Kinetic Blast/Barrage
Pathfinder/Ranger build

Updated for Patch 3.6

The Best Crafty Guides by Odealo

Estimated budget: medium

Kinetic Blast Pathfinder is one of the fastest builds in the game, clearing whole screens with Kinetic Blast and Herald of Ice Explosions. Barrage scales very well with additional projectiles, so investing into Dying Sun will help you melt bosses within seconds. It's those expensive end-game Flasks that make Pathfinder the best choice here. If you are looking for a more budget-friendly approach, you should focus on Deadeye's Ascendancy. On top of that very high Evasion Rating with Queen of the Forest and Pathfinder's Ascendancy which increases Flask effectiveness allows you to reach almost 200% more Movement Speed.

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

1. Gameplay

Kinetic Blast Pathfinder is a straightforward build to play. You attack with Kinetic Blast to kill packs of monsters and use Dying Sun Flask for more Barrage projectiles while fighting Bosses. This build doesn’t utilize any Movement skill, because Movement Speed from Flasks and the Queen of the Forest unique Body Armour is more than enough to escape danger and clear maps efficiently.

0:06 Tier 13 Laboratory 0:28 Tier 11 Mesa 0:57 Tier 13 Caldera 1:21 Tier 15 Carcass This video was recorded on a level 89 Pathfinder with Rat's Nest (no Helmet enchantment) and Piscator's Vigil wand

2. Build's PROS & CONS

3. Leveling tips

The leveling process is a bit different than usual because even though we are going to use wands in the endgame, you should be leveling up using an Elemental DPS Bow. Leveling with Bows is much easier and faster than when using Wands, but you will need to refund around 13 Passive Points when switching to the endgame build. You can start using a wand when you can wear Thunderfists, Piscator’s Vigil and Lycosidae. It is recommended to level most of the Kinetic Blast/Barrage endgame setup's Gems in your free Gem slots or the alt weapon slots.

Suggested leveling Gem setups:

Ice Shot setup
	Ice Shot - one of the first Bow skills available in PoE. Entirely viable for leveling until you replace it with Lightning Arrow
	Added Cold Damage Support - great buff to DPS
	Pierce Support - again, adds a lot of extra DPS

Lightning Arrow setup
	Lightning Arrow - grants fantastic DPS and AoE, start using it right after you kill Merveil
	Greater Multiple Projectiles Support - you can use it starting at level 38. Use if for clearing regular areas, and switch to Lesser Multiple Projectiles for boss killing
	Added Cold Damage Support - grants additional cold damage to attacks
	Added Lightning Damage Support - grants extra Lightning Damage to attacks
	Pierce Support

Utility Gems
	Stone Golem - provides extra Life Regeneration
	Assassin's Mark - recommended Curse for this build, which significantly increases your DPS
	Herald of Ice - offers extra DPS and AoE explosions for smoother leveling
	Herald of Thunder - provides decent DPS buff

Bandits:

We recommend killing all the Bandits for two additional Passive Points

Leveling Skill Trees:

32 Points Skill Tree
Priorities: 1) Finesse 2) Ballistic Mastery 3) Lethality 4) Herbalism 5) Thick Skin

79 Points Skill Tree
Priorities: 1) Bravery 2) Golem’s Blood 3) Phase Acrobatics 4) Coordination

Recommended leveling items:

Prismweave - an excellent Belt that provides a lot of damage and increased elemental damage
(12-24)% increased Physical Damage 10% increased Elemental Damage with Attack Skills Adds (7-8) to (15-16) Fire Damage to Attacks Adds (5-6) to (12-14) Cold Damage to Attacks Adds 1 to (30-34) Lightning Damage to Attacks +(6-8)% to all Elemental Resistances 30% increased Elemental Damage with Attack Skills during any Flask Effect

Wake of Destruction - a mighty pair of Boots. They give you a lot of damage and are available from level 28
Adds 1 to 120 Lightning Damage to Attacks (20-60)% increased Armour and Energy Shield +(10-20) Life gained on Kill 10% chance to Cause Monsters to Flee 15% increased Movement Speed

Karui Ward - amazing DPS and Movement Speed bonuses
+(20-30) to Dexterity +(20-30) to Strength +100 to Accuracy Rating 30% increased Projectile Speed 10% increased Movement Speed 30% increased Projectile Damage

Stormcloud - the first unique Bow we suggest using, available from level 8
No Physical Damage Adds 1 to 85 Lightning Damage (36-50)% increased Attack Speed

4. Final Skill tree, Ascendancy Points, and Pantheon

Final Skill Tree:

