Impending Doom
Guardian Build

Created for Patch 3.27

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The Doom Blast is a special Spell that can be triggered by Impending Doom Support Gem when a linked Curse Skill expires or is overwritten by a different Curse. Since it is sourced from Support Gem, it is much harder to increase its base Damage; however, there are two Unique Items that can help with that. The newly introduced Foulborn Doedre's Scorn Helmet grants a level 30 Impending Doom Support for the Socketed Gems, which deals almost 4 times as much Damage as the regular level 20 Gem. Later on, you can also consider the Forbidden Shako Helmet that provides two random Support Gems with levels up to 35, but this particular combination tends to be insanely expensive. 

To instantly trigger the Doom Blast, you will need a specific, very technical setup. You will cast a single Curse linked with Impending Doom, which will instantly trigger 3 other Curses Socketed in the Vixen's Entrapment Gloves. That way, you will apply 4 Curses, but your limit is 3, so the oldest Curse will be overwritten. The Vixen's Curses are applied before you finish your Cast, so the oldest Curse means the Gem in the very first Socket of your Gloves. The final interaction is the Spell Cascade Support in both Curse Setups, resulting in yet another set of Curse applications. By overlapping with the previous casts, they will overwrite your main Curse for a brief moment, triggering the Doom Blast. The Awakened Spell Cascade works even better, but you will need it for each Setup to get the full effect. Additionally, the Doom Blast has a short Cooldown and can store up to 3 Charges. You are also limited by the Cooldown of the Vixen's Gloves, which can trigger up to 5 times per second once you acquire sufficient Recovery on your Items, which should be your goal. Having more Cast Speed can be wasteful, or even hurtful or your DPS. Lastly, you will need enough Area of Effect to make overlaps at all. 

The Chaos Damage of the Doom Blast can be used to inflict powerful Poisons. You can also opt for the Hit-based Critical Strikes, but that approach requires a lot more investment to be worth it. Both variants will want to include Wither Debuff, which massively increases the Chaos Damage taken by Enemies. To inflict it, you will use Withering Step, Eternal Suffering Notable, and a Chaos Mastery. The Festering Resentment Dagger is a great option as it improves your Damage with Poisons, guarantees Poison on Hit with the triggered Doom Blast, and grants tons of Spell Block. It can also be used to automatically resummon your Chaos Golem, activate the Guard Skill, and create Consecrated Ground. 

The very high base Damage of the Impending Doom at level 30 makes achieving comfortable DPS very easy, so you can focus much more on defense. The Guardian Ascendency is a rare recommendation, but it suits that role perfectly. You will gain tons of free Block Chance, and be able to use additional Auras thanks to the massive 50% Reservation Efficiency bonus. The other Notables are not that great, so you can pick the new Bloodline Ascendencies instead. The Lycia Bloodline is particularly useful here, as it turns Consecrated Ground into Profane Ground, increasing the effect of Curses and applying Malediction Debuff. 

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1. Gameplay

The Impending Doom may be hard to set up, but it is very easy to play. You will simply use Temporal Chains, and the rest will trigger automatically. For Movement, use Whirling Blades and Frostblink to upkeep your Block Buff. Against Bosses, try to activate the Withering Step often to apply the Wither Debuff. 

2. Build's PROS & CONS

3. Leveling tips

You can equip your endgame Helmet at level 39, which will completely trivialise the Campaign with an overwhelming amount of Damage. You can use any method to reach that level; our recommendation is the leveling with the BAMA Minions Guide.

Bandits:

Kill all three bandits to get one additional Passive Skill Point or kill Alira to help with Gearing. 

4. Final Skill Tree, Ascendancy Points, and Pantheon

Final Skill Tree:

103 Points Final Passive Tree (doesn't include Cluster or Unique Jewels)
122 Points Path of Building (PoB) link

Ascendancy points:

Preferably in that order:

1. Radiant Faith 
2. Unwavering Faith
3. Bastion of Hope
4. Bitter Heresy

Pantheon:

Major God: Soul of Arakaali: 10% reduced Damage taken from Damage Over Time, +40% Chaos Resistance against Damage Over Time

Minor God: Soul of Ralakesh: Moving while Bleeding doesn't cause you to take extra Damage, Corrupted Blood cannot be inflicted on you if you have at least 5 Corrupted Blood Debuffs on you

