In thisPath of Exile 2article, we will be taking a look at how to put togetherthe Crossbow Ranger buildfor you to use to get into the late-game or end-game of the game. Path of Exile has 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 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 your cruel playthroughs or endgame.
Introduction
The Crossbow Rangeris a ranged build using the crossbow as our main weapon instead of a bow, where we will be taking advantage of our ranged bolts in combination with our ranger bonuses to take down our enemies. And for this build, we will be focusing on increasing our projectile attacks, maximizing both our damage and attack speed when using the crossbow.
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 Huntress classwill start on the southeast side similar to the Huntress.
This side of the skill tree consists mainly of passives related to Evasion, attack speed, and flat increase 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 will proceed along the southeastern axis for 2 nodes on the axial branch and then put our points intothe Precision Salvo passive nodeand those along the way. This group of passive skills will increase our attack speed and help with increasing our overall damage per second.
We will also be putting a few of our points into the opposite branch at the beginning, which will increase the attack damage output using our equipped weapon. We can choose to fully invest in the whole branch afterwards or focus on other passive skill groups, but investing in the four points early on will help increase our damage output early on, smoothening the leveling process with this build.
Following this, we will backtrack and go for the southward direction along the axis and use the passive skill branch that will increase our projectile damage quite considerably, and this is the group withthe Heavy Ammunition and the Careful Aim passive nodes.
These nodes will increase our projectiledamage by up to 75%, as well as the stun build-up and accuracy rating, making it one of our more important skill groups.
Afterwards, we will continue south along the axis until we reach another branch that will increase our projectile speed and area of effect of our attacks withthe Catapult Node, making our bolts that deal with mobs more effective.
Once we are done with this branch, we will then make our way towards a branch that will help with our crossbow reload speed, which includesthe Instant Reload passive skill node.
The increase in crossbow reload speed will contribute to our overall damage output as we will have less downtime reloading when attacking or switching between different bolts.
Then, we will proceed to the gem slot and continue south towards the outermost ring of the passive skill tree.
Once there, we will invest in a few nodes that will increase our attack speed, including theSand in the Eye nodefrom the circular passive group, but we will not be investing in the nodes that increase our blind effect, as we will not be using the status effect with this build. Following this, we will invest our points into the crossbow group.
Although there are many great passive nodes that work well with this build, the core skill group we are aiming for is the crossbow passive skill group, which will increase our damage with the weapon, as well as increasing our crit chance and give us a passive chance for us not to consume our crossbow bolts upon firing.
This really helps with single-bolt reloading skills and can put out significant amounts of damage within a short amount of time whenever it procs.
The node that will offer a great amount of damage increase isthe Full Salvo node, which will give us an increase in damage for each different ammo type we used in the last 10 seconds.
Since this does not have a limit to how many ammo types that it scales with—only the time—if we rotate between fast-firing, low-shot count ammunitions, the increase in damage can ramp up quite significantly, especially against bosses.
These skill groups form the core of this build, and after investing points in these, the efficiency of this build is further enhanced by going for increases in projectile damage, attack speed, and the crossbow reload speed nodes. If you want additional survivability, you can also opt in for the evasion nodes, which will let you dodge most of the enemy attacks apart from some spells.
For the Ascendancy for this build, we will be going withthe Deadeye classand taking the middle path, going throughthe Point Blank and Endless Munition nodes.
We’re takingthe Point Blankvariant for the node because we are aiming to maximize our damage using our bolts, and more often than not, the enemy will get within 3.5 meters, increasing our damage output.
The Endless Munition nodewill make it so that we will fire off two shots with any crossbow skill we are using, greatly increasing the efficiency and effectiveness of this build.
For our defensive options,the Gathering Winds and Wind Ward nodeswill help us, as they give our build some survivability by means ofTailwind, which is a stacking buff that increases our movement speed, attack speed, skill speed, and evasion rating per stack.
Active Skill Setup
For this build, we are going with the simple and effective route and will not be focusing on a variety of skills, but sticking with a handful that work extremely well and will let you deal with any situation the game throws at you.
We will be usingthe Armor Piercing Roundsas our main type of ammunition and skill for this build.
Loading these bolts will allow you to fire off rapid-firing shots that can easily break down the armor of your targets and increase the damage they will be taking.
The second type of ammunition or skill that we will be using quite often isthe High Velocity Rounds.
This skill will load a single bolt that can deal high damage, but it has the advantage of being able to ensure a critical hit against any target that has their armor broken, consuming the status effect when doing so.
The main rotation of your ammo type is armor piercing, followed by a high velocity shot, and repeat—especially when fighting against tougher enemies and bosses.
The last skill that we will be using that greatly increases our damage output isthe Rapid Shot skill.
This skill loads your crossbow with a heavy clip containing at least 50 bolts and will fire like a heavy machine gun after a small period of winding up.
This skill is different from other crossbow shots in thatRapid Shotwill accumulate heat for your crossbow, which will in turn increase the damage dealt by each of your bolts. As we will be unloading hundreds of bolts within seconds in the quite literal sense, you will see the boss’s health bar going down within a short time frame.
These three ammunition types or skills are the ones we will be mainly using, especially against bosses, but sometimes, they can have trouble dealing with large mobs of enemies.
In such instances, shots such asIncendiary Shots and Galvanic Shardswork really well, as they will let you fire off multiple shrapnels in a cone in front of you, much like a shotgun, allowing you to quickly deal with large groups of enemies while also having considerable knockback force.
Spirit Gems
For the spirit gem skill, theHerald of Thundergoes great with this build as we can inflict shock on our enemies withGalvanic ShardsandStormbolt, and theHerald of Thunderskill will call down a lightning bolt whenever we kill a shocked enemy, adding to the lightning damage we can inflict with this build.
