Path of Exile Gems PoE Builds, PoE Currency guide and other guides
Intro & build description
HoWA stands for Hand of Wisdom and Action. It is unique claw that makes this build possible, hence the name of the build. This build is impossible without these 2 claws. Clear speed is insane, you obliterate everything in your path. What makes these claws so strong is the more intelligence we get, the more damage per hit we do since every 10 intelligence we get, we have another 1-6 added lightning damage to our attacks. This damage is further scaled by jewels and gear.
Build Pros
- Doesn't cost much to get started
- Leveling is peace of cake if done right
- Very safe since Spectral Throw is ranged skill
- High damage with average gear
- 2-3 ex gear can kill Shaper
- One of the most, if not the most powerful builds there are at the moment
- Insane clear and movement speed
Build Cons
- Good gear is expensive
- We need Intelligence on every piece of gear
Passive tree(s) and Path of Building
Full buildBandits
| Bandits Quest Choice |
| Kill all bandits |
Ascendancy skill points
| Labyrinths | Skill point choice |
|---|---|
| Labyrinth 1 | Way of the Poacher |
| Labyrinth 2 | Avatar of the Slaughter |
| Labyrinth 3 | Quartz Infusion |
| Endgame Labyrinth | Avatar of the Veil |
Skill gem setup
Helm
Summon Lightning Golem
Increased Duration Support
Vaal Haste
Vaal Discipline
Body Armor
Spectral Throw
Weapon Elemental Damage Support
Greater Multiple or Slower Projectiles Support
Added Lightning Damage Support
Elemental Focus Support
Lightning Penetration Support
Gloves
Cast When Damage Taken Support
Immortal Call
Enfeeble
Increased Durtion Support
Boots
Discipline
Wrath
Enlighten Support
Purity of Elements
2h Weapon
None
1h Weapon
Whirling Blades
Faster Attacks Support
Fortify Support
Offhand weapon / shield
Flame Dash
Faster Casting
Build uniques / Example rare gear
Tip: Click on the item to view it on PoE Wiki or to view similar rare items in poe.tradeBody Armour
Vaal RegaliaLook for chest with at least 600+ Energy Shield and resistances since it is hard to cap on other pieces of gear.
Left Ring
Two-Stone RIngRings will help you to cap resistances, get as much resistances as possible.
Right Ring
Two-Stone RIngIntelligence, dexterity, resistances. Try to get rings with high resistances.
Amulet
AstramentisAstramentis is best in slot item for HoWA build since it offers huge amount of stats. You could use a rare amulet with Intelligence and Weapon Elemental Damage until you can afford Astramentis.
Belt
Crystal BeltTry to get belt with WED, Intelligence and resistances. It can get very pricey if you look for all of these stats.
1Hand Weapon
Hand of Wisdom and ActionThis is must have item, nothing to say here. Build doesn’t work without HoWA.
1Hand Weapon
Hand of Wisdom and ActionJewel
Fertile MindWe will need 2 of these. Place them in sockets which are close to dexterity to transform dex to int.
Can this do HC?
You can but it can be tricky getting required gear (Not recommended as 1st char in HC)
Passive tree is bugged/incomplete…
The tree is updated and now is working as intended.
Which direction in the passive tree should you go in while leveling?
I would suggest picking up Forces of Nature, Primeval Force and heading up for witch tree. Using elemental cleave worked great for me.
Why the Divine mana flask? wouldnt a mana flask that lasts longer be better?
It could be, the gear setup here might not always be the most efficient, It’s what we are using and having good results with, feel free to change it up as it fits you. 🙂
What do you think about Ylfeban’s Trickery helmet ? Seems pretty fun…
Haven’t tested it, but you can give it a shot, seems like a pretty good option.
I saw that you wrote ” Leveling is Peace a cake ” how do I level up this build ? with what and what gems to begin with ?
