Manabond Mjölner
Hierophant Build

Updated for Patch 3.21

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One of Hierophant's specializations is an unorthodox dependency on Mana, with the build that is capable of reaching 10k of it, it will be your most important resource. Your Skill, Manabond, scales its damage with your Missing Unreserved Mana, so the more you can accumulate it, the more base Damage you will deal. It has to be Unreserved - to use Auras you will Reserve your Life instead. By socketing it inside of Mjölner, you will trigger that Skill up to 4 times per second. It will also bypass its Mana Cost, which is both good and bad, as you will need other ways to spend Mana now, but also you still can Regenerate it back without stopping dealing Damage. At a lower budget, you can use the Prism Guardian Shield which will allow you to use more Auras by reserving your Life at higher efficiency, but ultimately The Squire grants you much more Damage by providing 3 extra Support Gems to your Manabond. 

This Build heavily relies on strength and Intelligence to scale Damage and survivability. On top of the regular benefits of those Attributes, you will gain additional Spell Damage, Mana, Energy Shield, Accuracy Rating, and Critical Strike Chance. A bit of Dexterity is also needed to get enough Gem Requirements and some Accuracy Rating. 

Most of the Clear comes from the Arc Setup, which consists of Cast While Channeling Support and Cyclone. It will be powerful enough to kill most Enemies or inflict high Shocks so the Manabond can finish them off quickly. The Arcane Cloak cost is equal to 64% of your Maximum Mana at level 20, which will grant you an enormous bonus to Damage, and protect your Energy Shield from incoming Damage. An Item that synergizes well with rapid Mana spending is Indigon - it increases your Spell Damage the more Mana you Spend. Almost all of your Life will be reserved, to not die of Chaos Damage use The Ivory Tower - Chaos Damage will be taken from Mana before Life. The Ivory Tower is great at preventing occasional Chaos Damage from killing you by redirecting it to Mana first, but for extra safety, you should also use the Curoscating Elixir which will also redirect it to your Energy Shield. 

The offensive and defensive aspects of the build are both sourced from your Mana and absurd amounts of Energy Shield - mainly from your Ascendancy, Masteries, and Unique Items. Your Energy Shield can reach well over 10k - similar to your Mana Pool. Your Arcane Cloak is capable of preventing a significant portion of Damage, which also restores your Mana. You will have tons of Energy Shield Regeneration and Leech. Your Mana Costs will endlessly increase to a point when you can no longer sustain it, but waiting a few seconds will tone it down to acceptable levels, which usually happens as you travel from pack to pack. All the Unique Items are rather cheap, The Build can be done on a very low budget but it will have many compromises regarding Damage or tankiness, so it is probably better to save up about 20 Divine Orbs for proper Items first. 

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

1. Gameplay

Use Cyclone with Arc linked to it, it will automatically cause you to cast Manabond via Mjölner. When fighting more vital opponents use Sigil of Power to create an area on the ground that adds Lightning Damage and reduced the Damage you receive. As a Guard Spell use Arcane Cloak - activating it will significantly increase your DPS and reduce damage received. You should use toss in your Curse - Conductivity significantly reduces Lightning Resistances of affected foes. Make sure to have your Flasks up when dealing with monsters that deal mostly Chaos Damage. 

Full gameplay video:

2. Build's PROS & CONS

3. Leveling tips

Start as a Life build. As a Hierophant you have the advantage of having a lot of Mana from the start, it's especially useful with Support Gems like Archmage (linked to non-Arcane Spells) on six-linked setups with Tabula Rasa. Starting as a regular Lightning Spell Caster, Manabond is still the best Spell to use even in the early stages. Swap to ES build no sooner than after level 67 after equipping The Ivory Tower. 

