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Lightning Arrow Deadeye POE2 Build

Lightning Arrow Deadeye POE2 Build

One of the best Ranged Attack builds in Path of Exile 2 which offers massive AoE and single-target DPS while maintaining a safe distance

Lightning Arrow
Deadeye Build

Updated for Path of Exile 2 Early Access

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Guide notes
August 31, 2025
- Updated for path 0.3, included Deflection to massively improve survivability
Build Overview
Tags: [RANGED] [ELEMENTAL] [LIFE]

Budget: 

Defenses: 

Boss DPS:

AoE:

 

The Lightning Bow Deadeye is currently one of the strongest archetypes. It deals mostly Lightning Damage, so you will frequently Shock, increasing your DPS even more.  Lightning Arrow is a basic Attack that creates Chaining Beams upon Hitting an Enemy. Combined with Herald of Thunder and a Tornado Shot, your clear speed is one of the highest in the game. Lightning Rods is, on the other hand, a much better skill against stationary targets, as it deals extremely high damage in the exact spot where the Rods are. These Rods don't just deal damage passively; you have to activate them. To do so, Hit them with a Chaining Lightning beam sourced from Lightning Arrow. 

Pick Deadeye for Tailwind and Additional Projectile for all your Skills. Your damage heavily relies on additional Projectiles and Attack Speed. Try to keep a close distance from your enemies to get the damage bonus from Point Blank. Gathering Winds increases Evasion, makes you move, and attack faster. With high Evasion, Wind Ward becomes a great tool to mitigate the damage that you cannot Evade, and you can achieve an equally high chance to Deflect incoming Damage, reducing it by half. This Archetype can suit many other Ascendency Classes as well, although Deadeye is usually the strongest and fastest option. 

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1. Gameplay

Attacks with Lightning Arrow to slay regular enemies. Against bosses, stack a few Lightning Rods, create Tornados, and Mark Enemy with Voltaic Mark. Additionally, use Barrage with Lightning Arrows for additional Repeats as often as possible - you don't need Frenzy Charges to make it effective. Herald of Thunder will greatly increase your clear speed, but does nothing against Bosses without additional, weaker Enemies to Trigger the on-kill effects. You can use Wind Dancer instead for better Evasion Rating. You will also mount Rhoa for a massive mobility boost - but it can be dangerous to use against Bosses if you get Stunned. It can be replaced with Mirage Archer, which mimics your abilities. 


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2. Build's PROS & CONS

PROS
  • High damage against bosses
  • One of the fastest builds for mapping
  • High Evasion and Energy Shield
CONS
  • Chance-based Defenses
  • Maximum DPS is very expensive

 

3. Leveling tips

Start with Lightning Arrow and Lightning Rods. It's similar to how you will play it later on. Keep upgrading your Bow as you level up and continue picking up nodes with Lightning and Projectile Damage on them. Rings and Gloves with Added Damage for Attacks are also insanely valuable. Lightning type is generally the best, but any will do as long as the amount is high. 

[DPS] Lightning Arrow setup
Lightning Arrow Lightning Arrow - Sends a Lightning Arrow, which will hit three additional enemies near its target with beams of lightning
Martial Tempo Rapid Attacks II
Elemental Armanent Elemental Armanent II
[DPS] Lightning Rod setup
Lightning Rod Lightning Rod - Fires Arrows that stay in the ground; you can then Hit the Rod with a Chaining beam from the Lightning Arrow. Use it against tough targets.
Magnified Effect Magnified Area II
Elemental Armanent Elemental Armanent II


4. Final Skill Tree, Ascendancy Points, and Pantheon

Final Skill Tree:

Passive Tree
 

Click on the image to open the Passive Tree preview in a new window

Or import the build into PoB:
Path of Building 2 code

Ascendancy points:

Preferably in this order:

  1. Gathering Winds
  2. Point Blank
  3. Endless Munitions
  4. Wind Ward

 