You can use 2-hand weapon and Spectral throw with support gems described in build guide, usually that works well. Pick up Shiversting unique sword for cheap and you should be good for a while, after that just get weapons with higher dps while you level until you can afford HoWA.
Split Arrow > Blast Rain is a good way to level. Everything die pretty fast and you just have to upgrade your bow every 20 level (use essences). Look for Physical/Elemental damage with attacks on every gear you can and some life/res and it’s a cakewalk.
How can you reserve all that mana with only an enlighten Oo ?
^ Id also like to know that, without buying a lvl 4 enlighten, there’s no room for to get the Charisma node… I’m stuck. 🙁
There was a mistake in tree, you have to get Charisma for the reservation.
How do you get endurance charges for Immortal Call??
You don’t – immortal call procs without them for very short time but can save you from big hits.
How does this build gain Frenzy Charges?
Build gains Frenzy Charges using Ascendancy skill Way of The Poacher.
How do you deal with stuns?
I’m sorry, didn’t see unwavering stance
is there a jewel missing? 3 jewels listed but 4 slots on tree?
You can use any rare jewel that scales your build’s damage or survivability.
tyvm, I was thinking that but wasn’t sure
Good build/tree but I saw a top rank player took Point Blank on tree (only 1 point needed, take the lower path at lower right), he says it boosts his single target dps and even clearspeed, as only the returning spectrals get lesser dmg, but your initial ones do more, which is significant.
I will roll this on hardcore now.
What off hand do you use in this build?
We use 2 Hand of Wisdom of Action, each in one hand.
Does this build require a lvl 4 enlighten to work or is a level 2/3 enough?
With an enlighten lvl3 and the Warth reservation enchantement on helmet mana will be okay
I have to deny that lvl 3 enlighten + wrath helm enchats works for mana if u use the sockets like wrath-purity of elements-discipline the gems will reserve 39%-32%-32% resulting in a total of 103% reserved mana so dont spend your currency
Well i’m doing this build, and this works for me, with Charisma node, and there’s a 4% reduced mana reserved next to CI node, it’s more than enough.
I’m doing this build on Legacy, and I’m having a lot of trouble with mana, what did you do to get around the mana problem? Or is just the 0.4% from the passive tree and the mana potion enough to remedy this issue?
Yes, 0.4% + mana potion is more than enough. Make sure you have allocated points in Charisma passive skill near Vaal pact to reduce mana reserved for auras.
I have some mana regen/leech issue leveling this build. Any recommendations?
Using 2 mana flasks while leveling is more than enough to solve this problem.
I Screwd Up do you think its worth to reroll i missed the 2 frenzy charges from the Bandits =(
You can get only 1 Frenzy from bandit – in Merciless. Consider doing this http://pathofexile.gamepedia.com/Book_of_Reform_(Kraityn) .
Can you explain the choice of Rumis? The flask
It’s a great flask, gives you armor and chance to block, what’s not to love?
i think i optimized the build a little bit 😀 +20 intel on fertile mind if you take the jewel slot by vaal pact insted of shadow
What you think of using Valyrium ring instead of wasting 7 points to reach Unwavering Stance?
These 7 points we can spend on increased es% (Unnatural Calm circle will give us +48% increased ES and +1% max light resistance, which is also good for our reflect lightning dmg)
Used this more like a “Guideline”
Switched in 3rd Fertile Mind (left to Vaal Pact) for 80 extra int.
Also skilled Point Blank because it won’t affect ur clearspeed (it’s still fukkn rediculous) and got 50% more BossDpS coz Slower Proj.
Switch Added Lightning for Faster Attacks and u will just destroy the Game.
Also switched Rumi’s Concoction with Dying Sun in addition to Point Blank -> Bosses just get deleted.
Yes, these guides are mostly intended as guidelines with room to add in your own things.
Glad you are doing well!
