Reave of Refraction
Chaos Berserker Build

Updated for Patch 3.24

The Best Crafty Guides by Odealo

Replica Alberon's Strength-stacking archetype is quite likely the one yielding the highest damage output among all the other Strength-stacking builds currently existing. It's partially due to the extremely powerful Original Sin Ring that suits the massive amounts of accumulated flat Chaos Damage. It negates all Chaos Resistance and Converts all your Elemental Damage into Chaos. The other two very important pieces of this puzzle are the Undeniable Passive gained with a pair of Forbidden Jewels and Battlemage's Cry with Iron Will Keystone. Undeniable provides tons of Attack Speed sourced from Accuracy, which is gained from Strength after equipping a specific Rare Helmet. Iron Will makes the Attack bonus inherent to Strength affect Spell Damage too, and Battlemage's Cry causes the opposite to happen resulting in what's called a double-dip - it increases your Attack Damage based on this newly-gained Spell Damage at 150% of the original value. All these three separate game mechanics are conveniently tied to just one stat - Strength. That's why it's so important.

It's a Melee glass-canon so its weakness is clear. Fortunately, Reave is not a typical Melee Skill - it has an impressive AoE that grows with each Attack. You should have no problem defeating pinnacle bosses or dealing with hordes of enemies in a Simulacrum, but be careful when moving forward through maps. The character is very fast, but some range enemies with tons of added Cast Speed may still pose a problem. The build's defences are merely an afterthought. It has default Resistances and capped Attack Block Chance but lacks any Spell Suppression or Spell Block Chance. Instant Leech and Berserk make it more durable. The most dangerous are Physical ranged Spells or big Physical Hits in general.

This build is one of the most expensive in the game and it's impossible to assemble it on a budget. The Unique Boots, the Ring, and the pair of Forbidden Jewels are known to be unachievable for the vast majority of the player base due to their price. That's why we're not attempting to present you with cheap rare items too - most of them have a Synthesised Implicit for increased Strength or Damage sourced from this Attribute.

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

1. Gameplay

It plays like most Melee builds - use Reave to slay enemies. Deploy Ancestral Totems for even more damage. To move around faster use Leap Slam. Your Warcry is linked to Call to Arms. Your two Instant Spells are linked to Automation Support. Assassin's Mark is applied automatically with Mark on Hit. You can place the Banner or switch Stances, but that probably won't be needed. Your Auras are War Banner, Precision, and Purity of Elements.

2. Build's PROS & CONS

3. Leveling tips

Follow our Marauder Leveling Guide. It's the most efficient way to level up such a character on a league start or as your second character. Switch to this build only after acquiring all the items. Be sure that you have enough Resistances and Attributes to equip the gear.

Bandits:

Killing all Bandits for two additional Passive Points is the best option

4. Final Skill Tree, Ascendancy Points, and Pantheon

Final Skill Tree:
70 Points Final Skill Tree (doesn't include Unique or Cluster Jewels)
123 Points Path of Building (PoB) link

Ascendancy points:

Preferably in that order:

1. Crave the Slaughter
2. Aspect of Carnage
3. Flawless Savagery
4. Blitz

Pantheon:

Major God: Soul of Lunaris: 1% increased Movement Speed for each nearby Enemy, up to 8%; 1% additional Physical Damage Reduction for each nearby Enemy, up to 8%

Minor God: Soul of Shakari: You cannot be Poisoned while there are at least 3 Poisons on you; 50% less Duration of Poisons on You

5. Final Gems links

[DPS] Reave setup
	Reave of Refraction - A basic Melee Attack with a huge ramping-up range. Reave of Refraction Converts all Physical Damage to Elemental Damage, which is then Converted to Chaos.
	Pulverise Support - Grants much more AoE and Area Damage, but lowers Attack Speed.
	Volatility Support - Alberon's Chaos Damage has a huge damage range, making Volatility extremely good.
	Void Manipulation Support - Used for more Chaos Damage.
	Increased Critical Damage Support - Your Crit Chance should be capped or nearly capped. This Gem increases Critical Damage.
	Multistrike Support - The Attack repeats additional times with much more Attack Speed but less damage.

