Created for Patch 3.19
The Best Crafty Guides by Odealo
Guide notes |
November 8, 2022 -Build created |
Build Overview | |||
Tags: [MELEE] [ELEMENTAL] [LIFE] [CRITICAL] | |||
Budget: Defenses: |
|
Boss DPS: AoE: |
|
Heavy Strike is the very first Attack Skill you are going to use as a newly arrived Exile. It's a very crude Skill, it truly suits the Marauder class. Once you reach the town, you might want to change it for something else, usually something more flashy. But if you admire the simplicity of that Skill, and the huge Damage numbers that naturally come with it, stay tuned for this Guide!
Heavy Strike is essentially an improved Auto Attack, you swing your Weapon to deal very high Damage and slightly knock back your enemies. It has high Damage Effectiveness and comes with a built-in Chance to deal Double Damage. The clear is a bit lacking, to say at least, but the single-target Damage it provides lavishly compensates for it. It's a perfect Skill for everyone who enjoys true Melee gameplay.
To fully utilize the high Damage Effectiveness of this Skill, we are using 2 Handed Swords with very high Elemental Damage. Thanks to the special Banishing Blade obtainable from Heist, we can ignore all Elemental Resistances with our Critical Strikes. Fortunately for us, Swords have one of the best Passive Skills when it comes to Critical Strikes! As a result, our Damage output can be really spiky. You will easily notice when you deal a Critical Hit with Doubled Damage, as it will take a large chunk of enemy HP and inflict powerful Shock.
To be able to fight Enemies face-to-face, we have chosen the Juggernaut Ascendancy. It provides amazing mitigation against Physical and Elemental Damage and makes you Immune to the most slowing effects. It also grants you a lot of Attack Speed and Accuracy Rating, which are essential for any Critical Strike Attack Build. With Fortify and all your Endurance Charges, you will fear no one!
Overall, it's a pretty cheap Build, but we advise against starting a new League with it. As an Attack Build, you simply need a good Weapon to deal good Damage. If you have some currency set aside and want to experience true melee combat, this is the ideal Build for you.
You can also check our other Path of Exile builds right over here Odealo's Crafty Guides - Full List
Very high Attack Speed makes Leap Slam a very smooth form of travel. You will be able to quickly move from pack to pack and swing your Sword to kill everything in close range. Mark and Guard Skills will be triggered automatically, but you will need to remember about recasting Blood Rage from time to time. Against bosses, deploy your Totems for a massive Damage boost. Dodging incoming attacks is hardly your concern - as a Juggernaut, you can simply tank them all.
|
|
PROS |
|
CONS |
|
Heavy Strike suffers a lot due to a lack of AoE coverage early on. It requires additional Strikes and Melee Splash to properly clear packs of monsters. As a result, you should consider leveling with completely different Skill or use two setups, one with Heavy Strike against bosses or tough Rares, and one with any Skill of your choice suited for killing many enemies at once. There are many powerful Unique Weapons at your disposal to make your journey much easier and faster, or you can even use no Weapons at all and punch your enemies to death with Facebreaker Gloves or Hollow Palm Technique. As always, Tabula Rasa granting you an early six-link will be tremendously helpful. Without good gear, getting enough Damage can be quite rough at low levels because most of it comes from Critical Strikes.
Suggested leveling Gem setups:
Smite setup | |
![]() |
Smite - you can use this Skill with almost any Weapon, has good clear, and can "shotgun" for an okayish single target Damage. Hitting an enemy grants a temporary Buff that adds Lightning Damage to your Attacks. |
![]() |
Ancestral Call Support - improves the clear and single target Damage. Attacking a bit away from your Main Target will cause the AoE to overlap. |
![]() |
Added Lightning Damage Support - adds a bit of flat Lightning Damage to your Attacks |
![]() |
Elemental Damage with Attacks Support - improves your Elemental Damage with Attacks |
![]() |
Cruelty Support - grants generic Damage boost to your Skills. Replace Added Lightning Damage Support. |
![]() |
Multistrike Support - adds additional swings to your Attacks. Each subsequent swing is stronger than the previous one. |
Auras setup | |
![]() |
