Dominating Blow
Herald of Purity
Guardian/Templar
Starter build

Updated for Patch 3.8

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Estimated budget: medium

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 user as well. By benefiting from the same Passives twice, Guardian can maintain very high DPS even with a very low budget-gear. On top of that, Minion build is a perfect choice for the Delve League's mechanic. 

We have refreshed this build entirely for Patch 3.8, 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 became aggressive. You should notice that the behavior and targetting of Melee Minions was their main downside previously. 

You can also check our other Path of Exile builds at Odealo's Crafty Guides - Full List

1. Gameplay

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, feels 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 with Bastion of Hope Active, and maximum Endurance Charges nearly at all times

0:06 Tier 16 Forge of the Phoenix 0:34 Tier 16 The Constrictor 1:09 Tier 16 Pit of the Chimera 1:45 Tier 15 Overgrown Ruins This video was recorded on a level 88 Guardian equipped with the Scourge and The Surrenderer Shield

2. Build's PROS & CONS

3. Leveling tips

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 Zombie, Ancestral Warchief, and any Melee attack that works 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 - newly introduced in 3.4 Melee Skill that fits perfectly in this build. On top of dealing regular damage to your target, it casts an Aura which adds additional Lightning Damage both to you and your Minions. When you replace it with Dominating Blow at higher levels, you should 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
	Faster Attacks Support

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
	Shield Charge - recommended Movement Skill for this build

Bandits:

We recommend killing all the Bandits for two additional Passive Points

Leveling Skill Trees:

37 Points Skill Tree
Priorities: 1) Retribution 2) Spiritual Command 3) Sacrifice 4) Righteous Army 5) Gravepact

62 Points Skill Tree
Priorities: 1) Enduring Bond 2) Heart and Soul 3) Lord of the Dead 4) Cruel Preparation 5) Ravenous Horde

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

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. Radiant Crusade
2. Unwavering Crusade
3. Harmony of Purpose
4. Bastion of Hope

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] Dominating Blow (preferably in Elder Gloves)
	Dominating Blow - primary Attack skill in this build. It will deal a moderate amount of damage and also spawn additional 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
	Maim Support - Melee Attacks with Supported Skills will Maim the target causing it to have reduced Movement Speed and receive increased Physical Damage
Support Gems granted by the recommended Elder Gloves:
	Faster Attacks Support
	Chance to Bleed Support - adds extra Physical Damage and increases Chance to inflict Bleeding. This isn't that important in this setup, but if you can afford the extra Support on Elder Gloves then just go for it

[DPS] Herald of Purity setup (in Coming Calamity)
	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
	Feeding Frenzy Support - new Minion Gem which increases their DPS and makes them more aggressive. This is a must-have for most of the Melee Minions including Sentinels of Purity
	Minion Damage Support
	Melee Physical Damage Support
	Brutality Support - greatly increases Physical Damage but makes Sentinels Purity deal only Physical Damage
	Ruthless Support - makes every third Attack Hit much much harder

[MOBILITY] Shield Charge
	Shield Charge - the recommended Movement Skill for this build. On top of being fast, it grants the Fortify buff
	Faster Attacks Support
	Fortify Support

[CURSE] Vulnerability
	Blasphemy Support - makes supported Curse work as an Aura around you
	Vulnerability - recommended Curse for this build which makes affected enemies take increased Physical Damage. Use it as an Aura if you have Impresence Amulet, otherwise, stick to low-level CwDT Setup to apply it

[UTILITY] Aura (in Essence Worm)
	Pride - the best Aura for this build which increases Physical Damage taken by nearby enemies. The best way to use Pride in this build is to socket it inside Essence Worm

[UTILITY] War Banner
	War Banner - increases Physical Damage taken by nearby enemies, and increases your Minion's Accuracy Rating

[DPS] Spectral Wolf's Support Gems (in Scourge unique claw)
	Melee Physical Damage Support
	Minion Damage Support
	Brutality Support

[UTILITY] Immortal Call and Carrion Golem
	Cast when Damage Taken Support - will automatically cast Supported Spells when you take enough damage
	Immortal Call - powerful Guard Spell which greatly reduces your incoming damage
	Increased Duration Support
	Summon Carrion Golem - this is the best possible Golem for this build which grants very high added Physical Damage to your non-Golem Minions

5. Gear Setup

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.

