Damage with a single blow since your Resistances are capped at a standard 75%. Your Ballistas fires many Projectiles when used with Rain of Splinters Jewel and Anomalous Gem Quality. Crit Chance should be very high, combined with various other Gems to increase the DPS, it can be safely said that it's a boss-killer build.
You can also check our other Path of Exile builds right over here Odealo's Crafty Guides - Full List
When mapping it plays like a regular ranged-totem build where you place your Ballistas ahead of you to clear the way, while during bossing it is possible to use the build to its full potential - when there's a setup phase take your time to place as many Totems as you can, and as the boss becomes targetable you can use your second six-link setup to apply Sniper's Mark, Frost Bomb and hit him With Frenzy supported by Bonechill, then apply Ensnaring Arrow. After that, your target will take incalculable amounts of damage. Use Blood Rage to fasten your pace, Precision, Hatred, and Skitterbots. Your mobility skill could be Dash or Flame Dash, while your Guard Spell should be definitely Molten Shell.
Full gameplay video:
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PROS |
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CONS |
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During the first few levels use Ancestral Protector or Warchief, and before you finish the Final Act, you should be able to use most of the core Unique Items and Ballista Totems. Start using Ballista Totems around the same time you allocate Rain of Splinters Jewel, Panopticon, or Watchtowers Passives. After equipping Hyrri's Demise and Fractal Thoughts focus primarily on Cold Damage. Dexterity should be the last of your priorities, first, cap your Resistances and get all the Unique items except Belt, Gloves, and Rings.
Suggested leveling Gem setups:
Totem setup | |
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Ancestral Protector - a standard Melee Totem that uses Slam-type Attacks and boost your damage |
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Ruthless Support - makes every third Melee Attack significantly more powerful |
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Multiple Totems Support - summon more Totems to deal more damage |
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Inspiration Support - more Crit Chance and Elemental Damage while the cost of Skill gets lower |
Auras setup | |
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War Banner - great for when the majority of your Damage is Physical and you lack Accuracy Rating |
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Clarity - Clarity is used for Mana Regeneration |
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Precision - higher Accuracy Rating and Crit Chance to improve your DPS |
Curses and Dash setup | |
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Dash - Dash doesn't require any specific weapon and it requires Dexterity which you should have some of |
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Vulnerability - Curse to improve your Physical Damage and grants chance to inflict Bleeding debuff on Hit |
Bandits:
Kill all three bandits and be rewarded with two additional Skill Points
Leveling Skill Trees:
34 Points Passive Tree
Allocate Precision, Discipline and Training, Constitution, Graceful Assault, and Totemic Zeal
66 Points Passive Tree
Go for the Totem Clusters, more Maximum Life from Masteries, and Bow Cluster with Totem-related Mastery
Recommended leveling items:
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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 |
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+(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) |
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Item has no level requirement and Energy Shield (Hidden) Item has 6 White Sockets and is fully linked (Hidden) |
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+(25-35) to Strength +25 to Strength Adds 5 to 15 Physical Damage to Attacks 10% increased maximum Life +(10-20)% to Cold Resistance 25% increased Flask Life Recovery rate |
Final Skill Tree:
110 Points Final Passive Tree (doesn't include Cluster Jewels nor Thread of Hope)
123 Points Path of Building (PoB) link
Ascendancy points:
Preferably in that order:
Pantheon:
Major God: Soul of The Brine King: 1% 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
[DPS] Siege Ballista setup | |
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Siege Ballista - a simple Attack totem that fires Piercing Projectiles upon enemies |
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Cold Penetration Support - use Cold Penetration to deal more Cold Damage |
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Added Cold Damage Support - adds Cold Damage to Attacks increasing your Cold Damage |
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Inspiration Support - your linked Skill cost Less Mana, deals more Elemental Damage, and has a higher Crit Chance as you keep using it |
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Elemental Damage with Attacks Support - Linked Attack deals more Elemental Damage |
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Barrage Support - Barrage makes your projectiles that would normally fire all at once to be released one after another in a straight line - it's vital against the bosses but you can give it up when clearing to replace it with another Gem or to save Mana |
[UTILITY] Frenzy setup | |
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Frenzy - a simple Attack with great base stats that grants you Frenzy Charge increasing your Attack Speed and Damage - use only against tough opponents |
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Cast on Critical Strike - with your Crit Chance high use it to reliably cast linked Spells on use |
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Sniper's Mark - Curse that makes opponent significantly more vulnerable to Projectiles, Split Projectiles on Hit and grants Flask Charges |
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Frost Bomb - applies Cold Exposure lowering Cold Resistance and reduces Life Regen for enemies |
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Bonechill Support - makes Chill much more effective and increases your Damage |
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Greater Multiple Projectiles Support - more Projectiles makes it easier to hit your enemy with Critical Strike |
[UTILITY] Aura setup | |
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Hatred - a standard aura for Cold Damage builds that increases your Cold Damage and grants more of it based on your Physical Damage |
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Precision - use for Accuracy Rating and Crit Chance, don't level it all the way up to level 20, you won't have enough mana |
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Summon Skitterbots - summons invulnerable Minions that Chill and Shock opponents with increased effectiveness |
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Enlighten - Enlighten makes the setup Reserve less Mana so that you're able to have a higher Gem Level of Precision |
[UTILITY] Guard Spell and Mobility setup | |
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Molten Shell - with the high amount of Armour you should have, this Guard Spell seems like the best option as it can absorb more Damage the more Armour you have |
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Flame Dash - Movement Spell to increase your mobility by allowing you to quickly dash |
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Blood Rage - increases your Attack Speed and Life Leech but drains your Life |
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Enhance Support - all the Spells in this setup scale well with Gem Quality, especially Blood Rage as it grants you more Attack Speed |
[UTILITY] Ensnaring Arrow setup | |
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Ensnaring Arrow - Enemies hit by it have less Movement Speed and take more Projectile Damage so it's great against bosses, stacks up to three times. Note that you don't want to Pierce bosses with this Projectile. |
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Mirage Archer Support - it will cast Enstaring Arrow automatically so that you won't have to constantly keep an eye on the boss and its Snares |
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Greater Multiple Projectiles Support |
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Portal - you can use this socket to put Portal Gem here as it's probably the best use for it |
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You will stack Dexterity. Only a few of the items are Rare - your Gloves, Rings, and possibly Belt and Amulet. These items should not only provide you with a lot of Dexterity but also cap your Resistances and ideally grant some Extra Maximum Life and damage stats. As for the Unique Items, most of them are cheap, and even the most expensive ones costs next to nothing when compared to the Rare ones - ideally, you want a Shythesised Implicit modifier with a percentage increase in Dexterity - especially Belt as it can offer up to 18% increased Dexterity. For your other Attributes - you will need 155 of Strength and Intelligence for your Gems. Remember to use Intirincic Catalysts on your Jewelerry for more potent Attribute modifiers.
