Warlock Chaos Fissure Endgame Build for Last Epoch (Patch 1.1)
Build Introduction
Sunder the earth beneath your feet, releasing tormented souls that will attack all nearby enemies. From the crack in the earth, chaotic balls of necrotic fire will target your foes, ripping the blood from their very being while cursing their existence.
- Minimal button build
- Fast ramp-up of damage
- Capable of taking on high corruption and endgame dungeons without being fully leveled
- Heavily reliant on Mana
- Requires uptime to build defensive layers due to Ward from casting
Skill Selection
The star of this build is Chthonic Fissure, which deals both Necrotic and Fire Damage, but is also the way we automate several skills:
- Chaos Bolts: Automated from Spirits on Chthonic Fissure. These have a 60% chance to propogate on every released Spirit from the Fissure.
- Rip Blood: Automated from casts of Chaos Bolts, either self-casted or automated off Chthonic Fissure. There is a 1% chance to cast this for every 1 Intelligence on your character.
- Bone Curse: Automated from casts of Chaos Bolts, either self-casted or automated off Chthonic Fissure. Bone Curse will only get cast on ememies who are already Cursed through other means. This can be Torment or Acid Skin from Chthonic Fissure, Bone Curse itself, or Marked For Death from Mortality's Grasp.
For mobility, this build uses Transplant which doubles as a way for us to cast Bone Curse on enemies. With a detonation on departure and arrival, alongside the Bone Curse cast, this skill does ample damage on its own. As an additional bonus, Transplant will also grant us Bone Armor momentarily after displacement, providing a way to boost our defenses on the move.
Class and Skill Passive Trees
Our base class is the Acolyte, which acts as a generic spell caster and summoner. Our character will be offered an opportunity to select an Advanced Mastery once we have completed the first act of the campaign. Each base class has three possible masteries to choose from. For the Acolyte, we have access to the Mastery Tree Passives for Necromancers, Lich and Warlock. Upon selecting a Mastery and placing 20 Passive Points into the Acolyte Tree, you'll then be able to place Passive Points into the Mastery Trees.
Warlock is our advanced class for the build. We will utilize the majority of our Passive Points for the Warlock Passive Tree, with minimal points in the Acolyte tree. The Warlock passives will focus around increases to Intelligence, Mana Regen, Leech and Cast Speed. To help round the build out we will be taking additional points in the Lich tree. These points will focus on Intelligence, Leech and Ward.
Acolyte Passive Points
- 8 points into Forbidden Knowledge: Intelligence and Necrotic Resistance.
- 6 points into Blood Aura: Increased damage for you and Golems.
- 1 point into Mania of Mortality: Traversal node.
- 5 points into Unnatural Preservation: Large gains to Ward Retention, Necrotic Resistance, and Poison Resistance.
Our base class is the Acolyte, which acts as a generic spell caster and summoner. Our character will be offered an opportunity to select an Advanced Mastery once we have completed the first act of the campaign. Each base class has three possible masteries to choose from. For the Acolyte, we have access to the Mastery Tree Passives for Necromancers, Lich and Warlock. Upon selecting a Mastery and placing 20 Passive Points into the Acolyte Tree, you'll then be able to place Passive Points into the Mastery Trees.
Warlock is our advanced class for the build. We will utilize the majority of our Passive Points for the Warlock Passive Tree, with minimal points in the Acolyte tree. The Warlock passives will focus around increases to Intelligence, Mana Regen, Leech and Cast Speed. To help round the build out we will be taking additional points in the Lich tree. These points will focus on Intelligence, Leech and Ward.
Warlock Passive Points
- 5 points into Soul Stealer: Mana Regen, along with a chance to gain Mana when you hit Cursed targets.
- 5 poinst into Occultist's Mind: Added Intelligence, and provides 1 Mana per Intelligence on your character.
- 5 points into Harrowing Armor: Added Armor and Health, and even further boosts to Armor per Curse on enemies when they hit you.
- 5 points into Spirit Leech: Leech, and extra Leech against Cursed enemies.
