Buy/Sell
Log in
Sign in
Sign in with your Odealo account.
Create a new account
Don't have an account yet?
Registration on Odealo is free and takes only about 30 seconds.
Buy/Sell
Log in
Sign in with your Odealo account.
Registration on Odealo is free and takes only about 30 seconds.
Updated for Patch 3.12
The Best Crafty Guides by Odealo
Estimated budget: medium
| Guide notes |
| September 22, 2020 -Updated for Patch 3.12 Major changes: -Patch 3.12 didn't bring anything new to this build, however, we have thoroughly reworked it to offer more damage and better defenses |
One of the biggest changes that were introduced in Patch 3.4 and the Delve League is related to the Guardian Ascendancy Class and Minion Passive Skills. Guardian emerges as one of the primary Minion-based classes, with powerful nodes that grant Attack Speed and Minion Damage bonuses to the Minions and the user as well. By benefiting from the same Passives twice, Guardian can maintain very high DPS even with a very low budget-gear. And we new powerful Cluster Jewels and Item modifiers, you can dish out Millions of realistic DPS while maintaining very high defenses.
This build has been thoroughly reworked for the current Patch 3.12 and the Heist League. With the nerfs to Redemption Sentry Spectres, this Guardian gets very close to the highest Tier of Minion builds, so if you are looking to play this type of character, you may as well try it out. With the changes to Minions and new Minion Skill Gems, this build has received significant buffs to clear speed and Damage. The raw DPS went up about 30-40% and our Sentinels of Purity are now aggressive and have greatly reduced Cooldowns. With Feeding Frenzy, even Melee Minions can offer amazing clear speed.
You can also check our other Path of Exile builds at Odealo's Crafty Guides - Full List
Our Dominating Blow Guardian is a combination of a tanky Melee fighter with and a Minion build. Hitting and killing enemies with Dominating blow will Summon up to 18 powerful Minions to fight for us. By using The Scourge Claw, we can also spawn additional Spectral Wolves which deal a moderate amount of extra damage (and well, it is cool). On top of extremely high DPS from our Minions, this build offers very solid defenses thanks to Guardian's Ascendancy class. You should have approximately 6,000 Life, 80% Physical Damage mitigation, 75% Chance to Block Attacks (and Spells really close to that as well), and extra Endurance Charges from Enduring Cry. The only downside to this build is Mana Management. But if you can get a Gemini Claw with some reasonable DPS and Minion Damage bonus, it will be one of the smoothest builds you are going to play.
|
|
|
|
| PROS |
|
| CONS |
|
We recommend leveling up our Dominating Blow Guardian with any high Physical DPS weapon of your choice. Since Minion Passives will apply to any weapon type you come across, it makes it much more convenient and also, a great addition for SSF players. At low levels, you can use a wide variety of skills including Raise Zombies, Ancestral Warchief, and any Melee attack that work with your currently equipped weapon. You should focus on adding as much raw Physical Damage bonuses as possible on your gear and rely on Life Passive nodes to keep you alive.
