Overview
This build turns the Infernalist into a comet cannon, spamming Comet almost for free by leaning on the ascendancy’s Pyromantic Pact. Instead of paying mana, each Comet feeds on infernal flame, so the only real limit on how many you cast is how fast your trigger skill can proc. The result is a screen-clearing wall of falling ice backed by fire ailments doing the triggering work.
The engine is a double Cast on Elemental Equilibrium setup driven by a cheap trigger skill — Spark in this showcase, though Frost Bolt, Arc, or Lightning Orb all work. Infernus’ Bringer of Flame makes all of your damage contribute to flammability and ignite magnitude, which keeps both Cast on Elemental Equilibrium gems and the ailment triggers firing consistently. Push the trigger skill’s damage high enough and the comets never stop.
The creator is upfront that this is a high-end, expensive build. The core concept — play Infernus, stack Runic Ward, build around it — is simple, but taking it to this level of power costs about as much as any other top-tier caster. It is a payoff build, not a starter.
Pros & Cons
Pros
- Near-infinite comet spam that clears packs and shreds bosses (comet sits around 1.3M tooltip DPS at 89% crit)
- Pyromantic Pact makes Comet essentially free to cast — no mana or flask management
- Runic Ward, life-set-to-1, and Cast on Death on Cooldown completely nullify the ascendancy’s self-damage downside
- Flexible trigger skill — Spark, Frost Bolt, Arc, or Lightning Orb all drive the same engine
- Swappable belt setups (Mageblood for fast clear, Headhunter for gigajuice) let it flex between mapping and heavy farming
Cons
- Very expensive — the creator says so directly; Timeless Jewel, Mageblood/Headhunter, and heavy Runic Ward gear are the price of entry
- No league-start viability; this is an endgame goal, not a first character
- Setting life to 1 and relying on ward is a fragile-feeling defensive model that punishes gear gaps
- Complex trigger chain (double CoEE + ailment triggers + spirit management) takes tuning to keep comets flowing
Key Skills
- Comet — the payload; spammed for free thanks to Pyromantic Pact’s infernal flame
- Spark (or Frost Bolt / Arc / Lightning Orb) — the trigger skill; aim for at least 100k tooltip DPS in hideout to keep comets firing
- Cast on Elemental Equilibrium (x2) — the meta gems that convert trigger hits into comet casts; running two is the key to the volume
- Frost Bomb — generates dedicated cold infusion for Spark, cooldown lowered by Atziri’s Imprudence
- Orb of Storms + Arctic Armour + Seven Element — ignition support, a defensive layer, and elemental infusion generation
Gear & Anointments
The defensive identity is Runic Ward stacked as high as possible — Brass Dome, Svalinn (for block), and Alpha’s Howl (Raven Touch allocating Zerox’s Gift) all pull toward maximum ward and resistances. Weapon is a Runic Fork with a 300 maximum Runic Word implicit and six sockets. Rings and belt come in two flavors: a caster/damage Breach ring plus Mageblood for fast content, or a rarity ring plus Headhunter for gigajuice farming, with Callandrus’s Touch copying the chosen ring.
- The biggest single enabler is a Timeless Jewel combined with Conduit from a Nothing’s Diamond — the creator says it nearly doubles Spark’s tooltip DPS on its own
- Amulet: Cast on Elemental Ailment or Cast on Critical (preference), with Dominion allocated for +4 spell skill levels
- Remnant of Kaom’s Heart can overflow Runic Ward for extra defense at the cost of 30 reserved spirit
- Around 256 spirit total (246 from gear/campaign, +10 from a Grand Expedition rune combination)
There are currently no flasks that benefit this build — the ones shown are cosmetic.
Endgame Notes
This is built for the top end: gigajuice farming with Headhunter, fast clearing with Mageblood, and boss deletion via the comet payload. The creator maintains a Mobalytics page and a PoB.ninja character profile for real-time gear and tree reference — check those for exact item rolls, since some links live in the video description.
Credits & Source
Build credited to Phalanx. See the source video for the full build’s gameplay footage and voice commentary: BUILD SHOWCASE: Jonathan Hates This Build | Path Of Exile 2.