Crit. Earthquake
Juggernaut-Marauder
Starter build

THIS IS AN OUTDATED BUILD:

PLEASE CHECK: EARTHQUAKE BLEED JUGGERNAUT FOR THE UPDATED VERSION

The Best Crafty Guides by Odealo

Estimated budget: medium

Juggernaut is the third most popular class in Path of Exile in the Incursion League. It provides rock-solid defenses and at the same time, grants huge DPS buffs for your character. It is a perfect Ascendancy class for a League Starter Melee build. Our recommendation is to use the new reworked Vaal Earthquake Skill Gem (together with the regular Earthquake's version) which deals very high damage and has great AoE. It deals part of the damage on the initial hit, and also aftershock is created after a short delay which deals 60% increased damage. 

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

1. Gameplay

Our Earthquake Juggernaut is a typical two-handed melee build that utilizes high Hegemony's Era DPS, Juggernaut defenses and benefits from various Staff related Crit. Passives. For the defenses, you should easily reach 6,000 Life, nearly 90% Physical Damage mitigation, and high Life Regenerated per second allowing you to efficiently farm even the hardest content.

2. Build's PROS & CONS

3. Leveling tips

Leveling as a Juggernaut is very easy, however, it may feel slower compared to Ranged and Spell-Casters classes. Using Two-Handed weapons grants you very high DPS but reduces your mobility. We recommend leveling with a Staff and taking all the Passive Nodes, that way you won't have to refund any of the Passives later on. The core stats to look out for during leveling are:

1. High Weapon Physical DPS
2. Added Physical Damage to Attacks (rings, gloves, amulet)
3. maximum Life and Elemental Resistances
4. Attack and Movement Speed

Suggested leveling Gem setups:

Ground Slam setup
	Ground Slam - you can get this skill right after you start the game and reach Lioneye's Watch. It provides decent AoE and can be used with Staves. You can use it all the way to level 28 or swap it with Sunder at level 12
	Added Fire Damage Support - grants extra Fire Damage as a % of your Physical Damage
	Ruthless Support - this will make your every 3rd Hit deal around double damage
	Faster Attacks Support

Sunder/Earthquake setup
	Sunder - one of the best and most popular leveling Melee skills in PoE. Can be used from level 18 to 28 or you can skip it entirely, and transition from Ground Slam to Earthquake at level 28
	Earthquake - the primary attack skill in this build. Can be used from level 28
	Melee Physical Damage Support - core Support Gem for Physical Melee builds
	Added Fire Damage Support
	Faster Attacks Support
	Ruthless Support

Utility Gems
	Ancestral Warchief - spawns a Totem which increases your Melee Damage. Also uses a cleave attack to damage enemies
	Punishment - the best Curse for this build
	Ice Golem - is the recommended Golem for this build
	Herald of Ash - grants extra Fire Damage and AoE explosions
	Leap Slam - your primary movement skill. Should be supported by Faster Attacks for better mobility

Bandits:

We recommend killing all the Bandits for two additional Passive Points

Leveling Skill Trees:

35 Points Skill Tree
Priorities: 1) Born of Fight 2) Butchery 3) Barbarism 4) Devotion 5) Whirling Barrier (Smashing Strikes and Counterweight along the way)

64 Points Skill Tree
Priorities: 1) Thick Skin 2) Serpent Stance 3) Blunt Trauma 4) Art of the Gladiator 5) Destroyer

Recommended leveling items:

Blackheart - great Physical DPS leveling ring. You can use it starting at 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 - great belt for this build. Can be used even during leveling and early mapping phase
(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:

113 Points Skill Tree
113 Points Path of Building(PoB) link

Ascendancy points:

Preferably in that order:

1. Unflinching
2. Unyielding
3. Undeniable
4. Unrelenting

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] Vaal Earthquake setup
	Vaal Earthquake - grants both the regular Earthquake and Vaal Earthquake skills. Earthquake is a Melee Area attack that deals initial damage in an area and after a short delay, a shockwave is created which deals 60% increased damage. The Vaal skill works similarly, but the aftershock is much more powerful, and also you deal area damage around you for a short duration
	Melee Physical Damage Support
	Faster Attacks Support
	Ruthless Support
	Increased Critical Strikes Support - increases the Critical Strike Chance of Supported skills
	Concentrated Effect Support - greatly increases Area Damage at the cost of reduced radius

[DPS] Ancestral Warchief setup (you have to limit the number of sockets if you are using Kaom's Roots)
	Ancestral Warchief - summons a Totem which increases your Melee Damage. At the same time, it deals quite a lot of damage on its' own with cleave attacks
	Melee Physical Damage Support
	Culling Strike Support - will instantly kill enemies below 10% Life
	Maim Support - makes your Ancestral Warchief Totem Maim enemies, which reduces their Movement Speed and increases Physical Damage taken
	Faster Attacks Support (optional)
	Concentrated Effect Support (optional)

[AURAS] Hatred, Herald of Ash
	Hatred - grants the highest DPS out of all Auras in PoE
	Herald of Ash - increases your DPS and causes AoE explosions when killing monsters

[CURSE] Punishment
	Punishment - recommended Curse for this build. It will be applied by Counter Attacks linked to it
	Curse on Hit Support - makes supported skills apply your Curse
	Riposte - is triggered when you Block with your Staff
	Vengeance - is triggered when you are Hit

