Due to the latest balancing changes, we do not recommend playing this build anymore, as it does not meet the high standards we apply to our guides in terms of fun and performance. We are leaving it up as a reference and it might be revived in a later patch.
Introduction
This guide requires a rework due to The Deepest Tower being removed from the game in The Third Edict League. We will do our best to get the guide updated as soon as possible. Please check back at a later time during the league.
The Thor Lich Witch dual-wields Mjolners to trigger Lightning Spells on Melee hit. This hybrid build utilizes both Melee Attacks and Spells, but the majority of damage output is dealt by
Lightning Warp. The devastating damage of Lightning Warp is capable of instantly deleting max difficulty pinnacle bosses. Trampletoe is equipped to spread Lightning Warp damage to additional enemies for more effective map clearing.
This build guide assumes you have reached endgame maps around Level 65. If you have not yet completed the campaign, follow the Frostbolt Cold Snap Leveling Build Guide.
Strengths and Weaknesses
- Extremely high single-target damage against bosses
- Massive area-of-effect to clear entire screens of enemies
- Simple playstyle
- Multiple layers of defense to feel tanky
- Requires specific Unique Items
- Complex build mechanics
- Melee playstyle needs enough survivability
Build Mechanics
Dual-wielded Mjolners unlock two Thundergod’s Wrath Skills, which gain Energy when you hit enemies with Melee Attacks and trigger socketed Lightning Spells on reaching Maximum Energy.
Ball Lightning is triggered from the first Thundergod’s Wrath, and then
Lightning Warp is triggered from the second Thundergod’s Wrath to deal the majority of damage output in this build.
Leap Slam and
Mace Strike are the Melee Attacks used to generate Energy for Thundergod’s Wrath. The amount of Energy generated by Melee Attacks is modified by the percentage of the enemy’s Ailment Threshold the hit will deal, so increasing Leap Slam and Mace Strike damage results in more triggers to deal damage. Therefore, the Thor Lich focuses on damage scalars that apply to both Melee Attacks and Spells utilized in the build.
Damage Scaling
To scale the hybrid damage utilized in this build, a massive amount of 420% Increased Damage with Hits against Enemies that are on Low Life is allocated in the Passive Skill Tree. Damage is also Lucky against enemies that are on Low Life, which is especially beneficial for Lightning damage due to its wider damage range. Enemies usually have to be at 35% of their Maximum Life or less to count as being on Low Life, but the Deepest Tower is equipped to apply the Low Life bonuses at all times.
Another valuable scalar for all the Skills is Extra Chaos Damage, which is obtained from weapon runes and Unholy Might in the Lich’s ascendancy. Original Sin is equipped to convert all Elemental Damage to Chaos Damage for better synergies with Extra Chaos Damage,
Withering Touch, and
Despair.
Speed-Farming Maps with Trampletoe
Trampletoe is equipped for additional explosions when dealing Overkill Damage to enemies. The Increased Damage Against Low Life Enemies and Extra Chaos Damage obtained in the build also scale these explosions from Trampletoe. An interesting feature causes these scalars to be applied each time an enemy is killed, triggering a chain reaction that results in screen-wide clearing.
Defensive Layers
Proper defenses are necessary for the Thor Lich to survive while leaping into packs of enemies. Multiple layers of defense drastically improve survivability to make this build feel tanky.
Life and Energy Shield are combined for a high effective hit pool. A body armor is equipped to grant base Evasion Rating and Energy Shield, and then both stats are scaled by hybrid nodes in the Passive Skill Tree.
Defensive persistence buffs are also utilized, since the build already has more than enough damage output. The
Temporal Chains aura activated by
Blasphemy slows enemies down to make it difficult for them to land hits.
Wind Dancer provides more Evasion Rating and knocks enemies back when they hit you.
Skill Rotation
Follow the basic skill rotation below to kill groups of enemies in maps:
- (Optional) Swap to Weapon Set 2 to cast
Blink up to two times to traverse quickly. - Cast
Leap Slam to land on top of enemies from a distance. The landing animation can be canceled by using Dodge Roll to cover more ground.
Execute the steps below to optimize damage against bosses:
- Cast
Despair to lower Chaos Resistance. This debuff can be pre-cast before a boss spawns if supported by
Cursed Ground. - Activate
Mana Tempest to apply Extra Lightning Damage to
Lightning Warp. - Repeatedly swing with
Mace Strike, rapidly triggering
Ball Lightning and
Lightning Warp to deal damage.
Video Guide
Skill and Support Gems
The Thor Lich utilizes the following Skill Gems and Support Gems, listed in order of socket priority.
