Hexblast is a new skill of PoE 3.12 Heist, it deals chaos damage to a single enemy, dealing more damage if they are Hexed, then removes the Hexblast with the highest Doom. Compared to other ignite skills, Hexblastcan have greater ignites damage. We choose Trickster as our ascendancy to have good defence and can easily go CI in the late game.

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Pros & Cons

  • + Ignite Proliferation is awesome for clearing!
  • + Trickster has great defensive mechanics.
  • + Can do almost every map mod.
  • + Easy transition from life-based to CI
  • - Not everyone likes damage-over-time builds.
  • - Needs cluster jewels for DPS - potential problem for SSF.
  • - Bossing requires a one-two skill usage which some find clunky.

 

Skill Tree

Ascendancy

1. Patient Reaper - damage and life/ES recovery.
2. Prolonged Pain - massive buff to damage over time!
3. Ghost Dance - amazing defense.
4. Escape Artist - to make ghost shrouds even better.

Bandit: Kill All

Passive Tree & PoB

Path of Building Link(Fork Community): https://pastebin.com/sPuY5zMZ

Sample Hybrid Life/ES Build: https://pastebin.com/qdKM0BeR

Sample CI Build: https://pastebin.com/4g4NuryM


 

 

 

Gems Setup

Hexblast linked with

- Combustion
- Ignite Proliferation
- Deadly Ailments (Awakened)
- Burning Damage (Awakened)

6th Link has several options. Pick one:

- Swift Affliction (Awakened) best damage but very short ignite duration!
- Hypothermia assumes enemies will always be chilled by Skitterbots
- Awakened Added Chaos Damage Slightly lower raw DPS, but most consistent.

Utility Skills

Curse: Flammability - Impending Doom - Increased Crits - Onslaught (or Enhance).

Impending Doom-Increased Crits will hit to trigger Elemental Overload buff.

With an alternate quality curse that has added maximum Doom with quality, Enhance (Level 4) is a significant damage buff!

Auras: Malevolence, Summon Skitterbots (or Discipline, when going CI).

When these are linked to Enlighten (Level 4) and with the Sovereignty node on the passive tree, it is also possible to run Aspect of the Spider from some piece of gear.

Debuff: Scorching Ray - Spell Totem - Multiple Totems - Faster Casting

Scorching Ray applies exposure to assist with boss DPS.

Utility: Cast When Damage Taken (Level 1) - Immortal Call - Cold Snap - Tempest Shield.

Cold Snap can occasionally generate Frenzy Charges for a small damage boost while clearing, and slow nearby enemies. Tempest Shield gives a small block buff - flex slot. Other option is Void Sphere to clear corpses.

Movement: Flame Dash - Second Wind - Portal.

If desired, you could find space for Enduring Cry - Urgent Orders and link those to Second Wind as well in order to manually generate endurance charges.

Alternate Quality Gem Upgrades

Alternate Quality Flammability: Curses inflicted by this Skill have +5 to maximum Doom.

Alternate Quality Hexblast: 40% increased Damage with Ailments; 20% increased Effect of non-Damaging Ailments on Enemies.

Alternate Quality Malevolence: You and nearby Allies deal 10% increased Damage with Ailments

Alternate Quality Combustion: Ignites from Supported Skills deal Damage 5% faster

 

Gear Setup

Priorities for rare items include:

  • Cap all resistances at 75%
  • Increased Defenses: Maximum Life (and/or Energy Shield) and Evasion
  • Dexterity and Strength sufficient to reach Gem requirements
  • Better Ignite DPS! (see below.)

How to Scale Your Ignite Damage

"More" Damage Multipliers: (prioritize these stats)

  • Fire Damage Over Time Multiplier
  • Damage Over Time Multiplier
  • Ignites / Damaging Ailments You Inflict Deal Damage #% Faster
  • Enemies have -#% Fire Resistance
  • Additional Gem Levels for Chaos, Hex, Intelligence, AOE, or Spell Skills.

"Increased" Damage Modifiers: (also good)

  • Fire Damage or Elemental Damage
  • Burning Damage or Damage Over Time
  • Adds # to # Physical, Cold, Lightning, or Chaos Damage to Spells
  • Chaos Damage (Less effective than increased elemental damage).

Modifiers that DO NOT scale Ignite:

  • Area Damage
  • Spell Damage
  • Damage Penetrates #% Resistance
  • Chaos Damage over time Multiplier
  • Arcane Surge (not totally useless - it does improve cast speed/mana regen)
  • Adds # to # Fire Damage to Spells (Very bad! Will prevent EE from working.)

Jewel Mods

The build benefits greatly from cluster jewels, as well as Abyssal and Normal jewels. Abyssals with a lot of flat added damage are some of the best for DPS, and often cheap to trade for.

For your convenience, pre-made search terms to find good jewels. Normal - Abyssal

Watcher's Eye: "Damaging Ailments you inflict deal Damage #% faster while affected by Malevolence." You can also get the "Damage over time Multiplier" with Malevolence, but that mod is more expensive and not as good.

