Storm Rain and Lightning Arrow
Deadeye Build

Updated for Patch 3.16

The Best Crafty Guides by Odealo

Estimated budget: very high

Storm Rain and Lightning Arrow are very similar Attacks - with both you use a Bow to fire Lighting Projectiles. Lightning Arrow is a pretty basic Attack that deals Converted from Physical Lightning Damage and can Hit enemies nearby its target. The effect of the Shock it causes is significantly improved and constant making your damage 300% more effective. Storm Rain on the other hand sticks your arrows in the ground so that they can deal damage constantly - similarly to Toxic Rain, but of course with noticeable differences. These arrows deal Lightning Damage with constantly repeating beams between them and other arrows. That's why you want a lot of these arrows to be active at one time. You can achieve it with a lot of Attack Speed and by using Ballista Totems.

What makes this build unique is the usage of Damage Conversion and Adding more Damage from your Unique Body Armour. You convert your Physical Damage to Lightning, then to Cold, and then to Chaos. Now as you increase your Elemental, Physical, or Chaos Damage it will have an impact on your damage output, which comes in form of mostly Chaos and some Cold Damage. Your Skills automatically convert a portion of your Physical Damage to Lightning. Voltaxic Rift converts the Lightning damage to Chaos and Call of the Brotherhood to Cold. The Eternity Shroud makes you gain Elemental Damage as Chaos Damage at a rate of 5% per Equipped Shaper-influenced item. When all your Items are Shaped you ignore Chaos Resistance completely. With all 10 such gear pieces, you deal 50% of your Total Damage (which is entirely Elemental or Chaos by now) as Chaos Damage.

It's not a very tanky build but it has still a decent survival rate as you can kill all the bosses in seconds - the exceptions are bosses that can quickly dash from place to place like Sirus, requiring you to start placing Ballista Totems all over again to stack Storm Rain at a new place. You can get 3 to 5k of Maximum Life with moderate Evasion and Spell Suppression Chance. The build is expensive because to reach its full potential all your items have to be Shaped - even the Unique ones. The price of such items can get very high.

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

1. Gameplay

Use Lightning Arrow with Mirage Archer Support to deal with the enemies encountered through the map. Use Dash for mobility, Blood Rage to enhance your performance, and Steelskin as your Guard Spell. For Mana-Reserving Spells, it is recommended to use Wrath, Precision, and Herald of Thunder. Your Asenath's Chant should automatically cast Hydrosphere, Creeping Frost, and Sniper's or Assassin's Mark. During Boss fights use Storm Rain with Ballista Totems for extra damage.

Full gameplay video:   This video was recorded on a level 94 Deadeye with full Shaper equipment. It was presumably the most expensive build we ever made, but at the same time offered simply insane single-target DPS for a Deadeye/Bow Build

2. Build's PROS & CONS

3. Leveling tips

Start with Lightning Arrow, it's available at level 12. It will convert half of your Physical Damage to Lightning. From this point on you can use this Skill alone to reach Red maps. Use gear that improves your Physical and Lightning Damage, Attack Speed, Accuracy Rating, and Critical Strike Chance. Remember to have your Resistances and Maximum Life relatively high at all times. You can use Essences of Spite on Bow, Essence of Torment on Gloves, Jewelry, or Quiver, or Essence of Wrath.

Suggested leveling Gem setups:

Lightning Arrow setup
	Lightning Arrow - an Attack you can use with Bows, with a few more projectiles it has a decent clear speed as it targets nearby enemies too
	Volley Support - fires two additional arrows, one on each side of your main Projectile
	Added Lightning Damage Support - Adds Lightning Damage to your Attacks and Spells
	Inspiration Support - you deal more Elemental Damage and your Crit Chance is increased while the Mana Cost of linked Skills is reduced

Aura setup
	Precision - keep it at a low level so it won't affect your Mana Pool too much, it increases your Crit Chance
	Herald of Thunder - Adds Lightning Damage to your Attacks, increases your Lightning Damage, and creates Storms that hit enemies periodically

Curse and Mobility setup
	Conductivity - use it to lower the Lightning Resistance of your opponents
	Dash - a basic Movement Skill

Bandits:

Two Additional Passive Skill Points seems like the best option for this build

Leveling Skill Trees:

