This is a very powerful and Tanky build which is designed around a single idea, taking a certain Unique item in POE to an extremely powerful conclusion. Brutus’ Lead Sprinkler Ancestral Warchief Chieftain is built around taking its namesake Unique, Brutus’ Lead Sprinkler and smashing everyone in the face with it. You can of course scale this with other Uniques that offer more synergy with the mechanics of spewing fireballs and hitting things in the face really hard, but the build is very flexible.
Defensively this build offers a huge buff from both increased Physical and Elemental damage reduction via Armour and Resistances. Flask choices and your Ascendancy provide a good barrier to your Life pool with Leech, so you should be OK as long as you keep mobile and let your Totems do the work. Using Shield Charge, Leap Slam and Vaal Haste for quick escapes is crucial in tight spots.
You’ll find all you will need to construct this build down below. The guide assumes that you’re going all-out and are maximizing every aspect, but you don’t have to go that far at all to reach a point where the build is enjoyable. Even in the low 90s with less-than-perfect gear, the build runs Maps and Delves just fine. And it’s a great choice as a league starter build for any POE player. If you are a brand new Path of Exile player, feel free to check out our various POE guides for noobs.
Build Pros
- Good boss killer
- Fun and fast
- HC viable
Build Cons
- Not the best leveling build
- Not the best for Elder/Shaper
Passive Tree(s)
Here is the Endgame Passive Tree
Pantheon
Upgrade all of these.
Major God:
- Soul of Lunaris is generally the best choice for Delving or just general play.
- Soul of the Brine King may outpace Lunaris for Delving if you do not have much Stun and Block Recovery yet, or are struggling with Stuns.
- Soul of Solaris, fully upgraded, is the best choice for bossing.
Minor God:
- Soul of Gruthkul (upgraded) is the best choice for Delving or other high-end content.
- Soul of Aberrath is the best choice for mapping.
Bandits
The best option is helping Alira for the additional 20% Critical Multiplier and +15% to all Elemental Resistances.
Ascendancy skill points
Chieftain
Ascendancy points:
Preferably in that order:
- Tukohama, War’s Herald
- Ngamahu, Flame’s Advance
- Hinekora, Death’s Fury
- Arohongui, Moon’s Presence
Chieftain and the synergy it offers with Totems and the overall DPS setup for this build simply cannot be beat. Life leech from damage dealt by totems is a great defensive help. Covering enemies in ash reduces their movement speed and increasing the Fire damage they take, must have. Arohongui, Moon’s Presence makes your totems immune to Fire damage, which allows you to even run Elemental Reflect maps
Enchants
Helmet: (From Best to Worst)
40% increased Ancestral Warchief Totem Damage
12% increased Ancestral Warchief Totem Area of Effect
Boots:
0.6% of Damage Leeched as Life and Mana if you’ve Killed Recently
Damage Penetrates x% of Enemy Elemental Resistances if you haven’t Killed Recently
x% increased Attack and Cast Speed if you’ve Killed Recently
Gloves:
Commandment of Light or Frost.
You could also use these Corruptions on Gear:
Curse Enemies with Level (10–12) Elemental Weakness on Hit (Gloves)
(4–6)% Increased Maximum Life (Belt, Body Armour)
(8–10)% increased Attack Speed (Amulet)
Leveling General Tips
Efficient Farm Locations:
Act 1: The Ledge
Act 2: The Fellshrine Ruins
Act 3: The Docks
Act 4: The Dried Lake
Act 5: The Chamber of Innocence
Act 6: The Ridge
Act 7: The Temple of Decay lv1-2
Act 8: The Harbour Bridge
Act 9: The Blood Aqueduct
Act 10: The Ossuary
Avoid these map mods:
* Players cannot Regenerate Life, Mana or Energy Shield
* Any Reflect (Arohongui, Moon’s Presence makes your totems immune to Fire damage, which allows you to even run Elemental Reflect maps)
Be careful of these map mods:
* Monsters have #% increased Critical Strike Chance / +#% to Monster Critical Strike Multiplier
With high evasion, attack should almost never crit you. Spell on the other hand can still hit hard.
* Monsters fire 2 additional Projectiles
Scary mod on some bosses and monster types. Some monsters are still able to spam out too many projectiles to handle.
* Area contains two Unique Bosses
Your goal to survive this mode is a combo of extreme DPS and Life. The faster you can down the bosses, the less threat they pose.
* #% increased Monster Movement Speed / #% increased Monster Attack Speed / #% increased Monster Cast Speed
Some bosses are going to be too fast to hit effectively, meaning you’ll spend more time than you normally should kiting them. This combination with Temporal Chains is EXTREMELY DANGEROUS.
* Players are Cursed with Vulnerability
Negated during mapping with a Warding Flask, but not against bosses. Bleeds from bosses can kill you easily.
* Players are Cursed with Temporal Chains
I would personally avoid this on high-tier maps.
