Path of Exile Gladiator Build - One of the Most Versatile Melee Class

Path of exile Gladiator build 2019

Gladiator is one of the most universal classes in the Path of Exile world. He can be used as a physical or magical damage dealer. He can easily fight using wands, two-handed swords and also with dual swords. There is also the possibility to combine weapons with magical or physical shields. All these factors make this champion perfect to play for players who seek challenging gameplay with many possibilities of path developing. His attributes are a combination of very high movement speed, good attack speed potential, nice damage output and also defense. The class can be played as a tank, as a magician or as a perfect skirmisher. Let's get into Path of Exile Gladiator build in details.

The gladiator skill tree offers opportunities to make him very good at applying bleed on opponents, increasing they players block potential, enhancing frenzy and endurance charges, dealing an insane amount of damage or tanking even the most though game content like atziri or shaper. Thanks to that, the champion can be perfect solo currency farmer or party member which will tank harder bosses. The character playstyle variations will probably satisfy every gamer.

What is more, builds for this class are rather cheap so you can use him as a perfect league starting character. If you seek easy and diversified gameplay, this class will fit you perfectly. As it was mentioned before, you can play as a magical gladiator or typical god of the arena who will smash the enemies as Dimachaerus with two swords. Below, I will show and describe main Gladiator passive skills, and then in the further part of the guide, I will introduce the best building path for the chosen build.

PoE Gladiator passive skills

Painforged - a passive skill which is chosen when you consider playing more dps/tanky version of the build. It gives you an additional 8% chance to block attacks from opponents if you were damaged recently. Also, your physical damage is increased by 40% if you haven’t taken any damage recently. What is more, you deal double damage when you counterattack opponent and you are immune for stuns when blocking incoming damage.

Versatile Combatant - very useful passive skill when you consider playing with a shield. It gives you a chance to block opponent spells with an equal amount of attack block damage. So if you have 30% to block attack damage, you have the same amount of chance to block spells. The same situation is with maximum chance to block.

Violent Retaliation - a passive skills which effectiveness is based on your defensive attributes. It boosts your physical damage by 8% for each hit you have blocked any hit from opponents in the past 10 seconds. Additionally, it gives you 1% of block chance if you have blocked any hit in past 10 seconds. What is more, if you have blocked hit from a unique enemy, you gain an additional 80% of physical damage which is a huge boost.

Outmatch and Outlast - a passive skill which is responsible for granting frenzy and endurance charges. With this passive, you have a 25% chance to get a frenzy charge when you kill an enemy with your main hand. There is also a 25% chance to gain endurance charge if you kill an enemy with offhand (possible to gain when dual wielding). What is more, your physical damage is increased by 10% when you have the maximum amount of frenzy charges. The same situation is with defense against physical damage. When you have a maximum amount of endurance charges you get 10% of phys. damage reduction.

Blood in the Eyes - a passive skill based on the bleeding attribute. It basically boosts your damage and crowd control potential against bleeding enemies. Also, you gain 10% to the blind when fighting with bleeding enemies. What is more, bleeding enemies are maimed on hit. Also, maimed enemies take 10% more physical damage. Also, you have a 25% chance to cause bleeding on opponents.

Gratuitous Violence - a passive skill which perfectly works with blood in the eyes. Thanks to this passive skill bleeding targets explode when killed and deal 10% of their maximum health as additional physical damage. It also increases your damage with attacks and ailments (bleeding damage) by 30% against bleeding targets. What is more, your attacks have 25% more chance to cause bleeding and 25% more damage with bleeding ailment.

As you can see, every passive skill gives different attributes and boosts. It is very important to choose the proper building path in order to be sure that your character will efficiently farm currency. The gladiator passive skill tree is a combination of damage and survivability boost. Thanks to that, you can build your character as a typical damage dealer or hybrid with tanky attributes. It will be important to invest in items which will increase your damage overtime to boost your damage output from bleeding. Now I will show you the advantages and disadvantages of such a class.

Gladiator Advantages

High damage output - thanks to gladiator passive skill tree, you can build your character to be a typical glass cannon. Even tanky builds have quite a good amount of damage. You deal damage from normal hits and at the same, there is a chance to cause bleeding which is an additional source of damage. By boosting it with the proper gear, you will melt t16 map bosses very fast.

Can do all map mods and game content - you do not have to be worried about map mods or minions resistances. With proper itemization, you will be able to fill the atlas very fast. High-end game content like uber elder or shaper won’t be a problem as well.

