Smite
Champion Build

Updated for Patch 3.26

The Best Crafty Guides by Odealo

Smite is a Melee Strike that deals Lightning Damage with its Melee Hit and with its Area Hit (it hits twice per attack). The majority of the flat damage comes from its 8-second Aura which adds Lightning Damage to Attacks after you swing, not from a weapon as is the case with most Attack builds, but that doesn't mean it's not important. You can increase the added damage of Smite by investing in an Aura Effect and Gem Level of Smite; that is the most often taken route. To increase this flat damage, equip the Perseverance Belt that increases your Attack Damage per Armour or Evasion, whichever is lower. To get a lot of Armour and Evasion, equip gear with it, obviously, and have Grace with Determination Auras on. This way, you will benefit twice from scaling the Aura Effect. Not to mention the inherent-to-Armour-and-Evasion defensive bonuses that'll keep the character safe.

To increase your already-good survivability, allocate Champion's Fortitude and Unstoppable Hero. That fixes your Fortify to be always at a maximum, and grants you more Evasion and Armour per Fortify, which definitely helps. Each 1 Fortify reduces Hit Damage taken by 1%. You can reach up to 30 to 40 Fortification with the right gear. Top it off with Block Chance and Spell Suppression to take no damage from most hits. To recover Life we have instant Leech and Flasks. Champion's First to Strike, Last to Fall grants Adrenaline for 20 seconds once you reach Low Life. You can do it on command with Corrupting Fever. Worthy Foe causes enemies to take 15% increased damage. We've also made it a Crit build to make it an end-game viable build.

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

1. Gameplay

Smite is all you need while mapping, just be sure you have Blood Rage on. To move between packs on enemies attack with Shield Charge. To boost your DPS, activate Ancestral Cry and Corrupting Fever. Molten Shell and Assassin's Mark are triggered automatically. Your passive Skills are Grace, Determination, Flesh and Stone, Blood and Sand, and Precision.

2. Build's PROS & CONS

3. Leveling tips

Smite can be started with, it's a good starter skill that will grow stronger as you progress. Go for the Precise Technique Keystone first. Allocate Weathered Hunter and its mastery for 500 Accuracy. You're now set for the bonus damage. Keep investing in Elemental Damage or damage with your weapon, be it a Sword or an Axe. You may start wearing the gear and gems from the final setups as soon as you have them.

Suggested leveling Gem setups:

Smite setup
	Smite
	Ruthless Support
	Faster Attacks Support
	Increased Elemental Damage with Attacks Support
	Inspiration Support, alternatively Multistrike

Auras setup
	Haste
	Precision

other gems
	Blood Rage
	Leap Slam

Bandits:

Help Kraityn for 8% increased Movement Speed or kill all for a Skill Point

Leveling Skill Trees:

25 Points Passive Tree
Go for Precise Technique, Accuracy, Movement Speed, and some damage

65 Points Passive Tree
Grab some nodes for Movement Speed, more damage of Elemental type, Leech, and reduced Mana Cost of Attacks

Recommended leveling items:

Abhorrent Interrogation - We don't have any Curses or Exposure that early on, making these Gloves a fine choice. Good with high Attack Speed and Multistrike.

(100-150)% increased Evasion and Energy Shield (5-7)% increased Attack and Cast Speed (20-25)% chance to inflict Withered for 2 seconds on Hit Enemies take 4% increased Elemental Damage from your Hits for each Withered you have inflicted on them Your Hits cannot Penetrate or ignore Elemental Resistances

Prismweave - Adds Elemental Damage and Elemental Resistances.

(12-24)% increased Global Physical Damage Adds (14-16) to (30-32) Fire Damage to Attacks Adds (10-12) to (24-28) Cold Damage to Attacks Adds 1 to (60-68) Lightning Damage to Attacks +(6-15)% to all Elemental Resistances 30% increased Elemental Damage with Attack Skills during any Flask Effect

Daresso's Salute - Tons of Resistances, Melee Strike Range, and conditional Movement Speed with Melee Damage.

+(16-24) to Strength and Dexterity 50% reduced maximum Energy Shield +(30-40)% to Fire Resistance +(30-40)% to Cold Resistance 10% increased Movement Speed when on Full Life +0.2 metres to Melee Strike Range 60% increased Melee Damage when on Full Life

Redbeak - Requires no character level while having decent damage for that early stages of the game.

40% increased Global Accuracy Rating 100% increased Damage when on Low Life 50% increased Physical Damage Adds 2 to 6 Physical Damage 10% increased Attack Speed +(20-30) to maximum Life +2 Life gained for each Enemy hit by Attacks

Foxshade - Conditional Movement Speed and tons of Evasion Rating.

