Do you have a fantasy of playing as a battlemage in Path of Exile? If so, the Templar class is built specifically to fulfill that and more.
The Templar is actually pretty popular in the Necropolis Leagues, especially one of the ascendancy classes that you can take after completing the first labyrinth.
If you are interested in creating a new character soon, then we highly recommend that you read further because we are going to divulge the best Templar Builds in Path of Exile 3.24 Necropolis League!
Why Choose the Templar
The Templar is one of the three hybrid classes in Path of Exile, giving you a balance of both Strength (STR) and Intelligence (INT) right off the bat. Its starting point on the passive tree is toward the left side, giving you easy access to nodes that are associated with STR and armor, as well as INT and energy shield nodes depending on where you decide to go. This is the reason why you typically see people opt for armor/energy shield-based equipment when gearing their Templars.
Having said that, just like almost any other class in the game, the Templar can ascend to three different advanced classes, namely the Guardian, Inquisitor, and the Hierophant. Let us explore how they differ from each other, shall we?
Guardian
If you are tired of dying and you want a pretty tanky character that can take hits from the enemy like a champ, then the Guardian is the perfect ascendancy class for you. Even though the Guardian has fallen off in terms of popularity (well, relative to the other Templar ascendancy classes, that is) in Path of Exile 3.24 Necropolis League, it is still quite viable, especially if you are able to get your hands on some nice gear.
Radiant Crusade allows you to summon a minion that can taunt enemies and burn them with fire damage over time. The ascendancy node next to that, the Unwavering Crusade, gives you the power to summon an Elemental Relic that grants you the effects of a level 27 Anger (fire), Hatred (cold), and Wrath (lightning) aura to boost your elemental damage to the nth degree.
The Guardian boasts incredible survival due to Bastion of Hope. This notable ascendancy passive skill increases your attack block chance or spell block chance depending on whether you have initiated an attack or cast a spell recently.
If you are in a time of need, who do you rely on to save you? Well, not another player, but rather, an ascendancy node that is appropriately named “Time of Need.” Every four seconds, you will be rid of any curse and you are given a huge boost to life regeneration, ensuring that you have enough life to carry on with your map-clearing duties.
As if those nodes are not enough, you have the option of taking Radiant Faith as well. This bolsters your defenses by giving you 25% armor and 10% energy shield based on the amount of mana you have reserved for your active auras. What’s cool about Radiant Faith is that it also affects your allies, including minions!
Inquisitor
Do you want to see high damage numbers? Then the Inquisitor will not disappoint! This ascendancy class specializes in improving elemental damage in various ways.
Augury of Penitence not only boosts your elemental damage against nearby monsters, but it also causes your enemies to deal reduced elemental damage to you. The effects of this notable ascendancy passive skill can be felt as soon as you put points to it and into the endgame, where you have access to so much better gear.
If you want to capitalize on landing devastating hits on the enemy, then Righteous Providence has got you covered. This ascendancy node gives you a 1% increase in critical strike chance for every point of STR or INT, whichever is lower between the two. What’s more, you gain 50 additional points to STR and INT simply by taking this particular node.
Righteous Providence is good and all, but where your critical strike chance shines is by taking Inevitable Judgement as soon as you can. This notable ascendancy passive skill allows you to ignore the enemy’s elemental resistance when you land a critical strike. If you attack a monster or hit them with a spell and it doesn't result in a critical hit, then they’ll get a slight reduction in elemental resistance via Inevitable Judgement’s intrinsic elemental penetration effect.
The Inquisitor is also good for builds that specialize in dealing damage over time, like those that use Righteous Fire, for example. If you want to create such a build soon, then you should be acquainted with Pious Path and Sanctuary.
Sanctuary is an incredible node that lets you create Consecrated Ground just by standing still for a second or two. Normally, Consecrated Ground would just provide you with increased life regeneration and reduced effect of curses while you are in its area of effect. But with Sanctuary, any monster that steps into the Consecrated Ground you have created will take 15% increased damage from your attacks.
Then, you have Pious Path. What this ascendancy node does is it essentially amplify the effects of the Consecrated Ground that you have created with Sanctuary by allowing you to regenerate energy shield as well.
The Inquisitor is an incredible choice if you are playing builds that use an elemental skill gem like Spark or Righteous Fire.
Hierophant
While you can make a case for the Inquisitor as being the top dog in the Necropolis League, the best ascendancy class, at least as far as the PoE community is concerned, is actually the Hierophant. This is because mana-stacking builds are all the rage nowadays due, in large part, to the newly buffed Archmage Support. But, let’s discuss that when the said support gem becomes relevant. For now, we will talk about what makes this ascendancy class famous in Patch 3.24.
