Are you ready to dive into the world of Path of Exile (PoE) as an Elementalist? This class is a powerhouse, known for its mastery over the elements and its ability to dish out some serious damage. Whether you're a seasoned player or just starting out, understanding the best Elementalist builds can significantly enhance your gameplay. In this guide, we'll explore some of the top builds that will help you dominate PoE.

Why Choose Elementalist?

The Elementalist, a subclass of the Witch, excels in elemental damage and proliferation. What does this mean for you? It means you'll be setting enemies ablaze, freezing them solid, and shocking them into oblivion, all while enjoying some fantastic passive skills that boost your elemental prowess.

• Elemental Damage: Elementalist is designed to amplify elemental damage, making it perfect for builds that focus on fire, cold, or lightning.
• Proliferation: This class has nodes that allow elemental ailments (like ignite, freeze, and shock) to spread to nearby enemies, clearing packs with ease.
• Versatility: While it shines with elemental skills, the Elementalist can also be adapted to various playstyles, offering both offensive and defensive capabilities.

Key Passive Skills for Elementalist

Before we dive into specific builds, let's look at some of the key passive skills that make the Elementalist so strong:

• Shaper of Flames: Converts a portion of your non-fire damage to fire damage, and your ignites deal more damage. This is a go-to for fire-based builds.
• Shaper of Storms: Grants a chance to shock enemies, increasing damage taken by a significant amount. Essential for lightning builds.
• Shaper of Winter: Converts a portion of your non-cold damage to cold damage, and chilled enemies you hit are frozen for a duration. Great for cold-focused characters.
• Beacon of Ruin: Elemental ailments spread to nearby enemies, improving clear speed and overall damage output.
• Mastermind of Discord: Grants elemental penetration and increased damage when you use skills of different elements. A solid all-around choice for hybrid elemental builds.

Top Elementalist Builds

1. Arc Elementalist

The Arc Elementalist is a classic build known for its excellent clear speed and respectable boss damage. Arc is a lightning spell that chains between enemies, making it incredibly effective at clearing packs. This build is beginner-friendly and remains viable even in the endgame.

Key Skills and Gear:

• Arc: The primary skill for dealing damage. Link it with support gems like Spell Echo, Controlled Destruction, and Added Lightning Damage.
• Storm Brand: Use Storm Brand to apply single-target damage on bosses, linked with similar support gems.
• Lightning Golem: Provides extra lightning damage and a bit of survivability.
• Gear: Focus on items with increased lightning damage, cast speed, and critical strike chance. Look for uniques like Call of the Brotherhood for added cold damage conversion.

Playstyle:

The playstyle is straightforward: cast Arc to clear packs of enemies and use Storm Brand for tougher opponents. Keep your Lightning Golem active for extra support. The Beacon of Ruin passive ensures that shocked enemies spread the ailment, amplifying your damage further.

Why it Works:

• Clear Speed: Arc's chaining ability allows you to clear entire screens of enemies with a single cast.
• Scalability: The build scales well with investment, allowing you to tackle high-tier maps and bosses.
• Accessibility: It's relatively easy to gear up, making it a great starting build for new leagues.

2. Fireball Elementalist

For those who love seeing enemies burn to a crisp, the Fireball Elementalist is an excellent choice. Fireball is a projectile spell that explodes upon impact, dealing area damage. With the right setup, this build can achieve impressive clear speed and ignite proliferation.

Key Skills and Gear:

• Fireball: Your main damage dealer. Link it with support gems like Ignite Proliferation, Combustion, and Controlled Destruction.
• Flame Dash: A movement skill for quick escapes and positioning.
• Gear: Prioritize items with increased fire damage, cast speed, and ignite chance. Look for uniques like The Consuming Dark to convert chaos damage to fire damage.

Playstyle:

Cast Fireball to ignite enemies, and watch as the flames spread thanks to ignite proliferation. Use Flame Dash to navigate quickly and avoid incoming damage. The Shaper of Flames passive will significantly boost your ignite damage.

Why it Works:

• Ignite Proliferation: The ability to spread ignite to entire packs of enemies makes clearing maps a breeze.
• High Damage Potential: With the right gear and passive tree, Fireball can deal massive amounts of damage over time.
• Satisfying Gameplay: Watching enemies burn to death is undeniably satisfying.

3. Cold Dot (Damage over Time) Elementalist

A Cold Dot Elementalist focuses on applying cold damage over time effects, such as Creeping Frost and Vortex, to freeze and obliterate enemies. This build offers a unique playstyle that revolves around kiting and controlling the battlefield.

Key Skills and Gear:

• Creeping Frost: A spell that creates a trail of cold damage over time, slowing and damaging enemies.
• Vortex: An instant cast spell that applies a cold damage over time effect in an area, chilling and damaging enemies.
• Arctic Armour: Provides physical damage reduction and chills nearby enemies.
• Gear: Look for items with increased cold damage, damage over time, and skill duration. A good shield with life and resistances is crucial for survivability.

Playstyle:

Cast Creeping Frost to create damaging trails and Vortex to apply cold damage over time to groups of enemies. Use Arctic Armour for added defense and chilling effects. The Shaper of Winter passive enhances your ability to freeze and control enemies.

