Updated for Patch 3.8
The Best Crafty Guides by Odealo
Estimated budget: mediocre
Guide notes |
September 10, 2019 -Updated for Patch 3.8 |
Cyclone is one of the most popular, and the most enjoyable Melee Skills in Path of Exile. With the buffs to both Melee combat and the Berserker Ascendancy class in Patch 3.7, this became one of the most deadly combinations in the game. Rage alone grants 150% increased Attack Damage, 50% Attack Speed, and 30% Movement Speed. With the recent changes, you will not lose Life when you weren't hit in the past 4 seconds, so the degeneration will not be as painful when you can't Leech.
You can also check our other Path of Exile builds: Odealo's Crafty Guides - Full List
This is a very straight-forward Melee build which lets you spin through enemies and obliterate everything on your way. It utilizes high DPS Two-Handed Swords and relies on purely Physical Damage. With the new Auras; Pride and Precision, Physical builds are no longer so much behind Elemental builds. This build is also heavily reliant on Rage which is accumulated while you fight - with high Cyclone's Hit coefficiency this takes seconds to reach the maximum of 50 Rage, and when you use Berserk skill while at it, you will melt Bosses in a matter of seconds. For the defenses, this build utilizes high Life (approximately 7,000), insane Life Leech, Physical Damage mitigation, and various defensive bonuses while channelling skills from the Passives and Infused Channelling Gem.
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PROS |
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CONS |
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For the leveling, you can use any Melee Skill that can be used with Two-Handed Swords. With the recent buffs, all skills will do exceptionally well on lower levels, and you can switch to Cyclone at level 28. You should prioritize high Physical DPS weapons over Life and Elemental Resistances. Below you will find a list of suggested Gem setups and several useful Uniques for this build. Keep in mind that you should add extra Support Gems as you obtain items with more sockets available.
Suggested leveling Gem setups:
Cleave setup | |
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Cleave - very strong AoE Attack which has decent base damage and area coverage |
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Melee Physical Damage Support - a great boost to Physical Damage and inflicts Maim, which reduces Movement Speed of your enemies |
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Ruthless Support - every 3rd hit will hit much harder and deal increased damage |
Cyclone setup | |
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Cyclone - primary attack used in this build. It's a spinning AoE attack that deals very high damage to all enemies around you while channelling it |
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Maim Support |
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Melee Physical Damage Support |
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Infused Channelling - one of the core Support Gems in this setup, however, it has high Intelligence requirements |
Utility Gems | |
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Punishment - cursed enemies receive increased Physical damage and grant increased Attack Speed |
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War Banner - increases both your Accuracy and Physical damage received by nearby enemies |
Bandits:
We recommend helping Alira for bonus Resistances and Crit. Multiplier or killing all Bandits for the two extra Passives
Leveling Skill Trees:
31 Points Skill Tree
Priorities: 1) Warrior's Blood 2) Butchery 3) Barbarism 4) Art of the Gladiator 5) Destroyer
64 Points Skill Tree
Priorities: 1) Golem's Blood 2) Charging Offensive 3) Leech/Vaal Pact nodes 4) Fatal Blade
Recommended leveling items:
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+(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 |
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+(30-50) to Evasion Rating 10% increased Rarity of Items found +(30-40)% to all Elemental Resistances Reflects 4 Physical Damage to Melee Attackers Level Requirement reduced by 100 (Hidden) |
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Adds 1 to 4 Physical Damage to Attacks 5% increased Global 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 |
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40% increased Global Accuracy Rating +1 to Level of Socketed Active Skill Gems (40-60)% increased Physical Damage Adds (60-68) to (90-102) Chaos Damage 1% increased Chaos Damage per Level Adds 1 to 2 Physical Damage to Attacks per Level |
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+(10-16) to all Attributes +(20-40) to all Attributes +(10-20)% to all Elemental Resistances (1.2-2)% of Physical Attack Damage Leeched as Life 50% increased Life Leeched per second (30-40)% increased Damage while Leeching Extra gore |
Final Skill Tree:
115 Points Final Skill Tree
115 Points Path of Building (PoB) link
Ascendancy points:
Preferably in that order:
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%
[DPS] Cyclone | |
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Cyclone - your primary DPS skill. Deals massive both single and AoE damage |
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Melee Physical Damage Support - biggest damage boost |
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Concentrated Effect Support - massive Damage boost in exchange for lower Area of Effect |
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Infused Channelling Support |
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Rage Support - grants very high bonus damage based on your Rage |
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Brutality Support - grants a very high increase to Physical Damage, but makes supported skill deal no Chaos and Elemental Damage |
Optional Gems: | |
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Maim Support - a rare Body Armour which supports socketed Gems with level 1 Maim can be used instead of Kaom's Heart |
[UTILITY] Ancestral Warchief and Leap Slam | |
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Ancestral Warchief - summons a Totem which increases your Melee Physical Damage |
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Leap Slam - mobility skill which allows you to jump over obstacles and reach packs of enemies faster |
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Fortify Support - grants a solid defensive buff on Hits with Leap Slam |
