Brutal Cyclone
Berserker-Marauder build

Updated for Patch 3.8

The Best Crafty Guides by Odealo

Estimated budget: mediocre

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

1. Gameplay

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.

0:06 Tier 16 Hydra Guardian 0:50 Tier 15 Palace 1:15 Tier 14 Caldera 1:43 Tier 15 Acid Caverns 2:23 Shaper The video was recorded on a level 86 Berserker in Standard wielding Starforge. It was recorded in Patch 3.7, but the gameplay hasn't changed at all since then

2. Build's PROS & CONS

3. Leveling tips

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
	Cleave - very strong AoE Attack which has decent base damage and area coverage
	Melee Physical Damage Support - a great boost to Physical Damage and inflicts Maim, which reduces Movement Speed of your enemies
	Ruthless Support - every 3rd hit will hit much harder and deal increased damage

Cyclone setup
	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
	Maim Support
	Melee Physical Damage Support
	Infused Channelling - one of the core Support Gems in this setup, however, it has high Intelligence requirements

Utility Gems
	Punishment - cursed enemies receive increased Physical damage and grant increased Attack Speed
	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:

Belt of the Deceiver - very solid Belt which grants high DPS bonuses and Intimidating enemies grants very high bonus against Bosses
+(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

Goldrim - one of the best leveling Helmets in the game which grants very high All Elemental Resistances bonus
+(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)

Blackheart - these Rings provide everything - Attributes, Damage, and Resistances
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

4. Final Skill tree, Ascendancy Points, and Pantheon

Final Skill Tree:

115 Points Final Skill Tree
115 Points Path of Building (PoB) link 

Ascendancy points:

Preferably in that order:

1. Flawless Savagery
2. Crave the Slaughter
3. Rite of Ruin
4. War Bringer

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] Cyclone
	Cyclone - your primary DPS skill. Deals massive both single and AoE damage
	Melee Physical Damage Support - biggest damage boost
	Concentrated Effect Support - massive Damage boost in exchange for lower Area of Effect
	Infused Channelling Support
	Rage Support - grants very high bonus damage based on your Rage
	Brutality Support - grants a very high increase to Physical Damage, but makes supported skill deal no Chaos and Elemental Damage
Optional Gems:
	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
	Ancestral Warchief - summons a Totem which increases your Melee Physical Damage
	Leap Slam - mobility skill which allows you to jump over obstacles and reach packs of enemies faster
	Fortify Support - grants a solid defensive buff on Hits with Leap Slam

[UTILITY] Rallying Cry
	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
	Pride - grants very high bonus Physical Damage, and truly shines in longer fights when the bonus gets higher the longer it takes
	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
	War Banner - grants extra Accuracy Rating and increases Physical Damage taken by nearby enemies
	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
	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
	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
	Summon Ice Golem - grants extra Accuracy and Crit. Chance. Use this Gem at level 12
	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

5. Gear Setup

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:

1. Cap your resistances 
2. Give you enough DPS/Life to start mapping successfully

(Helmet) Starkonja's Head - great budget option for the Helmet slot. It grants very high defensive utility, however, you may need to use a different Helmet if you get to Low Life too often

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) Devoto's Devotion - very solid option which grants extra bonuses to clear speed making it a perfect Map-grinding Helmet

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

Helmet enchantments: Increased Cyclone Attack Speed Increased Cyclone Damage

(Weapon) Starforge - one of the best weapons for this build. It has very high DPS, grants extra Life, and makes you Shock enemies with Physical Attacks

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

(Weapon) Rare Exquisite Blade - good rolled Exquisite blade with over 600 Physical DPS and extra Critical Strike Chance and Multiplier will be the best in the slot. You should be prepared to spend at least 20 Exalted Orbs though

Min. requirements: 550+ Physical DPS Critical Strike Multiplier Critical Strike Chance Optional affixes: Accuracy Rating

(Body Armour) Kaom's Heart - grants an insane amount of extra Life making it one of the best chests for this build

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

(Body Armour) Rare Body Armour - a good rolled chest which will support socketed Gems with level 1 Maim will be the best in the slot. Just make sure you have enough defensive stats to suffice for the lack of Kaom's Heart's bonus

Min. requirements: 1000 Armour Rating 110 maximum Life Socketed Gems are supported by level 1 Maim Optional affixes: Elemental Resistances

(Boots) Rare Boots - we need as much Elemental Resistances as possible and high Movement Speed bonus

Min. requirements: 80 Maximum Life 30% Fire Resistance 30% Cold Resistance 30% Lightning Resistance 30% increased Movement Speed Optional affixes: Maximum Mana

Boot enchantment: 16% increased Attack and Cast Speed if you've Killed Recently

(Belt) Rare Stygian Vise - we are trying to cap Resistances with your Belt's bonuses so try to get at least 70% Total of the Resistances you are lacking

Min. requirements: 80 Maximum Life 300 to Armour 35% Cold Resistance 35% Fire Resistance

(Amulet) Carnage Heart - provides very high all Attributes bonus which makes it very easy to use Concentrated Effect and Infused Channelling Support Gems in your core DPS setup

+(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

(Ring) Rare Rings - preferably Steel Rings for additional flat Physical Damage

Min. requirements: min. 10 added Physical Damage to Attacks 60 maximum Life 80% Total Elemental Resistances Optional affixes: Accuracy Rating Intelligence

(Ring) Mark of the Elder - extremely powerful Ring which should be used only if your Ring is Shaper item

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

(Gloves) Spiked Gloves - they grant solid DPS bonus and unlike the other two recommended pairs, it can also provide high Elemental Resistances bonuses

Min. requirements: min. 10 added Physical Damage to Attacks 70 maximum Life 80% Total Elemental Resistances Optional affixes: Accuracy Rating

(Gloves) Shaper's Touch - this pair should grant very high bonuses to Accuracy Rating, maximum Life, and Melee Attack Damage

(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

(Gloves) Maligaro's Virtuosity - grant very high bonus DPS which is what this build is all about. They are cheap, so a corrupted pair with added Crit. Chance to Attacks shouldn't cost you a fortune

+(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

(Jewels) Rare Jewels - all jewels should provide extra Life and at least one Damage amplification mod

Recommended affixes: increased maximum Life increased Melee/Area/Physical Damage increased Critical Strike Multiplier Optional affixes: increased Attack Speed

(Jewels) Abyss Jewels - your priority should be added flat Physical Damage to Attacks

Recommended affixes: Maximum Life Added Physical to Attacks/Sword Attacks Optional affixes: Chance to grant Onslaught for 4 seconds on kill Critical Strike Multiplier

(Flask) Lion's Roar - grants amazing Physical Damage boost as well as knockback, which helps with survivability

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

Other suggested Flasks: Bubbling Divine Life Flask of Staunching (Bleeding immunity) Ample Diamond Flask of Heat (Freezing immunity) Ample Silver Flask of Adrenaline (Movement Speed) Ample Basalt Flask of Iron Skin (Armour/Physical Damage Taken Reduction)

If you have any other build requests please leave that in the comments below.

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