With the official launch of Path of Exile 3.27 Keepers of the Flame League, the player community has seen the emergence of many powerful and interesting builds.
One build, Explosive Arrow Champion, which boasts extremely high survivability and can quickly and efficiently defeat bosses, has gained popularity among many players.
If you prefer a summoner-based playstyle, then this build is undoubtedly the best choice for mapping and leveling. Next, POECURRENCY.com will provide a detailed analysis of this build’s gameplay, skills, and gear.
Core Gameplay
The core mechanics of this build focus on the synergistic interaction between Explosive Arrow and Ballista Totem.
Players deploy Ballista Totem, which automatically fires arrows. Each arrow that hits an enemy implants a fuse, which detonates after a short delay, causing massive fire damage.
Unlike traditional builds that require direct attacks, this mechanism allows players to move around flexibly after placing Totem, greatly improving their survivability.
Champion’s solid defensive foundation complements this offensive style, creating a well-rounded gaming experience.
The ignition damage from a Fuse explosion inherits the player’s fire damage, damage over time bonus, and attack speed. As the number of Fuse stacks, the final explosion damage multiplies exponentially, enough to instantly wipe out all enemies on the screen.
To maximize damage output, you need to fire arrows as quickly as possible, so attack speed is crucial. At the same time, ensuring a 100% chance to ignite is key to increasing damage and guaranteeing Flammability even without applying a curse.
Strengths And Weaknesses Analysis
Strengths
This build for Path of Exile 3.27 has been widely praised by the player community, mainly due to the following outstanding advantages:
High safety is the primary highlight of this build. Players don’t need to stay in one position to continuously output damage, greatly reducing the risk of being focused by the enemy. Champion’s natural tankiness allows players to handle powerful enemies with ease.
This build’s core equipment doesn’t rely on expensive legendary items, making it easy for players to acquire at the start of the season, whether farming maps or playing solo.
Furthermore, most key skill gems can be obtained directly from game quests, greatly lowering the entry barrier and making it suitable for all types of players.
In addition, this build is incredibly efficient at farming maps. With Ignite Proliferation Support, the explosion effect on a single target quickly spreads to surrounding enemies, creating a chain reaction.
Therefore, a well-placed totem array can clear out all enemies in an area in a very short time, resulting in a large number of valuable POE currency drops.
Weaknesses
However, it’s important to note that while this build offers these advantages, it also has some features that players need to adapt to.
Firstly, its damage output has a certain delay, requiring players to anticipate the battlefield situation before accurately releasing the skill. Secondly, its mobility is relatively limited, mainly relying on Flame Dash for movement, requiring players to have good positioning awareness.
Skill Gem
This build’s skill gem setup has been carefully designed to maximize damage output while ensuring survivability. The specific gem equipment is as follows:
- Bow: Ballista Totem Support, Lifetap Support, Elemental Damage with Attacks Support, Ignite Proliferation Support, Explosive Arrow, Combustion Support
- Body Armor: Culling Strike Support, Enduring Cry, Urgent Orders Support, Frenzy, Lifetap Support, Blink Arrow
- Helmet: Determination, Malevolence, Summon Skitterbots, Unbound Ailments Support
- Gloves: Flammability, Flame Surge, Arcanist Brand, Lifetap Support
- Boots: Vaal Molten Shell, Lifetap Support, Flame Dash, Cast When Damage Taken Support
- Anywhere: Corrupting Fever, Lifetap Support, Second Wind Support
By combining these gems, the totem can efficiently apply and spread the ignite effect, providing a significant damage boost when facing powerful enemies, while also ensuring stable health regeneration.
Ascendancy Passive Skills
In terms of skill selection, Champion’s Ascendancy passive skills Worthy Foe, Fortitude, and First to Strike, Last to Fall form the backbone of this build. These skills not only provide significant damage bonuses but also greatly enhance the character’s survivability.
Gear Setup
In terms of gear, this build demonstrates great flexibility. Some gear and its affixes can completely convert physical damage into elemental damage and significantly enhance the ignite effect. In addition, it can significantly improve output and survivability. The following are ideal affixes:
- Helmet – Evasion Rating, Increased Armor and Evasion, Maximum Life
- Body Armor – Chance to Suppress Spell Damage, Armor, Evasion Rating
- Amulet – Level of All Skill Gems, Level of all Fire Skill Gems
- Belt – Deal no Physical Damage, Attack Damage Leeched as Life against Chilled Enemies, Ignites You Inflict with Attacks Deal Damage Faster
- Gloves – Chance to Suppress Spell Damage, Armor, Evasion Rating
- Rings – Maximum Life, Increased Elemental Damage with Attack Skills, Dexterity and Intelligence
- Boots – Chance to Suppress Spell Damage, Movement Speed, Maximum Life
- Weapon – Level of Socketed Gems, Level of Socketed Bow Gems, Increased Elemental Damage with Attack Skills
- Quiver – Damage Over Time Multiplier with Attack Skills, Fire Damage Over Time Multiplier With Attack Skills, Increased Movement Speed
These affixes collectively form the defensive system of characters in POE 3.27, allowing players to cope with various types of damage with ease.
In terms of weapons, players can prioritize bows with high attack speed, such as Short Bow or Grove Bow. Choosing the right weapon will give players a stronger combat ability in battle. Not to mention, if you’re willing to spend a little money to buy POE currency at POECURRENCY.com to optimize weapon affixes, you can quickly boost your character’s DPS.
In addition, the flask have been carefully designed. Players can choose Divine Flask to instantly restore health, Quicksilver Flask to increase movement speed, Quartz Flask to provide the stealth effect, and Granite Flask to enhance defense, which together form a complete support system.
This build is worth trying for traditional totem build players seeking a change, or for those looking for a safer and more efficient way to progress. As gear and talents are upgraded, this build can handle the various challenges of POE Keepers of the Flame expansion, making the player’s adventure smoother.