Important Tree Nodes

The best ascendancy order is Shaper of Flames, Mastermind of Discord, Heart of Destruction, and Bastion of Elements. A Rain of Splinters unique jewel should be used to make your totems fire two additional projectiles. Using a Rain of Splinters allows you to use a damage support gem in the place of Lesser Multiple Projectiles Support. The Spiritual Command node should also be taken to increase your damage by making minion attack speed also affect you and your totems which mean you can benefit from minion attack speed bonuses on your bow and the minion attack speed from the tree. A Watcher's Eye jewel is highly recommended for increased life, increased energy shield, increased mana, damaging ailments deal damage 15% faster while affected by Malevolence, 22% damage over time multiplier while affected by Malevolence, and optionally 15% spell suppression while affected by Grace. The Reservation Mastery and Mana Mastery are also important for increased mana reservation efficiency so that you can use the recommended reservation skills. A Stormshroud jewel makes Shock avoidance apply to all elemental ailments and is recommended for 100% elemental ailment avoidance with the recommended boots. Take the increased fire damage nodes, damage over time multiplier nodes, fire damage over time multiplier nodes, and make sure to take the nearby increased life percent nodes on the tree. Note: The skill tree above is updated for the new season (3.25).

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Defensive Layers

With the Bastion of Elements ascendancy you will have a large elemental damage shield and take no reflected elemental damage. Your totems can also take 5% of the damage for you with the Totem Mastery and will typically be the target of enemies which is very helpful for survival.

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Gems

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Weapon (6-link)

Explosive Arrow

Ballista Totem Support

Ignite Proliferation Support

Awakened Elemental Damage With Attacks Support

Awakened Deadly Ailments Support

Awakened Burning Damage Support

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Armour (Kaom's Heart)

No sockets

 

Helmet (4-link)

Grace

Malevolence

Precision

Enlighten Support

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Gloves (4-link)

Summon Lightning Golem

Minion Life Support

Frenzy

Culling Strike Support

 

Boots (4-link)

Steelskin

Empower Support

More Duration Support

Flame Dash

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Reservation Skills

Grace is the best defensive aura for this build and gives very high evasion. Malevolence is the best offensive aura for this build and gives increased damage over time and increases skill effect duration. Precision is used to increase the accuracy and critical strike chance of you and your totems. Precision can be used once you have the increased mana reservation efficiency from the Reservation Mastery and the Mana Mastery and a leveled Enlighten Support to lower the mana reservation cost of your skills.

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Gem Notes​​

1. Steelskin is the recommended guard skill for this build because Immortal Call requires you to use potions more frequently and Molten Shell requires very high armour to be effective.

2. Frenzy generates Frenzy charges which increase the attack speed and damage of your totems and kills enemies at 10% life when it's linked to Culling Strike Support.

3. Summon Lightning Golem gives increased attack speed to you and your totems, kills enemies at 10% life with Culling Strike Support, gives an aura that increases your lightning damage, and provides an extra target for enemies to attack.

4. If you think you would prefer to play a self cast build that is great offensively and stronger defensively than the Spark Inquisitor you can also check out the Spark Hierophant Guide which can be found here Spark Hybrid.

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Equipment

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Weapon

Rare Short Bow or Rare Grove Bow

A rare Short Bow or Grove Bow is recommended for their low dexterity requirement because the Witch tree has very few dexterity nodes. They're also the fastest attack speed bases like Thicket Bows. Look for +2 to level of socketed bow skills, +1 to level of socketed gems, tier one attack speed, accuracy, and added elemental damage, and craft increased minion attack speed and cast speed on the bow. With the Spiritual Command node on the tree the increased minion attack speed will also apply to you and your totems. You should also add 1% increased elemental damage per 2% quality at the Horticrafting station.

Quill Rain

Quill Rain is the budget bow for Explosive Arrow and it's the fastest bow in the game. It has up to 100% increased attack speed, 100% increased projectile speed, 30% less damage, 2 mana on kill, 20 dexterity, and 50 accuracy.

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How Do You Craft A Great Starter Explosive Arrow Bow?

To make a strong starter bow for Explosive Arrow totem bow you should purchase six The Porcupine cards for a 6-link Short Bow. Use Shrieking Essence of Dread for +2 to level of socketed bow gems until you get tier one attack speed, accuracy, added elemental damage, an open suffix, and an open prefix. You can use Orbs of Annulment to remove unwanted modifiers and/or the Bestiary to switch a prefix to a suffix or a suffix to a prefix. Once you have one open prefix and one open suffix use the crafting bench to add the cannot roll attack modifiers suffix and use an Exalted Orb to guarantee +1 to level of socketed gems. Use the bench to remove the cannot roll attack modifiers suffix and craft minion attack speed and cast speed (which increases your attack speed with the Spiritual Command node on the tree) and you will you have a strong starter Explosive Arrow totem bow.