Both Thundergod’s Wrath Skills are granted by equipping two Mjolner Unique Maces.
| Skill Gems | Support Gem 1 | Support Gem 2 | Support Gem 3 | Support Gem 4 | Support Gem 5 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Thundergod’s Wrath 1 | – | ||||
| Thundergod’s Wrath 2 | – | ||||
| – | |||||
| – | – | – |
Spirit Gems
The Spirit Gem setup requires 124 total Spirit to activate
Blasphemy,
Overwhelming Presence,
Wind Dancer, and
Precision. Ensure you apply 20% quality to the Blasphemy Skill Gem for 10% Reduced Reservation. Defeat The King in the Mists (Act 1, Normal Difficulty) and Ignagduk (Act 3, Normal and Cruel Difficulty) for 100 base Spirit. Obtain the remaining 24 Spirit from a corrupted Deepest Tower or an Amulet.
An optional
Blink Swap Tech can be utilized to traverse maps quickly. Set
Overwhelming Presence and
Wind Dancer to only be used with Weapon Set 1, and then select Blink to only be used with Weapon Set 2. Use the Weapon Swap button to cast Blink in Weapon Set 2. Make sure you switch back to Weapon Set 1 to deal damage.
| Skill Gems | Support Gem 1 | Support Gem 2 | Support Gem 3 | Support Gem 4 | Support Gem 5 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| – | – | ||||
(only used with Weapon Set 1) | (requires 10 Spirit) | – | – | – | – |
(only used with Weapon Set 1) | |||||
(only used with Weapon Set 2) | – | – | – |
Ascendancy
Lich is the recommended Ascendancy for the Thor Witch build due to its damage increases and Mana sustain. The chosen Ascendancy can be switched within the base class by repeating your highest trial completion.
Allocate the Ascendancy nodes for the Lich in the following order:
- Necromantic Conduit and Soulless Form — These nodes need to be allocated together to recover the 5% of Maximum Mana lost per second with the Mana regenerated equal to 6% of Maximum Life per second. Soulless Form makes it easy to sustain Leap Slams without needing any other sources of increased Mana Regeneration Rate, as long as you have enough Maximum Life. Necromantic Conduit grants 30% extra Chaos damage that synergizes well in this Chaos-focused build.
- Eldritch Empowerment — 30% more damage applies to Lightning Warps. Triggered Skills ignore the downside of additional Energy Shield cost due to Thundergod’s Wrath removing all costs.
- Crystalline Phylactery — Unlock an extra jewel socket that doubles stats. Socket your best Rare Jewel into this socket for best results.
Passive Skill Tree
In the Passive Skill Tree, use attribute nodes to fulfill any Intelligence and Dexterity requirements, and then allocate the rest as Strength for Maximum Life.
The following setup is the default version of the build, optimized for a balance of damage, survivability, and speed. Weapon Set Skill Points are allocated to switch nodes from damage to Cooldown Recovery Rate for the Blink Swap Tech.
The Skill Tree tool is missing three nodes allocated with Skill Points from Weapon Set 1. Socket a From Nothing Diamond granting allocation of passives in the radius of Unwavering Stance into any Jewel socket. Then allocate Finality and two Damage against Enemies on Low Life nodes. If you are using the Blink Swap Tech, these damage nodes are allocated in Weapon Set 1 and switched to Cooldown Recovery Rate nodes in Weapon Set 2.

Gear
The preferred gear for the Thor Lich is listed below with affixes ranked in order of importance. Prioritize Rare Items with the correct base stats and beneficial explicit affixes. Required Unique Items are listed below the Item Stats table.
