Hey, Wraeclast wanderers! Ready to ditch the usual Warrior melee grind and turn your brute into a screen-smashing, armour-shattering crossbow fiend? Inspired by a clever community creation, this Path of Exile 2 build flips the script on the Warrior class with a wild combination of crossbow firepower and two-handed mace brutality. It's got explosive AoE for trash mobs and a boss-crushing backup plan - let's break it down and get you shredding!
Core Concept: Armour-Breaking Explosions
The magic of this build lies in shredding enemy armour and watching the fireworks. It starts with the Warbringer Ascendancy's Anvil's Weight passive, which lets your hits deal 10% of your damage as broken armour. Stack a few tricks on top of that, and you've got a chain reaction that wipes out entire packs in one glorious salvo. Here's how it works:
Skill Setup: Crossbow Chaos
Explosive Shot + Armour Explosion: Your bread-and-butter skill. Fire an armour-busting bolt, and when it fully shatters, Armor Explosion triggers a fiery burst. Boom - instant gratification.
Herald of Ice + Exploit Weakness: Freeze enemies with cold damage, shatter them and Herald of Ice unleashes icy explosions. Exploit Weakness eats broken armour to amplify these blasts.
Scattershot support: Here's the kicker - this adds multiple projectiles to Explosive Shot. Each bolt can shatter armour, cause an explosion, and set off a chain of shards. It's a domino effect of destruction.
To freeze him, slap on Blue Flame Bracers to convert Explosive Shot's fire damage to cold. Pump some area-of-effect into your passive tree and you'll be clearing screens like a pro. Mobs won't know what hit them.
Boss backup: Two-Handed Smash
Single-target tough nuts giving you grief? Swap the crossbow for a two-handed mace and unleash the Hammer of the Gods. It's a classic warrior weapon - slow, heavy and capable of flattening anything stupid enough to get in your way. Since both weapons are two-handed, the two-handed damage nodes in your passive tree do double duty, keeping your DPS beefy across the board.
Gear & Passives: Making it work
Weapons: Grab a high-damage crossbow for the AoE setup - attack speed is nice, but raw power is king here. For bosses, a chunky +melee two-handed mace will seal the deal.
Blue Flame Bracers: Essential for cold transformation. No freezing, no shattering, no fun.
Passive Tree: Focus on two-handed damage, AoE and cold damage boosts. A sprinkling of survivability (armour or health) will keep you upright when things get dicey.
This setup relies heavily on shattering armour and chaining explosions, so stack anything that boosts those effects. Health regeneration or Energy Shield can patch up the squishier side of the build against beefy Uniques.
How to Play: Boom, Switch, Smash
Trash mobs: Line up Explosive Shot, fire a volley, and watch the screen explode. Keep moving - those explosions are pretty, but you're not invincible.
Bosses: Hide the crossbow, pull out the mace and spam Hammer of the Gods. It's slower, but the raw damage chews through health bars like candy.
This build is a blast for clearing maps, though it'll sweat a bit against tanky single targets without the swap. Practice weapon switching - timing is everything when the big bads show up.
Why This Build Slaps
This isn't your grandfather's Warrior. Ditching melee for crossbow havoc brings a fresh vibe, blending ranged mayhem with the class's brutal roots. The armour-breaking loop is damn satisfying, and the flexibility of switching to a mace keeps you versatile. It's not perfect - single-target DPS needs work - but for blowing up packs, it's a riot.
Thanks for reading
This Crossbow Warrior build makes Path of Exile 2 an explosive playground! In a nutshell, shatter armour with Explosive Shot, freeze chains with Herald of Ice, and smash bosses with Hammer of the Gods. Gear up, customise and unleash chaos - Wraeclast won't know what hit it!
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