Very cheap - proper itemization is not expensive. There are some mandatory uniques but do not cost a lot. If any part of the gear is expensive, there is always a very good alternative which will be much cheaper.

Various playstyles – the gladiator is created to offer various playstyles for a player. It can be played as a tank, glass cannon damage dealer or, if you want, you can mix these two kinds of playstyles and create a tanky/dps character.

High block potential – thanks to gladiator passives, you can block spell and physical damage from minions and bosses. Blocking ability will be extremely useful, especially on t16 maps where minions and bosses damage output is insane.

Immunity for stuns – passive skill tree offers you not only high block potential but also immunity for stuns. Since high-end game content abilities are based on stuns, such passive will give you a nice advantage on enemies.

Endurance and frenzy charge generation – the next advantage of your passive skill tree is the fact that it gives you the ability to generate frenzy and endurance charges on kill. Thanks to that your survivability and damage output will be highly increased.

Perfect league starter – the gladiator offers you fast currency farming, nice survivability with the proper build, cheap gear and easy mechanics. All these factors make this class perfect for league start, even for newbie players.

Cheap and easy to get potions – the build will be based on basic potions which are very cheap and easy to get. Thanks to that you will be able to spend more money on your gear setup.

Immortality – thanks to high block potential (in the end game you are able to have up 80% of physical and magical damage block) you are immune for opponents damage. It may be hard to achieve, but totally worth spending some time on collecting proper itemization.

Gladiator Disadvantages

Getting all corruptions may be a little bit too hard to get – corruptions required for this build are a key factor. Unfortunately, these corruptions are hard to get. But don’t worry, without these attributes you still will be able to farm efficiently.

Mapping is not so fast – because of the fact that your damage output is based on blocks, you will have to wait to deal your maximum damage potential. Also, your skill tree does not increase your movement speed, so it will be much slower than with for example duelist.

Equipment

Character itemization is a very important factor which is always problematic for players. Path of Exile is a very well developed game with thousands of items, so choosing proper gear for particular build might be problematic even for more advanced gamers. Without proper items, your build will be not effective and as a result, you will die a lot or won’t be able to deal enough damage in certain situations. Since Poe is one of the most developed grinding gear games, you have to be prepared for frequently changing your gear. In this part of the guide, I will show you the best early game and late game items for Herald of Agony build with a brief explanation of each part of the gear.

A) Weapon

Since you build will be based on claw damage, for the best starting weapon you should pick Last Resort Nailed Fist. You can wear it from the first level. It boosts your stats when you are on low life. You can compare this class to Tyrant from Lineage 2 and his main ability called Zealot. You gain increased attack speed, physical damage from claws and accuracy rating when your health is below a particular amount (in this case 30% of your maximum life). Additionally, it increases your physical damage by 100%. You can use two of them to boost your early game damage.

Then at level 12, you can switch your weapons for Wildslash Awl. These claws give you a nice boost to your damage and life leech. Then, at level 26 you pick Al Dhih Timeworn Claw. It increases your life leech, even more, physical damage by 120% and gives you abyssal cry cast on hit. Thanks to that, enemies will be taunted so dealing damage will be much easier.

At level 34 you should take Mortem Morsu Fright Claw. These claws are just insane for the mid-game. You gain everything you need. The claws increase your attack speed, physical damage, a chance for a critical strike, critical strike damage and give you an additional source of chaos damage. You will use these claws until late game. In the late game, you have to buy Advancing Fortress Gut Ripper . It is very important because from this weapon you gain additional block chance. You can get up to 30% of additional block chance. What is more, socketed gems are supported by Fortify level 12. Thanks to that received damage will be decreased by 20%. There is also the possibility to wear rare Gemini claws with the following bonuses:

• increased attack speed (15% would be nice)
• chance to intimidate opponents for 2 seconds on a successful hit
• life leech for each blind enemy
• chance to inflict poison on hit
• chance to cause blind on enemies on hit
• increased physical damage
• increased minion damage

A rare weapon with such attributes will be only useful when you consider playing this class as a typical glass cannon with huge damage output. If you prefer a more safe option, use Advancing Fortress Gut Ripper.

b) Helmet

In order to have perfect game starting helmet, look for the one which attributes will increase your elemental resistances and some additional strength which will increase your damage output in early levels. The first option is getting rare helmet witch following stats:

• increased elemental resistances (at least 20%)
• additional strength (30 strength would be enough in the early game)

The second possibility is buying Goldrim Leather Cap. This helmet does not give you strength but it increases your all resistances by 35%. The helmet is cheap and it is very easy to get with four links. Thanks to that, you will be able to socket support gems and have additional survivability from elemental resistances it gives.

