Artillery Ballista
Raider Build

Updated for Patch 3.20

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Artillery Ballista is an interesting mix of Totem and Bow playstyle, where you place a Ballista Totem to deliver damage via an Attack, the damage of which is sourced from your Bow. Artillery Ballista has some unique properties. It converts all your Physical Damage to Fire, and it fires Arrows by launching them into the air first, much like with the Arrow Nova Support. There are quite a few tools to assist you with this archetype, like Watchtowers or Panopticon Notables, and unique Quivers or Helmets. You will fire more Arrows than by using an Attack yourself due to the extra Arrows that the Artillery Ballista skill inherently fires, and because of the multiple Totems you will be able to summon at once - 6 or more.

We've picked the Raider Class with Avatar of the Slaughter and Avatar of the Veil to increase the effectiveness of Frenzy Charges, much more Spell Suppression, Phasing, a 50% chance to avoid Elemental Ailments, and a permanent and extremely potent Elemental Exposure inflicted on nearby enemies. The type of Damage dealt is tied to your Bow, and due to the built-in conversion, you will definitely deal no Physical Damage. We recommend a bow with a lot of added Elemental Damage of all kinds - Fire, Cold, and Lightning. The build has a medium amount of Armour, a lot of Evasion Rating, and Spell Suppression, all on top of over 4k of Maximum Life. It's quite durable due to the Totem playstyle - you don't have to constantly engage with enemies and keep a healthy distance from them.

You can also check our other Path of Exile builds right over here Odealo's Crafty Guides - Full List

1. Gameplay

Use Artillery Ballista to deal Damage, they will aim automatically at the enemies. The other supplementary Bow skill will be Frenzy and Ensnaring Arrow - to generate Frenzy and Power Charges and to Ensnare enemies. For a Curse use Sniper's Mark, For a Guard Spell - Molten Shell or Steelskin. Blink Arrow, Dash, or Flame Dash are good mobility skills. For Auras use Determination, Grace, and Defiance Banner for more Armour and Evasion. Precision will increase Accuracy and Critical Strike Chance.

2. Build's PROS & CONS

3. Leveling tips

A compelling leveling guide for this build can be found here: Ranger Leveling Guide with Bows/DoT. It's a guide that focuses on Damage over Time, not Hit Damage, but we will alter it here so that you won't need to respec a lot of points later.

Bandits:

Kill all three bandits and be rewarded with two additional Skill Points

Leveling Skill Trees:

25 Points Passive Tree
Allocate Maximum Life, Bow and Projectile Damage nodes, and Charisma after entering act 2.
 

67 Points Passive Tree
Pick some more Maximum Life, allocate the big Bow Cluster, Maximum Frenzy Charges, and Elemental Damage. We've not selected any DOT nodes so far, so you can keep using a Hit-focused Elemental Bow Skill such as Ice Shot or Lightning Arrow.

4. Final Skill Tree, Ascendancy Points, and Pantheon

Final Skill Tree:

120 Points Final Passive Tree (doesn't include Jewels)
120 Points Path of Building (PoB) link

Ascendancy points:

Preferably in that order:

1. Way of the Poacher
2. Avatar of the Slaughter
3. Quartz Infusion
4. Avatar of the Veil

Pantheon:

Major God: Soul of Lunaris: 1% additional Physical Damage Reduction for each nearby Enemy, up to 8%; 1% increased Movement Speed for each nearby Enemy, up to 8%

Minor God: Soul of Ralakesh: Moving while Bleeding doesn't cause you to take extra Damage; 25% reduced Physical Damage over Time Damage taken while moving

5. Final Gems links

[DPS] Artillery Ballista setup
	Artillery Ballista - Fires multiple Arrows that later land in a line dealing area damage. It converts all Physical Damage to Fire. Increasing the Gem Level to 22 allows you to summon an extra Totem. Consider the Divergent version for more Projectiles.
	Inspiration Support - Lowers the Mana Cost, increases Elemental Damage, and Critical Strike Chance. If your Critical Strike Chance is already high, and your Mana Cost is already low, use  Trinity Support (given you can generate Resonance Stacks).
	Elemental Damage with Attacks Support - Increases Elemental Damage with Attacks, you won't deal any other type of damage.
	Increased Critical Damage Support - Critical Strike Multiplier is increased, it's good only if you have a fairly high Critical Strike Chance. If that's not the case, use  Elemental Penetration, the Awakened version of support gems with Added Elemental Damage, or  Elemental Focus - to increase the Gem Level of Artillery Ballista to 22.
	Increased Critical Strikes Support - Increases the Critical Stike Chance for the linked Skill.
	Added Cold Damage Support - Adds Cold Damage to Attacks, the Awakened version is highly recommended.

