S-TIER | BUILD MAGICIENNE DJINN VARASHTA (@ds lily) | SAISON 5

Build Video

Build Overview

The Djinns of Varashta is one of the best League Starters in Path of Exile 2, and Season 0.5 gives it a series of major buffs that make it even more devastating. It is a hybrid summoner-caster build where your damage comes primarily from Djinns (summoned genies), backed by spectres and a swarm of skeletons. Its creator rates it 10/10 in DPS, 9/10 in survivability, and around 5/10 in clear speed — which can climb to 7-8/10 thanks to the new content in 0.5.

The core of the build rests on three Djinns with complementary roles. Kelari, the sand djinn, is by far the strongest: its Brutality applies Critical Weakness and its Deception repeats its casts, stacking a damage multiplier with each repetition in the same spot. Ruzhan, the fire djinn, lays down a swarm of fire tornadoes ideal against large bosses. Finally, the cold djinn triggers a frost explosion that covers the entire screen. Since Djinns are command skills, they permanently trigger your buffs and cleanse your ailments.

On the defensive side, the build relies on Energy Shield combined with Chaos Inoculation (full immunity to chaos damage). Despite the Energy Shield nerf in 0.5, the fourth ascendancy node — which removes 1 second from the base recharge delay and adds 40% recharge speed at low shield — maintains excellent survivability, to the point that the build runs smoothly even without clicking the recharge nodes on the tree. Be warned though: this build requires pressing many keys and plays more like a caster than a passive summoner — if you don’t enjoy active management, look elsewhere.

Strengths / Weaknesses

Skill Gem Setup by Step

This build offers 4 progression steps from leveling to the final build. Select a step to view the corresponding skill gem setup.

