S-TIER | BUILD RÔDEUSE GRENADE DEADEYE (@KaidGames2) | SAISON 5

Build Video

Build Overview

This Grenade Deadeye build is one of the most powerful and most enjoyable crossbow setups in Path of Exile 2 0.5. The concept is straightforward: you blaze through maps spamming Explosive Shot, reload by dodge-rolling, toss grenades into large packs, then detonate everything with massive elemental damage. This is the kind of build that turns a crossbow into a true screen-clearing machine, while still maintaining the ludicrous single-target damage that grenade builds are already known for.

In 0.5, this version is particularly enjoyable because it solves the biggest flaw of traditional grenade setups: slow mapping. Our Deadeye ascendancy brings speed, extra projectiles, and mirage support. Instead of a somewhat sluggish boss build, you get a much smoother all-content setup that keeps the massive damage of Explosive Grenades, Mortar Cannon, Oil Grenade, and Explosive Shot, but with much better movement and comfortable clear.

Another major advantage: this build is designed to be budget-friendly relative to the damage and clear it offers. It is viable in SSF and Hardcore, and works across all game content. Deadeye is the most offensive and fluid version for mapping, while Witch Hunter remains viable if you prefer something tankier.

Strengths / Weaknesses

Skill Gem Setup by Step

This build offers 6 progression steps from leveling through to the final build. Select a step to view the corresponding gem setup.

Act 1 Act 2 Act 3 Cartes MIDGAME Endgame

Act 1

5 skills • 11 gemmes

Tir à l'arbalèteCrossbow Shot

Grenade explosiveExplosive Grenade

Grenade assourdissanteFlash Grenade

Contagion

Danseur du ventWind Dancer

Act 2

6 skills • 17 gemmes

Tir à l'arbalèteCrossbow Shot

Grenade explosiveExplosive Grenade

Grenade assourdissanteFlash Grenade

Tir rapideRapid Shot

Éclats galvaniquesGalvanic Shards

Danseur du ventWind Dancer

Act 3

7 skills • 21 gemmes

Tir explosifExplosive Shot

Grenade explosiveExplosive Grenade

Grenade assourdissanteFlash Grenade

Grenade suffocanteGas Grenade

Danseur du ventWind Dancer

Héraut de la cendreHerald of Ash

Tir explosifExplosive Shot

Cartes

9 skills • 33 gemmes

Grenade explosiveExplosive Grenade

Tir explosifExplosive Shot

Grenade assourdissanteFlash Grenade

Grenade suffocanteGas Grenade

Canon mortier

Grenade à huile

Compagnon : {0}

Danseur du ventWind Dancer

Héraut de la cendreHerald of Ash

MIDGAME

9 skills • 38 gemmes

Grenade explosiveExplosive Grenade

Tir explosifExplosive Shot

Grenade assourdissanteFlash Grenade

Grenade suffocanteGas Grenade

Canon mortier

Grenade à fragmentationCluster Grenade

Compagnon : {0}

Danseur du ventWind Dancer

Héraut de la cendreHerald of Ash

Endgame

10 skills • 49 gemmes

Grenade explosiveExplosive Grenade

Tir explosifExplosive Shot

Grenade assourdissanteFlash Grenade

Tir rapideRapid Shot

Canon mortier

Grenade à fragmentationCluster Grenade

Héraut du tonnerreHerald of Thunder

Danseur du ventWind Dancer

Héraut de la cendreHerald of Ash

Tireur d'élite mirage

Recommended Equipment

The weapon is the most important piece of this build. The ideal choice is the new unique Hand Cannon, but an excellent budget alternative is the Cannonade crossbow, which fires an additional projectile with your grenades.

• Crossbow: Hand Cannon (unique) or Cannonade crossbow (cheap alternative). Aim for 700+ total DPS, +5 to all Attack Skills, and Onslaught on killing hits as an upgrade. Lightning damage is the best elemental damage here.
• Weapon runes: Tailwind’s Rune of the Spring and Stormbreath Rune of the Summer for additional lightning damage.
• Body armour: high-evasion piece, ideally 2000+ evasion, with max life, resistances, and a Deflection rating equal to a percentage of your evasion. Deflection makes the build significantly tankier.
• Helmet, gloves, boots: evasion, life, resistances, and Deflection. On boots in particular, aim for 30 to 35% movement speed.
• Amulet: +1 to +3 to projectile skills, spirit, life, and resistances. You can allocate Killer’s Instinct here.
• Rings: life, resistances, and as much lightning, fire, and cold damage to attacks as possible (lightning being the best option).
• Belt: notable Ingenuity is the recommended budget choice as it amplifies the bonuses from both rings. Later, Headhunter is the major upgrade if you have the currency.
• Charms: stun immunity, ignite immunity, and bleed immunity.

