In thisPath of Exile 2article, we will be taking a look at how to put togetherthe Lightning Wizard buildfor you to use to get into the late-game or endgame of the game.Path of Exilehas become notorious for the sheer amount of skills and build possibilities available, and the sequel follows suit with an extensive skill tree and a multitude of skill gems. This guide is here to help you get through all that and lay out a path for you to follow as you reach the end of the campaign and prepare for your Cruel playthroughs or endgame.
Introduction
The Lightning Wizardis a spellcasting build that will enable you to shock and fry your enemies in a flash of lightning, and for that, we will be focusing on maximizing our shocking potential using the lightning damage spells that are easily available.
Starter Class
For this build, we will be starting withthe Sorceress Class, which is one of the seven available for now. On the expansive skill tree, similar tothe Witch,the Sorceress classwill start on the northern side.
This side of the skill tree consists mainly of passives related to spell damage, spellcasting, and energy shield and mana, which we will be taking advantage of to maximize our effectiveness with this build.
Passive Skill Tree
For our passive skill tree, we will be focusing on maximizing our damage using all the various types of spells available to us, mastering the elements, and going for the more offensive route among the two main paths available.
We will be taking the nodes that increase our spell damage and go throughthe Raw Power node.
Afterwards, we will be taking the three nodes which increase our cast speed withthe Practiced Signs node.
Afterwards, from the three paths of elements available to the north ofthe Raw Power node, we will be taking the right branch with the“Path of Storms” node, which will increase our Lightning Damage as well as increase our chance to inflict shock, which increases the damage taken by 20%.
From here, we will go for the Tri-branch passive skill group dealing with all the elements and put our points intothe Lightning branch of the group.
This will increase the penetration of lightning resistance of our spells, allowing us to deal more damage using ourLightning spells. While also increasing our damage,the Breath of Lightning nodewill increase our Dexterity attribute, raising our accuracy and increasing our chance to hit targets.
Then we will work our way towards the first group of passive skills that deal primarily with increasing the effectiveness of our lighting skills. This group can be reached by going up north along the central northern axis until we reach the gem slot and then going eastward from there until you reach the branch.
This group consists of twelve nodes, and they will increase the chance to shock our targets while also increasing the ability of our lightning to chain an additional time. Most importantly, the central branch of this group will increase the attack and casting speed of our lightning-based spells, also adding to our damage output. In addition to all these, both the“Drenched”and“Lightning Quick”nodes will increase our Lightning damage.
After investing our points in the whole passive skill group, we will go up further north towardsthe Arcane Intensity passive node.
This node will enable our build to scale comfortably into the late game, as it will increase our spell damage with our maximum mana.
Then, we will take the left branch of the group throughthe Raw Mana node, which will increase our maximum mana by 8%, and then work our way towards the outer ring of the passive skill tree, as we will be aiming for the lightning passive skill group.
Putting our points into the nodes of this branch will enhance our lightning spells as they will further increase the chance to inflict shock using our spells as well as increase the resistance penetration of our lightning spells.
More importantly, the central branch of the node will increase the damage of spells quite considerably, and the“Pure Power”node will allow our spells to scale off of our Intelligence, ensuring our damage will not fall off as we level up into the endgame.
These passive skill groups form the core of theLightning Lady build, and once we have gained these nodes, we can choose to either put our points into nodes that increase our spell damage, or we can choose the defensive route by investing in passive nodes that will give us additional Energy Shield.
Ascendancy Class
Regarding the Ascendancy class for this build, we will be choosingthe Stormweaver class.This will allow us to usethe Strike Twiceand Shaper of Storms nodes.
The Strike Twicepassive node makes it so that we can inflict two stacks of the shock ailment simultaneously and increase the potency of damage vulnerability.
The Shaper of Stormspassive node will allow us to inflict shock with all of our attacks, even when they do not have the inherent ability to shock. This really helps enhance our damage output with all of our lightning spells that we will be using with this build.
The Scouring Winds nodewill increase your damage output by increasing the exposure you can inflict with your spell, andthe Heart of the Storm nodewill increase your survivability by increasing your elemental resistance and enabling you to recoup 40% of elemental damage taken.