Why it Works:

• Crowd Control: The chilling and freezing effects of cold damage over time provide excellent crowd control.
• Defensive Playstyle: The build encourages a kiting playstyle, allowing you to avoid damage while your damage over time effects do the work.
• Unique Gameplay: Cold Dot offers a different approach to PoE, focusing on strategic placement and control rather than burst damage.

4. Storm Brand Elementalist

The Storm Brand Elementalist is a powerful build that excels in both clear speed and bossing. Storm Brand attaches to enemies and pulses lightning damage, making it highly effective against single targets and packs alike.

Key Skills and Gear:

• Storm Brand: Your primary damage skill. Link it with support gems like Added Lightning Damage, Controlled Destruction, and Brand Recall.
• Brand Recall: Instantly recalls your brands, allowing you to reposition them for optimal damage.
• Lightning Golem: Provides extra lightning damage and survivability.
• Gear: Focus on items with increased lightning damage, cast speed, and critical strike chance. Look for uniques that enhance brand damage and duration.

Playstyle:

Cast Storm Brand on enemies, and use Brand Recall to reposition them for maximum damage. Keep your Lightning Golem active for extra support. The Shaper of Storms passive ensures that enemies are shocked, significantly increasing your damage output.

Why it Works:

• Versatility: Storm Brand is effective against both single targets and packs of enemies.
• High Damage: With the right setup, Storm Brand can deal massive amounts of lightning damage.
• Mobile Gameplay: Brand Recall allows you to reposition your brands quickly, making the build highly mobile.

5. Crackling Lance Elementalist

Crackling Lance is a channeling lightning spell that deals increasing damage as you channel it, making it a strong choice for the Elementalist. This build is great for players who enjoy a more active playstyle.

Key Skills and Gear:

• Crackling Lance: The main skill for dealing damage. Link it with support gems like Intensify, Controlled Destruction, and Added Lightning Damage.
• Flame Dash: A movement skill for quick escapes and positioning.
• Lightning Golem: Provides extra lightning damage and a bit of survivability.
• Gear: Prioritize items with increased lightning damage, cast speed, and critical strike chance. Look for uniques that enhance channeling skills.

Playstyle:

Channel Crackling Lance to deal increasing amounts of lightning damage to enemies. Use Flame Dash to reposition and avoid damage. The Shaper of Storms passive will significantly boost your damage output by shocking enemies.

Why it Works:

• High Single-Target Damage: Crackling Lance excels at dealing damage to single targets, making it great for boss fights.
• Active Playstyle: The channeling mechanic requires active engagement, making the build more interactive.
• Scalability: The build scales well with investment, allowing you to tackle high-tier content.

Gearing Up Your Elementalist

Proper gear is crucial for maximizing your Elementalist's potential. Here are some general tips:

• Weapon: Look for wands or scepters with increased elemental damage, cast speed, and critical strike chance.
• Armour: Prioritize energy shield-based armor for added survivability, and look for items with life and resistances.
• Jewellery: Amulets and rings with increased elemental damage, critical strike chance, and attributes are essential.
• Flasks: Use a combination of life, mana, and utility flasks to stay alive and maintain your damage output.

Essential Unique Items

Certain unique items can significantly enhance your Elementalist build. Here are a few notable examples:

• Call of the Brotherhood: Converts a portion of lightning damage to cold damage, allowing you to freeze enemies more easily.
• The Consuming Dark: Converts a portion of chaos damage to fire damage, boosting your ignite potential.
• Berek's Respite: Creates a burning ground effect when you ignite an enemy, dealing extra damage over time.

Leveling Your Elementalist

Leveling an Elementalist can be a smooth process if you choose the right skills and passive tree nodes. Here's a general leveling strategy:

1. Early Levels: Start with skills like Spark or Arc for efficient clear speed. Focus on acquiring elemental damage nodes and survivability.
2. Mid Levels: Transition to your chosen build-specific skill (e.g., Fireball, Storm Brand). Begin investing in key passive skills like Shaper of Flames or Shaper of Storms.
3. Late Levels: Optimize your gear and passive tree to maximize your damage output and survivability. Complete the Ascendancy trials to unlock your full potential.

Tips and Tricks for Elementalist

• Mana Management: Elementalist builds often require significant mana, so invest in mana regeneration or reduced mana cost skills.
• Defensive Layers: While Elementalist is primarily a damage-focused class, don't neglect your defenses. Incorporate life, energy shield, and defensive skills like Arctic Armour into your build.
• Elemental Equilibrium: Consider using Elemental Equilibrium to lower enemy resistances to your primary damage type.
• Experimentation: Don't be afraid to experiment with different skills and passive tree setups to find what works best for your playstyle.

Final Thoughts

The Elementalist is a versatile and powerful class in Path of Exile, capable of dealing massive elemental damage and clearing maps with ease. Whether you choose to play an Arc Elementalist, Fireball Elementalist, or any other build, understanding the key passive skills and gearing strategies will help you dominate the game. So, gear up, choose your element, and get ready to unleash the power of the Elementalist!

With the right build and a bit of practice, you'll be well on your way to conquering the challenges that Path of Exile has to offer. Good luck, and have fun! We hope this guide helps you navigate the exciting world of Elementalist builds in Path of Exile. Whether you're setting enemies ablaze, shocking them into oblivion, or freezing them solid, the Elementalist offers a unique and rewarding gameplay experience. Happy gaming, and may your loot be plentiful!