Path of Exile 2: Smith of Kitava SSF Build Guide
Welcome to a true solo self-found challenge in Path of Exile 2. This run starts with absolutely nothing. The goal is simple but ambitious: defeat the Arbiter of Ash in roughly 20 hours using a Smith of Kitava with a fire spell-on-hit setup. Every upgrade matters, every piece of POE 2 Currency counts, and smart progression is the difference between dominance and disaster.
Early Game
We begin as a Warrior because Smith of Kitava is the cornerstone of this build. Early on, resources are scarce, and you'll feel it immediately. Since our endgame revolves around quarterstaff skills, the starting mace is discarded as soon as possible. Until then, we rely on Bone Shatter and Rolling Slam to survive the opening zones.
Once Clearfell opens up, vendor luck becomes surprisingly important. Even in SSF, clever resets, such as reopening areas to farm gold, can fund early upgrades. By level five, Falling Thunder joins the setup to apply Shock, which acts as a strong damage multiplier. Rage supports are prioritized early because Rage is one of the strongest scaling mechanics for attack builds.
The First Power Spike
The real turning point comes with Wind Blast. Despite being classified as melee, it has a massive cone, excellent clear speed, and incredible synergy with Rage and attack speed. From this point until level 41, Wind Blast carries the build almost entirely. It clears packs effortlessly while Quarterstaff Strike remains the preferred option for bosses.
Tempest Bell enters the picture here as well. By stacking Rage and Overabundance supports on the bell, you generate Rage extremely quickly while also setting up massive burst windows. Herald of Ash later adds explosions and ignites, further accelerating clear speed and making mapping feel explosive even in the campaign.
Ascendancy Choices and Tankiness
Act Two is all about survival and preparation. As soon as possible, we ascend into Smith of Kitava. Instead of rushing damage, the first two ascendancy points focus on survivability: massive armor bonuses from white body armor, increased maximum life, and life regeneration. This approach makes the character nearly unkillable early on and allows aggressive play without fear.
Stat requirements are a challenge. Dexterity and Intelligence are needed to wield the quarterstaff and scale later gems, so early passive points are temporarily invested into stats and later respecced into damage and speed once gear catches up.
Vaulting Impact and Bell Synergy
Vaulting Impact becomes another major upgrade, especially when paired with Wind Blast. Wind Blast dazes enemies, and Vaulting Impact exploits that by applying Broken Stance for even more damage. With Rapid Attacks and area supports, Vaulting Impact becomes an excellent clear tool, chaining from enemy to enemy while Wind Blast fills Rage between jumps.
Boss fights at this stage are straightforward: Bell down, Wind Blast to build Rage, Vaulting Impact for burst, repeat. Even traditionally dangerous encounters melt under this setup.
Level 41: Whirling Assault Takes Over
At level 41, the build fully comes online with Whirling Assault. This skill defines the entire playstyle moving forward. Although it is a single attack, it hits four times, meaning every damage multiplier, warcry buff, and bell interaction applies to the full spin.
Whirling Assault replaces Wind Blast as the main skill. It generates combo points rapidly, triggers bells multiple times per use, and scales perfectly with area of effect and Rage. Magnified Area ensures full-screen coverage, while Lightning Attunement enables Shock for even higher damage.
Fire Spell on Hit and Corpse Explosions
The second ascendancy introduces Fire Spell on Hit, enabling Detonate Dead without any mana cost. This creates a devastating feedback loop: enemies die, corpses explode, elites get hit by secondary detonations, and everything snowballs instantly. While the effect is subtle in early Act Three due to lower density, it becomes absurdly strong later in maps, especially in breaches and abyss encounters.
Endgame Scaling and Spirit Skills
Infernal Cry is a key addition, granting massive fire damage conversion and Rage generation. Because Whirling Assault hits multiple times per attack, Infernal Cry buffs the entire spin, not just a single hit. This interaction is one of the build's strongest multipliers.
Mantra of Destruction is added for clearing. After building combo, it provides huge chaos damage bonuses and stacking Shyula flames, turning the character into a screen-clearing machine for 20–30 seconds at a time.
Later spirit skills like Attrition add culling strike and stacking "more damage" multipliers during prolonged boss fights, making encounters like the Arbiter significantly smoother.
Gear Philosophy and Progression
Gear priorities are simple: armor, life, physical damage, and resistances. Evasion and energy shield are ignored entirely. Physical damage scaling is critical because both Whirling Assault and Detonate Dead benefit from it through leech mechanics, providing constant sustain.
Crafting with essences, especially Essence of Abrasion, is the main path to weapon upgrades. With smart farming and atlas investment, even SSF characters can craft endgame-viable quarterstaves capable of clearing Tier 15 maps comfortably.
Final Thoughts
This Smith of Kitava SSF build proves that with smart planning, strong mechanical synergy, and efficient use of POE 2 Currency, you can take a zero-trade character from the beach to the Arbiter in around 20 hours. It's tanky, explosive, fast, and incredibly satisfying to play, perfect for players who want a powerful solo experience without relying on the economy.
If you enjoy aggressive melee gameplay with screen-wide destruction and near-unkillable defenses, this build delivers in every phase of the game.
MMOexp POE 2 Team