Vaal Reave White Wind
Champion build

Updated for Patch 3.5

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Estimated budget: moderately low

Reave is one of the most enjoyable Melee Attacks in Path of Exile. It provides very good AoE, which increases which each consecutive blow. With 3.3's changes to Vaal skills, you can use both Reave and Vaal Reave in the same slot, which grants amazing burst DPS versus Bosses and tougher content. Also, this build revolves around the Champion Ascendancy class which got severely buffed in Patch 3.2 and White Wind unique dagger.

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1. Gameplay

This is a full Cold Elemental Damage Melee build, which revolves around the amazing Champion Ascendancy class, which grants amazing balance between offensive and defensive utility. This build has very high DPS, and amazing defenses with capped Dodge Chance, high Evasion Rating, decent Life Pool and Life Leech. This build provides very high DPS in general, and if needed the primary DPS Skill Gem can be replaced with Blade Flurry for much higher damage versus end-game Bosses

0:06 Tier 16 Lair of the Hydra 0:47 Tier 16 Pit of the Chimera 1:17 Tier 16 Maze of the Minotaur 1:46 Tier 16 Forge of the Phoenix This video was recorded on a level 93 Gladiator. Current progress: all 4 Guardians deathless. Let us know in the comments if we should continue the project

2. Build's PROS & CONS

3. Leveling tips

You can level up this Duelist as a standard Melee fighter. We suggest using Frost Blades as your primary attack since you will be taking mostly Elemental Damage nodes and this way you do not have to refund many passives later on. At the same time, Frost Blades attack is one of the most effective leveling skills in PoE making it a perfect choice.

Suggested leveling Gem setups:

Frost Blades setup
	Frost Blades - your primary attack during the leveling phase
	Added Cold Damage Support - grants additional Cold Damage
	Faster Attacks Support - grants increased Attack Speed
	Lesser Multiple Projectiles - increases the number of Frost Blades projectiles

Whirling Blades setup
	Whirling Blades - your mobility skill
	Faster Attacks Support

Utility Gems
	Lightning Golem - increases your Attack Speed
	Frostbite - the best curse for leveling with cold-based DPS skills
	Herald of Ice - provides extra DPS and AoE explosions for smoother leveling
	Clarity - increases Mana Regeneration Rate

Bandits:

We recommend killing all the Bandits for two additional Passive Points

Leveling Skill Trees:

30 Points Skill Tree
Priorities: 1) Art of the Gladiator 2) Master of the Arena 3) Fangs of Frost 4) Primeval Force 5) Herbalism

67 Points Skill Tree
Priorities: 1) Forces of Nature 2) Revenge of the Hunted 3) Constitution

Recommended leveling items:

Blackheart - the best rings for the earlies levels. Will greatly boost your melee physical DPS
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 - great leveling belt
+(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

Giantsbane - this pair of gloves will greatly increase your Frost Blade's DPS
Adds (3-6) to (10-12) Physical Damage to Attacks +(30-40) to Strength (80-100)% increased Armour Iron Grip

Last Resort - first unique claw you can equip. Great for leveling
+3 Life gained for each Enemy hit by Attacks 25% increased Attack Speed when on Low Life (80-100)% increased Physical Damage Adds 2 to 10 Physical Damage 100% increased Claw Physical Damage when on Low Life 100% increased Accuracy Rating when on Low Life

4. Final Skill tree, Ascendancy Points, and Pantheon

Final Skill Tree:

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

Ascendancy points:

Preferably in that order:

1. Unstoppable Hero
2. Conqueror
3. Worthy Foe
4. First to Strike, Last to Fall

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 Garukhan +5% chance to Evade Attacks if you've taken a Savage Hit recently

5. Final Gems links

[DPS] Vaal Reave
	Vaal Reave - your primary attack. With the changes to Vaal skills in Patch 3.3, you can use both the regular Reave and Vaal Reave in a single socket
	Elemental Damage with Attacks Support - a mandatory Support Gem as it's full Elemental Damage build
	Cold Penetration Support - makes Reave penetrate a high portion of enemies' Cold Resistance
	Multistrike Support - makes the supported attack repeat twice with greatly increased Attack Speed and slightly lower damage
	Added Cold Damage Support - adds flat Cold Damage
	Ice Bite Support - adds flat Cold Damage and generates Frenzy Charges when slaying frozen enemies

[DPS] Blade Flurry (single-target DPS, requires to replace Gems in the Body Armour slot)
	Blade Flurry - a channeled attack that deals insane damage at maximum stacks
	Elemental Damage with Attacks Support
	Cold Penetration Support
	Damage on Full Life Support - replacement for the Multistrike which does not work with Blade Flurry
	Added Cold Damage Support
	Ice Bite Support

[AURA/CURSE]
	[2 Links]Frostbite - Frostbite Curse reduces cursed enemies' resistance to Cold Damage
	[2 Links]Blasphemy Support - makes the supported Curse reserve no Mana
	[1 Link]Vaal Grace - regular Grace will greatly increase your Evasion Rating, and while you activate Vaal Grace, it will cap your Dodge Chance for the duration
	[1 Link]Herald of Ice - used for extra Cold Damage and AoE explosions

[MOBILITY] Whirling Blades setup
	Whirling Blades
	Faster Attacks Support
	Fortify Support - grants a great defensive buff on melee hits with Whirling Blades

