Path of Exile Chieftain Build - Place Totems and Burn Your Enemies!

path of exile Chieftain build 2019

Chieftain class is focused on placing totems and fire type of damage. His passives basically buff the totems, making them more useful in combat. Such totems can be used for taunting enemies, boosting the fire or physical damage or making enemies more vulnerable for your damage. Also, Chieftain is based on endurance charges, same as Juggernaut, which boost his life regeneration or life steal through the fire damage dealt by him and his totems.

Such a class is something in the middle if we look at Juggernaut and Berserker classes. He is quite tanky and at the same time deal high damage. He mainly uses two-handed axes to kill enemies. There is no better weapon to choose for the chieftain. If you build Chieftain properly, you will be able to clear all game content and enjoy the gameplay. The class is very good at killing groups of minions as well as bosses like atziri or shaper. His main advantage is that he deals a good amount of damage not only by himself but also with his totems. That makes him perfect for boss killing or fast mapping. Thanks to his totems he gains life leech and most of his survivability. If you are looking for a good map clear speed, nice damage and at the same time high survivability, this class can be the best possibility for you. His most useful passives are:

POE Chieftain passive skills

Tawhoa, Forest’s Strength - such passive skill is based mostly on endurance charges. It gives you 20% chance to get an endurance charge when you or one of your totems kill a burning enemy. Additionally, it regenerates 0,5% of your life for each endurance charge and at the same time boosts your Fire Damage by 6%.

Ramako, Sun’s Light - very good passive which is mainly used to boost the user survivability. Thanks to such passive you regenerate 1% of life per second. Additionally, you get 100% of fire resistance for free. Also, it converts 10% of physical damage taken from minion into fire damage for which you have very high resistance. As an addition, it makes you immune for ignite that can be cast by more powerful enemies, especially on t16 maps.

Ngamahu, Flame’s Advance - an offensive type of passive which converts 50% of your physical damage into fire damage. Also, all of your attacks penetrate 10% of minions and bosses fire resistance. Additionally, it gives you 70% of your physical damage as extra fire damage every 10 seconds. It is a very high boost to your damage, especially when fighting with endgame bosses.

Hinekora, Death’s Fury - a defensive type of passive skill which provides life leech for you and your totems. Every 1% of fire damage dealt by you or your totems is leeched as life. Also such passive increases your strength by 10% which is a nice boost for your damage. The most important thing this passive offer is a 10% chance to cover enemies in Ash on a successful hit. When the enemy is covered in ash it takes more fire damage (around 20% more damage) and has decreased movement speed.

Arohongui, Moon’s Presence - such passive gives your totems useful defensive and combat buffs. The first one makes the enemies deal 8% less damage to you when they are near you totems. The second one makes you deal 16% more physical and fire damage to minions that are near your totems. Perfect when we are fighting with single target enemies.

Tukohama, War’s Herald - a passive skill which provides defense boosts for your totems. When the passive is active your totems gains 50% of user Armor. Also, totems are immune to Fire Damage. When totems use any skill there is a 20% chance to taunt enemies on a successful hit. Additionally, your totems reflect 15% of their maximum health as fire damage to all enemies that try to kill the totem.

There are many different skill tree combinations for each class. Every passive skill works differently and gives different stats for your character. In order to build your champion correctly, you have to think about the role your character should have. You can choose passives which will make you tanky or create a pure damage dealer. In this part of the guide, I will introduce the most played build in 3.5 betrayal league for marauder Chieftain called Fire Cyclone build.

Since chieftain passives highly boost character fire damage, the build is mostly focused on this kind of elemental damage. What is more, the build uses totems damage. Sadly, items price is high, especially when it comes to buy six linked weapon. Because of that, I do not recommend this class for newbie players. There are also classes which can use this build like for example raider or slayer, but you have to be prepared that it can be less effective due to different boosts from the skill tree. Now I will write about pros and cons of fire cyclone build, show you the best gear you can choose during your adventure with such build, and at the of the guide provide full skill tree witch ascendancy passives.