Determination - this Aura gives you a lot of flat Armour, which is very important at low levels. |
![]() |
Vitality - provides solid Life Regeneration. It's especially useful at Lord's Labirynth. |
Utility setup | |
![]() |
Leap Slam - to travel faster you can use this Skill, if it can't be used with your Weapon use Dash instead. |
![]() |
Elemental Weakness - lowers all Elemental Resistances of your enemies. |
![]() |
Steelskin - reduces the Damage you take and disables Bleeds for a short duration. |
![]() |
Ancestral Warchief - use this Totem to boost your Damage against tough opponents. |
Bandits:
Kill all Bandits to get additional 2 Passive Tree Skill Points
Leveling Skill Trees:
34 Points Passive Tree
We recommend this order:
1) Heart of the Warrior and Versatility 2) Art of the Gladiator3) Tribal Fury 4) Dismembering 5) Bloodless
69 Points Passive Tree
Allocate:
1) Barbarism 2) Disemboweling 3) Divine Judgement 4) Devotion 5) Disciple of Unyielding 6) Endurance 7)Stamina 8)Vigour
Recommended leveling items:
![]() |
|
40% increased Global Accuracy RatingUses both hand slots (70-90)% increased Critical Strike Chance Adds 2 to 3 Physical Damage to Attacks per Level Gain Her Embrace for 3 seconds when you Ignite an Enemy While in Her Embrace, take 0.5% of your total Maximum Life and Energy Shield as Fire Damage per second per Level Item has 6 Sockets and is fully linked (Hidden) |
|
![]() |
|
+1 to Level of Socketed Melee Gems Uses both hand slots (250-300)% increased Physical Damage Adds 3 to 7 Fire Damage 20% increased Attack Speed 30% increased Global Critical Strike Chance +(20-40) to Evasion Rating 20% reduced Rarity of Items found 30% increased Movement Speed when on Low Life |
|
![]() |
|
+1 to Level of Socketed Strength Gems Trigger Level 1 Gore Shockwave on Melee Hit if you have at least 150 Strength +(15-30) to Strength (80-100)% increased Physical Damage Adds 5 to 10 Physical Damage Culling Strike |
|
![]() |
|
+25% to Global Critical Strike Multiplier Adds 1 to (45-55) Lightning Damage (16-22)% increased Attack Speed Attacks Chain an additional time when in Main Hand Attacks fire an additional Projectile when in Off Hand (40-55)% increased Elemental Damage with Attack Skills |
|
![]() |
|
+360 to Accuracy Rating(180-220)% increased Physical Damage 20% increased Attack Speed (50-75)% increased Critical Strike Chance +10 Mana gained on Kill 10% increased Movement Speed Gain a Frenzy Charge on Critical Strike |
|
![]() |
|
+(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) |
|
![]() |
|
Adds 1 to 4 Physical Damage to Attacks +(10-30) to all Attributes (10-30)% increased Damage (10-30)% increased Rarity of Items found +(10-30)% to all Elemental Resistances |
|
![]() |
|
+(8-10)% to all Elemental Resistances (10-16)% increased Quantity of Items found Can't use other Rings +(25-40)% to all Elemental Resistances Gain (40-60) Life per Enemy Hit with Attacks Gain 30 Mana per Enemy Hit with Attacks 50% reduced Effect of Curses on you |
|
![]() |
|
Item has no level requirement and Energy Shield (Hidden) Item has 6 White Sockets and is fully linked (Hidden) |
|
![]() |
|
(15-25)% increased Stun and Block Recovery +(20-30) to all Attributes (6-8)% increased Quantity of Items found +20% to Fire Resistance 20% increased Flask Effect Duration -2 Physical Damage taken from Attack Hits |
|
![]() |
|
+(20-30) to Dexterity +(20-30) to Intelligence +100 to Accuracy Rating 10% increased Movement Speed 30% increased Area of Effect 30% increased Area Damage |
|
![]() |
|
+30% to Global Critical Strike Multiplier 10% reduced Enemy Stun Threshold (600-800)% more Physical Damage with Unarmed Melee Attacks Extra gore |
|
![]() |
|
+5 to Dexterity +(10-20) to maximum Energy Shield (20-40)% increased Mana Regeneration Rate 20% increased Movement Speed Cannot be Frozen |
|
![]() |
|
50% increased Movement Speed Level Requirement reduced by 100 (Hidden) |
Final Skill Tree:
119 Points Final Passive Tree
119 Points Path of Building (PoB) link
Ascendancy points:
Preferably in this 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 Shakari: 50% less Duration of Poisons on You, You cannot be Poisoned while there are at least 3 Poisons on you
[DPS] Heavy Strike setup | |
![]() |
Heavy Strike - a powerful swing that deals Damage to a single enemy and knocks it back, with a high chance to deal Double Damage. Use the Divergent Quality if you find knockback too annoying. |
![]() |
Elemental Damage with Attacks Support - grants a lot of Damage with your Elemental Attacks. The awakened version of this Gem gives you immunity to Reflected Damage |
