Impaling Cyclone
Champion/Duelist Starter build

Updated for Patch 3.11

The Best Crafty Guides by Odealo

Estimated budget: medium

With the 3.7 Update, Cyclone became the single-best Melee skill in the Path of Exile. It deals insane damage nearly with every character class and setup, has wide area coverage, and amazing clearing speed. This Champion build revolves around Impale mechanics, which even further increases your damage, and with very high Hit frequency that Cyclone offers, you stack Impale within seconds. This build is one of the best Boss-slayers we have ever played, with all of them melting in seconds including Shaper and his Guardians. On top of that, this build requires no specific items, and with the Impale bonuses, your damage is high enough to make this one of the most powerful Starter builds for both regular and SSF modes. This build (specifically Impale Champion) got even better thanks to the addition of Cluster Jewels in Patch 3.10 - we can stack even more Impales on enemies thanks to the new Deep Cuts Passive. Each additional Impale means a ton of extra damage that's best utilized by Champions.

You can also check our other PoE build right here Odealo's Crafty Guides - Full List

1. Gameplay

This is one of the most versatile and mobile builds we have ever played. You can swiftly travel with Whirling Blades between packs, and everything dies as soon as your press your Cyclone button. You have plenty of buffs including Dread Banner, Blood Rage, Ancestral Warchief, Vaal Haste, but even the toughest Bosses will die in seconds if you totally forget about them. For the defenses, you should make sure to have your Fortify buff at all times and avoid big damage spikes from Bosses. 

This build also utilizes the Impale mechanic, which saves a portion of the Physical Damage you deal, and has it added to your next Attacks against the same target. This provides approximately 140% MORE damage against affected enemies if they have the maximum number of Impale stacks on them. The DPS levels go beyond absurd in this build.

0:08 Tier 14 Haunted Mansion with Baran 0:32 Tier 16 Bazaar 0:59 Tier 16 Crystal Ore 1:21 Tier 16 Plateau 1:56 Tier 16 Underground River 2:15 Tier 17 Shaper The video was recorded on a level 92 Champion dual-wielding Paradoxica Swords without any Cluster Jewels socketed.  It was recorded in Patch 3.10 but the gameplay hasn't changed since

2. Build's PROS & CONS

3. Leveling tips

With the buffs to Melee skills in Patch 3.7, leveling a Duelist/Champion is a piece of cake. On lower levels, you can use any AoE Attack that can be used with Swords, and switch over to Cyclone at level 28 for massive DPS buff and better AoE. Your primary goal should be to get:

1. High base Physical DPS One-handed Swords
2. Rare Rings/Gloves/Amulet with Life and added Physical Damage to Attacks bonuses
3. Movement Speed bonus on Boots and possibly some of the following Unique Items: Foxshade, Daresso's Salute, Coward's Chains, Peregrine, Chitus' Needle
4. Life and Elemental Resistances on all other gear slots (preferably Rare ones)

Suggested leveling Gem setups:

Cleave setup
	Cleave - one of the first Melee attacks available in Path of Exile. It deals decent Area Damage and has a wide AoE
	Melee Physical Damage Support - increases the Physical Melee Damage you deal with supported skills
	Ruthless Support - increases the damage of every third Hit with Cleave
	Maim Support - this Gem will increase your damage and Maims enemies on Hit increasing Physical Damage they take and slowing them down

Bladestorm setup
	Cyclone - primary skill used in this build. It's a Channelled/AoE attack which deals Absurd damage with the correct setup and gear
	Melee Physical Damage Support
	Impale Support - grants a higher chance to Impale enemies, and its effectiveness
	Close Combat Support - grants high bonus damage as well as increases your Attack Speed with other Movement Skill for a short duration

Utility Gems
	Ancestral Warchief - summons a Totem which increases your Melee Damage
	Punishment - recommended Curse for this build
	Whirling Blades - the recommended Movement Skill which has very high Attack/Travel Speed
	Blood and Sand - a newly added skill which allows you to choose between Blood and Sand stance. Sand Stance increases your Area of Effect, making it perfect for the leveling phase
	Flesh and Stone - grants extra effects based on your active Stance

Bandits:

It's recommended to kill all the Bandits for two extra Passive Points or help Alira for extra Crit. Multiplier and Resistances

Leveling Skill Trees:

36 Points Skill Tree
Priorities: 1) Art of the Gladiator 2) Master of the Arena 3) Gladiator's Preservance 4) Dismembering 5) Bloodless

