PoE Herald of Ash Build 3.25 – Path of Exile: Settlers of Kalguur

The Herald of Ash build in Path of Exile focuses on leveraging the powerful fire-based effects of the Herald of Ash skill. This build capitalizes on the conversion of physical damage to fire damage and the additional burn damage inflicted on enemies when you kill with overkill damage. By optimizing fire damage, burning damage, and damage over time, this build can effectively clear groups of enemies and deal substantial damage to bosses. This guide will provide a comprehensive overview of how to optimize a Herald of Ash build in the 3.25 patch, ensuring you maximize your damage output and efficiency.

Key Features of Herald of Ash

Herald of Ash (Level 20):

• Spell, AoE, Fire, Herald, Duration: Herald of Ash is a spell that grants a buff providing fire damage based on your physical damage. When you kill an enemy, nearby enemies are burned based on the overkill damage.
• Mana Reservation: 25% of mana.
• Cooldown Time: 1.00 second.
• Cast Time: Instant.
• Quality: +20%.
• Requirements: Requires Level 70, 98 Strength, 68 Intelligence.
• Burning Mechanics:
  • Base duration is 4.00 seconds.
  • Base Burning Damage is 30% of Overkill Damage.
  • 38% more Burning Damage.
  • Buff grants 20% of your Physical Damage as Extra Fire Damage.

Building Around Herald of Ash

1. Weapon Choice:

• High Physical Damage Weapons: Prioritize weapons with high base physical damage to maximize the conversion to fire damage. Look for weapons with increased attack speed, critical strike chance, and added fire damage.

2. Passive Skill Tree:

• Focus on nodes that enhance fire damage, burning damage, physical damage, damage over time, and critical strike chance. Specific clusters to prioritize include those near the Marauder, Templar, and Duelist start areas.
• Consider pathing to nodes that increase life, resistances, and defensive attributes to maintain survivability.

Ascendancy Choices

1. Chieftain:

• Ngamahu, Flame’s Advance: Provides increased physical damage conversion to fire.
• Hinekora, Death’s Fury: Grants life leech and increased fire damage.
• Tawhoa, Forest’s Strength: Increases physical damage and enhances totem skills.
• Ramako, Sun’s Light: Provides increased elemental damage and life recovery.

2. Elementalist:

• Shaper of Flames: Guarantees your hits always ignite and increases ignite damage.
• Mastermind of Discord: Reduces enemy resistances and increases elemental damage.
• Paragon of Calamity: Provides elemental damage and resistances.
• Beacon of Ruin: Enhances your elemental ailments and spreads them to nearby enemies.

Support Gems

1. Main Skill Setup:

• Herald of Ash: Primary buff skill.
• Support Gems: Increased Burning Damage, Burning Damage, Efficacy, Swift Affliction, and Elemental Focus.

2. Secondary Skill Setup:

• Molten Strike / Infernal Blow: Melee skills to apply physical and fire damage.
• Support Gems: Multistrike, Melee Physical Damage, Fire Penetration, and Elemental Damage with Attacks.

3. Utility Skills:

• Flammability: Curse to reduce enemy fire resistance.
• Immortal Call / Steelskin: For defense.
• Leap Slam / Shield Charge: For mobility.
• Anger: Aura to increase fire damage.

Armor and Accessories

1. Armor:

• Body Armor: Prioritize armor with high life, resistances, and increased fire damage. Consider options like Carcass Jack for increased area of effect and damage.
• Helmet, Gloves, and Boots: Look for items that boost life, resistances, attack speed, and fire damage. Consider using items with increased armor and defensive mods.

2. Accessories:

• Amulet and Rings: Focus on items that enhance fire damage, physical damage, life, and resistances. Look for mods that increase burning damage and critical strike chance.
• Belt: A Stygian Vise with life, resistances, and increased fire damage is ideal.

Flask Setup

1. Life Flask:

• Instant Recovery: For emergency healing.

2. Utility Flasks:

• Ruby Flask: For increased fire resistance.
• Granite Flask: For increased armor.
• Basalt Flask: For physical damage reduction.
• Quicksilver Flask: For increased movement speed.
• Silver Flask: For increased movement and attack speed.

Combat Strategy

1. Engaging Enemies:

• Use your primary attack skill (Molten Strike or Infernal Blow) to deal physical and fire damage to enemies, triggering Herald of Ash’s burning effect on kills. Utilize Leap Slam or Shield Charge for mobility and positioning.

2. Utilizing Ascendancy Passives:

• Leverage the Chieftain or Elementalist passives to enhance your fire damage, burning damage, and survivability. Use Chieftain for life leech and physical to fire conversion, and Elementalist for increased ignite effectiveness and elemental damage.

3. Managing Buffs and Debuffs:

• Maintain high uptime on Herald of Ash and Anger to boost your fire damage. Apply Flammability to reduce enemy fire resistance and increase your damage output. Use your flasks to enhance your damage, resistances, and survivability during combat.

Example Builds

1. Chieftain Herald of Ash Build:

• Focus on physical to fire damage conversion and life leech.
• Utilize Ngamahu, Flame’s Advance and Hinekora, Death’s Fury to maximize damage and survivability.
• Use support gems that enhance burning damage and fire damage.

2. Elementalist Herald of Ash Build:

• Focus on ignite effectiveness and elemental damage.
• Utilize Shaper of Flames and Beacon of Ruin to maximize damage and elemental ailment spreading.
• Use support gems that enhance burning damage and fire damage.

Conclusion

The Herald of Ash build for Path of Exile 3.25 offers a powerful and fire-oriented playstyle for players who enjoy dealing significant fire damage and burning enemies. By focusing on maximizing physical to fire damage conversion, burning damage, and damage over time, players can effectively dominate both single-target and group encounters. Proper gear selection, passive skill tree planning, and strategic use of ascendancy passives will ensure that you unleash the full potential of this powerful skill. Equip your weapons, prepare your flasks, and ignite your enemies with the blazing force of Herald of Ash to incinerate your foes.