You can wear Goldrim to the late game, or switch it in mid game (at level 33) for Deidbell Gilded Sallet. The amazing helmet which increases your damage output and survivability. It disables life leeching on low life but it will work perfectly with Last Resort Nailed Fist. The only thing you will need to keep in mind is using potions. Additionally, the helmet gives you dexterity which will be useful for leveling up some gems.

In the late game, you also have two possibilities. The first one is The Bringer of Rain Nightmare Bascinet, It supports socketed gems by level 18 blind, faster attacks, and melees physical damage. It means that you can have an additional 6 supportive attributes for your main ability. What is more, the helmet grants more block and additional survivability. The only problem is the fact that you cannot wear body armor while having this helmet. The second option is an Elder helmet with the following attributes:

• additional dexterity attribute
• additional intelligence attribute
• boost to elemental resistances (40% would be nice)
• Physical damage penetration
• +  2 levels to socketed minion gems
• +  increased maximum life
• +  increased armor or block chance is also a good option

C) Belt

When looking for a good starting belt, focus on the one which will increase your elemental resistances and life amount. If you are looking for a good unique belt for the early game you can get Meginord's Girdle Heavy Belt. Such a belt gives you a high amount of strength, some cold resist boost, and 10% of your maximum health. Also, the belt boosts your physical damage. You can wear it at level 8.

At level 20 you should switch the belt for Belt of the Deceiver Heavy Belt which is a very good offensive option for your build. It increases your elemental resistances and decreases damage taken from opponents critical strikes by 30%.  In the late game, you can wear good, old, and well known Tempest Strap Stygian Vise. It should have the following stats:

• increased elemental resistances (fire, cold, lightning 40% or more)
• increased maximum life (around 70 points)

The second option for the late game belt is The Retch Rustic Sash. It gives you an additional 30% of physical damage and more movement speed when using potions. What is more, it converts life leeched by your character into additional chaos damage. I recommend using a stygian vise since it gives you sockets for abyssal jewels which can highly boost your minion damage when using herald of agony skill.

d) Gloves

The perfect early game gloves should give you a high boost to elemental resistances and attack speed. Thanks to that you will be able to clear story maps much faster. There is a possibility to get Lochtonial Caress Iron Gauntlets or Hrimsorrow Goathide Gloves. The first one will increase your attacks peed and give a possibility to gain all type of charges when you kill an opponent. Additionally, the gloves boost your maximum health amount.

The second gloves give you a nice amount of strength, cold resistance and convert 50% of your physical damage into cold damage. It will be perfect combo with hatred buff which will be used in the early stage of the game.  At level 35 change your gloves for  Meginord's Vise Steel Gauntlets. Thanks to these gloves you can increase your strength by 100 points, physical damage by 10% and your survivability. One of the best gauntlets for the mid-game. There is no better alternative for these gloves. In the late game you have to invest for elder gloves which will increase your stats with the following attributes:

• increased minions damage (at least 15%)
• increased attack speed ( 18% is maximum you can get)
• chance to block attack damage (10% would be nice)
• additional dexterity (at least 50)
• additional intelligence (at least 50)
• increased elemental resistances (40% of each resistance would be enough)

e) Boots

For the best starting boots you should look for the one which will increase your movement speed and elemental resistances. In order to clear story maps faster, you should get boots with at least 15% of movement speed and 15% of elemental resistances. It is also a possibility to wear Wanderlust Wool Shoes which gives you 20% of movement speed, mana regeneration and additional dexterity used to level up gems. Also, the boots give you immunity for getting frozen by opponents.

At level 30 you can use Lioneye's Paws Bronzescale Boots to increase your dexterity which will be necessary to level up gems. It also gives you a 25% movement speed, so you will be able to clear story maps faster. In the late game, you have two options. The first one is Kaom's Roots Titan Greaves which gives your character a significant boost to your survivability. These boots are a budgetary option. When you reach the end game you will need elder boots or simple rare boots with the following attributes:

• increased maximum life (at least 60 points)  
• additional movement speed (30% would be nice)
• boost to your strength, dexterity or intelligence ( 40 points is absolutely minimum)
• more elemental resistances in order to make up caps (at least 40%)
• immunity for chilled or shocked grounds (useful for higher tier maps)

f) Armor

The most important early game factor is to have six linked armor with no specified socket slots. You can get rare armor with a specific socket setup, but it will be expensive and not worth buying. The best possible option is to buy Tabula Rasa Simple Robe which is all you need for the early and mid game. Such armor has no specified six linked gem sockets. Thanks to that you will be able to wear your main ability gem setup. It is extremely important if you want to effective clear story maps. What is more, you will be able to level up your gems straight from the first level.