Gameplay Tips

• Mapping: move forward and fire with Explosive Shot, then chain a dodge roll after each shot to reload. Thanks to Rapid Assault, your reload comes from the dodge roll: get into the shoot-roll-shoot rhythm and keep moving.
• Normal Packs: Explosive Shot is enough most of the time. Fire into the pack, let the explosion clear it, and keep pushing forward.
• Big Packs and Rares: add Cluster Grenade on top to instantly wipe dense groups without slowing down.
• Bossing: before the spawn, drop Oil Grenade for exposure, then place your Mortar Cannon, throw a few Explosive Grenade and detonate everything with Explosive Shot. Throwing Gas Grenade before the boss further scales your other grenades.
• Mirages: Mirage Archer and notable Mirage Deadeye add automatic grenade pressure while you manage your main rotation.

The Two Passive Tree System

This is the most important mechanic to understand about this build: it uses two distinct passive trees. The first tree is dedicated solely to Explosive Shot, so that your mapping and detonation skill hits as hard as possible. The second tree is dedicated to all your grenades: Explosive Grenade, Cluster Grenade, Gas Grenade, Wall Grenade and Mortar Cannon. Herald of Thunder, Wind Dancer, notable Mirage Deadeye and Mirage Archer, on the other hand, benefit from both trees simultaneously.

To make this system work, you need to lock your crossbow: the build does not swap weapons, it only switches the weapon skill tree. In the skill gems menu, assign Explosive Shot to weapon set 1 only, then the grenades and Mortar Cannon to weapon set 2 only. Once done, the passive tree switches automatically based on the skill being used, making the build feel seamless with no manual weapon swap required. The rest of the tree focuses on crossbow, projectile, grenade and elemental damage, as well as evasion, Deflection and cooldown recovery, since grenades benefit enormously from being available more frequently.

The Deadeye Ascendancy: Speed and Projectiles

For this version, the node unlock order is as follows: projectile proximity specialization first, then notable Endless Munitions, then notable Mirage Deadeye, and finally notable Gathering Winds. The projectile proximity specialization boosts your projectile damage and fits naturally with a grenade and crossbow build.

notable Endless Munitions is extremely strong because grenades benefit enormously from additional projectiles, improving both mapping and bossing. notable Mirage Deadeye is one of the main reasons the Deadeye is so comfortable here: it provides an extra skill slot to load even more grenades without adding complexity to the gameplay. Finally, notable Gathering Winds is the node that solves the mapping problem: grenade builds already have excellent boss damage but can feel slow on maps. notable Gathering Winds provides movement speed and attack speed, making the whole experience much smoother when chaining movement, Explosive Shot, and reload dodges.

Deadeye or Witch Hunter: Which Ascendancy to Choose?

The same setup works perfectly well with the Witch Hunter. The difference comes down to priority: the Deadeye offers slightly higher damage and significantly better speed, while the Witch Hunter is the tankier choice. If you want the smoothest all-content experience and the fastest mapping, go with the Deadeye. If survival is your priority — especially in Hardcore — the Witch Hunter remains a solid option with the exact same build core.

Progression, Leveling and Jewels

For leveling, start with a sturdy crossbow at level 10 with two damage prefixes. Around level 16, switch to the varnished crossbow and invest a bit of currency into it, as it can carry you for a very long time. Around level 23, stop overspending and save up for the level 33 weapon upgrade. From that point on, everything else should be straightforward to farm.

For jewels, jewel unique Heart of the Well is excellent as it provides lightning damage, attack speed, and cooldown recovery. Your rare jewels can then focus on crossbow attack damage, crossbow attack speed, and lightning damage, which remains the best elemental damage color for this build.

Skill Tree