Molten Strike is an attack skill consisting of two parts: an initial melee attack hit and a projectile attack. This build is easily started at the beginning of league and starts out cheap and powerful with extreme end game scaling available with investment as the league goes on.

 

Quick Jump

• Pros & Cons
• Passive Skill Tree 
• Skill Gems
• Gear
• Leveling Passive Trees
• Budget Demonstration

 

Pros & Cons

Pros

• + Cheap league starter.
• + Can clear all content. Including Uber Atziri, Shaper, Uber Elder, Hall of Grandmasters
• + Can run all map mods with small adjustments.
• + Easy minimalist playstyle.
• + Very tanky.
• + Loads of DPS from beginning to end game.
• + Variation available.
• + Can have very fast movement speed for map clear and Uber lab farming.
• + Can farm uber lab.
• + Molten Strike finally got an MTX.

Cons

• - Molten Strike finally got an MTX (potentially incoming nerf).
• - Can get expensive for optimal version.
• - Not the fastest zoom zoom clear speed around.

 

 

Skill Tree 

Ascendancy

Rapid Assault -> Avatar of the Chase -> Quartz Infusion -> Avatar of the Veil

Bandits

Aid Oak or Kill All. I aided oak for the 1% regen, 2% phys dmg reduction and 20% global physical damage. I may end up respec'ing into kill all. I'm slightly unsure which would be best.

Pantheons

The Pantheon List

• Major: Soul of Lunaris. Amazing for delves, and in general. Boosting our dodge is always welcome.
• Minor: Soul of Shakari. Feel free to change, but being immune to poison is HUGE when its needed

Passive Tree

 

 

Skill Gems

Move the mouse on the bold poe skill gems to see needed mod

Helmet: Molten Strike

 + Multistrike Support + Elemental Focus Support + Ancestral Call Support + Elemental Damage with Attacks Support

Swap Ancestral Call for Elemental Damage with Attacks for single target. Elemental Focus is important. You do not want to ignite with molten strike, as that is reserved for below.

Gloves: Cyclone

+ Fortify Support + Increased Critical Strikes Support + Combustion Support 

Cyclone. This activates our movement speed bonus for +2 projectiles from Beltimber Blade. It also grants us fortify, usually blinds the target, usually grants us Elemental Overload, and ignites the target for -19% fire resistance AND to activate our helmets build-in Immolate. God damn, the synergy.
We can only have one ignite on a given enemy, which will be the most powerful ignite. We want to ensure our cyclone ignites so we gain combustion's bonus of -fire res, so just to be sure elemental focus is BiS with molten strike (it also is in terms of DPS anyways, so win/win).

Boots: Ancestral Protector

+ Maim Support + Faster Attacks Support + Portal

Nothing special here. Ancestral call and w/e you want with it. I'm still unsure if Maim support will aid our molten strike, but i have it linked anyway.

Weap1: Blood Rage

+ Charged Dash + Elemental Damage with Attacks Support

Blood rage for more attack speed and frenzy charge generation. Charged dash is my preferred movement skill to get over gaps etc, ESPECIALLY in uber lab. This is also where i store my Ele dmg to attacks for easy swap into my helmet when necessary.

Weap2: Anger

+ Blasphemy Support + Enfeeble + Vaal Grace + Projectile Weakness + Herald of Ash

Lots of options and combinations available here. My preferred setup for delving, and thus i lazily keep at all times is Anger and Blasphemy Enfeeble. I also swap anger for Grace when i want to run as fast as possible, like uber lab farming or any map under tier 14. Feel free to use Anger/HoA and self cast Proj Weakness for highest DPS setup, or Grace/Blasphemy Enfeeble for highest defense setup, or anything inbetween.

 

Gear

 

Thats right, Beltimber Blades. I got PERFECT rolls for 20-30c. You can get great rolls for 1c even at the start of a league because nobody uses these things. Well the synergy and power they provide with this build is phenomenal. We make full use out of these weapons other than Far Shot.

Your helmet is your best friend. This is what will bring this build into the next level of power. For mirror versions you're looking at having a +3 Molten Strike Projectile enchant and maybe even also +2/3 critical strike chance for socketed gems on top of it all.

Xoph's Blood. Even though i hardly ever get hit by anything, this is still best in slot mostly for Avatar of Fire. The penetration and life provided are also bonuses. Also when something does hit you and get covered in ash the DPS boost is immense.

Rings. Don't matter a whole lot. They are used to fill in resistances, as much life as you can muster, and at least one should have +16/20 life gained on hit primarily for delving. They are also cheap crafting with Essence of Hysteria (10-12c each) to get 10% of phys as extra fire. Good dps boost.

Gloves just fill in resistances with some life. Gripped gloves benefit damage.

Atziri's step are best in slot by a mile. They are also ridiculously cheap. Boot enchants are very easy to get especially since this build EASILY farms uber lab, so buy a pair without an enchant then get your desired. I usually go for pen against single target to help vs guardians, shaper, uber elder etc.

Belt. Fill in resistances and life. everything else is a bonus. I also use leather belt for the longest time, as good stat Stygian Vise can get expensive.

Body armor. BiS is Kaom's Heart. It will give us the life pool we need to soak up a hit or two. Chest slot is fully open. Do not really need the stats nor the sockets so feel free to use Queen of the Forest (as shown above) for upwards of 240% movement speed to farm low tier maps and Uber lab runs.

Total cost of my current gear is approx: 45 exalts.

Flask

These are your best options, but feel free to mix them up how you prefer.

The Wise Oak

 

Leveling Passive Trees

STARTER VERSION

• 30 Points
• 58 Point, 1 Ascendancy
• 80 Point, 2 Ascendancy
• 103 Point, 3 Ascendancy
• Final Tree 

 

Budget Demonstration

I understand not everybody will have multiple tens of exalts to get the helmet im running, or the crazy watcher's eye jewel i have, or even a xoph's blood. So here i will demonstrate how powerful the build still is without all of these things.

Beltimber Blade, Harlequin Mask, Queen of the Forest, Gripped Gloves, Atziri's Step, Lapis Amulet, For Spiral Two-Stone Ring, Pandemonium Two-Stone Ring, Stygian Vise + Searching Eye Jewel, Cautious Eternal Life Flask Of Staunching, Chemist's Sulphur Flask Of Warding, Ample Quicksliver Flask Of Adrenaline, Ample Jade Flask Of Reflexes, Atziri's Promise