[MOBILITY] Leap Slam and Stone Golem
	Leap Slam - your primary movement skill
	Fortify Support - Hits with Leap Slam will grant you the Fortify buff for extra damage reduction
	Faster Attacks Support

[UTILITY] Golem and Blood Rage
	Ice Golem - is the recommended Golem for this build. It increases your Critical Strike Chance and Accuracy Rating
	Blood Rage - grants increased Attack Speed, Leech and generated Frenzy Charges
	Cast when Damage Taken Support - will auto-cast supported skills after you take a certain amount of damage. Use this Gem at maximum (20) level

5. Gear Setup

Our Crit. Earthquake Juggernaut is a flexible and budget-friendly build. It can be played with mostly rare items, but even the recommended unique items including Hegemony's Era, Starkonja's Head or Belly of the Beast should not cost a fortune.

If you are looking for cheap PoE Currency, you can head over to our market section via links on top of this page.

Our recommended items will:

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

(Helmet) Starkonja’s Head - one of the best choices for the helmet slot. Grants high DPS bonuses, very high Life and also enough Dexterity attribute to match Gem and Item requirements

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 - another decent option. It is the best pick for maximizing clear speed

10% reduced 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 enchantment: 40% increased Earthquake Damage 30% reduced Earthquake Duration

(Body Armour) Belly of the Beast - the best in the slot. You do not need to force 6 sockets on it, as it's supposed to "host" the Ancestral Warchief which can be considered your auxiliary source of damage

Armour: (685 to 812) (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 - can provide very high defensive stats including Life and Armour bonuses

Min. requirements: 100 maximum Life 20% Fire Resistance 20% Lightning Resistance 20% Cold Resistance Optional affixes: High Armour Rating

(Weapon) Hegemony's Era - our top recommendation for this build. It grants high Physical DPS and extra Crit.

18% Chance to Block 6% Chance to Block Adds (180-190) to (190-220) Physical Damage (12-16)% increased Attack Speed (20-30)% increased Critical Strike Chance +1 to Maximum Power Charges 10% chance to gain a Power Charge if you Knock an Enemy Back with Melee Damage

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

Min. requirements: 70 maximum Life 20% Fire Resistance 20% Lightning Resistance 20% Cold Resistance 25% increased Movement Speed

(Boots) Kaom's Roots - grant very high Life bonus, however, you lose four sockets. They aren't recommended for casual farming and leveling

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

(Boots) Death's Door - they are the best in the slot but also very expensive

+(20-40) to Strength 200% increased Armour and Energy Shield +(10-15)% to all Elemental Resistances 25% increased Movement Speed +1 to Maximum Endurance Charges 50% increased Elemental Ailment Duration on you Bleeding cannot be inflicted on you

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

Min. requirements: 70 maximum Life 18% increased Physical Damage 40% Fire Resistance 25% Lightning Resistance 25% Cold Resistance Optional affixes: increased Elemental Damage with Attack Skills

(Belt) Belt of the Deceiver - despite being very cheap, it’s a powerful Belt which grants all the important stats for this build

(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

(Amulet) Rare Amulet

Min. requirements: Adds min. 9 Physical Damage to Attacks 40 maximum Life 30% Global Critical Strike Multiplier 10% All Elemental Resistances Optional affixes: Attributes (if necessary)

(Ring) Rare Steel Rings

Min. requirements: Adds min. 9 Physical Damage to Attacks 50 maximum Life 20% Fire Resistance 20% Cold Resistance 20% Lightning Resistance min. 0.3% Damage Leeched as Mana Optional affixes: Accuracy Rating

(Gloves) Rare Gloves

Min. requirements: Adds min. 4 Physical Damage to Attacks 60 maximum Life 20% Lightning resistance 20% Cold resistance Optional affixes: increased Melee Damage (Spiked Gloves) Accuracy Rating

Glove enchantment: Commandment of Force Commandment of Frost

(Jewels) Abyss Jewels - at least one is required with the chance to grant the Onslaught buff on kill

Recommended affixes: maximum Life added Physical Damage to Attacks/Staff Attacks chance to grant Onslaught buff for 4 seconds on kill Optional affixes: increased Global Critical Strike Multiplier

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

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

(Flask) Atziri's Promise - one of the most popular Flasks in Path of Exile. Grants additional Chaos Damage and extra Life Leech

2% of Chaos Damage Leeched as Life during Flask effect Gain (15-20)% of Physical Damage as Extra Chaos Damage during effect Gain (10-15)% of Elemental Damage as Extra Chaos Damage during effect

(Flask) Lion's Roar - great, both in terms of defense and offense, utility Flask

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

(Flask) Sin's Rebirth - this Flask grants the Unholy Might buff which greatly increases your DPS. It is expensive though

100% increased Evasion Rating Creates a Smoke Cloud on Use Gain Unholy Might during Flask Effect Immunity to Ignite during Flask effect Removes Burning on use

Other suggested Flasks: Bubbling Divine Life Flask of Heat (immunity to Freeze and Chill effects) Bubbling Hallowed Hybrid Flask of Iron Skin (increased Armour)

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.