Even though this ascendancy class has access to eight notable passive skills, we are only going to talk about several of them. That is because people rarely take any nodes other than the four, namely Divine Guidance, Sanctuary of Thought, Arcane Blessing, and Conviction of Power. All of these nodes are centered around stacking your mana as high as possible while providing some utility here and there.
Arcane Blessing is usually taken first due to the value it provides at the beginning stages of the campaign. When you allocate points to this node, you gain Arcane Surge when you hit an enemy with an attack or a spell. Arcane Surge grants a 10% increased cast speed and 30% mana regeneration rate, which are pretty useful effects early on.
Divine Guidance is where things start to get interesting. This is what makes the Hierophant the best ascendancy class to choose for mana-stacking builds in Path of Exile. Why? Because taking this node instantly gives you a huge 30% boost to your maximum mana. If you are still not convinced, this notable ascendancy passive skill also grants Transfiguration of Mind, which states that increases and reductions to maximum mana apply to damage at 30% of their value.
In addition, Divine Guidance has a defensive effect. Whenever you are hit by the enemy, 10% of the damage you receive is taken from mana before life (this is a watered-down version of Mind Over Matter).
The notable ascendancy passive skill next to Divine Guidance called the Sanctuary of Thought, is arguably one of the best nodes in the entire game! This node itself gives you several different effects.
For starters, Sanctuary of Thought increases your mana reservation efficiency of skills by 25%. Besides that, this notable ascendancy passive skill reduces the cost of your skill by a whopping 50%. These two effects combined really help get you through the main PoE campaign without worrying about mana at all.
Sanctuary of Thought also increases the area of effect of your skills by 1% for every 50 points of unreserved maximum mana, up to a total of 100%. This is beneficial for builds that use AoE skill gems like Ice Nova of Frostbolts or Lightning Conduit of the Heavens.
Lastly, Conviction of Power grants you the effects of four Power Charges and Endurance Charge, which translate to increased critical strike chance and additional physical/elemental damage reduction. Take note that these effects come from “minimum charges,” meaning, they are always in effect regardless of anything that may take those charges away (like Malachai’s Loop).
Best Templar Builds
Are you ready to know our top picks for the best Templar builds in Path of Exile 3.24 Necropolis League? If so, let’s start with a bang, shall we?
10. Mirror Arrow of Bombarding Clones Guardian
+Powerful in the early game
+Effective currency farmer
+Minions can delete enemies with modest gear
+Able to swap with Blinking Arrow for better clear efficiency
-Guardian version of BAMA is lower in damage compared to the Necromancer in the endgame
Minion builds are pretty popular in Path of Exile 3.24 Necropolis League, particularly those that use the Mirror Arrow of Bombarding Clones. If you see other PoE players mention “BAMA,” they refer to Blink Arrow and Mirror Arrow. As far as the Transfigured Gems are concerned, both of them are the same, except for their fundamental differences. Blink Arrow acts as a movement skill as well, while Mirror Arrow is suited for those who love a more methodical playstyle.
Having said that, there are two ascendancy classes people choose when using the BAMA skill gems, the Guardian and the Necromancer. So, how do they differ from each other?
Well, there are a couple of key differences. The first is that the Guardian aims to improve elemental damage. On the other hand, the Necromancer is all about inflicting powerful poisons on enemies.
The second major difference between the two ascendancy classes is that the Guardian is a lot tankier than the Necromancer. Of course, this is overshadowed by the life leech from the Necromancer’s Bone Barrier ascendancy node, but the notable passive skills available to the Guardian make him better in terms of survivability in the early- to mid-game.
The tandem of Radiant Crusade and Unwavering Crusade provide the Guardian’s minions an insane elemental damage boost. All you have to do is take these specific nodes and be at level 85 to truly feel their power. Why level 85? Because at the level, the Elemental Relic from Unwavering Crusade will give you added fire, cold, or lightning damage equal to a level 27 Anger, Hatred, or Wrath aura, respectively.
For defense, you have the Radiant Faith to give you a huge increase in armor and energy shield. With four auras activated, you should be able to reserve quite a bit of your mana, thus taking full advantage of this notable ascendancy passive skill.
Then, you have Bastion of Hope. Despite the fact that you do not wear a shield on this build, you still gain a considerable chance to block the enemy’s attacks. A 30% attack block chance is better than nothing, don’t you think?
With that out of the way, it is time to give proper attention to the main skill of this build. The Mirror Arrow of Bombarding Clones. When used, you fire an arrow to the sky, and when it lands, it summons a clone that will bombard enemies with Rain of Arrows. You can summon three clones at a time, so you can imagine how the screen will be riddled with arrows when you have all of them attacking at the same time!