The armor is absolute must have. It is not so expensive so even league starters might be able to buy it. Tabula rasa is an armor which can be worn even in the late game. It is up to you when you will change this armor. In the late game, you will have to choose the best armor which will fit your playstyle. The first one is Lioneye's Vision Crusader Plate. This armor gives your herald of agony free pierce ability which is a strong boost to the damage. It is a budgetary alternative of The Coming of Calamity. What is more, the armor boosts your mana leech and maximum life amount.

The second possibility is The Coming Calamity Destroyer Regalia. It boosts the level of your herald of agony skill gem. Thanks to that your damage will be significantly boosted. Also, minions summoned by the gem will deal more damage. The third option is Belly of the Beast Full Wyrmscale. It is a typical defensive option of the armor which increases your all elemental resistances by 15% and maximum health amount by 35%. If you lack survivability in the late game, the belly of the beast might be an answer. The last option for armor is getting elder armor which will have the following attributes:

• chance to block minions attacks (I had 10% but it was very hard to get)
• boost to all elemental resistances (15% would be nice)
• additional strength (at least 40)
• an additional amount of life (80 would be nice)

g) Amulet

In order to get perfect starting amulet, you should focus on two factors. The first one is the elemental resistances. Such amulet should increase your elemental resistances by 20%. Additional attributes are the second important factor. You should focus on the amulet which will give you boost to all attributes.

The best amulet which covers the requirements is Carnage Heart Onyx Amulet,  It boosts your elemental resistances up to 20% and all attributes by 50 points. What is more, your damage will be increased by 40% when leeching. Players often use this amulet even in the late game for attributes boost. You can also wear Daresso's Salute Citrine Amulet which grants a significant boost to your physical damage when you are on a full life. Also, the amulet boosts your survivability by increasing resistances and movement speed.

In the late game, you have to invest in The Anvil Amber Amulet. The reason why it is must have is the fact that it increases your chance to block attack damage. The build is based on such an attribute. If you want to have 82% of block you need this amulet in your gear setup. Additionally, it gives you something similar to life and mana leech. When you block incoming damage, you gain a particular amount of life and mana. The amulet is cheap and very easy to get. There is also the possibility to get rare amulet which will be very similar to the anvil amber, but it will be very expensive. You will be able to afford it in the end game. Such amulet should contain the following attributes:

•         chance to block physical damage (8% would be nice)
•         additional amount of strength and dexterity (at least 30 points)
•         resistances if you need to make up the caps (40% of each resistance is absolute must have)
•         increased maximum health (at least 80 points)

h) Rings

In order to pick up the best ring for a game start, you should look for the one which will give a nice amount of elemental resistances, increase all of your attributes, and possibly attack speed. Such ring should contain 20% of elemental resistances and 30 strength in order to boost your survivability and damage output.

In the second ring slot, you should wear Le Heup of All Iron Ring. It gives you everything you need in the early game. The ring increases all resistances and physical damage by 30% and grants additional strength, dexterity, and intelligence. What is more, it increases the chance to drop better items. Buy it straight on level 24.

Then on level 45, you switch your rare ring with elemental resistances for  Sibyl's Lament Coral Ring. Such ring significantly boosts your physical damage and adds an additional source of damage. Very useful in the midgame when you really need damage boosters to clear story maps faster. When it comes to late game rings, the choice is easy. In the first ring slot, you should put Essence Worm Unset Ring and socket it with hatred buff.  It will significantly boost your damage output thanks to physical damage conversion into cold type. You can also wear this ring in the early stage, but unfortunately, you can have serious mana problems without items which decrease mana consumption. In the second slot you put shaper or elder ring with the following attributes:

• Increased elemental resistances (at least 30% of each resistance)
• Increased maximum life (90 life would be nice)
• Additional minion damage (at least 10%)
• Increased all attributes if possible (15 would be nice)

I) Shield

This build offers you a possibility to wear two types of claws or claw combined with a shield. When you decide to replace one claw with a shield you should look for the one which will increase your block chance, maximum life, armor, and resistances. A very good staring shield is Springleaf Plank Kite Shield  which increases all elemental resistances, armor and regenerates 3% of your life per second. Thanks to this shield you will not need a healing potion in the early game.