[UTILITY] Ancestral Totems setup
	Multiple Totems Support - It lets you summon both totems at the same time by extending the default one totem limit.
	Withering Touch Support - Totems have a chance to apply Withered debuff on Hit. It stacks up to 15 times and increases Chaos Damage taken.
	Ancestral Protector - Grants more Attack Speed while it's active.
	Vaal Ancestral Warchief - Grants more Melee Damage. Use the Vaal version - it can bypass the Totem limit and grants even more damage.

[UTILITY] Mana Reservation setup
	Purity of Elements - Grants more Elemental Resistances and immunity to all Elemental Ailments.
	Precision -  Adds Accuracy Rating and Increases Critical Strike Chance.
	War Banner - increases Accuracy Rating which is a source of Attack Speed in this build.
	Enlighten Support - Linked Spells Reserve less Mana.

[UTILITY] Automation setup
	Automation - Triggers linked instant Spells with Cooldown as soon as it's possible.
	Blood Rage - Slowly drains your Life in exchange for more Attack Speed, Life Leech, and Frenzy Charges on kill.
	Berserk - Slowly consumes your Rage to grant you more Attack Speed, Movement Speed, Attack Damage, and less Damage taken.
	Enhance Support - Improves Quality of all linked Skills. You can replace it with  Steelskin if you feel like you have enough damage.

[UTILITY] Curse setup
	Assassin's Mark - Increases Critical Strike Chance and Damage against marked enemy.
	Mark on Hit Support - Assassin's Mark is applied automatically on Hit against Rare and Unique enemies.
	Leap Slam - A simple movement skill to move around faster.

[UTILITY] Blood and Sand & Warcry setup
	Battlemage's Cry - The Strength's Melee Damage bonus applies to Spell Damage with Iron Will Keystone allocated. With Battlemage's Cry, this Spell Damage bonus will apply to Attacks with 150% efficiency.
	Call to Arms Support - Triggers Battlemage's Cry whenever it's off-cooldown.
	Blood and Sand - You can swap between more concentrated damage or larger AoE.

6. Gear Setup

You'll need a lot of Strength to gain flat Chaos Damage via Replica Alberon's Warpath. The Strength will also improve your Maximum Life, Melee Damage, and Attack Block Chance with The Iron Fortress. This added Chaos Damage will ignore Chaos Resistance with Original Sin equipped. The Ring will Convert all Elemental Damage to Chaos so you can look for this type of Damage, but it's not the best way to gain more DPS. Instead, focus on accumulating Attack Speed and Critical Strike modifiers. Accuracy Rating will also count towards Damage with Juggernaut's Undeniable. It grants a to of Attack Speed which nearly doubles your DPS. Redblade Banner is a very important piece of equipment because of the Battlemage's Cry and Iron Will combo. Rare Items are equally, if not more expensive than Unique ones. They often should have a Synthesised Implicit for increased Strength or added/increased Damage per Strength. A lot of their Explicit Modifiers are also rare and hard to get, making it one of the most expensive builds in the game.

Our recommended items will:

1. Cap your resistances at 75%
2. Provide you with enough DPS and Life to start mapping

(Helmet) Rare Helmet - Get the Elevated Warlord's Suffix for Critical Strike sourced from Strength. You shall also get other desirable Warlord's modifiers listed here, the Warcry Buff effect is especially desirable. The more straightforward mods to find here are Maximum Life, Strength, and Chaos Resistance. We recommend the Blizzard Crown base for added damage.

Min. requirements: +80 to Maximum Life +30 Strength Gain Accuracy Rating equal to your Strength 1% increased Critical Strike Chance per 10 Strength (Elevated Warlord's Suffix) Optional affixes: Warcry Skills have (26–30)% increased Area of Effect 15% increased Warcry Buff Effect (Elevated Warlord's Prefix) Global Critical Strike Multiplier (Warlord's Suffix) Chaos Resistance

(Weapon) Rare Sword - A Jewelled Foil with Synthesised Implicit for added Fire Damage per Strength is already prohibitively expensive. It needs a lot of Attack Speed, Critical Damage, Critical Strike Chance, Chaos Penetration, Accuracy, or added Damage.

