POEGuy's Self-Ignite Fulcrum Chieftain Build Guide (Poe Secrets of the Atlas 3.26)

Introduction

This is a zero-button build, Incredibly tanky, designed to efficiently farm high monster density content such as Breach, Harbingers, and Abyss.
If I had to sum up this build in a few words, they would be: tanky, living bomb, and fun.

I’ve done my best to keep the cost of this build as low as possible while maintaining strong defenses. However, please take your time and read this guide carefully, as there are several small details that can completely brick the build.

Video build guide and gameplay showcase

Build Overview

In this section, I will outline the pros, cons, & the general play style.

Pros

+ Strong defenses (build is incredibly tanky in high monster density farming.)
+ Full-screen wipes (deletes monsters in a matter of seconds within a large area of effect.)
+ Passive playstyle (this is a tanky walking simulator.)

Cons

– Can only farm maps with high monster density.
– The passive playstyle is not for everyone

Playstyle

For this build, all you need to do is move toward large packs of monsters on your map to trigger the Hinekora, Death’s Fury ascendancy node. This will apply a powerful Ignite to enemies. However, since we are using The Fulcrum staff, that deadly Ignite is reflected back onto us – turning us into a walking, living bomb. Once ignited in this way, you’ll begin melting everything around you, which in turn causes even more powerful explosions from your ascendancy node. The initial damage used to trigger Hinekora, Death’s Fury explosions comes from the Detonate Dead + Desecrate Cast when Stunned Support gem setups.

Do not attempt to kill bosses without a big Ignite on you! To damage a map boss or a juiced rare monster, you’ll first need to trigger a Hinekora, Death’s Fury explosion on a nearby monster pack. You can also use a Vaal Breach to help you with damage in this regard. (Check the “Gem Links” section from this guide)

Damage Scaling & Defensive Layers

To trigger our first Hinekora, Death’s Fury explosions, we use the Detonate Dead + Desecrate + Cast when Stunned Support gem setups. Aim for high gem levels here to maximize their effectiveness. Awakened gems also help with the initial damage. Additionally, look for modifiers that increase Fire Damage, Damage over Time Multiplier, and Elemental Damage.

As for defenses, this build is a beast! We use Cloak of Flame, Kaom's Binding, and an Eldritch Implicit for physical damage mitigation. We gain substantial life recoup from the skill tree and anoints, use the Defiance of Destiny amulet, and benefit from 6 Endurance Charges along with the powerful Bloodnotch + Immutable Force combo.

PoB and Passive Skill Tree

You can find an optimized Path of Building here. Every build I release will use the community fork of Path of Building. You can find PoB’s Fork by LocalIdentity through this link.

Passive Skill Tree, PoB & Gem Links

Gear Summary / TL;DR

This build is very easy to set up because it uses many unique items. Relying on uniques allows you to put the build together faster and saves you a lot of hassle when it comes to character optimization.
Since this is an endgame build designed for difficult content, you should have around 60 Divine Orbs and a character around level 94 before starting this setup. I’m mentioning these two requirements to help players transition smoothly into the build without any issues.

The setup should look something like this:

Item Slot	Item Name	Rarity	Notes
Head	Rare Helmet (Fractured Chaos Resistance, Armour Base)	Rare	Check the Crafting Guide to learn how to make and avoid overpaying!
Amulet	Defiance of Destiny	Unique	A very powerful defensive layer; aim for one with a 24% roll on the last line!
Chest	Cloak of Flame	Unique
Gloves	Breathstealer	Unique	These gloves can be anointed. Anoint “Circle Of Life”
Boots	Windscream	Unique
Belt	Kaom's Binding	Unique
Ring#1	Valyrium	Unique
Ring#2	Ventor's Gamble	Unique	Needs to have 15% Increased mana reservation efficiency of skills! Apply 20x Fertile Catalyst to bump it up to 18%
Weapon	The Fulcrum	Unique

Read the gear page for details on all these items!

Gear, Jewels & Flasks

Ascendancy, Bandits, and Pantheons

The Ascendancy, Bandit, and Pantheon Power page goes into detail about all the choices you need to make in these regards.

Ascendancy, Bandit & Pantheon Power Page

Map modifiers

TIER 16 REGEX: “!re he|ail|er,|o al|non”

TIER 17 & 16.5 REGEX: “!re he|ail|er,|o al|non|!wni|net|fif|wb|\d+% to al|‘v|vola|ld f|tab|rune|!hap|wak|m li|!poss”
For T17 maps, you will also allocate in the ATLAS TREE the “WELLSPRING OF CREATION” Keystone! This Keystone & the REGEX FILTER will prevent us from dying in T17!

**You can save these regex filters in the “Awakened PoE Trade” program and bind them to a hotkey.

Common Mistakes

• Taking the Brine King Pantheon will brick your build (you become immune to stuns, which prevents key mechanics).
• Taking the Unwavering Stance Keystone will also brick your build (same reason: no stuns).
• Having Stun Avoidance or Ignite Immunity on gear or your Watcher's Eye jewel will also brick your build.
  → Check your jewel mods carefully!
• Not Using the Provided Regex Filters for your maps! Some map modifiers will brick the build.
  Example: “Monsters have a % chance to avoid Elemental Ailments.”
• Utility Flask Setup. You must have Immunity to Poison, Shock, and Chill/Freeze rolled on your utility flasks.
  As explained in the guide, these are mandatory. Additionally, look for “Increased Duration” on these flasks to extend their duration.
• Gem Levels and Types. Desecrate and Detonate Dead gems must be level 21/20 quality. Use the normal Detonate Dead gem; do NOT use transfigured versions!
• Endurance Charge Generation. Your Timeless Jewel must provide Endurance Charge generation. This is important for survivability.
• Ignite Chance. You need 100% Ignite chance: 75% from passive tree nodes. 25% from the Flammability curse.
• Lab Completion. All 4 Labyrinths must be completed before mapping. There is a very important reason we chose Chieftain for this build; don’t skip this step!

Good luck!