S-TIER | BUILD WITCH BLEED BOW SNIPE (@JayTX) | SEASON 4

Build Overview

This Bleed Bow Blood Mage build harnesses the power of the Infernalist ascendancy to transform a physical Arc into a devastating bleed machine. The concept revolves around an ingenious weapon swap system: Set 1 is dedicated to Snipe and the bleed passive tree, while Set 2 focuses on Eye Shot for fast mapping with bonus speed and extra projectiles.

The core mechanic of the build relies on Freeze-into-nuke: you freeze bosses with Freezing Salvo and Freezing Mark, then consume the Freeze with Snipe to deal massive bleed damage. With 14.3 million bleed DPS and a combined DPS of 15.4 million, this build offers one of the highest damage potentials ever achieved on a bleed build in Path of Exile 2.

JayTX presents here his final update for season 0.4, with a level 97 character and optimized endgame gear. The build offers 13 progression steps, from act 1 all the way to the final build, with detailed crafting instructions and a clear gear progression path.

Build Strengths

• Exceptional bleed DPS: 14.3M bleed DPS on Snipe with the Freeze-nuke mechanic, for a combined DPS of 15.4M. This is arguably the highest bleed DPS ever achieved.
• Very fast mapping: Eye Shot with Herald of Ice provides remarkable clear speed. The weapon swap allows instant switching between mapping mode and bossing mode.
• Comfortable survivability: Around 4500 life and 3300 energy shield thanks to Crimson Power, combined with permanent Freeze and Temporal Chains slowing everything that approaches.
• Huge upgrade potential: The Blood Mage nature and elemental damage scaling offer many upgrade paths, from a basic physical bow up to a mirror-tier bow.

Build Weaknesses

• Snipe requires good timing: If you fire too early or too late, Snipe deals no damage. Practice is needed to recognize the correct animation and associated sound.
• Rhoa almost mandatory: The build works significantly better with a Rhoa. A version without a Rhoa exists but requires reduced speed penalties on nearly every piece of gear.
• Significant endgame investment: The final upgrades (Headhunter, Rite of Passage, mirror-tier bow) are extremely expensive and represent a late-league investment.

Gem Setup by Step

This build offers 13 progression steps from leveling to the final build. Select a step to view the corresponding gem setup.

ED + Contagion Leveling Ice Shot Transition Day 1 – Early Maps Day 1 – T15+ Maps Day 2 Day 3 Day 4 Arbre Majeur Transition + Nova Proj Transition Day 4 Headhunter Transition Day 5 Day 6 – Gemmes Jour 7 Nouveau Carquois, Arbre, Rite de Passage Build Final Mirror-Tier Bow Transition