5. Final Gems links

[DPS] Lightning Arrow setup
Lightning Arrow Lightning Arrow - Sends a Lightning Arrow, which will hit three additional enemies near its target with beams of lightning, making it great for clearing packs of mobs.
Innervate Innervate - can be replaced by Lightning Exposure against Bosses.
Elemental Armanent Elemental Armanent II
Martial Tempo Rapid Attacks II
Lightning Attunement Lightning Attunement
Stoicism Stoicism II
[DPS] Lightning Rod setup
Lightning Rod Lightning Rod - Fires Arrows that stay in the ground; you can then Hit the Rod with a Chaining beam from the Lightning Arrow, Ball Lightning, and Orb of Storms. It is your main source of Damage against Bosses.
Rigwald's Ferocity Rigwald's Ferocity - bind this Skill to Weapon Set 2 to get a massive bonus to Damage. 
Magnified Effect Magnified Area I
Stoicism Stoicism II
Lightning Attunement Lightning Attunement
Elemental Armanent Elemental Armanent II
[UTILITY] Herald of Thunder setup
Herald of Thunder Herald of Thunder - After killing a Shocked Enemy, your next Attacks will trigger a Lightning Bolt that deals Attack Damage in a small radius. It can be triggered by any other non-Herald Attack.
Overreach Overreach
Longshot Longshot II
Elemental Armanent Elemental Armanent II
Elemental Focus Elemental Focus
Lightning Attunement Lightning Attunement
[UTILITY] Barrage setup
Barrage Barrage - Next, empowered Attacks fires extra arrows. Use with Lightning Arrow.
Cooldown Recovery Cooldown Recovery II
Rapid Casting Rapid Casting II

 

[UTILITY] Mark setup
Voltaic Mark Voltaic Mark - Marked enemy is easier to Shock, and has an increased effect on them. Use it to further boost your Damage against Bosses.
Cooldown Recovery Prolonged Duration II
Rapid Casting Rapid Casting II
[UTILITY] Ghost Dance setup
Ghost Dance Ghost Dance - creates Ghost Shrouds that restore your Energy Shield if you get Hit. The recovery is based on your Evasion Rating. 
Compressed Duration Compressed Duration II
[UTILITY] Rhoa Mount setup
Rhoa Mount Rhoa Mount - A Mount that makes you move much faster and Attack with no Movement Speed penalty. Be careful, getting Stunned will probably lead to your death. 
Loyality Loyalty
Meat Shield Meat Shield II
Elemental Army Elemental Army
[UTILITY] Tornado Shot setup
Tornado Shot Tornado Shot - creates a Tornado that absorbs your Projectiles and fires them around it. Use it to trigger more Rods at once against Bosses. 
Overabundance Overabundance II
Prolonged Duration Prolonged Duration II
Rapid Attacks Rapid Attacks II
Living Lightning Living Lightning II


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6. Gear Setup

On your Bow look for high Physical and Lightning Damage, Gem Level for Projectile Skills, and additional Arrows. On Quiver, look for flat Lightning Damage and any increases to your Damage, Projectile Speed, or Attack Speed. You can also get a bit of flat Damage on your Rings and Gloves, while the Amulet can improve the Projectile Skill Gem Levels. To use all the Persistent Buffs, you will need some extra Spirit, but if you are short on budget, you can manually swap them around depending on the content you are running. Dexterity and Intelligence are required to equip skills and equipment. For defense, you should acquire high amounts of Life, Evasion, and Energy Shield. Later on, include Deflection Rating as well. Of course, you will need to cap your Elemental and Chaos Resistance, and sparkle a bit of Item Rarity as well. To sustain Mana, a single modifier that grants Mana Leech will be enough. 