 

Quiver

Rare Broadhead Arrow Quiver

A Broadhead Arrow Quiver is ideal because it has an increased attack speed implicit which makes your Explosive Arrows build up to 20 stacks faster. Look for fire damage over time multiplier with attack skills, high life, increased attack speed, added fire damage, and if you can afford it damage over time multiplier with attack skills.

 

Armour

Kaom's Heart (Corrupted)

Gives up to 40% increased fire damage and 500 to maximum life which greatly improves your damage and survival. Once you have enough currency you should also look for a high increased damage corruption.

 

Helmet

Devoto's Devotion

Gain 16% increased attack speed, 10% reduced physical damage, 65 dexterity, 20% increased movement speed, 25% chaos resistance, and high defensive stats. You should also eventually go for a +2 to level of socketed aura or AoE gems corruption.

Rare Blizzard Crown

This is the boss option that gives bigger ignites but slower fuses for the damage explosion. It has up to 85-128 added cold damage (which also ignites with the Shaper of Flames ascendancy) as an implicit modifier and can have high life, resistances, dexterity, and damage taken as an element. You can also optionally go for the nearby enemies have lowered fire resistances modifier once you have enough currency.

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Belt

Dyadian Dawn

Gives Ignites you inflict with attack skills deal damage 35% faster, up to 35 strength, 85 life, 40% cold resistance, 40% fire resistance, deal no physical damage, and 1% of attack damage leeched as life against chilled enemies. You should use Turbulent Catalysts on the belt to increase its Ignites deal damage faster modifier.

 

Gloves

Rare Faster Ignite Damage Gloves

Look for Ignites deal damage 10% faster, life, increased attack speed, accuracy, added elemental damage to attacks, and a resistance. You should also use Eldritch Embers and Eldritch Ichors to add fire exposure on hit and increased attack speed.

 

Boots

Rare Boots

Look for high life, chance to avoid being Shocked, resistances, and movement speed. Tailwind on critical strike and Onslaught on kill on your boots don't work with totems because its your totems dealing the damage not you. You should use Eldritch Embers and Eldritch Ichors to roll a chance to avoid being Shocked and optionally a chance to avoid elemental ailments if you need more Shock avoidance which gives 100% ailment avoidance with a Stormshroud jewel socketed in your tree. With high tier Eldritch Embers you won't need the added chance to avoid elemental ailments modifier and can roll life regeneration instead. You can craft these boots by getting a tier one chaos resistance fracture (golden modifier that appears above the line that cant be changed) and roll Deafening Essences of Torment for Shock avoidance until you get high life and resistances. Next you can craft increased movement speed at the crafting bench for a great pair of boots.

 

Amulet

Rare Level of Fire Skill Gem Amulet

Look for high life, high attributes, +1 to level of all fire (or dexterity) skill gems, added elemental damage, and if you can afford it increased elemental damage with attack skills. You should use Fertile Catalysts on the amulet to increase its life bonus.

 

Rings

Rare Flammability Curse Ring

Look for Flammability curse on hit, high life, strength, accuracy, added elemental damage, resistances, and add reduced mana cost of skills at the crafting table. You should also use Fertile Catalysts on both of your rings to increase their life bonuses.

Rare Resistance Ring

Look for high life, high resistances, accuracy, added elemental damage, and craft reduced mana cost at the crafting table.

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Utility Flasks

Bottled Faith

Gives 40% increased damage, 150% increased critical strike chance, and 10% increased damage to enemies on consecrated ground. You should use Instilling Orbs on the flask until you automatically use the flask whenever it has full charges.

Taste of Hate (legacy is better)

Gives 15% of physical damage as extra cold damage, 15% of physical damage taken as cold damage, 20% less cold damage taken, 50% cold resistances, 30% reduced chance to be Frozen, and 30% less chance to be Chilled. Legacy Taste of Hate is better. You should use Instilling Orbs on the flask until you automatically use the flask whenever it has full charges.

Diamond Flask

Gives 100% increased critical strike chance. Try and roll Bleeding and Corrupted Blood immunity during effect and use Instilling Orbs on the flask until you automatically use the flask whenever you are Bleeding.

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Anointment

You should anoint your amulet with Panopticon which gives 30% increased totem damage and attack skills have +1 to number of summoned ballista totems at Cassia using an Amber Oil, Golden Oil, and Golden Oil.

