Pathfinder Build: Exploring Doom and Defensive Shell Mechanics

The impending doom Pathfinder offers nostalgic gameplay with impressive clear speed, but struggles with offensive and defensive scaling.

### Impending Doom Pathfinder: High Clear Speed with Unique Defensive Shell
* ⚔️  The build focuses on **Impending Doom support for high clear speed**, using a reflected Kangro ring for **increased AoE** and a Canderous Touch **offensively**.
* 🛡️  The defensive setup includes converting elemental damage taken to **chaos or lightning**, utilizing Font of Thunder, Zaca, and a Watcher's Eye with **Purity of Lightning**.
* 🔮  The modified defensive variant swaps Font of Thunder for Sublime Visioning, allowing for a **Max block setup** with Swalen.
* 📊  The build requires **lightning and chaos resistance**, with additional chaos resistance scaling for **Max chaos resistance**.
* 🛡️  Defensive layers include **Endurance Charge on Block**, **Max block shell**, and **Doppelganger for further chaos damage reduction**.
* 🍃  Pathfinder's unique mechanics are utilized, including **Master Surgeon for skill cost reduction** and **Replica Sorrow of the Divine for ES sustain**.
* 🏃‍♂️  To maintain permanent Onslaught, Auto-exertion with General's Cry is used due to **limited flask slots**.
* 🔮  The build is described as "a really high Q build with **fantastic clear** that caps out in terms of **offensive and defensive scaling**, but is flexible for experimenting with **new defensive shells**."

this is an impending doom Pathfinder, a build previously loved, but I honestly have no idea how it really works to be honest. The damage is a little bit underwhelming, but it does feel absolutely amazing to play with screen-wide clear proliferation, pretty solid defense, and pretty good speed all around. Now, there's rumors about needing to hit 4.8 radius on your curses these days in order to have overlaps using Cascade, and I do so with a reflected kangro ring, giving me 64% increased AOE per ring for hex skills, and then mirror this ring with a canderous touch offensively. This does use a forbidden Sho with a level 32, I believe, and pending Doom support. Nothing novel here, and then a classic Vixens setup. However, the defensive shell is more interesting, again not my own, but I'm using a modified variant of an already popular convert to thunder setup. This traditionally uses font of Thunder, zaca, From A Timeless jeel, and a Watcher's eye with purity of lightning. However, I swap font of Thunder for

Sublime visioning, which opens up my shield slot, and now I can go Max block with swalen. In essence, you want to convert your Elemental damage taken to either chaos or lightning. Physical mitigation still remains to be a struggle on this build; however, you do have endurance charge on block and a Max block shell. Even without this, it's decent enough for endgame content with about 21k Max Fizz hit without most of your conditionals. It's sort of like playing melding when you use this shell, but without the downside. Instead of having so much negative res and negative Max res, you don't really need to build much res at all. Only need to build lightning and Chaos res; however, you do need to build chaos resistance and scale Max chaos to do this. I'm running a bunch of cluster duels, two of which are megalomaniacs with born of chaos, which give you plus three max res. I'm also looking for a Plus One Max chaos res on my Timeless duel where the power charge

would have been previously rounding this build out. I use doppelganger guys, which reduces chaos damage taken further, and in this setup, it also applies then partially to your Elemental damage taken. And doppelganger also helps out a ton with fiz mitigation, gives you a little bit of regen if you are taking damage below your petrified blood threshold, and then the recovery is made better with the life flask as a Pathfinder. If you're familiar with the shell this build, the tech I'm about to explain is fairly well-known, but I also run replica Sor the Divine and then pair that with master surgeon to help out with your cost of skills. Doom blast is a really expensive skill because you're triggering a ton of different curses at the exact same time, and manacost is made much worse this patch. So when you're able to run replica the Divine, this gives you the elders battery for free and basically infinite es sustain with a permanent life flask running. I prefer to use a saturated Vine life FL because I don't play with an

illegal macro. However, if you did hypothetically do so, you could play with a stronger life FL, an eternal life FL that gives you much more life FL sustenance. The one last thing I want to cover about this build is General's cry with auto exertion. Now, because I'm running repus or the Divine penesis, a topaz flask, and a Divine Life flask, my flash slots are fairly starved, and I refuse to drop a quicksilver. So, in order to get permanent Onslaught, I'm actually using Auto exertion with General's cry. This allows me to constantly use a war cry with a fairly little cool down and then pair that with the lead by example notable, which is also on one of my megalomaniacs, coincidentally. And then I'm able to use a reservation that isn't an aura, thus not conflicting with Sublime Vision, that does have some benefit, giving me Permanent Onslaught as long as I'm not, you know, in my Hideout or in town, which feels really, really great to have, even if it doesn't.

necessarily increase my DPS in a whole. This is a really high Q build with fantastic clear that I've really enjoyed playing, but does really cap out and doesn't honestly have the best scaling offensively nor defensively. But if you are craving that feeling of nostalgia on a great clearing build, I want to experiment with new defensive shells. I hope this build gives you some ideas of what you can do, and it's definitely flexible to go into a standard chaos casting setup like Soul Rand spiraling with nimus or playing forbidden right and having your damage doubled or even tripled when it comes to Uber bosses.

Impending Doom Pathfinder [Path of Exile 3.25]

jungroan

The build offers screen-wide clear proliferation, solid defense, and good speed, but the damage is underwhelming.

It uses a reflected Kangro ring for increased AOE on hex skills and mirrors it with Canderous Touch.

The defensive setup includes a Max block shell with Swalen, converting elemental damage to chaos or lightning, while also aiming for chaos resistance and scaling Max chaos.

Optimizing Damage Mitigation and Skill Costs in a Build

The build utilizes doppelganger to reduce chaos damage taken and provide physical damage mitigation, along with regen below the petrified blood threshold.

Replica Sor the Divine is paired with master surgeon to alleviate skill costs, particularly for the expensive Doom blast skill.

The combination of replica the Divine and a permanent life flask offers free energy shield sustain and infinite recovery.

Optimizing Life Flask and Onslaught in Gameplay

Using a stronger life flask and an eternal life flask can provide more sustenance.

Auto exertion with General's cry is used for permanent Onslaught, while avoiding the need for a quicksilver flask.

This setup allows for a constant war cry and effective use of reservation, providing a unique benefit without conflicting with other abilities.

The build offers fantastic clear speed but lacks strong offensive and defensive scaling.

It provides flexibility for experimenting with new defensive shells and can transition into a standard chaos casting setup.

The build's damage can be doubled or tripled when facing Uber bosses, making it versatile for different playstyles.