In thisPath of Exile 2article, we will be taking a look at how to put together theCrossbow Titan Warrior buildfor you to use to get into the late-game or end-game of the game.Path of Exilehas become notorious for the sheer amount of skills and build possibilities available in the game, and the sequel follows suit with an extensive skill tree and multitude of skill gems. This guide is here to help you get through all that and lay out a path for you to follow as you reach the end of the campaign and prepare you for yourCruel playthroughs or endgame.
Introduction
TheCrossbow Titanis aWarrior buildtaking advantage of the high Strength of the warrior and the ranged attacks of the crossbow to create a uniquetanky ranged build. This build focuses on taking down enemies from range while maximizing defense.
Starter Class
Firstly, for this build, our base starter class is theWarrior class, which is one among the seven available for now at the time of making this guide.
On the expansive skill tree, the warrior class will start on thesouthwest side. This side of the skill tree consists mainly of passives related to armor, stun buildup, totem, and flat melee damage. For this particular build, we will be focusing on getting nodes that increase ourmelee damagein order to maximize our damage output.
Passive Skills
For thepassive skill tree, this build is relatively straightforward as we will be focusing mainly down the southwestern part of the tree, emphasizing increasing ourarmor branch, as we will not be using our melee weapon with this build.
We will be taking nodes such asRelentless, which will increase our armor, and then we will take the branch withSturdy Metal, which increases our armor value from our equipped armor piece.
We will then takeBrutaland proceed through theReverberating Impactbranch to increase ourarea of effectfor our attacks.
Then, we will be taking all the nodes from one of the earliertwo-handed weapon damage skill groupsthat we come across, as this will increase our damage when using two-handed weapons by up to 100%. We will not be taking theShockwavesnode since we will not be using melee weapons, as the node only improves the damage oftwo-handed melee weapons.
After this group, we will take theCircular Beefpassive skill group that will give us a total of57 points in the Strength attribute, which will go a long way in both increasing ourmaximum life valueand thedamage scaling.
Following this, we will be investing our points in a branch that will increase our strength value by going for theBrute Strengthnode.
This branch will increase our strength attribute by a total of48, while also increasing our damage by1% for every 15 points in Strength, enabling this build to scale easily into thelate and end-game.
The next group of skills will increase the damage we do with this build, as they will increase the damage we deal with ourtwo-handed crossbow weapon. In addition to the increase in damage, it will add aculling striketo our heavy stuns, making it easier to take out enemies with theHeavy Contactnode.
From this point, we will continue along the southeastern route and go for the passive skill group that increases ourattack speedby going for theBlurred Motiongroup.
This group also gives us bonusDexterityandAccuracyin addition to attack speed, helping with our ranged attacks.
After this, we will go for additional strength by taking the passive skill group with theHefty Unitpassive node, where the whole group will give us an additional10 Strengthas well as increasing ourstun threshold.
We will also be taking on the skill group on the opposite side to increase oursustainabilityby increasing ourlife regenerationandlife recovery ratewith theHale Heart.
These groups work together to make this buildviable and effective, and the build has the potential to scale well into the late game by going for theCrossbow groupof passive skill nodes or focusing onCritical Hit ChanceandCritical Hit Damage.
For this build, we will go with theTitan Ascendancyfor the Warrior. This is because we’re takingColossal Capacity, which gives us an additional 20 slots, increasing our carrying capacity, and theHulking Formnode, which increases the effect of small passive nodes that give us attributes—greatly increasing ourStrength valuefrom all the attribute nodes we have taken.
TheTitan Ascendancyhas the potential to go eitheroffensive or defensive, further by either going for theSurprising Strengthbranch, which increases ourdamage against stunned enemies, or going for theStone SkinandMysterious Lineagenodes, which will increase ourarmorandmaximum life.
I generally find that going for theoffensive routeis better for this build, as we have already invested in some defensive nodes in our passive tree.
Active Skill Setup
For this build, we are going with thesimple and effective routeand will not be focusing on a variety of skills, but sticking with a handful that work extremely well and will let you deal with any situation the game throws at you.