Active Skill Setup
For our active skills, we will be using all of the lightning-based spells that are available underthe Elemental Weaponskill tree, and the first of these isthe Spark spell.
This spell fires off discharges of lightning that travel erratically along the ground, damaging enemies. This spell by itself does not feel very powerful, but when combined with other skills that we will be talking about later on, it becomes one of the main tools to quickly clear out mobs of enemies.
The next skill isthe Orb of Storms, which summons an electrical orb that will shoot lightning bolts at nearby targets periodically on its own.
When you cast other lightning-based spells, such as Spark, within the vicinity of the orb, you can fire additional lightning chains, quickly damaging whole mobs of enemies.
Our next skill isthe Arc spell, which will fire off a lightning projectile that chains to additional targets, dealing lightning damage.
The spell also has the ability to release damaging pulses upon hitting shocked enemies, increasing the damage output and making it extremely effective at clearing out mobs of enemies — especially if they are inflicted with the Shock ailment.
For our next spell, we will be usingthe Conductivity skill.
This is a curse spell that will lay down a sigil that lowers the lightning resistance of all enemies caught within it.
Next up is one of the more unique spells in our repertoire —the Lightning Warp spell.
This spell will teleport you to a target that is on low life, culling them in the process and creating an explosion that leaves shocked ground, shocking any enemy still standing.
This spell cannot be cast if there is no target to be culled or noBall of Lightningto travel to, meaning that while it’s technically a movement spell, it cannot be used to reliably escape danger. Instead, it’s meant to teleport into a group of enemies to eliminate them in thunderous wrath.
Our next spell can be comboed with the previous one —the Ball of Lightning spell.This fires off a slow-moving lightning projectile that releases projectiles with a very high (750%) chance to shock enemies, priming them to take even more damage from spells likeArc or Spark.
Additionally, you may use Lightning Warp to travel to theBall of Lightningto create an explosion around it, damaging all nearby enemies.
Lastly, we will be usingthe Lightning Conduit spell, which calls down lightning bolts to hit enemies in a cone in front of you.
The damage dealt will be increased if the targets are shocked, and the spell will call down additional lightning bolts depending on the number of Shock ailments consumed upon hitting the targets. This gives it the potential to deal exponentially high damage depending on how many shocked enemies are present in the cone.
Spirit Gems
For our spirit gems, we will be using theConvalescencespirit gem.
This will enable the skill to immediately begin recovering our Energy Shield without interruption, adding another layer of recoverability in addition to health and mana and helping with our survivability.
Another spirit gem that greatly helps with this build isArctic Armour.
This skill gives us an icy barrier that will deal cold damage to any melee attackers, giving us an additional layer of protection and reducing the chance of being taken out quickly.
Support Gems
Regarding the support gems, we will be looking to maximize our lightning damage output, utilizing the chaining and shocking potential of our spells.
First, with our Spark spell, we will be using theScattershotandAccelerationsupport gems — both dexterity-based.
The Scattershotsupport gem increases the number of sparks fired, allowing us to cover more area, while Acceleration increases the speed at which projectiles travel, improving the skill’s efficiency.
For our Orb of Storms spell (referred to here asStormorb), we will be slotting in theOverabundanceandMagnified Effectsupport gems.
Overabundance lets you summon two orbs simultaneously, while Magnified Effect increases the radius in which orbs target enemies — both working together to maximize area coverage.
Regarding our main mapping spell,Arc, we will be using theChainandUnleashsupport gems.
Chainincreases the number of times the spell can chain to additional targets, whileUnleashallows the skill to be recast in rapid succession like an echo for each Seal it gains over time.
This particular combination allows you to unleash near-endless arcs of lightning on enemies while mapping.
ForConductivity, we will be usingDecaying HexandHeightened Curse.
Decaying Hex adds damage to the cursed target and scales with Intelligence, while Heightened Curse further reduces the target’s lightning resistance by 25%, greatly increasing damage dealt.
For our execution spell,Lightning Warp, we will useLife DrainandInnervatesupport gems.