+(20-30) to Dexterity +1000 to Evasion Rating while on Full Life (50-70)% increased Evasion Rating 30% increased Movement Speed when on Full Life Damage of Enemies Hitting you is Unlucky while you are on Full Life

4. Final Skill Tree, Ascendancy Points, and Pantheon

Final Skill Tree:

123 Points Final Passive Tree (doesn't include Unique Jewels)
123 Points Path of Building (PoB) link

Ascendancy points:

Preferably in that order:

1. Fortitude
2. Unstoppable Hero
3. First to Strike, Last to Fall
4. Worthy Foe

Pantheon:

Major God: Soul of The Brine King: You cannot be Stunned if you've been Stunned or Blocked a Stunning Hit in the past 2 seconds.

Minor God: Soul of Shakari: 50% less Duration of Poisons on You; You cannot be Poisoned while there are at least 3 Poisons on you.

5. Final Gems links

[DPS] Smite setup
	Vaal Smite - Smite is like likely the best Skill for this build. It's accompanied by an Aura that adds Lightning Damage to Attacks which scales really well with increased Damage from Perseverance.
	Multistrike Support - Much more Attack Speed but lower damage per Hit.
	Elemental Damage with Attacks Support - More Elemental Damage with Attacks, which is pretty much the only type of damage.
	Close Combat Support - Use it while standing close to an enemy to deal more damage with more Attack Speed. If you don't like the conditions for it, replace it with Lightning Penetration or Critical Damage.
	Added Lightning Damage Support  - Adds Lightning Damage to Attacks. Use the Awakened version for an extra Gem Level
	Volatility Support - More Maximum and Less Minimum Damage. It's great if your Maximum Damage is already very high.

[UTILITY] Reservation setup
	Grace - Added and increased Evasion Rating.
	Determination - Added and increased Armour Rating.
	Blood and Sand - Less AoE and more Area Damage in Blood Stance, but more AoE and less Area Damage in Sand Stance.
	Flesh and Stone - Stay only in Sand Stance to take less damage, but if that is not needed, run Autoexertion for Ancestral Cry instead.

[UTILITY] various gems setup
	Assassin's Mark - Marked enemy receives increased damage from Critical Strikes and is more likely to be Struck Critically.
	Mark on Hit Support - Mark is applied automatically against Rare and Unique enemies.
	Lifetap Support - Linked Skills cost Life instead of Mana since you don't have it that much.
	Corrupting Fever - Instantly drains a big portion of your Life, which activates First to Strike, Last to Fall. That's Adrenaline for 20 seconds.

[UTILITY] Ancestral Cry setup
	Ancestral Cry - Buff grants some Elemental Resistances and Maximum Elemental Resistances. Exerted Attacks target 2 additional enemies.
	Lifetap Support
	Urgent Orders - Faster Warcry. If you have enough Mana, which is doubtful, use Autoexertion instead to keep the buff effect.

[MOBILITY] Shield Charge setup
	Shield Charge - Charge in a straight line to travel between packs of enemies.
	Faster Attacks Support - Faster Shield Charge to move even quicker.

[UTILITY] Precision setup
	Precision - Accuracy and Critical Strike Chance are both needed in this build.
	Arrogance Support - You don't have much Mana, but a lot of Maximum Life. Use Arrogance to Reserve some of it for Precision.

[UTILITY] Other Utility Skills
	Molten Shell - Prevents a portion of incoming Hit Damage. It scales alongside your Armour which you do have a lot of.
	Cast when Damage Taken - Triggers Molten Shell after taking damage. Can be replaced with Automation if you prefer it.

[UTILITY] Blood Rage
	Blood Rage - Increased Attack Speed and Frenzy Charges on Kill. It drains your Life but you have Leech to deal with that.

6. Gear Setup

The build is flexible to assemble. It needs only Perseverance for a major damage increase later in the game. However, we will recommend wearing a Unique Sword, a pair of Gloves, and an Amulet, since there are Uniques so fitting here that it would be a shame not to use them. It's a great starter, and because of that, you can keep using the items you find on the ground during levelling. This late-game version utilizes high Crit Chance and Crit Multiplier since it's very hard to reach high damage without that. Still, you will need a good weapon, not necessarily with high DPS as your damage comes from Smite, and Gem Level for Smite. Increased Aura Effect would be good but there are not that many opportunities to get it without spending tons on Cluster Jewels. Armour and Evasion will benefit from it too via Grace and Determination. These are your main defensive layers, alongside Fortify, Endurance Charges, Block Chance, high Maximum Life, and instant Leech. Try to cap your Spell Suppression and Chaos Resistance too.

(Helmet) Rare Helmet - Helmet is a simple case. Go for high Armour/Evasion with Maximum Life, Resistances, maybe Suppression and Intelligence. For the Eldritch mods get reduced Mana Cost of Attacks and increased Reservation Efficiency.

