Soulrend/Bane
Chaos DoT Trickster build

Updated for Patch 3.17

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Soulrend and Bane are two gems that were introduced in patch 3.6. They are both Chaos Damage over Time Gems, that synergize with each other very well. Soulrend is a projectile skill, that pierces through all enemies, applying DoT effect in an area around enemies. Bane skill not only applies DoT but also all linked the Curses on each cast, dealing much more damage for each Curse applied this way. On top of massive chaos damage, this build has insane Defense, thanks to curses like Enfeeble or Temporal Chains and Energy Shield leech from Soulrend. It's also a great starter build because it doesn't require expensive uniques to start dealing massive damage.

The build uses Chaos Inoculation for a complete Chaos Immunity, and so for defenses, you're forced to rely on Energy Shield only, which you can get up to 6k of. The character is capable of accumulating a lot of Evasion Rating - 50k to 100k of it, and up to 100% Spell Suppression Chance. Use Ghost Dance and Patient Reaper Keystones for quick ES Recovery. Soulred Skill itself grants you a lot of ES too. You'll also have a somewhat decent Block Chance against Spells as well as Attacks that can be expanded on. The damage is extremely easy to scale - Soulrend is one of the few Skills that Spell Damage scales with its DoT - a lot of mods will match the build.

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

1. Gameplay

In order to reach the maximum potential of this build, you need to cast Bane on packs of enemies to apply all the curses and then send projectiles that should kill whole packs in no time. For your movement, you are going to use Flame Dash. During boss fights deploy Spell Totems - these will apply withered debuff increasing your Chaos Damage. The Mana Reserving Spells that are best-suited for this build are Malevolence, Discipline, Grace, Defiance Banner, and Tempest Shield.

2. Build's PROS & CONS

3. Leveling tips

For leveling, we are going to use Blight, before we can switch to Bane/Soulrend setup. Every node on the Passive Skill Tree that we are picking for the final build will boost our leveling skills as well, so leveling should be very fast and easy. On top of that, we can add Spell Totem that will cast Wither to increase Chaos Damage Taken by enemies. You're forced to start as a Life build, and later transition to ES one after allocating Chaos Inoculation.

Suggested leveling Gem setups:

Blight setup
	Blight - one of the first available Chaos spells in PoE
	Arcane Surge Support - adds additional damage and Mana Regeneration
	Void Manipulation Support - increases Chaos damage

Soulrend setup
	Soulrend - this will be your main skill. Start using it as soon as it's possible to buy it from a vendor
	Swift Affliction Support - insane damage boost to Damage over Time which is our main source of damage
	Greater Multiple Projectiles Support
	Efficacy Support - more DoT and Spell damage

Bane setup
	Bane - this will be our secondary skill. It will apply more DoT and cursed linked to it
	Swift Affliction Support - insane damage boost to Damage over Time which is our main source of damage
	Temporal Chains - insane survivability curse, lowering enemies Attack and Movement speed
	Despair - increases Chaos and DoT damage versus cursed enemies

Utility Gems
	Malevolence - a great aura that increases Damage over Time
	Discipline - grants additional Energy Shield

Bandits:

We recommend killing all bandits for 2 Passive Skill Points

Leveling Skill Trees:

36 Points Skill Tree
for a patch to Atrophy, picking up Growth and Decay, Written in Blood, Fangs of the Viper, Wasting, and Blood Spihon on your way there

70 Points Skill Tree
pick Blood Drinker and Cruel Preparation for more Life, Influence for Mana Reservation Efficiency, and Corruption with Heart of Darkness for more DPS

Recommended leveling items:

Goldrim - one of the best leveling helmets in Path of Exile, will fix your Elemental Resistances during leveling
+(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)

Lochtonial Caress - powerful Gloves, which provide Cast Speed and Power/Frenzy/Endurance Charges generation
(10-15)% increased Attack Speed (10-15)% increased Cast Speed +(20-30) to maximum Life (15-10)% reduced maximum Mana 10% chance to gain a Power, Frenzy or Endurance Charge on Kill Conduit

Wanderlust - perfect boots granting a lot of Movement Speed that you can use since level 1
+5 to Dexterity (20-40)% increased Mana Regeneration Rate +(10-20) to maximum Energy Shield 20% increased Movement Speed Cannot be Frozen

Le Heup of All - they provide everything - Attributes, Damage, and Resistances. Perfect choices for the whole leveling process

(10-30)% increased Damage +(10-30) to all Attributes (10-30)% increased Rarity of Items found +(10-30)% to all Elemental Resistances