31 Points Skill Tree
look for Projectile Damage, Elemental Damage, Maximum Life, and Bow Damage

63 Points Skill Tree
Get more Life, Elemental and Projectile Damage, Accuracy Rating, and a source for Mana and Life leech

Recommended leveling items:

Quill Rain - one of the best Unique Bows for leveling

+(10-20) to Dexterity 100% increased Physical Damage 100% increased Attack Speed +2 Mana gained for each Enemy hit by Attacks (50-100)% increased Projectile Speed +(25-50) to Accuracy Rating 30% less Damage

The Tempest - a Bow that deals exclusively Lightning Damage making it good under certain circumstances

No Physical Damage 100% increased Lightning Damage Adds 1 to 85 Lightning Damage (36-50)% increased Attack Speed

Call of the Brotherhood - it requires only level 20 and will be used in the final version of the build, but it's good for leveling as well

+(12-16)% to Cold and Lightning Resistances+(15-25) to Intelligence (15-25)% increased Lightning Damage (30-40)% increased Mana Regeneration Rate 40% of Lightning Damage Converted to Cold Damage Your spells have 100% chance to Shock against Frozen Enemies

Goldrim - one of the best unique leveling helmets, it gives a lot of Elemental 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 - a Body Armour that allows you to connect any six Gems

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

4. Final Skill Tree, Ascendancy Points, and Pantheon

Final Skill Tree:

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

Ascendancy points:

Preferably in that order:

1. Ricochet
2. Endless Munitions
3. Gathering Winds
4. Focal Point

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 Shakari for You cannot be Poisoned while there are at least 3 Poisons on you; 50% less Duration of Poisons on You and additional Chaos Damage mitigation

5. Final Gems links

[DPS] Lightning Arrow setup
	Lightning Arrow - Lightning Arrow strikes a group of enemies with Lightning and it's used for clearing maps and for boss fights.
	Mirage Archer Support - Mirage Archer follows you and repeats the Linked Attacks with less Damage and Frequency
	Elemental Damage with Attacks Support - increases your Elemental Damage with Attack Skills
	Inspiration Support - reduces your Mana Cost of Skill, increases Critical Strike Chance, and Elemental Damage of the Skill if you're constantly using it
	Added Lightning Damage Support - adds flat Lightning Damage to your Lightning Arrow
	Chain Support - with Chain and Hydrosphere your can clear maps really fast even without Support Gems for additional Arrows

[DPS] Storm Rain setup
	Storm Rain - It fires an Arrow that lands in the ground and constantly deal damage with up to 4 Lightning Beams that can occur every 0.4 seconds between any two Arrows. The quantity of these projectiles is very impactful.
	Concentrated Effect Support - You will need this additional damage much more than AoE. Less Aoe in fact means less projectile spread and more damage.
	Withering Touch Support - Hits with Linked Skills will apply Withered Debuff that can stack up to 20 increasing Chaos Damage received
	Ballista Totem Support - Storm Rain won't be fired by you but by your Ballista Totems, up to four of them can be active
	Focused Ballista Support - grants your Totems More Attack Speed, increased Totem Placement Speed, and the ability to fire only when you use another Projectile Attack
	Added Lightning Damage Support

[UTILITY] various Spells (socketed in Asenath's Chant)
	Sniper's Mark - It increases Projectile Damage and makes them Split after Hitting Cursed Enemy. You can replace it with  Assassin's Mark for more Crit. Chance, Crit. Multiplier, Mana, Life, and Power Charges ok Kill
	Hydrosphere - A Sphere that you can Hit. Your Arrow Chains off of it while the Hydrosphere will apply Drenched Debuf applying Exposure and dealing Cold Damage.
	Creeping Frost - Projectiles deal Cold Damage and create a Chilling Area that slows down enemies
	Innervate Support - grants you an Innervate Buff that adds Lightning Damage to your Attacks. Requires you to have a Voltaxic Rift - your  Chaos Damage have to cause Shock

[UTILITY] Mana Reservation setup
	Precision - An Aura for More Accuracy and Critical Strike Chance
	Wrath - Gives your Attacks an Additional Lightning Damage
	Herald of Thunder - Additional and Increased Lightning Damage. It creates Storms which Hits Enemies dealing Lightning Damage
	Enlighten Support - lowers the Reservation Cost of linked Spells