Min. requirements: +90 Maximum Life +40% to Elemental Resistances Armour and Evasion Optional affixes: Intelligence Spell Suppression Chance

(Weapon) Paradoxica - The best 1-h Sword, which is what we're going for. Try to score Elemental Penetration and Attack Speed on it.

+25% to Global Critical Strike Multiplier Attacks with this Weapon deal Double Damage Veiled Prefix Veiled Suffix <veiled mod pool>

(Weapon) Hyaon's Fury - It's a much cheaper option that will work well in a build like this, as long as you can keep your Frenzy Charges.

40% increased Global Accuracy Rating Adds 1 to (550-650) Lightning Damage (7-10)% increased Attack Speed 1% increased Damage taken per Frenzy Charge (15-20)% increased Lightning Damage per Frenzy Charge 20 Life gained on Kill per Frenzy Charge

(Off-hand) Rare Shield - A Rare Shield with very basic stats is what we recommend. It should grant you a high Block Chance, as it's hard to come by.

Min. requirements: +40% to Elemental Resistances high Block Chance Armour and Evasion Optional affixes: Spell Suppression Chance Maximum Life Additional Physical Damage Reduction

(Off-hand) Azadi Crest - This Shield is good with Perquil's Toe on your Mercenary or Voice of the Storm on you. Your Attacks have a wildly wide range of damage.

6% increased Movement Speed +(1-100) to maximum Life +(1-10)% Chance to Block (1-10)% chance to avoid Projectiles Your Lucky or Unlucky effects use the best or worst from three rolls instead of two

(Off-hand) The Saviour - Saviour is a pure-damage off-hand option that will also make clearing maps a bit faster. It requires altering Skill Tree a bit as we've picked Shield nodes on it.

40% increased Global Accuracy Rating Triggers Level 20 Reflection when Equipped (130-150)% increased Physical Damage Adds (16-22) to (40-45) Physical Damage (8-12)% increased Attack Speed (8-12)% increased Critical Strike Chance

(Body Armour) Rare Body Armour - A basic Body Armour with High Evasion and Armour is what you're going for. It also may get you some Suppression and Resistances. For the Eldritch mods get an increased effect of Auras.

Min. requirements: +40% to Elemental Resistances +150 to maximum Life Armour and Evasion Optional affixes: Spell Suppression Chance

(Boots) Rare Boots - Boots offer Movement Speed, Resistances, and Maximum Life. Don't bother with Defences here, there are not many free Prefixes. For Eldritch mods seek Action Speed with Ancestral Cry upgrade.

Min. requirements: +40% to Elemental Resistances +90 to maximum Life 25% increased Movement Speed Optional affixes: Armour and Evasion Spell Suppression Chance

(Boots) Legacy of Fury - Grants a powerful Scorch, lots of Armour and Evasion, and explosion on kill. Great option, but a bit lacking in defences.

(200-300)% increased Armour and Evasion 30% increased Movement Speed Nearby Enemies are Scorched (30-50)% increased Effect of Scorch (30-40)% chance when you Kill a Scorched Enemy to Burn Each surrounding Enemy for 4 seconds, dealing 8% of the Killed Enemy's Life as Fire Damage per second

(Boots) March of the Legion - Here you can socket your Smite, but it's an optional gear piece. The Gem Level and increased Aura Effect make a huge difference, so it's an excellent choice even if it's a 4-link. You can Corrupt it for extra Gem Levels for Smite.

+(3-5) to Level of Socketed Aura Gems Socketed Gems are Supported by Level 25 Divine Blessing (250-300)% increased Armour and Energy Shield +(12-18)% to all Elemental Resistances (20-30)% increased Movement Speed

(Gloves) The Celestial Brace - You can reach over 30, up to over 40 Fortification with these Gloves. That increases your Attack Speed by the same amount. It's what we recommend.

(80-120)% increased Armour 1% increased Attack Speed per Fortification +(1-10) to maximum Fortification Melee Hits from Strike Skills Fortify

(Gloves) Rare Gloves - Rare Gloves are not that impressive. There are the basic defensive mods with Attack Speed or added Damage. Eldritch mods to look for: Spell Suppression Chance and extra targeting for Strike Skills.

Min. requirements: +40% to Elemental Resistances +90 to maximum Life Optional affixes: Armour and Evasion Spell Suppression Chance increased Attack Speed Added Damage to Attacks

(Belt) Perseverance - It's possible to reach over 100k Armour and Evasion Rating. That is a 500% increased Attack Damage with some Maximum Life and Onslaught on top of that.

+(260-320) to Armour and Evasion Rating (4-8)% increased maximum Life +(20-40)% to Cold Resistance 1% increased Attack Damage per 200 of the lowest of Armour and Evasion Rating Melee Hits which Stun Fortify You have Onslaught while Fortified

(Amulet) Voice of the Storm - It's great during the early stage when you're still non-crit. You can modify the build a bit by allocating Precise Technique to ensure no Strike is Critical.

