Path of Exile 2: Smith of Kitava Ascendancy Guide – Flame, Forging, and Furious Blows

In Path of Exile 2: Dawn of the Hunt, the Warrior class gains a fearsome new Ascendancy: the Smith of Kitava. This path transforms the Warrior into a master blacksmith of battle, fusing fire damage, physical might, and armor-smashing destruction — all blessed (or cursed) by the insatiable Kitava.

In this comprehensive breakdown, we’ll explain every passive node in the Smith of Kitava Ascendancy, explore synergy with existing mechanics, and recommend optimized builds for early to late game.

Overview: What Is the Smith of Kitava?

The Smith of Kitava is unlike any other Ascendancy in Path of Exile. It introduces a unique armor-crafting passive system, allowing you to forgo traditional chest pieces with mods and instead design your own “virtual” armor by allocating specialized nodes.

This Ascendancy grants:

Exclusive blacksmith-themed skills

Fire damage scaling
Critical damage mitigation
Heavy synergy with normal Body Armour

Hybrid scaling with Melee, Minion, and Elemental damage

Core Passive: Smith’s Masterwork

“Can only use a Normal Body Armour. This Passive Skill is free to allocate.”

This is the keystone that unlocks the Smith of Kitava playstyle. Once chosen, you’re restricted to equipping Normal (white) chest pieces only — no mods, no prefixes, no suffixes.

But here’s the trade-off: instead of affixes, your chest armor becomes a canvas enhanced through other passive nodes. It’s like crafting armor directly onto your skill tree.

Skill-Granting Nodes

Living Weapon

Grants Skill: Manifest Weapon

Summons an animated spectral weapon to fight beside you. Scale Damage with your Strenght.

Build Tip: Great for hybrid melee + minion builds. You can let your spectral forge blade clean up while you slam from the front.

Against the Anvil

Grants Skill: Temper Weapon

Empowers your weapon with fiery effects before combat, empowered Attacks

Synergy: Ideal for pre-boss prep, dealing massive AoE with Fire Melee builds.

Heat of the Forge

Grants Skill: Fire Spell on Hit

A powerful automation node. When you land hits, this triggers fire-based spell effects, opening up firestorm-style explosions, burn stacks, or flame novas.

Build Tip: Use this with high-attack-speed melee or bow weapons. Combos well with Fire Damage and Ignite builds.

Damage & Scaling Nodes

Fire Damage

+20% increased Fire Damage

Self-explanatory — a clean boost to any fire spell or attack, synergizing with most Smith of Kitava skills.

Melee Damage

+20% increased Melee Damage

Buffs your melee hits, slams, and any direct strikes. Great for pure Warrior builds.

Minion Damage

Minions deal +20% increased Damage

Pairs naturally with Living Weapon and other minion synergies.

Fire Resistance

+15% to Fire Resistance

Nice quality-of-life node, especially since fire self-damage or reflect may occur via Kitava-themed skills.

Passive Armor-Crafting System

Below Smith’s Masterwork is a semi-circle of passive armor-enhancing nodes. You allocate these to build your own custom chest armor, making each Smith of Kitava unique.

Here are the nodes and what they do:

Flowing Metal

Body Armour grants +5% to Maximum Fire Resistance

Excellent defensive node, letting you exceed the 75% cap.

Forged in Flame

Mods to Maximum Fire Resistance also grant Maximum Cold and Lightning Resistance

This spreads your fire res boosts across all elements. Great synergy with Flowing Metal or flask/resist stacking.

Coal Stoker

Mods to Fire Resistance also grant Cold and Lightning Resistance at 50% value

Not as strong as Forged in Flame, but synergizes well early when you’re building elemental defenses on a budget.

Dedication to Kitava

Body Armour’s Armour value also applies to Chaos Damage taken from Hits

A rare source of chaos mitigation. Helps against poison/chaos-heavy bosses. Works well with Blood Magic or low-life setups.

Heavy Bracing

Body Armour grants +100% Stun Threshold

Perfect for Stun builds that want to ignore crowd control. Works great with two-handed weapons.

Padded Plates

Body Armour grants +75% Cold Resistance

Essential for cold-heavy bosses, or cold DoT map mods.

Tantalum Alloy

Body Armour grants +75% Fire Resistance

Stacks extremely well with Forged in Flame or Burning Ground immunity builds.

Lead Lining

Body Armour grants +75% Lightning Resistance

Great to round out tri-res for Elemental Equilibrium defense.

Heatproofing

Body Armour grants Unaffected by Ignite

A huge boon in DoT-heavy maps, or when playing melee inside burning areas.

Support Straps

Body Armour grants +20% Strength

Free stats! Strength boosts melee damage, life, and armor. Helps meet requirements too.

Kitavan Engraving

Body Armour grants +15% maximum Life

Very strong for survivability. Combine with Strength stacking and Life Flasks for thick sustain.

Internal Layer

Body Armour grants: Hits against you have 50% reduced Critical Damage Bonus

Incredible node for high-level bossing. Cuts down on crit spike deaths.

Leather Bindings

Body Armour grants 5% Life Regenerated per Second

One of the strongest sustain nodes in the tree. Use this with Fortify, endurance charges, or regen stacking builds.

Molten Symbol

Body Armour grants 25% of Physical Damage from Hits taken as Fire Damage

Converts incoming phys damage into fire — pair with high fire resistance (from Flowing Metal) to reduce hard-hitting melee attacks.

Suggested Builds for Smith of Kitava

Fire Slam Warrior

Core Nodes: Temper Weapon, Heat of the Forge, Fire Damage
Weapon: 2H mace or sword with AoE

Playstyle: Explosive, slow but devastating strikes
Defenses: Leather Bindings + Internal Layer

Minion Forgemaster

Core Nodes: Manifest Weapon, Minion Damage, Kitavan Engraving

Minions: Spectral Weapons, Meat Shields, Flame Sentinels
Playstyle: Hybrid summoner/melee tank
Defenses: Chaos res from Dedication to Kitava + Regeneration

Crit-Resist Tank

Core Nodes: Internal Layer, Heatproofing, Forged in Flame
Gear: Maximize Body Armour scaling
Playstyle: Designed to take burst damage safely

Offense: Slam skills or Elemental Hit via Fire Spell on Hit

Armor-Smith Specialist

Focus on building a body armor with:
- +Life
- +Elemental Resistance
- Fire conversion
- Chaos mitigation

Flexible path depending on whether you lean toward melee, spells, or minions.

Final Thoughts

The Smith of Kitava is a deep and rewarding Ascendancy for players who love custom crafting, high-impact fire attacks, and tank-focused melee playstyles. With the unique Body Armour system, every Smith build becomes an exercise in creative forging — letting you design your armor through your tree instead of RNG.

This ascendancy is ideal for:

Players who want control over their defenses
Fire-elemental melee builds
Survivability-focused exiles

Smith of Kitava Ascendancy Nodes Explained – Best Builds and Gear Strategy