Min. requirements: Adds (2-3) to (4-5) Fire Damage to Attacks with this Weapon per 10 Strength (Synthesised Implicit) 25% increased Attack Speed Critical Strike Multiplier Critical Strike Chance Added Elemental Damage Optional affixes: (30-35)% increased Global Accuracy Rating (Synthesised Implicit) Attacks with this Weapon Penetrate Chaos Resistance (Veiled Prefix) (46–50)% increased Spell Damage Gain 4% of Non-Chaos Damage as extra Chaos Damage (Crafted Prefix)

(Off-hand) Redblade Banner - Causes your Warcries to have infinite Power. It results in a lot of damage from Battlemage's Cry. Enemies die quickly so it's better to ensure the Warcry is at its maximum potency each time it is used.

+(20-30) to maximum Life (80-100)% increased Armour +(50-60) to maximum Life 20% increased Taunt Duration +5% Chance to Block 50% increased Warcry Cooldown Recovery Rate Warcries have infinite Power

(Body Armour) The Iron Fortress - Grants a lot of Strength and Attack Block Chance. There are also no Life modifiers - allocate a Life Mastery for a 15% increased Maximum Life.

+1% Chance to Block Attack Damage per 50 Strength Chance to Block Spell Damage is Unlucky +(60-120) to Strength (80-100)% increased Armour 10% reduced Movement Speed Strength's Damage Bonus instead grants 3% increased Melee Physical Damage per 10 Strength

(Boots) Replica Alberon's Warpath - A fundamental piece of the build. Grants extra Chaos Damage per Strength.

(15-18)% increased Strength +(180-220) to Armour +(13-19)% to Chaos Resistance 25% increased Movement Speed Cannot deal non-Chaos Damage Adds 1 to 80 Chaos Damage to Attacks per 80 Strength

(Gloves) Rare Gloves - Gloves are the source of mainly Accuracy and Strength. For Eldritch mods seek increased Damage per Strength with chance to Intimidate on Hit. Extra Levels to socketed Aura Gems will improve your Auras.

Min. requirements: +70 to Maximum Life +500 to Accuracy Rating +50 Strength Optional affixes: +2 to Level of Socketed AoE Gems Chaos Resistance

(Belt) Rare Belt - A Stygian Vise Belt should provide you with Maximum Life, Strength, and increase your Attributes with an Explicit mod. You will probably need Chaos Resistance here too. Cooldown Recovery Rate will shorten the Cooldown of Battlemage's Cry. Don't invest too much into it, you will switch to Mageblood at some point.

Min. requirements: +90 to Maximum Life +50 Strength increased Attributes (Hunter's Suffix) Optional affixes: Chaos Resistance increased Maximum Life (Hunter's Prefix) increased Cooldown Recovery Rate (Shaper's Suffix)

(Belt) Mageblood - If you can afford other items you should also be able to get Magblood, which is unsurprisingly the best-in-slot Belt. It will enhance your Flasks granting you various bonuses and Resistances.

+(25-35) to Strength +(30-50) to Dexterity +(15-25)% to Fire Resistance +(15-25)% to Cold Resistance Magic Utility Flasks cannot be Used Leftmost (2-4) Magic Utility Flasks constantly apply their Flask Effects to you Magic Utility Flask Effects cannot be removed

(Amulet) Rare Simplex Amulet - This Experimented Amulet must contain a pair of Strength-related modifiers - one for increased Strength, and the other for increased Damage per Strength. You're left with a Suffix for additional Strength. These explicit values are doubled on a Simplex Amulet.

Min. requirements: 1% increased Damage per 15 Strength (Warlord's Prefix) increased Strength (Warlord's Suffix) Optional affixes: increased Attributes (Shaper's Suffix) Strength

(Amulet) Rare Amulet - A Synthesised Amulet with increased Strength or increased Damage per Strength is a base. It has to contain Maximum Life, Strength, Resistances, and reduce the Mana Cost of your Skills.

