Arc Ignitalist -- 3.5 ignite arc elementalist build guide

the big list of other builds

Welcome to my forum build guide. I'm doing this a bit quick and dirty, so not as much fancy formatting as you might see in some of the more popular guides, but if you have any suggestions as to what I can add or what I forgot to add in this guide, feel free to let me know.

PoB: https://pastebin.com/dKG1cZgd
note that PoB doesn't do a good job with calculating ignit dps or certain buffs. Actual damage in game will be significantly higher than what is shown.
Video Guide: https://youtu.be/e2ySYgyJgyo

To preface this, I'll start with what my goal for this character was as that tends to define any build pretty well:
I originally made this character back in incursion with the goal of being able to clear both maps and alva encounters very fast and fluidly on a cheap budget while still maintaining enough single target to take down the temple boss and architects. When I saw the announcement for 3.5 betrayal, I realized that conceptually the build would fit this coming league too; I would have fast clear speed with enough safe single target damage to easily take down syndicate members and safehouses without breaking a sweat. Additionally, this league, I used arc ignite as my leaguestart, so I designed it to have a low budget option along with high budget upgrades should I choose to continue the build after the first week.
In short, it's a cheap clearspeed build that can safely take down single targets.

So why ignite? Arc is powerful enough as is, why change the formula? Well because ignite is AMAZING for clear. Ignite lost its single target prowess when double dipping was deleted, but it maintained its clearspeed thanks to proliferation of ignites. Hit anyone in a pack, and everyone nearby burns; that hasn't changed. With the absolute unit that is vaal arc, you can chain between every pack in a 3 screen diameter pretty easily and have everything turn to ashes. Perfect for clear. Additionally, arc comes with the fat 15% more damage per remaining chain, which applies to ignite, so against single targets it's not too shabby either. Ignite also lets you hit and run very easily, making syndicate encounters an absolute joke since you almost never have to stand still.

For gear, there are two sets to consider: the cheap leaguestart and the expensive investment. I'll start with the cheap version.

For your ring you need a stormfire. They're pretty cheap since they're unused but can cost a pretty penny on day 2 since they are still opal rings. Doing the build now though, they'll run you maybe 5c for good rolls.

For a chestpiece, just use tabula rasa. the 6l will grant more dps on a budget than most other options, and since the only real danger to safety are bosses, being able to kill them faster is just as viable a defense as any on a budget.

For a helmet, I recommend the gull. They're usually pretty expensive, but thanks to legacy uniques being cheaper this league, they're another cheap option. plenty of life and a bit of res to keep defenses high, but with the upside of shrines and buffed shrine effects to raise clearspeed a bit whenever a massive shrine, brutal shrine, or acceleration shrine pops up.

Everything else should be just rares to fill out life, mana, and resists. This is a MoM build so aim for a 7:3 ratio of total life to mana.

As a weapon, aim for something similar to mine. To search for it, look for a weighted sum of "pseudo increased burning damage" and the non pseudo "increased lightning damage" on onehanded melee weapons with a minimum sum of 140%. If you want to get a bit more, increase that minimum sum and also search for a bit of lightning damage added to spells. should cost 1-70c depending on how good the sceptre is. You can also look for something with an empty suffix to craft on the chance to deal double damage mod like I did.


in total I spent about 60c on this gear (including the cost of the tabula) and have been easily farming syndicates and t15 maps. Normal Atziri is also easy. Shaper guardians pose a bit of a threat but are still doable if you're experienced enough in the fight to dodge their hits as they burn down. Shaper/elder is the same story. Uber Atziri poses a much bigger threat but is still doable with enough tankiness. Uber Elder is basically impossible with this setup. I tried it back in incursion and would not recommend it.

For the more expensive investment, really amp up the quality of your rare gear and throw on a few key uniques.

Inpulsa's Broken Heart makes every enemy you shock explode on death for 5% of their life as lightning damage. That damage will then ignite everything around them and greatly increase your effective damage radius on the build. It also destroys a lot of corpses which makes porcupines and such less of a problem. It grants immunity to shock, allowing you to drop lightning golem in favor of stone or chaos golem. costs 5-7ex.

Esh's Mirror adds lightning damage for every shocked enemy you kill, which you do a lot. It'll greatly increase your damage while clearing. costs 60-100c.

Rare gear can have some nice syndicate mods crafted on them like %lightning %fire hybrid. Otherwise just maxxing out the life and mana on everything is your best bet.

The build has space for 4-5 jewels on the tree, so spending a bit on some nice jewels will also help a lot.


For gem links, I recommend running what you see in the gear above.
The main 6link is:
Vaal Arc--Combustion--Burning Damage--Ignite Proliferation--Deadly Ailments--Unbound Ailments
Everything else is just a combo of supporting skills like golems, flame dash, and scorching ray.

Here's the passive tree I'm using, complete with terrible jewels I spent nothing on

The character name is Chillnt if you want to check it out yourself. Feel free to whisper me about questions or post them below and I'll try to get back to you.
Enjoy the build and enjoy the league!