Suggested leveling Gem setups:

Manabond setup
	Manabond - it quickly increases in damage and AoE as you gain more Mana.
	Controlled Destruction Support - you have less Crit Chance, but significantly more damage.
	Arcane Surge Support - more Spell Damage, increased mana Regeneration Rate as you spend mana on linked Spells.
	Added Lightning Damage Support - adds Lightning Damage to linked Spell
	Elemental Focus Support - disables Elemental Ailments, but increases your Damage.
	Faster Casting Support - you will have a rather low Cast Speed at first, so you can use this Support Gem to improve it.

various Gems
	Conductivity - use it to lower the Lightning Resistance of your opponents.
	Flame Dash - a Movement Spell that allows you to dash.
	Clarity - It regenerates your Mana.
	Arcane Cloak - transforms a portion of your Mana into a protective shield that reduces the damage you take.

Bandits:

Two Additional Passive Skill Points are the best option for this build.

Leveling Skill Trees:

40 Points Skill Tree

Allocate: 1) Sanctity 2) Shaper 3) Iron Will Keystone 4) Heart and Soul 5) Dreamer
It is very much worth it to take additional Passives just for the leveling sake so you can get to the end game faster. 
Nodes to pick up and remove later: 1) Discipline and Training 2) Retribution, Light of Divinity, and Holy Dominion 3) Ash, Frost, and Storm 4) Lightning Walker

74 Points Skill Tree
Allocate: 1) Insightfulness 2) Arcane Potency 3) Purity of Flesh 4) Sovereignty 5) Arcane Capacitor 
Optional Nodes to pick up and remove later: 1) Crackling Speed 2) Elemental Overload Keystone 3) Divine Judgement

Recommended leveling items:

Lifesprig - a generic Wand for Spell-casters available at level 1.

(8-12)% increased Spell Damage +1 to Level of Socketed Spell Gems (20-28)% increased Spell Damage (5-8)% increased Cast Speed +(15-20) to maximum Life +(15-20) to maximum Mana Regenerate (6-8) Life over 1 second when you Cast a Spell

Atziri's Foible - a great way to get tons of Mana during the campaign.

(20-30)% increased Mana Regeneration Rate +100 to maximum Mana (16-24)% increased maximum Mana (80-100)% increased Mana Regeneration Rate Items and Gems have 25% reduced Attribute Requirements

Praxis - another item to increase your Maximum Mana with other Mana-related mods.

+(20-30) to maximum Mana +(30-60) to maximum Mana Regenerate (3-6) Mana per second -(8-4) to Total Mana Cost of Skills 8% of Damage taken Recouped as Mana

Goldrim - one of the best unique leveling helmets, it provides you with tons of Elemental Resistances.

+(30-50) to Evasion Rating 10% increased Rarity of Items found +(30-40)% to all Elemental Resistances Reflects 4 Physical Damage to Melee Attackers Level Requirement reduced by 100 (Hidden)

Tabula Rasa - allows you to connect any six Gems right from the start.

Item has no level requirement and Energy Shield (Hidden) Item has 6 White Sockets and is fully linked (Hidden)

Wanderlust - grants decent Movement Speed and Mana Regeneration bonus. It also makes you immune to Freeze.

+5 to Dexterity +(10-20) to maximum Energy Shield (20-40)% increased Mana Regeneration Rate 20% increased Movement Speed Cannot be Frozen

4. Final Skill Tree, Ascendancy Points, and Pantheon

Final Skill Tree:

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

Ascendancy points:

Preferably in that order:

1. Arcane Blessing
2. Conviction of Power
3. Divine Guidance
4. Sanctuary of Thought

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 Shakari for You cannot be Poisoned while there are at least 3 Poisons on you; 50% less Duration of Poisons on You and additional Chaos Damage mitigation

5. Final Gems links

[DPS] Arc setup
	Arc - a great Clearing Skill with mediocre Damage, but high enough to take down most Enemies. It will automatically trigger and target while you Channel Cyclone. You can also use the Anomalous Shock Nova to maximalize Shock Effect on Enemies.
	Cyclone - used for its very high frequency of Hits. You will need some Accuracy Rating to ensure you can actually Hit Enemies in order to trigger the Manabond.
	Cast while Channeling Support - it triggers Arc every set amount of time when using Cyclone.
	Overcharge Support - increases the  Shock potential of your Arc, but reduces its Damage.
	Increased Critical Damage Support - grants a lot of Critical Strike Multiplier for your Skill.
	Additional Accuracy Support - if you lack Accuracy, and you probably do, use this Support Gem. If your Accuracy is high enough you can swap it for  Lightning Penetration Support.

