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PoE 2 Build

[0.4] Detonate Dead ON HIT | Tanky Shield Wall Smith

0.4 TLotD

End Game

Starter

Warrior

Smith of Kitava

By Big Ducks

Updated on Dec 21, 2025

Dec 21, 2025

Build Overview

UPDATE: Bear skills for early on are apparently SIGNIFICANTLY better than warrior skills. Try leveling with those until you get to Shield Wall

NOTE: This will be a living guide as I am league starting this myself and will update the endgame variants as I progress. Favorite this page and check back for updates / look for new videos. The current guide will get you to yellow/red maps and roughly lvl 85.

Your main goals while leveling are as follows and in this order of importance:

Have fun, if something isn't fun why are you playing the game. If you don't like a particular skill try other ones!
Update your defenses such as resists and armor. Try to be at capped resistances ASAP.
Update your shield if your damage feels low.
Update your skills and gems if your damage still feels low with a new weapon/shield.

Use asynchronous trade for upgrades instead of attempting to craft them yourself if you don't know what you're doing. Transmutes/augments/regals are fine to use for everyone, but save exalts and ESPECIALLY chaos/divines for later items.

Use gold to respec points as you see fit early on, it is very cheap.

A very useful craft while leveling this build will be to find a shield with +armor and use a normal essence to upgrade it to 55% inc armor rare. You can either find these essences or buy them from trade.

Strengths and Weaknesses

Very Tanky
Excellent Clear
Simple playstyle in endgame
Cheap Gear (For now)

Not super fast
Requires 2-3 button combo for bosses

Build Variants

Endgame (My Character)

1 - 13

End Act 1

End Act 2

End Act 3

End Act 4

End of Campaign

Early Endgame

This version of the build has completed all available content including all pinnacles on their hardest versions. Mostly facetanked besides Simulacrum since they stun a LOT.

Also have done T16 +16 mod maps with 25% inc suff/pre keystone Empowered Map Bosses with 25% inc effectiveness Abyss relatively comfortably.

All mods are doable, less recovery is the most dangerous.

Equipment

Endgame (My Character)

1 - 13

End Act 1

End Act 2

End Act 3

End Act 4

End of Campaign

Early Endgame

Set 1

Set 2

Equipment Priority

+10

95% of the gear is self crafted from things I found on the ground.

I bought the Jade Club and used a perfect essence to get the gained as phys.

For the vast majority of the gear either just buy it if you don't understand crafting or try to go about it in this manner.

Find good bases that drop on the ground, either white, blue, or rare.

Use Desecrated currency and Perfect Transmutes/Augs/Greater Essences to craft 95% of your gear. I never used anything more expensive than a greater exalt and the mid level desecrated currency.

Do NOT go this version of the build until you have Constricting Command as the build is based around it. You NEED 4 fewer or it will not work.

Buy white Warlord Cuirass and 2 socket then corrupt them hoping for a 3rd socket or some kind of good implicit. 3rd socket is ideal. You can quality them before corrupting if you like but its annoying and only like 100 armour.

Make sure you have Phys leech as Life AND Mana somewhere, rings or gloves.

Mana flask is irrelevant, get one if you want.

Skill Gems

Endgame (My Character)

1 - 13

End Act 1

End Act 2

End Act 3

End Act 4

End of Campaign

Early Endgame

Support Gem Requirements:

Str 90

Dex 50

Int 55

Expand all

Shield Wall

Resonating Shield

Shield Charge

Fortifying Cry

Fire Spell on Hit

Scavenged Plating

Herald of Ash

Magma Barrier

Leap Slam

Temporal Chains

Gem Priority

+40

Once your gear is good enough you can walk around using Resonating Shield and kill everything with explosions from Detonate Dead and Herald of Ash. You can also use Fortifying Cry in big packs to augment multiple Resonating Shields for better clear.

For difficult enemies use Shield Wall -> Fortifying Cry or Shield Charge. If you are fighting a difficult boss use Temporal Chains on them and keep it on. You can also swap this for Enfeeble if you like.