Advantages

Easy to play - the build, as mentioned in the introduction, is quite tanky and deals a good amount of damage. Players will find it enjoyable to play because of fast mapping and its sustain on bosses and uber lab. There is also no problem when fighting bosses like Atziri or Shaper.

Awesome clear speed - fire cyclone build is perfect when it comes to mapping. You basically melt the opponents with fire damage what is very enjoyable. Because of totems, you kill bosses very fast (you can summon two totems with proper gems).

Tankiness - if you build the character properly, you will deal good damage and also have nice sustain. Bosses will not one shot you what is the most irritating thing when playing PoE.

Disadvantages

Pretty expensive - as I mentioned in the introduction, build needs two mandatory unique items, which are not the cheapest. But if you can afford such items, you will play probably the most enjoyable build you have ever played.

Based on charges - sometimes you will have hard times to keep your charges on the maximum level. Because of that, your survivability will be decreased and sometimes can cause death.

Abyssus Helmet required to boost damage - unfortunately, if you want to maximize your damage, you have to use Abyssus helmet. I tried to find a good alternative but even rare helmet with a 20% boost to cyclone damage was not a good replacement. Of course, it is not mandatory, but if you are looking for high damage, you should consider using it.

Can't do maps with reflecting elemental damage mod - since the class is based on elemental damage, you have to take care about maps that have elemental reflect mod. Do not even try to do them, because you will die instantly.

Equipment

In this part of the guide, I will introduce the best equipment for Fire cyclone build. Most of the gear increases your fire damage output and gives a chance to ignite enemy. Because of the fact that poe is one of the most developed grinding gear games, you will frequently change your previous gear for a new one. Below, you will see the recommended items with links and precise names. Also, advice on how to fasten your leveling process will be presented.

a) Weapon

In order to clear story maps fast, at level 13 you should choose a two-handed ax Limbsplit Woodsplitter. It is perfect game starter weapon which significantly boosts your physical damage and gives you culling strike ability. You will use this weapon until level 33. Then you swap your weapon for Reaper's Pursuit Shadow Axe. It increases your damage even more and makes your attacks unavoidable for opposites what means that you will also land a hit on minions and bosses. It also gives you a slight amount of life leech which is pretty useful for clearing maps faster.

At level 40 you can buy The Cauteriser Woodsplitter which is quite expensive, but you will be able to use it to level 58. The high price of this item is caused because of physical attack conversion into fire damage, which is the main source of damage in your build. It converts 70% of physical damage into extra fire damage.

If you are not able to afford this item, at level 45 try to buy The Blood Reaper Headsman Axe. More physical damage, better life leech and chance to cause bleeding on targets makes this weapon the best choice on this level. When you reach 58 level, switch your weapon for Kaom's Primacy Karui Chopper. You will use it to level 72. It significantly boosts your physical and fire damage. Additionally, you gain life on every kill and culling strike ability.

At level 72 you finally get your mandatory weapon which will increase your damage twice. The weapon is called Ngamahu's Flame Abyssal Axe. Thanks to 16 level of Molten Burst attribute in such weapon, you gain fast clear speed. It is one of the most expensive items in this build. In order to find it 6 linked with proper sockets, you will have to spend at least 4 exalted orbs. At the beginning just remember to put support gems in it, just buff Molten Burst attribute. Thanks to that you will be able to clear even t16 maps and farm some currency to make your build better.

b) Helmet

In order to survive stronger minions and bosses in the early game, you should buy Goldrim Leather Cap. This helmet increases your elemental resistances by 35%. Thanks to that you will be able to survive all bosses and minion fights until you reach the endgame. In the late game at level 67, you should get Devoto's Devotion Nightmare Bascinet. Such a helmet is the best option for this build which gives you a huge amount of armor to boost your survivability. Additionally, it increases your damage and movement speed which is useful when mapping.

