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Updated for Patch 3.12
The Best Crafty Guides by Odealo
Estimated budget: medium
| Guide notes |
| November 30, 2020 -Updated for Patch 3.12 Major changes: -Reworked entirely to be a Bleed/DoT build |
Spectral Shield Throw is a very unique Attack which fires a spectral copy of your equipped shield that deals higher base damage based on your Shield's Armour and Evasion Attributes and has increased Critical Strike Chance based on Energy Shield. By equipping a shield with a high Armour Rating (preferably 2,500+), you end up with an Attack that has very high base damage, making it great for applying potent Bleed DoTs and allowing you to focus on getting Physical Damage over Time Multiplier and defensive attributes on your other equipment. This build can be easily played as a Starter build, which will offer amazing clear speed on low and Mid Tier Maps basically with 0 equipment, and as a Gladiator, you should be able to tank most of the content thanks to high Life, Armour, and Block Chance. You also benefit from a very powerful Spectral Shield Throw's Threshold Jewel, which greatly increases your clear speed by adding the extra Chain.
To check the full list of our other Path of Exile Crafty Guides go here: Odealo's Crafty Guides - Full List
Spectral Shield Throw is a ranged projectile Attack skill, so this is somewhat similar to Bow builds, though you shouldn't be afraid to get hit at all thanks to your high Block Chance and other defensive stats. Spectral Shield Throw will fire projectiles that will shatter on impact releasing additional smaller projectiles. Thanks to extra Chain, you will see tons of projectiles flying around your screen and applying very powerful Bleed DoTs. This build utilizes the Crimson Dance Passive, which allows you to apply up to 8 Stacks of Bleeding on a single enemy but with 50% Reduced damage. Overall, this can potentially quadruple your Damage over Time from bleeding if you can apply all 8 Stacks quickly. Thanks to the use of Gratuitous Violence, you will also cause enemies to explode dealing tons of Physical Damage in an area around them, greatly increasing your clear speed and overall enjoyment from playing this build. All you need to play this build is a high Armour Shield, Divide and Conquer Jewel, and extra Physical DoT multipliers on random rare gear.
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This is the gameplay video from Patch 3.12 recorded on a level 93 Gladiator 5,500 Maximum Life and approximately 1.0kk Shaper DPS with Spectral Shield Throw (that does not include Shards that potentially chain back to your primary target) |
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| PROS |
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| CONS |
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Leveling up an SST character should be a breeze. All you really need is, is Armour on your shield and Divide and Conquer Jewel. Not many players are using Spectral Shield Throw, so getting the Jewel even on a newly started League shouldn't be an issue. Initially, you want some extra Added Physical Damage to Attacks as well, as the base Armour on your shield won't be as high as Crated end-game one, but there are plenty of cheap Items that will get the work done. Below you will find the basic setups for the leveling phase and several useful Unique Items that will help you rush through the campaign. It's also worth noting, that getting Gratuitous Violence should be your priority, as it greatly increases your clear speed. Even getting someone to rush you through the second Lab if you find it too difficult may pay up really quickly.
Suggested leveling Gem setups:
| Spectral Shield setup | |
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Spectral Shield Throw - one of the first available skills you will get from a quest reward after killing Hillock. It will do great until you get the Sunder skill Gem |
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Chance to Bleed Support - adds flat Physical Damage and grants increased chance to apply Bleeding |
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Vicious Projectiles Support - greatly increases Physical Projectile Damage and Physical DoT applies by Spectral Shield Throw |
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Unbound Ailments - one of the core Support Gems used in this build which is accessible from level 8 so you should be easily able to equip it right after you start using SST at level 12 |
| Reckoning setup | |
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Reckoning - deals extra damage and grants Life gained on Hit. As a Gladiator it will be triggered often enough to make it viable even on lower levels |
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Culling Strike Support - will have Reckoning instantly kill enemies below 10% making it a great way to finish off Bosses |
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Life Gained on Hit Support |
| Utility Gems | |
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Ancestral Protector - this Totem skill increases your Attack Speed |
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Vulnerability - recommended Curse for leveling if you need extra damage against Bosses |
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Herald of Purity - increases your Physical Damage |
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Dash - the recommended Skill for increasing your Mobility. You can also use Leap Slam instead, which eventually both be used during late game |
Bandits:
We recommend killing all Bandits for the 2 additional Passive Points
Leveling Skill Trees:
30 Points Skill Tree
Priorities: 1) Art of the Gladiator 2) Master of the Arena 3) Defiance 4) Blood Letting 5) Golem's Blood
63 Points Skill Tree
Priorities: 1) Dirty Techniques 2) Testudo 3) Bloodless 4) Red Storm 5) Aggressive Bastion
Recommended leveling items:
 Blackheart - great DPS Ring for Physical/Attack builds. You can use two of these |
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| 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 |
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 Belt of the Deceiver - extremely powerful Belt that grants extra Life, Resistances, and Intimidates nearby enemies, increasing the damage you deal to them |
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| (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 |