Because the clones that you have summoned are considered “minions,” you will include multiple support gems that improve minions in various ways. For instance, Fresh Meat Support increases their crit chance and critical strike multiplier. On top of that, the aptly named Minion Damage Support amplifies the damage output of your clones.
Speaking of minions, your clones are not the only ones that are part of your minion army. You can also summon other minions using Animate Guardian and Raise Spectre.
For Animate Guardian, you can cast the spell on a Gruthkul’s Pelt for life regeneration, Leer Cast for a damage boost to you and your minions, and Kingmaker for even more critical strike multiplier and the ability to kill monsters that are below 10% of their maximum life automatically via Culling Strike.
As for spectres, there are plenty of viable options. We recommend that you hop into any Tier 17 map and then cast Desecrate. After doing so, search for the Wretched Defiler (map clear), Spectral Leader (action speed), or Necrotic Bones (DPS), and then use Raise Spectre on them to add them to your minion army.
The Mirror Arrow of Bombarding Clones Guardian is a good and well-rounded build. It has enough damage to help you effectively farm PoE Currency, and it can take a beating while your clones and other minions do all of the work.
9. Penance Brand of Dissipation Inquisitor
+Still incredible in Patch 3.24 despite the heavy nerfs
+Insane map-clearing potential
+Has no problems killing Uber pinnacle bosses
+The build has two variations
-Build requires heavy investment to feel great to play
-This build’s playstyle might not appeal to many
When Grinding Gear Games (GGG) dropped the patch notes for Path of Exile: Necropolis League, many people believed that the Penance Brand of Dissipation would no longer be effective in Patch 3.24. Although the nerfs made to this Transfigured Gem cannot be ignored, the good news is that it still is great to play, though it requires a considerably higher investment to feel amazing to use.
While the transfigured version of Penance Brand can be utilized by several ascendancy classes, the one we are going to talk about today is the Penance Brand of Dissipation Inquisitor.
If you recall, we have mentioned earlier that among the different ascendancy classes available to the Templar, the Inquisitor is the one you should choose when it comes to skills that deal elemental damage.
Penance Brand of Dissipation allows you to attach a magical brand on the enemy that pulses continuously until the target is dead or when the brand has been detached for some reason. The damage done by the brand is based on 50% of your physical damage converted to lightning damage.
When the magical brand is attached to the enemy, it applies energy that stacks up to 20 times, resulting in a wider area of effect with each pulse. You can reduce the ramp-up time by attaching multiple brands on the target, which is why the Runebinder keystone is allocated on this build.
Now, there are two versions of the Penance Brand of Dissipation Inquisitor. There is the version that converts all of your physical damage to lightning damage by wearing a crafted pair of gloves with the appropriate mods. Additionally, this variant is a Power Charge and Frenzy Charge stacker that takes full advantage of Inner Conviction (provided by a specific Militant Faith jewel) and the Pain Attunement keystone passive (which is activated by using Petrified Blood as one of its auras) for a huge boost in spell damage.
The other version also deals elemental damage, albeit it introduces some cold damage into the build by wearing the cold damage conversion gloves. Unlike the other variant, though, this one stacks life instead of Power/Frenzy Charges. That is because this version of the Penance Brand of Dissipation Inquisitor utilizes the spell damage granted by the Rathpith Globe to a great extent. If you do not know, this shield has a unique effect where you gain a 5% increase in spell damage for every 100 HP.
No matter which version of the build you will use, both of them take the same notable ascendancy passive skills. Because these builds rely on critical hits, taking Righteous Providence and Inevitable Judgement makes sense. Sanctuary and Pious Path are great in terms of survivability. However, the 15% increased damage taken by enemies that step on Consecrated Ground is a nice plus!
If you have enough PoE Currency, you can invest in the Forbidden Flame and Forbidden Flesh jewels with “Sign of Purpose” as the matching modifier. This Hierophant-only node makes the magical brands attached to the enemy activate more often.
It is worth noting that although the build is still amazing in Path of Exile 3.24 Necropolis League, the Penance Brand of Dissipation does require an even heavier investment regardless of which version of the build you will go for. Be that as it may, you can never go wrong with either one!
8. Elemental SRS Guardian
+Relatively fast map blaster
+Guardian’s ascendancy nodes perfectly accentuate the build’s main skill
+Incredible survivability
-No longer a viable league starter
-Needs powerful spectres to make clear speed on par with the previous league
Summon Raging Spirit is all the rage (get it?) in the previous league. The skill gives you the power to call forth multiple flaming skulls that seek nearby monsters automatically. It was very popular that a lot of those who use the Guardian ascendancy class would often try the Elemental SRS Guardian out.