Suggested leveling Gem setups:
| Smite setup | |
 |
Smite - a great Attack for Minion builds which adds additional Lightning Damage both to you and your Minions. When you replace it with Dominating Blow at higher levels, you can still keep it around for the extra Lightning Damage from its Aura |
 |
Melee Physical Damage Support - increases Physical Damage of Supported Skills |
 |
Ancestral Support - greatly increases your clear speed by making Smite attack two nearby additional targets |
 |
Faster Attacks Support |
| Dominating Blow setup | |
|
Dominating Blow - you can start using Dominating Blow after level 28. Killing enemies with Dominating Blow debuff will spawn powerful Minions to fight for you |
|
Melee Physical Damage Support |
 |
Melee Splash Support - adds Splash effect to your Dominating Blow, which makes you Hit additional enemies |
 |
Multistrike Support - one of the best Support Gems for this setup which adds extra Attacks in a quick succession |
| Raise Zombie setup | |
 |
Raise Zombie - one of the first Minion skills available in PoE. With Smite Aura's DPS bonus, on top of tanking some of the damage, Zombies will also greatly increase your damage output |
 |
Minion Life Support - increases Zombies' Maximum Life |
 |
Minion Speed Support - increases Zombies' Attack and Movement Speed |
 |
Minion Damage Support - direct increase to Minions' DPS |
| Utility Gems | |
 |
Ancestral Warchief - increases your Melee Damage while active |
 |
Punishment - the best Curse for this build (though we go for "free" Vulnerability Aura later on) |
 |
Carrion Golem - the best Golem for Minion builds which increases your Minions Damage |
 |
Herald of Purity - grants extra Physical Damage to your Attacks. During the leveling phase it's mainly used for that purpose and it's not advised to Support this Gem with other recommended Gems to not Reserve too much of your Mana |
 |
Dash - recommended Movement Skill for this build |
Bandits:
We recommend killing all the Bandits for two additional Passive Points
Leveling Skill Trees:
35 Points Skill Tree
Priorities: 1) Retribution 2) Spiritual Command 3) Sacrifice 4) Spiritual Aid 5) Gravepact
60 Points Skill Tree
Priorities: 1) Enduring Bond 2) Constitution 3) Devotion 4) Large Cluster Socket
Recommended leveling items:
 Blackheart - great Physical DPS leveling Ring. You can use it from 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 - very solid belt for Melee builds. Can be used until late game and in low-level maps |
|
| (25-35) to Strength (15-25)% increased 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 |
|
|
|
|
| 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 |
|
|
|
|
| 30% increased Stun Duration on Enemies +1 to Level of Socketed Melee Gems +1 to Level of Socketed Minion Gems (200-220)% increased Physical Damage 25% increased maximum Mana Minions have (20-40)% increased maximum Life 15% increased Skill Effect Duration 20% reduced Strength Requirement |
|
|
|
|
| (60-80)% increased Armour and Evasion +(50-70) to maximum Life +(50-70) to maximum Mana +(10-20)% to all Elemental Resistances Minions have 10% Chance to Block Minions have +(300-350) to Armour Minions Regenerate 2% Life per second |
|
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] Dominating Blow (In Body Armour) |
|
 |
Dominating Blow - primary Attack skill in this build. It will deal a moderate amount of damage and also spawn powerful Minions when you kill enemies affected by its' debuff |
|
Melee Physical Damage Support |
|
Melee Splash Support - deals damage and applies the Dominating Blow debuff to all nearby enemies. Unlike Ancestral Call, there is no limit to how many enemies you can debuff with each attack |
|
Multistrike Support - causes Supported Melee Attacks repeat additional times with greatly increased damage and speed. It will affect both your Dominating Blow Attacks, but also the damage of your Minions created by it |
 |
Minion Damage Support - the highest damage multiplier for your Minions |
 |
Brutality Support - greatly increases Physical Damage but makes supported Skills deal only Physical Damage |
| [DPS] Herald of Purity setup (in Elder Helmet with Minion Damage Support) |
|
 |
Herald of Purity - Physical-based Herald Skill that grants extra Physical Damage and summons Sentinels of Purity when you kill enemies. Sentinels of Purity are Minions that benefit from all the Support Gems in this setup and Minion Passives on your Skill Tree |
|
Multistrike Support |
|
Brutality Support |
|
Melee Physical Damage Support |
| Gems granted by the Elder Helmet: | |
|
Minion Damage Support |
| [UTILITY] Flame Dash/Warcry | |
 |
Flame Dash - the recommended Movement Skill for this build. It's quite fast to travel, though if you prefer you can also use Dash in its place |