- 5 points into Dark Protections: Ward per second, and less damage taken from enemies per active Curse on them.
- 5 points into Wither: Enemies inflicted with Wither deal less damage.
- 10 points into Malefic Body: Additional Intelligence and Vitality.
- 5 points into Chaotic Strikes: Adds 5% chance to deal double damage, alongside a chance to deal double damage per Curse on the target.
- 5 points into Wreak Havoc: Added Critical Multiplier, and even more if the double damage from the previous node is applied and the hit crits.
- 5 points into Fleeting Crone: Adds a chance for Haste on kill or Boss/Rare hit, along with increased Haste effect.
- 5 points into Accursed Seer: Increased Cast Speed, and extra Cast Speed for Curses.
Our base class is the Acolyte, which acts as a generic spell caster and summoner. Our character will be offered an opportunity to select an Advanced Mastery once we have completed the first act of the campaign. Each base class has three possible masteries to choose from. For the Acolyte, we have access to the Mastery Tree Passives for Necromancers, Lich and Warlock. Upon selecting a Mastery and placing 20 Passive Points into the Acolyte Tree, you'll then be able to place Passive Points into the Mastery Trees.
Warlock is our advanced class for the build. We will utilize the majority of our Passive Points for the Warlock Passive Tree, with minimal points in the Acolyte tree. The Warlock passives will focus around increases to Intelligence, Mana Regen, Leech and Cast Speed. To help round the build out we will be taking additional points in the Lich tree. These points will focus on Intelligence, Leech and Ward.
Lich Passive Points
- 10 points into Apocrypha: Intelligence and extra Mana Regen.
- 5 points into Survival of the Cruel: Additional Health and Spell Leech.
- 5 points into Grasp of Fate: Increased Necrotic Damage.
- 5 points into Mental Cacophony: Extra Mana and Ward Retention.
- 8 points into Crippling Insight: Provides a substantial boost to Intelligence, but greatly reduces Health Regeneration.
In this section, we will break down each skill and highlight the key passives we have selected to make the skill shine in the build. While some of these skills do allow for some variation to exist depending on your own custom choices, we recommend utilizing the skill trees as presented until you have a strong understanding of the build itself.
Chaos Bolts
While Chaos Bolts will be automated for a large portion of its casts, we will still be manually casting it quite a bit. With the Mana cost of double-sided Chthonic Fissure being as high as it is, manually casted Chaos Bolts are a good alternative for clearing packs of low Health enemies and moving through maps quickly. Chaos Bolts casted this way will still automate both Rip Blood and Bone Curse. Chaos Bolts are the light show of the build, and the main driver in allowing the build to work.
Order of Skill Points
- 2 points into Condemned to Chaos: Adds a chance to apply Damned.
- 3 points into Exult in Misery: Chaos Bolts deal 12% more damage to enemies inflicted with Damned, Ignite, Bleed and Frostbite.
- 3 points into Abrupt Chaos: Increases Cast and Projectile Speed.
- 2 points in Doom's Vindication: Traversal node, but does add more damage to base and against Cursed enemies.
- 1 point into Exacted Libation: Allows for the automation of Rip Blood based off your Intelligence stat. Early on you may wish to place both points into this to increase survivability. If required, remove a single point from Cthonic Aurora.
- 2 point into Devour the Damned: Hits regain Health and Mana against Cursed enemies.
- 1 point into Cursed Blood: Hits with Chaos Bolts refresh the duration of all Curses on enemies.
- 1 points into Another Affliction: Automates Bone Curse when you hit a Cursed enemy with Chaos Bolts.
- 4 points into Destructive Intensity: Continued casting of Chaos Bolts increase the base Critical Hit Chance, but also reduces the size of the AoE per stack.
- 2 points into Pandemonium: 39% chance for larger Chaos Bolts to be cast.
- 1 point into Cthonic Aurora: Adds projectiles to Chaos Bolts cast, but also increases the Mana cost significantly per projectile.
In this section, we will break down each skill and highlight the key passives we have selected to make the skill shine in the build. While some of these skills do allow for some variation to exist depending on your own custom choices, we recommend utilizing the skill trees as presented until you have a strong understanding of the build itself.
