Ancestral Warchief
Two-Hander Chieftain
Starter build

OUTDATED  BUILD, PLEASE CHECK THIS GUIDE FOR UPDATED ONE

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Estimated budget: low

Ancestral Warchief is the most potent Melee/Totem skill and has been extremely popular for quite some time now. We have decided to make a build that will be the most suitable as a League starter and beginner's friendly build. It is one of the very few Ancestral Warchief builds that require zero specific unique items, provides insane defenses and scales well into the late game. Chieftain class offers unparalleled Life Leech and Regeneration. Those combined with Endurance Charges, high Physical Damage mitigation, and very high Life, make you nearly immortal. 

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1. Gameplay

Ancestral Warchief Chieftain is a Totem build, which revolves around summoning Ancestral Warchief Totems to deal damage for you. Ancestral Warchief's DPS is based on your character's stats including your weapon's damage, and Attack Speed, which makes it a perfect choice to use a powerful two-handed weapon for this build. On the other hand, this builds defenses revolve around Endurance Charges, very high Life, and excellent Physical Damage mitigation. This build also utilizes the very powerful, but somehow not very powerful, Kongor's Undying Rage unique mace. On top of very high DPS, it makes your hits never miss, and grants the Onslaught buff.

0:06 Tier 15 Sunken City 0:35 Tier 16 Guardian of the Hydra 1:10 Tier 15 Lava Lake 1:41 Tier 14 Desert Spring This video was recorded on a level 86 Chieftain with Kaom's Heart equipped and a random Rare Helmet without the Helmet Enchantment

2. Build's PROS & CONS

3. Leveling tips

Leveling with Ancestral Warchief is smooth and easy. You get all the important DPS and Life passives from your Skill Tree early on. Your core leveling DPS setups (Cleave/Sunder, Ancestral Warchief) require as little as four links and deal very good damage even with self-found rare equipment. We suggest using a melee attack (Cleave, replaced later on by Sunder skill) until level 60 or so. From our experience, this has proven to be a bit faster in clearing areas and questing.

Suggested leveling Gem setups:

Cleave/Sunder setup
	Cleave - the first Attack Skill Gem you should get for the leveling phase after completing the first quest (you need to use an Axe or Sword for it, start using Maces after replacing this gem with Sunder at level 12)
	Sunder - Sunder is one of the most popular Melee leveling skills. It provides better damage and AoE compared to Cleave and should be used from level 12 (as soon as you can socket it in your gear)
	Faster Attacks Support - grants increased Attack Speed
	Melee Physical Damage Support - increases Physical Damage of supported attack skills
	Added Fire Damage Support - good support Gem that scales with your weapon's Physical DPS

Ancestral Warchief setup
	Ancestral Warchief - your primary DPS source
	Faster Attacks Support
	Melee Physical Damage Support
	Added Fire Damage Support - this Gem scales extremely well with Weapon Elemental Damage Support Gem and passives on your Skill Tree
	Multiple Totems Support - allows you to summon two additional Totems and doubles the number of Totems summoned with each cast

Leap Slam setup
	Leap Slam - your mobility skill. Is great for its' speed and allowing you to jump over cliffs and obstacles
	Faster Attacks Support

Utility Gems setup
	Stone Golem - grants increased Life Regeneration per second
	Herald of Ash

Bandits:

Kill all the Bandits for two additional Passive Points. Helping Oak for extra Physical Damage mitigation is also a proper choice

Leveling Skill Trees:

33 Points Skill Tree
Priorities: 1) Born to Fight 2) Butchery 3) Amplify 4) Catalyse 5) Devotion

57 Points Skill Tree
Priorities: 1) Blunt Instrument 2) Bone Breaker 3) Skull Cracking 4) Constitution 5) Ancestral Bond

Recommended leveling items:

Hrimnor's Hymn - one of the first unique Maces available in Path of Exile. This weapon provides very good DPS at the early levels

45% increased Stun Duration on Enemies (140-200)% increased Physical Damage +10 to Strength 15% reduced Enemy Stun Threshold 1% of Physical Attack Damage Leeched as Life (40-50)% increased Stun Duration on Enemies

Quecholli - very powerful and inexpensive unique Mace. It should be easy to obtain even early in a League

30% increased Stun Duration on Enemies (80-100)% increased Physical Damage Adds 5 to 25 Physical Damage +(25-50) to all Attributes +10 Life gained on Kill Enemies killed explode dealing 10% of their Life as Fire Damage

Blackheart - this ring grants a terrific DPS buff as early as level 1

Adds 1 to 4 Physical Damage to Attacks 5% increased Physical Damage Adds 1 to 3 Chaos Damage to Attacks +(20-30) to maximum Life (2-4) Life Regenerated per second 10% chance to Cause Monsters to Flee

