Welcome to the Impending Doom Pathfinder Build Guide, a powerful and versatile character setup for Path of Exile's 3.22 league season. This build excels in both clearing maps efficiently and tackling challenging end-game content with its poison-based chaos damage over time mechanics. In this guide, we'll dive into the mechanics, skill gem setup, ascendancy choices, and gear recommendations to help you create a formidable Impending Doom Pathfinder.
- Build Overview
- PoB Link
- Key Mechanics
- Ascendancy Choices
- Gear Recommendations
- Skill Gem Setup
- Playstyle
- Challenges and Budget
- Leveling Progression
- Early, Mid, and Late Game Skill Trees
- Mid to Late Game Clusters and Notables
- Endgame Strategies
- - Flask Uptime and Cost Reduction
- - Unique Items
- - Building Defenses
- - Flask Management
- - Clusters and Auras
- Conclusion
↖Build Overview
The Impending Doom Pathfinder is a poison-focused chaos damage over time build that leverages the Impending Doom skill gem to create explosive chain reactions upon curse expiration. This build is particularly well-suited for clearing large packs of enemies and excels in challenging mapping content, such as delirium encounters. While it requires some understanding of its mechanics, once mastered, it offers excellent damage potential and survivability.
↖PoB Link
↖Key Mechanics
Impending Doom: This skill gem creates a chaos explosion when a curse inflicted by you expires on a target. By using a specific setup with vixen's entrapment and spell cascade, you can apply multiple curses and trigger multiple doom explosions, greatly boosting your damage output.
↖Ascendancy Choices
- Nature's Appraisal: Inflict withered on enemies, increasing their chaos damage taken.
- Master Toxicity: Enable poison proliferation and boost poison damage.
- Nature's Adrenaline: Enhance flask sustain and usability.
- Master Surgeon (early game) / Nature's Boon (late game): Boost flask uptime and effectiveness.
↖Gear Recommendations
- Vixen's Entrapment: Enables multiple curse application and triggers Impending Doom explosions.
- Doomsower: Powerful unique two-handed sword for increased poison damage.
- Cospri's Will: Improves poison application and duration.
- Taste of Hate: Mitigates physical damage and converts to elemental damage.
- Wyrmsign Gloves: Enhances poison damage and flask sustain.
- Lioneye's Remorse: Provides block chance and tankiness.
- Rare Belt and Jewels: Focus on cooldown reduction, damage, and resistance.
↖Skill Gem Setup
- Main Attack Skill (Shield Charge or Flame Dash): Mobility skill for traversing maps.
- Impending Doom (Socketed with Temporal Chains): Trigger Doom explosions upon curse expiration.
- Temporal Chains (Spelled through Vixen's Entrapment): Slows down enemies and increases doom damage.
- Spell Cascade (Spelled through Vixen's Entrapment): Enhances curse overlap and doom explosion area.
- Secondary Curses (Spelled through Vixen's Entrapment): Apply curses to trigger Impending Doom explosions.
↖Playstyle
- In map clearing, apply curses with Impending Doom and allow poison proliferation to eliminate packs of enemies.
- For bossing, position your character to benefit from spell cascade overlap and trigger multiple Impending Doom explosions.
- Utilize flask management to maintain constant uptime on defensive buffs and resistances.
- Invest in cooldown reduction and damage to maximize Impending Doom explosions.
↖Challenges and Budget
- The build has a moderate difficulty level, requiring some understanding of mechanics.
- Early-game Poe Currency budget centers around acquiring Vixen's Entrapment, while late-game gear can be more moderate in cost.
- Clearing is exceptional, while single-target damage might require optimization.
↖Leveling Progression
Early Levels (1-25):
- Position your mouse behind the target to make the spell Cascade overlap two hits onto the enemy.
- Spam right-click while keeping the Malevolence Aura active.
- Maintain distinctive sound cues for casting.
- Utilize flasks and life recovery for survivability.
- Prioritize upgrading your flasks and getting Live Flasks.
- Consider using the Soul of Aberrath for ailment immunity early game.
Mid Levels (25-54):
- Acquire relevant passives like Primal Spirit, Toxic Strikes, and Graceful Assault.
- Continue upgrading your flasks for better sustain.
- Transition into getting Replenishing Remedies for flask sustain.
- Focus on acquiring key support gems and leveling Poison Concoction.
Late Levels (54-70+):
- Path towards Quick Step and Herbalism for movement speed and life.
- Grab Blood Drinker for more life and life on kill.
- Obtain Masteries that enhance poison damage and effects.
- Invest in Charisma for better aura management.
- Seek Skittering Runes for damage, mana reservation, and AOE.
- Aim for Eldritch Battery for more mana sustain.
↖Early, Mid, and Late Game Skill Trees
- Skill trees and gem choices are provided for various phases of leveling and gear acquisition.
- Prioritize flask sustain, poison damage, and life on the skill tree.
↖Mid to Late Game Clusters and Notables
- Transition into cluster jewels for significant DPS boosts.
- Key notables include Spike Concoction, Brute Force Solution, Wicked Pall, and Septic Spells.
↖Endgame Strategies
↖- Flask Uptime and Cost Reduction
- Achieve 100% flask uptime for optimal performance.
- Invest in flask mods on your belt or use crafted boots for flask duration.
- Utilize Prefix crafts on amulets for non-channeling skill mana cost reduction.
↖- Unique Items
- Leopard's Alms: Great for energy shield and life sustain.
- Doedre's Scorn: Boosts chaos damage based on curses on enemies.
- Apep's Rage: Offers spell damage, chaos damage, and cast speed.
↖- Building Defenses
- Shift 100% of physical damage taken to elemental with the "Call to Arms" keystone.
- Invest in Endurance Charges for additional defense.
↖- Flask Management
- Prioritize proper flask setup for sustaining abilities and keeping buffs up.
- Utilize flask rolls for maximum benefits.
↖- Clusters and Auras
- Obtain suitable cluster jewels like Spike Concoction and Brute Force Solution.
- Enhance aura effectiveness with Charisma and passives.
- Maintain the best combination of auras for optimal DPS.
↖Conclusion
The Impending Doom Pathfinder offers a unique and powerful poison-based playstyle, excelling in map clearing and facing challenging content. With careful understanding of mechanics, gear optimization, and flask management, you can harness the explosive potential of Impending Doom to create a formidable character capable of tackling the most demanding encounters Path of Exile has to offer.
