In Path of Exile 2, chaos damage continues to carve out a distinct niche with its capacity to bypass enemy resistances, spread poison and corruption effects, and scale into some of the most devastating damage-over-time (DoT) builds in the game. Among the new chaos-themed tools making waves in the meta is a powerful synergy between the Murkshaft, a rare chaos-aligned bow,POE2 Currency  and the Bursting Fen Toad skill, a vile summoning spell that brings explosive results.

When used together, Murkshaft and Bursting Fen Toad offer a uniquely effective combination for damage over time builds, poison stacking, and chaos DoT procs that thrive in AoE and bossing scenarios alike. This article will explore the mechanics, acquisition, skill synergies, ascendancy interactions, and best strategies for optimizing this deadly combo in Path of Exile 2.

Overview of the Murkshaft
The Murkshaft is a chaos-based bow designed to enhance DoT effects, especially poison and corruption. It's known for the following traits:

Base Type: Longbow (with chaos implicit mods)

Damage Profile: Low base physical, but massive boosts to chaos damage over time

Innate Modifiers:

+(15-25)% to Chaos Damage over Time Multiplier

(20-30)% increased Poison Duration

Arrows pierce all targets (crucial for AoE DoT spread)

(Optional mod): Enemies hit become Infected, amplifying future chaos damage

Murkshaft is favored by players who lean into ranged DoT builds rather than direct-hit damage. The pierce mechanic ensures wide-area application of status effects like poison and infection, making it ideal for clearing clusters of enemies with a single volley of toad-triggered chaos.

What Is Bursting Fen Toad?
Bursting Fen Toad is a new skill introduced in Path of Exile 2 as part of the swamp and chaos-focused archetypes. The skill summons bloated amphibians from the depths of the marsh, which:

Hop toward enemies

Attach themselves to the target

After a short delay or on enemy death, they burst, releasing a wave of chaotic bile

The bile deals chaos damage over time in a small radius

Each toad that bursts increases the stacking DoT effect on the afflicted area

Key properties:

Spell Tag: Chaos, Minion, DoT, Area

Cast Style: Projectile or targeted AoE

Scaling Tags: Minion Damage, Chaos Damage over Time Multiplier, Increased Duration, Spell Damage

The toads can be further modified using support gems such as:

Unbound Ailments (to increase poison and chaos duration)

Minion Speed (to make toads leap and burst faster)

Multiple Totems or Spell Echo (to increase toad count and cast frequency)

Why Murkshaft and Bursting Fen Toad Work So Well Together
The synergy between these two tools revolves around status stacking, pierce mechanics, and area chaos effects:

1. Stacking Chaos DoTs on Groups
Bursting Fen Toads deal chaos DoT in overlapping pools, and Murkshaft ensures that any arrows or projectiles fired afterward will pierce and apply further poison or corruption to all affected enemies. This makes it easy to build up lethal stacks of poison.

2. Infection Mechanics
Some versions of the Murkshaft come with an affix that applies the Infection debuff on hit. Infected enemies take increased chaos damage and may spread poison stacks to nearby enemies on death. This effect becomes incredibly potent when combined with the explosive bile from Bursting Fen Toads.

3. Chaos DoT Multiplier Stacking
Chaos damage builds scale primarily from:

Chaos Damage over Time Multiplier

Poison Damage

Damage over Time

Increased Duration

Both the Murkshaft and Bursting Fen Toad contribute heavily to these stats. Their synergy allows for deep scaling through items, passives, and support gems—all stacking multiplicatively for massive boss and elite mob melting potential.

How to Get the Murkshaft
The Murkshaft can drop from specific content in Path of Exile 2, primarily tied to chaos-aligned zones or swamp-type maps. Target farming can include:

The Murkmire Fen (Act 5 and Act 7 versions)

Twisted Grove – known to drop chaos-themed rares

Poisonblight Nest boss dungeon

Players can also target farm Murkshaft through Divination Cards or rare bow crafting bases. Crafting it using Chaos Fossils, Screaming Essences of Delirium, or Tempered Chaos Runes is a common practice among chaos archers.

Best Ascendancies and Passive Trees
For those running the Murkshaft + Fen Toad combo, these ascendancy options are highly effective:

1. Witch – Occultist
Profane Bloom spreads chaos on death

Void Beacon lowers enemy chaos resistance

Great synergy with Infection and poison proliferation

2. Ranger – Pathfinder
Nature’s Reprisal boosts chaos DoT and poison

Flask-based defense and sustain

Perfect for keeping up speed and AoE coverage

3. Shadow – Trickster
High chaos resistance

Energy Shield leech from DoTs

Extremely durable in high DoT environments

Path of Exile 2’s passive tree also introduces new DoT wheels and chaos minion support clusters—great for buffing the toads’ AoE damage and Murkshaft projectile effectiveness.

Recommended Gear and Support Skills
To make the most of this combo, equip gear and skills that reinforce your DoT stacking:

Gloves with “Chaos DoT Multiplier”

Helmet with minion life or chaos skill duration

Quiver with +1 to Chaos Spell Skills

Blight, Wither Totem, or Bane as secondary DoT applications

Plague Bearer for burst AoE poison spread

Despair curse aura or on-hit application via ring/curse-on-hit setup

Playstyle Tips
Start combat by casting Bursting Fen Toads into mobs to seed poison zones.

Fire arrows through the chaos bile with Murkshaft to inflict layered poison on enemies caught in the zone.

Keep moving—use toads to control choke points or retreat paths.

Against bosses, repeatedly summon toads near the boss while keeping them infected with arrow fire.

Conclusion
The combination of Murkshaft and Bursting Fen Toad is one of the
Path of Exile 2 Currency Orbs most innovative and effective chaos-based combos in Path of Exile 2 to date. With explosive visual effects, devastating DoT stacking potential, and synergy across multiple ascendancies, this setup is perfect for players who enjoy watching enemies dissolve into green, toxic oblivion. Whether you're pushing endgame bosses or clearing swarms of corrupted beasts, this deadly combo is not just viable—it’s downright meta.