ED + Contagion Leveling

6 skills • 18 gems

Drain d'essenceEssence Drain

ContagionContagion

Sombre effigieDark Effigy

Sceau de pouvoirSigil of Power

DésespoirDespair

Trait de chaosChaos Bolt

Ice Shot Transition

7 skills • 22 gems

Trait de chaosChaos Bolt

Tir de glaceIce Shot

Tir d'éliteSnipe

Salve glaçanteFreezing Salvo

Marque glacialeFreezing Mark

BlasphèmeBlasphemy

Tir de fuiteEscape Shot

Day 1 – Early Maps

8 skills • 18 gems

Reliquats de VieLife Remnants

BlasphèmeBlasphemy

Traque sanguinaireBlood Hunt

Héraut du sangHerald of Blood

Salve glaçanteFreezing Salvo

Tir de glaceIce Shot

Tir d'éliteSnipe

Reliquats de VieLife Remnants

Day 1 – T15+ Maps

9 skills • 26 gems

Tir à l'arcBow Shot

Reliquats de VieLife Remnants

Monture RhoaRhoa Mount

Héraut du sangHerald of Blood

Salve glaçanteFreezing Salvo

Tir de glaceIce Shot

Tir d'éliteSnipe

BlasphèmeBlasphemy

Reliquats de VieLife Remnants

Day 2

10 skills • 33 gems

Tir à l'arcBow Shot

Reliquats de VieLife Remnants

Héraut de la glaceHerald of Ice

Marque glacialeFreezing Mark

Tir de fuiteEscape Shot

Monture RhoaRhoa Mount

Tir de glaceIce Shot

BlasphèmeBlasphemy

Tir d'éliteSnipe

Salve glaçanteFreezing Salvo

Day 3

10 skills • 36 gems

Tir à l'arcBow Shot

Reliquats de VieLife Remnants

Héraut de la glaceHerald of Ice

Marque glacialeFreezing Mark

Tir de fuiteEscape Shot

Monture RhoaRhoa Mount

Tir de glaceIce Shot

BlasphèmeBlasphemy

Tir d'éliteSnipe

Salve glaçanteFreezing Salvo

Day 4 – Arbre Majeur Transition + Nova Proj Transition

11 skills • 46 gems

Tir à l'arcBow Shot

Tir à l'arcBow Shot

Reliquats de VieLife Remnants

Marque glacialeFreezing Mark

Tir de fuiteEscape Shot

Monture RhoaRhoa Mount

Salve glaçanteFreezing Salvo

BlasphèmeBlasphemy

Tir d'éliteSnipe

Tir de glaceIce Shot

Héraut de la glaceHerald of Ice

Day 4 – Headhunter Transition

11 skills • 46 gems

Tir à l'arcBow Shot

Tir à l'arcBow Shot

Reliquats de VieLife Remnants

Marque glacialeFreezing Mark

Tir de fuiteEscape Shot

Monture RhoaRhoa Mount

Salve glaçanteFreezing Salvo

BlasphèmeBlasphemy

Tir d'éliteSnipe

Tir de glaceIce Shot

Héraut de la glaceHerald of Ice

Day 5

11 skills • 50 gems

Tir à l'arcBow Shot

Tir à l'arcBow Shot

Reliquats de VieLife Remnants

Marque glacialeFreezing Mark

Tir de fuiteEscape Shot

Monture RhoaRhoa Mount

Salve glaçanteFreezing Salvo

BlasphèmeBlasphemy

Tir d'éliteSnipe

Tir de glaceIce Shot

Héraut de la glaceHerald of Ice

Day 6 – Gemmes

11 skills • 52 gems

Tir à l'arcBow Shot

Tir à l'arcBow Shot

Reliquats de VieLife Remnants

Héraut de la glaceHerald of Ice

Marque glacialeFreezing Mark

Tir de fuiteEscape Shot

Monture RhoaRhoa Mount

Tir d'éliteSnipe

BlasphèmeBlasphemy

Tir de glaceIce Shot

Salve glaçanteFreezing Salvo

Jour 7 – Nouveau Carquois, Arbre, Rite de Passage

11 skills • 49 gems

Tir à l'arcBow Shot

Tir à l'arcBow Shot

Reliquats de VieLife Remnants

Héraut de la glaceHerald of Ice

Marque glacialeFreezing Mark

Tir de fuiteEscape Shot

Monture RhoaRhoa Mount

Tir d'éliteSnipe

Salve glaçanteFreezing Salvo

BlasphèmeBlasphemy

Tir de glaceIce Shot

Build Final

12 skills • 47 gems

Tir à l'arcBow Shot

Tir à l'arcBow Shot

Reliquats de VieLife Remnants

Héraut de la glaceHerald of Ice

Marque glacialeFreezing Mark

Tir de fuiteEscape Shot

Monture RhoaRhoa Mount

Tir de glaceIce Shot

Salve glaçanteFreezing Salvo

BlasphèmeBlasphemy

Présence accablanteOverwhelming Presence

Tir d'éliteSnipe

Mirror-Tier Bow Transition

10 skills • 53 gems

Reliquats de VieLife Remnants

Tornade de flèchesTornado Shot

Monture RhoaRhoa Mount

Héraut de la glaceHerald of Ice

Marque glacialeFreezing Mark

Reliquats de ManaMana Remnants

Salve glaçanteFreezing Salvo

BlasphèmeBlasphemy

Tir d'éliteSnipe

Tir de glaceIce Shot

Recommended Equipment

Here are the key equipment pieces of the build in their final version:

• Helmet: Heatshiver with Spirit corruption. Frees up spirit on other pieces and allows all auras to run. JayTX recommends corrupting the base yourself (buy for 1-2 Exalted) rather than buying the corrupted version for 6-7 Divines.
• Gloves: Sin Aqua with 50% and 20% extra damage taken. These gloves halve the amount of Freeze needed on bosses, which considerably speeds up the rotation.
• Bow: Physical Lightning Arrow with Onslaught, +3 gems, double physical and companion damage. The ultimate version includes 200% chance to fire an additional arrow (mirror tier).
• Quiver (mapping): Kadira’s Gambit for exceptional clear on Eye Shot.
• Quiver (single target): Serrated Quiver crafted with T1 lightning, T1 fire, Lightning Arrow damage and +2 projectiles.
• Belt: Headhunter for massive bonuses to damage, defense and speed.
• Amulet: Solar amulet crafted for +30 spirit, allowing Overwhelming Presence to be activated in addition to the other auras.
• Rings: Breach ring triple elemental damage + Kandra’s Touch.
• Charm: Rite of Passage with Spirit of the Stag (luxury upgrade for map speed).
• Jewel: Heart of the Well with recover maximum mana on kill (top priority) + bonus lightning/cold gain.
• Flask: Life Flask with 70% increased charges, essential for maximizing Concoct bonuses and Sanguine Tides.