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Enchants (Standard Only)

Helm: Explosive Arrow Deals 40% Increased Damage

Gloves: Commandment of Blades

Feet: Damage Penetrates 10% Elemental Resistances If You Haven't Killed Recently (it's always up your totems are killing)

Belt: Elemental Ailments Inflicted On Enemies Exposed By You Have 20% Increased Duration

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Bandits

The best bandit to help in Act 2 is Alira because she gives 15% to all elemental resistances which allows you to focus more on damage from your equipment. If you don't need the resistances you can kill all three bandits instead for 1 passive skill point.

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Pantheon

Soul of Solaris is the best major Pantheon power and gives 6% reduced physical damage taken when only one enemy is present, a 20% chance to take 50% less area damage, 8% reduced elemental damage taken if you haven't been hit recently, take no extra damage from critical strikes if you've been hit with a critical strike recently, and a 50% chance to avoid elemental ailments from critical strikes. Soul of Ryslatha is the best minor power and gives 60% increased life recovery from flasks at low life, life flask charges every 3 seconds if you haven't used a life flask recently, and enemies you hit have 50% reduced life regeneration.

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Leveling Gear

 

Weapon

Quill Rain

Quill Rain can be used as early as level 5 and is the budget bow for Explosive Arrow. It's the fastest bow in the game and has 100% increased attack speed, 100% increased projectile speed, 30% less damage, 2 mana on kill, 20 dexterity, and 50 accuracy.

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Armour

Tabula Rasa

A strong level one offensive chest armour that has six white linked sockets which means you can link any six color skill and support gems together for much higher damage at an earlier level. You can also get a Tabula Rasa with a high increased damage corruption which also requires level one for fairly cheap from the trade site.

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Helmet

Goldrim

An excellent level one resistance helmet with 40% to all elemental resistances and 10% increased rarity of items found.

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Gloves

Lochtonial Caress

These level one gloves give up to 15% increased attack speed, 15% increased cast speed, and a 15% chance to generate an Endurance, Power, or Frenzy Charge on kills which are all helpful for this build.

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Boots

Wondertrap

Wondertrap can be equipped at level 9 and gives up to 30 strength, 30 dexterity, 30 intelligence, and 25% movement speed.

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Amulet

Kurai Ward

A level five amulet that gives up to 30 strength, 30 dexterity, 100 accuracy, and 30% increased projectile damage.

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Rings

Perandus Signets

You can use two Perandus Signets at level one that each give up to 65% mana regeneration, 65 mana, 2% increased intelligence for each unique item equipped, and 2% increased experience.

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Flasks

Quicksilver Flask

This flask can be used at level four and gives 40% increased movement speed which helps speed up the leveling process. This flask can also have increased attack speed or movement speed as a second modifier. You should use Instilling Orbs until you automatically use the flask whenever it has full charges.

Silver Flask

This flask gives Onslaught which gives increased attack speed, cast speed, and movement speed as early as level 27 and can have increased attack speed or movement speed as a second modifier. You should use Instilling Orbs on the flask until you automatically use the flask whenever it has full charges.

Bottled Faith (use a Sulphur Flask for 40% increased damage if you can't afford Bottled Faith)

This endgame flask requires level 27 and gives 40% increased damage, creates consecrated ground, increases enemies damage taken by 10% on consecrated ground, and gives 150% increased critical strike chance against enemies on consecrated ground.

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Leveling Gems

Galvanic Arrow is the best starter bow skill to use at level one because it has multiple projectiles without a support gem. Precision is the best offensive low level aura and can be used once you reach level 10 for increased critical strike chance and accuracy. Vitality is the best defensive aura for leveling by far and can be used as early as level 10. You can switch to the higher damage Ice Shot with Volley Support once you are level four and then switch to Explosive Arrow totems once you have the Shaper of Flames ascendancy which makes it so that all damage can Ignite. Make sure and pick up a Steelskin gem once you've reached level four and have 16 strength for a defensive guard skill. Dash requires level four and should also be used as your travel skill at an early level.

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Upgrades

The Carnage Heart amulet can be equipped as early as level 20 for up to 56 to all attributes and 20% to all elemental resistances. You can also upgrade to two Praxis rings at level 22 to reduce the mana costs of all skills by up to 16 which allows you to use utility flasks in the place of mana flasks. Many of the items listed in the above leveling section last until the midgame where better items will become available.

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That's all for the Explosive Arrow Guide! For more about Path of Exile you can view the endgame guide here Endgame Guide.

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