5. Final Gems links

[DPS] Impending Doom Setup Socket in the Helmet
	Temporal Chains - your main Curse to activate the Impending Doom, it will also activate the Balance of Terror Jewel bonus for extra Cooldown Recovery Rate.
	Unbound Ailments Support
	Deadly Ailments Support
	Spell Cascade Support

[UTILITY] Curse Setup Socket in the Gloves
	Punishment - the Curse in the upper left Socket will be instantly overwritten by other Curses to trigger the Impending Doom. You can use any Curse here.
	Despair - improves your Poison Damage by lowering the Chaos Resistances of affected Enemies.
	Enfeeble - lowers the Damage dealt by Enemies. Curses triggered by Gloves won't activate the Balance of Terror Jewel.
	Spell Cascade Support

[UTILITY] Aura Setup
	Determination - a defensive Aura that grants tons of Armour and helps improve it further.
	Herald of Agony - grants a decent amount of Damage for Poisons and enables the Circle of Nostalgia Ring.
	Purity of Elements - grants tons of Elemental Resistances and makes you immune against Elemental Ailments.
	Discipline - greatly improves your Energy Shield and its Recharge Rate. You can also use the Vaal Discipline for dangerous situations.
	Flesh and Stone - greatly lowers the Damage dealt by nearby Enemies. Always stay in the Sand Stance.
	Enlighten Support

[UTILITY] Life Aura Setup
	Malevolence - improves your Damage with Poisons and activates potent Watcher's Eye modifiers.
	Vitality - grants a large amount of Life Recovery, which will be converted into Energy Shield Regeneration.
	Arrogance Support

[UTILITY] Utility Setup Socket in the Off-hand Weapon
	Molten Shell - a Guard Skill that improves your Armour and absorbs a large amount of Damage while active.
	Summon Chaos Golem - provides tons of Chaos Resistance and improves your Damage over Time.
	Purifying Flame - creates Consecrated Ground, further converted to Profane Ground. You can also use the Transfigured version for better AoE.

[UTILITY] Movement Setup
	Frostblink - an instant blink used to cross terrain gaps and Chill Enemies.
	Withering Step - applies a few stacks of Wither Debuff onto nearby Enemies. It shares Cooldown with the Frostblink.
	Whirling Blades - a quick Attack that moves you in a specific direction. Use it often to upkeep the Block Buff.
	Faster Attacks Support

6. Gear Setup

The Unique Gloves, Helmet, and Amulet are mandatory for the Build functionality. The Coruscating Flask and the Brutal Restraint are necessary to safely Reserve your Life. You will also need the Festering Resentment Dagger to solve a lot of problems, but it is not required at first. To improve your Damage, you will need DoT Multiplier, a bit of Cast Speed, and at least 2% Cooldown Recovery Rate. For defense, focus on high Energy Shield, Armour, and cap your Resistances and Attribute Requirements. You will also need Recharge Rate and Life Regeneration to sustain your Costs. 

(Weapon) Rare Weapon - get a Rare Dagger with Fractured DoT Multiplier. You can guarantee Cast Speed with Essence while aiming for additional DoT Multiplier and Veiled Chaos Damage.

Min. requirements: +20% to Damage over Time Multiplier +30% to Chaos Damage over Time Multiplier Optional affixes: % increased Cast Speed % Chance to Block Attack Damage % increased Chaos Damage % increased Damage over Time

(Weapon) Festering Resentment - grants a lot of Block Chance, improves your Damage with Poisons, and guarantees Poisons with Impending Doom. It also triggers useful utility Spells.

40% increased Global Critical Strike Chance Trigger a Socketed Spell when you Block, with a 0.25 second Cooldown +(30-45)% Chance to Block Spell Damage while in Off Hand (100-150)% increased Spell Damage (100-150)% increased Damage with Poison Triggered Spells Poison on Hit All Damage with Triggered Spells can Poison

(Helmet) Foulborn Doedre's Scorn - this Helmet is a very cheap way to get the level 30 Impending Doom Support. Later on, you can Corrupt it to get various useful defensive modifiers.

