If you want to wipe out an entire screen of enemies while dealing massive amounts of single target damage, my Lightning Conduit build is perfect for you! With the massive buffs we got from POE 3.23 patch, league starting this build should be easier and focus more on defense.
By following this guide carefully, you should have enough damage to unlock all Watchstones with very little gear. In this guide, we’ll explain how this build works, how to upgrade it, and options for finding a gear set on a budget.
We have two versions of Lightning Conduit. This is a non-crit version that focuses more on defense than damage. We designed this version for league rookie and Solo Self Found players with a low POE currency budget.
Build Basics
Lightning Conduit requires a secondary skill to shock an enemy because the major source of its damage comes from the total effect of the shock you inflict on the target. You can use support skills such as Orb of Storms or Storm Brand to start hitting with Conduit.
Since most of the damage scaling comes from Shock effect, the following factors worth noting are extremely important for builds, starting with Shaper of Storms. It allows your character to shock enemies without dealing with a critical hit.
The size of Shock effect depends on the overall damage and monster health. Therefore, the more Shock Effect you have, the better ratio you can get to maximizing Shock Effect, especially for bosses.
By default, it cap Shock effect at 50. But we can expand further it with Lightning Mastery, providing an additional 15.
Lightning Conduit is an extremely powerful skill that requires very little equipment despite the 2-button play style.
For the endgame, since we use Arcanist Brand’s Conductivity and Elemental Weakness, I recommend using Orb of Storms to apply shock before heading to Atlas map.
Leveling
Since we don’t have access to Lightning Conduits until Act 3, for leveling, I highly recommend using Lightning Tendrils with the following support gems. Because this is powerful early in the game, even without extending to critical hit chance.
If you’re following the budget or league starter builds in this guide, don’t grab Elemental Overload Keystone until you switch to LC.
For Lightning Tendrils, look for wand base types with high flat damage, and look for Essence of Torment, Essence of Suffering, or Essence of Anguish that provide flat spell damage mods that will help increase overall damage early on.
Ideally, we would prioritize the gem level for any spell skill. You can also use Orb of Storms in Act 1 to deal extra damage to the boss. Whenever any of your lightning skills hits an Orb of Storms, it will link to a nearby target to damage it.
Herald of Thunder will be useful before you switch to the main aura. Use Flame Dash as your move skill, and once you’ve completed the first lab and mastered Shaper of Storms, switch to Lightning Conduit. After switching, make sure to grab Elemental Overload Keystone as well. At this stage, you should be able to clear most of the bosses easily.
Once you get at least 40% mana retention efficiency, you can start using the 2 main auras. I recommend Grace and Determination. As long as you keep investing in opportunities to suppress spell damage as you progress, these two auras will take you all the way to the red map.
Use any large attribute nodes and amulets to fix your attributes. Once you’ve grabbed these notables, you can start training 2 of 3 Golems. Because they should be very effective at this stage.
Remember to pick up Arcanist Brand at the end of Act 4 and link it to your Curse, as well as Wave of Conviction. This reduces the number of buttons you have to press.
Gear Setup
To balance your build at the start of a league or within a budget, using Singularity Scepter will enhance your build’s defensive and offensive capabilities. However, if your focus is on getting more defense, you can use a shield with a +1 Lightning spell skill gem and a chance to block.
For an Elementalist with a Shaper of Storms, Berek’s Grip is much better and cheaper than Valako’s Sign Topaz Ring. If you think Voice of the Storm is expensive, use any other amulets with a +1 Lightning skill gem.
As with other gear, be sure to limit base resistance while scaling flat life. Once you get more Divine Orbs in the game, try investing more to get Suppressed Spell Damage, and then Chaos Resistance.
Body Armor’s cheapest option is the rare chest piece with life and has a chance to suppress spell damage and Eldritch Mods for aura effects.
Expensive options for Body Armor include Inpulsa’s Broken Heart or Skin of the Loyal. If you use Skin of the Lords, try not to use Keystone which will hinder the build.
Budget options from boots include unique boots like Atziri’s Step, Steppan Eard, or Stormcharger. Ideally, you want a pair of rare boots with movement speed, health, and a chance to suppress spell damage.
Inexpensive options for helmets include Elevore or Eye of Malice. The ideal choice is a rare helmet that has health, a chance to suppress spell damage, and physical damage as elemental damage.
Beyond that, I recommend using Gloves’ Eldritch Mod to get Lightning Exposure on hit to eliminate Wave of Conviction in the endgame.
Pantheon & Bandits
Speaking of defense, a fully upgraded Pantheon is extremely important to any build. Here, incoming damage can be reduced over time through Soul of Arakaali and damage mastered over time.
For Ignite and Burning Ground, Soul of Abberath is my favorite choice. Since we are already using Life Flask with Bleed and Corrupted Blood Immunity to skip Soul of Ralakesh.
This build won’t benefit from any Bandits, so I recommend taking Eramir’s advice to kill all 3 Bandits.
Ascendancy
Once you’ve grabbed Shaper of Storms, you can access Heart of Destruction via Mastermind of Discord. Liege of the Primordial doubles the base buff of your Golems, making your damage and defense even better. Your Golems may die many times, but they will respawn faster.
Wildwood Ascendancy
If you play this in Affliction League, I highly recommend Wildwood Primalist as your Ascendancy. This is the best of these 3 Ascendancies because of the flexibility to add the charms of your choice to suit your build.
Atlas Farming Options
This build can easily farm most content in the game, except for Ultimatum and Heist, which involve extremely dangerous monsters with ranged abilities. However, it is very effective against Expedition, Harvest, Essence, Legion, Ritual and regular bosses.
For Eldritch Altar farming, I highly recommend the red side. Once you have enough POE currency to upgrade your build, I highly recommend switching to my crit-based build for farming Uber Pinnacle Bosses and Invitations. Hurry up and give it a try!
