Siege Ballista
Hierophant Build

Updated for Patch 3.17

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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

1. Gameplay

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:

2. Build's PROS & CONS

3. Leveling tips

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
	Ancestral Protector - a standard Melee Totem that uses Slam-type Attacks and boost your damage
	Ruthless Support - makes every third Melee Attack significantly more powerful
	Multiple Totems Support - summon more Totems to deal more damage
	Inspiration Support - more Crit Chance and Elemental Damage while the cost of Skill gets lower

Auras setup
	War Banner - great for when the majority of your Damage is Physical and you lack Accuracy Rating
	Clarity - Clarity is used for Mana Regeneration
	Precision - higher Accuracy Rating and Crit Chance to improve your DPS

Curses and Dash setup
	Dash - Dash doesn't require any specific weapon and it requires Dexterity which you should have some of
	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:

Le Heup of All - more Damage, Attributes, and Elemental 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

Goldrim - a Helmet to give you a lot of Resistances

+(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)

Tabula Rasa - allows you to six-link a setup from the start

Item has no level requirement and Energy Shield (Hidden) Item has 6 White Sockets and is fully linked (Hidden)

Meginord's Girdle - it's cheap and you can equip it very early on to get more Life and Damage

+(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

4. Final Skill Tree, Ascendancy Points, and Pantheon

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:

1. Pursuit of Faith
2. Ritual Awakening
3. Conviction of Power
4. Divine Guidance (optional)
5. (optional) Forbidden Flesh and Flame - Righteous Providence

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

5. Final Gems links

[DPS] Siege Ballista setup
	Siege Ballista - a simple Attack totem that fires Piercing Projectiles upon enemies
	Cold Penetration Support - use Cold Penetration to deal more Cold Damage
	Added Cold Damage Support - adds Cold Damage to Attacks increasing your Cold Damage
	Inspiration Support - your linked Skill cost Less Mana, deals more Elemental Damage, and has a higher Crit Chance as you keep using it
	Elemental Damage with Attacks Support - Linked Attack deals more Elemental Damage
	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
	Frenzy - a simple Attack with great base stats that grants you Frenzy Charge increasing your Attack Speed and Damage - use only against tough opponents
	Cast on Critical Strike - with your Crit Chance high use it to reliably cast linked Spells on use
	Sniper's Mark - Curse that makes opponent significantly more vulnerable to Projectiles, Split Projectiles on Hit and grants Flask Charges
	Frost Bomb - applies Cold Exposure lowering Cold Resistance and reduces Life Regen for enemies
	Bonechill Support - makes Chill much more effective and increases your Damage
	Greater Multiple Projectiles Support - more Projectiles makes it easier to  hit your enemy with Critical Strike

[UTILITY] Aura setup
	Hatred - a standard aura for Cold Damage builds that increases your Cold Damage and grants more of it based on your Physical Damage
	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
	Summon Skitterbots - summons invulnerable Minions that Chill and Shock opponents with increased effectiveness
	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
	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
	Flame Dash - Movement Spell to increase your mobility by allowing you to quickly dash
	Blood Rage - increases your Attack Speed and Life Leech but drains your Life
	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
	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.
	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
	Greater Multiple Projectiles Support
	Portal - you can use this socket to put Portal Gem here as it's probably the best use for it

6. Gear Setup

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:

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

(Helmet) Fractal Thoughts - Evasion Rating, Critical Strike Multiplier, Elemental Damage, and Maximum Life. You have to keep your Strength higher than Intelligence for more Dexterity.

(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

Helmet enchantments: Siege Ballista enchantment mods

(Weapon) Iron Commander - the most important stats here are the ones that scale with Dexterity, it's a core item for the build as it allows you to put up a lot of Totems all at once.

(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

(Weapon) Hyrri's Demise - it adds Cold Damage to your Attacks per Dexterity which counts roughly for half of your total DPS

+(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

(Body Armour) Hyrri's Ire - this Body Armour is a great fit for the build as it gives you a lot of Evasion Rating, Spell Suppression, Dexterity, and Damage

+(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

(Body Armour) Wildwrap - It's comparable to Hyrri's Ire in terms of price, damage, and defensive capabilities. Use it if you lack Cold Resistance, or if you prioritize damage over Armour.