Lifesprig - great leveling wand, that adds a lot of Spell Damage and Cast Speed. It's recommended to dual-wield them
(4-6)% increased Cast Speed (100-140)% increased Critical Strike Chance for Spells Adds (2-3) to (5-6) Fire Damage to Spells Adds (2-3) to (5-6) Cold Damage to Spells Adds 1 to (10-12) Lightning Damage to Spells

4. Final Skill tree, Ascendancy Points, and Pantheon

Final Skill Tree:

98 Points Final Skill Tree (doesn't include Cluster Jewels)
117 Points Path of Building(PoB) link

Ascendancy points:

Preferably in that order:

1. Patient Reaper
2. Prolonged Pain
3. Weave the Arcane
4. Escape Artist (only if you're not using Crown of the Inward Eye and Skin of the Lords)

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 Gruthkul 1% additional Physical Damage Reduction for each Hit you've taken Recently up to a maximum of 5%

5. Final Gems links

[DPS] Soulrend
	Soulrend - your primary source of DPS, it's a Projectile that deals Choas Damage over Time and prices through all enemies
	Swift Affliction Support- insane damage boost to Damage over Time which is our main source of damage
	Void Manipulation Support - makes you deal much more Chaos Damage - it's highly recommended to use the Awakened version for an additional Gem Level
	Controlled Destruction Support - high Spell Damage boost at the exchange of reduced Critical Strike Chance, which doesn't affect our build
	Greater Multiple Projectiles Support - this is our support for faster map clear. For bossing it's recommended swapping to use Empower gem
	Arcane Surge Support - it's the best option to increase your Damage, it's even better after allocating Arcane Heroism
Optional gem options
	Empower - should replace Greater Multiple Projectiles Support for bosses. Increases level of Soulrend, which scales really well

[UTILITY] Bane setup
	Bane - this will be our secondary skill. It will apply more DoT and Curses linked to it
	Swift Affliction Support - insane damage boost to Damage over Time which is our main type of damage
	Temporal Chains - insane defensive Curse, which lowers enemies' Attack and Movement speed
	Despair - increases Chaos and DoT damage versus cursed enemies

[UTILITY] Auras setup
	Malevolence - a great Aura that increases Damage over Time
	Discipline - grants additional and increased Energy Shield
	Grace - grants additional and increased Evasion Rating
	Tempest Shield - it's optional to use it, but it grants you increased Spell Block Chance

[UTILITY] Defiance Banner
	Defiance Banner - it's used for its Evasion Rating and the reduction of nearby enemies' Critical Strike Chance

[UTILITY] Wither setup
	Wither - it can be stacked up to 15 times, affected opponents take increased Chaos Damage
	Spell Totem Support - Wither is cast by Totems so you don't have to
	Faster Casting - increases Totem's cast speed
	Multiple Totems Support - additional Totems are used to apply the 15 stack of Wither even faster

[MOBILITY] Flame Dash setup
	Flame Dash - one of the best Movement Skills you can use
	Second Wind Support  - stores an additional charge for Flame Dash

[UTILITY] Immortal Call setup
	Immortal Call - grants brief Physical Damage immunity. Keep this Gem at level 3
	Cast when Damage Taken Support - will auto-cast supported spells after a certain amount of damage is taken by the player. Do not upgrade it above level 1

5. Gear Setup

This Soulrend/Bane Trickster is a moderately expensive build. Below you will find all the recommended gear. If you would like to have the end-game items also added here please let us know in the comments below. 

If you are looking for cheap PoE Currency, we would love to invite you to visit our PoE Market section that can be accessed via the menu bar on top of the page.

The recommended items from our list will:

1. Help you cap your Elemental Resistances 
2. Give you enough DPS and Energy Shield to start mapping successfully

(Helmet) Rare Helmet - the basic Energy Shield and Evasion Rating with a bit of Spell Suppression Chance is a good enough option

Min. requirements: 100 Energy Shield +50% Total Elemental Resistances Nearby Enemies have -#% to Chaos Resistance Optional affixes: Evasion Rating Chance to Suppress Spell Damage increased Energy Shield

(Helmet) Crown of the Inward Eye - The Life and Armour aspects grants you nothing, but it's still one of the best Helmet - it provides you with a lot of ES and Evasion Rating

333% increased Armour and Energy Shield (9-21)% increased maximum Life, Mana and Global Energy Shield Transfiguration of Soul Transfiguration of Body Transfiguration of Mind