[UTILITY] Frenzy/Ensnaring Arrow setup
	Frenzy - An Attack that grants you a Frenzy Charge if it Hits.
	Ensnaring Arrow - Enemies Hit with Ensnare Arrow are Ensnared - this effect stacks up to three times. It increases Projectile Damage taken and reduces Movement Speed. Be sure that your Projectiles cannot pierce.
	Power Charge on Critical Support - Dealing a Critical Strike with any of the linked Skills has a chance to grant a Power Charge that increases the Critical Strike Chance.
	Inspiration Support
	Greater Multiple Projectiles Support - More Projectiles to Hit more enemies - it increases the chance of hitting and gaining Charges.
	Life Gain on Hit Support - Grants Life on Hit, one of the few ways to replenish Life Pool. If that's not necessary, use  Mirage Archer Support instead.

[UTILITY] Mana-reserving Spells setup
	Defiance Banner - Increases Armour, Evasion, and reduces Critical Strike Chance for nearby enemies.
	Grace - Adds and increases Evasion Rating for a higher chance to avoid Attack Hits.
	Determination - Adds and increases Armour Rating to mitigate more Physical Hit Damage.
	Enlighten Support - Linked Skills have increased Mana Reservation Efficiency.

[UTILITY] Mark/Guard Spell setup
	Molten Shell - A temporary buff that reduces incoming Hit Damage. It absorbs more Damage the more Armour you have.
	Sniper's Mark - Marked enemies receive increased Projectile Damage.
	Lifetap Support - All linked Skills cost Life instead of Mana.
	Mark on Hit Support - Rare and Unique enemies are Marked on Hit with Sniper's Mark.

[UTILITY] Dash/Tornado setup
	Dash - Your character dashes, it makes you more mobile and makes dodging easier.
	Tornado - An Orb Spell that you can Hit, it deals reflected Damage to Enemies based on received damage.
	Onslaught Support - Tornado grants Onslaught. If you already have a source of this buff, use  Combustion Support to reduce Fire Resistance.

[UTILITY] Precision
	Precision - Precision increases Critical Strike Chance and grants more Accuracy Rating

6. Gear Setup

You won't need any Unique Items, the build is good with rares only. The Bow will be the most important and the most expensive item, your damage will depend mostly on it. Critical Strike Chance can be also found on Jewelry, and the Belt can increase your Elemental Damage. Body Armour can get you more Critical Strike Chance, or reduce the Mana Cost of Skills. Boots could provide a source of Onslaught, Elusive, and Tailwind. Corrupted Gloves or Rings can extend the limit of Maximum Frenzy Charges, which the build heavily relies on. You won't deal any Physical Damage, but you can still look for it, it will be converted to Fire. For defenses seek mainly Maximum Life, Elemental Resistances, Chaos Resistance, Spell Suppression, Evasion, and Armour. Life and Mana Leech should be implemented too if you don't want to spend extra Skill Points. The build requires over 100 of each Attribute so Strenght and intelligence will need to be sourced from a gear. Extra Mana Reservation Efficiency shouldn't be necessary.

Our recommended items will:

1. Cap your resistances at 75%
2. Provide you with enough DPS and Life to start mapping

(Helmet) Rare Helmet - Rare Helmet is a simple case, look only for the most basic stats in huge quantities. Maximum Life, Evasion, Attributes, Resistances, and Spell Suppression are the most important.

Min. requirements: +60 to Maximum Life +60% to Elemental Resistances Optional affixes: Accuracy Rating Attributes Spell Suppression Chaos Resistance Global Critical Strike Multiplier

(Helmet) Starkonja's Head - Very cheap Helmet with a lot of Dexterity, Evasion, Maximum Life, Attack Speed, and even Critical Strike Chance. It's good if you already have all the Elemental Resistances and Attributes.

+(50-70) to Dexterity 50% reduced Damage when on Low Life 10% increased Attack Speed 25% increased Global Critical Strike Chance (100-130)% increased Evasion Rating +(80-100) to maximum Life 150% increased Global Evasion Rating when on Low Life

(Helmet) Wilma's Requital - The Helmet that would allow you to summon an Extra Totem and Increase your Attack Speed, but it also alters your Skill Gem Setup, as you won't be able to deal damage yourself. It's great when combined with Vaal Haste or other sources of Cast and Attack Speed.

+(300-500) to Accuracy Rating (200-250)% increased Energy Shield Increases and Reductions to Cast Speed apply to Attack Speed (20-30)% increased Elemental Damage with Attack Skills Ancestral Bond

Helmet enchantments: Artillery Ballista enchantment mods

(Weapon) Rare Bow - A bow with Prefixes for added Elemental Damage of all kinds, and Suffixes for Attack Speed and Critical Strike modifiers would be excellent - the higher the numbers the better.

