Trinity Molten Strike
Champion Build

Updated for Patch 3.21

The Best Crafty Guides by Odealo

Molten Strike is a Strike Attack that after a successful Hit creates a number of Projectiles, these explode immediately after being created dealing AoE Fire Damage. The Strike Damage is itself converted to deal Fire damage at 60%. With this build, however, things are more complicated as you will deal both - Fire and Lightning Damage, linked with Trinity Support to create Resonance stacks for an insane DPS boost. There is no need to focus entirely just on one type of Elemental Damage because that's not how you scale up the damage in this build, what you will have a lot of is the generic Attack Damage. The damage is multiplied by the Perseverance Unique Belt and Dreamfeather Unique Sword. The Belt increases your Attack Damage by 1% per 200 Armour or Evasion, whichever is lower and the weapon boosts your Attack Damage by 1% per 450 Evasion (or Armour if using Replica version, but Evasion is slightly better in this build because of Armour and Evasion Mastery). In this build, you are going to use both Determination and Grace Auras, with Defiance Banner, to give you easily over 70k of both Armour and Evasion. Not only those stats will make you very tanky, but they will grant approximately 700% increased Melee Attack Damage. This bonus will be applied to your regular weapon damage, but also the extra added damage you are going to gain from Wrath and Smite Auras, resulting in some insane DPS numbers at a very reasonable budget. 

Why Champion and not any other Ascendancy? Is a great defensive-oriented pick for any Attack Build. It grants you permanent 20 stacks of Fortify, a lot of Armour, Adrenaline, and free Banner with increased effect of Skill Auras. It's not a Crit build, but you will need more Accuracy than Maximum Life as you have to allocate the new Keystone - Precise Technique, which grants you 40% more Attack Damage. The defences are obviously very high as your Chance to Evade is 90%, the same as your Physical Damage mitigation with additional Fortify, Adrenaline, and some Block and Spell Suppression Chance. Your Life oscillates around 4k-5k which should be more than enough given your stats - if you pay attention to ground/dot effects, that is.

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

1. Gameplay

Despite it being a Melee Strike build it's not that bad at clearing maps as you focus more on the Projectile Damage rather than a Strike itself. With additional targeting for Strike Skills and an increased Strike Range, it works quite well. Use Smite - after using it grants you an Aura Buff for increased Attack Speed and added Lightning Damage. To grant yourself more Buffs use Ancestral Cry - it provides you Armour and increased Strike Range - both immensely useful. There is also a Buff from Ancestral Protector Totem for more Attack Speed you can take advantage of. For other Passive Buffs, you should get a Defiance Banner for increased Aura and Evasion, Grace, Determination, Blood and Sand, Wrath, Precision, and Molten Shell as the Guard Spell. During boss fights use Wave of Conviction, Flame Wall, and Sniper's Mark - all linked to Arcanist Brand. You should have some space left for your mobility skill - Leap Slam is the recommended one thanks to your very high Attack Speed. 

This video was recorded on level 93 Champion with approximately 105k Armour and Evasion each when fully buffed in Patch 3.19 - the updated video should follow up soon

2. Build's PROS & CONS

3. Leveling tips

You can safely start with Molten Strike with a focus on Fire Damage, pick the two Fire Clusters, and pick up the Point Blank and Call to Arms Keystones. Equip Perseverance at level 78 - it is one of the highest level restrictions, but until then you should still play the build relatively in the same fashion. Dreamfeather will boost your damage at the final stretch before you're able to put the belt on, the weapon requires level 66. Molten Strike Damage can be increased by Melee, Attack, Elemental, Fire, and Projectile Damage so it will be easy to find some of the more relevant mods on rare items.

Suggested leveling Gem setups:

Totem setup
	Molten Strike - a Strike Skill you can use since level 1, it's good to level with if it's linked to an Ancestral Call Support
	Ruthless Support - makes every third Melee Attack more powerful
	Ancestral Call Support - Strike Skills targes additional enemies
	Added Fire Damage Support - adds Fire Damage based on your Physical Damage

Auras setup
	Anger - adds flat Fire Damage to your Attacks and Spells increasing your damage
	Herald of Ash - great for Physical to Fire conversion builds, it increases your damage and the speed at which you kill enemies

Curses and Leap Slam setup
	Leap Slam - it's a good mobility Skill
	Faster Attacks Support - you can use Leap Slam more often
	Flammability - a Curse to lowers Fire Resistance

Bandits:

Kill all three bandits for two additional Skill Points

Leveling Skill Trees:

27 Points Passive Tree
Go get the Fire Mastery to convert the remaining 40% of Physical Damage to Fire, Tribal Fury, and Golem's Blood
 

68 Points Passive Tree
Allocate Point Blank and Graceful Assault, Call to Arms and some Maximum Life, you have access to Precise Technique, but allocate it only when you meet its condition of having more Accuracy than Life

Recommended leveling items:

Le Heup of All - use this ring for more Damage with Attacks, 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 used mainly for its 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 - useful for levelling most attack builds

+(25-35) to Strength +25 to Strength Adds 10 to 20 Physical Damage to Attacks 10% increased maximum Life +(10-20)% to Cold Resistance 25% increased Flask Life Recovery rate

The Ignomon - cheap Amulet for levelling Attack / Fire Damage builds

(12-20)% increased Rarity of Items found 20% increased Light Radius Adds (18-24) to (32-40) Fire Damage to Attacks +(100-150) to Accuracy Rating +(100-150) to Evasion Rating +20% to Fire Resistance Nearby Enemies are Blinded

Redbeak - one of the best low-level Swords

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

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. Unstoppable Hero
2. Fortitude
3. Inspirational
4. First to Strike, Last to Fall

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 Abberath: 60% less Duration of Ignite on You

5. Final Gems links

[UTILITY] Molten Strike setup
	Molten Strike - the main and only damaging ability, it should deal mixed damage to activate Trinity's Resonance mechanics. By increasing the number of targets you Strike, you multiply the number of your Molten Balls for better clear speed and Boss DPS
	Multistrike Support - allows you to repeat an attack with increased Attack Speed for more DPS
	Elemental Damage with Attacks Support - use it for increased Elemental Damage with Attacks
	Trinity Support - Resonances grant you increased Elemental Damage and Elemental Damage Penetration as long as your highest type of damage is not of the same Element for an extended period of time
	Slower Projectiles Support  - projectiles deal more Damage but are slower. They also "fall" closer to your target, which is a massive DPS buff against Bosses
	Greater Multiple Projectiles Support - increases the number of Projectiles

[UTILITY] Ancestral Totem setup
	Ancestral Protector - Totem that grants you more Attack Speed
	Culling Strike Support - enemies below 10% of their Maximum Life are killed when Hit by the linked Attack

[MOBILITY] Leap Slam setup
	Leap Slam - one of the best movement Skills which allows you to jump and move faster
	Faster Attacks Support - increases the Attack Speed of Leap Slam

[UTILITY] Aura setup (Socketed in Helmet with Increased Reservation Efficiency)
	Wrath - adds Lightning Damage to your Attacks so that you can create Resonance Stacks with ease
	Precision - increases your Accuracy Rating and Critical Strike Chance. Another mandatory Aura if you want to benefit from Precise Technique Passive
	Determination - use for increased and additional Armour. A mandatory Aura for this build
	Grace - use for increased and additional Evasion Rating. Just like Determination, it's mandatory to have it activated at all times

[UTILITY] Arcanist Brand setup
	Arcanist Brand - Arcanist Brand will trigger all the linked Spells while being attached to an enemy
	Wave of Conviction - applies Exposure reducing the Elemental Resistance of your targets
	Flame Wall - enhances your Projectiles to deal additional Fire Damage as these pass through the Flame Wall
	Sniper's Mark - Cursed enemies take increased Projectile Damage, Life and Mana Flask Charges on Kill, and it gives you the ability to Split Projectiles on Hit

[UTILITY] Smite and Warcry setup
	Smite - Smite grants you an Aura on Hit, it increases your Attack Speed, Chance to Shock, and adds Lightning Damage to Attacks
	Ancestral Cry - Grants you increased Armour, Melee Strike Range, and Exerts your Attack. Your next 8 Strikes will target two additional enemies.
	Increased Duration Support - the Effect Duration of all linked Skill is increased

[UTILITY] Molten Shell
	Molten Shell - it's a Guard Spell that is more effective the more Armour you have. If you can afford the Anomalous version, it can absorb as much as 15k of incoming damage (!!)

