S-TIER | BUILD WITCH THE EMPRESS (@Light) | SEASON 4

Build Overview

The Empress is an Arc Mage build played as Blood Mage (Infernalist ascendancy) that combines colossal burst damage with exceptional mobility. The concept revolves around using Arc as the main skill for clearing, paired with Frost Wall for burst phases against Bosses, all amplified by Archmage and massive mana stacking.

The gameplay comes down to a simple yet devastating mechanic: Blink every 1 to 1.2 seconds for mobility, then a single click to clear the entire screen thanks to Arc and Cast on Critical. Against Bosses, the full rotation (Living Bomb → Sigil of Power → Elemental Weakness → Arc → Frost Wall) allows reaching 30 to 40 million damage in just a few seconds.

The core trick of the build is converting all spell costs to life via Vitality Tap. Thanks to massive life regeneration (~10,000 per second) and Fast Metabolism (life leech is not removed once life is full), the character becomes practically invincible while using Mana Shield for defense. Blood Mage allows reaching 100% critical strike chance and 250% bonus critical damage effortlessly, making this build both powerful and accessible.

Build Strengths

• Devastating burst: 30 to 40 million damage in a single combo, enough to eliminate most Bosses in seconds
• Exceptional mobility: Blink available every 1 to 1.2 seconds thanks to the Lineage gem and high movement speed (70-80% with Headhunter)
• Full-screen clear: Arc with Cast on Critical clears the entire screen in a single click, including off-screen monsters
• Very tanky thanks to life leech: 10,000 life regeneration per second + ~5k Mana Shield, the character constantly recovers life even at full health
• 100% critical strike chance: Thanks to the Blood Mage ascendancy and unique gloves, no additional investment needed for critical strikes

Build Weaknesses

• Low resistances: The build runs at only 50-60% resistances, which can be problematic on certain content if you stand still
• Very expensive amulet: An amulet with spirit, maximum mana and spell skills is essential, and the best versions (+1 spell skills) cost several thousand divines
• Dependent on combo for single-target DPS: If the rotation is poorly executed or interrupted, damage drops drastically

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.

Set 1

Set 1

12 skills • 57 gems

Globe galvanisantGalvanic Field

Reliquats de VieLife Remnants

Reliquats de ManaMana Remnants

Sceau de pouvoirSigil of Power

Arc électriqueArc

Mur de glaceFrost Wall

Déclenchement lors de CritiquesCast on Critical

Déclenchement lors d'Altérations élémentairesCast on Elemental Ailment

ArchimageArchmage

TransfertBlink

Sensibilité aux élémentsElemental Weakness

Bombe vivanteLiving Bomb

Recommended Equipment

• Helmet: Alpha Howl with 121 spirit corruption. Spirit is the most important stat to run all aura and reservation gems
• Body Armour: Rare body armour with maximum spirit and energy shield. Prioritize spirit above everything else
• Gloves: Unique critical damage gloves. They entirely solve the critical damage bonus problem without any investment elsewhere
• Belt: Headhunter for movement speed on maps (70-80% movement speed) and buffs stolen from rare monsters
• Boots: Rare boots with resistances and movement speed. 3-socket boots are not mandatory
• Amulet: Amulet with spirit increase, maximum mana and spell skills. The best versions with +1 spell skills are extremely expensive
• Ring: Ring with mana, mana speed, resistances and cooldown recovery
• Wand: Wand with +5 lightning skills, critical chance, cast speed, elemental damage and damage bonus
• Notable Rune: Rune of 25% life cost efficiency (~200 divines), very expensive but impactful

Gameplay Tips

• Boss rotation: Wait for the Boss to take a step (shield lowered), then Living Bomb x2 → Sigil of Power → Elemental Weakness → Arc (to proc lightning Infusion) → Frost Wall. This combo deals 20-30M damage even on Bosses with 40% effectiveness and 70% more life
• Don’t spam your spells: If you miss your combo, wait calmly and try again. Spamming Arc or Frost Wall wastes your infusions and drastically reduces damage
• Lightning Infusion is the key: Your Frost Wall deals much more damage when infused with lightning. Always proc Infusion via Arc and Living Bomb before casting the wall
• Mapping: Simply use Blink + one click of Arc. Everything dies. Cast on Critical automatically procs Living Bombs and elemental infusions
• Convert everything to life cost: Vital Drain must be on every gem setup. Mana stays full at all times to feed Zenith and Archmage‘s damage bonus

Why Blood Mage over another ascendancy

Choosing Blood Mage as the ascendancy is fundamental to this build. The main advantage is the ability to reach 100% critical chance very easily, without needing the unique body armour that provides the crit cap. This frees the body armour slot for a rare piece with maximum spirit and energy shield, which is far more beneficial for the build.

Furthermore, Blood Mage provides a massive defensive layer through life leech as spell damage. Combined with Sacred Focus (the red globe), life directly becomes a damage multiplier. With 100% crit and 250% critical damage, the build deals its damage in seconds, making 100% crit far superior to a hypothetical 60% crit with 500% critical damage in a burst scenario.

The Life Cost conversion system

The core mechanic of the build revolves around converting all spells to life cost through Vital Drain. This choice may seem counterintuitive, but it is the trick used by the majority of high-performing Blood Mage builds. Mana stays constantly full, which feeds Zenith and Archmage for significant damage bonuses.

The key is Fast Metabolism: this keystone causes life leech effects not to be removed when life is full. In practice, even at full health, the character continues to benefit from life leech, creating a near-impenetrable passive defense. With approximately 10,000 life regeneration per second and Mana Shield (Mana Remnants ~5k), the character absorbs damage without flinching.

The boss burst combo

The burst combo is the cornerstone of the build for single-target content. The optimal rotation breaks down as follows: first, wait for the Boss to take a step so its shield is lowered. Then place two Living Bombs on its head, then activate Sigil of Power and Elemental Weakness to reduce its resistances.

Then cast Arc to proc Living Bomb and obtain your Lightning Infusion, then immediately follow up with Frost Wall. The lightning-infused wall deals between 20 and 30 million damage even on a Boss with 40% effectiveness and 70% more life. If you miss your combo, don’t panic: simply wait for your cooldowns to come back and restart the sequence.

Lightning Infusion and the Elemental Keystone

The build uses the elemental keystone that converts Fire Infusion into Lightning Infusion. Cast on Elemental Ailment procs Living Bomb when you freeze an enemy, which automatically generates Infusion. With the +1 maximum Lightning Infusions passive node in the passive tree, you can stack multiple Infusion charges, especially during Boss phases where Cast on Critical procs frequently.

The more charges you stack before consuming Infusion, the higher the damage. This is what allows reaching 30 to 40 million damage per burst. The synergy between Arc (lightning), Cast on Critical (double Arc), Sione’s Temperament (extra projectiles) and Lightning Infusion creates a devastating chain reaction.

Passive tree and jewels

The passive tree is relatively simple and focuses on a few main axes: spell damage, mana and maximum mana (to feed Archmage), cast speed and energy gain nodes for meta skills. The +1 maximum Lightning Infusions node is particularly important to maximize burst damage.

Mind Over Matter and Elemental Equator are the two keystones taken in the passive tree. Projectile speed and cast speed nodes are essential as the build launches many projectiles with Sione’s Temperament. For jewels, the build uses From Nothing (a diamond with bonus movement speed thanks to adjacent nodes, giving 40% base), plus a Time Lost with critical and maximum mana. Two Spirit gems and two Metamorphoses complete the setup.

Passive Tree