Min. requirements: Adds Fire Damage Adds Cold Damage Adds Lightning Damage 10% increased Attack Speed Optional affixes: Critical Strike Multiplier Critical Strike Chance

(Weapon) Windripper - Windripper is a cheap alternative to a Rare Bow, it should be replaced later, but until you can afford a good Rare, use this one.

(20-24)% increased Elemental Damage with Attack Skills Adds (48-60) to (72-90) Cold Damage Adds 1 to (120-150) Lightning Damage (10-15)% increased Attack Speed (30-40)% increased Critical Strike Chance 15% increased Quantity of Items Dropped by Slain Frozen Enemies 30% increased Rarity of Items Dropped by Slain Shocked Enemies

(Off-hand) Rare Quiver - Quivers do offer decent defensive modifiers like Maximum Life and Resistances, but added Elemental Damage or Critical Strike modifiers could also be valuable.

Min. requirements: +60 to maximum Life +30% to Elemental Resistances 30% increased Elemental Damage with Attack Skills Optional affixes: Bow Attacks fire an additional Arrow Adds Fire/Cold/Lightning Damage to Attacks increased Critical Strike Chance with Bows Critical Strike Multiplier with Bows increased Attack Speed increased Damage with Bow Skills

(Off-hand) Skirmish - Skirmish allows you to summon an Extra Totem and grants Mana Leech, but there's not much else here.

(20-30)% increased Global Accuracy Rating +(15-25) to Intelligence +(30-50) to maximum Mana (20-30)% increased Mana Regeneration Rate 0.2% of Physical Attack Damage Leeched as Mana Attack Skills have +1 to maximum number of Summoned Totems

(Body Armour) Rare Body Armour - Maximum Life, Extra Critical Strike Chance, and Elemental Resistances are the best modifiers to have on a Body Armour.

Min. requirements: +80 to Maximum Life +50% to Elemental Resistances Attacks have +1% to Critical Strike Chance Optional affixes: You can apply an additional Curse Socketed Attacks have -15 to Total Mana Cost Spell Suppression Chance increased Maximum Life

(Body Armour) Hyrri's Ire - This Body Armour offers tons of Added Damage, Evasion, Dexterity, and Chance to Suppress Spell Damage. It's good, but grants no Life, Resistances, or Critical Strike Chance.

+(40-50) to Dexterity (140-220)% increased Evasion Rating 25% increased Chill Duration on Enemies (105-145) to (160-200) Added Cold Damage with Bow Attacks +30% chance to Suppress Spell Damage

(Boots) Rare Boots - We recommend a pair of boots with Elemental Resistances, Movement Speed, Maximum Life, and some additional offensive mods listed here.

Min. requirements: +50 to maximum Life 25% increased Movement Speed +50% to Elemental Resistances Optional affixes: chance to gain Onslaught o Kill You have Tailwind if you have dealt a Critical Strike Recently chance to gain Elusive on Critical Strike Spell Suppression Chance

(Boots) Darkray Vectors - As a Raider with Avatar of the Slaughter you can easily reach 10 Frenzy Charges, making Darkray Vectors extremely powerful.

(40-70)% increased Armour and Evasion +(20-40)% to Lightning Resistance 5% increased Movement Speed per Frenzy Charge +1 to Maximum Frenzy Charges 40% reduced Frenzy Charge Duration 25% reduced Light Radius 10% increased Evasion Rating per Frenzy Charge

(Gloves) Rare Gloves - Gloves have quite a few decent modifiers for Attack Builds - look for Attack Speed, Added Damage, Critical Strike, or Accuracy modifiers. Life and Resistances should also be included.

Min. requirements: 70 Maximum Life +60% to Elemental Resistances Optional affixes: Chaos Resistance Attack Speed Spell Suppression Chance Added Elemental or Physical Damage to Attacks increased Critical Strike Chance Accuracy Rating

(Gloves) Breathstealer - Breathstealer grants Resistances, Attack, and Cast Speed (making them good with Wilma's Requital), but the iconic ability to summon Spores is great as well - you can benefit from almost any Aura created by these fungal allies. You can anoint them.

(100-150)% increased Armour and Evasion +(30-50) to maximum Mana +(10-16)% to all Elemental Resistances (5-10)% increased Attack and Cast Speed Create a Blighted Spore when your Skills or Minions Kill a Rare Monster

(Gloves) Mercenary's Lot - A very cheap pair of Gloves with Attack and Cast Speed, Evasion Rating, and increased Damage against Marked opponents. We recommend corrupting such inexpensive gloves to have an extra Maximum Frenzy Charge.

+(80-120) to Evasion Rating (5-8)% increased Attack and Cast Speed Mark Skills have (10-15)% increased Cast Speed (30-50)% increased Damage with Hits and Ailments against Marked Enemy Your Mark Transfers to another Enemy when Marked Enemy dies

(Belt) Rare Belt - Stygian Vise with just Life, increased Elemental Damage with Attacks, and Resistances will be good. Try to also gain some extra Strength.