116 Points Final Skill Tree
116 Points Path of Building(PoB) link

Ascendancy points:

Preferably in that order:

1. Nature’s Adrenaline
2. Veteran Bowyer
3. Nature’s Boon
4. Master Alchemist

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] Barrage
	Barrage - your main single target skill
	Slower Projectiles Support - decreases Projectiles' speed, but increases their damage by a lot
	Added Lightning Damage Support - adds a lot of flat Lightning Damage, scales really well with Wrath Aura and increased Lightning Damage nodes on the Passive Skill Tree
	Elemental Damage with Attacks Support - since this build relies on nearly full Elemental Damage, this Gem grants a lot of extra DPS
	Elemental Focus Support - increases all Elemental Damage
	Lightning Penetration Support - since we are mostly focused on Lightning Damage it helps with penetrating monster's resistances

[AURA/CURSE] Herald of Ice
	Herald of Ice - grants moderate DPS boost and insane explosions with Kinetic Blast. Will also apply your Curse
	Curse on Hit Support - this Gem linked with Herald of Ice will make it apply the supported curse
	Assassin’s Mark - will be applied by Herald of Ice explosions, increasing the Cursed enemies' chance to receive Critical Strike
	Onslaught Support - when Herald of Ice explosions kills a monster, there is a chance to grant you Onslaught buff which increases your Attack and Movement Speed

[DPS] Kinetic Blast
	Kinetic Blast - your main AoE skill, clearing whole screens with Herald of Ice
	Elemental Damage with Attacks Support - additional elemental DPS
	Greater Multiple Projectiles Support - grants additional projectiles for Kinetic Blast which increased your clear speed
	Pierce Support - increases projectiles damage and increases their chance to pierce your targets

[AURA/UTILITY] Ice Golem / Wrath setup
	Ice Golem - provides additional Critical Strike Chance and Accuracy Rating
	Wrath - provides additional Lightning Damage, increasing your DPS
	Enlighten Support - reduces the amount of Mana reserved by Wrath
	Empower Support - increases the level of supported Gems

[UTILITY] Vaal Grace and Vaal Haste setup
	Vaal Haste - grants increased attack and movement speed
	Vaal Grace - grants increased evasion rating
	Increased Duration Support

[DEFENSE] Immortal Call setup
	Immortal Call - grants brief immunity to Physical Damage when activated. Do not upgrade above the level of CwDT Support Gem
	Cast when Damage Taken Support - keep at level 1. Will auto-cast supported skills (Immortal Call)
	Increased Duration Support

5. Gear Setup

Kinetic Blast Pathfinder is literally the fastest and most efficient map-farming build in Path of Exile. We believe any PoE Currency invested in this build will pay up in the long run, and even though it is fully viable as a starter or budget-friendly build, it is still recommended to get it to farm Tier 10+ maps efficiently. The most important piece of your equipment is the Wand, and a high Elemental DPS Wand may cost around 5-10 Exalted Orbs. The 5 or 6 linked Body Armour should be your number two priority. If you can't afford the recommended items, we would love to invite you to visit our Path of Exile market where you can buy cheap PoE currency to complete this build.

Our recommended items will:

1. Cap your resistances 
2. Give you enough DPS/Life to start mapping successfully

(Helmet) Rat's Nest – best in the slot and budget-friendly Helmet option. Grants a lot of extra DPS

15% increased Attack Speed (60-75)% increased Global Critical Strike Chance 150% increased Evasion Rating (20-25)% increased Rarity of Items found 10% increased Movement Speed 10% reduced Character Size

(Helmet) Alpha’s Howl – optional Helmet which increases the level of Aura Gems and reduces the Mana they reserve

+2 to Level of Socketed Aura Gems (80-100)% increased Evasion Rating +(20-30)% to Cold Resistance 25% chance to Avoid being Chilled Cannot be Frozen 8% reduced Mana Reserved

(Weapon) Rare Wand - with high Elemental DPS

Min. requirements: 300+ elemental DPS (highest Lightning if possible) 20% increased Attack Speed 20% increased Critical Strike Chance Optional affixes: Increased Critical Strike Multiplier Increased Elemental Damage with Weapons

(Weapon) Piscator’s Vigil - a perfect DPS wand, especially when combined with flat Damage added from Abyss Jewels

(35-39)% increased Spell Damage No Physical Damage (10-18)% increased Attack Speed +(340-400) to Accuracy Rating (20-30)% increased Critical Strike Chance Attacks with this Weapon have (100-115)% increased Elemental Damage Damage with Weapons Penetrates 5% Elemental Resistance

