Crafting a Bow for Explosive Arrow Ballista Elementalist

Use Shrieking Essence of Dread until you see Tier 3+ % increased Attack Speed. This is a ~1/13 chance if you used a The Porcupine Bow. Do not use Deafening Essence of Dread since it is no different than a Shrieking and usually costs more.

You need at least one open Suffix and one open Prefix to finish your Leaguestart bow like the one on the left. If Orbs of Annulment are too expensive on trade early, just use Essences until your Bow meets these requirements.

As long as Annuls are cheaper than 12-15 Chaos it should be worth it to use them.

With an open Suffix and open Prefix, benchcraft Cannot roll Attack Modifiers for 1 Divine Orb then use an Exalted Orb to slam +1 to Level of Socketed Gems.

To finish, benchcraft +(18-20)% to Fire Damage over Time Multiplier. This is a Veiled Modifier that is unlocked through unveiled Veiled Suffixes on Weapons.

If you still have an open Prefix you can use an Exalted Orb for a chance at a useful Prefix such as Cold or Lightning Damage to Attacks or Weapon Elemental Damage with Attacks. Be aware though that Fire Damage to Attacks prevents Elemental Equilibrium from working so if slammed you need to use an Orb of Annulment and risk bricking the bow or sell it on trade and start again.

Use Deafening Essence of Wrath until you see +2 to Level of Socketed Bow Gems. This is a 1/51 chance with a Fractured Suffix.

You need an open Prefix and an open Suffix to move forward with the craft from here like the boe on the left. Use Orbs of Annulment if you do not meet these requirements and go back to the previous step if you remove your Wrath Prefix or +2 to Level of Socketed Bow Gems.

With an open Suffix and open Prefix, benchcraft Cannot roll Attack Modifiers for 1 Divine Orb then use an Exalted Orb to slam +1 to Level of Socketed Gems. Your Prefixes are now complete.

To finish the Bow aim for Attack Speed as well as an additional Damage over Time Multiplier Suffix. First, Benchcraft Prefixes Cannot be Changed for 2 Divine Orbs then use a Veiled Orb to add a Veiled Suffix. Benchcraft any of these 3 veiled modifiers unlocked through Syndicate encounters before unveiling to block them from appearing:

Go to Jun and unveil either of these 3 choices:

If you are not given any of these, benchcraft Prefixes Cannot be Changed again and use another Orb of Scouring before trying again after recrafting the metamod.

For your last modifier, benchcraft either Attack Speed or Fire Damage Over Time Multiplier depending on what you didn't unveil.

If your bow isn't 6-linked at this point, you can use your crafting bench to add 6 sockets and then fully link it for 1500 Orb of Fusing.

As a final step, go to your Horticrafting Bench and Enchant your Bow with Quality does not increase Physical Damage, 1% increased Attack Speed per 8% Quality for 5000 Primal Crystallised Lifeforce to finish.