Helmet enchantment: Soulrend deals 40% increased Damage

(Weapon) Rare Spell Dagger or Wand - it can be expensive if you aim for two global Gem Level modifiers, but that's the best way to increase your Damage

Min. requirements: +1 to Level of all Spell Skill Gems +1 to Level of all Chaos Spell Skill Gems Optional affixes: Chaos Damage over Time Multiplier increased Chaos Damage

(Shield) Rare Shield - try to achieve as much Energy Shield and Evasion Rating as you can, on top of that you should get more Elemental Resistances and Chance to Suppress Spell Damage here

Min. requirements: 30% Chance to Suppress Spell Damage +50% Total Elemental Resistances Optional affixes: Evasion Rating Energy Shield increased chance to Block

(Body Armour) Skin of the Lords - the reasons for it being the best Armour are increased Global Defences - ES and Evasion, and +2 to Level of Socketed Gems - it includes Empower Support

Item has no level requirement and Energy Shield (Hidden) Sockets cannot be modified +2 to Level of Socketed Gems 100% increased Global Defences You can only Socket Corrupted Gems in this item Item has 6 Sockets and is fully linked (Hidden) <Random Keystone>

(Boots) Rare Boots - seek Energy Shield, Evasion Rating, Movement Speed, and Elemental Resistances

Min. requirements: +60% Total Elemental Resistances 100 Energy Shield 25% Increased Movement Speed Optional affixes: Evasion Rating chance to gain Onslaught for 4 seconds on Kill

(Gloves) Rare Gloves - Energy Shield, Evasion Rating, Elemental Resistance, and Chance to Suppress Spell Damage

Min. requirements: +70% Total Elemental Resistances 100 Energy Shield 15% chance to Suppress Spell Damage Optional affixes: increased Evasion and Energy Shield increased Spell Damage Evasion Rating

(Belt) Bated Breath - Bated Breath is a cheap Belt for more Energy Shield

+(15-25) to Intelligence 10% increased Damage +(20-30) to maximum Energy Shield 20% increased maximum Energy Shield 50% increased Energy Shield Recharge Rate

(Belt) Rare Belt - It's a great opportunity to get more Strength. Get more Energy Shield and Elemental Resistances too.

Min. requirements: +30 to Strength +40 to maximum Energy Shield +70% Total Elemental Resistances Optional affixes: increased Damage 15% increased maximum Energy Shield (Crusader's)

(Amulet) Ashes of the Stars - all the  mods here are great, there is no doubt about it being the only viable Amulet

+(10-16) to all Attributes (5-10)% increased Experience Gain of Gems (10-20)% increased Reservation Efficiency of Skills +1 to Level of all Skill Gems +(20-30)% to Quality of all Skill Gems

(Ring) Rare Ring - It is the best pick. Should grant added Energy Shield and cap your Elemental Resistances. Iolite Rings are good as they grant you increased Chaos Damage.

Min. requirements: +35 to maximum Energy Shield +70% Total Elemental Resistances +140 Evasion Rating Optional affixes: Non-channelling Skills have -# to Total Mana Cost (crafted) Strength increased Chaos Damage

(Jewels) Rare Jewels - with 3 Large Cluster Jewels you will have a lot of Jewels Sockets, use them mostly for Rare Jewels

Recommended affixes: increased Maximum Energy Shield increased Spell Damage/Spell Damage while holding a Shield increased Chaos Damage increased Damage over Time

(Jewels) Watcher's Eye - it can enhance your Auras, the additional Damage over Time Multiplier with Malevelonece seems like the best option

(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 - these can get you a lot of Chaos Damage increases, and Arcane Heroism which is great for its Arcane Surge modifiers

Recommended affixes: 1 Added Passive Skill is Wicked Pall 1 Added Passive Skill is Unholy Grace 1 Added Passive Skill is Unwaveringly Evil 1 Added Passive Skill is Arcane Heroism 1 Added Passive Skill is Sap Psyche 1 Added Passive Skill is Conjured Wall

(Flask) Witchfire Brew - a great boost to Damage over Time - it grants Despair Curse Aura if you're not using one already

20% more Evasion Rating Creates a Smoke Cloud on Use 50% increased Charges per use Grants Level 21 Despair Curse Aura during Flask Effect

Suggested Flasks: Jade Flask of Impala for increased Evasion Rating Sulphur Flask with Bleeding immunity/removal Quartz Flask with random Ailmet Removal Quicksilver Flask of Adrenaline for increased Movement Speed

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.