(Shield) Lycosidae - best shield for this build, which makes our attacks unavoidable, allowing to skip all accuracy on Tree and items

+(10-20) to maximum Life +(120-160) to Armour +(30-40) to maximum Life Your hits can't be Evaded +(3-5)% Chance to Block Adds 250 to 300 Cold Damage to Counterattacks

(Body Armour) Queen of the Forest - definitely the best in slot Body Armour, which provides Resistances, Life and a lot of Movement Speed

+(20-30) to maximum Life 40% increased Totem Damage +(80-100) to maximum Life Can have up to 1 additional Totem summoned at a time +300 Armour per active Totem Blood Magic

(Body Armour) Belly of the Beast - another great body armour, that grants a lot more defensive stats and health than QotF

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

(Boots) Rare Boots - get a pair with the highest maximum Life bonus you can afford

Min. requirements: 60 maximum Life 20% increased Movement Speed 25% Fire Resistance 25% Lightning Resistance 25% Cold Resistance

(Boots) Atziri's Step - one of the best in slot boots for this build. Like most of the other unique items, it lacks Elemental Resistances. Picking this pair will require you to invest much more in other items, to cap your Resistances

180% increased Evasion Rating +(55-75) to maximum Life 30% increased Movement Speed (14-16)% chance to Dodge Spell Damage

(Belt) Rare Belt - again, we try to grab one with the highest maximum life and elemental resistances bonuses

Min. requirements: 70 maximum Life 35% Fire Resistance 35% Lightning Resistance 35% Cold Resistance Optional affixes: increased Elemental Damage with Attack Skills

(Belt) Doryani's Invitation – another good belt, good for budget build, grants a bit of resistances and additional lightning damage

+(25-35) to Strength (20-30)% increased Lightning Damage +(300-350) to Armour +(30-35)% to Cold Resistance +(30-35)% to Fire Resistance 0.2% of Lightning Damage Leeched as Life 10% chance to Shock during any Flask Effect

(Amulet) Rare Amulet

Min. requirements: 60 maximum Life 15% All Elemental Resistances Adds min. 25 Lightning Damage to Attacks Optional affixes: Attributes increased Elemental Damage with Attack Skills increased Global Critical Strike Multiplier

(Ring) Rare Rings

Min. requirements: 60 maximum Life 15% All Elemental Resistances 25% increased Elemental Damage with Attack Skills Optional affixes: Attributes Attack Speed

(Gloves) Rare Gloves - crafted with Essence of Horror (for pseudo-5-link Kinetic Blast)

Min. requirements: Socketed Gems have +3.5% Critical Strike Chance 60 maximum Life 25% Fire resistance 25% Lightning resistance 25% Cold resistance Optional affixes: Attack Speed

(Gloves) Thunderfist - recommended option for the Gloves slot if you have enough Resistances on other gear. Gives the 5th link to Kinetic Blast setup and more damage to attacks

Socketed Gems are Supported by Level 18 Added Lightning Damage Adds 1 to 100 Lightning Damage to Attacks 10% increased Attack Speed +(25-30) to maximum Energy Shield 100% increased Shock Duration on Enemies 10% increased Stun Duration on Enemies

(Jewel) Rare Jewels - they should provide extra Life and damage bonuses

Recommended affixes: increased maximum Life increased Lightning/Projectile Damage increased Attack Speed Optional affixes: increased Global Critical Strike Multiplier

(Jewel) Abyss Jewels - they should provide extra Life and damage bonuses

Recommended affixes: Maximum Life Added min. 50 Lightning Damage with Attacks/Wands Optional affixes: % increased Elemental Resistances  % increased Global Critical Strike Chance % increased Global Critical Strike Multiplier

(Flask) Dying Sun - the most important flask for this build, which adds additional projectiles for Kinetic Blast and Barrage

(-10-10)% increased Charges used (15-25)% increased Area of Effect during Flask Effect 2 additional Projectiles during Flask Effect

(Flask) Vessel of Vinktar - another important utility Flask, which provides Lightning Damage Life Leech, added Lightning Damage to attacks and Shocks nearby enemies

(80-100)% increased Charges used Shocks nearby Enemies during Flask effect, causing 10% increased Damage taken You are Shocked during Flask effect, causing 50% increased Damage taken Adds (25-35) to (110-130) Lightning Damage to Attacks during Flask effect 20% of Lightning Damage Leeched as Life during Flask effect

Other suggested Flasks: Bubbling Divine Life Flask of Staunching (immunity to Bleeding) Chemist’s Stibnite Flask of Adrenaline (for more Evasion and Movement Speed) Chemist’s Jade Flask of Reflexes (more Evasion = more 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.