~Lvl 65 ~Lvl 80 Fire / Sand Djinn End Game Cold / Sand Djinn End Game

~Lvl 65

13 skills • 54 gemmes

Kélari, les Sables souillés

Ruzhan, l'Épée ardente

Adjonction spectraleBind Spectre

Incendiaires squelettiquesSkeletal Arsonist

Mages de l'orage squelettiquesSkeletal Storm Mage

Clercs squelettiquesSkeletal Cleric

Ravageurs squelettiquesSkeletal Reaver

Tireurs d'élite squelettiquesSkeletal Sniper

Mages de givre squelettiquesSkeletal Frost Mage

Brutes squelettiquesSkeletal Brute

Offrande de douleurPain Offering

Bombe de givreFrost Bomb

Sensibilité aux élémentsElemental Weakness

~Lvl 80

13 skills • 54 gemmes

Kélari, les Sables souillés

Ruzhan, l'Épée ardente

Adjonction spectraleBind Spectre

Incendiaires squelettiquesSkeletal Arsonist

Mages de l'orage squelettiquesSkeletal Storm Mage

Clercs squelettiquesSkeletal Cleric

Ravageurs squelettiquesSkeletal Reaver

Tireurs d'élite squelettiquesSkeletal Sniper

Mages de givre squelettiquesSkeletal Frost Mage

Brutes squelettiquesSkeletal Brute

Offrande de douleurPain Offering

Bombe de givreFrost Bomb

Sensibilité aux élémentsElemental Weakness

Fire / Sand Djinn End Game

13 skills • 56 gemmes

Kélari, les Sables souillés

Ruzhan, l'Épée ardente

Adjonction spectraleBind Spectre

Incendiaires squelettiquesSkeletal Arsonist

Mages de l'orage squelettiquesSkeletal Storm Mage

Clercs squelettiquesSkeletal Cleric

Ravageurs squelettiquesSkeletal Reaver

Tireurs d'élite squelettiquesSkeletal Sniper

Mages de givre squelettiquesSkeletal Frost Mage

Brutes squelettiquesSkeletal Brute

Offrande de douleurPain Offering

Bombe de givreFrost Bomb

Sensibilité aux élémentsElemental Weakness

Cold / Sand Djinn End Game

14 skills • 66 gemmes

Kélari, les Sables souillés

Navira, the Last Mirage

Adjonction spectraleBind Spectre

Incendiaires squelettiquesSkeletal Arsonist

Mages de l'orage squelettiquesSkeletal Storm Mage

Clercs squelettiquesSkeletal Cleric

Ravageurs squelettiquesSkeletal Reaver

Tireurs d'élite squelettiquesSkeletal Sniper

Mages de givre squelettiquesSkeletal Frost Mage

Brutes squelettiquesSkeletal Brute

Offrande de douleurPain Offering

Sensibilité aux élémentsElemental Weakness

Bombe de givreFrost Bomb

Nova de glaceIce Nova

Recommended Equipment

• Main hand (sceptre): focused on Spirit (one per persistent minion, as each minion adds +7% damage) and « +levels to skills », the most important damage modifier. Socket it with a Primal Primate for extra DPS.
• Off-hand (focus): with Energy Shield, ideally also damage or minion levels. Early on, a standard shield for blocking works as a stopgap before transitioning to a focus.
• Helmet: Energy Shield + « +minions » as a suffix, with the Amanamu’s Gaze rune — it removes ailments on each command skill use, keeping Energy Shield recharge active nearly permanently.
• Amulet: « +Spirit » and « +minion skills ». Anoint notable Long Distance Relationship or notable Mental Perseverance to start, then notable Warlord Leader in endgame.
• Rings: Ever-Grasping (a very cheap unique with enormous chaos damage for your minions — its downside is nullified by Chaos Inoculation), then a well-rolled Ventor’s Gamble or the new Breach rings (extra projectiles) for optimization.
• Belt: Chevron Satchel early (Energy Shield recharge via life flask), then Darkness Enthroned with a body rune + Rune of Recovery and Rune of Hoarding in endgame.

Gameplay Tips

• Essential support: Muster — each reviving minion adds +7% damage as MORE (not increased). With 8 minions, that is +56% damage; place it on all your important minions.
• Bidding II grants 30% recharge speed to command skills and 30% more damage to your Djinns — an excellent value-per-slot ratio.
• Powered Zealot spectre: obtained from the atrod in the third interlude, it casts Spark (55 Spirit cost). Essential: a Piercing support so projectiles pass through enemies instead of stopping at the first hit.
• Spectre survivability: Peekrod’s Revenge lets them survive 20 seconds after dropping to zero HP, and Soul Leader gives them cast speed per kill — crucial in boss fights and juiced maps.
• Energy Shield and ailments: any DoT (bleed, ignite) blocks your recharge. The combo of Amanamu’s Gaze + constant Djinn usage cleanses these ailments at near 100% uptime.
• Key optimisation: with the 0.5 buffs, you can drop Frost Bomb and even Pain Offering from your rotation given how much damage the build deals. Keep them, however, during early progression.

What’s New in Season 0.5

Season 0.5 transforms an already excellent build into a true war machine. The biggest addition comes from the passive tree: new nodes offer even more cooldown recovery for Djinns, to the point of pushing downtime between summons close to zero. A new archon node, triggered by Djinns, adds a buff (likely minion damage), while a brand-new stackable buff called Puppet Master boosts damage and the cooldown recovery of command skills.

Minion movement speed penalties are also reduced from 70% to 50%, which noticeably smooths out Clear speed. But the real game-changer remains Breach rings, which grant your minions additional projectiles — a blessing for Powered Zealot spectres spamming Spark. Finally, paradoxically, the Energy Shield nerf actually makes this build relatively stronger than the competition: thanks to its fourth ascendancy node, it absorbs nerfs without flinching where other classes struggle.

Which Djinn to Choose: Sand, Fire or Cold?

Kelari, the sand Djinn, is the best of the three — no contest. Kelari’s Brutality applies critical weakness to enemies, and Kelari’s Deception deals massive damage: casting it multiple times in the same spot repeats the effect, meaning three key presses can generate up to six actual hits, each repetition gaining an additional damage multiplier.

The other two come down to preference. Ruzhan, the fire Djinn, is popular for its trap ability which lays down a swarm of fire tornadoes — an excellent single-target boost against large bosses, which can be hit by multiple tornadoes simultaneously. The cold Djinn, meanwhile, triggers a glacial explosion that literally covers the entire screen, extremely satisfying, but suffers from one drawback: it requires three key presses for a single activation (Frost Bomb, picking up the residue, then shattering), which slows the pace despite its massive AoE.

Single-Target Skill Rotation

Here is the optimal damage rotation, to be adapted based on your gear level:

1. Elemental Weakness to reduce the target’s resistances
2. Frost Bomb to apply exposure
3. Pain Offering to buff your minions
4. Kelari’s Brutality ×2
5. Kelari’s Deception ×3 in the same spot (the damage multiplier stacks)
6. Ruzhan’s Trap for the bonus fire DPS

With the Season 0.5 buffs, the build deals so much damage that you will often be able to drop Frost Bomb, or even Pain Offering. It is rarely necessary to repeat the full cycle — a single rotation is generally enough to erase the target.

Leveling Guide

Leveling is done first without Djinns. Start with Essence Drain and Contagion for clearing, complemented by Skeletal Sniper and a Flame Wall for single-target. At level 14, unlock Bone Storm, extremely powerful during leveling: a useful trick is to release the key just before two charges, then press it again, allowing you to move at full speed while channeling.

Once you have your ascendancies, pick up the sand Djinn first, then the fire Djinn second, and start weaving their abilities into your gameplay. Around level 50, you can fully transition to minions and rely primarily on your Djinn skills for the rest of the progression.

Skill Tree