The Ultimate
Molten Strike Gladiator
Starter build

Updated for Patch 3.6

The Best Crafty Guides by Odealo

Estimated budget: medium

Molten Strike is the best Melee skill in Path of Exile. It grants very good AoE Damage and clear speed, as well as it provides insane single-target DPS. It has been one of the most popular skills for quite some time now, and now we have decided to make a sturdy Starter build for Patch 3.5 and the Betrayal League. Gladiator is a very durable class and provides unparalleled defenses with high Life, Armour Rating, and over 70% Block Chance that applies to both Attacks and Spells. On top of that this build utilizes Arctic Armour, Enfeeble curse and insane Life and Mana recovery per second. With all the recommended gear you can easily manage to create nearly 100 Molten Strike projectiles. 

What makes this build special? It reaches 100k DPS per Molten Strike's Projectile (!!) without Elder/Shaped gear and is nearly on par with MS Juggernaut defenses

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

1. Gameplay

This is a very powerful and Tanky build which is designed to facetank any opponent in the game. With high Life and Physical Damage mitigation, it is also a very efficient Uber Labyrinth farmer and can earn you a lot of money early on in the League. With all the required items, you should be able to reach approximately 12 Attacks per second, creating about 8 Molten Strike projectiles each (even more with Grelwood Shank swords). Each of the balls will recover your Life and Mana thanks to the Poacher's Mark Curse, granting instant recovery and nearly immortal status. On top of that, you will have over 70% Block Chance, Endurance Charges, Frenzy Charges, over 70%  Physical Damage mitigation, and on top of that, permanent Enfeeble Curse Aura. This build can be played with either Grelwood Shank Swords (more balls, lower DPS) or Nebuloch Elder Maces (fewer projectiles, over double the DPS of each projectile). With any weapon type, the Skill Tree is the same, except for the Point Blank Passive which you can skip when using Grelwood Shank.

0:06 Tier 15 Carcass 0:44 Tier 15 Palace 1:21 Tier 15 Sunken City 1:49 Tier 16 Pit of the Chimera This video was recorded on a level 86 Gladiator. He has corrupted Tombfist with Enfeeble curse, and Poacher's Mark Aura. Next step for us is to get an Elder Ring with Life on Hit and replace the second curse

2. Build's PROS & CONS

3. Leveling tips

Molten Strike is a skill that you will be using right from the start. It is a reward from the first quest in the game. In general, leveling is very easy, Gladiator provides very good defenses right from the start via Block mechanic. You just have to follow the Leveling Skill Trees below and focus high Life, Elemental Resistances on rare equipment and high Physical DPS on Weapons. 

Suggested leveling Gem setups:

Molten Strike setup
	Molten Strike - your primary attack skill. You can use it during the leveling phase too
	Ancestral Call Support - makes your Molten Strike attack additional two targets and create additional projectiles for better AoE
	Added Fire Damage Support - adds additional Fire Damage to your attacks
	Faster Attacks Support - greatly increases the Attack Speed of supported Gems

Leap Slam setup
	Leap Slam - great mobility skill for a dual-wielding character. If you are using Swords, you can replace it with Whirling Blades
	Faster Attacks Support

Utility Gems
	Herald of Ash - adds additional Fire Damage to your Attacks and Spells
	Ancestral Protector - a Totem skill that grants you increased Attack Speed when you are near it
	Summon Stone Golem - Stone Golem increases your Life Regeneration per second
	Flammability - recommended Curse for this build during the leveling phase

Bandits:

We recommend helping Oak for additional Physical Damage mitigation and Life Regeneration

Leveling Skill Trees:

32 Points Skill Tree 
Priorities: 1) Art of the Gladiator 2) Dervish 3) Fury Bolts 4) Born to Fight 5) Barbarism

60 Points Skill Tree 
Priorities: 1) Lava Lash 2) Bloodless 3) Ambidexterity 4) Blade Barrier 5) Golem's Blood

Recommended leveling items:

The Tempestuous Steel - very powerful sword on lower levels. It completely fixes your Accuracy issues and grants very high DPS bonuses
40% increased Global Accuracy Rating Adds (5-8) to (15-20) Physical Damage (8-14)% increased Attack Speed Hits can't be Evaded Attacks with this Weapon Penetrate 30% Elemental Resistances Gain 15% of Physical Attack Damage as Extra Lightning Damage Gain 15% of Physical Attack Damage as Extra Fire Damage

Ewar's Mirage - another powerful sword that works best in the off-hand slot where it grants additional Molten Strike projectile
+25% to Global Critical Strike Multiplier (40-55)% increased Elemental Damage with Attack Skills 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

Goldrim - the best leveling helmet in Path of Exile. Will grant enough Elemental Resistances to reach level 50+
+(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)

4. Final Skill tree, Ascendancy Points, and Pantheon

Final Skill Tree:

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

Ascendancy points:

Preferably in that order:

1. Painforged
2. Violent Retaliation
3. Versatile Combatant
4. Outmatch and Outlast

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 Tukohama While stationary, gain 2% additional Physical Damage Reduction each second, up to a maximum of 8%

5. Final Gems links

[DPS] Molten Strike setup
	Molten Strike - your primary Attack Skill
	Elemental Damage with Attack Skills Support - increases Elemental Damage dealt by supported skills. Mandatory Gem for this build
	Ancestral Call Support - greatly increases your clear speed. You can replace this Gem with Vicious Projectiles or Fire Penetration Gems versus Bosses (or if you simply feel like it)
	Multistrike Support - causes your Molten Strike to repeat itself twice with greatly increased Attack Speed. Multistrike is extremely important since it triples the amount of projectiles shot
	Elemental Focus Support - greatly increases your Elemental Damage
	Concentrated Effect Support - increases Molten Strike damage, but reduces its area of effect

[UTILITY] Golem setup
	Cast when Damage Taken - will resummon your Golem automatically
	Summon Lightning Golem - Lightning Golem increases your Attack Speed which is essential for this build

[MOBILITY] Shield Charge setup
	Leap Slam -  your primary movement skill
	Faster Attacks Support
	Fortify Support - melee hits with Leap Slam will grant you the Fortify buff for additional damage reduction

[CURSE] Poacher's Mark
	Poacher's Mark - grants nearly instant full Life and Mana recovery, what else do you need to make this char immortal?
	Blasphemy Support - makes Poacher's Mark work as an Aura around you

[UTILITY] Vaal Haste/Phase Run
	Vaal Haste - grants increased Attack, Movement, and Cast Speed for a short duration. Do not use the regular Aura
	Increased Duration Support
	Cast when Damage Support - auto-casts supported skills after a certain amount of damage is taken by your character. Keep it at level 6
	Phase Run - grants increased Movement Speed for a brief duration. Keep this Gem at level 8

[UTILITY] Ancestral Protector
	Ancestral Protector

[UTILITY] Enduring Cry
	Enduring Cry - helps you generate Endurance Charges

[UTILITY] Blood Rage
	Blood Rage - increases your Attack Speed and generates Frenzy Charges

[UTILITY] Arctic Armour
	Arctic Armour - reduces Fire and Physical Damage taken while stationary. This means it even further increases your defenses, and if you are using Nebuloch Maces, greatly reduces the damage they deal to you

5. Gear Setup

Below you will find all the recommended gear for this build. This is a very versatile build as you can use any one-handed weapon type. It is very convenient during the leveling phase as you can simply pick the weapon with the highest base DPS, as well as gives you much more options in late-game. However, it still is intended to be played with either Grelwood Shank or Nebuloch

Also, if you are looking to buy PoE Orbs with real cash we would like to invite you to visit our PoE Marketplace. On Odealo you can buy, sell, and trade Orbs and Unique items.

Our recommended items will:

1. Cap your resistances 
2. Give you enough DPS/Life to start mapping successfully

(Helmet) Devoto's Devotion - great helmet for leveling, but since it's lacking defensive stats, it may not be enough to farm end-game content

10% reduced Global Physical Damage +(50-65) to Dexterity 16% increased Attack Speed (150-200)% increased Armour and Evasion +(15-25)% to Chaos Resistance 20% increased Movement Speed Mercury Footprints

(Helmet) Starkonja's Head - the best in the slot. It grants high Life and DPS bonuses

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 enchantment: Molten Strike fires 2 additional Projectiles

(Weapon) Grelwood Shank - one of the best weapons for this build. It increases the number of your projectiles by two which is the bonus it grants. Of course, it also has a decent DPS on its own

+475 to Accuracy Rating (185-215)% increased Physical Damage (15-20)% increased Attack Speed 80% increased Armour while stationary Skills fire 2 additional Projectiles if you've been Hit Recently Point Blank Iron Reflexes while stationary

(Weapon) Nebuloch - another extremely powerful weapon for this build. It grants the highest possible DPS but will deal damage also to your character

10% reduced Enemy Stun Threshold Adds (45-60) to (100-120) Physical Damage Gain (30-40)% of Physical Attack Damage as Extra Fire Damage +4% to Chaos Resistance per Endurance Charge 1% reduced Elemental Damage taken when Hit per Endurance Charge Adds 5 to 8 Physical Damage per Endurance Charge +500 to Armour per Endurance Charge 200 Fire Damage taken per second per Endurance Charge if you've been Hit Recently

(Armour) Belly of the Beast - one of the best armours for this build. It grants insane amount of extra Life

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

(Armour) Rare Body Armour - good leveling/low-tier mapping option

Min. requirements: 1200 Armour Rating 90 maximum Life 20% Fire Resistance 20% Cold Resistance 20% Lightning Resistance

(Boots) Windshriek - allows you to use two Curses simultaneously. If you don't need that (just yet) replace it with a random Life/Res/Movement Speed pair of boots

