Intro & build description
After 3.2, Chieftain ascendancy changes made Ngamahu’s Flame synergize extremely well with the Chieftain ascendancy. By choosing Chieftain ascendancy, we remove the need for Xoph’s Blood and open up the amulet slot for amulets with more damage / different build variations. The build is pretty tanky yet deals tons of damage.
Build Pros
- Cheap to gear, yet has very high damage potential with more currency invested in it
- Tanky
- Very flexible in gear choices
- Good boss killer and map farmer
Build Cons
- Elemental reflect is a no-go
Passive tree(s) and Path of Building
Skill Tree [117 points]Bandits
Bandits Quest Choice |
Kill all bandits |
Ascendancy skill points
Labyrinths | Skill point choice |
---|---|
Labyrinth 1 | Ngamahu, Flame's Advance |
Labyrinth 2 | Hinekora, Death's Fury |
Labyrinth 3 | Arohongui, Moon's Presence |
Endgame Labyrinth | Tukohama, War's Herald |

Skill gem setup
Helm
Ancestral Warchief
Anger (Use it if you have Watcher's Eye with Anger mods)
Faster Attacks
Leap Slam
Body Armor
Cyclone
Elemental Damage With Attacks Support
Elemental Focus Support
Fortify Support
Increased Area of Effect / Concentrated Effect Support
Melee Physical Damage Support
Gloves
Blasphemy Support
Flammability
Herald of Ash
Blood Rage
Boots
Cast When Damage Taken Support (Level 1)
Immortal Call (Level 3)
Summon Flame Golem (Level 3)
Molten Shell (Level 10)
2h Weapon
Elemental Damage With Attacks Support
Fire Penetration Support
Combustion Support
Concentrated Effect Support
Greater Multiple Projectiles Support
Elemental Focus Support
1h Weapon
None
Offhand weapon / shield
None
Build uniques / Example rare gear
Tip: Click on the item to view it on PoE Wiki or to view similar rare items in poe.tradeHelmet
Devoto's DevotionPerfect helm for the build which gives us much faster clear speed.
Ideally if you can get Devoto’s With increased “40% increased Cyclone damage”, but that will be expensive.
Body Armour
LoreweaveLoreweave is an unique chest which was introduced fairly recently. It works very well within the build, by giving free flat physical damage that is later converted, but more importantly, up to 80% maximum resist, which is huge. Try to prioritize maximum resists when buying this armour.
Gloves
Gripped Gloves / TombfistLook for rare Gripped gloves because of the implicit. Stats-wise aim for high life and some attack speed. If you can get resist or 2 on top of that – ideal.
If you have resistances capped, you could go for Tombfist and good abyssal jewel for more damage.
Left Ring
Opal Ring / Steel RingLook for 2 Opal Rings / Steel Rings with following stats:
1.) At least 60 to maximum life
2.) At least 30% increased elemental damage with attack skills / %Increased fire damage
3.) fire damage to attacks
4.) Resistances / Attributes if you need them
Rings like that will be expensive though, so you can look for less expensive bases like Two-Stone Rings or other resistance rings, but later on it’s recommended to switch to opal or steel bases.
Amulet
Rare Elder amuletLook for rare Elder amulet with following mod:
“Gain x% of Physical Damage as Extra Fire Damage”.
Other good stats to have alongside the aforementioned mod are:
1.) Maximum life
2.) Elemental damage with attack skills
3.) Increased fire damage / fire damage to attacks
Belt
Stygian ViseLook for Stygian Vise with high life and resistances. Elemental damage with attack skills is a great bonus but that will be expensive.
2Hand Weapon
Ngamahu's FlameItem around which the build revolves around – get this item first.
Note: you don’t have to 6-link it, 6 socketing it is enough for all 6 support gems to affect built-in Molten burst.
Jewel
Watcher's EyeTo scale build for more damage, get Watcher’s Eye with “Gain x% of Physical Damage as Extra Fire Damage while affected by Anger” mod.
