Kinetic Bolt of Fragmentation Deadeye - Path of Exile 3.24

In Path of Exile, there are builds that are primarily focused on mapping and some that are built for taking on the pinnacle bosses of the game. Rarely do you ever see builds that can do both.

The Kinetic Bolt of Fragmentation Deadeye tries to shatter that notion with its insane boss damage and map-clearing potential.

However, if you have not been living under a rock, you have probably known by now that Grinding Gear Games has made significant changes to the Transfigured Gem in Patch 3.24.

Because of that, you are probably wondering if this build is still fine to use in this league. Well, you'll have to read this guide in its entirety. For today, we are going to talk about the Kinetic Bolt of Fragmentation Deadeye in Path of Exile 3.24 Necropolis League!

Basics

Before anything, it is important to note that this build can literally make your PC cry. So, if you have a modest system, you might want to lower the graphics settings to their absolute minimum. Otherwise, your PC might not handle all of the shiny projectiles!

With that out of the way, this build utilizes the Transfigured Gem, Kinetic Bolt of Fragmentation. So, what is the main difference between this one and the base version? Well, the original has more added damage effectiveness and you pretty much know where the projectiles are headed.

Kinetic Bolt of Fragmentation, on the other hand, produces projectiles that fire in a zig-zag pattern. But, the cool thing about this Transfigured Gem is that the projectiles can hit a single target multiple times.

By utilizing Sniper's Mark and Nimis, the projectiles that Kinetic Bolt of Fragmentation produces will split when hitting the target (Sniper's Mark) and return to you when they reach their maximum travel distance (Nimis).

Because the skill itself fires projectiles that can hit a target multiple times, and this is done without a limit, you can potentially have more than 100 projectiles hitting the same target for incredible amounts of damage! Think of this as a "shotgun" effect, if you will.

However, the main downside of this build is not your damage but the stress it can bring to your system. That is why we have put a disclaimer earlier that you should only attempt the Kinetic Bolt of Fragmentation Deadeye if your PC can handle it.

Now, if you have played builds that use Kinetic Bolt before, you already have an idea that the skill itself is not ideal for mapping. To rectify that, you swap one of the support gems linked to Kinetic Bolt of Fragmentation with Kinetic Blast.

So basically, you use Kinetic Blast while mapping and fire Kinetic Bolts when you encounter tougher enemies.

If you want to maximize the damage potential of this build, look for the following mods on your gear wherever possible:

• Increased Spell Damage
• Increased Damage
• Increased Projectile Damage
• Increased Lightning Damage
• Added Lightning Damage
• Increased Attack Speed
• Increased Critical Strike Chance
• Increased Critical Strike Multiplier

So, what about the nerfs to Kinetic Bolt of Fragmentation? To be honest, they were unsurprising. This skill gem is capable of melting enemies by bombarding the screen with multiple projectiles. And, with the build's insane attack speed, you could essentially eliminate any monster foolish enough to stand in your way.

If you're not aware, the skill gem in question no longer has the line: "Increases and Reductions to Spell Damage also Apply to Attack Damage from this Skill at 200% of their Value" in the 3.24 Necropolis League. This is obviously a huge nerf and one that may dissuade you from trying this build out.

As if that is not bad enough, increasing the gem's quality now only makes the projectiles change direction once instead of getting more attack damage based on your spell damage.

Lastly, the effectiveness of added damage of Kinetic Bolt of Fragmentation has been reduced by a sizable 15% at level 20. This means that the damage scaling now only stops at 70% instead of 85%.

Sniper's Mark has also been nerfed in Patch 3.24. This Mark skill used to make your projectiles split to four additional targets, but it has now been reduced to just two. However, the biggest change here is that cursed enemies now only take 29% increased damage from your Kinetic Bolt projectiles at gem level 20 compared to 35% in the previous league.

Having said all of that, the build still works, albeit you need to invest more currency if you want to take things to the next level. It looks like GGG does not want people to start a new league with this build because ultimate power should only be afforded to those who have the PoE currency to attain it.