Unfortunately, GGG always applies nerfs in each Path of Exile expansion. Sadly, the Summon Raging Spirit spell skill gem was one of those affected. What is the adjustment made in Patch 3.24, you ask? This gem no longer gets an inherent “more damage” multiplier when you level it up. This nerf is actually a pretty big deal, so in order to get some of the damage back, you will have to invest in more expensive gear.
Hence, the Elemental SRS Guardian in Path of Exile: Necropolis League can no longer be used effectively during league start scenarios. However, we are not saying that the build is no longer nice to play. It is still viable, provided that you have enough PoE Currency to spend.
Since Summon Raging Spirit is a spell skill gem, raising its gem levels beyond level 21 can make it even better. That is why you should invest in items that increase the level of all minion gems by a point or two. Some of the items that contain such a modifier include the helmet, spirit shield, and the Ashes of the Stars unique amulet.
Aside from increasing the gem levels of minion skills, you have to put as many “% Increased Minion Damage” modifiers as possible.
Now, because the more damage multiplier that is inherent in the SRS gem has been removed, you have to rely on additional minions as well. Fortunately, the new Tier 17 spectres, most notably the Wretched Defiler and Necrotic Bones, can help you with map-clearing immensely. The Pale Seraphim (Beyond master) also helps with that by increasing the damage taken of nearby monsters by 15%.
The playstyle of the Elemental SRS Guardian largely involves casting Summon Raging Spirit until you have more than 20 flaming skulls at a time. Taking the “Enduring Bond” notable skill on the passive tree gives you a comfortable cushion to summon the maximum number of SRS minions before they expire. Linking this skill gem to an Awakened Unleash Support is also nice as it allows you to cast it repeatedly with just one tap.
As your minions do all of the attacking, your role is just to be on the sidelines, providing support via Radiant Crusade and Unwavering Crusade. Time of Need and Bastion of Hope can really aid you in absorbing hits without going down, so do get them if you need more survivability.
Even though the skill gem has been nerfed in the Necropolis League, the Elemental SRS Guardian is still good. You just have to spend a bit more to get some of its power back.
7. Rain of Arrows of Saturation Hierophant
+A “stacker build” that focuses on stacking INT, energy shield, and mana as high as possible
+Can activate a couple more skill gems via Manaforged Arrows Support
+Incredible damage potential
-Expensive
Do you want to rain arrows upon your foes? Well, this build can literally do just that, so strap yourself in, we are going to explain how the Rain of Arrows Saturation Hierophant works.
Before anything, a “stacker build” is a term used by the PoE community to refer to builds that raise a certain attribute or defensive layer as high as possible. Most builds in the game only stack one attribute. However, on this particular build, you are actually stacking multiple stats, including energy shield, INT, and mana. Why is that? Well, the bulk of the damage of this build comes from the bonuses provided by the unique item called the Indigon.
When you have the said unique helmet equipped, your skills cost an exorbitant amount of mana to cast. The reason why this happens is that every 200 points of mana you have spent casting a skill grants you a 24% boost in spell damage. What’s interesting here is that this spell damage bonus is set to a maximum of 2,000%! So, if you are able to consistently spend copious amounts of mana, your damage will just go higher and higher in the process!
Now, the reason why you stack INT is that this attribute not only increases your energy shield but also your mana. Of course, energy shield and mana are scaled even further by using specific items, such as The Ivory Tower and Shaper’s Touch.
To maximize the effect of The Ivory Tower, all of your active auras will have to reserve life instead of mana. In order to do this, your aura skills should be linked to Arrogance Support. This also serves another purpose in that you want to have enormous amounts of mana at the ready for your more active skills.
Speaking of which, the Rain Arrows of Saturation is a transfigured version of Rain of Arrows and is the primary skill you will use on this build. Unlike the base version of the skill, this Transfigured Gem fires a lot more arrows, with half of them hitting the main target, and the other half extending outward.
That is not the only skill you are going to use, though, because you have Storm Rain of the Conduit and Frenzy as well. These are bow attack skill gems that get automatically cast due to Manaforged Arrows Support.
As you can already tell, the build is played by simply casting Rain of Arrows of Saturation and the rest of the bow skill gems in your arsenal will be used without user intervention. Because of this interaction, you will get immense spell damage from Indigon due to the sheer amount of mana you spend.
As to how the Hierophant factors into the equation, Divine Guidance and Sanctuary of Thought can aid you in increasing your mana and provide a much-needed “50% Reduced Mana Cost of Skills” to make the Indigon’s mana-spending requirement a bit more manageable.