Item Stats
| Equipment Slot and Base Stats (or required Unique Item) | Affix Priority | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Dual-Wielded Weapons in Weapon Set 1 — Mjolner x2 | 1. Extra socket granted from corruption 2. Level of all Lightning Skills 3. Increased Physical Damage 4. Attack Speed | Sockets: Fenumus’ Rune of Agony |
| Main Hand in Weapon Set 2 — Wand | 1. Cast Speed | Does not need to be expensive, as it is only used to cast |
| Off Hand in Weapon Set 2 — Crest of Ardura | 1. Cooldown Recovery Rate | Reduces the Cooldown of |
| Helmet —The Deepest Tower | 1. At least 24 Spirit granted from corruption (can be obtained on an Amulet instead) 2. Maximum Life 3. Increased Armour and Energy Shield 4. Chaos Resistance | Sockets: 1. Any Rune that grants Resistance if not yet capped 2. Bear Talisman for 8% increased Area of Effect |
| Body Armor — Evasion Rating and Energy Shield Hybrid (Falconer’s Jacket for 5% increased Movement Speed or Sleek Jacket for higher base stats) | 1. Maximum and Increased Evasion/Energy Shield (prioritize the highest total) 2. Maximum Life and/or Resistances 3. Strength and/or Intelligence | Sockets: Greater Iron Rune for 25% increased Evasion and Energy Shield |
| Gloves — Evasion Rating and Energy Shield Hybrid (Vaal Wraps) | 1. Accuracy Rating 2. Added Lightning Damage to Attacks 3. Maximum Life and/or Resistances 4. Strength and/or Intelligence | Sockets: 1. Any Rune that grants Resistance if not yet capped 2. Talisman of Sirrius for 8% increased Attack Speed |
| Boots — Trampletoe | 1. Overkill Damage 2. Movement Speed | Sockets: 1. Any Rune that grants Resistance if not yet capped 2. Farrul’s Rune of the Chase for 5% increased Movement Speed 3. Ox Talisman for 20% increased Presence Area of Effect |
| Amulet | 1. At least 24 Spirit (can be obtained on a corrupted Helm instead) 1. All Attributes, Strength and/or Intelligence 2. Level of All Spell Skills 2. Evasion Rating and/or Maximum Energy Shield 2. Maximum Life and/or Resistances | Anointment: Primal Growth Quality: Carapace Catalyst for Defense modifiers |
| Ring Slot #1 — Original Sin | Optional affix from corruption: All Resistance or Increased Damage 1. Chaos Resistance | Quality: Chayula’s Catalyst for Chaos modifiers |
| Ring Slot #2 — Breach Ring | 1. Added Lightning Damage to Attacks 2. Maximum Life and/or Resistances 3. Strength and/or Intelligence | Quality: Esh’s Catalyst for Lightning modifiers |
| Belt — Rawhide or Heavy | 1. Flask Life Recovery Rate 1. Maximum Life and/or Resistances 2. Strength 3. Charm Effect Duration | – |
Unique Items
The following Unique Items are required for the Thor Lich:
- Mjolners are dual-wielded in both weapon slots to unlock two Thundergod’s Wrath Skills. These Skills trigger
Ball Lightning and
Lightning Warp on melee hit to deal the majority of damage output in this build. - The Deepest Tower enables Damage against Enemies on Low Life nodes in the Passive Skill Tree to be active at all times. This damage scalar is beneficial due to it applying to all damage sources dealt in this build, including
Mace Strike,
Leap Slam,
Lightning Warp, and Trampletoe explosions. - Trampletoe spreads
Lightning Warp damage to a further range to kill more enemies. The massive damage dealt by Lightning Warp causes high Overkill Damage to explode killed enemies. Trampletoe explosions benefit repeatedly from increased Damage and Extra Chaos Damage stats to cause a chain reaction. - Original Sin converts all Elemental Damage into Chaos Damage for better synergies with
Withering Touch,
Despair, and Extra Chaos Damage.
Jewels
Socket Jewels into the multiple Jewel sockets unlocked in the Passive Skill Tree to significantly improve the performance of the build.
Socket a From Nothing Diamond granting allocation of passives in the radius of Unwavering Stance into any Jewel socket to obtain three Damage against Enemies on Low Life nodes.
Insert a Prism of Belief Diamond that grants 1-3 to Level of All Lightning Warp Skills to increase the main source of damage in this build.
Rare Jewels are used in the remaining Jewel sockets with the following affix priority:
- Prefixes
- Increased Energy Shield
- Area of Effect (for mapping)
- Shock/Ailment Magnitude (for bossing)
- Suffixes
- Critical Damage Bonus
- Critical Strike Chance
Campaign Buffs
Quest rewards during the campaign offer a selection of buffs to your character. Choose the following buffs for the build:
- Valley of the Titans Altar: 30% increased Charm Charges gained
- Venom Draught: 30% increased Elemental Ailment Threshold
- Trial of Ngkanu: Resistances
- Goddess of Justice: 20% increased Life Recovery from Flasks
For more details, check the guide on Campaign Difficulties and Permanent Stat Bonuses.
Flasks and Charms
Prioritize the following Flasks and Charms:
- Health Flask
- Prefix: Increased Amount Recovered
- Suffix: Increased Charges
- Mana Flask
- Prefix: Increased Amount Recovered
- Suffix: Increased Charges
- Charm:
- Thawing Charm
- Stone Charm
- Staunching Charm
Changelog
- August 27th, 2025: Temporary Patch 0.3.0 disclaimer added.
- July 16th, 2025: Guide created for Path of Exile II, Early Access
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