In thisPath of Exile 2article, we will be taking a look at how to put togetherthe Sniper buildfor you to use to get into the late-game or end-game of the game.Path of Exilehas become notorious for the sheer amount of skills and build possibilities available in the game, and the sequel follows suit with an extensive skill tree and a multitude of skill gems. This guide is here to help you get through all that and lay out a path for you to follow as you reach the end of the campaign and prepare you for yourCruel playthroughs or endgame.
Introduction
The Sniper is a ranged build using the bow where we will be taking advantage of our ranged skills to take down our enemies with powerful bow shots before they get close. And for this build, we will be focusing on increasing our projectile attacks, maximizing both our damage and attack speed when using the bow.
Starter Class
For this build, we will be starting withthe Ranger class, which is one of the seven available for now at the time, and on the expansive skill tree,the Ranger classwill start on the southeast side similar tothe Huntress.
This side of the skill tree consists mainly of passives related to evasion, attack speed, and flat increases in projectile damage, which we will be investing our points in to bring out the damage potential when using the bow.
Passive Skill Tree
For the progression through the passive skill tree, we will be looking to maximize our damage output, and as such, we will go down the offensive pathway. But we will be taking the attack speed nodes of the offensive route and go throughthe Honed Instincts and Clean Shot nodes.
Then we would go straight down the southeastern axis and then go for the first of the core groups that greatly improve the effectiveness of using the bow, which isthe Master Fletching nodeand the corresponding nodes.
These will boost the bonus effects we gain from quivers and help with our damage output.
Afterwards, we will go for the nearby branch withthe Precision Salvo passive node.
This group of passive skill nodes will increase our attack speed, accuracy rating, and our projectile speed, which will contribute to increasing our overalldamage per second (DPS)when using the build.
Following these two skill groups, we will go straight towards the outer ring of the skill tree to go forthe Bow passive skill group.
This group will greatly increase our damage when using the bow and will also allow us to pierce through our targets passively, making it easier to deal with mobs of enemies.
This group, in addition to increasing damage, will also give us attack speed, accuracy rating, and an increase in critical damage when using the bow.
After investing in the entire skill group, we will go up north and go for the passive skill group, which will give us an increase in critical chance, which contributes to the damage output.
These groups form the major core of the Sniper build and will allow us to deal massive amounts of damage using our bow.
The build can scale with investments inAttack Speed, Projectile Damage, and Critical Chance, having the potential to become a pure glass cannon DPS build with an inherently high critical chance and damage.
For the Ascendancy for this build, we will be going with the Deadeye class and taking the middle path, going throughthe Far Shot and Endless Munition nodes.
We’re taking the Far Shot variant for the node because we are aiming to maximize our damage by staying at a distance from our targets, and we will be using ranged skills mostly during both mapping and bossing.
The Endless Munition node will make it so that we will fire off two shots with any bow skill we are using, greatly increasing the efficiency and effectiveness of this build.
Active Skills Setup
This build is one of the more powerful builds because it is easy to set up, and you can easily deal with all kinds of opposition using a few skills without the need to invest into and rotate between a lot of skills.
The first skill we will be using a lot in our build isthe Lightning Arrow skill.
This skill fires off a charged arrow that will fire off chain lightning to nearby enemies on hitting a target. Although this skill by itself is not powerful, it forms part of the core tool of dealing with mobs for this build.
The second skill that forms the core of our mob-clearing skill combo isthe Lightning Rod.
This skill will shoot down an arrow that will remain on the ground for a period of time, which will send out lightning bursts. Much likethe Lightning Arrow,this skill by itself, while dealing damage, is not efficient at dealing massive amounts of damage quickly.
But combining these two skills will allow us one of the most efficient tools to clear out mobs of enemies, as the lightning bursts fromthe Lightning Rod arrowson the ground can be triggered usingthe Lightning Arrow skill, and the charged arrow fired off using the skill will chain additional times from the rod arrows in the ground.
These two skills work in tandem to create a shocking lightning damage field on the ground, allowing us to deal huge amounts of damage that is triggered by the lightning bouncing off of each other as you shoot charged arrows intothe rod arrows.
In addition to these two skills, we will be using only one other skill for dealing huge amounts of single-target damage, which is extremely useful when fighting against rare enemies or bosses, and this isthe Snipe skill.
This skill will charge up a powerful shot, and when let go at the perfect moment, it will cause an explosion with a guaranteed critical hit chance.