![]() |
Inspiration Support - reduces your Mana Costs while also improving your Damage and Critical Strike Chance |
![]() |
Ruthless Support - grants an enormous boost to your every third Hit. Such Hits are sure to inflict maximum Shocks even on the strongest Bosses |
![]() |
Close Combat Support - improves your Damage if you stand close to the enemy, and makes your Leap Slam faster for a quick moment. |
![]() |
Multistrike Support - adds extra swings to your Attacks. You can cancel the animation at any time. |
![]() |
Melee Splash Support - deals Damage to enemies close to your Main Target. You will need either this Gem or Meginord's Vise Unique Gloves. |
[UTILITY] Auras | |
![]() |
Determination - greatly improves your Armour Rating, which is the main Defense of this Build. |
![]() |
Haste - grants you a lot of Attack Speed, which improves your Damage and Leap Slam traveling. Use Vaal Haste for short bursts of additional speed. You can also replace it with Anger or Wrath for better DPS, but less mobility bonus |
![]() |
Defiance Banner - increases your Armour Rating. You can place the Banner to Taunt nearby Enemies. |
![]() |
Precision - grants a lot of Accuracy Rating and Critical Strike Chance. Accuracy grants us Attack Speed thanks to the Undeniable Passive. |
![]() |
Enlighten Support - reduces the Mana Reservation of all linked Auras |
![]() |
Herald of Ice - grants a bit of Cold Damage to your Attacks and causes explosions when you kill a frozen enemy. Drop it if you have issues with your Mana Reservation. |
[UTILITY] Totems setup | |
![]() |
Ancestral Warchief - this Totem improves your Melee Damage by a huge amount. You must be in close distance to activate the Buff |
![]() |
Ancestral Protector - similarly to the previous one, this Totem grants you a lot of Attack Speed. |
![]() |
Multiple Totems Support - you need this Support Gem to be able to summon both Totems at once. |
[UTILITY] Arcanist Brand setup | |
![]() |
Assassin's Mark - increases Critical Strike chance against Marked enemy and gives you a chance to generate Power Charge on Hit. |
![]() |
Mark on Hit Support - automatically Marks the Enemy when you Hit it with an Attack. |
![]() |
Lifetap Support - Marks consume a lot of Mana. Use this Support to pay its cost in Life instead. |
[UTILITY] Leap Slam and Smite setup | |
![]() |
Leap Slam - this is your main Movement Skill. Close Combat buff from your Main Attack makes it nearly instant. |
![]() |
Smite - hitting an enemy with this Attack will give you a lot of Elemental Damage to all your Attacks for a short duration. |
![]() |
Faster Attacks Support - makes linked Skills much quicker to perform. |
![]() |
Increased Duration Support - prolongs the duration of the Smite Aura, so you have to use it less often. |
[UTILITY] Molten Shell | |
![]() |
Molten Shell - grants you a defensive Shield based on the amount of Armour you have. |
![]() |
Blood Rage - gives you a short Buff that refreshes on Kill. It grants you a lot of Attack Speed and a chance to generate Frenzy Charge. |
|
Every warrior needs a good Weapon to fight. In this case, you are going to use a Two-Handed Sword, ideally with the Banishing Blade as a Base to ignore the Elemental Resistances of your Enemies. An average Sword with that Base will outperform even the best Sword with a different Base due to all the Elemental Damage we get from other sources, such as Replica Abyssus which gives an enormous amount of Critical Strike Multiplier and flat Damage of every Element.
Unfortunately, Strike Skills require the Melee Splash effect to have any form of Map Clear. You can get it by using the proper Support Gem, and swapping it for a more damage-focused Support Gem when needed, or by wearing the Meginord's Vise Unique Gloves. They are very cheap and common, so getting a pair with additional Critical Strike Chance and Attack Speed is very easy, which makes them comparable to a good pair of Rare Gloves. The major downside of this solution is the extra knockback on every Hit, which gets quite noticeable in longer fights. You will need a lot of Attributes on your Gear since our Passive Tree provides almost exclusively the Strength Attribute. You will also need a lot of maximum Life, especially if you are going to use the Brass Dome Unique Armour. Elemental Quality on your Accessories can provide an amazing boost to your Elemental Resistances and Elemental Damage modifiers.