[DPS] Manabond setup socketed in Mjölner
	Manabond - Manabond is the main source of Damage, it primarily scales with your Mana. It deals Lightning Damage in an area around the character.
	Lightning Penetration Support - Linked Spells Penetrate the Lightning Resistance of your opponents.
	Increased Critical Damage Support - Critical Strikes are the main way of scaling your Damage, so an extra Crit Multiplier is very helpful.
The Squire setup socketed Gems will apply to Gems in your Main-hand Weapon
	Elemental Focus Support - disables Shocks, but vastly improves Damage dealt.
	Concentrated Effect Support - significantly lower AoE but grants tons of Damage in return.
	Increased Area of Effect Support - the Awakened version of this gem grants plenty of Damage and AoE. If you don't have access to Awakened Gem, use the  Elemental Penetration Support instead.

[UTILITY] Life-reserving Spells setup
	Grace - thanks to the Shaper Touch Gloves you will have tons of Evasion scaling. This Aura grants all the base Evasion Rating you need.
	Clarity - Aura that regenerates your Mana at a faster rate.
	Precision - an Aura for More Accuracy and Critical Strike Chance helping you to deal damage more consistently.
	Arrogance Support - causes Supported Auras to Reserve your Life instead of Mana.

[UTILITY] Free Mana Reservation setup
	Wrath - it is an offensive Aura that grants you a lot of Lightning Damage with your Spells.
	Eternal Blessing Support - turns your Aura into Blessing which doesn't Reserve any Mana but disables all other Mana-Reserving Skills.

[UTILITY] Arcane Cloak setup
	Arcane Cloak - Spends 64% of your Mana at level 20 to create a protective layer shielding you from a portion of incoming damage, it's able to prevent as much damage as you have spent Mana on it. It also grants additional Spell Damage based on how much Mana you've spent casting this Spell.
	Sigil of Power - creates a Sigil on the ground, as you spend Mana while standing on it, it grows more powerful granting you additional Lightning Damage and reducing the Damage you receive.
	Increased Duration Support - increases the Duration of your Skills. The Arcane Cloak Cooldown starts to regenerate once its Duration ends, so if you prefer shorter but more often bursts you can skip this Support Gem.
	Enhance Support - increases the Quality of Linked Spells.

[UTILITY] Curse setup
	Conductivity - significantly lowers Lightning Resistances of affected foes. The Anomalous Quality causes it to lower them even more.

[UTILITY] Movement Spell
	Frostblink - you can use this Skill without ever stopping Channeling the Cyclone. It is a rather short blink that leaves Chilled Ground in both locations.

6. Gear Setup

There are quite a lot of Unique Items that are necessary for the build to run, all the missing Elemental Resistances have to be sourced from Rings, a Belt, and Rare Jewels. Capping Resistances is your top priority, but you should not forget about stacking Strength, Intelligence, and Mana, as those are core components of this Build.  Use the Intrinsic Catalyst to get more Attributes out of your jewelry. Critical Strike Multiplier is also very important, as it's the best way to scale Damage here. You can also get Cooldown Recovery Rate on your Boots and Belt, but you will have to match your Attack Speed in order to benefit from it. While Energy Shield is indeed the base of your Defense, you should prioritize Mana, which also grants your ES, but on top of that increases your Damage. Your Maximum Life bonuses get converted into Energy Shield through the Ivory Tower at the 30% effectiveness, so it is pretty useful to have some on your Gear if it doesn't obstruct other modifiers. It will also allow you to reserve more Life with your Flat Reservation Auras such as Precision and Clarity. 

(Helmet) Indigon - It plays a huge role in increasing your DPS. As you spend Mana you gain more Damage, but your Skills grow in Mana Cost too - after using Arcane Cloak your Damage is at its highest.