Our recommended items will:
Stat priorities on items:
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(140-180)% increased Evasion and Energy Shield +(25-40)% to Critical Strike Multiplier if Dexterity is higher than Intelligence 15% increased Dexterity if Strength is higher than Intelligence 1% increased Elemental Damage per 10 Dexterity +2 to Maximum Life per 10 Intelligence |
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Helmet enchantments: Siege Ballista enchantment mods |
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(30-50)% increased Critical Strike Chance Adds (8-12) to (16-24) Physical Damage (14-20)% increased Attack Speed (14-20)% increased Totem Life (14-20)% increased Totem Placement speed Siege Ballista has +1 to maximum number of Summoned Totems per 200 Dexterity Adds 1 to 3 Physical Damage to Attacks per 25 Dexterity |
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+(3-4) Life gained for each Enemy hit by your Attacks +(15-30) to all Attributes (7-10)% increased Attack Speed +(2-3) Life gained for each Enemy hit by your Attacks 10% increased Area of Effect Adds 1 to 2 Cold Damage to Attacks per 10 Dexterity Adds 1 to 2 Fire Damage to Attacks per 10 Strength Adds 0 to 3 Lightning Damage to Attacks per 10 Intelligence |
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+(40-50) to Dexterity (140-220)% increased Evasion Rating 25% increased Chill Duration on Enemies (105-145) to (160-200) Added Cold Damage with Bow Attacks +30% chance to Suppress Spell Damage |
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10% increased Attack Speed +(600-700) to Evasion Rating +(30-40)% to Cold Resistance 5% increased Movement Speed (20-25)% increased Mana Recovery from Flasks 15% increased Dexterity 1% increased Damage per 15 Dexterity |
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+(30-40) to Dexterity (300-340)% increased Evasion Rating 30% increased Movement Speed Immune to Burning Ground, Shocked Ground and Chilled Ground Regenerate 100 Life per second while moving +2 to Maximum Life per 10 Dexterity |
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Min. requirements: +50 to Dexterity 10% increased Dexterity +50% to Elemental Resistances Optional affixes: increased Evasion Rating Maximum Life |
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Min. requirements: 15% increased Dexterity (Synthesised Implicit) +55 Dexterity +50% to Elemental Resistances Optional affixes: Elemental Damage with Attacks increased Damage Elemental Resistances |
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+(25-40) to maximum Life +(60-80) to maximum Life (5-15)% increased Attributes Cannot be Frozen if Dexterity is higher than Intelligence Cannot be Ignited if Strength is higher than Dexterity Cannot be Shocked if Intelligence is higher than Strength 1% increased Damage per 5 of your lowest Attribute |
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+(10-16) to all Attributes +(80-100) to all Attributes -4 Physical Damage taken from Attack Hits |
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Recommended Anointments: Shaman's Dominion |
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Min. requirements: +55 Dexterity +90% to Elemental Resistances Optional affixes: Maximum Life increased Elemental Damage with Attack Skills |
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Recommended affixes: |
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Only affects Passives in Large Ring Passives in Radius can be Allocated without being connected to your tree -(20-10)% to all Elemental Resistances |
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(4-6)% increased Dexterity (4-6)% increased Strength (15-10)% reduced Intelligence |
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+(16-24) to Dexterity Strength from Passives in Radius is Transformed to Dexterity |
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(50-30)% reduced Totem Damage Totems fire 2 additional Projectiles |
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Denoted service of (500-8000) dekhara in the akhara of Nasima-Asenath-Balbala Passives in radius are Conquered by the Maraketh Historic |
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This Jewel's Socket has 25% increased effect per Allocated Passive Skill between it and your Class' starting location <Two random modifiers> |
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(4-6)% increased maximum Energy Shield (4-6)% increased maximum Life (4-6)% increased maximum Mana <Two or Three random aura modifiers> |
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Recommended affixes: 1 Added Passive Skill is Blanketed Snow 1 Added Passive Skill is Widespread Destruction 1 Added Passive Skill is Prismatic Heart 1 Added Passive Skill is Disorienting Display |
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Recommended affixes: 1 Added Passive Skill is Sleepless Sentries 1 Added Passive Skill is Ancestral Echo |
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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 Flask effect |
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+50% to Fire Resistance 20% less Fire Damage taken (125-150)% increased Charges per use (40-60)% reduced Duration (10-20)% increased Area of Effect during Flask Effect Skills fire 2 additional Projectiles during Flask Effect |
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Suggested Flasks:
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