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 Aurumvorax - one of the best leveling Swords for this build. It grants a massive Physical Damage bonus which scales all the base added damage from SST itself. Also, covers up all your Resistances needs for the leveling phase |
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| +25% to Global Critical Strike Multiplier(120-150)% increased Physical Damage 20% reduced Rarity of Items found +(40-60)% to all Elemental Resistances +3 Life gained for each Enemy hit by Attacks |
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 Titucius' Span - amazing leveling Shield which has a very high base Armour for its level and greatly reduces projectile damage you take |
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| +(10-20) to maximum Life (60-80)% increased Armour +(30-50) to maximum Life -(80-50) Physical Damage taken from Projectile Attacks 200% increased Armour against Projectiles +25% Chance to Block Projectile Attack Damage |
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| +(10-20) to maximum Life +(120-160) to Armour +(30-40) to maximum Life Your hits can't be Evaded +(3-5)% Chance to Block Adds 250 to 300 Cold Damage to Counterattacks |
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Final Skill Tree:
116 Points Final Skill Tree
116 Points Path of Building link
Ascendancy Points:
Preferably in that order:
Pantheon:
Major God: there are 2 Pantheon God's choices depending on if you are farming Maps or want to challenge one of the end-game Bosses
Maps:
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%
Bosses:
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%
| [DPS] Spectral Shield Throw | |
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Spectral Shield Throw - your main DPS skill. It is a projectile-based Attack that throws a spectral copy of your shield. The skill's damage is based on your shield's defenses: Armour and Evasion Rating combined. The shield explodes on the first enemy hit and shatters into smaller projectiles that hit nearby enemies. By using Divide and Conquer, SST's projectiles will chain 4 additional times offering insane clear speed and applying multiple DoTs |
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Brutality Support - greatly increases the supported skills' Physical Damage, but as a downside, makes it deal no Chaos and Elemental Damage |
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Vicious Projectiles Support - makes Spectral Shield Throw deal more Physical Damage and Physical DoT |
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Unbound Ailments Support - grants high Ailment damage bonuses |
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Deadly Ailments Support - increases the damage your SST deal with Ailments |
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Swift Affliction Support - grants high bonus DoT damage |
| [UTILITY] Auras setup | |
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Malevolence - grants high DoT Multiplier making it the best Aura for this build. It also opens up interesting options for a Watcher's Eye Jewel that you can use |
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War Banner - increases Physical Damage taken by nearby enemies |
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Pride - increases Physical Damage taken by nearby enemies. In most cases, you will be able to use a second 50% Aura if you get Charisma or Sovereignty Amulet Anointment. Otherwise, you can replace it with Herald of Purity for example |
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Enlighten Support - reduces the amount of Mana Reserved by supported Auras |
| [UTILITY] Leap Slam | |
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Leap Slam - one of the two movement skills used in this build. Leap Slam is a bit slower but will grant you the Fortify buff which is important vs. Bosses and on higher Tier Maps |
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Fortify Support - grants good defensive buff on melee hits with your Leap Slam |
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Faster Attacks Support - link this Gem to Leap Slam for faster movement |
| [UTILITY] Blood Rage and Molten Shell | |
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Cast when Damage Taken Support - triggers your Molten Shell after you take a certain amount of damage. Keep this Gem at level 10 for more frequent casts |
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Molten Shell - grants a protective shield that absorbs some of the incoming damage and increases your Armour Rating. Keep this Gem at level 15 |
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Blood Rage - this skill will increase your Attack Speed and Life Leech and grant Frenzy charges on kills, but will drain your Life every second. You should use it at a maximum level so that it's not triggered when you don't want it to be |
| [UTILITY] Totem/Reckoning | |
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Reckoning - a counter-attack which will be triggered whenever you Block |
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Ancestral Protector - grants increased Attack Speed |
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Culling Strike Support - this Gem can be linked to your Totem and Reckoning and will make them finish off low-life enemies instantly |
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Life Gain on Hit Support - will grant some extra Life Recovery whenever you block |
| [UTILITY] Dash/Enduring Cry | |
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Dash - your main mobility skill |
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Enduring Cry - a Warcry which generates Endurance Charges, grants extra Physical damage mitigation, and instant Life Recovery |
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Second Wind Support - grants extra charges to linked spells and reduces their cooldown time |
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Blood Magic Support - makes linked Spells cost Life instead of Mana |
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Below you will find all the recommended gear for our Spectral Shield Throw Crimson Dance/Bleed Gladiator. All specific stat requirements are included. This section has been thoroughly reworked for Patch 3.12 and you should be able to easily deal with most of the in-game content if you follow it up. The Items were picked up to stay in a reasonable budget of around 25 Exalted Orbs, allowing most casual players to obtain it. Obviously, there is plenty of space for improvements here.
