Comet Bloodmage 0.5: Still the Best Build in Path of Exile 2

Why the Comet Bloodmage Still Dominates in 0.5

In his latest video, Fubgun is unequivocal: the Cast on Crit Comet Blood Mage is simply the best build of patch 0.5. This is not clickbait.

In 0.4, the Blood Mage was already recognized as the dominant build of the entire league. The Cast on Crit Comet variant, sometimes played as Oracle, was considered ridiculously strong. Hard to do better.

The obvious question then arises: hasn’t the build been nerfed between the two patches? The answer is nuanced.

Yes, patch 0.5 adjustments did happen. But the Comet Bloodmage found a workaround. In 0.4, sustain relied on life leech to stay healthy in combat. In 0.5, that mechanic is no longer needed. Simply swap two leech nodes for two life flask nodes in the passive tree. The result: the same level of recovery as the previous patch, with no reliance on leech.

The Sanguine Tides Trick: Replacing Leech with a Life Flask

The Comet Bloodmage no longer relies on life leech at all. Instead, a single passive node does all the work: Sanguine Tides. The principle is simple. You spend life to cast spells, and that expenditure generates life flask charges. Those charges restore life, which lets you keep going.

The node grants 1 life flask charge per 4% life spent. In return, recovery from flasks is reduced by 50%. The other two lines on Sanguine Tides are irrelevant.

The loop closes perfectly on a Cast on Crit Comet Blood Mage. The build spends a lot of life on each cast, so it generates charges continuously. Those charges restore enough life to top back up. The result: the balance is net neutral, even slightly positive. Fubgun even demonstrates this in the hideout, where his life stays full indefinitely.

The demonstration without leech is telling. If he stands still and kills monsters, his life does not recover. Only life on kill does anything. The only way to heal is to press the flask. The build is therefore played by simply spamming the life flask, exactly like the old Blood Mage. Same feel, same damage.

For the loop to work properly, the flask must have instant recovery, otherwise life restores too slowly between casts. The premium option is Olroth’s Resolve, which offers fully instant recovery. On a budget, a Seething Ultimate Life Flask does the job perfectly and costs virtually nothing.

The character shown is running high-end gear (Temporalis and other premium pieces), but the build works at every budget. Low budget, mid budget, high budget: the Blood Mage stays strong across the board. And if patch 0.5 hasn’t touched it, the Comet Bloodmage is clearly the most solid build right now.

A Build That Needs a Nerf? Fubgun’s Verdict

For Fubgun, the verdict is clear: the Comet Bloodmage is broken and deserves a nerf. The playstyle fits perfectly with what you’d expect from a classic Blood Mage. On boss fights, all you do is spam the life flask to maintain full sustain. That’s precisely why he wanted to show the technique quickly: a nerf before the next patch seems essential to him.

If the build reaches 0.5 in this state, the problem is twofold. First, the power level mirrors the current Blood Mage with no notable tradeoff. Second, activation requires holding down a key continuously, a tedious gameplay loop that isn’t healthy for the game. Fubgun’s gear is expensive, but the standard Blood Mage works at every budget.

What makes it even more troubling is how simple the setup is. Two nodes are enough to activate the technique. For those who already have a Blood Mage in standard: remove the two spell leech nodes, replace them with the two life flask nodes, and you’re up and running. No additional life flask nodes are needed on the passive tree.

Fubgun sincerely hopes to see this build nerfed before the release of patch 0.5.