There is also the possibility to wear Abyssus Ezomyte Burgonet but you have to know that such helmet increases damage taken by at least 40%. If you are looking for high damage boost Abyssus helmet is the best option. If you are looking for Devoto’s alternative, you can wear Starkonja's Head Silken Hood which is always good and solid for any build.

c) Belt

The perfect belt which you should wear in the beginning should have increased elemental resistances and damage. Additionally, some amount of health would be nice. Remember to buy the belt with at least 25% of resistances. When it comes to choose the late game belt, look for the same stats but with the bigger amount (at least 40%).

In the endgame, you should buy Onslaught Strap Stygian Vise or cheaper alternative Belt of the Deceiver Heavy Belt It depends on the currency you are able to afford for the belt. If you do not have at least 20 chaos orbs, buy Belt of the Deceiver. It boosts your damage and survivability at the same time. For the late game choose Stygian Vise because it gives you more resists and also one abyssal socket. With proper jewel, the belt will boost your damage as well.

d) Gloves

For perfect starting gloves, look for the one which will increase your survivability and attacks speed. By having gloves with at least 25% increased elemental resistances and 10% of attack speed, you will deal insane damage and survive stronger bosses which can be found at the end of every act. There is also the possibility to wear typical exp gloves called Lochtonial Caress Iron Gauntlets. These gloves give you offensive stats like attack or casting speed. Anyway, I recommend getting rare gloves with resistances.

In the late game, you should change your gloves for Tombfist Steelscale Gauntlets. The best one will have 2 abyssal sockets in it. There are no better alternatives. If you socket murderous and searching jewels it will give you a high boost to your stats and damage. Also, you should consider corrupting such gloves to get an elemental curse on hit. It will make you deal even more damage. Choose tomb fist only when you have full resistance caps.

e) Boots

If you want to finish the storyline as fast as possible you should look for boots which will increase your movement speed as much as it is possible (35% would be nice). Additional stats for which you can look for, are increased elemental resistances and attributes like strength or intelligence. For perfect late game boots, look for the one which gives you even more resistances and maximum health amount. There is also another possibility like Windscream Reinforced Greaves. Such boots increase all elemental resistances and boost your elemental damage from skills and attacks. Additionally, the boots give you a possibility to add additional curse (you should use this lot for flammability curse) what will maximize your damage output.

f) Armor

When you start the game, it is very important to have at least one item with 6 linked sockets. Thanks to that, your main ability will deal very good damage and help you to clear storyline faster. The best armor you can afford in the early game is called Tabula Rasa Simple Robe. With armor like this, you can put whatever gem combination you want. The armor does not have specified type of sockets so you will be able to use it even in the late game, as long as you do not buy the better one.

For a perfect late game armor, you should get Loreweave Elegant Ringmail. It always has 6 sockets. Such armor is used when you are looking for a damage boost. It gives you up to 50% increased elemental damage and 60% of critical strike chance. There is also the possibility to wear Bronn's Lithe Cutthroat's Garb which is amazing armor for this build. It boosts the damage from movement skills up to 50% and gives 2 levels to socketed movement gem. It means that damage from cyclone gem will be highly increased, especially because of the fact that such skill gains a lot through the leveling process. You can also wear Belly of the Beast Full Wyrmscale which is good for almost every build. It mainly boosts your survivability, but in my opinion, armors mentioned above are better options.

g) Amulet

The perfect amulet which can be used in the early game should have increased resistances and maximum health. Additionally, look for the one which will boost your attributes. Thanks to that you will be able to level up your gems which is a crucial part of this game. Probably you will lack intelligence so focus on amulets which such attribute. In the late game, try to get Impresence Onyx Amulet with reduced flammability mana reservation. It boosts your fire damage and also adds fire resistance and some health. Additionally, it gives you maddening presence for 10 seconds which reduce your damage taken from minions and bosses. For this build, there is no better alternative. If you are rich you can buy  Xoph's Blood Amber Amulet for huge damage boost, but Impressence will also do the job.