Belt of the Deceiver - solid belt that is at the same time the recommended end-game belt for this build

+(25-35) to Strength (15-25)% increased Global Physical Damage You take 30% reduced Extra Damage from Critical Strikes +(30-40) to maximum Life +(10-15)% to all Elemental Resistances Nearby Enemies are Intimidated

Deidbell - a very good Phys. DPS helmet

Adds 10 to 20 Physical Damage to Attacks +(20-30) to Strength +(20-30) to Dexterity +(200-300) to Armour 20% increased Melee Damage Cannot Leech when on Low Life

4. Final Skill Tree, Ascendancy Points, and Pantheon

Final Skill Tree:
114 Points Final Skill Tree
114 Points Path of Building(PoB) link

Ascendancy points:

Preferably in that order:

1. Ngamahu, Flame's Advance
2. Hinekora, Death's Fury
3. Tawhoa, Forest's Strength
4. Ramako, Sun's Light

Pantheon:

Major God: Soul of Lunaris 1% additional Physical Damage Reduction for each nearby Enemy, up to 8%; 1% increased Movement Speed for each nearby Enemy, up to 8%

Minor God: Soul of Gruthkul 1% additional Physical Damage Reduction for each Hit you've taken Recently up to a maximum of 5%

5. Final Gems links

[DPS] Ancestral Warchief
	Ancestral Warchief - your primary DPS skill
	Melee Physical Damage Support - core Support Gem for every Melee/Physical Skill
	Elemental Damage with Attacks Support - since this is a full elemental conversion build, this Support Gem is mandatory
	Multiple Totems Support
	Combustion Support - increases Fire Damage and reduces Fire Resistance of enemies Ignited by Support Skill
	Concentrated Effect Support - reduces AoE but increases your DPS

[MOBILITY] Leap Slam setup
	Leap Slam - your main mobility skill
	Faster Attacks Support
	Fortify Support - grants the Fortify buff on melee hits with your Leap Slam
	Blood Magic - makes supported skills spend Life instead of Mana

[UTILTIY] Herald of Ash & Anger
	Herald of Ash - grants great DPS buff
	Anger - another great DPS aura
	Enlighten Support - reduces the amount of Mana reserved by supported Gems

[GOLEM] Stone Golem
	Summon Stone Golem - Stone Golem grants increased Life Regeneration per second. If you are using Kaom's Heart and lacks free sockets, you can use the Golem in the Redblade Band
	Cast When Damage Taken Support - if you have spare sockets, you can optionally link your Golem to CwDT Gem

[UTILITY] Warcry
	Enduring Warcry - grants increased Life Regeneration and Endurance Charges
	Blood Magic Support

[UTILITY] Curse
	Flammability - recommended Curse for this build. Depending on your item choices you can cast it manually or use the following Curse on Hit setup
	Blood Magic Support
	Curse on Hit Support
	Orb of Storms

5. Gear Setup

Our Ancestral Warchief Chieftain is a very budget-friendly build. It does not require any expensive uniques, and Kongor's Undying Rage which is the only recommended unique is very inexpensive. This build, at the same time, scales extremely well into end-game. Investing in Kaom's Heart, Opal Rings and Xoph's Blood makes your DPS sky-rocket.

The recommended gear in this guide will:

1. Cap your resistances
2. Grant sufficient Life pool for mapping
3. Give you more than enough DPS to enjoy the game and farm efficiently

(Helmet) Starkonja's Head - one of the best helmets for this builds. Grants amazing Life bonus and increased Attack Speed

50% reduced Damage when on Low Life +(50-70) to Dexterity 10% increased Attack Speed 25% increased Global Critical Strike Chance (100-130)% increased Evasion Rating +(80-100) to maximum Life 150% increased Global Evasion Rating when on Low Life

(Helmet) Rare Helmet

Min. requirements: 90 maximum Life 40% Cold Resistance 40% Lightning Resistance Optional affixes: Life Regenerated per second

Helmet enchantments: 40% increased Ancestral Warchief Totem Damage

(Weapon) Kongor's Undying Rage - recommended weapon for this build. It is at the same time very cheap, with 5-linked ones valued at around 20 Chaos Orbs

30% increased Stun Duration on Enemies Adds (43-56) to (330-400) Physical Damage (30-40)% increased Critical Strike Chance +(15-20)% to all Elemental Resistances Hits can't be Evaded Your Critical Strikes do not deal extra Damage You gain Onslaught for 4 seconds on Critical Strike

(Weapon) Panquetzaliztli - another decent unique two-handed mace that grants extra AoE. If you choose it as your main weapon, taking Resolute Technique Passive is recommended