In addition, the 30% increased mana regeneration rate granted by Arcane Blessing is pretty helpful in sustaining the said resource. Conviction of Power grants increased crit chance and physical damage reduction via Power Charges and Endurance Charges.
Because this build is an INT stacker, a couple of Split Personality unique jewels can be very helpful here. Just note that these jewels are quite expensive given the popularity of INT-stacking builds in Path of Exile 3.24 Necropolis League.
If you have the PoE Currency and you want a character that can defeat any bosses in the game, then the Rain of Arrows of Saturation Hierophant is a worthy contender!
6. Spark Hierophant
+Familiar skill that got even better thanks to a particular support gem
+Mana-stacking build for maximum damage
+Hierophant version is extremely amazing for this build archetype
-As is the nature of stacker builds, this one is very expensive to put up
We have another stacker build in our midst. The Spark Hierophant is an interesting build that uses a very familiar skill. Spark has been around for a very long time, but it has become even more popular thanks to the newly buffed Archmage Support.
You are probably wondering why Archmage Support is one of the most commonly used support gems in Patch 3.24. Well, that is because the mechanics of getting the added damage provided by this support gem is vastly different compared to before.
Back then, Archmage Support worked similarly to Indigon, where you gain a damage boost based on a percentage of mana spent. Due to this requirement, a lot of builds were unable to fully utilize this particular support gem. But now, things have changed.
In Path of Exile: Necropolis League, Archmage Support now grants you added lightning damage based on a percentage of your unreserved maximum mana. In other words, you no longer have to spend mana in order to get the damage bonus.
To boost the damage of Spark even further, you will use a combination of items that synergize really well with each other. Your main weapon for this build is a self-crafted influenced wand that uses the Profane Wand as the crafting base for its increased cast speed implicit modifier. The influenced mods that you are looking for are:
Socketed Gems Are Supported by Level 20 Increased Critical Strikes
Socketed Gems Are Supported by Level 20 Increased Critical Damage
Socketed Gems Are Supported by Level 20 Faster Casting
Socketed Gems Are Supported by Level 20 Lightning Penetration
Next, you are going to equip The Squire. If you are new to PoE, The Squire is a unique shield that supports the skills socketed into the main hand. Any support gems you insert here will be added to the ones you have socketed into your weapon, thus essentially forming a six-link.
You can engage in the graveyard crafting mechanic introduced in the Necropolis League to craft a helmet with “+1 to Maximum Power Charges.” To get a higher chance of obtaining it, bury corpses that grant “Increased Chance of Haunted Modifiers.”
To give more oomph to your Spark projectiles, all of your auras will reserve life via Arrogance Support and then couple that with the “Pain Attunement” keystone passive to gain 30% more spell damage as a result.
Do not worry about reserving life for your auras because your mana and energy shield will take care of your survivability (via Mind Over Matter and The Ivory Tower, respectively).
Take note that, unlike the Inquisitor version, this build cannot be used as a league starter due to its mana-stacking nature. Still, the Spark Hierophant makes its case for being a heavier damage dealer, so if you want to see sparks fly (literally), then try this build out!
5. Cyclone Hierophant
+Cyclone is used to trigger a few damaging spells consistently
+Able to cycle between the damaging spells with a simple gem swap
+Smooth mapper
-Expensive as usual (stacker build here)
-Uses a lot of unique items to work
Another entry, another stacker build. This time, the choice of skills is probably going to entice you to try this build out. This is another mana-stacking build that uses one of the most popular skills in the game, Cyclone. But, before you think about Cyclone actually dealing the bulk of the damage here, it is not. Rather, it is only utilized to trigger more damaging spells, such as Shock Nova, Ball Lightning of Orbiting, or Lightning Conduit of the Heavens.
This is probably not the only time you have seen builds that use Cyclone to trigger spells in Path of Exile. If you are wondering what the answer is, we will be glad to tell you. You see, Cyclone is used to trigger many spells due to the simple fact that it has one of the highest base attack speeds of any skill gem in the game.
Having said that, there are three spell skill gems that you can choose from, including Ball Lightning of Orbiting, Shock Nova, or Lightning Conduit of the Heavens. Ball Lightning seems to be the most popular choice mainly due to how the lightning projectile moves around the map. Lightning Conduit of the Heavens comes in at a close second and is more suited for those who want to slay bosses because its attacks are more concentrated on a single target.
Now, Cyclone does not trigger any of the above-mentioned spells using Cast While Channeling Support. Instead, they are triggered by an item called Mjolner. This one-handed mace has a unique effect that states: “Trigger a Socketed Lightning Spell on Hit.” What’s interesting about this build is that you can actually try any of the lightning spells out simply by swapping the skill gem that is socketed into Mjolner.