If there is any good that came out of all of this, you can now improve your defenses manifold by making certain adjustments. Don't worry, we at RPGStash will provide you with all the information you need to enjoy this build regardless of the nerfs.

Playstyle

The playstyle of the Kinetic Bolt of Fragmentation Deadeye has changed substantially in the 3.24 Necropolis League version of our build guide. You no longer have to swap the support gems included in your Kinetic Blast and Kinetic Bolt of Fragmentation setups!

That said, utilize Kinetic Blast to decimate the map monsters you will encounter while mapping. When fighting against the pinnacle bosses in PoE, just spam Kinetic Bolt of Fragmentation until they meet their demise.

Do not forget to activate Anger so that you will gain a considerable boost to your fire damage. Besides that, activate Vaal Arctic Armour whenever you are in a tough situation.

Ascendancy

When it comes to builds that utilize projectile skill gems in Path of Exile, you should always choose the Deadeye if you want to focus solely on offense.

Gathering Winds provides tremendous value, especially in the early game. That is why you are going to take this as soon as you complete the first labyrinth. This increases your action speed to a significant degree thanks to the near-permanent uptime of Tailwind.

Far Shot works amazingly well with Nimis' unique effect, where the projectiles fired by Kinetic Bolt of Fragmentation return to you when they've reached their maximum travel distance. This means that you always get great benefits from this notable ascendancy passive.

Endless Munitions is what makes the Deadeye so perfect for projectile-based builds in Path of Exile. This increases the projectiles fired by your main attack skill by two, which is always a good thing!

Focal Point is a vital part of the build. As explained in the "Basics" section of the guide, you are going to use Sniper's Mark so that KB's projectiles split, hitting more enemies on the map in the process. With this node allocated, you give Sniper's Mark a 75% increased effect, making it tough to beat from a value standpoint. With the nerf to Sniper's Mark in Patch 3.24, this has become even more valuable!

Since increasing Kinetic Bolt of Fragmentation's gem quality now makes it change directions once, you can now take Ricochet by putting a couple of Forbidden Jewels on your passive tree to take advantage of its chaining mechanic.

Gear

If you have played the Kinetic Bolt of Fragmentation Deadeye before and you want some of that power back, then you have to now invest more PoE currency just to make that happen. Therefore, this build is no longer a league starter since you will be forced to get your hands on better gear - some of which are quite expensive to obtain.

Weapon

This build still uses an Imbued Wand as the crafting base. However, you now have to craft a tri-ele wand instead of a wand that has spell damage and elemental penetration.

To get started, acquire an ilvl 85+ Imbued Wand and spam it with Deafening Essence of Wrath (Lightning Damage) until you get T1 added fire and added cold damage. After that, put "Prefixes Cannot Be Changed" from the Crafting Bench and use Harvest Reforge Speed to obtain T1 "% Increased Attack Speed". You may have to do this a number of times since you can also roll cast speed and projectile speed.

After that, lock your prefixes again; only this time, you will use a Veiled Orb. If this removes the attack speed mod, unveil the veiled modifier, lock your prefixes, and then use an Orb of Scouring.

When you've successfully added a veiled modifier without removing the attack speed mod, bench-craft "4% Increased Damage per Endurance Charge" to block this from appealing during the unveiling. That said, talk to Jun and unveil.

The mod you are looking for is: "+40% to Critical Strike Multiplier While a Rare or Unique Enemy is Nearby". The "7% Chance to Deal Double Damage" is a good alternative to this as well.

When you have all of the desired modifiers, go to the Crafting Bench and put "25% Increased Critical Strike Chance, +24 to Strength and Intelligence" to finish the project.

For more information about crafting, you can go to our ultimate crafting guide to learn everything there is to know about this aspect of PoE.

Crafting the wand requires a ton of PoE currency to pull off. Until you have enough Divine Orbs at your disposal, you can use the Piscator's Vigil for the time being. This has got all of the goods; from attack speed and crit chance to increased elemental damage and elemental penetration!