We are also giving you the opportunity to get PoE Orbs necessary to purchase all the listed gear. You can head over to our Path of Exile marketplace and find cheap PoE Currency there. Link to the marketplace can be found on top of this page.
Our recommended items will:
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Stat priorities on items:
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 (Helmet) Rare Helmet - is the best in slot item for this build. It offers high defensive utility and can increase your damage as well |
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| Min. requirements: 90 maximum Life Optional affixes: Elemental Resistances Nearby enemies take #% increased Physical Damage High Armour |
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 (Body Armour) Rare Body Armour - aim for the highest possible Life and possibly reduce the Mana Cost of socketed Attacks on it. You can take an Evasion base to easily match the required Socket colors and convert Evasion into Armour via Iron Reflexes |
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| Min. requirements: 110 maximum Life Optional affixes: Maximum Life% Socketed Attacks have -15 to Total Mana Cost Elemental Resistances |
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 (Weapon) Aurumvorax - a great and budget-friendly option, which will however require you to remove one of the Auras or at least the War Banner |
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| +25% to Global Critical Strike Multiplier (120-150)% increased Physical Damage 20% reduced Rarity of Items found +(40-60)% to all Elemental Resistances +3 Life gained for each Enemy hit by Attacks |
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 (Weapon) Ichimonji - our top recommendation for the Weapon slot. It reduces the Mana Reserved by your Auras and the effect of buffs on you. It also has some insane base Attack Speed |
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| 40% increased Global Accuracy Rating (80-95)% increased Physical Damage Adds (5-10) to (13-20) Physical Damage (20-25)% increased Attack Speed 10% increased Effect of Buffs on you 5% reduced Mana Reserved Allies' Aura Buffs do not affect you Your Aura Buffs do not affect allies |
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| Recommended Weapon corruption: Resolute Technique - which saves you two Passives, and doesn't cost much for the listed recommendations |
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 (Off-hand) Rare Shield - the only viable option for the Off-hand slot. It should have over 2,500 Armour Rating, whereas approximately 3,000 is the maximum it can have |
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| Min. requirements: 2500 Armour Rating Optional affixes: Maximum Life Elemental Resistances |
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 (Shield) Lioneye's Remorse - the best Shield out of the Unique Shields available in the game, however, it grants a very low base damage bonus compared to Crafted Rares |
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| 3% reduced Movement Speed (Hidden) +(20-30) to maximum Life (200-250)% increased Armour 20% increased Stun and Block Recovery +(160-180) to maximum Life 5% reduced Movement Speed -25 Physical Damage taken from Projectile Attacks +5% Chance to Block |
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 (Boots) Rare Boots - the best in slot item. Just aim for high Life, Movement Speed, and faster Bleeding DoT. You should also have empty affixes for some Resistances or Attributes |
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| Min. requirements: 60 Maximum Life 25% Movement Speed Bleeding you inflict deals damage 5% faster Optional affixes: Elemental Resistances Attributes |
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 (Belt) Rare Stygian Vise - Rare piece here is the BiS for this build |
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| Min. requirements: 100 Maximum Life 100% Total Elemental Resistances Optional affixes: Maximum Life% Armour Rating Increased Damage/Global Physical Damage |
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 (Amulet) Rare Amulet - it's very important to get Physical DoT Multiplier here, as it's one of the few items that can have it in this build |
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| Min. requirements: 60 maximum Life 16% Physical Damage over Time Multiplier Optional affixes: Dexterity, Intelligence Reduced Mana Reserved Added Physical Damage to Attacks |
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 (Ring) Rare Rings - preferably Steel Rings with high flat added Physical Damage or Two-Stone Rings which will help you Cap Resistances while on a budget. One of your Rings should be used to apply Vulnerability Curse and also one should add approx. 40 Intelligence |
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| Min. requirements: 60 maximum Life 75% Total Elemental Resistances Optional affixes: 40 Intelligence Curse Enemies with Vulnerability on Hit, with 20% increased Effect Added Physical Damage to Attacks |