After hitting level 16, change spring leaf for Kaltensoul Painted Buckler. It gives you movement speed which will boost your clear speed, cold resistance and 13% physical damage converted as extra cold damage. It will perfectly co-operate with hatred buff gem. Then at level 54, you should look for Daresso's Courage Baroque Round Shield which increases your block potential by 30% when you are on low life. What is more, it increases all elemental resistances, block recover and your physical damage by 20%. One of the best and cheapest mid game shield.

In the late game, you will have two shields to choose from. The first one is Victario's Charity Laminated Kite Shield. It is very cheap and gives you boost to all elemental resistances, maximum life, and the possibility to get power or frenzy charges on kill. It is a budgetary option for this build. The second option will be Lioneye's Remorse Pinnacle Tower Shield. This shield gives you 30% for block physical damage, increased armor by 215%, and a significant boost to your maximum life (190 additional life ? It is insane!). There are also many players which use crafted rare shields in this build. I personally prefer the unique one, but if you decide to use a rare shield, look for the one with the following attributes:

•         Increased maximum Life
•         additional Physical Damage Reduction
•         increased Area of Effect
•         increased maximum Life
•         additional elemental resistances if needed

J) Potions

In order to clear the game content efficiently, you will need not only proper itemization and skill tree setup but also potions. Potions are very important when it comes to mapping, boss killing or doing other challenging things prepared by game developers. Basically, potions were created to boost damage, survivability, critical strikes, elemental damage, etc. For each build, different potions will be required in order to maximize character potential. In Herald of Agony Gladiator build you will mainly need one unique health regenerator, some damage boosters and supporting potions. Flasks required for this build are not expensive like the rest of itemization. The most important potion will be the wise oak which will play a crucial role in increasing your elemental resistances. If you are looking for the easiest way to buy recommended potions, look on the Path of Exile market.

In order to survive most maps and bosses, you will need Blood of the Karui Sanctified Life Flask. The potion is typical life generator with some additional bonuses. It will help you in many critical situations when your life drops to a dangerous amount. What is more, this potion regenerates full life at the end of the flask effect. It is a very nice boost to your survivability, especially in the situation when you have almost 8k health in the end game.

The second potion required for this build is The Wise Oak Bismuth Flask. Basically, this potion is the most important in this build. It boosts your survivability by increasing your elemental resistances during flask effect. If you will focus on the gear which will increase your block potential rather than resistances, this potion is mandatory. You will not use its elemental penetration potential, but it is not a problem in this build since we are using only minion and physical damage.

The next potion which is required to make your build work properly is Rumi's Concoction Granite Flask. This flask is responsible for maximizing the spell and physical damage block. Thanks to this potion you will have almost a maximum block chance which is very crucial when doing t16 maps or uber elder. You can basically face tank this instances during flask effect. This build is mainly based on the chance to block incoming damage. Because of that, this potion is mandatory in your potions configuration.

In order to deal additional physical damage and boost survivability, you will need Lion's Roar Granite Flask. Thanks to this flask you are able to increase your maximum armor and physical damage. Since we are basing on non-elemental damage, this potion is crucial when fighting with groups of minions or bosses. What is more, the flask cause knockback when used. In some situations, this effect can help you to survive. Additionally, there is a chance to cause flee on enemies. All these factors make this potion mandatory for this build.

The last potion to your configuration is Experimenter's Quicksilver Flask of Adrenaline. This potion increases your movement speed, so your map clearing will be much faster. It is important to look for the one which increases at least 60% of your movement speed or more if possible. More movement speed you have. faster will be your mapping. As an additional attribute, the potion should have the possibility to regenerate a charge when you deal a critical strike to the opponent.

K) LIST OF GEMS

Gems are basically skills you use during your journey with the Path of Exile. It is very important to choose proper supportive skills in order to achieve maximum build potential. In this build, we will focus on Cyclone skill and Herald of Agony buff.

armor gems

Armor – six linked sockets are mandatory for this build (four green sockets, one blue, and one red socket)

Herald of Agony - a herald skill gem which gives you a buff that has a chance to poison opponents. If you successfully poison enemy you gain Virulence and Agony Crawler minion. The Virulence buff is increasing your Crawler damage by converting physical damage into additional chaos damage. The more stacks you get, the more damage he will deal. Remember that Virulence does not affect your character but only the minion.