What does get triggered via Cast While Channeling Support, however, is Lightning Warp. Because of the interaction of all of the skill gems involved here, you will find that the Cyclone Hierophant is actually a pretty fast mapper capable of downing even the toughest enemies in the game.
The reason why this build stacks copious amounts of mana is that the Indigon makes a return here. Remember that this helmet requires you to spend a lot of mana to gain a huge spell damage boost.
Most of your survivability is being taken care of by The Ivory Tower and the Coruscating Elixir. The said unique flask makes it so that chaos damage does not bypass your energy shield.
By now, you have probably acquainted yourself with the notable ascendancy passive skills of the Hierophant. But, just in case you need a refresher, you will take Divine Guidance, Sanctuary of Thought, Arcane Blessing, and Conviction of Power.
The Cyclone Hierophant is expensive to put up. However, what you are getting is a character that has the potential to destroy anything in its path. This build very much embodies the “Spin-to-Win” playstyle!
4. Righteous Fire Inquisitor
+Tried and tested build
+Fit for those who prefer a casual and comfortable playstyle
+Zoom around the map and see enemies burned to a crisp
+League start viable
-Delay in damage delivery (due to damage over time) may not sit well with those who want damage dealt upfront
If you want a build that stands the test of time, then the Righteous Fire Inquisitor is for you. It is important to note that there have been a couple of significant changes made to Righteous Fire that you need to know about.
First, Righteous Fire no longer has added fire damage and burning damage (from 20% gem quality). Instead, the damage of this build scales with life and energy shield.
Second, Righteous Fire now has a slightly bigger base radius. However, you still need to improve it by taking “% Increased Area of Effect” nodes on the passive tree.
If you are familiar with Righteous Fire builds in the past, you have probably wondered what happened to the Juggernaut variant. Well, it is no longer that great compared to before because it has now been beaten by the Chieftain.
Anyway, the Inquisitor is a good alternative to the Chieftain when it comes to using RF simply because of the notable passive skills available to this ascendancy class. Sanctuary and Pious Path enable you to consistently maintain Righteous Fire while mapping.
Pious Path, in particular, allows you to regenerate energy shield while standing on Consecrated Ground, in addition to your HP. Because of this, you can scale energy shield with full confidence knowing that it will be regenerated by the said ascendancy node.
Another reason why the Inquisitor is incredible when using RF is that you can give it a noticeable damage boost just by taking the Augury of Penitence. With the notable passive skills available to the Inquisitor, you can utilize RF very early on in the main campaign.
Righteous Fire is capable enough of burning your enemies to a crisp just by moving past them. However, this build suffers from poor single-target damage. That is why you are going to address that shortcoming by using Fire Trap as well.
To play this build effectively, activate RF when you enter a map, and then move around using Shield Charge until you see a huge pack of monsters. Simply stay there until they get decimated, or you can expedite their deaths by throwing several Fire Traps their way. On tougher enemies, throw Fire Traps until they are dead.
The Righteous Fire Inquisitor is no slouch on the defensive side of things as it is also capable of hitting 90% maximum elemental resistances by taking advantage of Aegis Aurora and a level 23 Purity of Ice. The latter can be achieved by inserting a level 21 Purity of Ice gem into a crafted pair of gloves that has the prefix: “+2 to Level of Socketed AoE Gems.”
When you have increased your maximum cold resistance to 90%, you can use the Melding of the Flash to make your capped fire resistance and lightning resistance equal to your cold resistance.
If you are planning to use this on the next league start, prioritize capping your fire resistance first, and then go for life recovery, life regeneration, and energy shield regeneration wherever possible. After your defenses are sorted out, then you can transition to improving your damage.
The Righteous Fire Inquisitor has stood the test of time. While the main skill gem itself has received so many changes over the years, it still remains one of the best, even in Patch 3.24!
3. Summon Holy Relic of Conviction Guardian
+Impressive tankiness heavily improved by the Guardian’s nodes
+New Transfigured Gem is quite amazing offensively
+More fun and engaging minion build compared to others
-Upgrades can ramp up in cost
There is a new Transfigured Gem in Path of Exile that has been making waves as of late. This skill gem in question is none other than the Summon Holy Relic of Conviction. So, how does this differ from the base version?
Well, the Summon Holy Relic of Conviction allows you to summon one additional Holy Relic minion. But, the main difference here is that the relic minions’ damaging nova is now cast on nearby monsters rather than around them. To put it simply, this Transfigured Gem is built purely for offense as it completely forgoes the life regeneration buff in favor of summoning an additional Holy Relic to fight for you.