Socketed Gems are Supported by Level 30 Impending Doom +(20-30) to Intelligence +(100-120) to maximum Energy Shield Adds 37 to 71 Chaos Damage for each Curse on the Enemy Curse Skills have (30-50)% increased Skill Effect Duration

(Helmet) Forbidden Shako - you can acquire an even higher Level of the Impending Doom, or a second useful Support Gem via the Forbidden Shako. It can get insanely expensive.

Socketed Gems are Supported by Level (1-10) <random Support Gem> Socketed Gems are Supported by Level (25-35) <random Support Gem> +(25-30) to all Attributes

(Body Armour) Rare Armour - your Body Armour is a purely defensive option. It should provide tons of Energy Shield, Armour, and flat Physical Damage Reduction. It can also speed up your Recharge.

Min. requirements: +2000 to Armour Rating +500 to Energy Shield 7% additional Physical Damage Reduction Optional affixes: #% of Physical Damage from Hits taken as Elemental Damage (Eater Influence)  Flasks gain a Charge every 3 seconds (Exarch Influence) % total Elemental and Chaos Resistance % faster start of Energy Shield Recharge Regenerate 150 Energy Shield per second while a Rare or Unique Enemy is Nearby

(Belt) Rare Belt - Your Belt should improve your Flask Charge generation, and provide a decent amount of Resistances or Attributes. It can also boost your Energy Shield or Chaos Damage. Always try to use the Stygian Vise base.

Min. requirements: 35% increased Flask Charges gained 40% total Elemental Resistance Optional affixes: Regenerate 150 Energy Shield per second while a Rare or Unique Enemy is Nearby Chaos Resistance % increase Chaos Damage

(Jewel) Abyss Jewel - the Abyssal Jewel can provide a Phasing Buff on Kill. It should also provide lacking Resistances or Attributes, a bit of Energy Shield, or prevent Corrupting Blood.

Min. requirements: #% chance to gain Phasing for 4 seconds on Kill Optional affixes: % total Elemental Resistance % increased Cooldown Recovery Rate Energy Shield #% increased Damage over Time while Dual wielding Attributes

(Gloves) Vixen's Entrapment - instantly Triggers socketed Curses when you use a Curse Spell. It also provides Leech and a large amount of Cast Speed.

Trigger Socketed Curse Spell when you Cast a Curse Spell, with a 0.25 second Cooldown +(50-90) to maximum Energy Shield 0.2% of Spell Damage Leeched as Energy Shield for each Curse on Enemy You can apply an additional Curse Curse Skills have (10-20)% increased Cast Speed

(Boots) Rare Boots - your Boots should provide Movement Speed, tons of Energy Shield and Armour, and cover lacking Resistances or Attributes. You will need a small amount of Cooldown Recovery Rate here as well.

Min. requirements: +100 to Energy Shield +400 to Armour Rating 40% total Elemental Resistance +30% increased Movement Speed Optional affixes: Chaos Resistance #% increased Action Speed (Exarch Influence) #% chance to gain Onslaught for 4 seconds on Kill Poisons you inflict deal Damage #% faster (Eater Influence) #% increased Cooldown Recovery Rate (Eater Influence)

(Amulet) Whispers of Infinity - Curse Spells have very high Mana Cost. Sustaining regular Mana Costs would be very hard, but you can turn them into Energy Shield Costs, which will be trivial to sustain.

(10-15)% faster start of Energy Shield Recharge (5-10) to (20-25) Added Attack Chaos Damage per 100 Maximum Mana +(50-100) to maximum Energy Shield (60-40)% reduced maximum Mana Skills Cost Energy Shield instead of Mana or Life

(Ring) Circle of Nostalgia - grants a decent amount of Damage, tons of Chaos Resistance, and potentially useful Synthesis modifiers.

<One to three random Synthesis implicit modifiers> +(10-20) to all Attributes Adds (15-20) to (21-30) Chaos Damage +(17-23)% to Chaos Resistance <Two Random Herald of Agony modifiers> Recommended modifiers: (40-60)% increased Chaos Damage while affected by Herald of Agony +(31-43)% to Chaos Resistance while affected by Herald of Agony

(Ring) Betrayal's Sting - offers a massive boost to your Poison DPS, but makes it harder to cap your Elemental Resistances. You should try to get a Corrupted Implicit.

