S-TIER | DRUID BUILD MJOLNER RAGE SHAMAN (@Mathilification) | SEASON 4

Build Overview

This Mjolner Shaman build leverages the unique weapon Mjolner to automatically trigger lightning spells with every mace attack. The core concept is straightforward: you strike with Mace Strike, and the spells socketed in Mjolner (Ball Lightning and Arc) trigger automatically once the weapon’s energy bar reaches 100%. The result is a screen-wide barrage of projectiles and lightning bolts.

The Shaman Ascendancy brings Rage Casting, a mechanic that converts every 2 rage points into 1% more spell damage. The key interaction with Mjolner is that spells triggered by the weapon consume neither mana nor rage, allowing you to keep rage capped at all times and benefit from a massive damage bonus without ever losing it.

Mathilification completes the setup with Forge Hammer and Shockwave Totem, which create shockwaves on the ground that can also trigger Mjolner’s effects. Crown of Eyes converts spell damage bonuses into attack damage, creating a highly efficient double-scaling loop. The build also has access to Apocalypse, the Shaman Ascendancy skill, which rains meteors from the sky for additional clearing power.

Build Strengths

• Overkill damage: The spells triggered by Mjolner combined with rage scaling produce damage well beyond what current content demands. Mathilification confirms the build has far more damage than needed.
• Highly versatile: The Mjolner concept works with nearly any Ascendancy. You can adapt it with Pathfinder for speed, Invoker for even more triggers, or even a CI variant for defense.
• Efficient double scaling: Crown of Eyes converts spell damage bonuses into attack damage, meaning your investment in spell damage also improves your physical attacks. Combined with Archmage adding damage based on mana, the scaling is very generous.
• No rage consumption on triggers: Spells triggered by Mjolner cost neither mana nor rage, allowing you to maintain the Rage Casting bonus permanently with zero resource management.

Build Weaknesses

• Full melee: The build keeps you in constant melee range with enemies, which can be dangerous if you mismanage positioning or lack sufficient defenses.
• Late start: Mjolner requires a minimum level of 65 to equip. You must play a classic mace leveling build throughout the campaign before activating the real build.
• Complex passive tree: Optimizing the passive tree is challenging because the Shaman starts on the wrong side (the Druid side) while crit and meta-skill nodes are located on the Monk side. Mathilification admits he ran a very inefficient tree for 50 levels.

Gem Setup by Stage

This build features 1 progression stage from leveling through to the final build. Select a stage to see the corresponding gem setup.

Endgame

Endgame

18 skills • 59 gemmes

Frappe à la masseMace Strike

Apocalypse

Courroux du Dieu du tonnerre

Courroux du Dieu du tonnerre

Drain de manaMana Drain

Cri infernalInfernal Cry

Marteau de forgeForge Hammer

Présence accablanteOverwhelming Presence

Héraut du tonnerreHerald of Thunder

Brise-osBoneshatter

Héraut de la cendreHerald of Ash

Tempête de manaMana Tempest

Totem sismiqueShockwave Totem

ArchimageArchmage

Apocalypse

Courroux du Dieu du tonnerre

Drain de manaMana Drain

Courroux du Dieu du tonnerre

Recommended Equipment

• Weapon: Mjolner – the core weapon of the build. It triggers socketed lightning spells when the energy bar reaches 100%. Available from level 65 (level 14 version) or level 90 for the level 20 version with an additional socket (very rare and expensive, around 300 Divines).
• Helmet: Crown of Eyes – converts spell damage bonuses into attack damage, creating a double-scaling loop between your attacks and your spells. Essential for maximizing damage.
• Shield: Morio Invictus – provides solid general stats and mana scaling that pairs well with Archmage. The « 15% damage taken from mana before life » support adds an extra layer of defense.
• Amulet: A rare with +3 to spells to boost the level of your spells inside Mjolner and Apocalypse. Round it out with life, resistances, and stats. Mathilification mentions such an amulet cost only a few Divines.
• Jewel: Heart of the Well – grants lucky lightning damage, additional lightning, and on-kill bonuses. Costs only a few Divines.
• Rest of the gear: Look for life, resistances, attack speed, and lightning damage. The belt should have plenty of life and resistances, and boots should add movement speed.