Final Skill Gem Setup
You’ll find recommendations for different attack skill setups for this build below. The basic buff and aura setups are down there too.
=== MAIN ATTACK ===
Vaal Ancestral Warchief -> Multiple Totems -> Fire Penetration (or Elemental Focus) -> Elemental Damage with Attacks Support -> Ruthless -> Pulverize
=== MOVEMENT ===
Shield Charge -> Faster Attacks -> Fortify -> Blood Magic
Leap Slam
=== AURA/UTILITY ===
Anger -> Precision
Steelskin -> Increased Duration
Rallying Cry
Vaal Haste
Build Uniques / Example Rare Gear
In this section you will find all the suggested items for this build. We always try to include optional gear in our listing, or try your own assuming you get similar stat rolls. Aim for high-quality Rares if you’re replacing Uniques. The Minimum/Optional requirements listed assume you’re using Rares as a replacement for listed Uniques (where possible).
Stat Priorities:
Life is super important for survivability, especially at endgame. Although be careful not to forsake too many damage mods for it or you won’t be able to kill mobs quick enough for your defenses to handle incoming DPS.
Armour is a rather strong defense with this build, for the extra Physical Damage reduction.
Strength scaling for DPS is a big part of this build, all your gear should have some means of adding or multiplying this Attribute.
Physical and Fire Damage is your primary DPS, get this in any way you can, as long as you don’t compromise defenses. Physical Damage is your goal over anything else, as our Ascendancy and gear choices offer enough conversion.
Resistances until capped.
Critical Strike Chance and Multiplier can help increase your damage a fair bit.
Cast/Attack Speed means that you simply attack faster the higher it is. This stat becomes vital for scaling overall DPS. Attack speed is great for Shield Charge to keep Fortify up.
Weapons
The one required Unique for this build is the one that it’s built around, Brutus’ Lead Sprinkler. You’ll be pairing this with a Shield, most likely a Shaper base.
Shield
Min. requirements:
Adds +# Physical Damage
% Increased Attack Speed
% Increased Physical Damage
+ Strength
Optional affixes:
+1 to maximum number of Summoned Totems (Shaper)
Recover % of your Maximum Life when you Block (Shaper)
+1% to all maximum Resistances (Shaper)
Helmet
A Shaper or Elder Armour base with Fossil crafts on it for extra Fire Resistance Penetration is your best bet.
Min. requirements:
90 Maximum Life
+ Strength
Nearby Enemies have -9% Fire Resistance (Scorched Fossil)
Uncapped Resistances
% Increased Maximum Life (Elder, Pristine Fossil)
Optional affixes:
Chaos Resistance
Reduced Attribute Requirements
% Increased Area of Effect (Shaper)
Body Armor
There are several Unique options for this build, each offering slightly different options. Loreweave offers great DPS and is not too difficult to obtain Belly of the Beast offers another tanky option but with the caveat that you’ll want to run a Life Flask to give it the most impact. Tabula Rasa can carry you pretty far as well.
A high-end Rare can do really well with this build in a pinch though. You can go either for an Evasion base, as they have pretty similar stats.. If going the Rare route, prepare to get needed attributes on the chest in order to get more DPS from your Jewels and other Affixes.
There are several ways to further increase the effectiveness of a Rare here, but they will massively increase the currency cost, as a high-end Armour that fits these parameters would be Mirror-service-worthy.
- A +1/+2 Level to Socketed Gems Corruption is extremely useful if running a Rare.
- % Increased Effect of Auras on you is good too, that comes from Bound fossils.
- Getting Reduced Attribute Requirements can really help if you’re struggling with attributes. This can also free up other Affixes as you no longer need to waste them. This would allow you to further increase your DPS. Although getting this mod combination will be extremely hard, and will cost a lot of currency, so bank on just using a crafted affix instead.
- Getting a high, or possibly Legacy, Increased Life and/or Chaos Resistance roll really helps with survivability.
Min. requirements:
100 maximum Life
Uncapped Resistances
Attributes (Strength)
Optional affixes:
% Increased Maximum Life (Elder, Pristine Fossil)
Recover % of Maximum Life on Kill (Elder)
+ to Level of Socketed Support Gems (Elder)
% Increased Strength (Elder)
Attacks have +#% to Critical Strike Chance (Shaper)
% increased Damage (Corruption)
Belt
Abyss Belts with Life and Resistances are a good option for more difficult end-game sections and bosses. Since you’re primarily focusing on Fire Damage and Strength, you need several rolls that synergize with that. Elemental Damage is a good start, and by adding in Life and Resistances, pretty much any Rare offers a good stopgap solution.
Some will opt for the very cheap Cyclopean Coil to get all the Attributes they need, while also increasing damage a bit, although for this build it’s definitely not the best option.