Adds (3-4) to (10-14) Physical Damage to Attacks +(20-35) to Dexterity -(30-20)% to all Elemental Resistances +(20-30)% to Chaos Resistance 5% increased Movement Speed (25-40)% chance to inflict an additional Poison on the same Target when you inflict Poison

(Ring) Rare Ring - on a Rare Ring, you will need large quantities of Attributes and Resistances. You can also get a bit of Damage via Essences, but defense should take priority.

Min. requirements: +40 to Dexterity +40 to Strength 40% total Elemental Resistance Optional affixes: % to Damage over Time Multiplier % increased Chaos Damage % increased Damage % increased Cast Speed

(Jewel) Rare Jewels - it is a good source of lacking Block Chance, Resistances, or Attributes. It can also boost your Energy Shield, DoT Multiplier, or Damage with Poisons.

Min. requirements: 7% increased maximum Energy Shield Optional affixes: +#% Chance to Block Attack/Spell Damage while Dual Wielding +#% to Chaos Damage over Time Multiplier #% increased Damage with Poison #% to Elemental Resistance Corrupted Blood cannot be inflicted on you

(Jewel) Large Cluster Jewels - you can pick a combination of any 3 useful Notables for Chaos Damage here. The Unspeakable Gifts is especially useful for extra Explosions.

Min. requirements: 1 Added Passive Skill is Touch of Cruelty 1 Added Passive Skill is Unholy Grace 1 Added Passive Skill is Wicked Pall 1 Added Passive Skill is Unspeakable Gifts 1 Added Passive Skill is Unwaveringly Evil

(Jewel) Medium Cluster Jewels - the Circling Oblivion is the best Notable for most Poisons. You will also want the Eternal Suffering for Wither application during Clearing. On the second Cluster, you can pick the Brewed for Potency for better Flask uptime or Vile Reinvigoration for a mix of defense and offense.

Min. requirements: 1 Added Passive Skill is Circling Oblivion 1 Added Passive Skill is Eternal Suffering Optional affixes: 1 Added Passive Skill is Brewed for Potency 1 Added Passive Skill is Vile Reinvigoration

(Jewel) Brutal Restraint - grants a lot of Dexterity and turns nearby Keystones into The Traitor, which is used to sustain your Flask permanently. Try to get Onslaught on Kill or Alchemist Genius Buff.

Denoted service of (500-8000) dekhara in the akhara of Balbala Passives in radius are Conquered by the Maraketh Historic

(Jewel) The Balance of Terror - grants tons of Cooldown Recovery Rate, which is very important for both Impending Doom and Vixen's Gloves.

+(10-15)% to all Elemental Resistances 25% increased Cooldown Recovery Rate if you've cast Temporal Chains in the past 10 seconds

(Jewel) Watcher's Eye - you will use a lot of Auras, so there are many good combinations to mix and match. You should aim for DoT Multiplier from Malovelace and an additional Block from Discipline or Determination.

Recommended modifiers:  +(18-22)% to Damage over Time Multiplier while affected by Malevolence +(5-8)% Chance to Block Attack Damage while affected by Determination (5-8)% additional Physical Damage Reduction while affected by Determination +(5-8)% Chance to Block Spell Damage while affected by Discipline Gain (20-30) Energy Shield per Enemy Hit while affected by Discipline Regenerate (1.50-2.50)% of Energy Shield per Second while affected by Discipline (30-40)% faster start of Energy Shield Recharge while affected by Discipline +(30-50)% to Chaos Resistance while affected by Purity of Elements +1% to all maximum Elemental Resistances while affected by Purity of Elements

(Jewel) Foulborn Witchbane - this Jewel greatly enhances your Clear Speed with Explosions, as every Enemy you kill will be naturally Cursed.

+(5-15) to Intelligence Cursed Enemies you or your Minions Kill have a (10-15)% chance to Explode, dealing a quarter of their maximum Life as Chaos Damage

(Flask) Coruscating Elixir - you will need this Flask to safely Reserve Life, otherwise, any amount of Chaos Damage would be lethal. It also provides tons of Fire Resistance, making it easier to gear up.

+40% to Fire Resistance +5% to maximum Fire Resistance Chaos Damage taken does not bypass Energy Shield during effect Removes all but one Life on use Removed life is Regenerated as Energy Shield over 2 seconds 25% increased Duration

Suggested Flasks: Quicksilver Flask with Curse Effect reduction Granite Flask with increased Armour Rating modifier

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