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PoE 2 Build

[0.4] BALROG - (0* button) Fire Bear Smith of Kitava

Warrior

Smith of Kitava

0.4 TLotD

Verified

Starter

End Game

By Skadoosh

Updated on Jan 15, 2026

Jan 15, 2026

Build Overview

Guide updated regularly, so check changelog! My current character

Combine the new bear shapeshift skills (Walking Calamity) with buffed Smith of Kitava Fire Spell on Hit (Living Bomb) and Cast on Elemental Ailment (fire-infused Comet). Trigger these two and fissures with permanent* Ancestral Cry steps with the help of 100% increased glory gain. Sustain Walking Calamity and health via Primal Hunger rage/Endurance loop ( Rageforged I + Jagged Ground I), recovering 9% HP each time you take a step

* Requires that 2 buffs are maintained for 0 button gameplay

Eventually, add in the new Balrog talisman Unique (Fury of the King) to truly fulfill the fantasy

Early Leveling (1 to 52)

- Please check out the Act 1-4 variants in the guide

- Venom (Quest reward): Stun threshold, Tattoo: 5% resistances, Pillar: 5% resistance (early)

Please read the guide and FAQ

If you have questions, @Skadoosh_C on twitch or SkadooshBALROG in-game

Strengths and Weaknesses

Cataclysmic Fire EVERYWHERE
Not using Rampage
0* button build
Kill stuff by walking
Insane recovery
50%+ movespeed

Buff management
Visual clarity

Build Variants

Uber Endgame

Endgame

Act 1

Act 2

Act 3

Act 4+

This variant is for when you acquire Balrog Form Fury of the King, or if you have out-leveled the Endgame variant

Everything else is EXTRA and isn't needed to start the variant

Current character

Equipment

Uber Endgame

Endgame

Act 1

Act 2

Act 3

Act 4+

Set 1

Set 2

Equipment Priority

- Weapon stat priority

- x% Increased physical damage/adds x to x physical damage

- Damage gained as extra fire

- + x to level of all melee skills

- Armour/jewelry stat priority

- Movement speed (Boots only)

- Resistance (75% Fire/Cold/Lightning, 30-50% Chaos)

- Maximum life

- x% Increased/ +x to armour, x% Increased/ +x to maximum energy shield

- Stats (Mainly strength, but need intelligence for high level Living Bomb/Comet)

- +x to level of all melee/spell skills

- Set 1 Fury of the King Ideally, you want one with 5 Glory per 2 seconds. Socketed with Guatelitzi's Soul Core of Endurance and 2x Soul Core of Azcapa

- Conjurer Mantle should have enough spirit on the implicit to get 160 spirit at minimum. To get a total of 4 sockets, you need to get an exceptional base with 3 sockets and then corrupt it

- Goregirdle can be corrupted with dexterity as an implicit to fit Charge Regulation, otherwise +1 Endurance charge is good

- For Undying Hate (amanamu) it does NOT matter what tribute number it has, just make sure that it has "...in tribute to amanamu" in the text. This means it converts Vaal Pact keystone to Sacrifice of Flesh. If not corrupted, then you can desecrate it once safely to get up to +8 of a stat

- Citaqualotl's Thesis can be a decent defence boost if socketed in boots, or Farrul's Rune of Grace for more speed

- Ideally for Ruby jewels, you can get the desecrated modifier prefix for 10% increased maximum energy shield. As for Sapphire you can get the desecrated 4-7% fire penetration mod

- Annoint/Instil on amulet: Tides of Change

Alternatives

- Headhunter is a very good belt for mapping

- Defiance of Destiny is another big recovery option if you want that over a damage amulet

- Can use a Guatelitzi's Thesis and/or Farrul's Rune of the Chase in boots to go ULTRA FAST

Skill Gems

Uber Endgame

Endgame

Act 1

Act 2

Act 3

Act 4+

Support Gem Requirements:

Str 120

Dex 20

Int 40

Expand all

Maul

Set 1

Fire Spell on Hit

Molten Crash

Forge Hammer

Set 2

Walking Calamity

Cast on Elemental Ailment

Set 1

Savage Fury

Set 2

Ferocious Roar

Infernal Cry

Set 2

Ancestral Warrior Totem

Set 2

Barkskin

Charge Regulation

Level 14

Gem Priority

+40

- Get 6 Endurance charges and 100 glory before using Ancestral Cry (Ferocious Roar)

- Place Ancestral Warrior Totem (need 3 Endurance) before a boss spawns to break armour

- Molten Crash replaces Fury of the Mountain

- Savage Fury is ONLY active on set 2, as stated in the skill section. It still works like normal in set 1, but it means we don't need to pay its 30 spirit cost

- Ferocious Roar (Ancestral Cry) should be active on BOTH sets! This way Ancestral Cry won't deactivate when you weapon swap

- Only add Level 14 Charge Regulation once you have 57 dex and 160 total spirit via implicit Conjurer Mantle, or spirit amulet and Soul Core of Azcapa in Fury of the King

- Replace Living Bomb (Overabundance II & Fire Mastery) with Detonate Dead (Magnified Area II & Spell Cascade) if you want much better clear potential in maps or replace Comet in Cast on Elemental Ailment (OR both but don't use Spell Cascade and Fiery Death)