 |
Second Wind Support - adds extra charges to linked Spells and increases their cooldown recovery speed |
 |
Enduring Cry - a Warcry Spell which generates Endurance Charges and grants quick Life Recovery |
| [UTILITY] Aura/Curse | |
 |
Pride - the best Aura for this build which increases the damage of all your Minions significantly |
 |
Vulnerability - recommended Curse for this build which makes affected enemies take increased Physical Damage. You should use it manually, and in most cases, it's only useful against Bosses. You can also get it via Rare Ring affix, so in such case skip it in this Gem setup |
 |
Generosity Support - greatly increases the effectiveness of linked Auras (Pride in this case) but makes it only apply to your Minions |
| [UTILITY] Immortal Call and Carrion Golem | |
 |
Cast when Damage Taken Support - will automatically cast Supported Spells when you take enough damage. Keep this Gem at level 10 in this setup |
 |
Immortal Call - powerful Guard Spell which greatly reduces your incoming damage. Keep it at level 12 |
 |
Flesh Offering - the best Offering Spell for this build which increases your Minion's Attack and Cast Speed. It will be also triggered automatically if you don't upgrade it above level 14 |
| [UTILITY] Other Minions | |
|
Summon Carrion Golem - this is the best possible Golem for this build which grants very high added Physical Damage to your non-Golem Minions |
 |
Raise Spectre - you can also Summon up to two Spectres in this build, and we recommend getting Carnage Chieftain from Act 2's Old Field. They will generate Frenzy Charges for all allies |
 |
Minion Life Support - increases defenses of linked Minions, allowing them to stay alive for much longer |
 |
Feeding Frenzy Support - grants a chance for Minions to grant you the Feeding Frenzy buff which increases damage and speed of all your Minions including Sentinels of Purity and Dominance |
| [UTILITY] Convocation | |
 |
Convocation - resummons all your Minions to your current location. It's a very convenient Spell to use for all Minion builds as it allows you to progress much faster through Maps |
|
|
Our Dominating Blow Guardian build has no specific items requirements. It can be played with any random Rares as its' core damage comes from Passive Skills, Guardian's Ascendancy, and Skill Gems. Below you will find all the recommended items, but as stated, you can replace any of the items below with Rare gear with similar attributes.
If you would be interested in buying cheap PoE Currency with real cash, you can head over to our market section via links on top of this page.
Our recommended items will:
|
Stat priorities on items:
|
 (Helmet) Rare Helmet - one of the best choices for this build which increases Minion's Damage with the rare Implicit modifier. You should try getting an Elder Helmet with extra Minion Damage Support for your Herald of Purity setup |
|
| Min. requirements: 70 maximum Life Socketed Gems are Supported by level # Minion Damage Optional affixes: Nearby enemies take #% increased Physical Damage +3 to Level of Socketed Minion Gems |
|
| Helmet enchantment: Dominating Blow can summon an additional Rare Sentinel of Dominance +1 to maximum number of Sentinels of Purity |
|
 (Body Armour) Rare Body Armour - the best in the slot. It can give you a ton of extra defensive Attributes, and if you get one with Reduced Mana Cost of Socketed Attacks, it will make your playstyle much much smoother |
|
| Min. requirements: 100 maximum Life Optional affixes: Maximum Life% Elemental Resistances High Armour Rating Socketed Attacks have -15 to Total Mana Cost |
|
 (Body Armour) Belly of the Beast - a very solid option which adds a lot of Life and some extra Resistances |
|
| (150-200)% increased Armour (30-40)% increased maximum Life +(10-15)% to all Elemental Resistances 50% increased Flask Life Recovery rate Extra gore |
|
 (Weapon) Scourge - a great and budget-friendly Weapon for this build. It offers a very high Minion Damage bonus and extra Life Leech, though Gemini Claw will make this build much more convenient to play |
|
| 2% of Physical Attack Damage Leeched as Life Adds (35-50) to (100-125) Physical Damage (10-15)% increased Attack Speed Minions have (10-15)% increased Attack Speed 10% Chance to Trigger Level 18 Summon Spectral Wolf on Kill Increases and Reductions to Minion Damage also affect you 70% increased Minion Damage if you have Hit Recently |
|
 (Weapon) Gemini Claw - this is the top recommendation for the Weapon slot. Just get one with high Attack Speed and craft Minion Damage bonus on it (obviously the higher base Physical DPS it has, the better). The Life and Mana Gained on Hit make your game so much better |
|
