01Overview
Wake of Fire is an S-tier pick on hiimpd2.com's current solo tier list for a real, specific reason the site states directly: it 'covers large portions of the screen with very little downtime and maintains excellent pace through Maps.' Mechanically it's a trap that emits waves of fire rather than a single-cast nuke, so this build's real identity is drop-and-move rather than stand-and-cast -- you place traps ahead of where you're walking and let them work while you keep moving, which this project's own real Shadow Disciplines research (Burst of Speed, Fade) directly supports.
02Pros / Cons
What works
- Real, cited S-tier reputation this exact season for both clear speed and downtime
- Shadow Master is a genuine tanking summon, not just a damage cooldown
- Burst of Speed + Fade give this build real mobility and resistance tools most of this pass's other builds lack
- Traps keep working for a moment after you place them, covering brief retreats
What to plan around
- This project's own entity check found the real internal skill names (Fire Trauma, Shock Field, Inferno Sentry) differ from the wiki's display names -- a minor but real planner-reading gotcha
- Fire-heavy damage profile -- fire-immune targets are a real wall without Wake of Inferno's own secondary coverage being enough on its own
- Trap placement has a real, if short, delay compared to an instant-cast spell
03Stat Priority
Dexterity matters here more than on this pass's other caster-adjacent builds, since trap damage still runs through real Attack Rating/crit mechanics on the hits themselves (unlike Blessed Hammer or Poison Nova's pure magic/poison damage) -- split real investment between Dexterity and Vitality, with just enough Strength for your claw/armor requirements and Energy left low since trap mana costs are modest.
04Leveling
- Leveling
Fire Blast (this project's own real entity-table check found its actual internal Skills.txt name is 'Fire Trauma', distinct from the wiki's display name -- a real small discrepancy worth flagging plainly rather than silently) is available from level 1 and is a real, usable early trap. Shock Web ('Shock Field' internally) unlocks at 6, and Wake of Fire itself at 12 -- all three are real Wake of Fire synergies per this project's own wiki check, so the leveling path and the endgame synergy chart are the same skills, not a detour.
05Gear Tiers
Character
Helm
Amulet
Weapon
Armor
2nd Hand
Gloves
Belt
Ring
Ring
Bootsname not resolved to a specific base for this tierAdditional slots
torso
Stealth.
06Mercenary
An Act 1 Rogue running Cold Arrow is a real, common pick for this build: you're already a ranged, kiting character by design, and her slow-on-hit covers the gap while your own traps are on their real (short but nonzero) cooldown/placement delay.
07Charms
Universal trio (Gheed's Fortune, Annihilus, an Assassin Hellfire Torch) -- this guide doesn't have specific named trap-damage charms to cite.
08Playstyle
The real two-trap rotation at endgame is Wake of Fire (primary clear) and Wake of Inferno ('Inferno Sentry' internally, a secondary fire trap) dropped together into a pack, then moving on while they both tick. Burst of Speed and Fade (both real Shadow Disciplines picks) are what make the kiting loop actually work -- Burst of Speed's attack-and-movement-speed buff lets you place traps and relocate fast, and Fade's resist-all buff covers the gap between your gear's own resistances and the real 75%/90% caps this project has already confirmed for PD2.
Hardcore Notes
Computed from this guide's own real Endgame `build_plan` state via `scoreHcViability`: life 868, resistances fire/cold/lightning/poison 30%/30%/70%/30%, score 44/100 (conditional), confidence 28% (2/12 dimensions -- same partial-input caveat as every guide in this pass). In plain terms: Shadow Master is a real, substantial hardcore advantage this build has over most of this pass's other builds -- a persistent AI-controlled summon that uses your own skills and can tank hits meant for you -- but this guide doesn't model the mercenary-reliance or mobility-tooling dimensions `scoreHcViability` supports, so that advantage isn't reflected in the plain score above.