Toxic Rain Ballista in Path of Exile 3.26 is a powerful and versatile build combining the chaos damage-over-time skill Toxic Rain with Ballista Totems to maximize area damage and safety. Rooted in the Ranger class and specifically the Pathfinder ascendancy, this build leverages the synergy between the totems' independent attacks and Toxic Rain's spore pods, which deal sustained chaos damage and slow enemies effectively PoE 1 Currency. The Ballista Totem Support gem allows you to summon multiple totems that attack simultaneously using your bow skills, effectively multiplying your damage output while allowing you to safely reposition during combat.
The build’s core skill setup typically features Toxic Rain linked with Ballista Totem Support, Damage Over Time support gems such as Void Manipulation and Efficacy, and Mirage Archer for better projectile coverage. For mobility and survivability, Blink Arrow and Withering Step are standard, helping to evade damage and maintain totem uptime. Defensive layers are often enhanced by auras like Malevolence, which increases chaos damage over time, alongside the Despair curse to reduce enemies’ chaos resistance, boosting overall damage. Life Gain on Hit and Exsanguinate supports improve sustain and damage synergy.
Passive skill trees prioritize chaos damage over time, projectile speed, damage, and attack speed, alongside numerous evasion and dodge nodes such as Acrobatics and Phase Acrobatics for survivability. Pathfinder ascendancy enhances chaos damage, flask utility, and elemental penetration, which synergizes perfectly with toxic rain’s damage type and playstyle. The build also benefits from investing in cluster jewels that increase damage over time multipliers and totem-related bonuses.
In terms of gear, Thicket Bow is a sought-after weapon due to its attack speed and socket capabilities that allow for high-level empower gems in your Toxic Rain, which significantly increase the skill's effectiveness. Quivers, helmets, and body armor are chosen for boosting chaos damage over time, life, evasion, and resistances. Ideally, gear should also support reducing enemy chaos resistance and boosting projectile damage modifiers to amplify damage output further.
Playing this build involves tactical positioning and continuous movement. Totems are deployed close enough to enemies or bosses to maintain pressure, while the player uses mobility skills to avoid damage and control the battlefield. The spore pods generated by Toxic Rain deal continuous chaos damage, allowing for a safe, consistent damage-over-time playstyle that excels in both clearing large packs and handling tough single-target encounters such as bosses Poe 1 Divine Orb.
Overall, Toxic Rain Ballista for PoE 3.26 remains a highly effective league starter and endgame build appreciated for its strong DPS, survivability, and unique totem mechanic. Its balanced approach, combining damage scaling, defensive layers, and mobility strategies, makes it accessible and rewarding for both new and veteran players looking to thrive in the current Path of Exile.