[UTILITY] Ancestral Warchief setup
	Ancestral Warchief - spawns a Totem that will increase your Melee Damage
	Elemental Damage with Attacks Support
	Faster Attacks Support
	Culling Strike Support - makes your Totem instantly kill enemies below 10% Life

[DEFENSE] Immortal Call setup
	[3 Links]Immortal Call - grants brief immunity to Physical Damage. Keep it at level 3
	[3 Links]Cast when Damage Taken Support - will auto-cast Immortal Call. Keep it at level 1
	[3 Links]Increased Duration Support - increases the duration of Immortal Call
	[1 Link]Lightning Golem - this Golem grants increased Attack Speed

5. Gear Setup

Below you will find all the recommended and required gear for this build. Most of the items should be easily obtained, and everything except for the White Wind dagger can be temporarily replaced with cheaper rare alternative items.

At this point, we would love to invite you to visit our PoE Currency marketplace. You can buy cheap PoE Orbs, Unique Items, and Power Leveling services from other Path of Exile players.

Our recommended items will:

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

(Helmet) Rare Life/Res. Helmet - this is a very solid option for this build. Picking up a rare helmet will make it much easier to cap Elemental Resistances and wear the other required unique gear

Min. requirements: 80 maximum Life 25% Fire Resistance 25% Cold Resistance 25% Lightning Resistance

(Helmet) Devoto's Devotion - is the best Helmet in terms of clear speed. Provides the highest Attack Speed bonus and additional Movement Speed

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 enchantment: 40% increased Reave Damage 12% increased Reave Radius

(Weapon) White Wind - build-defining item. It provides insane Cold Damage while not wearing the off-hand slot item and is very cheap for a 400+ Elemental DPS weapon

30% increased Global Critical Strike Chance Adds (160-190) to (280-320) Cold Damage (10-15)% increased Attack Speed +(300-400) to Evasion Rating 20% chance to Dodge Attacks while your Off Hand is empty 100% increased Cold Damage while your Off Hand is empty

(Body Armour) Rare Body Armour - Evasion-based Chest is not a bad pick. For early mapping and currency farming phase you can use one even with 5 links

Min. requirements: 2000 Evasion Rating 100 maximum Life Optional affixes: Elemental Resistances Attributes

(Boots) Atziri's Step - the best in the slot. They are also very cheap so it's not worth to bother with possible replacements here

180% increased Evasion Rating +(55-75) to maximum Life 30% increased Movement Speed (14-16)% chance to Dodge Spell Hits

Boot enchantment: Adds 45 to 68 Cold Damage if you've been Hit Recently

(Gloves) Rare Life/Res. Gloves - possibly with increased Melee Damage or increased Attack Speed

Min. requirements: 70 maximum Life 25% Fire Resistance 25% Cold Resistance 25% Lightning Resistance Optional affixes: Added Cold Damage to Attacks Melee Damage Attack Speed

Glove enchantment: Commandment of Force

(Belt) Rare Life/Res. Belt

Min. requirements: 70 maximum Life 25% Fire Resistance 25% Cold Resistance 25% Lightning Resistance 35% increased Elemental Damage with Attack skills

(Belt) Stygian Vise - the best in the slot

Min. requirements: 70 maximum Life 25% Fire Resistance 25% Cold Resistance 25% Lightning Resistance 35% increased Elemental Damage with Attack skills

(Amulet) Impresence (Cold) - we suggest using this amulet. Makes it much more enjoyable to play as you do not have to worry about your Curses

+(10-16) to all Attributes Adds (20-24) to (33-36) Cold Damage +(50-70) to maximum Life (45-50)% increased Mana Regeneration Rate +(20-25)% to Cold Resistance 100% reduced Frostbite Mana Reservation Gain Maddening Presence for 10 seconds when you Kill a Rare or Unique Enemy

(Ring) Rare Life/Res. Ring

Min. requirements: 70 maximum Life 25% Fire Resistance 25% Cold Resistance 25% Lightning Resistance 25% increased Elemental Damage with Attack Skills

(Ring) Tasalio's Sign - this ring provides great DPS buff and is very cheap at the same time

+(20-30)% to Cold Resistance Adds (7-10) to (15-20) Cold Damage to Spells and Attacks +(200-300) to Evasion Rating 50% chance to Avoid being Chilled 10% chance to Freeze Adds 40 to 60 Cold Damage against Chilled Enemies

(Jewel) Abyss Jewels - with added flat Cold Damage to Attacks/Dagger Attacks

Recommended affixes: Added Cold Damage to Attacks Added Cold Damage to Dagger Attacks maximum Life

(Jewel) Rare Jewels - they should provide extra Life and damage

Recommended affixes: increased maximum Life increased Melee/Cold/Elemental Damage Optional affixes: increased Attack Speed

(Flask) Atziri's Promise - one of the most popular Flasks in Path of Exile. It's cheap and extremely useful

+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) The Wise Oak - if you can keep your uncapped Cold Resistance as the highest one, this Flask will grant additional Cold Resistance Penetration

Other suggested Flasks: Bubbling Divine Life Flask of Staunching (immunity to Bleeding) Bubbling Divine Life Flask of Heat (immunity to Chill and Freeze effects) Experimenter's Quartz Flask of Reflexes (grants increased Evasion Rating)

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.