The Gauntlet build featuring the Ancestral Commander Explosive Arrow (EA) Ballista in Path of Exile is a distinctive totem-based setup that excels in both damage output and survivability, designed especially for the challenging Gauntlet campaign. This build revolves around deploying Explosive Arrow Ballistas—totems that fire projectiles, causing area damage with fire conversion—and leveraging the Ancestral Commander ascendancy to maximize defensive layers and totem effectiveness PoE 1 Currency.

At its core, the build uses Explosive Arrow Ballista totems that automatically attack nearby enemies with explosive arrows. Unlike typical projectile skills, these ballistae fire projectiles that have a travel time and overlapping explosions, which scale heavily with area damage to maximize overlapping bursts. The fire damage conversion of the explosions and the artillery ballista itself allows the build to focus on scaling elemental damage, primarily fire, to achieve high sustained DPS. Notably, the damage dealt by the totems does not scale off the player's weapon, as totems use their own base damage, emphasizing the importance of scaling via skill gems and passive nodes rather than weapon raw stats.

The Ancestral Commander ascendancy is crucial for this build's success, particularly in the Gauntlet environment. One major advantage is the ascendancy's ability to grant additional totems, specifically through the "Forest of Ancestors," which increases the maximum number of summoned totems by one. More totems directly translate into higher damage output as multiple Explosive Arrow Ballistas can be placed simultaneously. Moreover, Ancestral Commander provides a defensive layer by allowing a portion of hits taken to be transferred to the nearest totem, effectively absorbing damage before it impacts the player. This, combined with the build's use of the Defiance of Destiny keystone on the passive tree, yields a combined damage mitigation of roughly 40% from incoming hits before applying other defenses.

Defensively, the build is reinforced by several strategic layers. The totem damage absorption reduces direct harm, while endurance charges granted by the ascendancy improve physical damage mitigation and overall survivability. Players also benefit from high life nodes and armor inherent to the Marauder start class, making it resilient against Gauntlet bosses and mobs that apply heavy damage, notably in acts 1-3, where enhanced Gauntlet modifiers can pose extra challenges. The build's playstyle is relaxed and beginner-friendly: players focus on placing totems and managing positioning while the totems do most of the damage dealing, making it effective for both mapping and boss encounters.

This Gauntlet build also emphasizes convenience and budget-friendly gear options, making it accessible for players looking to complete the campaign efficiently. The overall damage is sufficiently high to clear content swiftly, with a tanky setup that reduces the risk of sudden death from hard-hitting enemies. The synergy of the Ancestral Commander ascendancy with Explosive Arrow Ballista totems results in a balanced build combining excellent clear speed with formidable defenses. For further optimization, players often adjust passive skill trees and support gems, including a recommended use of Puncture support early on in the campaign to handle specific tough enemies like Brutus by causing bleeding damage.

In summary, the Gauntlet Ancestral Commander EA Ballista build is a thoughtful blend of offense and defense tailored for the Gauntlet challenge in Path of Exile. It capitalizes on multi-totem deployment, explosive area fire damage, and absorbent defensive mechanics. Its straightforward playstyle, combined with strong damage mitigation and respectable clear speed, makes it a standout choice for players seeking a reliable and enjoyable campaign completion strategy. The build creator POEGuy has demonstrated its effectiveness across multiple league events, praising its tankiness and consistent performance throughout the Gauntlet campaign stages. This build is recommended for players who desire a low-maintenance, high survivability totem build with powerful Explosive Arrow mechanics Divine poe 1.