S-TIER | BUILD MERCENAIRE BALLISTA TOTEM GRENADE (@Lazy Exile) | SAISON 5

Build Video

Build Overview

This 1-Button Ballista Totem build by Lazy Exile rests on a bet as simple as it is spectacular: destroy all of Path of Exile 2’s endgame with a character fully geared for a single Divine Orb. The core of the build is the Mortar Cannon fired via totems, supercharged by Cluster Grenade, Payload and Multishot II: a true grenade cannon raining down on the screen while you simply place your totems and move around.

The gameplay comes down to one button. You place your totems, they bombard the area, and you chain maps without any complex rotation to manage. All offensive power runs through a single link — essentially a « two-link » with Cluster Grenade, Payload and Multishot II grafted onto the Mortar Cannon — which leaves enormous room to stack support gems and fully benefit from the Gemling Legionnaire ascendancy.

Contrary to what its glass cannon appearance might suggest, the character is surprisingly tanky: resistances nearly capped (including chaos), a large life pool from strength mods, and above all close to 1,500 life recovered per second continuously. Where most totem builds suffer from a lack of healing, this one plays through without ever having to press a flask. The result: a build capable of chaining T15/T16 maps at 200% Delirium, accessible from the very start of the season.

Strengths / Weaknesses

Skill Gem Setup by Step

This build offers 3 progression steps from leveling through to the final build. Select a step to see the corresponding gem setup.

Endgame Budget Setup 1 Div Setup

Endgame

11 skills • 42 gemmes

Virtuous BarrierVirtuous Barrier

Rite de restaurationRite of Restoration

Marque glacialeFreezing Mark

Canon mortierMortar Cannon

Totem sismiqueShockwave Totem

Orbe des oragesOrb of Storms

Cri sismiqueSeismic Cry

Rage éternelleEternal Rage

Grenade suffocanteGas Grenade

Cri infernalInfernal Cry

BerserkBerserk

Budget Setup

11 skills • 42 gemmes

Virtuous BarrierVirtuous Barrier

Canon mortierMortar Cannon

Rage éternelleEternal Rage

BerserkBerserk

Rite de restaurationRite of Restoration

Marque glacialeFreezing Mark

Totem sismiqueShockwave Totem

Orbe des oragesOrb of Storms

Cri sismiqueSeismic Cry

Grenade suffocanteGas Grenade

Cri infernalInfernal Cry

1 Div Setup

11 skills • 42 gemmes

Virtuous BarrierVirtuous Barrier

Rite de restaurationRite of Restoration

Totem sismiqueShockwave Totem

Cri sismiqueSeismic Cry

Marque glacialeFreezing Mark

Grenade suffocanteGas Grenade

Cri infernalInfernal Cry

Dards de givreFrost Darts

Rage éternelleEternal Rage

BerserkBerserk

Canon mortierMortar Cannon

Recommended Equipment

The interactive grid below details the exact equipment used in the build (items, mods and runes). Here are the priorities to keep in mind when shopping on a Divine Orb budget:

• Crossbow: this is your main source of damage. On a single Divine budget you are stuck with a modest weapon, but it is the first upgrade to prioritize as soon as you earn more currency — a better crossbow will literally explode your damage.
• Defensive body armour: the cornerstone of survivability this season, it lets you run a very offensive setup while staying solid thanks to life recovery.
• Resistances: cap all elemental resistances and push chaos as high as possible — this is the absolute priority on the rest of your gear.
• Life and strength: prioritize strength mods, which convert into maximum life and fuel the build’s continuous recovery.
• From Nothing jewels: optional but excellent if your budget allows; aim for small nodes reducing projectile speed to tighten the grenades and concentrate damage on single targets.

Gameplay Tips

• Place and advance: drop your totems, let them clear the area, then reposition — the range is short, stay mobile.
• Survive the first 30 seconds: this is the most dangerous moment on a map as long as your life has not climbed to 3,000; be careful at the entrance.
• Rite of Restoration as a lifesaver: if you feel the pressure, drop it to absorb damage while recovery kicks in.
• Doryani as an ally: an excellent mercenary choice this season for relaxed gameplay, providing an extra revive and irradiation.
• Balance your gems: first fill Mortar Cannon and Rite of Restoration, then fill the remaining sockets with filler supports while keeping the colour balance (see the dedicated section).

The « 1 Divine » Challenge: a Full Endgame for a Single Divine

The premise of Lazy Exile is radical: start from scratch and rebuild a level 95 character capable of farming endgame on a single Divine Orb budget. Concretely, the Divine is converted into Exalted Orbs (around 186 for 1) in order to shop piece by piece, and then all the gear is bought individually.

The most impressive part is that some currency is still left over at the end of the shopping run. The lesson is clear: you do not need a full stash to tackle the hardest content. As long as the basics are respected — capped resistances, enough life, a decent crossbow — the build holds up in T15/T16, and it will only get stronger as you accumulate more currency.

Mortar Cannon: a Single Link That Deals All the Damage

All the offensive power rests on the Mortar Cannon, deployed via totem. Instead of spreading its damage across multiple links, the build concentrates everything into a single setup: Cluster Grenade adds extra grenades, Payload detonates the charges in a chain, and Multishot II multiplies the projectiles. The whole thing functions almost like a two-link, which is extremely efficient in terms of sockets.

This design makes the build very readable: a single skill to scale, a single link to optimize. It also explains the enormous offensive headroom the moment you upgrade the crossbow — every point of weapon damage translates directly into that one link.

Gemling Legionnaire: Balancing 30 Support Gems

The Gemling Legionnaire ascendancy is the secret engine of the build. It allows you to stack a large number of support gems and benefit from bonuses tied to the number of equipped gems (the famous gem stages). The key is balance: Lazy Exile recommends exactly 10 green, 10 red and 10 blue supports to maximize the bonuses.

In practice, you first fill your main skills — Mortar Cannon and Rite of Restoration — then fill the remaining sockets with filler supports, respecting the colour distribution. As long as a skill is active (even off your action bar), its gems count. If you run short on sockets, a Crossbow Shot can serve as an extra socket container.

Blood Magic and Recovery: a Finally Comfortable Totem Build

The biggest historical weakness of totem builds is the lack of healing: you spend your time pressing the life flask. Here, that problem disappears. The build recovers nearly 1,500 life per second continuously, making it far tankier than its glass cannon appearance suggests. As long as you are not one-shot, you regenerate all the damage taken, even on a well-juiced map.

The choice of Blood Magic adds even more comfort: no more mana management. You can spam totems for free, which removes the second classic annoyance of grenade builds early on. In the end, you focus solely on placement and dodging.

Progression and Scaling: What a Bigger Budget Changes

If the build shines at one Divine, it only wants to grow. The main lever remains the crossbow: with a more powerful weapon, the totems go from « gradual clearing » to « one or two-shot » on most packs. Lazy Exile also mentions having a stronger setup that will be the subject of a future update.

However, one must remain clear-eyed about the ceiling: the nature of totems imposes a damage delay. This is therefore not a build to invest in at « mirror tier » — at very high budget, an instant-damage build will always be preferable. But as a power/budget ratio at the start of the Season, this 1-Button Ballista Totem is hard to beat.

Skill Tree