Introduction: Why This Build Stands Out
If you're diving into Path of Exile 2 and looking for something that blends strong survivability with satisfying screen-wide explosions, the Wind Dancer Reflect Sunder Smith build might be your next favorite. This setup combines clever skill synergies with reliable gear and delivers performance in both mapping and boss fights.
Originally showcased by YouTuber Coltore, the build takes advantage of Wind Dancer — a skill that deals AoE damage when you're hit — and layers in multiple support gems to create a chain reaction of poison, explosions, and bleeding. In the current state of PoE2, the build also taps into a key interaction: fire can ignite poison, creating a potent trigger for devastating damage.
This guide will walk you through how the build functions, which skills and supports you need, what gear to focus on, and how it performs in real-world gameplay, including boss fights.
Core Skill Mechanics: Understanding Wind Dancer
At the heart of this build is Wind Dancer, a skill designed for area-of-effect impact and consistent damage output. Once activated, it grants an evasion buff to help reduce incoming damage. But the real strength comes when you're hit: Wind Dancer releases a damaging explosion that scales with your stack count and weapon damage.
The explosion clears nearby enemies effectively, especially when used with two-handed melee weapons, which boost the damage output even further. This makes it ideal for melee-focused characters who want a balance between offensive burst and defensive mobility.
How the Synergy Works: Venom, Corrosion, and Explosions
What makes this build powerful is the interaction between support gems and Wind Dancer's natural mechanics. You’ll need to link Wind Dancer with the following five support gems to unlock its full potential:
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Venom: Grants a 50% chance to poison on hit.
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Armor Explosion: Triggers a blast when enemy armor is fully broken.
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Bursting Plague: Converts poison damage into an added plague effect up to 20% of enemy max life.
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Corrosion: Breaks armor based on 80% of poison damage dealt.
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Lacerate: Adds a 50% chance to inflict bleeding.
Here’s how it plays out: when enemies hit you, Wind Dancer activates. Venom applies poison, and Corrosion starts breaking their armor. Once armor is down, Armor Explosion triggers a damaging blast. If that doesn't finish them off, Bursting Plague spreads the poison effect further. Then, Lacerate can trigger a chain reaction via Herald of Blood, causing enemies to explode when bleeding finishes them off.
Boss Strategy: Using Cry and Critical Timing
For tougher enemies and bosses, this build doesn't rely on passive effects alone. Instead, it shifts into an active rotation to fully break defenses and deliver one-shot damage bursts. Here's how it works:
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Open with Infernal Cry to apply ignite and mark enemies.
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Follow up with Armor Breaker to fully shatter the boss's defenses.
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Then cast Thunder to deliver a critical strike—the finishing blow that benefits from all debuffs, poison stacks, and explosion effects.
This combo ensures maximum damage within seconds, especially effective for Tier 4 and above bosses. Once the sequence starts, it's fast and visually impactful, and it often ends the fight in just one rotation.
Stat Priorities: What to Focus On for Gear
To make this build function efficiently, you'll need to optimize gear in a specific order. Here’s what to focus on:
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+Melee Skill Levels – These directly increase Wind Dancer's explosion damage.
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Strength – Adds life and melee physical damage, crucial for survivability and output.
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Dexterity – Improves accuracy and evasion, supporting both offense and defense.
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Maximum Life – More health means better sustain through hits and explosions.
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Added Physical Damage to Attacks – Boosts your melee-based sources of damage.
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Elemental Resistance – Needed to reduce incoming damage from magic enemies.
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Chaos Resistance – Protects against chaos-based damage, especially in higher-tier content.
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Leech Physical Damage as Life – Converts damage dealt into health recovery, keeping you alive during heavy action.
This build scales with your melee skill levels, so investing in those first will offer the most noticeable damage increase. But don’t skip defensive stats—without enough life and resistances, the whole setup can collapse under pressure.
Ascendancy Choice: Titan vs. Smith of Kitava
When picking an ascendancy for this build, you have two strong options depending on your priorities: Titan or Smith of Kitava.
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Titan provides the Hulking Form trait, boosting minor passive nodes by 50%. This leads to a significant jump in damage, especially when paired with properly allocated passive points. If you're looking to push your damage output as high as possible, Titan is a solid pick.
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Smith of Kitava, on the other hand, is currently one of the tankiest ascendancy options in the game. It dramatically increases survivability, making it a smart choice if you're still building your gear or want consistency in high-tier content. Given this build’s reliance on being hit to trigger effects, added durability can make a noticeable difference.
Both are viable, but for players who prefer a smoother gameplay loop and better survival in boss fights, Smith of Kitava is the more forgiving and practical option.