Our recommended items will:
Stat priorities on items:
|
![]() |
|
+(20-25) to all Attributes Adds 40 to 75 Fire Damage to Attacks Adds 30 to 65 Cold Damage to Attacks Adds 10 to 130 Lightning Damage to Attacks +(100-125)% to Melee Critical Strike Multiplier (100-120)% increased Armour (40-50)% increased Elemental Damage taken |
|
Helmet enchantments: Heavy Strike has a 12% chance to deal Double Damage 40% increased Heavy Strike Damage 30% increased Assassin's Mark Curse Effect |
|
![]() |
|
Min. requirements: |
|
![]() |
|
Min. requirements: +110 to maximum Life +80% to Elemental Resistances Optional affixes: +(0.5–1.5)% to Attack Critical Strike Chance You can apply an additional Curse (19-20)% increased effect of Non-Curse Auras from your Skills Haste has (28-30)% increased Aura Effect |
|
![]() |
|
(350-400)% increased Armour +(1-5)% to all maximum Elemental Resistances Strength provides no bonus to Maximum Life Take no Extra Damage from Critical Strikes |
|
![]() |
|
Has 6 Sockets +(8-24) to all Attributes Adds (4-10) to (14-36) Physical Damage to Attacks (20-60)% increased Global Critical Strike Chance +(15-50) to maximum Energy Shield +(20-60) to maximum Life +(20-50) to maximum Mana (6-30)% increased Rarity of Items found (15-50)% increased Elemental Damage Your Maximum Resistances are (76-78)% |
|
![]() |
|
Min. requirements: +70 to maximum Life 20% increased Movement Speed +60% to Elemental Resistances Optional affixes: (8–12)% chance to gain Onslaught for 4 seconds on Kill Attributes 6% increased Damage per Endurance Charge damage (Searing Exarch Implicit) You have Tailwind if you have dealt a Critical Strike Recently (Hunter Influence) |
|
![]() |
|
Melee Strike Skills deal Splash Damage to surrounding targets +50 to Strength (150-200)% increased Armour 100% increased Knockback Distance Melee Hits with Strike Skills always Knockback Optional Vaal Implictis: Attacks have +(0.5-0.8)% to Critical Strike Chance (8-10)% increased Attack Speed +1 to Maximum Frenzy Charge |
|
![]() |
|
Min. requirements: +70 to maximum Life +90% to Elemental Resistances Optional affixes: Strike Skills target 2 additional nearby Enemies (9-16)% increased Attack Speed Accuracy Rating Gain 1 Rage on Hit with Attacks, no more than once every 1.1 seconds |
|
![]() |
|
+(50-70) to maximum Life +(20-30)% to Fire Resistance (0.3-0.5)% of Physical Attack Damage Leeched as Life Life Recovery from Regeneration is not applied Regenerate 1 Rage per second for every 100 Life Recovery per second from Regeneration |
|
![]() |
|
Min. requirements: +100 to Maximum Life +80% to Elemental Resistances Optional affixes: % Increased Maximum Life Elemental Damage with Attacks 17% reduced Flask Charges used |
|
![]() |
|
Min. requirements: +30 to maximum Life Elemental Resistances Optional affixes: +10% to Global Critical Strike Multiplier increased Attack Speed Attributes |
|
![]() |
|
Min. requirements: +60% to Elemental Resistances +60 to Maximum Life Optional affixes: Elemental Damage with Attacks Critical Strike Multiplier Attributes Non-Channelling Skills have -7 to Total Mana Cost |
|
Recommended Anointments: Fatal Blade |
|
![]() |
|
Min. requirements: +80% to Elemental Resistances +60 to Maximum Life Optional affixes: Non-Channelling Skills have -7 to Total Mana Cost Elemental Damage with Attacks Attributes |
|
![]() |
|
Recommended affixes: 7% increased maximum Life #% to Global Critical Strike Multiplier #% to Melee Critical Strike Multiplier #% to Critical Strike Multiplier with Two Handed Melee Weapons #% increased Attack Speed with Two Handed Melee Weapons #% increased Attack Speed with Swords |
|
![]() |
|
(4-6)% increased maximum Energy Shield (4-6)% increased maximum Life (4-6)% increased maximum Mana <Two or Three random aura modifiers> Recommended Aura mods: #% to Critical Strike Multiplier while affected by Precision #% increased Attack Damage while affected by Precision |
|
![]() |
|
Commanded leadership over (10000-18000) warriors under Akoya Passives in radius are Conquered by the Karui Historic |
|
![]() ![]() |
|
Allocates <Random Ascendancy Notable> if you have the matching modifiers on Forbidden Flesh/Flame | |
![]() |
|
Adds (3-5) to (8-12) Fire Attack Damage per Buff on you Adds (2-3) to (5-8) Fire Spell Damage per Buff on you |
|
![]() |
|
Creates Consecrated Ground on Use (30-15)% reduced Duration Consecrated Ground created by this Flask has Tripled Radius Consecrated Ground created during Effect applies (7-10)% increased Damage taken to Enemies (100-150)% increased Critical Strike Chance against Enemies on Consecrated Ground during Flask effect |
|
Suggested Flasks:
|
|
![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
|
If you have any other build requests please leave that in the comments below. We are always open to suggestions and constructive feedback.
Pictures used in this article are the intellectual property of Grinding Gear Games.