- You can easily get a corrupted +1 level Living Bomb and Comet by first creating a low level version and then corrupting. Once you get a skill gem with +1 level, upgrade it to 20 with another skill gem for 21. Don't worry about sockets or quality, just make sure it's in normal skill bar, not Fire Spell on Hit or Cast on Elemental Ailment when you level it up

- Quality priority: Ancestral Cry, Walking Calamity, then the rest

Passive Tree

Uber Endgame

Endgame

Act 1

Act 2

Act 3

Act 4+

main:

123

set 1:

set 2:

- Travel points should be used mainly on strength but with enough intelligence for high level Living Bomb (some dex for supports if needed)

- PSA! Before taking Self Immolation, you need One With Flame or you will DIE!

- Only take Vaal Pact once you get Undying Hate (amanamu)

How it Plays

T15 map gameplay

How it Works

Frequently Asked Questions

- I can't use my weapon set passive points, why?

You first need normal passive points before you can split them with the weapon set points. So to apply the max 24 weapon points for each set, you first need 24 normal passive points available to use

- How do I keep track of Ancestral Cry (Ferocious Roar) glory?

Make sure to put Ancestral Cry on your keybind skill bar, that way you can see how much glory it has accumulated. You can also rebind your Ferocious Roar to the second skill bar, and use Ancestral Cry as the icon in it's place.

- Why is my Ancestral Cry deactivated when I swap to human form (set 2)?

You need to have it selected for BOTH sets, not just set 1

- Why did i crash in hideout?

Being in the animation of Maul and trying to interact with something seems to crash your game

- How come Ancestral Cry is not getting any glory/filling up (in abyssal depths)?

There is a bug when you enter abyssal depths where Ancestral Cry stops getting any glory. Just quickly unsocket it from Ferocious Roar and socket it again to fix it

- Why am I dying to ignite all the time?

Before taking Self Immolation, you need One With Flame or you will DIE! to your own ignite

Changelog

- First created guide (05.12.2025)

- Endgame variant up to date, and first day 1 overview video added (14.12.2025)

- ReplacedHourglass with Fire Attunement in Walking Calamity, it wasn't working (15.12.2025)

- New Uber Endgame variant with infinite rage/Endurance via Primal Hunger (16.12.2025)

- Tech above also adapted for Endgame variant (16.12.2025)

- Added Ngamahu's Chosen to Endgame as it makes Walking Calamity easier to get started (17.12.2025)

- WOOPS, forgot to add Rageforged I to Walking Calamity in Endgame variant, IMPORTANT! (17.12.20205)

- Updated Endgame variant to take more flammability via Fulmination (18.12.2025)

- Updates in patch 0.4.0c

Glory generation now has a 0.5 second cooldown per enemy (previously 2 seconds).
Large meteors from Walking Calamity will now prioritize targeting bosses if possible.
Reduced the number of meteors that fall during Walking Calamity when a low amount of enemies are nearby and increased the number of meteors per nearby enemy by 50%.
Walking Calamity's quality now provides a Buff that grants 10% of damage gained as Fire damage.
Fixed a bug where Talismans were not Chanceable into their Unique equivalents (Fury of the King)
Fixed a client crash when trying to level up the Ancestral Cry gem in certain situations

- Added Undying Hate (tecrod) next to Vaal Pact in Uber Endgame, also moved nodes from Adrenaline Rush and Devastation to Blood of the Wolf and Relentless (18.12.2025)

- Added Barkskin to Set 1 (18.12.2025)

- Replaced Undying Hate (tecrod) with Undying Hate (amanamu) (19.12.2025)

- Added Citaqualotl's Thesis to socket in boots, massive potential defense boost (20.12.2025)

- Removed Barkskin (it can't give more armour than what your armour items give) and replaced with Blasphemy (Enfeeble), you need a total of 60 spirit on gear. Also added in Soul Core of Azcapa in Fury of the King for an extra 15 spirit, and spirit corrupt for The Hollow Mask (22.12.2025)

- Added a possible Heart of the Well jewel option. Can have other stats such a movement speed, max lighting resistance, skill speed etc. (23.12.2025)

- Replaced Furious Slam with Fury of the Mountain in Endgame variant (29.12.2025)

- No longer need a perfect Conjurer Mantle with 30 spirit, total min spirit needed is 160 (30.12.2025)

- Swapped Execute II for Spell Cascade in Cast on Elemental Ailment (Comet) BEWARE LOSS OF VISUAL CLARITY ON BOSSES! (04.01.2026)

- New defensive setup with Goregirdle and rare Armour/ES helmet instead of The Hollow Mask, swapping Blasphemy for Barkskin and Charge Regulation (04.01.2026)

- Removed glory nodes near Craving Slaughter and moved them to get Invigorating Grandeur, meaning Walking Calamity and Ancestral Cry is now a full heal when used. Relentless is now a global point, and set 1 takes Momentum (06.01.2026)

- Can replace Living Bomb (Overabundance II & Fire Mastery) with Detonate Dead (Magnified Area II & Spell Cascade) if you want much better clear potential in maps, will of course lose you a decent chunk of single-target damage (15.01.2026)