The Shrine Stacker Melee Chronomancer is a high-tempo, shrine-abusing build designed to dominate maps through speed, control, and explosive melee clearing. Built around mace skills and shrine scaling, this setup excels at chaining buffs while maintaining strong survivability and flexible gearing. While Pathfinder and Lich variations exist, Chronomancer offers a POE 2 Currency uniquely smooth and adaptable playstyle that shines in both mapping and boss encounters.
Core Gameplay and Clearing
Clearing is primarily done with Mace Strike, Stampede, and Molten Blast, allowing for powerful area coverage and consistent damage while moving quickly through shrine-dense maps. The build scales exceptionally well with shrine effects, turning each shrine into a massive power spike. A dedicated video showcases how fluid and aggressive the clearing feels once momentum is established.
Herald of Ice Swap Option
If you want to experiment with Herald of Ice, a few adjustments are required. Swap Blackflame to Polcirkeln, and replace Overwhelming Presence with Herald of Ice linked to Cold Attunement, Magnified Area II, Cold Mastery, and Elemental Armament II. On Mace Strike, swap Ancestral Call II or Close Combat II to Cold Attunement. You can also replace Supercritical with Cold Attunement on Sunder or any alternative skill you are using.
Ideally, aim to acquire Heart of the Well with extra Cold and extra Chaos Damage. Despite these swaps, it is strongly recommended to keep Herald of Ash. Herald of Ice can become inconsistent on maps with increased ailment thresholds, increased monster resistances, or when you lack a Critical Shrine. While clear speed improves, the Ignite damage from Perfect Strike becomes noticeably weaker.
Ascendancy Variations
Chronomancer stands out compared to Lich and Pathfinder due to its utility-focused ascendancy bonuses. The 20% slower expire rate allows for a more flexible glove slot, as pushing Temporal Chains curse magnitude is no longer mandatory. Apex of the Moment significantly boosts survivability, while Time Freeze can occasionally shut down dangerous bosses at critical moments. Additionally, Now and Again can proc valuable effects like Infernal Cry, Sniper’s Mark, or Hammer of the Gods, adding extra layers of power and convenience.
Overall, the Shrine Stacker Melee Chronomancer is a cheap POE 2 Exalted Orbs fast, adaptable, and rewarding build that fully embraces Path of Exile 2’s shrine mechanics while offering multiple viable variations to suit different playstyles.