When you want a league starter that doesn't fall apart the moment you step into red maps, Explosive Arrow Ballista is hard to beat. It's simple on paper, but it rewards you for getting the little things right. You drop totems, they stack fuses, then the target pops and the ignite does the real work. If you're gearing on a fresh economy, it also helps to know where to plan purchases and upgrades, so I keep an eye on buy game currency or items in
EZNPC POE 1 Currency while I map and price-check what's realistic for day one.
How the damage actually lands
The big "aha" moment is that your DPS isn't about your own bow hits. It's about reaching the fuse cap fast and consistently. If your totems are slow, die often, or miss, you'll feel like the build's lying to you. Attack speed matters a ton because it sets the rhythm of stacking. Accuracy matters because a miss is a fuse you never get back. Once you're reliably ramping to full stacks, bosses start feeling weirdly fair. You plant, you dodge, you let the burn tick. It's the kind of damage uptime that saves you when the arena turns messy.
Tree choices that make or break it
Start by taking the totem backbone early, then lock in Ancestral Bond. Yeah, it shuts off your personal damage, but the extra ballista is the whole point. From there you're basically shopping for fire damage over time multiplier, ignite scaling, and enough life to stop random one-shots. Elemental Overload is a common pickup because it's easy value for ignite setups. If you're using Elemental Equilibrium, don't sleep on the classic trap: any "adds fire damage to attacks" on gear can flip it against you and your damage just tanks. People do it all the time, usually on rings or gloves, then wonder why map bosses take forever.
Gear priorities and defensive comfort
Your bow carries the build. Gem levels are huge, so +1 to socketed gems or +2 to bow gems is the dream, and attack speed is never wasted. Don't ignore survivability while you chase damage, though. Grace plus Determination is a popular comfort combo, and spell suppression smooths out a lot of modern league content. If you go Champion, you'll feel sturdier with less gear. If you go Elementalist, the damage and ignite proliferation can make mapping feel like you're cheating, but you'll need to respect incoming hits more.
Mapping flow and boss swaps
In maps it's almost lazy in a good way. Drop ballistas near the pack, tag with your curse like Flammability, then keep moving while everything behind you melts. Bossing is more deliberate: place totems where they'll live, keep exposure up, and spend your attention on mechanics, not greed. Gem swaps are normal here—Deadly Ailments is a classic boss slot because it pushes ignite hard when you need it. If you're planning those upgrades and keeping your build moving forward, slipping in a quick check on POE 1 Currency can make the shopping part less of a headache.