Rip Blood
Rip Blood has two uses for this build. The most important reason is to regain Health on cast, which is important due to the interaction with Twisted Heart of Uhkeiros. Every Blood Orb will refund us approximately 150 Health, depending on your level and the amount of Intelligence you have. Blood Rip is also our only source of Bleed in the build, which boosts Chaos Bolts damage by 12%.
Order of Skill Points
- 2 points into Arcane Absorption: Traversal node.
- 1 point into Rip Spirit: Converts the skill to deal Necrotic Damage instead of Physical.
- 2 points into Hemomancer: Traversal node.
- 5 points into Quenching: Increases Health gains and Blood Orbs travel faster.
- 1 point into Hematology: Scales the Health gained from Blood Orbs with Intelligence.
- 5 points into Gushing Wound: Adds a 100% chance to Bleed on hit.
- 5 points into Splatter: Rip Blood has 100% chance to Splatter, dealing AoE damage.
In the event you find that you are leeching too much, or it isn't providing any significant usefulness for the build, feel free to take a point out of Splatter and put it into Arcane Fortress. This will convert the Health gain from this skill into Ward. There is no level where this is applicable, it is only based on player comfort.
In this section, we will break down each skill and highlight the key passives we have selected to make the skill shine in the build. While some of these skills do allow for some variation to exist depending on your own custom choices, we recommend utilizing the skill trees as presented until you have a strong understanding of the build itself.
Bone Curse
Bone Curse is full automated for this build and should realistically never be manually casted. Since we run the unique gloves, Mortality's Grasp, we can apply Marked For Death by any spell that we cast and deals a hit. This means that Marked for Death can be applied with Chaos Bolts, which will then force the auto-cast of Bone Curse and keep it applied for an unlimited duration, forcing more casts as you keep casting. If you open with Chthonic Fissure, that spell automatically applies Torment and Acid Skin, so Bone Curse will cast on the first instance of Chaos Bolts that you hit an enemy with. Bone Curse cast this way does have a 6 second cooldown, so keep this in mind. There is a 12% Kill Threshold on this, so just let your Chaos Bolts take advantage of this. It is not worth manually casting this in an effort to guess when the boss is at 12% Health.
Order of Skill Points
- 4 points into Conflation: Amplifies the size of Bone Curse by 150%.
- 1 point into Sigil of Mortality: Casts Marked For Death on enemies hit by Bone Curse.
- 2 points into Reaper's Mark: Marked for Death now lasts longer.
- 1 point into Misery: Converts Bone Curse into a Necrotic spell.
- 5 points into Defile Defenses: Applies 1 stack of Shred Armor to enemies hit.
- 5 points into Iron Maiden: 50% more damage.
- 3 points into Brittle Bones: Additional damage and Kill Threshold.
In this section, we will break down each skill and highlight the key passives we have selected to make the skill shine in the build. While some of these skills do allow for some variation to exist depending on your own custom choices, we recommend utilizing the skill trees as presented until you have a strong understanding of the build itself.
Cthonic Fissure
Chthonic Fissure is a powerhouse. This spell will automate every aspect of our kit for us. The only thing it does not provide is mobility, and only because we don't take the node for this specific build. The initial fissure hit will apply Acid Skin and also deal a large amount of Fire Damage when it hits. Once opened, Spirits will either apply Torment or be converted into Chaos Bolts. The Spirits will also Shred Necrotic Resistance on hit, making it a great tool to quickly rid the map of enemies. Be mindful of the associated Mana cost with this skill; manual-casting of Chaos Bolts is enough for most instances. Save Chthonic Fissure for Elites and Bosses or for when you are overwhelmed by mobs and need a way out.
Order of Skill Points
- 3 points into Fragile Crust: Refunds a portion of the Mana if an enemy is Cursed nearby.
- 2 points into Spirit Gale: If enemies die while afflicted by Torment, they have a 50% chance to release a Spirit.
- 3 points into Severed Wards: Spirits shred Necrotic Resistance.