Shield

In Path of Exile 3.24 Necropolis League, using the Rathpith Globe for the Kinetic Bolt of Fragmentation Deadeye is no longer viable. So, what shield replaces it then? Well, the best shield for this build is none other than Mahuxotl's Machination.

This unique shield provides you the effects of six different keystone passives, including Corrupted Soul, Divine Flesh, Eternal Youth, Everlasting Sacrifice, Immortal Ambition, and Vaal Pact. Despite all of these, you only need to concern yourself with Divine Flesh.

You see, Divine Flesh makes all of the damage you take bypass energy shield. You might see this is a major downside, but you actually complement it with the Tempered by War keystone passive, which you can only get from a Lethal Pride (Rakiata).

When you combine Divine Flesh and Tempered by War, you essentially do not take lightning and cold damage. That is why you will only focus your attention on getting your fire resistance and chaos resistance as high as you possibly can.

Body Armor

With Mahuxotl's Machination equipped, the body armor that you should wear is the Cloak of Flame. This heavily improves your chances of survival by converting 40% of the physical damage you take to fire, which is further reduced by the insane amount of fire resistance you have!

Helmet

GGG has changed so many things in Path of Exile 3.24 Necropolis League. Aside from the nerfs to Kinetic Bolt of Fragmentation and Sniper's Mark, the company has made it a bit challenging to sustain mana as well. But, do not fret! We are going to teach you how to craft a good helmet that addresses your mana issues.

Begin by obtaining an ilvl 85+ Lion Pelt. Spam the helmet with Deafening Essence of Spite (INT) until you get T1 spell suppression and chaos resistance. After that, lock the suffixes and then use a Veiled Orb.

Bench-craft "+ to Maximum Life" so that you block a few mods from appearing during the unveiling. Head to Jun and unveil. The mod you are looking for is: "+2 to Level of Socketed AoE Gems, 10% Increased Area of Effect".

After that, put "8% of Physical Damage from Hits Taken as Fire Damage" from the Crafting Bench and then use an Exalted Orb to fill up the remaining prefix.

Anyway, you are not done yet! Spam the helmet with Grand Eldritch Ichors to obtain the mana reservation efficiency implicit modifier. Moreover, use Grand Eldritch Embers until you get "24% Reduced Mana Cost of Attacks". Getting both of these implicit mods should help you solve your mana problem in Patch 3.24!

Gloves

We used to recommend the Thunderfist as your main gloves for this build. But, to account for the changes GGG has implemented in the 3.24 Necropolis League, you have to switch to the self-crafted Gripped Gloves with some juicy influenced modifiers.

The reason why you should use the Gripped Gloves as the crafting base is that you want to take advantage of its "% Increased Projectile Attack Damage" implicit modifier.

That said, acquire two pairs of gloves - one should have the Shaper's Influence and the other one should be influenced by the Elder.

On the Shaper-influenced Gripped Gloves, spam it with Orb of Alteration until you get the mod: "Socketed Gems Are Supported by Level 20 Slower Projectiles, 25% Increased Projectile Damage." Use a Regal Orb after that and set it aside for now.

For the Elder-influenced Gripped Gloves, use Harvest Reforge Speed to acquire the mod: "Socketed Gems Are Supported by Level 20 Faster Projectiles, 30% Increased Projectile Speed". Again, use a Regal Orb to turn the gloves into a rare item.

Next, combine the two gloves using an Awakener's Orb. Once that is done, put "Prefixes Cannot Be Changed" from the Crafting Bench and use Harvest Reforge Speed again for a chance of obtaining the mod: "Socketed Gems Are Supported by Level 20 Faster Attacks, 14% Increased Attack Speed"

The final crafting steps depend on whether you have an open prefix or suffix. If you have an open prefix, bench-craft "43% Increased Damage While Leeching". On the other hand, if you have an open suffix, bench-craft "+% to Fire and Chaos Resistances".

If you have any open affixes left, use Exalted Orbs to fill them up. After following the crafting instructions, you should have something like this:

Boots

Since you are no longer stacking any charges on this build, you will wear a pair of Onslaught Boots. Refer to our ultimate crafting guide for the full instructions.