We will be usingArmour Piercing Roundsas our main type ofammunition and skillfor this build.
Loading these bolts will allow you to fire off rapid-firing shots that can easily break down the armor of your targets and increase the damage they will be taking.
The second type of ammunition or skill that we will be using quite often is theHigh Velocity Rounds.
This skill will load a single bolt that can deal high damage, but it has the advantage of being able to ensure acritical hitagainst any target that has their armor broken, consuming the status effect when doing so.
The main rotation of your ammo type isArmour Piercing, followed by aHigh Velocityshot, and repeat—especially when fighting against tougher enemies and bosses.
The last skill that we will be using that greatly increases our damage output is theRapid Shotskill.
This skill loads your crossbow with a heavy clip containing at least50 boltsand will fire like aheavy machine gunafter a small period of winding up.
This skill is different from other crossbow shots in thatRapid Shots will accumulate heatfor your crossbow, which will, in turn, increase the damage dealt by each of your bolts. As we will be unloading hundreds of bolts within seconds—quite literally—you will see the boss’s health bar going down within a short time frame.
These three ammunition types or skills are the ones we will be mainly using, especially against bosses, but sometimes, they can have trouble dealing with large mobs of enemies. In such instances, shots such asIncendiary ShotsandGalvanic Shardswork really well, as they will let you fire off multiple shrapnels in a cone in front of you—much like a shotgun—allowing you to quickly deal with large groups of enemies while also having considerableknockback force.
In addition, the crossbow will gain access to a powerfulbuff skillin the form ofEmergency Reload, and this skill will instantly reload the active Crossbow Ammunition andempower the loaded boltsto deal more damage.
This skill works amazingly in combo withRapid Shot, increasing the damage of the skill even further, andHigh Velocity Rounds, buffing the already high damage of the shots even further.
Spirit Gems
For theSpirit Gemskill, theHerald of Thundergoes great with this build, as we can inflictshockon our enemies withGalvanic ShardsandStormbolt, and theHerald of Thunderskill will call down a lightning bolt whenever we kill a shocked enemy, adding to theLightning damagewe can inflict with this build.
Another Spirit Gem skill that works amazingly with the crossbow is theShard Scavengergem.
This passive will allow us to instantly reload our crossbow bolts upon consuming thebroken armorailment, allowing us to repeat theHigh Velocity Shotinstantly without needing to reload, adding to our damage output.
Support Gems
TheSupport Gemsreally bring out the best ability of this build, and we will be focusing on maximizing our effectiveness using our main three shots.
ForArmor Piercing Rounds, it is best to put in theChain Supportgem as early as possible into this skill when you are putting this build together, as this will cause our bolts to chain to multiple enemies, allowing us to take them all out quickly without the need for more close-ranged shots.
The second Support Gem that really amplifies the function of the skill is theDemolishergem, which increases thearmor-breaking abilityby 50%, making it so that you will break down armor with fewer shots—in turn increasing the damage you deal againstarmor-broken enemies.
ForHigh Velocity Rounds, we will want to put in theAmmo Conservationgem, as this will give a 25% chance not to consume a bolt, giving the opportunity to fire off two consecutive high-damaging shots in a short time.
To further add to this advantage, we will be slotting aDouble Barrelgem into the skill, as this will give us an additional bolt per reload. Although there is a downside of increased reload time when using this gem, this effect is negligible and will not have significant impact on the playstyle with this build.
ForRapid Shot, as the skill converts 60% of our damage toFire Damageand gives our bolts the chance toignite enemies, we will be using theIgnitionsupport gem, which increases the chance by 100%, and combined with theEternal Flamegem, which increases theduration of the igniteat the cost of 25% reduction in ignition chance, we can easilyset enemies ablazewith our high attack speedRapid Shots.
These form thecore of the build, and having this setup will allow you to quickly deal with any enemy—including bosses—putting them down before they know what bolt hit them.
For ourIncendiary Shots, we will be using theFire Infusionsupport gem and theMartial Temposupport gem.