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Our recommended items will:

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

(Helmet) Rare Helmet - one of the best choices for this build which increases Minion's Damage with the rare Implicit modifier

Min. requirements: 70 maximum Life 25% Fire Resistance 25% Lightning Resistance 25% Cold Resistance Optional affixes: increased Minion Damage (Bone Helmet's implicit)

Helmet enchantment: +1 to maximum number of Sentinels of Purity

(Body Armour) The Coming Calamity - the best in the slot. It makes Herald of Purity always Reserve 45% allowing us to keep sufficient Mana Pool and use War Banner

+2 to Level of Socketed Herald Gems (80-100)% increased Energy Shield 35% chance to avoid being Stunned for each Herald Skill affecting you Mana Reservation of Herald Skills is always 45%

(Body Armour) Belly of the Beast - a very solid option, however, will work only for up to five links with Herald of Purity because of Mana Reservation costs

(150-200)% increased Armour (30-40)% increased maximum Life +(10-15)% to all Elemental Resistances 50% increased Flask Life Recovery rate Extra gore

(Body Armour) Rare Body Armour - will do the job just fine on lower levels, however, it may be impossible to use it for a six link setup, as Herald of Purity will surely Reserve too much Mana

Min. requirements: 90 maximum Life 1200 Armour Rating Optional affixes: +1 to level of Socketed Gems Elemental Resistances

(Weapon) Scourge - the best in the slot. Grants high bonus Minion Damage, Life Leech, and has high Attack Speed allowing you to quickly resummon Sentinels against Bosses

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

(Shield) Lioneye's Remorse - grants insane defensive bonuses. At the same time, it's very cheap and easy to obtain

+(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 - just aim to get the highest Life, Elemental Resistances and Armour Rating

Min. requirements: 90 maximum Life 25% Fire Resistance 25% Lightning Resistance 25% Cold Resistance 1500 Armour Rating Optional affixes: Attributes

(Boots) Rare Boots - with high defensive stats, Life, and Movement Speed bonus

Min. requirements: 60 maximum Life 30% Fire Resistance 30% Lightning Resistance 30% Cold Resistance 25% increased Movement Speed

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: 80 maximum Life 30% Fire Resistance 30% Lightning Resistance 30% Cold Resistance Optional affixes: Armour Rating

(Amulet) Sidhebreath - a very decent Amulet, however, will require you to manually apply Vulnerability Curse. It's the budget-friendly option

(20-30)% increased Mana Regeneration Rate +25% to Cold Resistance 0.2% of Physical Attack Damage Leeched as Mana Minions have (10-15)% increased maximum Life Minions have (10-15)% increased Movement Speed (15-10)% reduced Mana Cost of Minion Skills Minions deal (10-15)% increased Damage

(Amulet) Impresence(Physical) - makes our gameplay experience much better removing the need to manually apply our Curse

+(10-16) to all Attributes Adds (12-16) to (20-25) Physical Damage +(400-500) to Armour +(50-70) to maximum Life (30-40)% increased Stun and Block Recovery Vulnerability has 100% reduced Mana Reservation Gain Maddening Presence for 10 seconds when you Kill a Rare or Unique Enemy

(Ring) Rare Ring

Min. requirements: 60 maximum Life 100% Total Elemental Resistances 35 Dexterity Optional affixes: Added Physical Damage to Attacks maximum Mana

(Ring) Essence Worm - allows us to use Pride without the Mana Reservation Cost and with increased Gem level

Has 1 Socket +2 to Level of Socketed Aura Gems Socketed Gems Reserve No Mana 40% increased Mana Reserved

(Gloves) Rare Elder Gloves

Min. requirements: 80 maximum Life 40 Dexterity Socketed Gems are Supported by level# Faster Attacks Optional affixes: Elemental Resistances Socketed Gems are Supported by level# Chance to Bleed

(Jewels) Rare Jewels - these should provide extra Life and Minion Damage bonuses

Recommended affixes: increased maximum Life increased Minion Damage Optional affixes: Attributes

(Jewels) Rare Abyssal Jewels - can provide much higher Minion Damage bonuses when compared to Cobalt Jewels, however, they will be also more expensive

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: Bubbling Divine Life Flask of Staunching (immunity to Bleeding) Bubbling Divine Life Flask of Heat (Freeze immunity) Ample Basalt Flask of Iron Skin (increased Armour Rating) Ample Quicksilver Flask of Adrenaline (increased Movement Speed)

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.