Glacial Hammer
Dual-wield Gladiator build

Updated for Patch 3.5

The Best Crafty Guides by Odealo

Estimated budget: medium

Gladiator is a well-balanced melee class. It provides high melee DPS bonuses, and high Block Chance, which is the core defense layer of nearly every Gladiator character. This build also utilizes several unique items, which make up for very high Glacial Hammer DPS - these are Doryani's Catalyst, Hrimburn gloves, and Gang's Momentum. On top of violent AoE explosions that obliterates entire packs of monsters with just your first hit, this build provides excellent defenses and fantastic mobility with Leap Slam skill. 

The full list of our other Path of Exile Crafty Guides can be found here: Odealo's Crafty Guides - Full List

1. Gameplay

This build is based on 100% Cold Damage conversion of your Glacial Hammer and making Cold Damage Ignite enemies on hit. Your DPS is even further increased by Gang's Momentum unique Boots, and with overlapping explosions caused by Glacial Hammer's threshold jewel and Herald of Ice, this build provides amazing clear speed. For the defenses, you rely on high Life pool, high Block Chance and Physical Damage mitigation from decent Armour Rating and Endurance Charges.

This build's amazing AoE and clear speed come from:

1. Winter Burial threshold jewel - granting splash in a small radius around your target
2. Ancestral Call - which makes the melee splash from Winter Burial to overlap on multiple enemies
3. Herald of Ice - which causes AoE Explosions when killing Frozen enemies

0:06 Apex of Sacrifice 1:16 Tier 15 Carcass 1:45 Tier 15 Siege 2:15 Tier 14 Dig This video was recorded on a level 86 Gladiator with 55k unbuffed Glacial Hammer's DPS pre 3.5. Currently, you no longer can use Razor of the Seventh Sun as stat-tick in this build

2. Build's PROS & CONS

3. Leveling tips

We recommend to level up this Gladiator as a sword&board type of character and switch to dual-wielding whenever you feel comfortable (was at about level 65 for me, when I have started dual-wielding Cameria's Avarice). Glacial Hammer is still one of the best skills to use during leveling, which makes it easier to get all the necessary Gems for the late game. 

Suggested leveling Gem setups:

Glacial Hammer setup
	Glacial Hammer - your primary Attack skill
	Added Cold Damage Support - adds additional Cold Damage to supported skills
	Ancestral Call Support - grants terrific clear speed
	Faster Attacks Support - increases the Attack Speed of supported skills

Ancestral Warchief setup
	Ancestral Warchief - summons a Totem which increases your Melee Damage
	Melee Physical Damage Support - increases the DPS of your Ancestral Warchief

Utility Gems
	Lightning Golem - Lightning Golem increases your Attack Speed
	Frostbite - the recommended Curse for this build
	Herald of Ice - increases Cold Damage of your Attacks and Spells and causes AoE explosions when you kill Frozen enemies
	Shield Charge - recommended mobility skill for the leveling phase

Bandits:

We recommend killing all the Bandits for two additional Passive Points

Leveling Skill Trees:

33 Points Skill Tree
Priorities: 1) Art of the Gladiator 2) Defiance 3) Retaliation 4) Fangs of Frost

61 Points Skill Tree
Priorities: 1) Primeval Force 2) Herbalism 3) Thick Skin 4) Bloodless 5) Bloody Buldgeon

Recommended leveling items:

Blackheart - great physical DPS leveling rings. Available as soon as level one will grant you amazing DPS bonuses
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

Meginord's Girdle - a powerful belt which gives high DPS and Life bonuses
+(25-35) to Strength Adds 5 to 15 Physical Damage to Attacks +25 to Strength 10% increased maximum Life +(10-20)% to Cold Resistance 25% increased Flask Life Recovery rate

Crest of Perandus - the best leveling shield for early levels
Chance to Block: 31% Evasion: 51 +(60-80) to maximum Life (5-7.5) Life Regenerated per second +30% to Lightning Resistance 0.6% of Physical Attack Damage Leeched as Life +5% Chance to Block

4. Final Skill tree, Ascendancy Points, and Pantheon

Final Skill Tree:

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

Ascendancy points:

Preferably in that order:

1. Painforged
2. Violent Retaliation
3. Versatile Combatant
4. Outmatch and Outlast

Pantheon:

Major God:

Map farming: 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%

Boss fights: Soul of Solaris 6% Physical Damage Reduction if there is only one nearby Enemy; 20% chance to take 50%  less Area Damage from Hits

