[2.0] Magma Torrent Molten Strike Build

Pros:

• Heavy hitting with excellent single target and AoE damage.
• Extremely tanky with 60%+ Armour rating and capped resistances.
• Good mobility.
• Extremely economical to put together.
• Simple and clean play mechanics.
• Adaptable to a large number of map mods.

Cons:

• Relies exclusively on tanking damage without block or evasion.
• Entirely fire elemental.
• Stationary melee attacks mean challenges against heavy hitters.
• Not ideal for HC.

Current (89)

https://www.pathofexile.com/fullscreen-passive-skill-tree/AAAAAwEBAecFLQd1FCAUTRR1Fm8YkRjbGjgb-h0UITQhVSFgIq8l3ycgKS4ppSz7Mn40jjhTOd06Ujs7PfxAoEE_RJ5Gt0bXUeZTu1WpVbVXDVhjWfNeE18_YJFhUmP9ZlRmnmdYaGVo8moBa9lxhXIPcql08Xasdud3U3rmeu982YIHgpuFe4Y7hmCKIozPkFWUb5e0mjuexZ7Nn8uiAKQZpMKnMKyqrY2vbK-NsUK0L7YsvJ_ApsEExtjPftIh02_ZYdw94XPkreSx6hjsOO8O707wH_Gs8kHzEfOb9kj3MvrS_Es=

End Game Path (123)

https://www.pathofexile.com/fullscreen-passive-skill-tree/AAAAAwEBAecFLQd1FCAUTRR1Fm8YkRjbGjgb-h0UITQhVSFgIq8kqiXfJyAnLykuKaUs-zJ-NI426ThTOd06Ujs7PfxAoEE_RJ5Gt0bXUEdR5lO7ValVtVcNWGNZ814TXz9gkWFSY_1mVGaeZ1hoWGhlaPJqAWvZcYVyD3KpdO108Xasdud3U3rmeu982YIHgpuFe4Y7hmCJ2IoijM-QVZRvl7SaO57Fns2fy6IApBmkwqcwrKqtja9sr42xQrQvtiy8n8CmwQTG2M9-0iHTb9eW2WHZfNq53D3hc-Nq5FHkreSx6hjsOO8O707wH_Gs8kHzm_ZI9zL60vxL

Weapon


Armour


Jewellery


Potions


Jewels

There is no mandatory gear for this build and just like its predecessors, it is very, very economical to run. However, the following do add a lot of value, especially Lightning Coil. If you can get them, awesome, if not, don't fret. Decent rares will still drive this build just fine. And I'm running a 500 DPS mace over the Marohi's I have. I would suggest you do the same as the Mahori's suffers from relatively low DPS, reduced AS, and the punishment to movement speed. The inherent Level 15 AoE is not ideal either as we slot that gem already for our HoA and it superfluously inflates the cost of MS if you choose to socket it into your weapon.

• Marohi Erqi
• Lightning Coil
• Hrimnor's Resolve

Gear Stat Prioritization

• Helm: Life | Armor & Evasion | Ele Res | Int or Dex
• Chest: Life | Armor & Evasion | Ele Res | Int or Dex
• Gloves: Attack Speed | Damage | Life | Armor & Evasion | Ele Res
• Boots: Life | Movement Speed | Armor & Evasion | Ele Res
• Belt (Rustic Sash): Weapon Elemental Damage | Life | Armour | Ele Res
• Rings: Damage | Life | Armor & Evasion | Mana/Mana Regen | Ele Res | Int or Dex
• Amulet: Damage | Life | Mana/Mana Regen | Armor & Evasion | Ele Res | Int or Dex

You're going to need a minimum of 111 Intelligence and 111 Dexterity to satisfy gem requirements. Once you meet it, feel free to avoid those stats on the rest of your gear.

This build's defensive philosophy centres around the notion that "the best defence is a good offence." I would build aggressively so that you can cause the most amount of damage in the least amount of time. Dead monsters can't hurt you. Leeching capabilities will keep your health high and your main concern will be the heavy hitters, not the chip damage. There are going to be hurdles depending on your gear were you feel quite exposed, but I would still press into damage nodes over defensive ones, only taking armour and life when absolutely mandatory.