Defense Setup: Blood Magic and Regeneration
While Wind Dancer doesn’t use mana, other skills in the rotation—like Thunder and Infernal Cry—do. That’s why it’s essential to invest in Blood Magic, allowing these abilities to use life instead of mana. This ensures you’re never stuck waiting for mana to regenerate mid-fight.
The build also benefits from focusing on life regeneration as a key defensive layer. Combined with leech from physical damage, you’ll be able to stay active in long fights and recover quickly from smaller hits. Since this setup already leans into taking damage to trigger skills, life-based sustain systems are crucial.
It’s a smart balance—maximize uptime for active skills while reinforcing your health pool for both offense and defense.
Build Evaluation: How It Performs in Real Gameplay
To give a clear picture of how this build performs, we’ve looked at data from PoE2 Ninja, along with gameplay demonstrations from the original video creator. Let’s break it down across four key areas:
Strength Rating
While the exact DPS figures for this build aren’t fully visible due to how it's set up, we can get a good estimate from actual gameplay. In the featured T4 boss fight, it consistently lands in the upper-mid range of damage output, scoring approximately 75 out of 100. What stands out more, though, is its Effective Hit Pool (EHP) — sitting at a massive 14,955, which puts it in the top tier of tankiness, scoring an 81.76% percentile rank compared to other builds.
By averaging these two values, the overall strength score comes in around 78, making it dependable for both clearing and bossing, with slightly more emphasis on survivability.
Cost Rating
One of the drawbacks of this setup is the price. According to the stats, the total cost comes in at 32.7 Divine Orbs, which is significantly above the average. This places it at the 11.45th percentile in terms of cost-efficiency. It’s not a budget option and can be a hurdle for newer players or those without currency reserves.
Due to this, the cost score sits at 11, reflecting the build’s premium investment requirement. That said, the payoff in terms of power and fun is real—if you can afford it.
Uniqueness Rating
Based on usage data from PoE2 Ninja, Smith of Kitava has a play rate of 8%, making it the sixth most-used ascendancy. Within that category, only 5% of players use the Wind Dancer skill, which is relatively rare. On the surface, that suggests a unique niche.
However, the build shares a lot of gear similarities with other meta builds, which lowers its distinctiveness in terms of itemization. When uniqueness is calculated using player item bases and class overlap, the final uniqueness percentile is 43.82%, resulting in a moderate score of 43.
It’s somewhat unique due to its skill combo, but the gear overlap pulls it back from being a standout experimental setup.
Practicality Rating
This is where the build shines most. The gameplay is straightforward, fun, and doesn’t require perfect timing. It's powerful enough to deal with both mapping and bossing, with mechanics that are easy to learn. Once set up, you’ll find the combat loop smooth and visually satisfying.
This practical ease of use makes the build accessible even to less experienced players (as long as they can afford it). It earns a practicality rating of 90, which is among the highest in this category.
Final Score Summary
Combining all four core metrics—Strength (78), Cost (11), Uniqueness (43), and Practicality (90)—the final average score comes out to 59. It’s a high-performing build weighed down mainly by its cost. If you're sitting on enough resources, it’s definitely worth trying.
For players starting out, there are related leveling paths that let you transition into this build gradually without rushing to buy everything upfront.
Conclusion: Is the Reflect Sunder Smith Build Worth It in PoE 2?
The Reflect Sunder Smith build using Wind Dancer and Venom synergy in Path of Exile 2 is a powerful, reliable option for players who want a tanky character with explosive gameplay. It combines layered defense, meaningful skill interactions, and smooth performance in maps and boss encounters. While the upfront cost is high, the practicality and fun factor balance it out for players who can commit to the investment.
If you're aiming for a build that's not overused but still effective at all stages of endgame content, this one is worth adding to your lineup. And if you're just getting started, you can ease into it with budget gear and work your way up.
FAQ – Reflect Sunder Smith PoE 2 Build
Q: Is the Reflect Sunder Smith build beginner-friendly?
A: Mechanically, yes. Budget-wise, not so much. The build is easy to play once set up, but its cost is high for new players.
Q: Do I need specific gear to make the build work?
A: Yes. Key stats like melee skill levels, strength, and resistances are essential. Look for items with life leech and elemental defense bonuses.
Q: What makes Wind Dancer effective in this build?
A: Wind Dancer’s AoE explosion triggers poison, corrosion, and bleeding effects that work together to trigger chain reactions.
Q: Can this build be used for boss fights and mapping?
A: Absolutely. It’s optimized for both, with good survivability and burst mechanics for high-tier bosses.
Q: Which ascendancy is better—Titan or Smith of Kitava?
A: Titan for damage, Smith of Kitava for tankiness. Smith is generally more forgiving and reliable in hardcore content.
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