How to Play the Gas Grenade Pathfinder Build in Path of Exile 2 (Patch 0.3.0)

If you're looking for a fun, poison-based build in Path of Exile 2, the Gas Grenade Pathfinder offers an exciting alternative to the more common Deadeye or crit-focused ranger archetypes. Built around stacking and spreading poison damage, this Pathfinder setup excels at both clearing maps and tackling bosses. In patch 0.3.0, Gas Grenade Pathfinder stands out as one of the most consistent ranged poison builds, capable of sustaining massive damage-over-time effects while staying relatively safe thanks to layered evasion and energy shield defenses.

This guide breaks down everything you need to know about the build-pros and cons, mechanics, skill setups, itemization, and passive tree priorities to help you master the Gas Grenade Pathfinder in Path of Exile 2.

Pros and Cons of the Gas Grenade Pathfinder Build

Like all ARPG builds, this setup has its strengths and weaknesses. Understanding both helps you decide if it's right for your playstyle.

Pros

·Excellent map, clear - Contagious Contamination ensures poison spreads effortlessly, making farming smoother and faster.

·Durability - Evasion, Ghost Dance, and Wind Dancer combine for reliable survivability.

·Strong scaling - Poison damage grows consistently with passive tree and gear investments.

·Simple gameplay - Primarily a one-button playstyle built around Gas Grenade.

Cons

·Delayed damage - Grenade fuse time and poison ramp-up feel slower compared to bursty crit builds.

·Jewel reliance - Specific jewels like From Nothing and Prism of Belief are essential for peak performance.

Gear-intensive - Certain uniques and high-tier rolls on rares can be expensive to obtain. Many players choose to buy POE2 Items or trade Path of Exile 2 Currency to secure key upgrades faster.

Core Mechanics: How the Build Works

The entire build revolves around Gas Grenade, a skill that creates lingering poison clouds. With the Pathfinder ascendancy, poisons spread rapidly thanks to Contagious Contamination, which transfers poison to nearby enemies when one dies.

Defensive Layers

·Evasion to avoid incoming attacks.

·Energy Shield as a buffer against spell hits.

·Ghost Dance and Wind Dancer for consistent mitigation.

·Chaos Inoculation (optional keystone) to become immune to chaos damage at the cost of maximum life.

Offensive Layers

·Stack poison multipliers and chaos damage nodes.

·Apply Despair to reduce enemy chaos resistance.

·Maintain Withering Presence to amplify chaos damage taken.

·Use Toxic Domain for added single-target pressure.

How to Play Gas Grenade Pathfinder

Mapping Loop

1. Toss Gas Grenades into enemy packs.

2. Watch poison spread automatically through Contagious Contamination.

3. Keep moving quickly to the next group for smooth clears.

Boss Strategy

·Cast Despair to shred chaos resistance.

·Activate Toxic Domain before stacking grenades.

·Drop multiple Gas Grenades directly under the boss.

·Sustain Withering Presence for maximum damage scaling.

The playstyle is deceptively simple, but powerful enemies melt under spreading poison clouds.

Best Skill Gem Setups (Patch 0.3.0)

The main 5-link for Gas Grenade Pathfinder:

·Gas Grenade → Arakali's Lust → Deadly Poison II → Elemental Armament II → Persistent Ground III (swap to Elemental Focus for bosses).

Supporting skills:

·Ghost Dance → Compressed Duration II.

·Wind Dancer → Blind II → Maim → Magnified Area II.

·Despair → Heightened Curse → Prolonged Duration II → Efficiency II.

·Withering Presence → Prolonged Duration II → Clarity I.

·Toxic Domain → Escalating Poison → Deadly Poison II → Long Fuse II.

Leveling Tip: Pair Gas Grenade (Bursting Plague, Corrosion) with Contagion (Unleash) for smooth progression. Use Explosive Grenade during boss fights for added burst damage.

Best-in-Slot Itemization

While not overloaded with mandatory uniques, several Path of Exile 2 Items dramatically boost this build:

·Plaguefinger (mandatory) - Converts all damage from hits to poison, significantly improving scaling. A corrupted +1 socket version is best-in-slot.

·Main Weapon: Siege Crossbow - Your primary poison delivery tool.

·Secondary Set: Cursecarver (wand) + Arvil's Wheel (shield) - Optimized for casting Despair. Look for +4 to Despair and a high skill effect duration.

Recommended Jewels

·Prism of Belief with +Gas Grenade levels.

·From Nothing (synergizes with Pure Chaos and Wither Away).

If gearing is a struggle, many players turn to buy POE2 Items or POE2 Currency. Because poison scales heavily with multipliers and skill levels, getting properly rolled rares and uniques early makes progression much smoother.

Passive Tree and Ascendancy Highlights

The build primarily travels the right side of the tree for chaos scaling and survivability. Key nodes include:

·Overwhelming Toxicity - Doubles the number of poisons applied.

·Contagious Contamination - Sprea

Passive Tree and Ascendancy Highlights

The build primarily travels the right side of the tree for chaos scaling and survivability. Key nodes include:

·Overwhelming Toxicity - Doubles the number of poisons applied.

·Contagious Contamination - Spreads automatically on kill.

·Escalating Toxins - Extends poison duration with successive stacks.

·Chaos Inoculation - Optional keystone for immunity to chaos damage.

·Wither Away - Increases Wither magnitude by 20% and applies it to nearby enemies.

·Pure Chaos (via From Nothing jewel) - Converts all damage into chaos, supercharging scaling.

These nodes ensure that poison applies quickly and reaches devastating levels in both AoE and single-target scenarios.

Final Thoughts

The Gas Grenade Pathfinder in Path of Exile 2 (0.3.0) is a top-tier poison build for players who enjoy damage-over-time mechanics. With incredible mapping speed, durable defenses, and a straightforward playstyle, it offers both accessibility and long-term power scaling. While jewel and gear dependency can make early gearing tricky, trading for upgrades or choosing to buy POE2 Items is often worth the investment.

Suppose you're seeking a poison-based ranger that balances safety, simplicity, and efficiency. In that case, the Gas Grenade Pathfinder is one of the smoothest and most rewarding builds available in Path of Exile 2.