[UTILITY] Defiance Banner
	Defiance Banner - increases your Evasion and Armour while reducing enemies' chance to Critically Strike. A must-have skill in this build

[UTILITY] Blood and Sand
	Blood and Sand - you have more AoE and less Area Damage in Sand Stance, and more Area Damage with less AoE in Blood Stance

6. Gear Setup

Your primary focus is Armour and Evasion Rating - none of these should be too low in comparison to the other. Your Auras are the main source of these stats, but you can still get more from the gear. There are a few Uniques that are mandatory, you Rings, Amulet, and Gloves should provide the Resistances and other necessary stats and Attributes. Flat Added Elemental damage to Attacks is good to have because of the massive damage multiplier this build offers, other than that look for extra Accuracy Rating, and Maximum Life.

Our recommended items will:

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

(Helmet) Alpha's Howl - Undeniably the best Unique Helmet to socket your Auras in. It increases the Aura Level, grants Evasion Rating, Mana Reservation Efficiency, and Freeze immunity.

+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 16% increased Mana Reservation Efficiency of Skills

Helmet enchantments: Molten Strike fires # additional Projectiles

(Weapon) Dreamfeather - one of the Core items, all the stats here are great, especially the increased Attack Damage per Evasion Rating

+475 to Accuracy Rating Adds (30-50) to (65-80) Physical Damage (20-25)% increased Attack Speed +(180-200) to Evasion Rating 3% increased Movement Speed +(280-300) to Accuracy Rating 1% increased Attack Damage per 450 Evasion Rating

(Weapon) Paradoxica - the second Sword you will dual-wield, you should seek the mods for Elemental Penetration, Attack Speed and Accuracy Rating

+25% to Global Critical Strike Multiplier Attacks with this Weapon deal Double Damage Veiled Prefix Veiled Suffix

(Body Armour) Daresso's Defiance - it's an optional Body Armour you can use for its Life Leech, Endurance Charges, and Onslaught Effect. It also has very decent base Evasion and Armour Rating, making it a perfect fit here

(180-220)% increased Armour and Evasion +(60-90) to maximum Life 2% of Physical Attack Damage Leeched as Life You lose all Endurance Charges when Hit You gain an Endurance Charge on Kill You gain Onslaught for 5 seconds per Endurance Charge when Hit 100% increased Onslaught Effect

(Body Armour) Rare Body Armour - If you have a copy with Life, Resistances, and increased effect of Non-Curse Auras such as Grace and Determination, it should be better than Daresso's Defiance (but also, considerably more expensive)

Min. requirements: +100 to maximum Life +50% to Elemental Resistances 16% increased effect of Non-Curse Auras from your Skills Optional affixes: increased Armour increased Evasion Rating increased Maximum Life You can apply an additional Curse

(Boots) Atziri's Step - Atziri's Step are great - they give you a lot of Evasion Rating, Spell Suppression Chance, and are very cheap

180% increased Evasion Rating +(55-75) to maximum Life 30% increased Movement Speed +(20-26)% chance to Suppress Spell Damage

(Gloves) Rare Gloves - being able to target more enemies with your Strike Skills is the best mod here, but the regular defences and Accuray will do

Min. requirements: Strike Skills target 1 additional nearby Enemies +40% to Elemental Resistances + 300 Accuracy Rating Optional affixes: increased Attack Speed Maximum Life

(Belt) Perseverance - it's a core element of the build, it grants you a lot of Attack Damage and a permanent Onslaught

+(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) Rare Amulet - Maximum Life, Elemental Resistances, and some other stats such as Accuracy Rating and increased Elemental Damage are what you should look for

Min. requirements: +80% to Elemental Resistances +60 to Maximum Life Optional affixes: increased Elemental Damage with Attack Skills Attributes Accuracy Rating Attack Speed

Recommended Anointments: Panopticon Juggernaut Reflexes

(Ring) Rare Ring - It's a similar case to the amulet, there are no specific mods to seek, just the regular defensive stats and some both the offensive ones

Min. requirements: +80% to Elemental Resistances +60 to Maximum Life Added Fire or Lightning Damage to Attacks Optional affixes: increased Elemental Damage with Attack Skills Accuracy Rating Attack Speed

(Jewel) Rare Jewels - get the missing stats and attributes, and increased Maximum Life

Recommended affixes: increased maximum Life Attack Speed Elemental Resistances increased Projectile Damage increased Damage with Swords increased Damage with One-Handed Weapons

(Jewel) Watcher's Eye - Lightning Damage Penetration and increased Attack Damage from Precision are good, but you can also get the additional Armour from Determination

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

Suggested Flasks: Quicksilver Flask with Bleeding immunity/removal Life Flask with random ailment removal Granite Flask of the Pangolin for Armour Jade Flask of the Antelope for Evasion Rating Basalt Flask with random ailment removal and Armour

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.