[UTILITY] Blood Rage setup
	Blood Rage - it deals damage over time to your character but gives you in return more Attack Speed, Life Leech, and Frenzy Charges on Kill
	Enhance Support - Doubles the Attack Speed bonus from Quality for Blood Rage

[MOBILITY] Dash
	Dash - a basic Mobility Skill that can be often replaced with similar ones

[UTILITY] Steelskin
	Steelskin - Guard Spells that makes you immune to Bleeding and more durable against Hits for a short duration

6. Gear Setup

It is absolutely required to have a Voltaxic Rift Unique Bow and The Eternity Shroud Unique Body Armour - it's the foundation of the Build. Other Unique Items are recommended but only as Shaper-influenced versions. All your Items have to be shaped or else you won't ignore all the Chaos Resistance which is a big deal and it's a very expensive build because of that. According to the flow of damage conversion, you should prioritize Lighting Damage over Cold Damage, and Cold Damage over Chaos Damage. Your base Physical Damage is not that high so you can afford to overlook it. Seek increased Elemental Damage, especially for Attacks as it will increase both - Cold and Lightning Damage. You won't need any Chaos Damage Penetration. Try to get close to the 100% Critical Strike Chance. As for Attributes, it can be difficult to get 155 Intelligence, you can resort to allocating it on Passive Skill Tree if necessary. 

Our recommended items will:

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

(Helmet) Shaped Asenath's Chant - it's not irreplaceable but insanely convenient, it provides you with mostly offensive mods and the ability to constantly cast linked Spells automatically

Trigger a Socketed Spell when you Attack with a Bow, with a 0.3 second Cooldown (10-15)% increased Attack Speed (10-15)% increased Cast Speed +(100-120) to maximum Energy Shield (30-40)% increased Stun and Block Recovery 30% increased Mana Regeneration Rate 5% increased Movement Speed

Helmet enchantments: Lightning Arrow enchantments Storm Rain enchantments

(Weapon) Shaped Voltaxic Rift - Voltaxic Rift has a high Lightning base Damage and low Physical one, so you don't have t worry about Physical to Lighting Conversion that much. It converts Lighting Damage to Chaos and allows you to Shock enemies with great efficiency.

Adds 1 to (275-325) Lightning Damage (10-15)% increased Attack Speed 60% of Lightning Damage Converted to Chaos Damage 10% chance to Shock Your Chaos Damage can Shock Shock Enemies as though dealing 300% more Damage Your Shocks can increase Damage taken by up to a maximum of 100%

(Weapon) Shaped Rare Quiver - Use Spike-Point Quiver for Crit Chance or Altilerry Quiver for faster Totem placement Speed. Get Life, Resistance, and increased Elemental Damage with Attacks.

Min. requirements: +60 to maximum Life +30% to Elemental Resistances 30% increased Elemental Damage with Attack Skills Optional affixes: Bow Attacks fire an additional Arrow increased Critical Strike Chance with Bows Critical Strike Multiplier with Bows increased Attack Speed

(Body Armour) The Eternity Shroud - Adds Chaos Damage based on your Elemental Damage depending on how many Shaper Items you have. If all Equipped Items are Shaped, which they should be, your Hits will ignore Chaos Resistance. The Glimpse of Eternity slows down Enemies around you after you receive a Hit. It's guaranteed to be Shaper-influenced.

Trigger Level 20 Glimpse of Eternity when Hit (100-150)% increased Evasion and Energy Shield +(70-100) to maximum Life +(17-23)% to Chaos Resistance Gain (3-5)% of Elemental Damage as Extra Chaos Damage per Shaper Item Equipped Hits ignore Enemy Monster Chaos Resistance if all Equipped Items are Shaper Items

(Boots) Shaped Rare Boots - Get a pair with Maximum Life, Elemental Resistances, and increased Movement Speed. You don't have to look for the Tailwind mod since it's provided by your Gathering Winds Keystone.