For the implicit modifiers, use Grand Eldritch Ichors for elemental ailment avoidance and Grand Eldritch Embers for the increased action speed.

Amulet

Due to the many adjustments GGG has made in Patch 3.24, the only really viable amulet for the Kinetic Bolt of Fragmentation Deadeye is Defiance of Destiny.

What makes this unique amulet so amazing is that it recovers a sizable portion of your missing life before you get hit by the enemy, thus greatly improving your survivability!

Do not forget to anoint it with Prism Weave (Sepia Oil, 2x Opalescent Oils) for increased elemental damage, attack speed, and elemental penetration.

Rings

There is no question about one of the rings that you will equip for the Kinetic Bolt of Fragmentation Deadeye. The Nimis is mandatory for the build to work. It basically makes Kinetic Bolt's projectiles return to you for even more damage. You could say that Kinetic Bolt of Fragmentation and the Nimis ring are a match made in heaven simply because they make your projectiles fire in random directions.

The other ring that you are going to wear is a self-crafted ring with a veiled modifier that reduces the mana cost of your skills. To craft this, get an ilvl 85+ Amethyst Ring and spam it with Deafening Essence of Spite (INT) until you get chaos resistance, fire resistance, or STR.

Next, lock your suffixes and then use a Veiled Orb. Bench-craft "Adds # to # to Fire Damage, Adds # to # Cold Damage" to prevent it from appearing on the list. Talk to Jun and unveil the prefix: "+66 to Maximum Mana, 7% Reduced Mana Cost of Skills" when it shows up.

When you have the veiled modifier already, put "Non-Channeling Skills Have -7 to Total Mana Cost" from the Crafting Bench. Spam the ring with Fertile Catalysts to improve the effects of the mana modifiers. If you still have an open prefix, don't forget to use an Exalted Orb. And that's it!

Belt

Due to the nerfs that were implemented in the 3.24 Necropolis League, there is no longer a budget version for the Kinetic Bolt of Fragmentation. If you push through with this build on a minimal investment, you are not going to have a fun time playing it!

For this reason, you want to maximize the build's potential by wearing the Mageblood. This unique heavy belt provides you with a permanent uptime of up to four of your magic utility flasks.

Flasks

• Ruby Flask
• Amethyst Flask
• Diamond Flask
• Quicksilver Flask
• Dying Sun/Oriath's End/Progenesis

Because you are using Mahuxot's Machination, you only need to improve both your fire resistance and chaos resistance. That is why the Ruby Flask and Amethyst Flask are included in the build.

The Diamond Flask should help you achieve a higher chance of landing critical hits. Due to your ability to fire an insane number of projectiles in just a few seconds, upping your crit chance as high as you can is a must.

To help improve your map-clearing speed, you need to move fast as well. Hence, the Quicksilver Flask is added to the mix.

For your last flask slot, you have a few options to choose from. If you still do not have enough PoE currency, you can settle with the Dying Sun for those two additional projectiles.

If you want to go on the offensive, the Oriath's End is a great flask to use. When activated, this flask grants you a chance to make your enemies explode, dealing a portion of their maximum life as damage of a random element.

On the other hand, if you want to become unstoppable, then the Progenesis is your end goal. This unique flask makes you incredibly tanky as it acts as a pseudo-Petrified Blood.

Flask Mods

• 55% Increased Critical Strike Chance (of Incision)
• 17% Increased Attack Speed (of the Dove)
• 14% Increased Movement Speed (of the Cheetah)
• 65% Reduced Effect of Curses on You (of the Owl)
• Abecedarian/Alchemist/Dabbler (prefix, 25% Increased Effect)

Jewels

There is still only one mandatory unique jewel for this build, but instead of the Brutal Restraint, you are going to use a Lethal Pride. Having said that, get one that has the line: "Commanded Leadership Over # Warriors Under Rakiata". This particular jewel is necessary so that the nearest keystone passive transforms into Tempered by War.

The other jewels that will be mentioned in this build guide are just complementary pieces. But, if you want to take the damage of the Kinetic Bolt of Fragmentation Deadeye to a whole new level, then you should definitely purchase them as upgrades later down the line.