Min. requirements:
70 Maximum Life
Uncapped Resistances
Optional affixes:
Reduced Flask Charges Used
Increased Flask Duration
% Increased Fire Damage (Scorched Fossil)
% increased Elemental Damage (Prismatic Fossil)
% Increased Attributes(Elder)
% Increased effect of Flasks on You (Elder)
% Chance for your Flasks to not consume Charges (Elder)
Grants Level # Enduring Cry Skill (Elder)
Grants Level # Rallying Cry Skill (Elder)
Gloves
Check here for some Unique options, most useful while leveling. Atziri’s Acuity offers both a bit more defensive potential while also scaling your DPS a bit thanks to the added Critical Strike Chance. Oskarm is another option in a similar vein. These are by no means needed for the build to function, just more of a convenience if you’re trying to squeeze every bit of potential out of the optimal version.
For a Rare, opt for Spiked Gloves for more DPS. Use the following stats as a baseline for a Rare:
Min. requirements:
50 Maximum Life
Uncapped Resistances
Added Fire Damage to Attacks
+ Strength
Optional affixes:
Chaos Resistance
Reduced Attribute Requirements
% Chance to gain a Frenzy Charge on Kill (Elder)
% Global Chance to Blind Enemies/Socketed Gems are Supported by Level # Blind (Shaper)
Boots
Rare boots with max rolled Life, Resists and Movement Speed are great as a generic choice, but you may find yourself a bit more prone to taking hits than you would like. This one is more of a personal judgment call. Here’s the basic requirements for Rare in this slot. Two-Toned Bootes are good here for the extra Resists.
Min. requirements:
50 Maximum Life
+ Strength
30% increased Movement Speed
Any Uncapped Resistances (>25%)
Optional affixes:
% Increased Elemental Damage with Attack Skills (Crafted)
Once you’ve gotten decently into end-game, you may want to switch to a Unique that’s more tailored for the playstyle of the build.
Kaom’s Roots – This is an OK option for the Life and movespeed help, but you may be a little Socket-starved depending on your skill choices. I would say go for a Rare instead. Alberon’s Warpath is a far better option for this slot if you want to use a Unique.
Amulet
A Rare can work great here, but the best Rare is one which offers some Elemental Damage scaling as well as Crit buffs, and it will not be cheap. Carnage Heart offers a decent starter Unique option for this build while leveling. A decent Rare with some of the following stats is of course another option. Xoph’s Blood for the added Strength and Fire Pen grants even more raw damage.
Min. requirements:
50 Maximum Life
% Elemental Damage with Attacks
Crit Strike Chance
Uncapped Resistances
Optional affixes:
Attributes (Strength/Intelligence)
Chance to gain a Power, Frenzy or Endurance Charge on Kill (Shaper)
Damage Penetrates % Elemental Resistances (Shaper)
Gain % Physical Damage as Extra Fire Damage (Elder)
% of Fire Damage Leeched as Life (Elder)
Rings
Rare rings will likely work best here, Opal Ring or Steel Ring bases still offer tons of potential for Elemental Damage, so give those a shot.
Diamond Rings are your best bet if looking for a good Crit base. Go for a high-end Rare with as many buffs to Crits, Elemental Damage and overall DPS as possible.
Le Heup of All and The Taming also offer competitive Unique options for while you’re saving Currency for a higher-end Rare.
Min. requirements:
50 Maximum Life
% Elemental Damage with Attacks
Uncapped Resistances
% Increased Attack Speed
Optional affixes:
Global Critical Strike Multiplier (Elder)
Attributes
% Increased Fire Damage
Increased Aura Effect (Corruption)
Curse Enemies with Assassin’s Mark on Hit (Shaper)
Flasks
The Wise Oak – Great defensive potential.
Other Flasks:
- Catalysed Eternal Life Flask of Staunching
- Experimenter’s Diamond Flask of Warding
- Experimenter’s Sulphur Flask of Adrenaline or Alchemist’s Quicksilver Flask of Adrenaline
- Chemist’s Basalt Flask of Heat
You can swap these mods around if needed due to RNG.
Jewels
Abyss Jewels that have a chance to gain Onslaught can also be used in a slot for a damage increase. Watcher’s Eye with buffs to Anger or any other Auras you use can be really powerful. Rare Jewels will work just as well though in most cases, and be much cheaper.
There are no mandatory jewels but some can help you achieve even greater amounts of Strength. Brawn, Emperor’s Might, and Emperor’s Mastery all provide % Strength, which will scale your flat amount very efficiently.
Rare Jewels can run with the following stats:
Recommended affixes:
- % Increased Maximum Life
- % Increased Attack Speed while holding a Shield
- % Increased Attack Speed
- % Increased Area Damage
- % Increased Fire Damage
- % to Critical Damage with Fire/Elemental Skills
- +# Increased Global Critical Strike Multiplier
- % Increased Damage
Optional affixes:
Attributes (Strength/Intelligence)
