S-TIER | BUILD RANGER EXPLOSIVE SHOT PATHFINDER (@Perra) | SEASON 4

Explosive Shot Pathfinder Build Overview

This Pathfinder build revolves around the massive area of effect generated by Explosive Shot combined with area scaling and the chaining of Herald of Ice and Armour Explosion. The result is devastating map clear that literally covers the entire screen in explosions, with 200% movement speed to chain packs without downtime.

The core mechanic relies on damage conversion: Explosive Shot naturally deals fire damage, but thanks to Embitter, that damage is converted to cold. This allows enemies to be frozen via Polcirkeln, triggering Herald of Ice which chains with Armour Explosion to wipe the entire screen in a single chain reaction.

For bossing, the build switches to Set 2 (grenades) and uses Explosive Grenade combined with Mortar Cannon and Mirage Archer to spawn as many grenades as possible, then detonates them all simultaneously with Explosive Shot for millions of concentrated DPS.

Build Strengths

• Full-screen clear: The massive area of effect of Explosive Shot combined with Herald of Ice / Armour Explosion chaining covers the entire screen with every shot.
• 200% movement speed: The build achieves exceptional movement speed, allowing you to sprint between packs in maps in an extremely fluid manner.
• Very fun gameplay: The interaction between chain explosions, weapon swap, and grenades offers a varied and visually satisfying gameplay experience.
• Stun immunity: As a Pathfinder, the character is immune to stuns, allowing uninterrupted sprinting between packs.

Build Weaknesses

• Weak single target (Explosive Shot alone): Explosive Shot only deals fire damage and lacks single-target damage by default. Bossing requires swapping to Set 2 with Explosive Grenade.
• Weapon swap dependency: The build requires juggling between two weapon sets (Set 1 for mapping / Set 2 for bossing), adding a layer of complexity to the gameplay.
• Specific gear required: The Herald of Ice / Armour Explosion chaining requires Polcirkeln and either Armour Break III or Uul-Netol’s Embrace to function.

Explosive Shot Pathfinder — Gem Setup by Step

This build offers 1 progression step from leveling to the final build. Select a step to see the corresponding gem setup.

Default

Default

9 skills • 43 gems

Tir à l'arbalèteCrossbow Shot

Canon mortierMortar Cannon

Danseur du ventWind Dancer

Danse fantomatiqueGhost Dance

Archer mirageMirage Archer

Sensibilité aux élémentsElemental Weakness

Tir explosifExplosive Shot

Héraut de la glaceHerald of Ice

Grenade explosiveExplosive Grenade

Recommended Equipment for Pathfinder

This build’s equipment revolves around a few key pieces that activate the chaining mechanic Herald of Ice / Armour Explosion:

• Polcirkeln (ring): An absolutely mandatory piece. This unique ring allows you to shatter chilled enemies, triggering the chaining of Herald of Ice. Without this item, the build’s core mechanic does not work.
• Weapon with « Gain as extra physical damage »: This roll on the weapon is essential to trigger Armour Break III, which activates chain Armour Explosions with Herald of Ice.
• Uul-Netol’s Embrace (alternative): If you do not have the « Gain as extra physical » roll on your weapon, use this unique and stack « Gain as extra chaos damage » instead. This is the second method to trigger the herald/Armour Explosion chaining.
• Ring with « Mana Drain »: Combined with « Gain as extra physical damage », this roll ensures Mana Recovery during bossing. In maps this is not necessary as you do not spend mana, but it is critical against Bosses.
• Rakiata’s Flow (gem): If you have this gem, socket it in Explosive Grenade. Otherwise, level Elemental Weakness as high as possible to compensate.

Gameplay Tips

Mapping

In maps, the gameplay is extremely simple and fast: spam Explosive Shot continuously and sprint between packs. Thanks to the Pathfinder’s stun immunity, nothing stops you. The Herald of Ice / Armour Explosion chaining clears all mobs on screen.

If you encounter a resistant mini-Boss, use Explosive Grenade and detonate it via Explosive Shot for concentrated damage without having to weapon swap.

Bossing

For Bosses, the rotation is more structured:

1. Apply Elemental Weakness on the Boss to reduce its resistances and activate the Rising Tempest bonus.
2. Deploy Mortar Cannon and dodge so that Mirage Archer automatically generates additional Explosive Grenades.
3. Alternate between Explosive Grenade and Explosive Shot to detonate grenades and recover your mana. Use your mana flask if necessary.

Make sure to use Set 1 (crossbow) for mapping and switch to Set 2 (grenades) for bossing to maximize your damage.

Herald of Ice and Armour Explosion Chaining

The core mechanic of this build relies on a cascade chain between two effects: Herald of Ice and Armour Explosion. Here is how it works step by step:

First, the build stacks maximum cold damage and converts the fire damage of Explosive Shot into cold damage via Embitter. Then, Polcirkeln ensures that all chilled enemies are shattered on death, triggering Herald of Ice. The Herald of Ice explosion itself deals cold damage, which freezes and shatters other enemies, creating a chain reaction.

At the same time, Armour Explosion triggers thanks to Armour Break III (activated by the weapon’s « Gain as extra physical damage ») or Uul-Netol’s Embrace (activated by « Gain as extra chaos damage »). These armour explosions further amplify the clear range by adding an extra layer of explosions with each kill.

Weapon Swap Setup: Set 1 and Set 2

This build takes advantage of the weapon swap system to clearly separate two playstyles. Set 1 is configured for mapping: you use Crossbow Shot (Crossbow Shot) with Explosive Shot as the main skill for area clear. All support gems are optimized for area of effect and chaining.

Set 2 is dedicated to bossing with Explosive Grenade and Mortar Cannon. These skills are only active on this set, while the rest of the skills (Herald of Ice, Elemental Weakness, etc.) work on both sets.

It is important to get used to swapping between the two sets: Set 1 to sprint and clear maps, Set 2 when you reach a Boss or a resistant enemy requiring concentrated DPS.

Damage Conversion via Embitter

Explosive Shot is naturally a fire damage skill, which poses a problem: Herald of Ice requires cold damage to shatter enemies and trigger the chaining. This is where Embitter comes in.

Embitter converts a portion of the damage into cold damage, allowing Explosive Shot to freeze and shatter enemies via Polcirkeln. Without this conversion, the build would entirely lose its Herald of Ice chaining mechanic, reducing it to a simple Explosive Shot without the chain reactions that make it powerful.

This is why stacking cold damage is prioritized in the build’s scaling, even though the main skill is technically « fire-based » at its core.

Detailed Bossing Rotation

The bossing rotation of this build follows a precise sequence to maximize damage:

Start by applying Elemental Weakness on the Boss. This curse reduces its elemental resistances and activates the Rising Tempest bonus, increasing your overall damage. Level Elemental Weakness as high as possible if you do not have Rakiata’s Dance.

Next, deploy Mortar Cannon on the ground and dodge to activate Mirage Archer. It automatically generates additional Explosive Grenades around the Boss, multiplying the number of active grenades without any input from you.

Finally, alternate between Explosive Grenade (to manually place grenades) and Explosive Shot (to detonate them). Each Explosive Shot explosion detonates all grenades in its area, creating a massive DPS spike. The « Mana Leech » on your ring combined with « Gain as extra physical damage » ensures mana recovery between explosions.

Passive Tree