Righteous Fire is one of the most popular and well-documented build archetypes in Path of Exile (PoE). It is favored for its above-average tankiness, easy gear progression, and straightforward playstyle. In this guide, we will explore why Righteous Fire is so popular, its strengths, and how it can be an excellent choice for new players.

• About Righteous Fire
• PoB Link
• Tankiness and Ease of Gear Progression
• Extensive Documentation and Learning Curve
• League Starter Popularity
• Week One League Popularity
• Personal Experience

 

↖ About Righteous Fire

Righteous Fire is a spell that bestows a lasting buff upon the player. While active, it boosts the user's spell damage and inflicts a powerful burning effect on both the player and nearby enemies. This spell is favored for its ability to deal significant damage over time to foes in close proximity, making it a compelling choice for players seeking sustained offensive capabilities.

Aspect	Description
Damage over time effect	While active, Righteous Fire inflicts fire damage over time on the player and nearby enemies. The damage can be mitigated through Fire Resistance and recovered through regeneration or other means. Energy Shield (ES) will not recharge while the skill is active, unless using specific modifiers like Divine Flesh or Zealot's Oath.
Damage Immunity	Righteous Fire's damage over time cannot be blocked, suppressed, or reflected.
Mind Over Matter	Mind Over Matter will cause a portion of Righteous Fire's damage over time to drain Mana instead of life, making it useful for players with high Mana recovery investment.
Stopping Righteous Fire	The Righteous Fire effect persists until the player reaches 1 life, at which point the buff is removed. Burning effects can be prematurely removed by using flasks with a "Removes Burning on use" affix. Unsocketing the gem only removes the skill effect but not the degeneration.
Chaos Inoculation	Righteous Fire cannot be activated with Chaos Inoculation allocated, as the buff is removed immediately when the player is at 1 life, which is always the case with CI.
More Spell Damage buff	Righteous Fire grants a significant "more damage" multiplier to spell damage, which multiplies with other "more" damage modifiers. However, this buff does not affect Righteous Fire itself, as it does not scale with spell damage.
Damage Modifiers	Various stats such as fire damage, elemental damage, burning damage, damage over time, area damage, and generic damage apply to the damage Righteous Fire deals to enemies. Spell damage does not scale with RF's damage, as it only activates the buff, and damage over time is exclusive to other modifiers.
Duration scaling	Linking Righteous Fire with certain support gems allows it to gain a duration effect, making it compatible with Swift Affliction Support and Less Duration Support, which typically would not support it.
Spell Totem Support	When linked with Spell Totem Support, the burning damage is based on the totem's life/energy shield pool instead of the player's. The totem casts and applies the burning damage effect.
Efficacy Support	As of version 3.0.2, Efficacy Support works with Righteous Fire without needing a duration component.
Inspiration Support and Lifetap Support	Linking Righteous Fire with Inspiration Support or Lifetap Support allows it to benefit from Elemental damage scaling or damage scaling from Inspiration Charges or Lifetap, respectively, if obtained from other sources.
Ancestral Bond	Righteous Fire can be used with the Ancestral Bond keystone, where both the player and nearby monsters will burn, but only the player will take damage.
Gluttony of Elements	When using Gluttony of Elements with Righteous Fire, the skill restores life over time instead of dealing damage.
Damage Stacking	Multiple sources of Righteous Fire do not stack. Instead, the source with the highest damage takes effect on the enemy.

 

↖ PoB Link

https://pobb.in/WvQYuPaPxXFG

 

↖ Tankiness and Ease of Gear Progression

Righteous Fire builds are known for their high tankiness, which allows players to confidently explore various areas in the game while watching enemies perish around them. Though single-target damage scaling can be a challenge, this isn't a significant issue as farming tier 16 maps can yield enough currency to purchase or craft upgrades, overcoming this limitation.

 

↖ Extensive Documentation and Learning Curve

Path of Exile has a steep learning curve, which can be daunting for newcomers. However, Righteous Fire stands out due to the abundance of video and written guides available from content creators on YouTube, Reddit, and the official PoE forums. The extensive documentation allows new players to pick up the build and spend less time worrying about character progression, focusing instead on mastering other complex game systems.

 

↖ League Starter Popularity

Righteous Fire Juggernaut is a popular choice as a league starter build. Since many players begin the league with this archetype, the in-game market quickly becomes saturated with gear specifically tailored to enhance the strengths of the build. This popularity creates a path for newer players to follow and enjoy character progression without being stuck on gear acquisition.

 

↖ Week One League Popularity

Looking at the most popular builds in week one of a new league Poe 3.22, Righteous Fire Juggernaut often ranks as the top choice. Following closely behind is the Firetrap variant, which incorporates Firetrap to improve single-target damage. Scorching Ray and Wave of Conviction are also used as alternate skills in some variants.

 

↖ Personal Experience

The guide author shares their personal experience of transitioning their summoner Reaper Juggernaut into a Righteous Fire build. They managed to assemble gear pieces for 20 Chaos Orbs or less each, except for the body armor, which cost 40 chaos. The build primarily scales its damage from gem supports, +1 scepter amulets, and shield, along with passive tree nodes. With minimal investment, the build performs well in T16 maps, though some maps may be slower or challenging depending on modifiers.

 

Overall, Righteous Fire Juggernaut is a strong and beginner-friendly build, making it an excellent choice for players new to Path of Exile or those seeking a straightforward and powerful league starter. The build's popularity and extensive documentation also contribute to its appeal and ease of gear progression.