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

(Boots) Garukhan's Flight - another mandatory Unique that grants you a lot of Life and Life Regen based on your Dexterity

+(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

(Gloves) Rare Gloves - you can get a percentage increase in Dexterity on Hunter-influenced Gloves, look for more Dexterity and Elemental Resistances

Min. requirements: +50 to Dexterity 10% increased Dexterity +50% to Elemental Resistances Optional affixes: increased Evasion Rating Maximum Life

(Belt) Rare Belt - acquiring a Belt with the right Synthesised Implicit is expensive, but ultimately worth it as it can provide you with unmatched amounts of Dexterity and other useful mods such as Life and Resistances

Min. requirements: 15% increased Dexterity (Synthesised Implicit) +55 Dexterity +50% to Elemental Resistances Optional affixes: Elemental Damage with Attacks increased Damage Elemental Resistances

(Belt) Cyclopean Coil - this Belt is worse than a Rare, but it should be sufficient until you can afford a Rare Belt that would meet your needs as it too offers a lot of Attributes

+(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

(Amulet) Astramentis - a standard choice for all Attributes-stacking builds as no other Amulet can give you this much of these as this one

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

Recommended Anointments: Shaman's Dominion

(Ring) Rare Ring - This is where most of your Resistances should reside, as, besides these stats, the only other options worth seeking are more Life and Dexterity

Min. requirements: +55 Dexterity +90% to Elemental Resistances Optional affixes: Maximum Life increased Elemental Damage with Attack Skills

(Jewel) Rare Jewels - you won't have many free Jewel Sockets, but one or two of these should brant you more Resistances, Life, and Dexterity

Recommended affixes: 7% increased maximum Life Dexterity Elemental Resistances Critical Strike Chance

(Jewel) Thread of Hope - you can use one with a Large Ring and socket it next to Fervour to allocate up to six useful Notables

Only affects Passives in Large Ring Passives in Radius can be Allocated without being connected to your tree -(20-10)% to all Elemental Resistances

(Jewel) Brawn - increases Dexterity which is obviously good but it also helps you make your Strength to be higher than Intelligence so that your Fractal Thoughts activate its second trait

(4-6)% increased Dexterity (4-6)% increased Strength (15-10)% reduced Intelligence

(Jewel) Fluid Motion - it's obligatory to place it in the socket close to your starting location to transform Strength into Dexterity

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

(Jewel) Rain of Splinters - another mandatory Jewel, this one is used to increase your number of Projectiles while its side effect reduces Totem's Damage

(50-30)% reduced Totem Damage Totems fire 2 additional Projectiles

(Jewel) Brutal Restraint - it's a potentially great Jewel - you just need to roll a good mod of your Notables in Radius to give you more Dexterity or increase your Dexterity. You won't need its Keystone so place it between Vigour and Savagery

Denoted service of (500-8000) dekhara in the akhara of Nasima-Asenath-Balbala Passives in radius are Conquered by the Maraketh Historic

(Jewel) Split Personality - The list of random modifiers is pretty short and the only good ones are Dexterity, Maximum Life, and Strength if you need it to be higher than Intelligence. Plac it in the Cluster Jewel's Socket near Perfect Agony.

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

(Jewel) Watcher's Eye - any Hatred and most of Precision's mod should be sufficient to make this Jewels worth buying

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

(Jewel) Large Cluster Jewels - Blanketed Snow is good, and if you need Resistances try to get Prismatic Heart. It's completely optional to use Large Cluster Jewels, in most Cases Medium Cluster Jewel is more preferable.

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

(Jewel) Medium Cluster Jewels - with Sleepless Sentries you will have guaranteed Onslaught at all times, so you can respec Graceful Assault after allocating it for extra Passive Skill Points

Recommended affixes: 1 Added Passive Skill is Sleepless Sentries 1 Added Passive Skill is Ancestral Echo

(Flask) Bottled Faith - this pricey Flask is optional but it provides you with a lot of increases to your effective DPS

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

(Flask) Dying Sun - it has its minor defensive virtues, but the main aspect of it is the ability to fire 2 additional Projectiles during the effect of this Flask

+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

Suggested Flasks: Jade Flask of Impala for Evasion Rating Silver Flask with random ailment removal Life Flask with Bleeding immunity/removal Diamond Flask with random ailment removal

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.