+(20-30) to Intelligence 50% increased Lightning Damage +(10-15) to all Attributes (10-20)% increased maximum Mana Lightning Damage with Non-Critical Strikes is Lucky

(Amulet) Yoke of Suffering - This one is great if you can apply multiple Elemental Ailments like Chill, Ignite, Brittle, and Scorch. It's a solid boost to damage and Resistances.

+(10-16) to all Attributes +(10-20)% to Fire Resistance +(10-20)% to Cold Resistance +(20-40)% to Lightning Resistance 30% reduced Duration of Ailments on Enemies (5-10)% chance to Shock Enemies take (5-10)% increased Damage for each type of Ailment you have inflicted on them Your Elemental Damage can Shock

(Amulet) The Eternal Struggle - A very cheap Amulet with tons of Attributes and increased Global Defences, including Armour and Evasion. Try to get one with useful implicits.

<<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) Replica Badge of the Brotherhood - Very good if you can stay at maximum Endurance Charges. We haven't put much thought into Endurance Charge generation, but it may be easily done with Enduring Cry, Warlord's Mark, and many notables.

+(16-24) to Dexterity and Intelligence Your Maximum Endurance Charges is equal to your Maximum Frenzy Charges +1 to maximum Fortification per Endurance Charge (7-10)% increased Cooldown Recovery Rate of Travel Skills per Frenzy Charge (20-25)% chance to lose a Frenzy Charge when you use a Travel Skill (20-25)% chance to lose an Endurance Charge when you gain Fortification

(Amulet) Replica Dragonfang's Flight - A simple boost to your Smite damage. It's especially great with March of the Legion and other sources of Gem Level of Smite - try to scavenge them wherever it's possible with this Amulet on.

+(10-16) to all Attributes +3 to Level of all <Random Skill> Gems +(5-10)% to all Elemental Resistances (5-10)% increased Reservation Efficiency of Skills Items and Gems have (10-5)% reduced Attribute Requirements

(Amulet) Uul-Netol's Vow - Overall great, since there are more Support Gems that would increase our damage by a quarter than you can fit into a Body Armour.

Has 1 Socket Socketed Support Gems can also Support Skills from Equipped Body Armour +(-30-30)% to Fire Resistance +(-30-30)% to Cold Resistance +(-30-30)% to Lightning Resistance +(-23-23)% to Chaos Resistance

Recommended Anointments: Arcing Blows

(Ring) Rare Ring - Rings will patch up your Attributes and Resistances. Try to get them with Maximum Life and an open Prefix to craft flat Reduced Mana Cost.

Min. requirements: +80% to Elemental Resistances +90 to Maximum Life Optional affixes: increased Elemental Damage with Attack Skills Attributes Non-Channelling Skills have -(7-6) to Total Mana Cost (crafted)

(Ring) The Taming - Taming is excellent in the same situation as the Yoke of Suffering. It's a lot of Damage and Resistances.

+(8-10)% to all Elemental Resistances (30-40)% increased Elemental Damage with Hits and Ailments for each type of Elemental Ailment on Enemy +(20-30)% to all Elemental Resistances 10% chance to Freeze, Shock and Ignite

(Ring) Mark of the Elder - Lots of Added and increased Damage with some Maximum Life. Your other Ring has to have a Shaper influence.

Adds (3-4) to (10-14) Physical Damage to Attacks 20% chance to Trigger Level 20 Tentacle Whip on Kill Adds (26-32) to (42-48) Cold Damage to Attacks (6-10)% increased maximum Energy Shield (6-10)% increased maximum Life (60-80)% increased Attack Damage if your other Ring is a Shaper Item Cannot be Stunned by Attacks if your other Ring is an Elder Item

(Jewel) Rare Jewels - Critical Strike mods will elevate your damage, definitely look for them. Maximum Life should be present too.

Recommended affixes: increased maximum Life increased Attack Speed Elemental Resistances Critical Strike Multiplier Critical Strike Chance

(Jewel) Watcher's Eye - Precision, Grace, and Determination mods could be very good. Critical Strike, extra Armour, Blind, and Extra Evasion are the best mods you can find.

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

(Jewel) Lethal Pride - You can socket it either by Fervour or Savagery. You're looking for "+1 Maximum Fortify" notable upgrades. No other mod is as good as this one.

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

(Flask) Bottled Faith - Crit Chance and Consecrated Ground. Use against bosses for increased damage.

(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

Suggested Flasks: Jade Flask with increased Evasion Granite Flask with increased Armour Diamond Flask with increased Critical Strike Chance Prismatic Tincture with Elemental Penetration

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.