Stat priorities on items:

  1. Physical DPS
  2. Level of Projectile Skills
  3. Maximum Life
  4. Elemental Resistances
  5. Energy Shield
  6. Attribute Requirements
  7. Chaos Resistance
  8. Evasion Rating
  9. Spirit
  10. Deflection Rating
Rare Bow(Weapon) Rare Bow - use a Rare Bow with the highest Physical and Lightning DPS you can find. Make sure it adds an additional Projectile to your Attacks. Additionally, look for Gem level increases for your Projectile Skills. 
Min. requirements:
Bow Attacks fire an additional Arrow
400+ DPS
Optional affixes:
# to Level of all Projectile Skills
Thief's Torment(Quiver) Rare Quiver - look for flat Damage for Attacks, increased Damage with Bows, Attack Speed, or Arrow Speed. It is also a great source of Dexterity, which you will need a lot of. 
Min. requirements:
40% increased Damage with Bow Skills
Adds # Physical/Lightning Damage to Attacks
+2 to Level of all Projectile Skills
Optional affixes:
+# to Dexterity
% increased Attack Speed
% increased Projectile Speed
% chance to Pierce an Enemy
Thief's Torment(Ring) Rare Ring - look for Added Physical or Lightning Damage to Attacks, ideally on a Breach Ring. Fill remaining modifiers with Life and Resistances. It can also grant you Mana Leech. 
Min. requirements:
Adds 30 Physical or Lightning Damage to Attacks
+80 to maximum Life
Optional affixes:
Elemental and Chaos Resistance
Attributes
Leech #% of Physical Attack Damage as Mana
Rare Amulet(Amulet) Rare Amulet - use a Rare Amulet to raise your Gem Levels and Spirit and fix your Resistance and Attribute Requirements. It should also provide maximum Life. 
Min. requirements:
+80 to maximum Life
+50 total Elemental and Chaos Resistance
+30 total Attributes
Optional affixes:
+# to Spirit
+# to Level of all Projectile Skills
Rare Armour(Body Armour) Rare Armour - your Body Armour is your main source of Evasion Rating. You will also need a solid amount of maximum Life. Other than that, look for Resistance, Deflection, Attributes, or Spirit. 
Min. requirements:
+140 to maximum Life
+1400 Evasion Rating
Optional affixes:
+# to Spirit
Elemental and Chaos Resistance
Gain Deflection Rating equal to #% of Evasion Rating
Attributes
rare gloves(Gloves) Rare Gloves - you can use a pair of Rare Gloves that grants you a lot of maximum Life, Resistance, and Attributes. It may also boost your Damage via Added Damage or Attack Speed. 
Min. requirements:
+100 to maximum Life
+50 total Elemental and Chaos Resistance
Optional affixes:
% increased Attack Speed
Attributes
Gain Deflection Rating equal to #% of Evasion Rating
Leech #% of Physical Attack Damage as Mana
Added Physical or Lightning Damage to Attacks
rare boots(Boots) Rare Boots - it is mandatory to have a 30% increased Movement Speed on your Boots. Other than that look for maximum Life, Resistance, and Attributes. 
Min. requirements:
+30% increased Movement Speed
+100 to maximum Life
+40 total Elemental and Chaos Resistance
Optional affixes:
Attributes
Gain Deflection Rating equal to #% of Evasion Rating
rare helmet(Helmet) Rare Helmet - another defensive slot, you will mainly look for maximum Life, Resistance, and Attributes. It should grant you tons of Energy Shield, which will also grant Evasion thanks to the Subterfuge Mask Notable. 
Min. requirements:
+100 to maximum Life
+300 to Energy Shield
+50 total Elemental and Chaos Resistance
Optional affixes:
Attributes
rare belt(Belt) Rare Belt - you can look for additional Charm slots to deal with more Ailment types, but you should mainly focus on the usual defense.
Min. requirements:
+150 to maximum Life
+50 total Elemental and Chaos Resistance
Optional affixes:
Strength
+# Charm Slot
Rare jewel(Jewel) Rare Jewel - there are a lot of useful modifiers on your Jewels. The extra effect of your Quiver modifier is the most potent one, but it is also the most expensive, so you might opt for one that has weaker modifiers but in higher quantity. 
Optional affixes:
% increased bonuses gained from Equipped Quiver
% increased Attack/Elemental/Lightning Damage
% increased Damage with Bows
% increased Attack Speed
% increased Attack Speed with Bows
Damage Penetrates (5–10)% Lightning Resistance 
% increased Movement Speed


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