30% increased Stun Duration on Enemies (80-100)% increased Physical Damage Adds (94-98) to (115-121) Physical Damage +(25-50) to all Attributes Recover 5% of Maximum Life on Kill Enemies killed explode dealing 10% of their Life as Fire Damage

(Weapon) Rare Two-Handed Mace - this build can use pretty much any weapon, which makes it perfect for Solo Self-Found mode as well

Min. requirements: 400+ Physical DPS Optional affixes: increased Elemental Damage with Attack Skills chance to deal Double Damage increased Attack Speed

(Body Armour) Rare Body Armour - with high Life and Armour Rating

Min. requirements: 100 maximum Life 2000 Armour Optional affixes: Elemental Resistances increased Maximum Life Elder mod

(Body Armour) Kaom's Heart - best in the slot. It is more expensive than rare armour, and you need to pass on the Molten Shell setup, but it's worth the price

Has no Sockets +500 to maximum Life (20-40)% increased Fire Damage

(Belt) Belt of the Deceiver - solid belt for this build. It is very cheap and may be easy to get one with +1 to maximum Endurance Charges corrupted implicit modifier

+(25-35) to Strength (15-25)% increased Global Physical Damage You take 30% reduced Extra Damage from Critical Strikes +(30-40) to maximum Life +(10-15)% to all Elemental Resistances Nearby Enemies are Intimidated Corrupted implicit modifier: +1 maximum Endurance Charges

(Boots) Kaom's Roots - best in the slot and cheap at the same time

Has no Sockets Cannot be Knocked Back +(150-200) to maximum Life You cannot be slowed to below base speed Unwavering Stance

Boot enchantments: Adds 45 to 68 Fire Damage if you've Killed Recently 16% increased Attack and Cast Speed if you've Killed Recently

(Gloves) Rare Gloves

Min. requirements: 70 maximum Life 35% Cold Resistance 35% Lightning Resistance Optional affixes: added Fire Damage to Attacks Mana gained on Kill

Glove enchantment: Commandment of Reflection Commandment of Fury

(Amulet) Rare Amulet - with high Life and added Physical Damage bonus

Min. requirements: 80 maximum Life 40 maximum Mana Added Physical/Fire Damage to Attacks Optional affixes: Attributes Elemental Resistances

(Amulet) Impresence (Fire) - allows you to use Flammability as an Aura which is convenient for faster map clearing. Also adds additional Fire Damage

+(10-16) to all Attributes Adds (20-24) to (33-36) Fire Damage +(50-70) to maximum Life +(20-25)% to Fire Resistance 1% of Life Regenerated per second 100% reduced Flammability Mana Reservation Gain Maddening Presence for 10 seconds when you Kill a Rare or Unique Enemy

(Amulet) Xoph's Blood - the best in the slot. It's very expensive, but using it allows you to refund the Avatar of Fire passive on your Skill Tree and get some extra stats elsewhere

+(20-30) to Strength 10% increased maximum Life +(20-40)% to Fire Resistance 10% increased Strength Damage Penetrates 10% Fire Resistance Cover Enemies in Ash when they Hit you Avatar of Fire

(Rings) Rare Ring - with Steel and Opal Ring being the possible end-game upgrade

Min. requirements: Added Fire/Physical Damage to Attacks 70 maximum Life 40 maximum Mana 25% Cold Resistance 25% Lightning Resistance Optional affixes: Attributes

(Rings) Redblade Band - adds the extra socket for your Golem. It's a perfect choice for Kaom's Heart builds

Has 1 Socket Socketed Golem Skills have 25% chance to Taunt on Hit Socketed Golem Skills have 5% Life Regenerated per second +3 to Level of Socketed Golem Gems +(30-40) to Strength (20-30)% increased Fire Damage +(30-40) to maximum Life

(Jewels) Rare Jewels

Recommended affixes: increased maximum Life increased maximum Mana increased Generic/Totem/Physical/Fire/Melee/Area Damage Optional affixes: increased Attack Speed Attributes

(Flask) Lion's Roar - a great utility Flask for Melee builds

Knocks Back Enemies in an Area on Flask use 75% chance to cause Enemies to Flee on use 20% more Melee Physical Damage during effect Adds Knockback during Flask effect

Other suggested Flasks: Cautious Divine Life Flask of Heat (immunity to freeze and chill effects) Cautious Divine Life Flask of Staunching (immunity to bleeding) Cautious Divine Life Flask of Warding (immunity to curses) Experimenter's Quicksilver Flask of Iron Skin (mobility and additional Armour)

We are looking forward to your feedback and suggestions for our next build. You can leave those in the comments below.

Pictures used in this article are the intellectual property of Grinding Gear Games.