Question about one of the “Off-hand” gem set-up:
– There are only 2 gems listed in this weapon and it can have a total of 3? Is there a missing gem here? Would it be viable to use blood rage for increased DPS or was there already another gem there that got missed by mistake?
Thanks,
3rd slot is for you to decide what to put in. Either leveling new gem, or you can carry slower projectiles gem inside to swap GMP for slower proj. on boss fights. I wouldn’t suggest blood rage, we generate frenzy charges from ascendency. few % increased attack speed alone isn’t worth it, at least in my opinion.
I noticed the off-hand weapon only lists two gems in it but it has a max of 3. Is this a typo and should there be a 3rd gem there? If not, would blood rage be a good skill to use for increased dps?
Thanks!
3rd slot is for you to decide what to put in. Either leveling new gem, or you can carry slower projectiles gem inside to swap GMP for slower proj. on boss fights. I wouldn’t suggests blood rage, we generate frenzy charges from ascendency. few % increased attack speed alone isn’t worth it, at least in my opinon.
You also can put an enduring cry, to generate some endu charges.
yes i use both enduring cry (for lab/trials mostly) and decoy totem on HC, just to be super safe vs bosses/high mutliple essence mobs (some combinations can wreck you hard)/invasion bosses/exiles/abaxoth etc. most die quick but there can be the one that gets you otherwise.
put a decoy totem first and you are safe.
Actually my char has 8k ES and 29k DPS on ST with no buff.
I can’t do SHIT against the Shaper. Hit him during like 15mn, his life doesn’t even go down for like 1% (I’m 108k DPS full buff).
My build is actually 60/70 ex worth, got 1100 intelligence and 450 dexterity. Explain me how it can be shaper viable with 3 ex Oo ?
Do you have %Weapon elemental damage on your rings and amulets? That should scale the damage immensely. What levels are your gems, do you have quality on them? And what level are you?
22 and 31 on ring, can’t have on amulet I have an Astramentis (107).
My gems are mostly 20 with 20% quality. Playing 6 link with :
Spectral Throw > GMP > Elemental Focus > Added lighning damage > Weapon elemental damage > Faster Attacks.
Did you swap GMP for Slower Projectiles on boss killing? That can make a huge difference, also, have you considered using Lightning Penetration? It’s insanely strong vs bosses because they have some innate lightning resistance (Shaper resists elemental damage for example, so Lightning Penetration would be one of the best gems for killing him).
I’ll try it.
Lightning pen is really powerful against high resistances bosses. I’m destroying the Shaper Gardians right now (Except the Hydra… The Monstruous Hydra… The Ravenous Hydra… Omg this boss is sick…).
How about Valyrium ring instead of wasting 7 points to reach Unwavering Stance?
These seven points we can spend on increased es% (Unnatural Calm circle will give us +48% increased ES and +1% max light resistance, which is also good for our reflect lightning dmg)
You can do that, but personally I prefer stun immunity when playing CI because there is no way to quickly regain ES as it is with life and instant recovery flasks. If Valyrium works for you, definitely go for it 🙂
Can this face tank mostly everything?
That is not highly recommended, but with Vinktar up you are extremely hard to kill, yep 🙂
With 8k ES you can Facetank :
The Minotaure
The Phenix (Dodge his obvious easy to dodge spells, like the discharge)
The Chimera
Esh, Tul, Zoph and Ul’Netol
The Pale Court
Uber Izaro (Avoid the most obvious hit, and don’t try to facetank it at maximum charges)
Every map bosses from tiers 1 to 15 (Maybe few affixes combination can be impossible to facetank, but doable with few dodges)
Every Beyond Bosses (even Abaxoth on a Tiers 15 map, pretty insane btw)
You CAN’T handle the Hydra at all and it’s a REAL struggle to fight it.
And obviously you can’t facetank the Shaper (but can a build even do it ?)
