A ranged build in Path of Exile Legion and 3.7 may not be the most glamorous, but some people really like bow builds in POE. For that reason, we put together a fairly simple and easy-to-gear build made around one of the strongest ranged attacks in POE 3.7.
The gear on this build can even be shifted around for a big of Magic Find potential, meaning slightly better loot overall when running with this build.
The damage of this build is all about Chaos damage, and since Caustic Arrow and Wither synergize well with this build idea, Wither makes it great for single-target damage against bosses. The process of playing this is fairly simple, just drop your Caustic Arrow on a mob pack then drop Wither Totems on them. Players can also scale for more DPS with Despair as a situational Curse. Blood Rage should be used as a constant once you have the Regen to handle it’s constant drain effect.
Defensively the idea is to save Vaal Grace and Phase Run for when you need them. Mostly focusing on bosses here as the bonuses to Evasion can be extremely useful for staying alive.
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
- Great league starter with cheap gear
- Good clear speed
- Decent boss killer
- Useful for Delve
Build Cons
- Not the most exciting build to play
Passive Tree(s)
Here is the Endgame Passive Tree
Pantheon
Upgrade all of these.
Major God: Soul of Arakaali
Upgraded, the extra boosts to regen and other defensive layers is unbelievably good. Other major gods can be selected, based on content you are doing and based on personal preference.
Minor God: Soul of Ryslatha
Buffing the effect of your healing is greath. Abberath offers decent defensive help as well for fire damage. Any Minor is useful here though.
Bandits
Kill them all for the two additional passive skill tree points.
Ascendancy skill points
Trickster
Ascendancy points:
Preferably in that order:
- Patient Reaper
- Prolonged Pain
- Swift Killer
- Weave the Arcane
Enchants
Helmet:
40% increased Caustic Arrow Damage
12% increased Caustic Arrow Area of Effect
Boots:
0.6% of Damage Leeched as Life and Mana if you’ve Killed Recently
Regenerate 2% of Life and Mana per second if you were Hit Recently
x% increased Attack and Cast Speed if you’ve Killed Recently
Gloves:
Commandment of Commandment of Light or Force.
You could also use these Corruptions on Gloves:
+1 to Maximum Frenzy Charges
(4–6)% increased maximum Life
(8–10)% increased Attack Speed
Leveling Items and General Tips
Leveling Uniques:
- Victario’s Flight (Boots)
- Tabula Rasa (Armour)
- Wanderlust (Boots)
- Lochtonial Caress (Gloves)
- Slitherpinch (Gloves)
- Le Heup of All (Ring)
- Goldrim (Helm)
- Meginord’s Girdle (Belt)
- Worm’s Molt (Belt)
- Perandus Blazon (Belt)
- Giantsbane (Gloves)
- Blackheart (Ring)
- Wideswing (2H Axe)
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
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. The basic idea is to swap out to your single-target skill before taking on the boss, so keep that in mind.
=== SINGLE-TARGET SKILL ===
Wither -> Spell Totem -> Faster Casting -> Multiple Totems
=== MAIN ATTACK ===
Caustic Arrow -> Empower or Swift Affliction -> Damage on Full Life -> Void Manipulation -> Concentrated Effect -> Vicious Projectiles (Swap For Greater Multiple Projectiles if you have a mod on your bow that provides this.)
=== MOVEMENT ===
Blink Arrow -> Faster Attacks
=== AURA/UTILITY ===
Vaal Grace
Phase Run
Malevolence
Blood Rage (Once you have decent Life Regeneration)
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).
Depending on your gear choices, you can go for either a lot more DPS at the expense of Life, or go for more defensiveness by sacrificing a portion of DPS. This is your choice. In most cases, I would prefer Life personally, as it’s just a bit more forgiving. If you’re a new player, this may the path for you.
Stat Priorities:
Life is super important for survivability, especially at end-game. 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.
Chaos Damage is your primary DPS, get this in any way you can, as long as you don’t compromise defenses.
Resistances until capped.
Evasion Rating is your primary defensive layer, so scaling that any way you can is great for defenses, especially while bossing.
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 your movement skill to keep Fortify up.
Weapons
Bow
As a DOT bow build, scaling Chaos Damage is your best bet. Silverbough is a wonderful leveling item that can carry you quite far. Once you’ve saved up enough currency though, either craft or buy an Elder/Shaper bow that has multiple +Level mods for your main attack skill. Aim for something with as many of the requirements listed below as possible.
Min. requirements:
+#% to Non-Ailment Chaos Damage over Time Multiplier
Increased Gem Level/Bow Gem Level
Increased Attack Speed
% Increased Damage per Frenzy charge
Optional affixes:
Deal Double Damage (Elder Mod)
Socketed Gems are supported by Level # Vicious Projectiles
Reduced Attribute Requirements
Quiver
The Quiver is one of the more important elements in any Bow build in POE, and it’s just as important in Path of Exile: Legion. Here’s the basic outline of good mods to aim for, use a Shaper/Elder base for this. If you want to use a Unique because that’s just your thing, Maloney’s Nightfall is the only real option, although it’s far from ideal.
