This story was originally published on MmoGah.

Welcome to Big Ducks's Toxic Rain Raider build guide. Toxic Rain Raider is one of the fastest builds in Path of Exile. This build is very powerful in leveling and, with this build, you can zoom through the game fast while killing everything in your path. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VwYklZElKBQ

 Path of Building import code

Clear: Ridiculously Fast

Bossing: Gear Dependent

Cost: Cheap but Scales

Difficulty: Easy

The initial cost of the gear is simply a Quill Rain, a Thief's Torment, and some random rares, and those gear are also all you need to farm Heist, which is a good way to make Path of Exile currency early in the league.

Skills Used

Withering Step

Withering Step removes any existing Elusive buff before applying both Elusive and a buff that grants Phasing. While you have this buff, monsters that enter an area around you will be Withered. Using a skill or losing the Elusive buff ends this skill's effects. This skill shares a cooldown with other Blink skills.

Withering Step is potent for a single target, and it is required that you stand near the enemy and stack up these Withering Step stacks to get the most out of your damage.

Flame Dash

Flame Dash shares a Cooldown with Withering Step. However, the Raider is so fast that you don't need another movement ability.

The first cast on Flamedash is instant, but it'll have a cast time if you spam it. For that reason, you do not want to spam this ability.

Blood Rage

You don't have to use this skill, but it is quite a solid skill that gives you many attack speeds. Blood Rage also gives you the source of generating Frenzy Charges while you're clearing.

You can get an Alt quality of Blood Rage that will allow you to generate them on bosses. But it's pretty expensive, so don't expect to get that anytime soon.

Toxic Rain

Toxic Rain is your main ability, and you'll want to scale your damage over time. Also, you'll want to scale attack speed because you need to get as many of the spore pods on the ground, popping on top of enemies as you can. 

The projectiles go in a random area, and about four of them will hit one target at a time, but when you use Concentrated Effect, it's a little easier. You can swap out Concentrated Effect for Efficacy, which is helpful for this build because it now grants 15-24% increased skill effect duration instead of spell damage.

Flesh and Stone 

Make sure you are in the Stone Stance. It blinds nearby enemies and, while in Stone Stance, you take less damage from attacks from enemies that aren't nearby.

Malevolence

Malevolence casts an aura that multiplies damage over time and increases the skill effect duration of you and your allies. 

Vitality

This build also uses a level-one Vitality because you are also using a Watcher's Eye, which has life gained for each enemy hit while effective by Vitality. This skill is very powerful but extremely expensive early in the league, so you can use a Thief's Torment instead.

Clarity

You'll want to level up the Clarity enough that it allows you to maintain your Mana.

Asenath's Chant

You'll also need an Asenath's Chant. This is a relatively expensive PoE item early on. But don't worry too much about this because you can continue to use a Ballista Totem setup for your Toxic Rain until you're able to swap over to the Asenath's Chant.

Once you have the Asenath's Chant, you use Greater Multiple Projectiles, Ball Lightning, and Slower Projectiles, which allow the Ball Lighting to hit consistently. 

Despair

You are also using a Despair curse. Keep in mind that in PoE 3.15, triggered abilities will cost Mana, as long as you have minus Mana costs on all of your gear. 

Vaal Haste

Vaal Haste is pretty good for going even faster than you were before.

You'll also want to use a Cast When Damage Taken, Immortal Call, Increased Duration, and Enfeeble. Remember that Cast When Damage Taken is also going to incur a Mana cost.

Skill Tree

Please watch Big Ducks's video for more information on the Skill Tree, and this part starts from 15:48.

No Clusters

Yes Clusters

Gear

Budget Gear

Weapon 1: Quill Rain

Weapon 2: Sharktooth Arrow Quiver

Helmet: Deicide Mask

Chest: Sadist Garb

Gloves: Murder Mitts

Boots: Dragonscale Boots

Amulet: Agate Amulet

Ring 1: Thief's Torment

Belt: Leather Belt

Mid-Tier Gear

Weapon 1: Crafted Bow

Weapon 2: Sharktooth Arrow Quiver

Helmet: Asenath's Chant

Chest: Kintsugi

Gloves: Soldier Gloves

Boots: Wyrmscale Boots

Amulet: Agate Amulet

Ring 1: Coral Ring

Ring 2: Coral Ring

Belt: Heavy Belt

Expensive Gear

Weapon 1: Thicket Bow

Weapon 2: Fire Arrow Quiver

Helmet: Asenath's Chant

Chest: Kintsugi

Gloves: Gripped Gloves

Boots: Two-Toned Boots

Amulet: Agate Amulet

Ring 1: Vermillion Ring

Ring 2: Vermillion Ring

Belt: Stygian Vise

Flasks

Budget Flasks

Flask 1: Experimenter's Quicksilver Flask of Staunching

Flask 2: Perpetual Silver Flask of Acceleration

Flask 3: Panicked Divine Life Flask of Staunching

Flask 4: Perpetual Quartz Flask of Heat

Flask 5: Experimenter's Jade Flask of Adrenaline

Mid-Tier+ Flasks

Flask 1: Experimenter's Quicksilver Flask of Staunching

Flask 2: Cinderswallow Urn Silver Flask

Flask 3: Dying Sun Ruby Flask

Flask 4: Experimenter's Quartz Flask of Acceleration

Flask 5: Experimenter's Jade Flask of Adrenaline

Jewels

Jewels - No Clusters

Jewels - Yes Clusters

Bandit: Kill All.

Pantheon: Brine King and Abberath.

Leveling Up

•   Prioritize the gems you need immediately, Main Links > Movement > Auras > Utility. Check the "Skills" tab for which gems to grab.

•   Levels 1 - Maps || Caustic Arrow/Toxic Rain Self Cast + Ballista

You will want to stick with this playstyle throughout the entirety of the game. Eventually, when you hit higher tier maps, you will drop the Ballista as it isn't worth keeping over having a larger aura set.

Tips

•   Explosive Trap is a useful ability for Single Target up until you obtain Toxic Rain.

•   Make ample use of Smoke Mine if you want to move faster through the acts, and you can make your life easier by putting Detonate Mine on the left click.

•   Don't underestimate the new changes to Mana. They will potentially make Mana regen much more valuable. You should attempt to keep your Mana Flask updated at all times.

•   The Toxic Rain Ballista Setup is powerful. Place as many of them as you can on the ground while keeping Caustic Arrow's debuff up, and then Spam self cast Toxic Rain. Your damage should be pretty good.

•   The New Focused Ballista Support is good. However, I have not tested it. You can attempt to add it into the Toxic Rain Ballista Setup.

For more details about this Toxic Rain Raider build, please join Big Ducks's discord. If you enjoy the content, make sure to hit the Like button and subscribe to his YouTube channel. For more news and tips related to Path of Exile, you can also head over to our PoE news page on MmoGah – the best place to buy PoE currency PS4 and PoE Xbox currency.