You do not have only two Holy Relic minions on this build, though. Thanks to Geofri’s Crest, you can summon an additional Holy Relic for a total of three! On top of that, it is possible for you to call forth additional minions by using Raise Spectre, Animate Guardian, and Summon Chaos Golem. The said golem is nice for survivability due to its additional physical damage reduction buff.
Although your minions will do the heavy lifting, you can actually contribute to killing monsters by utilizing the Lancing Steel of Spraying as well. How is that possible, you ask? The said skill gem is linked to Culling Strike Support, which instantly kills enemies that are below 10% of their maximum life. The Returning Projectiles Support ensures that there will be no stragglers left behind.
While it is possible to make this work on a budget, the Summon Holy Relic of Conviction Guardian shines when you are able to acquire certain pieces of gear. Dialla’s Malefaction provides a ton of value to the build. Most of the gems that you insert here should be placed on green sockets for that +30% quality. The only gems that you place in red sockets are Enhance Support and Empower Support.
The reason why you want to raise the gem quality of Summon Holy Relic of Conviction as high as you possibly can is so that you can greatly improve the frequency of their attacks.
The next upgrade that you should spend PoE Currency on is a self-crafted sword, specifically using the Capricious Spiritblade for the crafting base. If you are wondering why you use this weapon, it is for its implicit modifier that converts all of your physical damage to a random element. The mods that you should put on the Capricious Spiritblade are as follows:
% Increased Minion Damage (Essence of Fear)
Added Cold Damage
% Increased Attack Speed
Hits Can’t Be Evaded (Bench-craft)
Trigger a Socketed Spell When You Use a Skill, with an 8-Second Cooldown (Bench-craft)
Crafting the weapon might require a heavy investment due to the relatively high market prices of the Essence of Fear.
Anyway, the damaging nova that your Holy Relic minions cast on the enemy naturally deals physical damage. To convert all of that to elemental damage (and so that they will get boosted by the auras granted by your Elemental Relic), you need to wear the Triad Grip. This unique pair of gloves converts all of the physical damage of your minions to cold and fire damage (due to the presence of a single red support gem socketed into the gloves).
Your main role here is just to provide support for your minions, while occasionally firing Lancing Steel of Spraying to cull enemies that are on their last legs. If you want a minion build that has more fun and engaging playstyle compared to other similar archetypes, then definitely give the Summon Holy Relic of Conviction Guardian a try!
2. Detonate Dead of Chain Reaction Inquisitor
+Thanks to interaction with a projectile-based skill gem, this build feels a lot smoother than other DDCR builds
+Smooth mapper
+Competent Bosser
-Endgame helmet is expensive to craft
The Detonate Dead of Chain Reaction Inquisitor has some pretty interesting things at play compared to the other builds that use the said Transfigured Gem.
Let’s start by talking about the star of the show. Detonate Dead of Chain Reaction, unlike its base counterpart, this version causes nearby corpses to detonate in succession after the initial explosion has occurred.
Even though the main skill itself deals fire damage, you will actually deal a bit of cold damage as well, so that the endgame helmet takes effect. You see, the helmet that you will ultimately use for this build is a self-crafted Blizzard Crown with the Hypothermia mod.
Why the Blizzard Crown over any other helmet as the crafting base? Because this particular piece of gear has added cold damage as an implicit modifier. Hypothermia’s more damage multiplier can only be grasped when you hit chilled enemies. More importantly, Chill can only be applied if you are able to deal cold damage in one way or another.
That is not all! This build is also capable of inflicting the Shock status effect on enemies thanks to the Yoke of Suffering. This unique amulet makes it so that your elemental damage can Shock enemies regardless of their damage type. If you are a beginner in Path of Exile, shocked enemies take increased damage from all sources.
Aside from the elemental status ailments, the Detonate Dead of Chain Reaction is triggered in a different way compared to, say, the Chieftain version of the build. Instead of relying on Cast While Stunned Support, you will use Lancing Steel of Spraying linked to Cast on Critical Strike Support.
Lancing Steel of Spraying is an incredible Transfigured Gem for triggering skills mainly because of how the steel shards move (in a sequential order compared to the base version, in case you are wondering).
With that said, both Lancing Steel of Spraying and Detonate Dead of Chain Reaction are socketed into the self-crafted endgame helmet for maximum effect. The other two gems that you will put in there are Desecrate and Awakened Cast on Critical Strike Support.