TheFire Infusiongem will give our shots an additional25% Fire Damage, increasing our damage output, andMartial Tempowill increase theattack speedwhen using theIncendiary Shot, helping with quickly dealing with mobs of enemies.
With ourGalvanic Shards, we will be using theConductionandLightning Infusionsupport gems.
TheConductiongem will give a100% increased chance to shockusing the skill, andLightning Infusionwill give an extra25% Lightning Damage, increasing our damage when using this bolt type.
Regarding ourEmergency Reloadskill, we will be using thePrecisionsupport gem and theSecond Windsupport gem.
ThePrecisionsupport gem will increase theAccuracy Ratingwhile the buff is active, and theSecond Windsupport gem willshorten the cooldownof the skill.
For our Spirit Gem, with theHerald of Thunder, we will be using theMagnified Effectsupport gem and theExpansesupport gem.
These gems will increase theArea of Effectof theLightning Boltcalled down by the Herald skill. While theExpansegem will increase the cooldown by 8 seconds, this is negligible as this is not a spammable skill but apassive skillthat triggers when you killshocked enemies.
With ourShard Scavenger, we will be using thePersistenceskill and theVitalitysupport gems.
ThePersistenceskill will increase theduration of the buff, increasing the times where our bolts will not be consumed, and theVitalitygem will help with our sustain byregenerating healthwhen the buff is active.
Gear and Equipment
This build is mainly built to work well with any kind of gear, as it does not require any specificuniques, but there are some items that will greatly increase theeffectivenessof this build.
When choosing acrossbow, the ideal choice will be one with a high amount ofphysical damage, as the rounds we will mainly be using scale best with physical damage rather than elemental types. Having a crossbow with high physical damage will go a long way in boosting thedamage outputof this build.
Among the different crossbow types, theDyad Crossbow/Twin Crossbowworks really well with this build, as the weapon has the built-in property ofloading an additional boltfor all of your skills, allowing you to fire off one moreadditional shotwithHigh Velocity Roundsbefore needing a reload.
Rare gearwith increases toattack speed,movement speed, andlife leechworks really well with this build and will enhanceclearing mobswhen you are mapping.
Leveling Guide
The buildlevels smoothlywithout much trouble, being aranged buildthat can quickly take down enemies. If you happen to gather a sizable amount ofGalvanic ShardsorIncendiary Shots, you’re able to quickly take care of groups of enemies with little resistance.
Although the build is not reliant onuniques, if you happen to come across theMist Whisper Makeshift Crossbow, it will significantly hasten yourleveling processup to the end of Act 2.
One important thing to keep in mind is that even though we are starting with theWarrior classand scaling with theStrength attribute, we will need to invest in theDexterity attributeas well to allow us to equip bettercrossbowsand usehigher-level skill gems.
Mapping and Bossing
Although you can clear mobs during mapping quite fast,Bossingis a major strength of this build. You cankite around the bossand deal a lot of damage, especially in instances where the boss isstunned, where you can unload one or two full clips ofRapid Shots, quicklywhittling down the health bar.
Efficient gameplayin the endgame can be achieved by alternating betweenclose-ranged shotssuch asGalvanic Shardsandlong-ranged shotssuch asArmor Piercing Rounds, depending on the situation, and taking full advantage of theEmergency Reloadskill.
Endgame Scaling and Optimization
Endgame scalingis enhanced throughCluster Jewelsthat increaseAttack Speed,Movement Speed, andAttack Damage.
The build has great options to scale by investing into eitherpure attack damageorCritical Hit Chance and Damage, while benefiting fromhigh-Strength gearandCritical Chance gearto further boost damage.
Path of Exile 2 The Bloodletter Build
In this article, we’ll be taking a look at how to put together The Bloodletter build for getting into the endgame
This build performs well inSSFandHardcore, thanks to itshigh damageandhigh mobility. It is not reliant onexpensive uniquesand offersgreat damagewithfast-paced mobility and movement, allowing you to quickly go through many aspects of the game without much trouble.
So, this wraps up my guide for theCrossbow Titan buildforPath of Exile 2. I hope you found this guide helpful, and if you have any suggestions or tips, feel free to leave them in the comment section.
