Righteous Fire (RF) Juggernaut is undeniably one of the most popular and powerful builds in Path of Exile, and there are good reasons behind its popularity. This build offers an impressive combination of damage, defenses, quality of life, and speed. Whether you're looking for a League starter or considering a reroll due to unsatisfactory performance with your current character, RF Juggernaut is worth your attention. As an avid player of this build, I have experienced immediate success, blasting through maps and taking down bosses effortlessly. In this article, I will share my insights into the core mechanics of RF Juggernaut and discuss some of the choices I made while playing this build.
Firstly, let's understand how Righteous Fireworks. RF is a spell that applies a buff to your character, causing you and everything around you to burn based on the skill's level, combined life and energy shield, and various damage scaling factors. It is important to note that RF cannot be scaled with spell damage, despite being categorized as a spell. The buff only scales off skill levels, increased damage, area damage, fire damage, damage over time (DOT) multiplier, and fire damage multiplier. Since RF does not hit, it cannot leech, penetrate, or be scaled with spell damage, as these properties are exclusive to hit-based skills.
Given the limited ways to scale RF, the build also utilizes the Spiritual Aid passive, which allows increases and reductions to minion damage to apply to your damage. This means that any increased damage or increased fire damage modifiers, as well as those affecting minions, will also enhance both your RF and Fire Trap damage. This synergy helps maximize the build's effectiveness.
Due to the constant burning caused by RF, you need a significant amount of maximum fire resistance and good life recovery to survive your damage. This is typically achieved through regeneration. RF builds often rely on items such as Saffell's Frame, Max Res Nodes, Symmetry, Aegis Aurora, Rise of the Phoenix, or Purity of Fire to sustain their damage. The build is commonly played on ascendancies like Inquisitor and Juggernaut, which offer great inbuilt recovery options.
So why is the Juggernaut version of RF nearly unkillable? The answer lies in its high armor value and the ability to apply armor to almost all incoming damage. With around 100,000 armor, the Juggernaut mitigates physical damage, making it incredibly tanky against physical hits. Additionally, the Unbreakable passive applies 8% of your armor to elemental damage taken from hits, and the Armor and Energy Shield Mastery passive applies 10% of armor to chaos damage taken from hits. These defensive mechanics synergize with Divine Flesh, which converts half of your elemental damage taken to chaos damage. Although this may seem detrimental at first glance, it effectively allows you to double dip on your armor application, making your armor even more effective.
Another crucial aspect to consider is the placement of RF, Fire Trap, and supporting skills. RF can be placed in an Elder Helmet or chest piece, while Fire Trap can be placed in an Elder Helmet, Shaper Helmet, Shaper Gloves, or chest piece. The choice of placement depends on gear optimization. For example, if you have a helmet with an increased Concentrated Effect, it is recommended to place a Fire Trap in it for increased coverage. On the other hand, if your gloves have trap and mine damage modifiers, Fire Trap is best placed there. There is flexibility in the choice of the chest piece, depending on corruptions and desired gem links.
Now let's delve into Path Of Exile Items choices for the RF Juggernaut. For weapons, a well-rolled Nebulis is an excellent option due to its increased spell damage, elemental damage, and increased maximum resistance. If you can't afford a Nebulis, a high spell damage scepter or a rare weapon with increased spell damage, cast speed, and elemental damage will suffice.
In terms of armor, a Kaom's Heart is a popular choice for the chest piece due to its massive life bonus and increased fire damage. However, if you can obtain a well-rolled Elder or Shaper chest piece with increased maximum life, resistance, and spell damage, it can be a more versatile and powerful option. Additionally, prioritize getting high life, resistance, and strength rolls on your other armor pieces.
For the helmet, aim for an Elder helmet with increased RF damage, increased fire damage, and life modifiers. If you can find one with additional trap and mine damage, it can greatly boost the damage of your Fire Trap. As for the gloves, Shaper gloves with increased spell damage, trap and mine damage, and life modifiers are ideal. However, if you need more resistance, a pair of rare gloves with similar modifiers can be a suitable alternative.
When it comes to accessories, prioritize getting rings and amulets with increased maximum life, elemental damage, resistances, and strength. Look for items with modifiers that enhance both your RF and Fire Trap damage, such as increased fire damage, increased burning damage, and increased damage over time. If you have POE currency, an Elder or Shaper amulet with these modifiers can provide significant bonuses to your damage output.
In terms of jewels, search for Abyss jewels with increased maximum life, increased fire damage, increased burning damage, and damage over time modifiers. These jewels can greatly enhance your damage and survivability. Additionally, consider using Watcher's Eye with modifiers that provide additional bonuses to your RF, such as increased fire damage while affected by Anger or increased burning damage while affected by Malevolence.
As for flasks, a Wise Oak with balanced resistances and increased elemental damage is highly recommended. Other useful flasks include a Diamond Flask for critical strike chance, a Basalt Flask for additional physical damage reduction, a Quicksilver Flask for increased mobility, and a Quicksilver Flask of Heat to prevent freeze. Be sure to have a Life Flask with instant recovery as well.
In terms of the passive skill tree, prioritize grabbing life nodes, fire damage nodes, elemental damage nodes, damage over time nodes, and increased area damage nodes. Grab the key ascendancy nodes for Juggernaut, such as Unflinching, Unbreakable, Unyielding, and Unrelenting. Allocate the necessary jewel sockets to maximize your damage and life.
To maximize the potential of your RF Juggernaut, it's important to have a well-rounded understanding of gameplay mechanics and strategies. Utilize your Fire Trap to trigger Elemental Equilibrium, which lowers the fire resistance of enemies and increases your RF damage. Additionally, make use of defensive skills like Immortal Call, Enduring Cry, and Molten Shell to further bolster your survivability.
In conclusion, the RF Juggernaut build in Path of Exile offers a potent combination of damage, defenses, and sustainability. With careful gear choices, passive skill tree allocation, and gameplay strategies, you can unleash the power of Righteous Fire and dominate both maps and bosses. Whether you're a seasoned player or new to the game, the RF Juggernaut is a building worth exploring for its versatility and strength.