Life Drain improves survivability by healing you whenever you cull an enemy, and Innervate increases lightning damage for 5 seconds after killing a shocked enemy — a buff you can reliably trigger thanks to the Warp spell.
ForBall of Lightning, we will be usingConductionandLasting Shocksupport gems.
Conduction increases the chance to shock by an additional 100%, while Lasting Shock increases the duration of the Shock ailment at the cost of a 30% reduced chance to inflict it.
Given Ball of Lightning already has a very high chance to shock, the reduction is negligible — and this setup ensures enemies are primed for maximum damage.
Finally, forLightning Conduit, we will useArcane TempoandLightning Infusion.
Arcane Tempo increases the spell’s cast speed, helping you execute it faster — especially useful during boss fights. Lightning Infusion adds 25% of your damage as additional lightning damage, further boosting its already considerable power.
With our first spirit gem skill,Convalescence, we will slot in thePersistenceandClaritysupport gems.
ThePersistencesupport gem will increase the duration of the buff and give us a chance to fully recover our energy shield, whileClaritywill increase mana regeneration while the buff is active, helping with our mana management.
For our second spirit gem skill,Arctic Armour, we will be using theConcentrated Effectsupport gem and theVitalitysupport gem.
TheConcentrated Effectsupport gem will increase the damage dealt when your Arctic Armor charges explode after getting hit by a melee attack, andVitalitywill increase your life regeneration by 1% of your maximum health whenever Arctic Armour is active, helping with overall survivability.
Setting up our skills with these support gems will allow our spells to function more effectively in both offensive and defensive aspects, while using the spirit gem skills to further aid our survivability.
Gear and Equipment
The Lightning Wizard buildis designed to make use of all the different lightning spells and does not require any specific Unique gear to function. It can perform well with yellow-rarity gear and equipment.
For our weapon slot, we will be using thewand and focuscombo to take full advantage of the multiple buffs we can gain from two pieces of gear. We’ll be looking for items that offer bonuses to spell damage and additional levels to our lightning spells, which will help increase our overall damage output.
Gear withmaximum manaoradditional intelligencewill also greatly benefit this build, as we have invested in passive nodes that increase our damage scaling with these stats.
Although this build is not “Unique-dependent,” it does benefit from having theEarthbound Voltaic Staff, which will significantly buff our lightning spells.
Leveling Guide
This build will not run into any major issues while leveling due to the excellent mob-clearing ability of our lightning spells, allowing us to reliably progress through the campaign.
As you level up, it is beneficial to invest inat least 1 Strength attribute nodeand4 or more Dexterity attribute nodes.
Path of Exile 2 The Bloodletter Build
In this article, we’ll be taking a look at how to put together The Bloodletter build for getting into the endgame
This is to prevent limitations when equipping or using support gems that scale off Dexterity, which we will be using abundantly in this build.
Mapping and Bossing
This build is efficient at both mapping and bossing. Its performance is greatly enhanced by using theConductivity curseto bypass the lightning resistance of certain enemies.
When fighting bosses, laying downStorm Orbsand firing offBall of Lightningwill allow you to deal consistent damage, while theLightning Conduitspell will deliver massive burst damage, quickly taking down bosses as a result of the multiple Shock ailments you’ll be inflicting.
Even if a boss is resistant to lightning damage, theConductivity cursewill allow you to effectively bypass their resistance — making this build viable against all types of enemies.
Endgame Scaling and Optimization
Endgame scaling is enhanced throughcluster jewelsthat increaseMovement Speed,Cast SpeedandSpell Damage. The build has great options to scale by investing in either pure spell damage or a more defensive route by investing in energy shield nodes or maximum health nodes after getting the core nodes on the passive skill tree.
This build can perform well inSSFandHardcorebut I would not recommend it for newer players. The spell-casting class is already a more vulnerable class thanks to lower health points and, since the build really focuses on the more offensive aspects and does not focus particularly on survivability, As a result you can easily die from a single mistake ,such as a bad Lightning Warp, during the later stages of the game so can be risky to use in aHardcore run.
So, this wraps up my article for theLightning Wizard Build GuideforPath of Exile 2.I hope you found this guide helpful, and if you have any suggestions or tips, feel free to leave them in the comment section.
