[2.3] Explosive Arrow Elementalist (HC, Fast Clear)

Pros
- Very tanky
- Can clear most maps very fast
- No map is too hard
- Cheap to start
- Scales well the more currency you invest in it
- No annoying frost walls or manual frenzy casting
Cons
- Not the best in groups(doable though)
- Fire res maps are meh :(
- Ignite on bosses can be unreliable
- Elemental Proliferation with Shaper of Desolation might lag you a bit.

General Clear: Explosive Arrow - Greater Multiple Projectiles - Increased Area Of Effect - Fire Penetration - Elemental Proliferation - Less Duration

Single Target: Explosive Arrow - Slower Projectiles - Concentrated Effect - Fire Penetration - Less Duration - Rapid Decay/Empower(if lvl 3/4)

Golem: Cast When Damage Taken (lvl 20) - Summon Flame Golem - Summon Lightning Golem

Utility(put these wherever): Blink Arrow - Frenzy - Flammability

CWDT: Cast When Damage Taken (lvl 1) - Immortal Call (lvl 3)

For gear you have 2 phases: you'll probably start with a Cloak of Flame and a single Quill Rain. And you'll end with a Kaom's and a weapon swap. I'll show both setups here:

Bow: Quill Rain, no other choice here


Helmet: Devoto's Devotion, this is insane because of all the attack speed and dexterity you don't get on the tree(this allowed me to spec out of 2 30 dex nodes)


Amulet: Rare with Dexterity, Life and Resists

Rings: Life and Resists, maybe some Dexterity

Gloves: Rare with Life, Attack Speed and Resists, preferably armour base

Belt: Rare with Life and Resists

Boots: Blood Dance, your main way of generating frenzy charges, also gives some well needed dexterity. Leech enchant on here is very good(no regen maps), but not required.


Quiver Rearguard or Hyrri's Bite. Rearguard gives you very good defenses, Hyrri's Bite gives you slightly more AoE. In general I'd say: Softcore? Hyrri's Bite. Hardcore? Rearguard.


Body Armour(start): You'll probably start with a Cloak of Flame, this is reasonably cheap and gives you some nice defenses and resists. It also synergizes with "Paragon of Calamity" on the tree, since every time you take Physical Damage it will be converted to Fire Damage, and thus increase your Fire Damage by 40%.
Body Armour(endgame): Kaom's Heart is the best choice here, since you get quite some life on the tree a Kaom's will give you a bunch of life scaling. You'll lose a place for links though, so have to have another linked Quill Rain on weapon swap with your single target.

Start with Shaper of Desolation, since this is insane for leveling.
Next get Paragon of Calamity so you don't kill yourself to reflect.
Get Liege of the Primordial in Merciless for some extra damage.
Get Pendulum of Destruction last, it's a nice addition, but not required.

Oak - Kraityn - Kraityn

You can level with Firestorm as almost any Elementalist would. Just link it with Fire Penetration, Controlled Destruction and Elemental Proliferation. Do Normal Labyrinth as soon as possible so you can use that beautiful Shaper of Desolation. You can take Elemental Overload, Light of Divinity and the Witch spell damage starter nodes for leveling and spec out of them later.

40% packsize Shipyard(T12), slight lag because I'm recording

Why no Elemental Equilibrium?
EE makes your burn less strong, and it will only work for the mobs you hit with your arrow, not the mobs your AoE hits.

Why Prolif gem over Beacon of Ruin?
Prolif gem has a much larger AoE, since I feel like the damage you lose from it is insignificant for Explosive Arrow, I'd rather have a larger AoE than some more damage.

Does quality EA matter?
It's nice for your single target, but not required because of Shaper(Shaper is not always up on single target, so that's why it's nice)

Why no Frost Wall?
Frost Wall can be quite buggy and annoying to use, in my experience this single target just does much better against bosses that move a lot.

Why Elementalist over Berserker?
Berserker gets 40% more damage, Elementalist gets permanent shock(40% more damage taken). Elementalist also gives you more resistance to reflect and the double golem utility.

When should I switch to EA?
You can easily switch at lvl 38(or when you pick up blood magic). It's pretty decent leveling. Firestorm + Flameblast will still beat it though, so I switched in Merciless Dried Lake.

Why RT over EO?
RT is more consistent, and you don't need the extra damage Elemental Overload provides.