Min. requirements: +40 to maximum Life +40% to Elemental Resistances 30% increased Movement Speed Optional affixes: chance to gain Elusive on Critical Strike chance to gain Onslaught for 4 seconds on Kill Cannot be Frozen (crafted)

(Gloves) Shaped Rare Gloves - Life and Resistances are especially important here since all the other available affixes are mediocre

Min. requirements: 70 Maximum Life +70% to Elemental Resistances Optional affixes: Chaos Resistance increased Projectile Damage increased Critical Strike Chance Accuracy Rating

(Belt) Shaped Rare Belt - increased Elemental Damage with Attacks, Maximum Life, and Elemental Resistances are the mods to look for

Min. requirements: 70 Maximum Life +80% to Elemental Resistances 35% increased Elemental Damage with Attack Skills (crafted) Optional affixes: increased Elemental Damage increased Damage increased maximum Life

(Amulet) Shaped Rare Amulet - you should be interested in increased Crit. Chance and Multiplier, Added Lighting or Cold Damage, reduced Mana Cost of Skills, increased Elemental Damage with Attacks, and of course, Life and Resistances

Min. requirements: +50 to maximum Life +60% to Elemental Resistances Optional affixes: Adds Cold or Lightning Damage to Attacks increased Elemental Damage with Attack Skills increased Global Critical Strike Chance Intelligence Non-Channelling Skills have -7 to Total Mana Cost (crafted)

Recommended Anointments: Discipline and Training Divine Judgement

(Ring) Shaped Rare Ring - If don't have Shaped Asenath's Chant yet you should get a Ring with Curse on Hit, later to be replaced with one granting more useful stats such as increased Elemental damage, Life, or Resistances

Min. requirements: 50 Maximum Life +60% to Elemental Resistances Optional affixes: increased Elemental Damage with Attacks Accuracy Rating increased Attack Speed Intelligence Non-channeling Skills have -7 to Total Mana Cost (crafted) Adds Cold or Lightning Damage to Attacks

(Ring) Shaped Call of the Brotherhood - It's another layer of damage conversion that boost your damage, it also increases your Lightning Damage, grants you Intelligence, Mana Regeneration, and Resistances

+(12-16)% to Cold and Lightning Resistances +(15-25) to Intelligence (15-25)% increased Lightning Damage (30-40)% increased Mana Regeneration Rate 40% of Lightning Damage Converted to Cold Damage Your spells have 100% chance to Shock against Frozen Enemies

(Jewel) Rare Jewels - Look for Affixes with Maximum Life, Elemental Resistances, Attributes, or Bow-specific affixes

Recommended affixes: Maximum Life Critical Strike mods Elemental Resistances increased Lightning Damage Strength Intelligence Critical Strike Chance with Lightning Skills

(Jewel) Lethal Pride - put it next to Fervour Notable for the most optimized result - it grants you 2 or 4 Strength per small node and the Notable Passives can additionally get you more unique mods such as the chance to deal Double Damage

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

(Jewel) Watcher's Eye -  One of the most expensive, but impactful Jewels. Precision mods can give you Increased Attack Damage, Attack Speed, or Crit. Strike Multiplier. Wrath mods are good for increased Crit. Strike Chance or Lighting Damage. You can also use level one Vitality and have Life Gained with each Hit for rapid Life Regeneration.

(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 Jewels are completely optional, however, you can add them to the build for more damage, and Jewel Sockets

Recommended affixes: 1 Added Passive Skill is Disorienting Display 1 Added Passive Skill is Snowstorm 1 Added Passive Skill is Stormrider 1 Added Passive Skill is Wicked Pall

(Jewel) Medium Cluster Jewels - Pressure Points and Quick Gateway are the best options to increase your DPS

Recommended affixes: 1 Added Passive Skill is Pressure Points 1 Added Passive Skill is Quick Getaway

(Flask) Bottled Faith - one of the best Flasks to increase your DPS, you should definitely get it at some point

40% increased Damage Creates Consecrated Ground on Use (20-40)% increased 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) Atziri's Promise - adds more Chaos Damage based on your Elemental Damage, it also increases your Chaos Resistances and Life Leech

+35% to Chaos Resistance 2% of Chaos Damage Leeched as Life during Flask effect Gain (5-8)% of Physical Damage as Extra Chaos Damage during effect Gain (5-8)% of Elemental Damage as Extra Chaos Damage during effect

(Flask) Dying Sun - you fire two more Projectiles while taking less Fire Damage

+50% to Fire Resistance 20% less Fire Damage taken (125-150)% increased Charges per use (60-40)% less Duration (10-20)% increased Area of Effect during Flask Effect Skills fire 2 additional Projectiles during Flask Effect

Other suggested Flasks: Diamond Flask of Staunching for Bleed removal Life 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.