Enaa Mari
Going on a Path of Exile Expedition? Go with these exile starter builds.
There is something in the name of Path of Exile’s new league that gives starter builds for it a special purpose. Indeed, they will be going onto an Expedition. Not all starters, however, are equal. Having said, here are those among them that are better than the rest when it comes to combat and gathering PoE Currency.
Freezing Pulse Hierophant
Freezing Pulse is a great spell choice as it is. Paired with the Spell Totems, it suddenly becomes an even better option as a leveling and end-game bread and butter skill. Then there’s the Hierophant Ascendancy, which is as great of a choice as the Marauder. This is because Pursuit of Faith and Ritual Awakening bolsters totems.
Much like any other spellcasting builds, this one need much Maximum Life, Energy Shield, and Mana, as well as using Mind over Matter. Thankfully, these mods aren’t easy to get, so need to use an Exalted Orb. As for its Unique item synergies, there are a lot. Coward’s Legacy Belt puts you in a “low life” state even when you have high health. With Pain Attunement Keystone, this grants 30% increased damage.
To cover the Coward’s Legacy Belt Debuff is Viridi’s Veil, which negates this curse’s effect provided that you have a magic ring equipped. Last but the most important is the Soul Mantle, which is a Unique Body Armour that turns a socketed spell gem into a spell totem. That, of course, would be no other than Freezing Pulse. The drawback to this that it curses you if a totem dies. However, like what was previously said, Viridi’s Veil and that magic ring will take care of that. These aren’t exactly to get, so PoE Trade is your best bet.
As for jewels, there is one strong recommendation: Self-Flagellation Jewel, which increases the damage you deal the more curses you are inflicted.
Raise Spectre Necromancer
Necromancer has always been a popular choice in past leagues, so it should be no surprise that its prominence would continue in Expedition. Able to both deal much damage with minions and at the same time be protected by this small army, you couldn’t have gone wrong with it then, and you won’t go wrong with it now.
The Raise Spectre Necromancer, however, relies on Spectres for damage. It will still be using zombies but will be a secondary damage dealer and a defensive measure instead, with them serving as a wall for attacks and probjectiles. For Spectres, necromancers will need to look for the best corpse to reanimate.
The biggest criteria for choosing is their abilities. The more helpful and unique, the better. Because of that, Slave Drivers and Redemption Sentries are considered as top-notch choices. The former deals Lightning Damage, has superb single-target damage and good clear speed, and are easily found in the Control Blocks in the fifth act. Redemption Sentries, on the other hand, are found in Redeemer-influenced Map, which’s a bit late in the game. Dealing cold, ranged damage, they are both damage dealers and provide some utility.
Equipment-wise, the build must have lots of equipment with life bonuses as well as armour. Bone Armour is also recommended, as it prevents a fraction of the damage that the Necromancer would have taken.
Toxic Rain Pathfinder
The Toxic Rain Pathfinder continues to be one of the best league starters for many leagues now, and for many good reasons as well. The biggest of which is its core skill dealing Chaos Damage over Time Skill, sending multiple arrows flying. Each of them generates a spore pod that deals DoT in a small radius. Enemies caught in the overlap of the radiuses of one or more spore pod will be dealt with the same number of overlapping radiuses. This means players using the build will have to keep spamming the skill.
The best way to do this would be to increase the number of Projectiles you fire and your Attack Speed. Toxic Rain Pathfinder builds with a high number of these traits can dish out unbelievable numbers.
Other than its offensive ability, the build also has increased mobility. Plus, since this is a Pathfinder, it has great flask sustainability. With all of these things, it is not only a great damage dealer, but also a well-rounded build. Apart from equipment, it also gets its damage bolstered by all sorts of Skill Gems and Passives. Ranger Ascendancies, however, have always been known to be lacking in defensive potential. To compensate for that, players must get nodes that increase Dodge, and increase its life pool through equipment. Thankfully, this drawback does not overshadow the build’s pros, so it’s very much worth getting.
So, which of these PoE builds are you going to go with? Are you going with one? Two? Or how about all of them? Or maybe you have something else in mind? Tell us all about it in the comments.