Nevermind. You CAN facetank the Shaper with Slower projectile and Faster Attack…
BTW Uber Atziri seems to be a problem with that build, can’t kill her ATM, still trying…
For non-major bosses (ie. shaper / Izaro / etc) do you think faster attacks is more dps than lightning penetration? Or is it not worth it to have to swap colors and using LP at all times is the best dps?
Thanks
The best set up so far is Spectral Throw / Elemental Focus / Slower Projectile (and GMP for cleaning) / Faster Attacks / Lightning Pen / Weapon elemental damage.
Faster Attacks is just insane, better than Added Lightning damage.
Do you have to run an enlighten 4? Kind of pricey..
Ideally yes, but you can drop purity of elements and get some more resists on your gear.
With Enlighten level 3 and the Charisma node you can go for Artic Armour which is pretty cool for facetanking.
Having a little trouble with mana upkeep. Running enlighten 3 with charisma and the 4% near CI, also 2% jewel but i have enough for 1 cast ST. Yes as long as its hitting things Im fine but single target I start to go oom and im like studder stepping every other cast because of no mana. How do I fix this problem?
To solve this I got more res on my gear and ditched purity of elements. Ideally you should have lvl 4 enlighten for the full setup but that can be a little expensive.
by the way you can easily save 1 point on your tree:
http://i.imgur.com/TbFihcS.png
choosing the way near Vaal Pact:
-20 dex, but +10 str.
P.S. 25 dex gives us +2% attack speed from claws, but it’s not worth 1 point, right?
with saved point we can anyway take +30 dex node or +4% attack speed, to compensate.
Or to any other needs.
Well the first dexterity point is linked to a +30 Intelligence node, witch is just godlike on the build.
Well yeah, as well as second dex point connected to Void Barrier circle – so that path can lead to some tasty nodes.
Anyway for those who wants to save 1-2 points for some reasons – it can be saved here, just for information.
What about Atziri’s Splendour for chest ?
ES+Resist and it help with mana problems
I’d still go for rare Vaal Regalia with + to max intelligence since there were no mana problems for me when playing this build.
Whats best a 5 link with high ES or a 6 link with low ES?
I’d go for 6link always – it’s not very hard to roll decently high ES on white chest armor anyways and the 6th link gives great boost to your damage.
yeah but just WHITE Vaal Regalia 6linked cost around 4-5 exalted orbs
6-link Regalia is a luxury, but 4-5 ex can easily be made in a week tops by just running maps.
How? I play the game a lot. I rarely find exalts and the gear I find is rarely 1 chaos worth :/ I found 5 ex in the breach league in 3 months. And some chaos which would be 3 ex worth if sold.
well in legacy league I bought my 6-linked 630es armor for 100 chaoses + 300 fusings + 50 chisels.
It wasn’t very eeasy – i offered my price to 20-30 traders, and 1 agreed = profit)
how do you kill uber atziri? She just face rolled me, I have 10.6k ES, max res and no buffs but auras and golem, my ST with slower projectiles does 67k. Anyone have any help to offer?
The fight is really really hard. You have to dodge a lot, to be really careful and this is quite a pain to kill her. If, like me, you are a little bit laggy when the shit got real (flameblast and other spells) Uber Atziri will be a real pain.
The Shaper is far easier. You can easily facetank him in the 2 first phases, and all in the last part.
whats is dps with gmp on this build?
how can i get the wing in animation of spectral throw?
You have to buy microtransaction “Seraph Spectral Throw” in store.
How often does elemental overload proc? It’s hard for me to tell, but I only have 6% crit chance. Is it really worth it?
Personally I found it worth, procced often enough to be useful.
Why are you taking low life? what gear benefits from having 1 hp?
This is CI, low life is having life reserved with auras for example. CI is far superior to life in this meta, hence the choice.
I was thinking of replacing faster casting for flame dash with vaal clarity. Since using three aura kinda cut back a lot mana.
so how do i use wrath then if im using the 2 auras?
help me