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] Glacial Hammer setup
	Glacial Hammer - your primary Attack skill. It converts 50% of Physical Damage to Cold and has increased chance to Freeze. Also, it instantly kills Frozen enemies below 35% Life on Hit
	Melee Physical Damage Support - increases your Physical Damage which is later converted to Cold
	Elemental Damage with Attacks Support - increases Elemental Damage of supported skills
	Ancestral Call Support - makes Glacial Hammer also hit two nearby enemies. This makes the splash effect granted by Winter Burial to overlap on multiple enemies and deal amazing AoE damage
	Cold Penetration Support - makes supported attacks penetrate a big portion of monsters' resistance to Cold
	Hypothermia Support - increases the damage you deal to chilled enemies. Also, grants increased chance to Freeze enemies
Optional Support Gems:
	Faster Attacks Support - grants increased Attack Speed. Can replace Hypothermia Support against Chill/Freeze immune enemies
	Ruthless Support - Ancestral Call's replacement during single-target encounters (Boss fights)

[UTILITY] Golem and Blood Rage setup
	Cast when Damage Taken Support - auto-casts supported spells. Use it at max level
	Lightning Golem - Lightning Golem increases your Attack Speed
	Blood Rage - increases your Attack Speed and grants increased Life Leech. Also, deals moderate damage to self

[UTILITY] Ancestral Warchief setup
	Ancestral Warchief - spawns a Totem which increases your Melee Damage. It also has amazing DPS on its' own
	Melee Physical Damage Support
	Faster Attacks Support
	Concentrated Effect Support - increases the DPS of Ancestral Warchief at the cost of reduced radius to its' splash attacks

[MOBILITY] Leap Slam setup
	Leap Slam - your primary mobility skill
	Faster Attacks Support
	Fortify Support - Hits with Whirling Blades will grant you the Fortify buff which reduces your damage taken

[AURA] Herald of Ice and Hatred
	Hatred - grants very high bonus Cold Damage based on your Physical Damage
	Herald of Ice - grants moderate flat added Cold Damage to your Spells and Attacks. Also, causes AoE explosions when killing Frozen enemies

[UTILITY] Single-socket Gems
	[1L]Vaal Lightning Trap - will shock enemies, increasing the damage they take
	[1L]Enduring Cry - generates Endurance Charges. It's less convenient but much cheaper than using The Red Dream unique jewel

[CURSE] Riposte and Vengeance CoH setup
	Riposte - counter-attack skill which triggers when you successfully block
	Vengeance - another counter-attack skill which triggers when you are Hit. Different counter-attacks have separate internal cooldowns, which makes this setup much more effective, and also deal more damage
	Curse on Hit Support - makes the supported counter-attack skills to apply the supported Curse
	Frostbite - the recommended Curse for this build. Reduces Cold Resistance and grants increased chance to Freeze

5. Gear Setup

Below you will find all the required and recommended gear for this build. While a number of specific uniques is required, most of them are easy to obtain and they are all rather cheap. We recommend switching from Shield when you obtain all the unique items that amplify your Damage against Ignited enemies.

If you are looking for cheap PoE Currency, Unique Items or Power Leveling, you should visit our PoE Market. All offers there are posted by regular Path of Exile players.

Our recommended items will:

1. Cap your resistances 
2. Give you enough DPS/Life to start mapping successfully
3. Save you at least a couple of hours on planning your build

(Helmet) Rare Life/Res. helmet - is the most balanced choice for the helmet slot. Choosing a rare helmet makes rings and amulet much cheaper as they do not have to be stacked with Elemental Resistances

Min. requirements: 80 maximum Life 28% Fire Resistance 28% Cold Resistance 28% Lightning Resistance

(Helmet) Devoto's Devotion - greatly increases clear speed on low and mid-tier maps, but lacks Elemental Resistances

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 enchantment: 40% increased Glacial Hammer Damage

(Weapon) Doryani's Catalyst - our top recommendation for the main-hand slot. It grants high Physical Damage, very high Elemental Damage bonuses, Life Leech and also the Elemental Proliferation which is very useful in the Whirling Blades setup

32% increased Elemental Damage Socketed Gems are Supported by Level 20 Elemental Proliferation Adds (65-85) to (100-160) Physical Damage (11-15)% increased Attack Speed (6-10)% increased Cast Speed (30-40)% increased Global Critical Strike Chance 0.2% of Elemental Damage Leeched as Life (80-100)% increased Elemental Damage