h) Rings

The best rings that can be used at the beginning should increase all your attributes, elemental damage, and resistances. It is the same situation as with amulet. Rings are used as support items to fill the resistance or attribute gaps. In the late game, Pyre Sapphire Ring is a mandatory item for this build. It boosts your burning damage and changes 40% of damage dealt from hatred into fire damage. The second ring can be rare with a good amount of resistances or Mokou's Embrace Ruby Ring. It also increases your fire damage and gives you a chance to ignite the target. There is also the possibility to get Call of the Brotherhood Two-Stone Ring which will perfectly cooperate with Pyre Ring.

i) Potions

The character build is not only consisted of items but also from proper potions. Some potions are responsible for increasing your damage output or for boosting your survivability. In this part of the guide, I will present the best flask set for Fire Cyclone build. If you are looking for the best and easiest way to get potions mentioned in the guide, you can buy them on poe market.

Health is one of the most important factors in the game. In order to deal with game content without any problems, for the first potion I recommend having the one which will regenerate your health when needed. Also, look for additional mods which will boost your survivability like bleeding immunity or instant recovery.

For the second flask, I suggest having is Lion's Roar Granite Flask. This potion gives you more damage output, armor and will perfectly work with atziri promise flask. Thanks to that you will increase your damage especially for single target damage, survivability and life leech. Mandatory potion for this build.

Next potion I recommend having is Atziri's Promise Amethyst Flask. Thanks to this potion, your survivability and damage will be boosted. It gives you the ability to leech hp and mana from monsters and converts 15% of your damage into extra chaos damage. If you use Lion’s Roar and Atziri at the same time, your damage will be insane. Also mandatory potion for this build.

As a fourth potion, you should get The Wise Oak Bismuth Flask. It boosts all elemental remittances by 35%. You will need such potion to increase your survivability when you decide to go full damage option.

For the last potion, I recommend Cinderswallow Urn Silver Flask. Since you have an ability to ignite enemies it will boost your damage and at the same time give you nice mana and life leech. Perfect as a late game potion to maximize your damage. In early game use simple  Experimenter's Diamond Flask of Reflexes for a critical damage boost.

j) list of gems

armor gems

Armor - 6 linked sockets ( 3 red sockets, 2 blue and one green)

Cyclone - your main ability. This gem allows the player to spin around and deals area of effect damage (AoE). The skills are based on high attacks speed. If you are using two one-handed swords, each of it will hit opponents once.

Elemental Damage With Attacks Support - support gem which allows the owner to multiply his elemental damage. It boosts elemental damage by up to 54%.

Melee Physical Damage Support - this gem boosts physical damage of the user. A very good gem to be used with Cyclone gem which is typical physical damage skill.

Damage on Full Life Support - the gem increases damage when the player is on a full life. If the player loses even one point of health, the effect will be nullified.

Increased Area of Effect Support - support gem which increases the radius of supported skill gem. In this case, cyclone gains a bigger radius of its effect, so the player can kill more mobs at the same time while spinning.

Elemental Focus Support - the gem which increases elemental damage of linked skill gem. Additionally, it makes supported skill unable to apply for elemental statuses like burning, maim or freeze on opponents.

weapon gems

Weapon - 6 not necessarily linked sockets (two red sockets two green and two blue IT IS MANDATORY)

Greater Multiple Projectiles Support - a support gem which adds four more projectiles to linked projectile skill. Additionally, it boosts attacking or casting speed of supported skill.

Physical Projectile Attack Damage Support - this gem boosts physical attack damage of projectile skills. Additionally, it reduces attacks speed by 10% but increases physical and chaos damage dealt over time.