- 5 points into Stygian Current: Increases the frequency of Spirits released by the fissure by 50%.
- 3 points into Chaotic Rupture: Spirits are replaced by Chaos Bolts 60% of the time.
- 1 point into Of Gloom and Flames: Chthonic Fissure now activates behind you as well as in front.
- 2 points into Death from Below: Chthonic Fissure deals 10% more damage.
- 1 point into Pyrochasm: The fissure now deals an initial hit of Fire Damage.
- 1 point into Fissure of Wrath: The initial hit now deals more damage per Ignite Chance.
- 1 point into Forbidden Chasm: The initial hit from the fissure now applies Acid Skin.
In this section, we will break down each skill and highlight the key passives we have selected to make the skill shine in the build. While some of these skills do allow for some variation to exist depending on your own custom choices, we recommend utilizing the skill trees as presented until you have a strong understanding of the build itself.
Transplant
Transplant is the traversal skill used for the build, and is pretty straight forward in its use. Upon arrival at the destination when used, Transplant will cast Bone Curse, and can be used as a way to initiate fights before using Chthonic Fissure. Doing this will activate the Mana refund from Fragile Crust. Transplant will also activate Bone Armor when used, improving our defensive layers.
Order of Skill Points
- 2 points into Scarlet Rain: Transplant's explosions are larger.
- 1 point into Ethereal Body: Converts the skill into Necrotic.
- 3 points into Acolyte's Fervor: Grants Haste and Frenzy on use.
- 1 point into Reign of Blood: Transplant now deals damage from where you start and where you end.
- 1 point into Doom Bringer: Automates Bone Curse on arrival.
- 3 points into Fleeting Form: Increases the Cast Speed and reduces the cooldown.
- 4 points into Anemia: Transplant costs less Health to use.
- 2 points into Bone Armor: Bone Armor increases Armor and reduces damage taken while active.
- 3 points into Apostasy: Bone Armor lasts an additional 3 seconds.
- 1 point in Sticky Blood: Creates blood pools on detonation, which slow enemies on walk through.
Build Mechanics and Playstyle
This build only requires three buttons. The only spells that need to be manually casted will be Chthonic Fissure, Chaos Bolts, and Transplant. Chthonic Fissure should be used to take care of Elites and Boss enemies, or whenever you have a full Mana bar. For normal mob groups and low Health enemies, manual casting of Chaos Bolts is more than enough. The unique gloves, Mortality's Grasp will provide us the ability to apply Marked For Death on enemies with any hit on an enemy. This helps bypass the requirement of needing to manually cast Bone Curse or Chthonic Fissure on an enemy to take advantage of several triggered effects in the build, and helps us conserve Mana while moving between mob packs.
For Boss fights, start with Chthonic Fissure and just maintain uptime with Chaos Bolts from that point onward. Chthonic will apply both Torment and Acid Skin to enemies, while the node Cursed Blood will maintain these buffs, alongside all others, indefinitely through a constant duration refresh. If your curses ever fall off, you will need to cast Chthonic Fissure again to reactivate Acid Skin and keep damage output high.
The defensives of the build rely on the unique relic, Twisted Heart of Uhkeiros. This item will drain our Health with every cast we make and in return grant us a portion of that Health cost with Ward. To combat this, Rip Blood is used to return Health to us with Blood Orbs. This ensures a maximum amount of Ward is generated with each cast.
Equipment and Gear Affixes
In order to run this build smoothly, the following stat thresholds should be met:
- 100 or more Intelligence.
- A significant amount of Mana Regen. This is mostly taken care of by prioritizing Mana Regen rings.
- 100% Critical Hit Chance, when taking Acid Skin into account.
- A priority should be taken on acquiring Critical Strike Multiplier.
- The Unique items Mortality's Grasp and Twisted Heart of Uhkeiros.