This build has some decent chance to land critical strikes due to the choice of ascendancy class. The Inquisitor’s Righteous Providence node can help boost your critical strike chance immensely if you put a bit more STR and INT on your gear. The effects of Inevitable Judgement help you make quick work of the enemy, especially if your attacks result in a critical hit.
When fighting against the pinnacle bosses in PoE, apply an Arcanist Brand on the target to cast Desecrate in a more consistent way. The corpses created by Desecrate will then be detonated by simply using Lancing Steel of Spraying from a distance.
If you are fond of seeing enemies explode to death, then perhaps you will be interested in trying out the Detonate Dead of Chain Reaction Inquisitor!
1. Ice Nova of Frostbolts Hierophant
+The hottest Templar build right now
+Able to use Archmage Support to a great extent
+Transfigured Gem makes sure that enemies have no chance to escape
-Can be harsh on the system (may crash those who are using low-end PCs)
-Screen visibility leaves a lot to be desired
The change that was made to Archmage Support in Patch 3.24 has opened up a lot of new build possibilities. The best Templar build on this list has spawned because of it. So, which build got the top spot on our list? Well, it is none other than the Ice Nova of Frostbolts Hierophant!
You might think that you scale cold damage on this build due to the fact that you are using a cold-based spell skill, but that is actually far from the truth. In fact, you will go another way and improve lightning damage instead.
The reason why is that the majority of your damage comes from the added lightning damage provided by Archmage Support. As you can surmise, the Ice Nova of Frostbolts Hierophant is a mana-stacking build.
Since we have already discussed in great length how stacker builds are made in PoE, we will only discuss the notable items that make this build function. But before that, we have to talk about the main spell for this build as that is a good place to start.
So, the Ice Nova of Frostbolts is a Transfigured Gem that allows you to cast Ice Nova directly on top of the projectiles created by Frostbolt. For this reason, you need to cast two spells in order for things to work as they should.
Now, it is cumbersome to have to cast Frostbolt first and then Ice Nova, right? Fortunately, you can automatically cast Frostbolt projectiles by socketing the spell skill gem into Kitava’s Thirst. This is a helmet with a unique effect that triggers the socketed spell after spending 100 mana upfront.
Take note that you are required to spend at least 100 mana. The good news is that Archmage Support can help you with that. If anything, you will spend a lot more than what is needed.
Although Kitava’s Thirst helps make the build feel a lot smoother to play, it does have a huge downside in that it reduces your cast speed by 15%. To resolve this, you should equip two crafted Profane Wands with “% Increased Cast Speed” as an implicit and explicit modifier.
If you want to take things to the next level, get your hands on Anathema. This unique ring allows you to apply more than one curse on the enemy depending on your Maximum Power Charges. You do not even have to think about getting Power Charges because this will be sorted out just by taking the Conviction of Power notable ascendancy passive skill from the Hierophant.
Speaking of curses, the ones that you are going to use here are Enfeeble, Conductivity, Elemental Weakness, and Assassin’s Mark. The first two are automatically cast due to Kitava’s Thirst. The other two are applied by attaching the Arcanist Brand on a tough cookie like the Searing Exarch or Uber Elder.
While Archmage Support already gives you a ton of added lightning damage, you can get even more by activating Arcane Cloak as well. Do not worry, this process is also automated thanks to the new Automation Support.
Once everything is set, all you really have to do is use Ice Nova of Frostbolts, and your items, as well as the underlying mechanics just mentioned, will take care of the rest. Do not forget to use Arcanist Brand on more challenging encounters.
Keep in mind that this build is capable of filling the screen with a plethora of icy projectiles. If your computer cannot handle the graphical load, we suggest that you try any of the builds mentioned in this article.
With incredible damage output and the various mechanics at play, no wonder the Ice Nova of Frostbolts Hierophant is the best Templar build in Path of Exile 3.24 Necropolis League!
Conclusion
The Templar class is definitely one of the more popular ones in Patch 3.24. Several builds on this list use the newly buffed Archmage Support and they are all pretty awesome in their own right.
Despite the damage nerf to Summon Raging Spirit, the Elemental SRS Guardian is still quite viable, though it is no longer a build that you can use during league start.
The Righteous Fire Inquisitor is a common fixture in the game. It is pretty well-balanced in terms of offense and defense. If you love a comfortable build that does not die at all when fully geared, then you should definitely try this one.
Summon Holy Relic of Conviction is a new Transfigured Gem that was introduced in this current expansion for PoE. It is a more offense-oriented skill gem compared to its base version. The Holy Relic minions that you can call forth to fight by your side are capable of dispatching enemies quickly.
Seriously, no matter which build you choose from above, you will never go wrong with any of them!
With all of that said, good luck on your adventures in Wraeclast, Exile!