(Weapon) Cameria's Avarice - another decent option for the main-hand slot. With the increase to Item Rarity, it is a great pick for currency farming on low tier maps and magic find variations of this build

15% reduced Enemy Stun Threshold (140-180)% increased Physical Damage Adds (11-14) to (17-21) Physical Damage (15-40)% increased Critical Strike Chance 40% increased Rarity of Items Dropped by Frozen Enemies (30-40)% increased Cold Damage with Attack Skills Trigger Level 20 Icicle Burst when you Kill a Frozen Enemy

(Body Armour) Belly of the Beast - the best in the slot. It's one of the most popular Body Armours for any Life build

3% reduced Movement Speed (Hidden) (150-200)% increased Armour (30-40)% increased maximum Life +(10-15)% to all Elemental Resistances 50% increased Flask Life Recovery rate Extra gore

(Gloves) Hrimburn - mandatory pair of gloves for this build. Hrimburn makes your Cold Damage Ignite which allows us to reach such high Glacial Hammer's DPS

+(20-30) to Strength Adds (5-7) to (13-15) Cold Damage to Spells and Attacks +(40-50) to Evasion Rating +(20-30)% to Cold Resistance 50% of Physical Damage Converted to Cold Damage Reflects 10 Cold Damage to Melee Attackers Your Cold Damage can Ignite

Glove enchantment: Commandment of Light

(Boots) Gang's Momentum - this boots grant increased damage against Ignited enemies, and synergize well with other items in this build. Also, the increased chance to Ignite is extremely important

(160-180)% increased Armour and Energy Shield +(50-60)% to Fire Resistance 25% increased Movement Speed (10-15)% chance to Ignite (25-40)% increased Damage against Ignited Enemies

Boot enchantment: Adds 45 to 68 Cold Damage if you've been Hit Recently 16% increased Attack and Cast Speed if you've Killed Recently

(Belt) Rare Life/Res. belt - preferably Rustic Sash for the highest DPS bonuses

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

(Amulet) Rare Life/Res. amulet

Min. requirements: 60 maximum Life 25 Intelligence 10% All Elemental Resistances Adds min. 9 Physical Damage to Attacks 26% Elemental Damage with Attack Skills

(Ring) Rare Life/Res. Ring

Min. requirements: 55 maximum Life 33 Intelligence 10% All Elemental Resistances Adds min. 7 Physical Damage to Attacks 20% Elemental Damage with Attack Skills

(Ring) Rare Life/Res. Ring

Min. requirements: 55 maximum Life 33 Intelligence 30% Lightning Resistance Adds min. 12 Cold Damage to Attacks 20% Elemental Damage with Attack Skills

(Jewel) Winter Burial - mandatory threshold Jewel for this build. It provides amazing clear speed in combination with Ancestral Call

(10-15)% increased Cold Damage With at least 40 Strength in Radius, Glacial Hammer deals Cold-only Splash Damage to surrounding targets With at least 40 Strength in Radius, 25% of Glacial Hammer Physical Damage Converted to Cold Damage

(Jewels) Abyss Jewels - at least one of them is recommended with the added chance to gain Onslaught on a kill

Recommended affixes: added maximum Life added Physical Damage to Attacks/Mace Attacks added Cold Damage to Attacks/Mace Attacks Optional affixes: chance to gain Onslaught on kill for 4 seconds (one is recommended)

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

Recommended affixes: increased maximum Life increased Generic/Physical/Melee/Cold Damage Optional affixes: increased Attack Speed

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

+35% to Chaos Resistance 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 defensive and offensive utility Flask that is moderately cheap

+3000 to Armour 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) Taste of Hate - the best Flask for this build

+50% to Cold Resistance +6% to maximum Cold Resistance 20% of Physical Damage taken as Cold Damage during Flask effect Gain (15-20)% of Physical Damage as Extra Cold Damage during effect 30% chance to Avoid being Chilled during Flask effect 30% chance to Avoid being Frozen during Flask effect

(Flask) Rumi’s Concoction - this Flask increases your chance to Block. Depending on your personal preference you can use another Life Flask instead

+3000 to Armour (14-20)% Chance to Block during Flask effect (6-10)% Chance to Block Spells during Flask effect

Other suggested Flasks: Bubbling Divine Life Flask of Staunching (bleeding immunity)

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

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