Elemental Damage With Attacks Support - support gem which allows the owner to multiply his elemental damage. It boosts elemental damage by up to 54%.

Fire Penetration - the gem which makes skills based on fire attribute penetrate opponents resist for fire. In a result players’ fire attack skills, in this case, cyclone, deal more damage from fire attribute.

Elemental Focus Support - the gem which increases elemental damage of linked skill gem. Additionally, it makes supported skill unable to apply for elemental statuses like burning, maim or freeze on opponents.

Concentrated Effect Support - this gem increases skill area damage up to 54%. A perfect boost for cyclone skill.

When using two swords  (I do not recommend since you gain much more clear speed from axes)

first sword (3 linked sockets one green, one blue and one red)

Hatred gem which provides you a buff which increases your cold damage for you and your allies.

Herald of Ash such gem grants you a buff which increases your fire and burning damage

Enlighten Support - gem which makes supported skills consume less mana

second sword (3 linked sockets, two red and one green)

Enduring Cry - the gem which taunts enemies in the player area and gives a chance to obtain endurance charges. The endurance charges reduce your received damage.

Increased Duration Support - support gem which increases the duration of supported skills

Vaal Haste - the gem which increases user attack speed

Gloves - 4 linked sockets (two red sockets and two blue)

Herald of Ash such gem grants you a buff which increases your fire and burning damage. It reserves mana when active. Additionally, it significantly increases burning and fire spell damage.

Anger - an aura gem which boosts attacks and spells fire damage for the user and his allies. Additionally, it boosts AOE damage per 1% of quality.

Flammability - this gem gives a player curse which makes all targets in an area vulnerable for fire damage. Additionally, it gives a chance to ignite an enemy which boosts players’ dot damage.

Blasphemy Support - a gem which converts flammability from a curse into an aura. Additionally, it increases aoe effect of such skill.

Boots 4 linked sockets (two red sockets one green and one blue)

Ancestral Protector - a gem which gives you an ability to summon ancestral protector totem which will damage nearby enemies with physical damage. When summoned, it increases owner attack speed.

Elemental Damage With Attacks Support - support gem which allows the owner to multiply his elemental damage. It boosts elemental damage by up to 54%.

Elemental Focus Support - the gem which increases elemental damage of linked skill gem. Additionally, it makes supported skill unable to apply for elemental statuses like burning, maim or freeze on opponents.

Culling Strike - it makes your totems kill instantly enemies left with 10% of their hp or less

Helmet 4 linked sockets ( three green sockets and one red)

Leap Slam - a skill which makes you jump into the targeted area and deal physical damage to nearby enemies.

Blood Rage - such gem increases your attack speed and life leech but deals physical damage over time to the player

Enhance Support - support gem which increases the quality of linked skill gem. Depends on gem level it can increase up to 16% skill quality.

Vaal Haste - a buff gem which increases user attack speed

k) Skill Tree (also viable in Synthesis league)

Skill tree for Fire Cyclone Chieftain with the ascendancy

l) Bandits

In order to maximize your character potential, I recommend killing all bandits. Thanks to that your damage will be highly increased. There is also the possibility to help Alira if you prefer to get survivability with a small amount of damage.

m) Pantheon                             

main God - Soul of Solaris - buff from Solaris god boosts your survivability by decreasing damage received from minions and bosses. Since the build is mostly focused on dealing damage, this buff is mandatory.  

minor God - Soul of Arakaali - a buff from Arakaali increase your defense even more and additionally boosts your health regeneration.

n) Jewels

In jewels which can be socketed in the skill tree, you should look for:

increased attack damage

increased fire damage

increased maximum life

increased attack speed

increased critical chance

increased projectile damage

a chance to ignite an enemy

resistances to fill the res gap

In abyssal jewel (we can socket it into stygian Vyse belt) you should look for:

increased maximum life

increased fire damage

increased attack damage

increased attack speed

resistances to fill the res gap