Transcendent Mind located above Witch

Useful Unique Items

Won't be using all of these at the same time, but some handy items include:

Flasks: Cinderswallow Urn for DPS and survival; and Witchfire Brew. Important Interaction: the Despair aura that Witchfire creates cannot generate Doom, but it CAN be detonated by Hexblast (giving extra AOE to ignites). Using this helps clear speed a LOT!

Boots: Windshriek for damage, massive AOE boost, and an extra curse.

Gloves: Fenumus Weave for added flat chaos and Aspect of the Spider.

Shield: Apep's Supremacy when going CI, good for both defenses and added flat chaos damage.

 

Cluster Jewels

On large cluster jewels, you can use implicit of either 12% Increased Fire Damage or 12% Increased Chaos Damage. The fire damage notables are overall better.

TIP: Get large cluster jewels with item level 68 > ilvl >= 50 if you intend to craft yourself.

For Medium cluster jewels, need ilvl >= 68 for Wasting Affliction and Flow of Life, ilvl >= 50 for Blowback.

Notables to look for on Fire Damage Large Cluster Jewels:

Burning Bright: +8% to Fire Damage over Time Multiplier; 20% increased Fire Damage; 8% increased Area of Effect
Smoking Remains: 35% increased Fire Damage; 10% chance to create a Smoke Cloud on Kill
Prismatic Heart: 30% increased Elemental Damage; +10% to all Elemental Resistances
Widespread Destruction: 20% increased Elemental Damage; 10% increased Area of Effect
Lord of Drought: 25% increased Flammability Curse Effect; 10% increased Area of Effect
Cremator: 30% increased Fire Damage; Ignited Enemies you hit are destroyed on Kill

Notables to look for on Chaos Damage Large Cluster Jewels (much worse):

Unwaveringly Evil: 30% increased Chaos Damage; Chaos Skills ignore interruption from Stuns
Unholy Grace: 30% increased Chaos Damage; 10% increased Attack and Cast Speed
Wicked Pall: 35% increased Chaos Damage; 10% increased Skill Effect Duration

Medium cluster jewels give powerful DPS increases. There are many good notables on medium clusters with fire DOT multiplier implicit, but the best are:
Blowback: Ignites you inflict deal Damage 15% faster
Wasting Affliction: 20% increased Damage with Ailments; Damaging Ailments deal damage 10% faster

Get one of those plus some other notable that is good. It is very difficult to get both mods on the same jewel!

If available, Small Cluster jewels with added HP are great to take as well (Fettle).

 

Leveling Guide

Summary: level with Essence Drain/Contagion until Act 6. You could also level with Caustic Arrow, or do Stormblast Mine/Orb of Storms (this seems to be the meta choice).

Around level 45, switch to Hexblast and begin using Ignite to clear.

Read the following for details... (This shows the ED/C leveling method).

Acts 1 to 5

Act 1:

Item Goals: 3-socket item with BBG colors.
After Hillock take Ethereal Knives (or Explosive Trap if you prefer), link Lesser Poison.
After Medicine Chest from Tidal Island, take Quicksilver Flask and buy Arcane Surge (leave at Level 1).
After Mud Flats, take Contagion and Dash.

After entering the Prison, return to town, take Void Manipulation.

Early A1 Gem links:
Ethereal Knives - Lesser Poison
Contagion - Void Manipulation
Dash - Arcane Surge

After Brutus: take Flame Dash to replace Dash. (Can buy Combustion, Added Cold and begin leveling them)

Before Merveil, take Essence Drain and link Void Manipulation to it.

Act 2:

After Chamber of Sins: take Skitterbots and begin using it.

After the Weaver: take Faster Casting (link to Contagion), buy Controlled Destruction (link to Essence Drain) and can buy Deadly Ailments if desired.

Kill all the bandits for passive points.

A2 Gem Links:

Essence Drain - Controlled Destruction - Void Manipulation
Contagion - Faster Casting
Flame Dash - Arcane Surge
Skitterbots.

Act 3:

Tolman: take Malevolence aura to use, buy Flammability and begin leveling it (not used yet).
After Gravicius, get Hexblast (level 28) start leveling it.

Can skip the Library optional quest, or do it to get Swift Affliction to make leveling easier.

Passive Tree: Level 25

Act 4:

Take Chaos Golem or Lightning Golem as preferred.

Before Malachai, take Increased AOE Support.

Act 6 and Onwards

After clearing the Twilight Strand, can purchase necessary gems to proceed with the main strategy, re-spec slightly out of the early leveling-only nodes.

Passive Tree: Level ~50


A6 Gem Links:

Hexblast - Combustion - Ignite Prolif - (Added Cold - Deadly Ailments - Burning Damage)

If you have a source of Added Cold/Added Lightning Damage to Spells on a piece of gear to trigger EE, the Added Chaos Damage Support is slightly better than Added Cold Support.

Purchase additional copies of Hexblast to level in off-hand weapon slots. Goal being to level these up to level 20 and get lucky with a Vaal Orb corruption to hit a level 21 gem.