Min. requirements: increased Strength (Synthesised Implicit) 1% increased Damage per 15 Strength (Synthesised Implicit) +70 to Maximum Life +60 to Strength Non-Channelling Skills have -7 to Total Mana Cost (crafted Prefix) Optional affixes: Chaos Resistance Global Critical Strike Multiplier

Recommended Anointments: Panopticon Sovereignty

(Ring) Rare Ring - Unsurprisingly, a Synthesised Ring with increased Strength is the best choice. Its role is similar to that of an Amulet, but there are a few additional modifiers to look for, such as added damage or increased Accuracy.

Min. requirements: increased Strength (Synthesised Implicit) +70 to maximum Life +60 Strength Non-Channelling Skills have -7 to Total Mana Cost (crafted Prefix) Optional affixes: Chaos Resistance Global Critical Strike Multiplier (Essence) increased Global Accuracy Rating

(Ring) Original Sin - It's a build-enabling Ring. It doubles your damage. Keep in mind that you can still Penetrate the Resistance that is set to 0% with Hits. Augment it with Catalysts for extra Chaos Resistance.

+(17-23)% to Chaos Resistance All Elemental Damage Converted to Chaos Damage Nearby Enemies' Chaos Resistance is 0

(Jewel) Rare Jewels - On Jewels seek Strength, Attack Speed, and Critical Strike Multiplier.

Recommended affixes: Maximum Life Strength Critical Strike Multiplier increased Attack Speed

(Jewel) Large Cluster Jewel - A level 84 Jewel with 12 passives with their effect increased by 35% will be a major source of your damage - you can fit 2 of 3 of these into this build. These small nodes should grant you more Strength.

Recommended affixes: Added Small Passive Skills have 35% increased Effect Added Small Passive Skills also grant: +8 to Strength Added Small Passive Skills also grant: +4 to All Attributes Added Small Passive Skills also grant: increased Damage Added Small Passive Skills also grant: Maximum Life

(Jewel) Split Personality - Get two copies with Strength and Accuracy and socket them in the Cluster Jewel near Point Blank Keystone.

This Jewel's Socket has 25% increased effect per Allocated Passive Skill between it and your Class' starting location <Two random modifiers>

(Jewel) Lethal Pride - Socket it between Vigour and Savagery. It's used for additional Strength. It should upgrade the notables in its radius with "5% increased Strength" - it's a potent source of this Attribute.

Commanded leadership over (10000-18000) warriors under Rakiata Passives in radius are Conquered by the Karui Historic

(Jewel) Forbidden Flame & Flesh - "Undeniable" is undeniably the best passive you can get. Combine it with the Accuracy you gained from a Rare Helmet and other gear pieces to receive huge amounts of Attack Speed.

Allocates <Random Ascendancy Notable> if you have the matching modifier on Forbidden Flesh Allocates <Random Ascendancy Notable> if you have the matching modifier on Forbidden Flame

(Jewel) Emperor's Mastery - It has increased Attributes, including Strength.

4% increased maximum Life 3% increased Character Size 5% increased Global Defences (5-7)% increased Attributes

(Jewel) Emperor's Might - It too increases your Strength by up to 6%.

10% increased Damage 3% increased Character Size (4-6)% increased Strength

(Jewel) Inertia - Socket it near Elemental Equilibrium to transmogrify Dexterity into Strength.

+(16-24) to Strength Dexterity from Passives in Radius is Transformed to Strength

(Jewel) Watcher's Eye - Chaos Resistance from Purity of Elements and Crit Multiplier from Precision are the two best Aura modifiers to look for.

(4-6)% increased maximum Energy Shield (4-6)% increased maximum Life (4-6)% increased maximum Mana <Two or Three random aura modifiers>

(Jewel) Bottled Faith - Used for Critical Strike Chance, increased Damage, and boons inherent to Consecrated Ground.

40% increased Damage 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 Effect

Other suggested Flasks: Diamond Flask with increased Critical Strike Chance Silver Flask with increased Attack Speed Quicksilver Flask with increased Movement Speed Bismuth or Granite Flask with increased Armour or Elemental Resistances if using Mageblood

If you have any other build requests please leave that in the comments below. We are always open to suggestions and constructive feedback.

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