Gameplay Tips

• Mapping rotation: Use Eye Shot (weapon set 2) to clear maps. Freezing Salvo can complement it to add Freeze on resistant packs.
• Bossing rotation: Apply Freezing Mark on the boss, use Freezing Salvo until full Freeze, then swap to weapon set 1 for a Snipe that consumes the Freeze and deals devastating bleed.
• Aiming correctly with Snipe: Instead of aiming directly at the boss with the cursor, place your Snipe just in front of your character by aiming at the ground. This makes the Rend shot much more reliable.
• Don’t overload Snipe: Snipe is a timing skill. Fire when your character glows. Too early or too late = zero damage. The sound and animation are quickly learned.
• Strategic Life Flask: Concoct consumes 30% of your life flask charges on each use of a supported skill. Combine with Sanguine Tides ascendancy (40% of charges consumed on hit) to maximize damage. Prioritize a flask with as many charges as possible.
• Bleed chance cap: Aim for 100% bleed chance on Snipe via jewels (7% bleed chance), the serrated quiver and passive nodes. This is not necessary on Eye Shot as enemies die on hit.

Weapon Swap System: One Bow, Two Quivers

One of the most original mechanics of this build is the use of a single Lightning Arrow shared between both weapon sets, with a different quiver for each situation. To lock your Lightning Arrow on both sets, simply right-click the padlock icon in the equipment interface. The Lightning Arrow then appears in both slots, and you can equip a mapping quiver (Kadira’s Gambit) and a single-target quiver (Serrated Quiver crafted).

Weapon set 1 is dedicated to Snipe and the bleed passive tree: bleed magnitude, damage over time and ailments. Weapon set 2 focuses on Eye Shot with movement speed bonuses and extra projectiles for mapping. Freezing Salvo and Escape Shot are also placed in set 2.

Concoct and Life Flask Interaction

Concoct is one of the most important support gems of the build. It consumes 30% of your life flask charges on each use of a supported skill, adding a massive damage bonus to Snipe. Combined with the Sanguine Tides ascendancy (which consumes 40% of life charges on hit), both mechanics feed each other to turn each flask charge into extra damage.

It is therefore essential to have a Life Flask with as many charges as possible. JayTX recommends a flask with 70% increased charges to maximize this system. Don’t neglect this seemingly simple equipment piece, as it directly impacts your bossing damage.

Equipment Progression and Priorities

JayTX details a precise progression order for the build:

• Step 1: Heatshiver with Spirit corruption. Frees spirit constraints on the rest of the equipment.
• Step 2: Sin Aqua. Halves the Freeze needed on bosses.
• Step 3: Quality physical Lightning Arrow (Onslaught, +3, double phys, companion damage).
• Step 4: Kadira’s Gambit for clear speed.
• Step 5: Headhunter, the biggest power spike of the build.
• Step 6: +arrow on the Lightning Arrow, new amulet for Overwhelming Presence, Breach ring and Kandra’s Touch.
• Step 7 (luxury): Rite of Passage, to be purchased only after everything else.

Passive Tree: Speed and Endgame Scaling

Once the build is well-geared for damage, the real endgame scaling consists of recovering speed. JayTX uses a « From Nothing » point to access Momentum and Light on your Feet, which adds movement speed while granting access to bleed magnitude and bleed chance nodes. Adrenaline Rush is also taken for more speed on weapon swap.

Heart of the Well is the most important jewel in the tree: the top priority is « recover maximum mana on kill » for mana sustain, followed by « gain as extra lightning » or « gain as extra cold » for extra damage. Don’t look for both lines together as that drives up the price.

Rower-free Version and Alternatives

If you don’t want to use a Rower (shield), it is possible to play an alternative version of the build. In that case, you will need to remove all shield nodes from the passive tree and equip reduced movement speed penalties on almost every piece. The build can then shift to a hybrid or full evasion setup instead of energy shield.

This variant uses Hyrri’s Ire as the body armour and replaces Crimson Power with Whispers of the Flesh as the ascendancy. With the saved spirit, you can add Ghost Dance and Wind Dancer to reinforce your evasion and energy shield. It is a viable alternative, though JayTX considers the Rower version the top-performing one.

Passive Tree