Min. requirements: 70 Maximum Life +80% to Elemental Resistances 35% increased Elemental Damage with Attack Skills (crafted) Optional affixes: increased Elemental Damage Strength increased maximum Life

(Belt) Prismweave - Prismweave is cheap. It adds tons of Elemental Damage and increases it, but grants no Life.

(12-24)% increased Global Physical Damage Adds (14-16) to (30-32) Fire Damage to Attacks Adds (10-12) to (24-28) Cold Damage to Attacks Adds 1 to (60-68) Lightning Damage to Attacks +(6-15)% to all Elemental Resistances 30% increased Elemental Damage with Attack Skills during any Flask Effect

(Amulet) Rare Amulet - Life, Resistances, and Critical Strike modifiers are very common on an Amulet. Attributes, Added Damage, Accuracy, and reduced Mana Cost of Skills are available too.

Min. requirements: 50 Maximum Life +70% to Elemental Resistances 25% increased Global Critical Strike Chance Optional affixes: Adds Physical/Elemental Damage to Attacks increased Global Critical Strike Chance Attributes Non-Channelling Skills have -7 to Total Mana Cost (crafted)

(Amulet) Hyrri's Truth - Hyrri's Truth Grants level 30 Precision at half of its Cost making it already great. It increases the Critical Strike Multiplier, grants Culling Strike, and tons of Dexterity. It lacks Life and Resistances.

+(20-30) to Dexterity Grants Level 30 Precision Skill +(40-80) to Dexterity Bow Attacks have Culling Strike +(25-50)% to Global Critical Strike Multiplier Precision has 100% increased Mana Reservation Efficiency

Recommended Anointments: Charisma Whispers of Doom Shaman's Dominion

(Ring) Rare Ring - Rare Rings are an excellent source of Resistances and Attributes, but you could also get some Accuracy, Maximum Life, added Damage, Critical Strike, Hex Curse on Hit, and reduced Mana Cost of Skills.

Min. requirements: +60% to Elemental Resistances +60 to Maximum Life Optional affixes: Adds Physical/Elemental Damage to Attacks Accuracy Rating Attributes Global Critical Strike Chance Elemental Weakness on Hit (if you can apply more than one Curse) Non-Channelling Skills have -7 to Total Mana Cost (crafted)

(Ring) The Taming - The Taming is very fitting, that is if you're not using Elemental Focus (which you shouldn't). It simply increases Elemental Damage, the chance to apply Elemental Ailments, and grants Elemental Resistances.

+(8-10)% to all Elemental Resistances 20% increased Damage with Hits and Ailments per Freeze, Shock or Ignite on Enemy +(20-30)% to all Elemental Resistances 30% increased Elemental Damage 10% chance to Freeze, Shock and Ignite 30% increased Elemental Damage with Attack Skills

(Jewel) Rare Jewels - You can fix your Elemental Resistances and Attributes or get some powerful offensive modifiers if needed, but try to prioritize Maximum Life on your Jewels.

Recommended affixes: 7% Maximum Life Optional affixes: Damage or Critical Strike with Elemental/Fire Skills Elemental Resistances Attributes

(Jewel) Lethal Pride - It grants a lot of Strength and upgrades all nodes in its radius, socket it near Fervour or Savagery.

Commanded leadership over (10000-18000) warriors under (Akoya-Kaom-Rakiata) Passives in radius are Conquered by the Karui Historic

(Jewel) Forbidden Flame & Flesh - You can borrow some Keystones from the Deadeye's Ascendancy Tree, such as Gathering Winds, Endless Munitions, or Focal Point. You could pick some of your own Keystones at the end of a branch and allocate Rapid Assault instead. Veteran a Bowyer is good too.

Allocates <Random Ascendancy Notable> if you have the matching modifiers on Forbidden Flesh Allocates <Random Ascendancy Notable> if you have the matching modifiers on Forbidden Flame

(Jewel) Watcher's Eye - Your Auras are Grace, Determination, and Precision. Some of Precision's mods for Critical Strikes or increased Attack Damage are good.

(4-6)% increased maximum Energy Shield (4-6)% increased maximum Life (4-6)% increased maximum Mana <Two or Three random aura modifiers>

Other suggested Flasks: Life Flask with Freeze or Bleed immunity Diamond Flask with an increased Attack Speed Quicksilver Flask with increased Critical Strike Chance Jade Flask with increased Evasion Rating Granite Flask or Sulphur Flask with increased Armour Rating

If you have any other build requests please leave that in the comments below. We are always open to suggestions and constructive feedback.

Pictures used in this article are the intellectual property of Grinding Gear Games.