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 (Gloves) Rare Gloves - pick defensive stats and possibly Physical Damage over Time Multiplier |
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| Min. requirements: 75 maximum Life 75% Total Elemental Resistances Optional affixes: Physical Damage over Time Multiplier |
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 (Jewel) Large Cluster Jewel - you are looking to use a Large Cluster Jewel as the Medium Jewels that can be allocated in it, provide the easiest Physical DoT Multiplier for you. On the Large one just try to look for Mana Leech and possibly additional Attack/Ailment bonus with Attacks |
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| Recommended affixes: 1 Added Passive Skill is Fuel the Fight 1 Added Passive Skill is Martial Prowess 1 Added Passive Skill is Prodigious Defence |
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 (Jewel) Medium Cluster Jewel - you should use two of these with as much DoT multiplier as possible. There are plenty of Passives that will work for you, below you have the most common ones listed |
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| Recommended affixes: 1 Added Passive Skill is Exposure Therapy 1 Added Passive Skill is Wasting Affliction 1 Added Passive Skill is Vivid Hues 1 Added Passive Skill is Wound Aggravation |
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 (Jewel) Small Cluster Jewel - using Small Jewels is optional, but ones with the Fettle Passive grant quite a strong Life bonus |
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| Recommended affixes: 1 Added Passive Skill is Fettle |
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 (Jewel) Watcher's Eye - one of the best DPS-wise Jewels for this build which can increase your DoT Multiplier while you are using Malevolence and/or make Bleeding damage to be applied faster |
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| (4-6)% increased maximum Energy Shield (4-6)% increased maximum Life (4-6)% increased maximum Mana <Two or Three random aura modifiers> Recommended Aura modifiers: +(18-22)% to Damage over Time Multiplier while affected by Malevolence Damaging Ailments you inflict deal Damage (10-15)% faster while affected by Malevolence |
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 (Jewel) Divine and Conquer - a mandatory Threshold Jewel for Spectral Shield Throw which adds extra Chain |
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| (10-15)% increased Attack Damage while holding a Shield With 40 total Dexterity and Strength in Radius, Spectral Shield Throw Chains +4 times With 40 total Dexterity and Strength in Radius, Spectral Shield Throw fires Shard Projectiles when Chaining With 40 total Dexterity and Strength in Radius, Spectral Shield Throw fires 75% less Shard Projectiles |
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 (Jewel) Thread of Hope - getting Thread of Hope with a Medium Ring modifier is recommended. It allows you to pick up Razor's Edge and Cleaving Passives without having to connect them to your Tree - and actually, all the Passives that lead to it are useless in this build, so that's the only reasonable way to get those two |
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| Only affects Passives in <size> Ring Passives in Radius can be Allocated without being connected to your tree -(20-10)% to all Elemental Resistances Allocates Passives: Razor's Edge Cleaving Escalation (optionally) |
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 (Jewel) Rare Jewels - this should provide extra Life and damage bonuses |
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| Recommended affixes: Maximum Life Physical Damage over Time Multiplier Optional affixes: Damage over Time |
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 (Jewel) Abyss Jewels - you should use one Abyss Jewel with the chance to grant you Onslaught |
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| Recommended affixes: Maximum Life Chance to gain Onslaught for 4 seconds on kill Optional affixes: Increased Damage if you've killed recently Added Physical Damage to Attacks |
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 (Flask) Rumi's Concoction - great defensive flask which helps you cap your chance to Block Spells and Attacks |
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| +3000 to Armour (14-20)% Chance to Block during Flask effect (6-10)% Chance to Block Spells during Flask effect |
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Other suggested Flasks:
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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.
Lycosidae - another great Shield which has decent base Armour and solves all your Accuracy issues on lower levels. It may cost a bit though, so in many cases, you may be better off with a random high Armour Rare