(200-250)% increased Armour +(10-15)% to all Elemental Resistances 25% increased Movement Speed (10-20)% increased Elemental Damage Enemies can have 1 additional Curse (Hidden) 60% increased Area of Effect of Curse Skills

(Boots) Rare Boots - with Life, Elemental Resistances, and bonus Movement Speed

Min. requirements: 70 maximum Life 20% Fire Resistance 20% Cold Resistance 20% Lightning Resistance 25% Movement Speed

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

(Belt) Rare Belt - with high defensive stats and increased Elemental Damage with Attack Skills

Min. requirements: 120 maximum Life 35 Strength 350 Armour Rating 30% Fire Resistance 30% increased Elemental Damage with Attack Skills Optional affixes: Elemental Resistances

(Gloves) Tombfist - the best in the slot. A pair with two Abyss sockets and Enfeeble curse may be very expensive, but you can also play with an uncorrupted pair and just one socket

Has 1 or 2 Abyssal Sockets (6-10)% increased Attack Speed (4-6)% increased maximum Life With a Murderous Eye Jewel Socketed, Intimidate Enemies for 4 seconds on Hit with Attacks With a Searching Eye Jewel Socketed, Maim Enemies for 4 seconds on Hit with Attacks Corrupted modifier: Curses enemies with level # Enfeeble on Hit

(Rings) Rare Steel Ring

Recommended affies: Adds 11 Physical Damage to Attacks 40 Strength 50 maximum Life 10% to all Elemental Resistances 25% increased Elemental Damage with Attack Skills Optional affixes: Elemental Resistances Life gained on Hit (Elder affix)

(Amulet) Rare Ring

Recommended affies: Adds min. 7 Physical Damage to Attacks 40 Intelligence 60 maximum Life 45% Cold Resistance 45% Lightning Resistance Optional affixes: Elemental Damage with Attacks Life gained on Hit (Elder affix)

(Amulet) Carnage Heart - a decent Amulet for this build. Grants very high bonuses while Leeching

+(10-16) to all Attributes +(20-40) to all Attributes +(10-20)% to all Elemental Resistances (1.2-2)% of Physical Attack Damage Leeched as Life 50% increased Life Leeched per second (30-40)% increased Damage while Leeching Extra gore

(Amulet) Rare Amulet - good for starters, eventually try to upgrade it

Recommended affies: Adds min. 7 Physical Damage to Attacks 40 Intelligence 60 maximum Life Optional affixes: Elemental Resistances Elemental Damage with Attacks

(Jewels) Wildfire - threshold jewel for Molten Strike. You can only use one of this as of patch 3.5

(10-15)% increased Fire Damage With at least 40 Strength in Radius, Molten Strike fires 2 additional Projectiles With at least 40 Strength in Radius, Molten Strike has 25% increased Area of Effect

(Jewels) Abyss Jewels - the preferred choice of Jewels for this build which should grant Physical Damage to Attacks and maximum Life bonuses

Recommended affixes: maximum Life added Physical Damage to Attacks Optional affixes: chance to grant Onslaught on kill increased Damage if you have killed recently

(Jewels) Rare Jewels - used mainly to provide more Life and DPS

Recommended affixes: increased maximum Life increased Block Chance while Dual-wielding increased Generic/Physical/Projectile Damage Optional affixes: increased Attack Speed

(Flask) Dying Sun - the best Flask for this build. It can get very expensive and it's worth every penny you spend

+50% to Fire Resistance +6% to maximum Fire Resistance (-10-10)% increased Charges used (15-25)% increased Area of Effect during Flask Effect Skills fire 2 additional Projectiles during Flask Effect

(Flask) The Wise Oak  - another very powerful Flask for this build. Remember you need to have you Fire Resistance's value the highest out of all other resistances to make it work

+35% to all Elemental Resistances During Flask Effect, 10% reduced Damage taken of each Element for which your Uncapped Elemental Resistance is lowest During Flask Effect, Damage Penetrates (10-15)% Resistance of each Element for which your Uncapped Elemental Resistance is highest

(Flask) Atziri's Promise  - exceptional Flask for the majority of Path of Exile builds. It grants very high bonus DPS and Life Leech

+35% to Chaos Resistance 2% of Chaos Damage Leeched as Life during Flask effect Gain (15-20)% of Physical Damage as Extra Chaos Damage during effect Gain (10-15)% of Elemental Damage as Extra Chaos Damage during effect

(Flask) Rumi's Concoction - amazing Flask for any Block-based build

+3000 to Armour +(14-20)% Chance to Block Attack Damage during Flask effect +(6-10)% Chance to Block Spell Damage during Flask effect

Other suggested Flasks: Bubbling Divine Life Flask of Staunching (immunity to Bleeding) Bubbling Divine Life Flask of Heat (immunity to Freeze and Chill effects) Ample Granite Flask of Iron Skin  (increased Armour Rating) Experimenter's Silver Flask of Gluttony (Life Leech and Onslaught buff)

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.