Another spirit gem skill that works amazingly with the crossbow isthe Shard Scavengergem.
This passive will allow us to instantly reload our crossbow bolts upon consuming the broken armor ailment, allowing us to repeat theHigh Velocity Shotinstantly without needing to reload, adding to our damage output.
Support Gems
The support gems really bring out the best ability of this build, and we will be focusing on maximizing our effectiveness using our main three shots.
For theArmor Piercing Rounds, it is best to put intheChain Supportgem as early as possible into this skill when you are putting this build together, as this will cause our bolts to chain to multiple enemies, allowing us to take them all out quickly without the need for more close-ranged shots.
The second support gem that really amplifies the function of the skill isthe Demolisher gem, which increases the armor-breaking ability by 50%, making it so that you will break down armor with fewer shots—in turn, increasing the damage you deal against armor-broken enemies.
For theHigh Velocity Rounds, we will want to put inthe Ammo Conservation gem, as this will give a 25% chance not to consume a bolt, giving the opportunity to fire off two consecutive high-damaging shots in a short time.
To further add to this advantage, we will be slotting aDouble Barrelgem into the skill, as this will give us an additional bolt per reload. Although there is a downside of increased reload time when using this gem, this effect is negligible and will not have significant impact on the playstyle with this build.
ForRapid Shot,as the skill converts 60% of our damage to fire damage and gives our bolts the chance to ignite enemies, we will be usingthe Ignition support gem, which increases the chance by 100%, and combined withthe Eternal Flame gem, which increases the duration of the ignite at the cost of 25% reduction in ignition chance, we can easily set enemies ablaze with our high-attack speed rapid shots.
These form the core of the build, and having this setup will allow you to quickly deal with any enemy, including bosses—putting them down before they know what bolt hit them.
For ourIncendiary Shots, we will be usingthe Fire Infusionsupport gemandthe Martial Temposupport gem.
TheFire Infusiongem will give our shots additional 25% fire damage, increasing our damage output, andMartial Tempowill increase the attack speed when usingIncendiary Shot, helping with quickly dealing with mobs of enemies.
With ourGalvanic Shards, we will be usingthe ConductionandLightning Infusionsupport gems.
The Conductiongem will give a 100% increase in chance to shock using the skill, andLightning Infusionwill give an extra 25% lightning damage—increasing our damage when using this bolt type.
For our spirit gem, with theHerald of Thunder, we will be usingthe Magnified Effectsupport gem andthe Expanse support gem.
These gems will increase the area of effect of the lightning bolt called down bythe Herald skill, and while theExpansegem will increase the cooldown by 8 seconds, this is negligible as this is not a spammable skill but a passive skill that triggers when you kill shocked enemies.
With ourShard Scavenger, we will be usingthePersistenceskill and theVitalitysupport gems.
ThePersistenceskill will increase the duration of the buff, increasing the times where our bolts will not be consumed, and theVitalitygem will help with our sustain by regenerating health when the buff is active.
Gear and Equipment
This build is mainly built to work well with any kind of gear as it does not require any specific uniques, but there are some items that will greatly increase the effectiveness of this build.
When choosing a crossbow, the ideal choice will be one with a high amount of physical damage, as the rounds we will be mainly using scale best with physical damage rather than elemental types, and having a crossbow with high physical damage will go a long way in boosting the damage output of this build.
Among the different crossbow types, theDyad CrossboworTwin Crossbowworks really well with this build, as the weapon has the built-in property of loading an additional bolt for all of your skills—allowing you to fire off one more additional shot with theHigh Velocity Roundsbefore needing a reload.
Rare gear with increases to attack speed, movement speed, and gear granting life leech works really well with this build and will enhance mob clearing while mapping. Prioritize suffixes that increase Dexterity and critical strike chance to further enhance damage scaling as you reach higher levels.
Leveling Guide
The build levels smoothly without much trouble, being a ranged setup that can quickly take down enemies. If you happen to gather a sizable amount ofGalvanic ShardsorIncendiary Shots, you can quickly take care of groups of enemies with little resistance. Although the build is not reliant on uniques, if you come across theMist Whisper Makeshift Crossbow, it will significantly speed up your leveling process up to the end of Act 2.
The one downside is that you are susceptible to crowd control and on the squishier side of things, so you do have to be mindful of large explosive spells or hindering effects—because if you get caught in one of those, you’re likely to go down in a single hit or two. Make sure to keep your movement speed high and practice positioning to avoid incoming threats.
Mapping and Bossing
Although you can clear mobs during mapping quite fast, bossing is a major strength of this build. You can kite around the boss and deal a lot of damage, especially in instances where the boss is stunned—where you can unload one or two full clips ofRapid Shot, quickly whittling down the health bar.
Efficient gameplay in the endgame can be achieved by alternating between close-ranged shots such asGalvanic Shardsand long-ranged shots such asArmor Piercing Roundsdepending on the situation. This will also increase your damage output as a result of theFull Salvopassive node. Managing your bolt types and keeping your reload speed optimized is crucial during more intense fights.
Endgame Scaling and Optimization
Endgame scaling is enhanced through cluster jewels that increase attack speed, movement speed, attack damage, and projectile damage.
The build has great flexibility and options to scale by investing into either pure attack damage or critical hit chance and damage while benefiting from high-Dexterity gear and critical strike multipliers to further boost output.
This build performs well inSSFandHardcore, thanks to its high damage and high mobility. It is not reliant on expensive uniques and offers great performance with fast-paced mobility and quick clear speed—allowing you to progress through many of the game’s harder content without much resistance.
However, you will always need to stay alert to survive against stronger spell-based enemies due to your lack of tanky layers.
So, this wraps up my guide for theCrossbow Rangerbuild 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.