Start with a Watcher's Eye prismatic jewel with the following modifiers:

• Precision

  • % Increased Attack Speed
  • +% to Critical Strike Multiplier

• Wrath

  • % Increased Lightning Damage
  • % Increased Critical Strike Chance
  • % Damage Penetrates % Lightning Resistance

• Anger

  • +% to Critical Strike Multiplier
  • Damage Penetrates % Fire Resistance
  • % Increased Fire Damage

• Purity of Fire

  • % of Physical Damage from Hits Taken as Fire Damage

The next upgrade for this build would be at least one Large Cluster Jewel (Wand Damage) with Opportunistic Fusilade and Fuel the Fight as the notable passive skills. The former is amazing because it increases your damage and crit chance by 35% and 50%, respectively. The latter, on the other hand, increases your attack speed and damage while you are leeching mana from your enemies.

Just use Harvest Reforge Critical to get Opportunistic Fusilade, Fuel the Fight, and another random notable passive skill.

The Secrets of Suffering is a great addition to the build. While you are no longer able to inflict Freeze, Shock, or Ignite, you do have the power to inflict Scorch, Brittle, and Sapped instead.

Scorched enemies will have their elemental resistances lowered by a sizable amount. Monsters affected by Brittle will have a higher chance of getting critically hit by your projectiles. And, those who suffer from the "Sapped" status effect will deal less damage to you!

For an improved mapping experience, you could add an Inspired Learning as well. This is similar to a Headhunter, albeit you only get one random monster modifier when you kill a rare or unique enemy.

Put Inspired Learning in the jewel socket above Fervour, which is at the right side of the tree. This jewel only works when you have four notable passive skills allocated within its radius. Hence, you will take Fervour, Acuity, Herbalism, and Heartseeker if you are going to use the said jewel.

Gems

In the previous iteration of our build guide, we said that you have to replace Kinetic Blast with Kinetic Bolt of Fragmentation when fighting against bosses. However, that has now changed in that there is no longer a need to swap gems. In addition, we have adjusted some gems to account for the different items you are going to wear from here on out.

Gloves

• Kinetic Bolt of Fragmentation
• Trinity Support
• Awakened Elemental Damage with Attacks
• Increased Critical Damage Support

Kinetic Bolt of Fragmentation is the skill to use when you are fighting bosses in Path of Exile. Due to the self-crafted gloves, the support gems that you are going to use on this setup have changed as a result.

Trinity Support provides you with more elemental damage and elemental penetration, making your Kinetic Bolt projectiles take advantage of the wand you have crafted earlier for maximum killing potential.

Awakened Elemental Damage with Attacks gives a significant boost to Kinetic Bolt's damage. Plus, at level 5, your elemental damage will no longer be reflected, allowing you to run maps with the "Reflect Elemental Damage" mod without fear.

Increased Critical Damage Support is the cherry on top. This ensures that if you do land a critical hit, the enemy will feel it to its fullest extent.

Body Armor

• Kinetic Blast
• Awakened Fork
• Awakened Elemental Damage with Attacks
• Trinity Support
• Inspiration Support
• Increased Critical Damage

Kinetic Blast is mainly used for mapping. This is a better attack skill gem to use than Kinetic Bolt of Fragmentation simply because it impacts a wider area, thus affecting more monsters in the process.

Awakened Fork allows your Kinetic Blast to fork and hit additional enemies. Besides that, the 14% more damage multiplier at the max level is just too hard to pass up!

Inspiration Support is included in the setup to reduce the mana cost of Kinetic Blast. The increased crit chance and elemental damage are just amazing bonuses as well.

Helmet

• Wrath
• Purity of Fire (lvl 21)
• Precision
• Enlighten Support (lvl 4)

Wrath is an aura gem in PoE that significantly increases your lightning damage when it is active. It also lets you take advantage of any Watcher's Eye jewels that have the "...while affected by Wrath" modifiers.

Precision is a way to boost your crit chance, as well as your chance to hit enemies.