[UTILITY] Rallying Cry | |
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Rallying Cry - grants bonus damage based on the number of nearby enemies. It also instantly restores 25% of your Life and Mana, and grants increased DPS for a short duration thanks to the War Bringer Passive |
[UTILITY] Auras | |
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Pride - grants very high bonus Physical Damage, and truly shines in longer fights when the bonus gets higher the longer it takes |
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Precision - grants extra Accuracy Rating and Critical Strike Chance. If you have issues with Mana you may want to use this Gem on lower levels |
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War Banner - grants extra Accuracy Rating and increases Physical Damage taken by nearby enemies |
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Enlighten Support - reduces the amount of Mana reserved by Support Skills. Unless you can afford a level 3 or higher Enlighten, you may need to skip Precision or War Banner |
[UTILITY] Punishment, Berserk, and Golem | |
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Cast when Damage Taken Support - auto-casts your Curse and resummon the Golem when you take a certain amount of damage. Use this Gem at level 10 |
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Punishment - the recommended Curse for this build which increases Physical Damage taken by enemies, and increases your Attack Speed. Use this Gem at level 13 |
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Summon Ice Golem - grants extra Accuracy and Crit. Chance. Use this Gem at level 12 |
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Berserk - grants insane damage bonuses based on your Rage. It provides an amazing burst against Bosses and Rares. It's supposed to be used at the maximum level and to be cast manually |
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Below you will find all the recommended items for this build. This build is very flexible, and you can replace all the items with rare equipment and similar stats. You should primarily focus increases to Physical/Melee and Area Damage, and of course Life and Elemental Resistances.
Using this opportunity, we would love to invite you to visit our Path of Exile Marketplace where you can buy cheap PoE Currency in case you can't afford all the items for your character.
Our recommended items will:
Stat priorities on items:
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50% reduced Damage when on Low Life |
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10% reduced Global Physical Damage +(50-65) to Dexterity 16% increased Attack Speed (150-200)% increased Armour and Evasion +(15-25)% to Chaos Resistance 20% increased Movement Speed Mercury Footprints |
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Helmet enchantments: Increased Cyclone Attack Speed Increased Cyclone Damage |
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30% increased Global Accuracy Rating (400-500)% increased Physical Damage (5-8)% increased Attack Speed +(90-100) to maximum Life 20% increased Area of Effect for Attacks Deal no Elemental Damage Your Physical Damage can Shock |
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Min. requirements: 550+ Physical DPS Critical Strike Multiplier Critical Strike Chance Optional affixes: Accuracy Rating |
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Has no Sockets +500 to maximum Life (20-40)% increased Fire Damage |
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Min. requirements: 1000 Armour Rating 110 maximum Life Socketed Gems are supported by level 1 Maim Optional affixes: Elemental Resistances |
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Min. requirements: 80 Maximum Life 30% Fire Resistance 30% Cold Resistance 30% Lightning Resistance 30% increased Movement Speed Optional affixes: Maximum Mana |
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Boot enchantment: 16% increased Attack and Cast Speed if you've Killed Recently |
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Min. requirements: |
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+(10-16) to all Attributes +(20-40) to all Attributes +(10-20)% to all Elemental Resistances (1.2-2)% of Physical Attack Damage Leeched as Life 50% increased Life Leeched per second (30-40)% increased Damage while Leeching Extra gore |
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Min. requirements: |
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Adds (3-4) to (10-14) Physical Damage to Attacks Adds (26-32) to (42-48) Cold Damage to Attacks (6-10)% increased maximum Energy Shield (6-10)% increased maximum Life (60-80)% increased Attack Damage if your other Ring is a Shaper Item Cannot be Stunned by Attacks if your other Ring is an Elder Item 20% chance to Trigger Level 20 Tentacle Whip on Kill |
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Min. requirements: min. 10 added Physical Damage to Attacks 70 maximum Life 80% Total Elemental Resistances Optional affixes: Accuracy Rating |
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(80-120)% increased Armour and Energy Shield +4 Accuracy Rating per 2 Intelligence +1 Life per 4 Dexterity +2 Mana per 4 Strength 2% increased Energy Shield per 10 Strength 2% increased Evasion Rating per 10 Intelligence 2% increased Melee Physical Damage per 10 Dexterity |
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+(20-30) to Dexterity 5% increased Attack Speed 50% increased Global Critical Strike Chance +(20-30)% to Global Critical Strike Multiplier (60-80)% increased Evasion Rating |
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Recommended affixes: increased maximum Life increased Melee/Area/Physical Damage increased Critical Strike Multiplier Optional affixes: increased Attack Speed |
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Recommended affixes: Maximum Life Added Physical to Attacks/Sword Attacks Optional affixes: Chance to grant Onslaught for 4 seconds on kill Critical Strike Multiplier |
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Adds Knockback to Melee Attacks during Flask effect 75% chance to cause Enemies to Flee on use (20-25)% more Melee Physical Damage during effect Knocks Back Enemies in an Area when you use a Flask |
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Other suggested Flasks:
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If you have any other build requests please leave that in the comments below.
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