Jewel
Rare JewelsOn jewels look for:
1.) Increased maximum life
2.) Any attack speed mod that works for us
3.) Fire damage / Area Damage / Increased damage etc
4.) Resistances or attributes if you are lacking
Flask
Flask SetupLook for following flasks:
1.) Instant recovery life flask with bleed removal
2.) Instant recovery life flask with freeze removal
3.) Quicksilver Flask of adrenaline
4.) The Wise Oak
5.) Lion’s Roar / Taste of Hate / Atziri’s Promise / Defensive Flask
Build was inspired by kira1414’s build on Path of Exile forum.
What weapons would you recommend using leading up to the point when you can use the Ngamahu’s Flame?
I’ve been using a rare 2hand axe with lots of added physical and fire damage, socketed with molten strike until I act 3 when i could get Cyclone, but cyclone’s damage is waaay lower than molten strike until you get ngamahu’s flame, so i just continued using molten strike with ancestral call support, physical damage support, added fire damage and fortify.
Lv 48 currently and too poor to afford the axe so early in the league atm.
You could go for any unique axe with high physical damage – tree still scales physical damage very well and you will be fine until you get Ngamahu’s by using other cheap unique axes, such as The Blood Reaper or Kaom’s Primacy, Hezmana’s Bloodlust, which would even allow you to clear maps.
Why is the weapon nothing but supports?
Ngamahu’s Flame comes with Built-In skill called Molten Burst ( https://pathofexile.gamepedia.com/Molten_Burst ), supports gems in weapon augment the damage of said skill. When you use cyclone, you proc these bursts which are the main source of builds damage.
Any other unique alternatives for chest? and will 5l unique be enough cause 6l is super expensive ? 5l unique or 6l rare?
This build looks pretty strong, my only question I have is why wouldn’t you get Resolute Technique? This build doesn’t rely on crits and not having to worry about getting accuracy would be nice. And it would be just one extra skill point to use.
We use Elemental Overload, that’s why we need an occasional crit.
Going RT isn’t a bad idea while leveling IMO. Respec into EO after you get high enough chance to hit.
The Watcher’s Eye jewel gives extra fire damage when affected by anger… but what in this build causes anger? I’m a little confused about that.
We use Anger aura in the build (it wasn’t added in gems setup when you asked the question but now it is).
Any chance to have an updated version for Delve?
It’s updated for Delve.
What auras do you guys have active on this at lvl 70? Cant have herald + anger + flamability all on.
Yes, you can’t – use Flammability and HoA. There’s specifc explanation near the gem when we should use Anger.
when you switch to anger do you have flammability aura or HoA on ? if so which one is the best choice to go with anger?
Anger is a great option if you have Watcher’s eye with Anger specific mods.
I’m a level 86 using the cyclone chieftan build and mapping anywhere between level 5 and 11 maps I keep getting killed easily at times. I use most everything you have for this build except I use either belly of the beast or the brass dome for body armor. I am just surprised that besides reflect damage I get killed by other strong beasts. Any suggestions would help. My health is at 36k and armor at 15k,
If you have 3.6k life, that’s way too low for anything past lower tiers of maps.
I don’t know if you’re still answering questions, but I have a few.
Anger Aura
Should this replace one of the other auras, or should you do something like buy the Impresence amulet to remove Flammability cost? If it should replace an aura, which one is it?
Chest Armor
Is Loreweave much better than Belly of the Beast? Currently running Belly because it’s cheaper, I just rolled 6 links on it tho, so I can afford Loreweave, just wondering if I should prioritise Loreweave over something like Watcher’s Eye or Cyclone enchant on helm
Impresence with Flammability is a nice option.
I’d prioritize a good Watcher’s Eye over Loreweave. 6-link Belly is still an extremely great chest and I wouldn’t go looking for upgrades until I was absolutely sure items in other slots were great.
im confused, you want us to use herald of ash, anger & flammability but I don’t have enough mana reserve to have all three auras active ? any ideas on a fix ?
You are not supposed to use all 3, it’s situational depending on items you have.