Purity of Fire is another aura, except it is activated for defensive purposes. That said, you are probably wondering why this aura gem must be at level 21. Well, the reason is that you want to attain a level 23 Purity of Fire for that "+5% to Maximum Fire Resistance". This is done by corrupting a max level Purity of Fire with a Vaal Orb to raise its level to 21. The other two gem levels are provided by the veiled modifier on the self-crafted helmet.

A level 4 Enlighten Support is necessary so that you can activate all of these auras without a hitch.

Boots

• Sniper's Mark
• Mark on Hit Support
• Enhance Support (lvl 4)
• Blood Rage

We hear you. The nerf to Sniper's Mark is just too hard to ignore. The good news is that you can rectify that by including a lvl 4 Enhance Support. This support gem adds 24% to the quality of the Sniper's Mark gem to improve its effect. It is still linked to Mark on Hit Support to automate its activation.

Blood Rage is there to give you a reliable way to generate Frenzy Charges. On top of that, you gain a huge boost to your attack speed when it is active.

Weapon

• Vaal Arctic Armour
• Culling Strike Support
• Flame Dash

Arctic Armour synergizes really well with Mahuxotl's Machination and the Tempered by War keystone passive. That is because this buff reduces the physical damage and fire damage you take while stationary.

The "Vaal" portion of the skill significantly reduces the amount of damage you take at the cost of mobility. Use this whenever you are in a rough spot.

Flame Dash is your only travel skill on this build. You could replace it with the newly buffed Frostblink if you want to for that improved effectiveness of added damage.

Shield

• Anger
• Divine Blessing Support
• Inspiration Support

With all of the above-mentioned auras activated, you do not have enough mana to use another one. Fortunately, you can circumvent that by linking an aura gem to Divine Blessing Support.

The aura gem that you are going to link to Divine Blessing Support is Anger. This provides you with a considerable boost to your damage, so activate it when you are fighting tougher enemies.

Inspiration Support is there just to reduce the mana cost of Anger.

Tattoos

The secondary ascendancy classes have, sadly, been removed in Path of Exile 3.24 Necropolis League. Who knows, they might return at some point in the future. In the meantime, you can use some of these Tattoos to improve the Kinetic Bolt of Fragmentation Deadeye:

• Tattoo of the Tasalio Scout

  • 4% Increased Effect of Your Marks

• Tattoo of the Arohongui Warrior

  • 5% Increased Cold Damage

• Tattoo of the Ramako Sniper

  • 5% Increased Projectile Speed

• Tattoo of the Valako Shaman

  • 5% Increased Lightning Damage

• Tattoo of the Hinekora Storyteller

  • +3% to Chaos Resistance

• Tattoo of the Valako Scout

  • 10% Reduced Effect of Shock on You

Passive Tree

POB

Kinetic Bolt of Fragmentation Deadeye

Final Thoughts

The Kinetic Bolt of Fragmentation Deadeye has seen some massive changes in Path of Exile 3.24 Necropolis League. Both the skill gem itself, as well as Sniper's Mark, have been nerfed in this league. As a result, this build is no longer a viable league starter.

Despite the massive nerfs GGG has implemented, the build still works, provided that you are willing to spend enough PoE currency to get some really good items. Even though this build can no longer melt enemies the same way it did in the previous league, it now performs much better on the defensive side of things.

Aside from that, you no longer have to swap gems when you are mapping or bossing simply because there are now dedicated gem setups for Kinetic Bolt of Fragmentation and Kinetic Blast.

So, to answer the question: Is Kinetic Bolt of Fragmentation Deadeye still worth playing in Patch 3.24? The answer is yes!

With all of that said, good luck on your adventures in Wraeclast, Exile!

PROS

+Excellent bossing build

+Competent mapper

+Scales really well with endgame items

+Deadeye ascendancy ensures that projectiles will flood the screen, killing multiple enemies in the process

+Still good in Patch 3.24

CONS

-Can make your PC cry due to the flashy projectiles made by the Kinetic Bolt of Fragmentation

-No longer a league starter

-Now requires heavy investment to make the build feel comfortable to play