Overview
Arc Totems on a Gemling Legionnaire is a one-button endgame character. The ascendancy grants so many additional chains that the totems’ lightning simply washes forward through a pack before anything reaches you — the creator’s footage is a 200% delirious T15 map where he never looks at a monster, just runs and drops totems. At full investment the character sits around 26 million damage per second with six totems out, and single target is handled by dropping one totem and waiting a couple of seconds.
Getting there is a two-stage character. Grenades carry the campaign — a playstyle the creator openly dislikes but concedes is simply too strong to skip — with Short Fuse socketed so grenades detonate on their own rather than requiring an explosive-shot combo. After the campaign and the third ascendancy, you shop for the respec.
The honest caveat is cost. The creator says outright that what he built is not really a starter build at all, and expects prices on the key items to spike now that other high-profile streamers are league starting it. Treat this as an endgame target you transition into, not a day-one plan.
Pros & Cons
Pros
- Genuinely one button in maps — totems fire automatically, chain enormously, and outrange the screen
- Extremely high ceiling; the creator rates it above his own Plants build at the top end
- Grand Expedition farming is comfortable, which is the hardest content in the patch
- Single target needs no separate setup — one totem instead of six
- Grenade leveling only really cares about keeping a decent crossbow up to date
Cons
- Expensive, and the creator says so plainly — a plus-three lightning wand plus enough Spirit for three totems is the entry fee
- Respeccing too early feels bad; the creator demonstrates how weak it is on undergeared characters
- The campaign is spent playing grenades, which is a slow, cooldown-heavy playstyle many players dislike
- Item prices are expected to inflate as other streamers start the same build
Key Skills
- Arc Totem (Spell Totem) — the entire endgame; chains extend far enough that pack composition stops mattering
- Grenades + Short Fuse — campaign clear and single target, detonating on their own rather than via combo
- Eldritch Battery — converts energy shield into maximum mana so mana becomes the effective health pool
- Lineage supports — a late luxury the creator tested both ways and preferred, freeing up lightning penetration nodes for raw damage
Gear & Anointments
The crossbow is the only thing that matters during leveling — keep it upgraded and add flat damage on rings and gloves, then fill remaining slots with any rare carrying life and resistances. For the Arc Totem respec the floor is a plus-three lightning or all-spell wand, a plus-one or plus-two amulet, and enough Spirit for three totems. Movement speed and totem placement speed are the mapping scalers. A Split Personality jewel repositions the passive tree for substantially more damage, and Voices adds jewel sockets at the very top end. Exact item rolls should be confirmed against the creator’s written guide.
Endgame Notes
The creator farmed thousands of Divine Orbs in Grand Expeditions on this character last league and calls that the hardest content currently in the game. He also notes an alternative route: league start Plants, bank currency through the early economy, then reroll into the Gemling and buy the crossbows and wand outright.
Credits & Source
Build credited to Raxxanterax. See the source video for the full build’s gameplay footage + voice commentary: Godly Build for Path of Exile 2 0.5.5 - Grenade & Arc Totem Gemling Legionnaire League Starter.