| Min. requirements: 2.00 Attacks per Second Minions deal 50% Increased Damage Optional affixes: High base Physical DPS |
|
 (Shield) Lioneye's Remorse - grants solid defensive bonuses. At the same time, it's very cheap and easy to obtain. However, the lack of a Reduced Mana Reserved bonus here, you may be unable to use Pride Aura |
|
| +(20-30) to maximum Life (200-250)% increased Armour 20% increased Stun and Block Recovery +(160-180) to maximum Life 5% reduced Movement Speed -25 Physical Damage taken from Projectile Attacks +5% Chance to Block |
|
 (Shield) Rare Shield - aim to get high defensive stats and Mana Reservation Cost reduction for your socketed Auras (otherwise you may be unable to comfortably use Pride) |
|
| Min. requirements: 100 maximum Life Socketed Gems have 15% reduced Mana Reservation Optional affixes: Elemental Resistances Attributes High Armour Rating |
|
 (Boots) Rare Boots - with high defensive stats, Life, and Movement Speed bonus |
|
| Min. requirements: 60 maximum Life 60% Total Elemental Resistances 25% increased Movement Speed Optional affixes: Attributes Chaos Resistance |
|
| Boot enchantment: 16% increased Attack and Cast Speed if you've Killed Recently 0.6% of Damage Leeched as Life and Mana if you've Killed Recently |
|
 (Belt) Rare Belt - with Stygian Vise being the best base for its extra Abyssal Socket |
|
| Min. requirements: 90 maximum Life 90% Total Elemental Resistances Optional affixes: Armour Rating Maximum Life% |
|
 (Amulet) Rare Amulet - the best and most viable option for this build. Just get extra Life, Attributes, and possibly Minion Damage bonus |
|
| Min. requirements: 50 maximum Life 40 Dexterity Minions deal 30% Increased Damage Optional affixes: Attributes |
|
| Recommended Anointment: Ravenous Horde |
|
 (Ring) Rare Ring |
|
| Min. requirements: 60 maximum Life 80% Total Elemental Resistances Non-Channelled Skills have -# Total Mana Cost Optional affixes: Attributes |
|
 (Ring) Circle of Guilt - the best possible Ring for this build. You are aiming to get one with Herald's of Purity Reduced Mana reserved, and increased Sentinels of Purity of damage. If you have two of those, you should be easily able to use Pride Aura with enough remaining Mana pool |
|
| Adds 1 to 4 Physical Damage to Attacks <One to three random Synthesis implicit modifiers> +(10-20) to all Attributes Adds (8-10) to (13-15) Physical Damage +(350-400) to Armour <Two Random Herald of Purity modifiers> |
|
 (Gloves) Rare Gloves |
|
| Min. requirements: 80 maximum Life 80% Total Elemental Resistances Optional affixes: Attributes |
|
 (Jewel) Large Cluster Jewel - you should get one Large Cluster Jewel with Minion Damage bonuses (most of the Passives will work just fine) with 2 Sockets for Medium Cluster Jewels - those provide extremely important Cooldown Recovery Speed for your Minions |
|
| Recommended affixes: 1 Added Passive Skill is Call to the Slaughter 1 Added Passive Skill is Feasting Fiends 1 Added Passive Skill is Renewal |
|
 (Jewel) Medium Cluster Jewels - you should get at least two Medium Cluster Jewels with Disciples Passive. It reduces the cooldown of your Sentinels' (both Dominance and Purity) abilities, greatly increasing your DPS output. The best second Passive will be Cult-Leader |
|
| Recommended affixes: 1 Added Passive Skill is Cult-Leader 1 Added Passive Skill is Disciples |
|
 (Jewel) Small Cluster Jewels - you can use two of these. Fettle Passive will provide the best bonus here, increasing your Maximum Life |
|
| Recommended affixes: 1 Added Passive Skill is Fettle |
|
 (Jewel) Rare Jewels - these should provide extra Life and Minion Damage bonuses |
|
| Recommended affixes: increased maximum Life increased Minion Damage Optional affixes: Attributes |
|
 (Jewel) Rare Abyssal Jewels - can provide high flat Life and added Damage for your Minions |
|
| Recommended affixes: maximum Life Minions deal additional Physical Damage with Attacks Optional affixes: Minions have increased Attack Speed Minions have increased Movement Speed |
|
 (Flask) Rumi's Concoction - great defensive Flask which increases your Armour and Chance to Block |
|
| +3000 to Armour +(14-20)% Chance to Block Attack Damage during Flask effect +(6-10)% Chance to Block Spell Damage during Flask effect |
|
Other suggested Flasks:
|
|
    |
|
|
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.
Quecholli - a powerful Melee weapon which adds extra AoE explosions 
Chober Chaber - one of the best weapons for this build on early levels. It provides decent Physical DPS for Dominating Blow as well as increases the levels of all the Gems in your Herald of Purity setup
Skullhead - again very powerful item for this build. It can be used during the early mapping phase as well