In this POE Synthesis Molten Strike Champion Build, we spawn a lot of balls and the "life gain on hit" mechanic allows us to gain a lot of life in few time.
Played a lot of times a bloodseeker build for istant leech, and its awesome ofc, but with this build we have an insane life leech/GOH (near instant) and an awesome life sustain even if we arent attacking

 

Quick Jump

 

Pros & Cons

Pros

  • Budget to start (red maps on 50c)
  • Very good league starter
  • Tanky (6K+ HP with tabula, able to reach 8K+ HP, LGOH, regular leech, life regen, blood rage trick pantheon)
  • Very good lab farmer (look video section)
  • No Vaal Pact
  • Great chance to improve the gear
  • DOT isn't so dangerous
  • No gems swap for bosses
  • Good sustain on long fight when you run out of flasks
  • Easy Uber Elder (if you know what to do)

Cons

  • Melee (not the best clear speed, but not the worst)
  • Can't run ele reflect
  • Can't run no leech, but only 'cause you need mana leech (if you can get mana gain on hit on jewels, you can run no leech as well)
  • Need some investment for end game (like all other builds)
  • Ancestral call on single target need few pratic

 

Mechanics

Important Melee damage don't work here, only melee attack speed will work: its a projectiles build! // NOTE: Don't look your tooltip in game, that is on melee skill, you can't see the balls dps on tooltip

LIFE GAIN ON HIT

The base of this build is "LIFE GAIN ON HIT" and molten strike with all its balls is awesome.

On budget version, we use ichimonji's and thief torment

we can run ez till red maps with thes weapons.

In the worst case we spawn like 150 balls per second. Multiplied per 28 LGOH is 4.200 hp per second, without counting the normal leech.

In the best case we spawn over 450 balls: about 12K HP per second.

When you have made some currency, go for grelwood and LGOH vitality  watcher's eye

You can run elder rings with LGOH and use herald of ash instead of vitality, BUT I still prefer vitality for more life regen.

AVATAR OF FIRE

Avatar of fire converts 50% of physical damage, lightning damage and cold damage to fire damage. However, the character cannot deal damage with any damage types except fire.

On molten strike we are able to convert all physical damage into fire (60% from molten, 50% avatar of fire - extra 10% doesn't count).

We can have avatar of fire from keystone (budget) or from xoph's blood amber amulet (more expensive).

You must gain only fire or physical damage from your gear.

If you gain cold or light damage, 50% of that element will be lost.

Chaos damage doesn't work at all.

 

POE Skill Tree 

Ascendancy points

Unstoppable hero -> Conqueror -> Worthy Foe -> Fortitude

We must stay stationary for swords buffs, so we take fortitude for perma stun immunity.
If you wanna try Inspirational you need kaom roots for perma stun and drop fortitude. This works well with war banner.
The same goes for First strike: use kaoms and drop fortitude.

Bandits

Kill All

Pantheons

The Pantheon List

For Major God we use Arakaali with queen of the great tangle soul's for more life regen

For Minor God we use Tukohama for more life regen and phys reduction

Passive Skill Tree

Keystone: Iron Grip, Elemental Overload, Avatar Of Fire (budget version before xoph's blood ofc)

Iron Grip


The increase to Physical Damage from Strength applies to Projectile Attacks as well as Melee Attacks

Elemental Overload


40% more Elemental Damage if you've Crit in the past 8 seconds
No Critical Strike Multiplier
No Damage Multiplier for Ailments from Critical Strikes

Avatar Of Fire 


50% of Physical, Cold and Lightning Damage Converted to Fire Damage
Deal no Non-Fire Damage

 

 

Gems Setup

Note: Mouse over the skill gem to see the Mods needed

Expect that our core skills, you can replace your supported skills as needed.

 - Elemental Focus - Elemental Damage with Attacks - Concentrated Effect - Ancestral Call

If you dont like ancestral call on bosses swap it with fire penetration

Whirling Blades - Blood Magic - Faster Attacks

Movement skill - before you grab fortitude link fortify on whirling

You can use Leap slam instead of whirling.

Fortify linked on your movement skill is MANDATORY. You can drop it only if you run fortitude ascendancy on Champion.

Anger - Vitality - Enlighten Support

Enlighten isn't mandatory but it will help with few extra mana

Increased - Duration Support - Haste

You need VAAL HASTE only, no normal haste

Important: put gems exactly in this order for Pantheon trick: CWDT - Blood Rage - Immortal Call

You can add light golem/molten shell/curses (flammability/enfeeble) on ur CWDT setup

Cast when Damage Taken - Blood Rage - Immortal Call

The CWDT lvl is based on you. I usualy run lvl 1 on levelling, lvl 5 in white maps, lvl 10 in yellows, lvl 15 in red maps.

no link required

Ancestral Protector

For Gladiator only

If you are using The Surrender you can use reckonig(from shield), curse on hit/ curse(enfeeble or flamability) and culling strike. You can use tempest shield

Tempest Shield

for +3% block chance // you can self cast it or link into CWDT setup(cwdt-br-ic-ts).
And you can run shield charge if you prefere it.

