TbXie's Detonate Dead Ignite Elementalist Build Guide (PoE Necropolis 3.24)
Due to the latest balancing changes, we do not recommend playing this build anymore, as it does not meet the high standards we apply to our guides in terms of fun and performance. We are leaving it up as a reference and it might be revived in a later patch.
Introduction
While I personally would have never considered the possibility of 
Detonate Dead being a viable skill outside of some special shenanigans, this build in particular has caught everyone’s eyes over the course of the past Leagues. When realizing how this build kept performing, without actually getting nerfed all that much, we finally decided to put out a guide for you guys because at this point, we cannot be left behind.
The Ignite version of Detonate Dead has been completely figured out and was optimized to perfection because the very best of our playerbase have been playing this build for what has to be years now. I’d like to take the time therefore to thank ImExile, Ben_ and ds_lily for their extensive research and optimizations to the build.
Where we tried to give the build our own touch, the work they have done to get this build to this point cannot be negated. That being said, because they generally play in environments which aren’t ours, we have altered the build a little for a trade league environment to get even more bang for your buck.
Even then, when pushed far enough, this build will be totally capable of tackling all the SSF content out there, even the hardcore variations of such leagues when piloted correctly. Don’t underestimate how hard these settings actually are and don’t forget not to expect a build to solely carry you in those scenarios.
Build Summary
Pros and Cons
Pros
+ Strong build with amazing clear
+ Requires no uniques to function whatsoever
+ Therefore SSF & HC viable – Leaguestarter viable
+ Very tanky
Cons
– You don’t use this build until after act 10
– Pretty heavy on buttons to press (2 Button Build + Buffs)
Map Modifiers to be Avoided
I would avoid No Leech, No Regeneration & Reduced Recovery. Additionally, before you have Bastion of Elements, Elemental Reflect will kill you.
Playstyle, Mechanics & Strengths
Since Detonate Dead scales mostly off of the monsters it detonates, you’re looking for ways to create monsters with as much Health as possible since the corpse detonation is based on monster Health. This is why you’re going to need to create a very specific Spectre Bank. In the gem section of this build, we will explain thoroughly what needs to be done in order to maximize the chance of spawning a high health corpse to explode.
Comparatively if we’re looking at random monsters we encounter in the game, the average increased life modifier you’ll find is reasonably low. Because you’ve followed the Spectre Bank strategy, you’ll very often be spawning the highest health monsters in the game, which makes your damage go up many many times.
Because of that mechanic, the build requires virtually no gear to do Damage & can invest much of its resources into being more durable. This is what makes this build excel in almost any scenario. At peak performance, the build packs millions upon millions of damage whilst still having very respectable Armour & Evasion numbers, Capped Spell Suppression, Ailment Immunity, reasonably high Life totals, a good amount of Recovery, High Chaos Resistance, Physical Damage conversion, Defensive Aura Effect, Bastion of Elements and so on. As long as you can get past the two button playstyle, this build really puts out some of the best & most balanced Offense and Defense that is to be found in the game on both low and higher budgets.
Passive Skill Tree, PoB, and Gem Links
You can find an optimized Path of Building here.. Every build I release will use the community fork of Path of Building. You can find PoB’s Fork, by LocalIdentity, here.
If you are not comfortable with Path of Building, PoePlanner’s website offers you a non-PoB alternative to import the code from the above link. it is highly recommended you install Path of Building to follow builds most optimally.
More information about the Passive Skill Tree, as well as all the Gem Links can be found on our dedicated page.
Ascendancy, Bandits, and Pantheons
Our Ascendancy, Bandit, and Pantheon Power page goes into detail about all the choices you need to make in these regards.
Ascendancy, Bandit & Pantheon Power Page
Gear Summary / TL;DR
A lot of this is explained more in depth in the Gear Page, however we will provide you with a basic idea of what gear you’re looking for in this short summary.
Gear PageOur recommendation:
| Item Slot | Item Name |
| Head | Evasion based Helmet with Life, Resistances, Suppression & Chaos Resistance |
| Amulet |  Replica Dragonfang's Flight |
| Chest | Armour/Evasion based Chest Piece with high Armour & Evasion, Suppression & Gravicus Benchcraft |
| Gloves | Evasion based Gloves with Life, Resistances & Suppression |
| Boots | Evasion based Boots with Life, Resistances, Suppression and Movement Speed |
| Belt | Strength based Belt with Life, Chaos Resistance, Armour & Energy Shield regeneration craft |
| Rings |  Polaric Devastation &  Replica Emberwake or Rare Ring |
| Weapon | Rare Sceptre with Fire Damage, Fire Damage as Extra Chaos, Cast Speed and Fire Damage over Time Multiplier |
| Shield | Evasion/Energy shield Base with Suppression, Life, Resistances & Energy Shield |
Questions & Support
If you enjoy my content to such an extent that you’d like to support me and my work, or you have a specific question you request my private time for, you can buy me a coffee over at Patreon. At no point should you feel pressured to contribute, but if you do, your support means more to me than you will ever imagine.
Even though we try to make our guides as complete as possible, obviously it’s possible you still have questions. We have an entire mod team readily available to support you & your questions on Discord. You can find us on the ARPG Vault Discord. Make sure to open a Guide Help thread so things stay clear in the main channels.
Leveling
Even though we are very adamant about trying to give you a leveling experience that lies as close to your endgame playstyle as possible, we will recommend you to use the standard leveling setups until after act 10. Detonate Dead just doesn’t function that well until you have all of your stuff going. For more information about leveling, we refer you to the following guides:
- Our step-by-step leveling walkthrough, which allows even more experienced players to save time and speed through the leveling process.
- Our guide to Unique Items for leveling, which helps you gear up your characters for the leveling process.
- Our beginner guide to Path of Exile, which answers many of the questions new players might have and will set you on the right path.
Following the correct leveling steps
This build guide has a very complete leveling section written out in the PoB. Therefore, I have to encourage you to follow all gems & skill trees which are provided to you in there.
Credits
Again, massive credits go to those who’ve researched this build extensively. By chance of forgetting someone, the people I know who have spent an absolute insane amount of time playing this build are ImExile, Ben_ and ds_lily. By all means, go visit them and support them for their work.