61 Points Skill Tree
Priorities: 1) Swift Skewering 2) Blade of Cunning 3) Fatal Blade 4) Forceful Skewering

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 - powerful belt, giving a lot of flat physical damage attacks which scales extremely good with %increased damage from Blade Flurry channeling stages
+(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

4. Final Skill tree, Ascendancy Points, and Pantheon

Final Skill Tree:

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

Ascendancy points:

Preferably in that order:

1. Master of Metal
2. Conqueror
3. Worthy Foe
4. Inspirational

Pantheon:

Major God: 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] Cyclone setup
	Cyclone - your primary DPS skill used in this build. It's a Channelled/AoE Attack which deals absurd amounts of damage to all enemies near you
	Brutality Support - grants very high bonus Physical Damage, but you can't deal non-Physical Damage with Supported Skills
	Melee Physical Damage Support - one of the core Support Gems for all Melee/Physical Attacks
	Fortify Support - grants high bonus DPS as well as a permanent Fortify which greatly boosts your defenses. You can replace it with Close Combat if you are using Bronn's Lithe and have trouble getting enough Red sockets
	Infused Channelling Support - on top of very high bonus Damage with Channelled Skills, you get additional damage reduction buffs
	Impale Support - increases your Chance to Impale and increases its effectiveness
Optional Gems:
	Close Combat Support - grants high bonus Damage to enemies near you, and also increases the Attack Speed of Movement Skills used, making this build feel much smoother. You can use Close Combat if you decide to link Fortify to Whirling Blades (having this buff is mandatory)

[UTILITY] Auras
	Pride - makes affected enemies receive much more Physical Damage
	Flesh and Stone - grants additional effects based on your active Stance
	Maim Support - increases Physical Damage taken by enemies Maimed by Flesh and Stone
	Enlighten Support - reduces the amount of Mana Reserved by Supported Skills

[MOBILITY] Whirling Blades
	Whirling Blades - one of the fastest Movements Skill in PoE which we use to quickly progress through Maps
	Faster Attacks Support
	Blood Magic Support - makes Whirling Blades cost Life instead of Mana

[UTILITY] Golem/Phasing/Curse
	Cast when Damage Taken Support - will auto-cast all Supported Spells after you take a certain amount of damage. Use level 11 of this Gem
	Summon Lightning Golem - increases your Attack and Cast Speed. Use a level 13 Gem
	Punishment - recommended Curse for this build which increases your Melee Physical Damage and Attack Speed against Cursed enemies. Don't upgrade it above level 14. You can also try getting Shaper Ring with Assassin's Mark and skip this Gem here entirely
	Phase Run - grants Phasing which increases your Movement Speed, and when you take any action while its' active, you will have your Melee Damage increased for a short duration. Do not upgrade above level 13

[UTILITY] Ancestral Warchief
	Ancestral Warchief - summons a Totem which increases your Melee Damage while active

[UTILITY] Dread Banner
	Dread Banner - increases your chance to Impale on Hit and its' effectiveness. Also reduces Accuracy Rating of nearby enemies

[UTILITY] Blood Rage
	Blood Rage - grants increased Attack Speed, Life Leech, and generates Frenzy Charges. Keep this Gem at level 13
	Cast when Damage Taken Support - will automatically cast your Blood Rage and Immortal Call. Keep this Gem at level 10
	Immortal Call - a very strong Guard Spell which will be triggered automatically when you take damage

[UTILITY] Enduring Cry
	Enduring Cry - grants Endurance Charges and nearly Instant Life Recovery

5. Gear Setup

Below you will find all the recommended gear for this build. Keep in mind that it's a very flexible setup, you could possibly do it with Maces, Axes, or even Unarmed (with Facebreaker), however, this guide will not cover those variations. All the listed equipment can be replaced with random Rares with similar stats, which makes it a very decent Starter build as well.