(150-180)% increased Energy Shield (6-10)% increased maximum Mana Recover (8-10)% of Life when you use a Mana Flask Non-instant Mana Recovery from Flasks is also Recovered as Life (50-60)% increased Cost of Skills for each 200 total Mana Spent Recently (20-25)% increased Spell Damage for each 200 total Mana you have Spent Recently, up to 2000%

Helmet enchantments: Manabond enchantments

(Weapon) Mjölner - it triggers Manabond on Hit with Cyclone every 0.25 seconds with no Mana Cost. It also increases your Lightning Damage. You should look for useful Corruption Implicits here, such as Onslaught on Kill.

Trigger a Socketed Lightning Spell on Hit, with a 0.25 second Cooldown Socketed Lightning Spells have no Cost if Triggered +300 Intelligence Requirement +200 Strength Requirement (80-120)% increased Physical Damage Skills Chain +1 times (80-100)% increased Lightning Damage

(Weapon) The Squire - this Shield allows you to apply 3 more Support Gems to your Manabond, which means about 90% More Damage.

Has 3 Sockets All Sockets are White +(5-8)% to Quality of Socketed Support Gems Socketed Support Gems can also Support Skills from your Main Hand (100-150)% increased Armour and Evasion +(3-5)% Chance to Block

(Weapon) Prism Guardian - a cheap alternative that allows you to have additional Auras through much better Reservation Efficiency. It also grants plenty of Elemental Resistances. The Zealotry Aura can make up for some of the Damage loss compared to the Squire.

+12% to all Elemental Resistances +2 to Level of Socketed Aura Gems Socketed Gems Cost and Reserve Life instead of Mana Socketed Gems have 30% increased Reservation Efficiency +(20-30) to Dexterity +25% to all Elemental Resistances

(Body Armour) The Ivory Tower - besides the obviously good stats it provides, it's also necessary to protect you from Chaos Damage - just be sure you have a lot of spare mana when dealing with Chaos Damage.

+(40-70) to Intelligence +30 to maximum Energy Shield per 100 Reserved Life +(80-100) to maximum Mana Regenerate 2% of Energy Shield per second Chaos Damage is taken from Mana before Life

(Boots) Rare Boots - you can get lots of Movement Speed, Attributes, and Resistances here. You should also get Cooldown Recovery Rate, which can be easily accomplished with Eldritch Influence.

Min. requirements: 70 Maximum Mana +50% to Elemental Resistances 30% Movement Speed +50 to Strength/Intelligence Optional affixes: Cooldown Recovery Rate Attributes Chaos Resistances Energy Shield

(Gloves) Shaper's Touch - It grants you a lot of Accuracy Ratings and increased Evasion Rating from Intelligence, while Strength increases your Energy Shield and Mana.

(80-120)% increased Armour and Energy Shield +4 Accuracy Rating per 2 Intelligence +1 Life per 4 Dexterity +1 Mana per 4 Strength 1% increased Energy Shield per 10 Strength 2% increased Evasion Rating per 10 Intelligence 2% increased Melee Physical Damage per 10 Dexterity

(Belt) Rare Belt - a Stygian Vise or Crystal Belt with Mana, Elemental Resistances, and some mods that grant you Attributes are a good enough choice - you should look for a Hunter-influenced one with an Affix for increased Attributes. It can also boost your Cooldown Recovery Rate, but remember to check if you can Speed up your Attack Speed with Cyclone enough to make it worthwhile.

Min. requirements: 70 Maximum Mana +50% to Elemental Resistances Optional affixes: Maximum Energy Shield % increased Attributes Attributes Cooldown Recovery Rate

(Amulet) Astramentis - incredibly efficient Amulet for this Build. It grants tons of Attributes and takes care of your Dexterity so you don't have to waste Affix somewhere else. Use Intrinsic Catalysts to boost Attributes even further.

+(10-16) to all Attributes +(80-100) to all Attributes -4 Physical Damage taken from Attack Hits

Recommended Anointments: Utmost Might

(Amulet) Rare Amulet - you can use a Rare Amulet, but it will need to be nearly perfect to outperform Astramentis. It should grant you tons of Attributes, Critical Strike Multiplier, Lightning Penetration, and obviously Mana.