Gear Slot | Implicits | Modifiers |
---|---|---|
Wand | Spell Damange Increased Cast Speed -3 Spell Mana Cost |
Prefixes Critical Strike Multiplier Increased Spell Critical Strike Chance Suffixes Chance to Ignite on Hit Chance to Chill on Hit |
Off-hand Catalyst | Intelligence Spell Critical Strike Chance Ward Retention |
Prefixes Critical Strike Multiplier Increased Spell Critical Strike Chance Suffixes Needed Resistances |
Head | Armor Ward Retention |
Prefixes Intelligence Chance for 3 additional projectiles when you directly cast Chaos Bolts Suffixes Needed Resistances Increased Health |
Amulet | Increased Cast Speed | Prefixes Critical Strike Multiplier Increased Mana Regen Suffixes Needed Resistances |
Chest | Armor Increased Mana Regen |
Prefixes Intelligence Increased Critical Strike Chance, Increased Minion Critical Strike Chance Suffixes Health Increased Health |
Belt | Mana | Prefixes Increased Necrotic Damage Increased Mana Regen Suffixes Critical Strike Avoidance Hybrid Health |
Gloves | Mortality's Grasp | Legendary Potential Increased Cast Speed Intelligence |
Ring | Mana Mana Regen |
Prefixes Intelligence Increased Mana Regen Suffixes Health Needed Resistances |
Ring | Mana Mana Regen |
Prefixes Intelligence Increased Mana Regen Suffixes Health Needed Resistances |
Feet | Armor Movement Speed Ward Retention |
Prefixes Intelligence Movement Speed Suffixes Health Hybrid Health |
Relic | Twisted Heart of Uhkeiros | Legendary Potential Increased Cast Speed Intelligence |
A loot filter made specifically for the gear table above may be copied by pressing the button below. Once in the Loot Filter portion of the in-game menu, choose the "Paste Clipboard Contents" option to import the code.
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Uniques
This build requires every single Unique item that appears in this section, however Twisted Heart of Uhkeiros is non-negotiable. There is no substitute.
Twisted Heart of Uhkeiros
Twisted Heart of Uhkeiros: This is where a large portion of our Ward generation will come from. Every cast of Chaos Bolts will trigger the effect, so it is important to make sure you have the ability to leech Health back and sustain ourselves. You can be target farm this in the Monolith Timeline "Reign of Dragons".
Mortality's Grasp
Mortality's Grasp: This is how we force Chaos Bolts to apply a Curse on hit and refrain from manual casting of Bone Curse. Keep in mind, these gloves also supply a large amount of Health as well, boosting our defensives and Ward generation. Farm these gloves in the Monolith timeline "Ending the Storm".
Idols
Idol slots are gained through the campaign, unlocking small bonuses and unique affixes for the player to discover and augment their builds with. The Idol screen consists of a grid system for the player to fill out with different sized idols, eventually filling in every part of the grid. As the Idol shape increases (1x1, 1x2, 1x3, 1x4, etc.) the stronger an affix you might find for your build.
This build does not require any hard idols to obtain. Focus on any Idol that supplies Ward Retention, Health, or missing Resistances. If needed, Stout Lagonian Idols can also supply Increased Critical Hit Chance.
Blessing
Blessings are permanent buffs that are applied to your character. These come in two different powers, Standard and Grand. Grand blessings are significantly stronger than the Standard Blessings. In total, there are 10 Blessing Slots, one for each Monolith Timeline. When you complete a Monolith and defeat the final boss you will be awarded a choice of three blessing with a random value.
Blessing Name | Affix | Timeline |
---|---|---|
Grand Emptiness of Ash | Critical Multiplier | The Black Sun |
Grand Promise of Death | Chance to Shred Necrotic Resistance | Spirits of Fire |
Grand Maw of Artor | Chance to apply Frostbite on Hit | The Age of Winter |
Grand Survival of Might | Critical Avoidance | Reign of Dragons |
All remaining Blessings can and should be used to fill in gaps in Resistances or to bolster other aspects of our defensive layering, depending on what gear drops you have gotten.
Changelog
- 14 Jul. 2024: Updated for 1.1. Transplant nodes moved around due to the loss of Plated Armor relating to the Bone Armor buff.
- 13 Mar. 2024: Build Planner added.
- 16 Feb. 2024: Guide Added.
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