If you are running kaom roots and you dont know how to move, this is the way:
mandatory socket are 18/20

  • 6 MS setup (body armour)
  • 3/4 whirling setup (head/gloves)
  • 2+1 vaal haste/inc dur + 1 for totem (weapon 1)
  • 4 CWDT-IC-BR-Curse (gloves/head)
  • 2/3 auras/enl (weapon 2) 

 

 

Gear

Good items to start, end setup view section "Expectations & POB" links

Redbeak * 2

40% increased Global Accuracy Rating
+(20–30) to maximum Life
50% increased Physical Damage
100% increased Damage when on Low Life
Adds 2 to 6 Physical Damage
10% increased Attack Speed
+2 Life gained for each Enemy hit by Attacks

Lochtonial Caress

(10–15)% reduced maximum Mana
(10–15)% increased Cast Speed
(10–15)% increased Attack Speed
+(20–30) to maximum Life
10% chance to gain a Power, Frenzy or Endurance Charge on Kill

Goldrim

+(30–50) to Evasion Rating
10% increased Rarity of Items found
+(30–40)% to all Elemental Resistances
Reflects 4 Physical Damage to Melee Attackers

Blackheart * 2

+(20–30) to maximum Life
Adds 1 to 3 Chaos Damage to Attacks
5% increased Global Physical Damage
(2–4) Life Regenerated per second
10% chance to Cause Monsters to Flee

Meginord's Girdle

+(25–35) to Strength
+25 to Strength
Adds 5 to 15 Physical Damage to Attacks
+(10–20)% to Cold Resistance
10% increased maximum Life
25% increased Flask Life Recovery rate

Tabula Rasa

 

Find some ring that can reduce total mana cost of skills

Then

The Princess

40% increased Global Accuracy Rating
(20–50)% increased Physical Damage
Adds (3–4) to (5–8) Physical Damage
15% increased Attack Speed
10% increased Damage taken from Skeletons
Gain (25–30)% of Physical Damage as Extra Cold Damage
10% increased Damage taken from Ghosts

Brightbeak

10% reduced Enemy Stun Threshold
(50–75)% increased Physical Damage
50% increased Attack Speed
+(20–30)% to Fire Resistance
+(20–30)% to Lightning Resistance
25% increased Critical Strike Chance

Prismatic Eclipse

40% increased Global Accuracy Rating
Adds (20–30) to (31–40) Physical Damage
+8% Chance to Block Attack Damage while Dual Wielding
12% increased Global Attack Speed per Green Socket
25% increased Global Physical Damage with Weapons per Red Socket
0.4% of Physical Attack Damage Leeched as Mana per Blue Socket
+2 to Melee Weapon Range per White Socket

Belt of the Deceiver

+(25–35) to Strength
(15–25)% increased Global Physical Damage
You take 30% reduced Extra Damage from Critical Strikes
+(30–40) to maximum Life
+(10–15)% to all Elemental Resistances
Nearby Enemies are Intimidated

Thief's Torment

+(8–10)% to all Elemental Resistances
(10–16)% increased Quantity of Items found
+(16–24)% to all Elemental Resistances
+(40–60) Life gained for each Enemy hit by your Attacks
50% reduced Effect of Curses on you
+30 Mana gained for each Enemy hit by your Attacks
Can't use other Rings

 

Thief torment ring will carry you till the first maps

 

Enchants

Helmet

  • The best enchant on this build is molten strike 2 extra projectiles (they become 4 projectiles with ancestral call), but it's fucking expensive
  • You can use these enchants as well:
  • Ancestral Protector Totem grants 12% increased Attack Speed while Active
  • Blood Rage grants additional 12% increased Attack Speed
  • 150% increased Effect of the Buff granted by your Lightning Golems
  • Molten strike 40% damage

Boots

  • Regenerate 2% of Life and Mana per second if you were Hit Recently
  • 16% attack/cast speed when you kill
  • 120% increased Critical Strike Chance if you haven't Crit Recently

 

Leveling

look for claws (gain on hit implicit is broken), upgrade it at vendor in any town, if u dont drop a good rare one

  • Always upgrade ur claws when you arrive in a new town, cuz the base damage is always highe
  • Always upgrade ur life flask in a new town as well

Run Molten strike and ancestral call on act 1, add faster attack in act 2. I run 3 link MS till act 4, then I get 5-link body armour for 1 chaos when I hit act 4 ( MS-Faster Attack-Ancestral Call-Phys To Light-Ele damage). When you reach Avatar of fire on tree (around lvl 50/55), you replace phys to light with concentrated effect.

Get HOP/HOA in act2 till act 3, when u can use vitality (i prefer to use vitality for some regen instead of double herald)

If you can get thief soon you can run more support for your MS setup and maybe use immediately anger, mana gain on hit help a lot. Just try it

  • You can do First lab at level 28 without problem.
  • You can do cruel lab at lvl 54, no prob here too.
  • Kitava act 10 and merc lab at lvl 68.
  • Easy Uber Lab at lvl 83 - 4700 hp.

For champion if you choose fortitude you must run fortify linked on whirling before you can get Uber Lab.

Get Wildfire jewel for more projectiles in act 5.

You can run till Blood acqueduct on 5 link, then you can farm tabula for 6-link (change into MS-Multistrike-ele focus-ancestral call-conc effect-ele damage). I wait to use multistrike cuz the attack is repeated 2 times, and if u wanna use ur movement skill u must wait the end of the skill animation, so wait until you get more attack speed.

At lvl 46 ornament of the east is awesome. I recommend to grab it.

Use point blank on the tree until you get grelwood (you have to allocate only 3 points)

Get grelwood and thief torment as soon as u can and drop PB.

Before Grelwood run double icimonji.

Watcher eye is the more expensive item, but thief torment/ornament of the east/ichimonji will carry u till yellow/lower red maps...

OFC get rare rings/ammy with life/res and, if u can, get phys/fire damage ...
Rare boots/gloves with life/res...