If by any chance you are looking for cheap PoE Currency to gear up your own character, feel free to visit our marketplace section, where Orbs and Unique Items are offered for sale 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) Starkonja's Head - very solid Helmet with a great defensive utility

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) Rare Helmet - always a decent pick. Will not give you as much DPS bonus as Starkonja's but you can get some extra Elemental Resistances from a Rare Helmet

Min. requirements: 90 maximum Life 25% Fire Resistance 25% Cold Resistance 25% Lightning Resistance Optional affixes: Nearby enemies take #% increased Physical Damage(Fossil Mod)

Helmet enchantment: 40% increased Cyclone Damage 15% increased Cyclone Attack Speed

(Weapon) Rare One-Handed Sword  - Jewelled Foils should be your primary choice since they add extra Crit. Multiplier as their Implicit modifier

Min. requirements: 360 Physical DPS 1.75 Attack Speed Optional affixes: Increased Critical Strike Multiplier Increased Critical Strike Chance

(Body Armour) Bronn's Lithe - the best in the slot. It grants insane bonuses to Cyclone's Damage and your Attack/Movement Speed

+2 to Level of Socketed Movement Gems 10% increased Attack Speed (35-50)% increased Damage with Movement Skills (200-250)% increased Evasion Rating 10% increased Movement Speed 15% increased Attack and Cast Speed if you've used a Movement Skill Recently

(Body Armour) Rare Body Armour - just standard stats here - Life, Elemental Resistances, possibly high Armour Rating

Min. requirements: 100 maximum Life 20% Fire Resistance 20% Lightning Resistance 20% Cold Resistance Optional affixes: Attacks have +# to Critical Strike Chance (Elder Armour)

(Body Armour) Belly of the Beast - always a decent pick if you want to increase your Life Pool

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

(Boots) Rare Boots - get pair with the highest maximum bonuses you can afford

Min. requirements: 70 maximum Life 30% increased Movement Speed 35% Fire Resistance 35% Lightning Resistance 35% Cold Resistance

Boot enchantment: 16% increased Attack and Cast Speed if you've Killed Recently

(Belt) Stygian Vise - primarily focus on defensive stats; Life and Resistances, but extra crafted bonus Damage would also be nice

Min. requirements: 75 maximum Life 30% Fire Resistance 30% Lightning Resistance 30% Cold Resistance Optional affixes: increased Damage (Crafting Bench)

(Belt) Belt of the Deceiver - very solid and well-rounded option for the Belt Slot. The Intimidate is surprisingly good versus end-game Bosses

(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: 70 maximum Life 60 Intelligence Adds min. 11 Physical Damage to Attacks 30% increased Global Critical Strike Multiplier Optional affixes: Elemental Resistances

Recommended Anointments: Assassination (best DPS) Master of Force (budget option)

(Ring) Rare Rings - with Steel Rings being the best Ring-base for this build. Make sure to cap your Resistances with those, and possibly get missing Intelligence for your Support Gems

Min. requirements: 60 maximum Life 30 Intelligence 75% Total Elemental Resistances Optional affixes: Added Physical Damage to Attacks Curse enemies with level # Assassin's Mark on Hit Attributes

(Gloves) Rare Gloves - defensive stats mainly. If you get a hold of Spiked Gloves with added Physical Damage to Attacks, then have more than enough

Min. requirements: 90 maximum Life 100% Total Elemental Resistances Optional affixes: added Physical Damage to Attacks Melee Damage (Spiked Gloves)

(Jewels) Watcher's Eye - getting Watcher's Eye that increases the maximum number of Impale stacks is the best way to min-max your DPS for this Champion build

(4-6)% increased maximum Energy Shield (4-6)% increased maximum Life (4-6)% increased maximum Mana <Two or Three random aura modifiers> Recommended Aura modifier: Impales you inflict last 2 additional Hits while using Pride

(Jewels) Large Cluster Jewel - it's recommended to get one Large Cluster Jewel, as on top of giving you new powerful Passives, it can give you very important Mana Leech for this build

Recommended affixes: 2 Added Passive Skills are Jewel Sockets 1 Added Passive Skill is Devastator 1 Added Passive Skill is Fuel the Fight 1 Added Passive Skill is Smite the Weak

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

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

(Jewels) Murderous Eye Jewel - same as regular Jewels, you can try checking up PoB for your personal stats, and verify whether it's better to get an Abyssal Jewel or a regular one

Recommended affixes: maximum Life added Physical Damage to Attacks/Sword Attacks increased Global Critical Strike Multiplier

(Flask) Lion's Roar - grants very high bonus Melee Damage and Armour Rating

+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) Ample Diamond Flask of Warding (Curse immunity) Experimenter's Silver Flask of Adrenaline (increased Movement Speed) Experimenter's Quicksilver Flask of Heat (Freeze immunity)

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.