Min. requirements: % increased Attributes % increased Attributes +50% to Elemental Resistances Optional affixes: Maximum Energy Shield increased maximum Mana Global Critical Strike Multiplier Damage Penetrates 10% Lightning Resistance

(Ring) Rare Rings - Aim for Attributes, Elemental Resistances, Mana, and Energy Shield. You can also get some Accuracy Ratings here.

Min. requirements: 50 to Strength 50 to Intelligence +60% to Elemental Resistances Optional affixes: Maximum Energy Shield Accuracy Rating increased maximum Mana

(Jewel) Forbidden Flesh&Flame - a necessary combo to scale your Critical Strike Chance and make out the most of your Attributes.

Allocates Righteous Providence if you have the matching modifiers on Forbidden Flesh/Flame

(Jewel) Rare Jewels - look for Affixes with Maximum Energy Shield, Elemental Resistances, Attributes, or Maximum Mana.

Recommended affixes: Maximum Energy Shield Elemental Resistances Critical Strike Multiplier Attributes Maximum Mana

(Jewel) Rare Abyss Jewel - very similar to regular Rare Jewel. It should also provide Mana, Attributes, Elemental Resistances, or Energy Shield. You can also get a bit of Accuracy Rating or Cooldown Recovery Rate here.

Recommended affixes: Maximum Energy Shield Elemental Resistances Critical Strike Multiplier Attributes Maximum Mana Cooldown Recovery Rate

(Jewel) Healthy Mind - The Jewel alone is already good, but you can get even more Mana from it by putting it in a socket next to Instability and taking Cruel Preparation.

(15-20)% increased maximum Mana Increases and Reductions to Life in Radius are Transformed to apply to Mana at 200% of their value

(Jewel) Split Personality - The modifiers to look for are Intelligence, Mana, and maybe Strength - you can place two of them on a Cluster Jewel next to the Eldritch Battery Keystone.

This Jewel's Socket has a 25% increased effect per Allocated Passive Skill between it and your Class' starting location. Recommended modifiers:  +5 to Intelligence +5 to Strength +40 to Accuracy Rating

(Jewel) Watcher's Eye -  Lightning penetration from the Wrath Aura is probably the best option for a mod you can find on your Watcher's Eye. You can also get tons of Energy Shield from the Clarity Aura mods.

(4-6)% increased maximum Energy Shield (4-6)% increased maximum Life (4-6)% increased maximum Mana Recommended modifiers:  Damage Penetrates (10-15)% Lightning Resistance while affected by Wrath Gain (6-10)% of Maximum Mana as Extra Maximum Energy Shield while affected by Clarity (15-20)% of Damage taken while affected by Clarity Recouped as Mana

(Jewel) Large Cluster Jewels - Storm Drinker is a great source of ES Leech. Scintillating Idea is pretty much an obligatory Notable since it increases your Maximum Mana and grants you Lightning Resistance Penetration.

Recommended affixes: 1 Added Passive Skill is Scintillating Idea 1 Added Passive Skill is Storm Drinker 1 Added Passive Skill is Disorienting Display

(Flask) Bottled Faith - it greatly increases your Critical Strike Chance and Damage against Enemies standing on the Consecrated Ground.

Creates Consecrated Ground on Use (30-15)% reduced Duration Consecrated Ground created by this Flask has Tripled Radius Consecrated Ground created during Effect applies (7-10)% increased Damage taken to Enemies (100-150)% increased Critical Strike Chance against Enemies on Consecrated Ground during Effect

(Flask) Coruscating Elixir - If you're fighting against opponents dealing mostly Chas Damage and you run out of Mana - this Flask can save your life. Chaos Damage won't go through your ES during its effect.

+50% to Fire Resistance 20% less Fire Damage taken Chaos Damage does not bypass Energy Shield during effect Removes all but one Life on use Removed life is Regenerated as Energy Shield over 2 seconds 25% increased Duration

Other suggested Flasks: Quicksilver Flask with increased Attack Speed or Critical Strike Chance. Jade Flask with increased Evasion Rating bonus Silver Flask with reduction of Curse Effects on you.

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.