Min. requirements:
#+ to Maximum Life
Increased Attack Speed
Optional affixes:
% Increased Area of Effect (Elder Mod)
Adds an Additional Arrow (Shaper Mod)
Helmet
A Rare works best here, the enchant is where most of the power of this slot comes from. I would say going for enchants which increase your main skill damage are best. Devoto’s Devotion is an OK replacement Unique that’s relatively affordable.
Min. requirements:
90 Maximum Life
Increased Maximum Life
Uncapped Resistances
Optional affixes:
Chaos Resistance
Reduced Attribute Requirements
Body Armor
Kaom’s Heart is the absolute best choice here. The added extra Life is just pure bliss for this build. And since it relies on so few skills, it’s very possible to bring this gear into the rotation without lacking in slots.
A high-end Evasion Rare can do really well with this build in a pinch though. Aim for a Life base. 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 Level to Socketed Gems Corruption is extremely useful if running a Rare.
- 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. You only really need this on one item, so scale Chaos DPS with the other items
- Getting a high, or possibly Legacy, Increased Life and/or Chaos Resistance roll really helps with survivability if you’re lacking in resists.
Min. requirements:
100 maximum Life
Increased Maximum Life (Elder Mod)
Optional affixes:
Chaos Resistance
Uncapped Resistances
Belt
Abyss Belts with Life and Resistances are a good option for more difficult end-game sections and bosses. Other Rares might do in a pinch, but not having good rolls can make you a lot more squishy than is tolerable. Abyss Jewels are also a great source for damage buffs as well. Buffing your damage and Life is the best bet here with Jewels.
Elder/Shaper variants are good too, assuming you can get a good combo of Life and Resists on them.
Another good bet is a Cyclopean Coil. Although this will be really expensive as it’s pretty high-demand. The added life and Attributes are extremely useful, so this is a good option if you want to avoid wasting other affixes on attributes in favor of more DPS, assuming you can afford it.
Min. requirements:
70 Maximum Life
% Increased Damage
% increased Life Recovery rate (Elder Mod)
Optional affixes:
Reduced Flask Charges Used
Uncapped Resistances
Grants Level 20 Aspect of the Spider Skill
Gloves
Gloves can be one of the more flexible gear slots while leveling, pick any Unique Gloves which focus on buffing needed Attributes or damage types and you’ll be fine for leveling. Once you hit end-game, opt for a high-end Rare ASAP. If you need help choosing Unique Gloves, refer to the leveling items section above, or go to this list.
Rare Gloves with buffs to main damage types are great as and endgame option.
Min. requirements:
70 Maximum Life
Uncapped Resistances
+#% to Non-Ailment Chaos Damage over Time Multiplier (Elder Mod)
Optional affixes:
Chaos Resistance
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.
Min. requirements:
70 maximum Life
30% increased Movement Speed
Any Uncapped Resistances (>25%)
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 the best Unique pair of Boots for this build, and will provide decent defensive stun immunity, just be sure you don’t compromise your resists or other defenses using these.
Amulet
If using a Rare, Get a Shaper/Elder and stack as much Life as you can on your Amulet to prevent feeling too squishy.
Min. requirements:
50 maximum Life
+#% to Non-Ailment Chaos Damage over Time Multiplier (Elder Mod)
10% All Elemental Resistances
% Increased Chaos Damage
Optional affixes:
Rings
If you’re using the other Uniques, you absolutely must use Ventor’s Gamble rings here. Always get a Ventor’s with positive rolls in all cases. It will be a bit more expensive, but not too much more. If using a Rare Ring while you grind to afford the Ventor’s, use the following start priorities to help guide your selection.
Min. requirements:
60 Maximum Life
x% Increased Chaos Damage
Uncapped Resistances
Flasks
Witchfire Brew – Useful utility flask for bonus Evasion, make sure to always have it ready for bosses. The extra DPS is extremely powerful as long as you have other mods that pair with the effect.
Dying Sun – The added damage potential from this cannot be overstated.
Other Flasks:
- Experimenters Sulphur/Jade Flask of Staunching (Bleed Immunity, Choose Sulphur for DPS, Jade for defense)
- Saturated Eternal Life Flask of Heat (Freeze Immunity)
- Quicksilver Flask of Curing (Removes Poison – useful if using a different Pantheon)
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.
Rare Jewels can run with the following stats:
Recommended affixes:
- % Increased Maximum Life
- % Increased Attack Speed with Bows
- % Increased Damage
- % Increased Chaos Damage
- % Increased Area Damage
- % to Non-Ailment Chaos Damage over Time Multiplier
Optional affixes:
Attributes (Strength/Intelligence only if needed for max level Gems)