Gameplay Tips

• Leveling: Play normally with Mace Strike, Boneshatter, Forge Hammer, and Shockwave Totem until level 65. The mace gameplay is smooth and effective throughout the campaign.
• Mjolner transition: At level 65, equip Mjolner and socket Ball Lightning and Arc. The build completely changes in power level at that point.
• Rage management: Mjolner triggers do not consume rage, but Infernal Cry (4 rage) and Forge Hammer (12 rage) do. The Rage support on Mace Strike regenerates enough to compensate.
• Level 21 gems: You can easily obtain level 21 gems by crafting a gem of any level, quality it, then corrupt it with a Vaal Orb to get +1 level. Then convert it to level 20. Spells inside Mjolner do not need links.
• Mana Tempest: Place Mana Tempest beneath your feet for an additional damage bonus. Since the build almost never consumes mana, you can freely benefit from it at all times.

How Mjolner Works

Mjolner in PoE2 works similarly to its PoE1 counterpart: you hit enemies, an energy bar fills up, and when it reaches 100%, the lightning spells socketed in the weapon trigger automatically. In this build, Ball Lightning with Nova/Projectile supports and Arc with similar supports are the two spells that fire.

The weapon is restricted to maces, which limits attack options but opens up a unique playstyle. Mace Strike serves as the main attack to build energy quickly, while Forge Hammer and Shockwave Totem provide additional trigger sources. The ground spirals created by Forge Hammer and the shockwaves of Shockwave Totem can also trigger Mjolner’s effects, multiplying damage sources.

Shaman Rage Stacking

The Shaman Ascendancy offers the Rage Casting node, which converts every 2 rage points into 1% more spell damage with no natural rage decay. The synergy with Mjolner is perfect: spells triggered by the weapon consume neither mana nor rage, allowing rage to stay capped at all times.

Only certain active skills consume rage: Infernal Cry (4 rage) and Forge Hammer (12 rage), but the Rage support on Mace Strike regenerates enough to compensate. With rage capped, the spell damage bonus is massive and constant, requiring zero micro-management from the player.

Double Scaling with Crown of Eyes and Archmage

Crown of Eyes is a unique helmet that converts all spell damage bonuses into attack damage. Combined with the Shaman’s Rage Casting, this means rage boosts both the spells triggered by Mjolner AND the physical attacks of Mace Strike. Mace strikes display 70,000 damage on the tooltip, and many bonuses are not even reflected in that number.

Archmage adds another layer by converting mana into additional lightning damage. Since the build never consumes mana (Mjolner triggers are free), Archmage operates at full power at all times, providing close to 80% additional damage based on the mana pool. Mana Tempest further strengthens this synergy by placing a ground zone that boosts damage while you stand in it.

Variants and Alternative Ascendancies

Mathilification emphasizes that Mjolner is a powerful enough concept to function with virtually any Ascendancy. Shaman provides raw damage scaling through rage, but other options are equally viable. A CI variant (Chaos Inoculation) could maximize defense, while Invoker could add even more automatic triggers to complement Mjolner.

Pathfinder is mentioned as an option for quality-of-life improvements (speed, gameplay fluidity). The build has such a surplus of damage that it is entirely possible to trade some damage for attack speed, movement speed, or defense without losing effectiveness. The key takeaway is that the Mjolner + rage concept works as a solid foundation regardless of the direction you choose.

Progression and Passive Tree

Leveling is done entirely with classic mace skills: Mace Strike, Boneshatter, Forge Hammer, and Shockwave Totem form a smooth and effective campaign setup. The transition to Mjolner happens at level 65, when the build reaches a completely different power level.

For the passive tree, Mathilification recommends exploring freely without hesitation. He initially invested 50 passive points sub-optimally and the build remained powerful. The ideal direction is to push toward the Monk side of the tree to grab crit and meta-skill nodes, then invest in a jewel socket for Heart of the Well (lucky lightning). The Mystical Rage node and additional crit bonuses are priority targets once the foundation is in place.

Skill Tree