Path of Exile 2: Lightning Arrow Deadeye leveling build guide

Lightning Arrow Deadeye is a powerhouse in Path of Exile 2's endgame but every build has to start somewhere. Thankfully, for the Deadeye, Lightning Arrow is a viable skill from the get-go and can be used as a perfectly functional starter build that can be scaled into the ideal Lightning Arrow Deadeye endgame version.

Lightning Arrow Deadeye, as a starter, faces quite a few changes from the endgame version, as it has to deal with lower-tier gear and limited sources to squeeze damage from.

If you have the money, however, you can opt for a very different leveling procedure that will use one unique bow to blast through the entire campaign, and even for a while into the endgame.

Pros and cons of the Lightning Arrow Deadeye leveling build in Path of Exile 2

Put down an Orb of Storms and shoot away (Image via Grinding Gear Games || YouTube/@Fubgun)

In its starter format, Lightning Arrow Deadeye has pretty much the same pros and cons as its endgame variant. However, because it is a starter build, it does have more cons that need to be worked around, either mechanically or gear-wise. Here are the details:

Pros

The build starts from level 1, hence very little gem swap or support gem changes are needed.
Multiple sources of shock make damage scaling much easier.
Gear can be multifaceted and simple, depending on the method of leveling.

Cons

Similar to the endgame variant, Mana sustain becomes a problem. Get comfortable with spamming your Mana flasks.
Endgame can become quite expensive due to most items being in high demand.
This two-button build can be a hindrance for many players, either because of accessibility or because it affects their quality of life.

How to play Lightning Arrow Deadeye in Path of Exile 2

The leveling variant of Lightning Arrow Deadeye's playstyle is almost identical to the endgame variant. However, as mentioned above, it is a two-button build in almost every situation. Your rotation is basically throwing down Lightning Rods around the bosses and enemy packs and blowing up said enemies with repeated shots of Lightning Arrow.

As you begin to accumulate Spirit from the campaign quests, you will start including Herald of Thunder to make pack clearing a lot easier. Bossing will be much better with a third and fourth four-link setup of Freezing Salvo and Orb of Storms.

Best Lightning Arrow Deadeye leveling Skill Gem setup in Path of Exile 2

The support gems noted here are all you'll need to push through the campaign's six acts and even into the earlier levels of the endgame. Feel free to invest into Lightning Arrow and Lightning Rod with any Jeweller's Orbs you stumble upon, as those two skills will carry your endgame heavily.

Lightning Arrow: Pierce - Martial Tempo - Innervate
Lightning Rod: Scattershot - Primal Armament - Lightning Infusion
Escape Shot: Holy Descent
Freezing Salvo: Hourglass - Magnified Effect - Cold Infusion
Herald of Thunder: Longshot - Lightning Penetration - Lightning Mastery
Orb of Storms: Chain - Overabundance - Unleash

Best-in-slot itemization options for Path of Exile 2 Lightning Arrow Deadeye leveling build

Thief's Torment can fix all of your mana problems (Image via Grinding Gear Games || YouTube/@Fubgun)

Since we are treating this leveling build as a league starter or a zero currency variant, we will be focusing on ground loot and vendor items as our primary source of gearing. As an elemental attack-based build, your weapon is your biggest force multiplier, so constantly scour for upgrades. Hit the town vendor as soon as you level up for better gear, as their stock refreshes with your level gain.

Noted below are some of the best stats for the bows and quivers. Keep in mind that you don't need to obtain every stat, but at least two is nice.

Bows

Ideal stats:

% increased Physical Damage
Adds # to # Physical Damage
Adds # to # Lightning Damage
% increased Attack Speed
Bow Attacks Fire an Additional Arrow (will show up rarely in earlier levels, huge QoL value)

Quiver

Ideal stats:

Adds #to # Physical Damage to Attacks
Adds #to # Lightning damage to Attacks
+# to Level of all Projectile Skills
#% increased Attack Speed
Gain # Mana per Enemy Killed

As for the rest of your gear, which is your armour and jewellery pieces, getting life and resistance rolls will be more than sufficient. In the case of boots, getting a movement speed roll is practically a godsend, so be on the lookout for those nifty affixes.

There are several unique items in Path of Exile 2 that can make your leveling experience a breeze, regardless of whether you get the items during the campaign or if you're buying them from other players. They are as follows:

Widowhail
Foxshade
Goldrim
Thrillsteel
Painter's Servant

Widowhail is special, as it scales up your equipped quiver's stats to extremely high values, which negates the need to find bows with high PDPS values. This leveling method is much easier for the second character, provided you have some seed capital to constantly upgrade your quiver every five to ten character levels.

Best Ascendancy nodes, Keystone Passives, and other notable nodes for Lightning Arrow Deadeye leveling build in Path of Exile 2

Acrobatics is a bit of a hit or miss, if you're on low evasion (Image via Grinding Gear Games || YouTube/@Fubgun)

Your Passive Skill Tree journey for the Lightning Arrow Deadeye's leveling build will begin with the small Passive node that grants 10% Projectile Damage. Keep taking the Projectile Damage-granting smaller nodes until you reach your first Notable Passive, Honed Instincts.

From Honed Instincts, take Vile Wounds with your next two points. Afterward, travel toward Blur via Eagle Eye. Then, invest into the two attribute nodes connected to Blur and move toward Heavy Munitions and Careful Aim.

With initial points invested into boosting your projectile damage, you'll begin to move toward drawing some power from your quiver and the Ranger's innate high Dexterity ranges. From Vile Wounds, you will travel toward a fork in the Passive Skill Tree where you'll allocate Master Fletching. Moving a little farther, you'll find the Escape Velocity node and take it.

From Escape Velocity, you'll travel leftwards to allocate Falcon Technique, which will provide a massive attack speed boost. From the attribute node between Master Fletching and Escape Velocity, move toward Harness the Elements and take Surging Currents along the way.

Next, return to the main pathing lane and travel toward Acceleration while allocating Catalysis and Maiming Strike as you go. At this point of progression, we suggest returning to town and respeccing out of Heavy Munitions and Careful Aim with some gold.

When you're at this stage, you'll be entering Act 5 or 6, which is practically at the endgame, so only a few notables remain. Take a right from Falcon Technique and pick up Proficiency. Following this, take another right from Maiming Strike and pick up Frazzled.

Return to Acceleration and continue pathing leftward until you reach a Jewel Socket. From here, travel one node upward and continue moving left until you reach Forces of Nature. Then, take Emboldened Avatar, Flash Storm, and Lightning Rod. If you still have points left, return to Proficiency and path toward Enhanced Reflexes and Beastial Skin.