This skill is a perfect tool to quickly take down bosses, especially after stunning them,allowing you to fire off multiple “perfect” shotswithout interruption.
This build is effective with its simplicity and performs extremely well using only these three skills. Although we can use the other skills that become available to us as we level up, they are not necessary for the build to be effective.
As a bonus, havingthe Escape Shot skillslotted in will provide this build with a travel-type skill that will allow you to get out of situations where you find yourself cornered or dodge some massive attacks that approach you from the ground.
Support Gems
Concerning the support gems, we will be aiming to amplify the core three skills of our build to make using these simple and effective for dealing with all your enemies.
Forthe Lightning Arrow skill, we will be usingthe Martial Tempo skillfirst, which will increase the attack speed of our skill by 20%.
While the skill by itself is not slow, this support gem greatly increases the efficiency of clearing out mobs.
We will also be putting in the Lightning Infusion support gem with this skill, as this will increase our lightning damage output when using the skill.
For our second skill,the Lightning Rod, we will be looking to amplify the area of coverage that the lightning bursts give off, and as such, we will be usingthe Magnified Effect, as this support gem will increase the area of effect by 30%.
We will also increase the effectiveness of the status-effect-afflicting aspect of theLightning Rodsby putting inthe Conduction support gem.
This will make it easier for us to shock enemies using ourLightning Rod and Arrow combo.
For our high-damage skill, Snipe, we will aim to maximize the damage output as quickly as possible, and we will be usingthe BrutalityandWindow of Opportunitysupport gems.
The Brutality gemwill increase the physical damage output by 25% at the cost of not being able to deal other types of damage.
This is not a huge trade-off, as we will not be relying on elemental damage alone to fight against bosses.
The Window of Opportunitysupport gem will make it so that it is easier to fully charge for your perfect shot by shortening the time by 35%.
Since we will be using our bow, and there can be situations where we will have to rely on our normal bow shots, we will also be putting in support gems for our regular attacks.
Putting inthe Chain support gem and Scatter Shot support geminto our bow shot will give us an additional option that can damage multiple enemies.
For the spirit gem skill,the Herald of Thundergoes great with this build, as we can inflict shock on our enemies with all of the skills for this build, and the Herald of Thunder skill will call down a lightning bolt whenever we kill a shocked enemy, adding to our damage output when clearing mobs using this build.
Gear and Equipment
This Sniper build does not require any specific Uniques to perform well and can function with decent gear of yellow rare rarity. When you are putting your gear together, this build benefits greatly from gear with bonuses to physical damage and +1–4 for projectile skills.
The build also benefits from quivers with great stats because we have invested in passive nodes that will give us additional bonuses from our quivers. Being a ranged build, we will be looking for boots with increased movement speed, as it will help with kiting and dodging.
Leveling Guide
The build is efficient at dealing with groups of multiple enemies and will give you little trouble while dealing with mobs usingthe Lightning Arrow and Rod combo. As you level up, it is beneficial to haveat least 1–3 Intelligence attribute nodes, since this will allow us to equip more Intelligence support gems, in addition to increasing the mana pool, and you may start investing into more attack speed or critical chance to increase your damage output even further.
Mapping and Bossing
This build is capable during both mapping and bossing; you will not run into much trouble. You can kite around the boss and deal a lot of damage with yourLightning Rod and Arrows combo.
Path of Exile 2 Ranger Starter Guide - How to Build a Ranger
Path of Exile 2 Ranger Starter Guide - How to Build a Ranger. Tips on Ranger Skills, Gems, Weapons, Armor and more!
This combo will allow you to deal massive amounts of damage while causing huge stun buildup against the bosses, after which you can follow up withthe Snipe skillfor shots that will take away massive chunks of the boss’s health. In addition, efficient gameplay involves regularly alternating between Lightning Rods and Lightning Arrow to deal with mobs of enemies while mapping and clearing mobs.
Endgame Scaling and Optimization
Endgame scaling is enhanced through cluster jewels that increase attack speed, movement speed, and critical chance. The build has great options to scale by investing into either pure attack damage or critical hit chance and damage, while benefiting fromhigh-Dexterity gearto further boost damage with the potential to be a pure critical-hitDeadeye build.
This build performs well in SSF and Hardcore, thanks to its high damage and high mobility. It is not reliant on expensive Uniques and offers great damage without many drawbacks.
So, this wraps up my guide for the Sniper build guide forPath of Exile 2. I hope you found this guide helpful, and if you have any suggestions or tips, feel free to leave them in the comment section.
