Overview
This is a Warrior Smith of Kitava build using Avatar of Fire and Shield Wall, and the creator calls its 0.5.5 run their smoothest league start so far. Avatar of Fire turns all damage into fire so the build only scales fire damage and ignite. Shield Wall is the main clear and single-target skill, and a high-armour shield scales its damage. Fortifying Cry, with rage used to skip its cooldown, detonates the walls.
Leveling needs only four skills: Resonating Shield to set up stuns, Boneshatter to clear packs and burst bosses, Infernal Cry to empower hits, and dual-wield Mace Strikes on the second weapon set for damage. Shield Wall takes over late in Act 3 or early in Act 4, once Enraged Warcry is available and shields have better armour rolls. At the end of the video the character is pushing tier 14–15 maps and has run a 20-room Chaos Trial for about four divines.
Smith of Kitava makes the build easy to gear, and it handles the new Chaos Trials well. Immunity to damaging ailments, armour applying to chaos damage and fire penetration each cancel out a common trial modifier.
Pros & Cons
Pros
- Very smooth leveling on only four skills, and the build gets into endgame quickly
- Cheap core: Nebuloch cost around one exalted and Constricting Command a few exalted or chaos
- Tanky from Smith nodes (ailment immunity, life regeneration, armour vs chaos) plus shield block
- Handles Chaos Trial modifiers well
- Punctured Lung stops pinnacle bosses with fully broken armour from regenerating life
Cons
- Shield Wall with Ahn’s Citadel and Kaom’s Madness feels slow without a lot of attack and skill speed
- Switching gems between weapon sets for bossing adds some complexity
- Useful upgrades later on (Scouring Flame support, Time-Lost Diamond, anointed amulet) are pricey
Key Skills
- Shield Wall — main clear and boss damage on weapon set 2, supported by Ahn’s Citadel and Kaom’s Madness for mapping, and Elemental Armament and Scouring Flame (or Ignite III) for bossing
- Fortifying Cry — Shield Wall detonator, with Enraged Warcry letting rage skip its cooldown
- Resonating Shield — armour break plus rage and endurance charge generation
- Infernal Cry — empowers Shield Wall hits
- Herald of Ash / Berserk / Scavenged Plating — extra clear, rage-based damage and armour from armour break
Gear & Anointments
The shield matters most. Get as much armour as you can, ideally with maximum fire resistance and physical damage reduction, socketed with iron runes. Nebuloch on weapon set 2 uses endurance charges for guaranteed critical hits. Constricting Command must have the “fewer enemies to be surrounded” roll so the Surrounded nodes work on bosses. The amulet should have plus melee skill levels, fire resistance and increased maximum life, and the planned anoint is Thaumaturgic Generator. A normal-quality Ornate Plate gives strong life regeneration, which works well with Blood Magic.
- Gloves: attack speed first, then melee skill levels and critical damage bonus
- Rings and boots: fire resistance, fire damage, life and movement speed
- Later body armour options: Cloak of Flame or Skin of the Loyal, which free up Smith Masterwork points
Endgame Notes
Swap Ahn’s Citadel and Kaom’s Madness for Elemental Armament and Scouring Flame before a boss to get big ignites. Keeping armour fully broken before a pinnacle changes phase stops its life regeneration. Future plans include From Nothing and Megalomaniac jewels to save passive points, and possibly a Detonate Dead fire-spell-on-hit setup to improve clear.
Credits & Source
Build credited to Lexd. See the source video for the full build’s gameplay footage and commentary: My BEST Leaguestart EVER | 0.5.5 Avatar of Fire + Smith of Kitava Shield Wall Build | PoE 2.