Normal: Oak or Kill All
Cruel: Kraityn or Kill All
Merciless: Kill All

Weapon

• 5L (RRRBB): CWDT (Lvl 3) + Increased Duration + Enfeeble (Lvl 7) + Increased Area of Effect + Immortal Call (Lvl 5)

• 4L (BBRR): Herald of Ash + Increased Burning Damage + Elemental Proliferation + Increased Area of Effect

Chest

• 5L (RRRRG): Molten Strike + Multistrike + Faster Attacks + Weapon Elemental Damage + Life Leech
• 6L (RRRRRG): Molten Strike + Multistrike + Faster Attacks + Weapon Elemental Damage + Added Fire Damage + Life Leech

Gloves/Boots

• 4L (RRG- or RBG-): Enduring Cry + Summon Flame Golem/Summon Chaos Golem + Arctic Armour + free slot
• 4L (RRRR): CWDT + Increased Duration + Immortal Call + Molten Shell

Molten Strike is our money maker and is best boosted by the gems listed above. If you want the maths behind it, check out Kartikdon's original 1.3 build for further information and google documents providing DPS calculations for your own use. Stay away from Greater Multiple Projectiles and Lesser Multiple Projectiles, they result in a DPS loss.

Build Weapon Physical Nodes, not Melee Physical Nodes. The former amplifies Molten Strike magma, while the latter only amplifies your melee hits. You can read more about the Molten Strike damage calculation here.

Enfeeble will provide a wonderful debuff to to help out inherent tankiness, but it is not mandatory. If your defences can stand on their own, I suggest swapping it out for Flammability or Vulnerability, both of which will amplify your DPS.

Self cast Enduring Cry and try to keep your Endurance Charges up as they greatly enhance the value of Immortal Call, your front line against incoming sledgehammers.

Arctic Armour provides another layer of protection and I highly recommend you work out your mana management (which is easy in my opinion) to make use of it. MS traps your movement for 3 consecutive swings, and even when your AS is high, it will still lock you to the ground for the duration. At this time, you are susceptible to counter-attack.

Herald of Ash is our workhorse. Coupled with Elemental Proliferation and Increased Area of Effect, it will engulf mobs in a fiery death, sending overkill explosions through their ranks like popcorn in a microwave.

With regards to mana management, I've found that Revelry beats out Righteous Decree. I'm running Revelry with a mana regen of 28.2 and a mana pool of just 114, and so far, it has been enough where I don't even have to carry around a mana flask or run out during combat. I would say getting a mana pool of about 600, 30 mana regen per second, 3-4 mana per hit, and 100% mana regeneration would put you in a perfect spot to never have to worry about your resources.

I have tested Blood Magic along with Mortal Conviction and found it utterly useless considering how easy it is to control mana (even with Heral of Ash and Arctic Armour chocking a large chunk of our pool). The cost to your life pool and additional 5 nodes makes it extremely unfavourable.

I would say a 6L chest or weapon that isn't Mahori's is mandatory. Another 5L item is also on the check list. The rest is easily attainable and shouldn't be a problem.

Val Summon Skeletons is an ideal gem to use in one of your additional slots. The skeleton army is quite fierce and it gives the enemy another target(s) to deal with. Use this opportunity to crush them!

If you have a Mahori's, try not to link your Molten Strike and support gems in its slots. The weapon has a level 15 Increased Area of Affect that will jack up your Molten Strike mana cost from 35 to 50, which cannot even support the skill to boot! Ouch! Socket Molten Strike in your armour instead for that added mana conservation if you wish to run Mahori's. Additionally, Mahori's is nice, but it can't match the raw DPS of a finely rolled Karui Mace. A perfectly rolled Mahori's comes in at about 400 DPS. A beautifully rolled Karui can exceed 700. Mine sits at 500 DPS. You also don't get the movement speed penalty or the ding to attack speed.

Game play consists of a stick and move strategy. Since Multistrike triples your attack animation, you will be stationary for the duration, where molten magma will then trigger forth from your swings. The magma trails the initial melee hit, so once you take your 3 swings, re-position yourself. This keeps damage mitigation high and enhances AoE. Face-tanking easier maps is fine, but once you start moving into heavy-hitters, you'll need to stay more mobile.

Attack speed is likely one of the best traits to amplify your DPS and makes the build a lot better to run. There is nothing more annoying than being rooted to the ground as you begrudgingly swing 3 very slow strikes at your opponents. Prioritize attack speed above all else; the build performs substantially better with high amounts (I would say 3-4 APS is a must). If you can get it over 5, you will be golden. Anything above is godlike.