High synergy with fire-based and defensive uniques makes build-planning smoother.
Consistent survivability in POE2 Currency all content, including Labyrinths, Delve, boss arenas, and volatile map mods.
The sheer reliability of this class has made it a favorite among players who want to invest in safe progression, even in a patch dominated by fast-paced projectile and crit builds.
Creative Freedom: Not Just a “Tank”
What makes the Smith of Kitava particularly compelling is its flexibility. While it’s easy to imagine this class as just a juggernaut of defense, it also offers a blank canvas for creative builds. The self-crafted armour mechanic allows for experimentation beyond what other ascendancies can offer.
Some rising builds include:
Firestorm Totem hybrid tanks, using defensive stats to outlast enemies while fire totems do the heavy lifting.
Burning ground shield throwers, combining flame-based AoEs with armor-based scaling.
Molten Shell bunker builds, triggering massive Guard effects and recovering instantly under damage pressure.
These builds may not make the top 10 in speed-clearing races, but they provide incredible consistency in league progression and farming, particularly for solo players or those tackling endgame content like Uber bosses or Delve.
A Counter-Meta Pick with Meta Potential
Ironically, Smith of Kitava's popularity has emerged because of the shift in meta. As offense-heavy classes like Amazon and Deadeye dominate the top of the charts, they’ve created a counterbalance—making defensive, stable classes like Smith of Kitava more desirable to those looking for reliability over risk.
And while it doesn’t appear in cheap POE 2 Currency Orbs quite as many builds as Amazon or Lich, the Smith of Kitava is surging in popularity precisely because it fills a role no other ascendancy truly does: the reliable tank. As more players begin pushing further into harder endgame content, the value of defensive builds only continues to grow.