Pierce Support - a support gem which makes your projectile skills pierce opponents. By piercing you should understand that your projectiles created by skill pass through enemies and continue their original trajectory. Thanks to that you poison much more targets when fighting. Additionally, your projectile skills deal 20% more damage. If you increase the quality of the gem, you can gain an additional 10% of projectile damage.

Damage on full life Support - a support gem which increases the damage output when you have a full life. You gain 40% more damage if your life is on the maximum level. By increasing the gem quality, you gain an additional 10% damage.

Minion Damage Support - a support gem which provides increased attack dealt by minions created by the linked skill. It increases minion damage by 50%. It is a high boost to your Agony Crawler damage output. Remember to increase the quality of the gem to gain an additional 15% minion damage.

Vile Toxins support - a support gem which increases poison damage inflicted by linked skill. It perfectly works with Pierce support, because it boosts the damage dealt by supported skill gems for each poisoned target. What is more, your poison damage is increased by 50% all the time. If you stack poison on multiple targets you gain 45% more poison damage. With maximized quality, you gain 20% more poison damage. A mandatory gem for this build.

Poison Support - the second support gem which increases poison damage. It will perfectly maximize herald of agony poison damage. It gives you 20% more poison damage and 60% more chance to inflict poison on the opponent while fighting. Remember to increase the gem quality in order to gain an additional 10% more poison damage.

weapon gems

Weapon  three linked sockets are mandatory (one green socket, one blue socket, and four red sockets)

Shield Charge - an attack skill which makes you charge towards an enemy and deal the damage with your shield. Attacked targets are knocked back and stunned for a certain amount of time. The more distance you travel towards the enemy, the more damage you deal. It is rather a movement skill than a damage dealer. You do not need to increase quality.

Faster Attacks Support - a support gem which increases supported skill attack speed. In the situation of using it with shield charge, you are just charging faster to the opponent. It increases your attack speed by 45%. Additional 10% is possible to gain when you increase the gem quality.

Blood Magic support - a support gem which converts skills mana usage for life usage. A very useful gem in the situation when you are going to use shield charge all the time. If you increase the quality, supported skills mana costs will be lowered.

Shield - Three linked sockets  (two blue sockets and one green socket)

Tempest Shield - a spell gem which makes your shield deal lighting damage to opponents when you block their attacks. The skill is refreshed every successful block and deals 426 lightning damage to the opponent. If you increase the gem quality you gain an additional 20% of lightning damage.

Curse on Hit Support - a support gem which makes supported curse gem triggers when a player makes successful hit on the opponent. It is very important to increase the quality of this gem in order to have an increased effect of supported curse gem by 10%.

Temporal Chains - a curse gem which decreases opponents movement speed, attack speed, and other fastening abilities, and makes all temporary effects on them expire slower. That means your poison will last much longer and deal additional damage to the opponents.

Gloves - 4 linked sockets (three green sockets and one red socket)

Cyclone – characteristic ability which is mainly focused on spinning and dealing physical damage to nearby enemies. In this build, Cyclone is a supporting skill which helps when mapping. Such skill deals 55% of your overall physical type of damage. What is more, it grants you an additional 50% attack speed, but at the same time, it reduces 30% of your movement speed.

Life Gain on Hit support - a support gem which makes your linked attack spells leech life from enemies. The life is leeched for every hit not attack. If you, for example, pierce 3 enemies, you will gain life for three enemies, not the first pierced opponent.

Faster Attacks support - a support gem which increases supported skill attack speed. In the situation of using it with shield charge, you are just charging faster to the opponent. It increases your attack speed by 45%. Additional 10% is possible to gain when you increase the gem quality.

Poison on hit support - Poison Support - the second support gem which increases poison damage. It will perfectly maximize herald of agony poison damage. It gives you 20% more poison damage and 60% more chance to inflict poison on the opponent while fighting. Remember to increase the gem quality in order to gain an additional 10% more poison damage.

Boots 4 linked sockets (two green sockets, one red and one blue socket)

Immortal call - a buff gem which the main effect is to make your character invulnerable for physical damage when cast. Thanks to this gem, your survivability is highly increased. The buff lasts 1 second. You can increase the duration by linking the proper gem with immortal call. It is also important to increase the gem quality. Thanks to that your attack speed will be increased by 20%.

Blood Rage - the second buff gem which increases player attack speed by 15% and life leech. If you kill the enemy when the buff is active, it is refreshed and has a 25% chance to buff you a frenzy charge. If you increase the quality, you can gain an additional 5% attack speed. Very useful buff on every combat build.

Cast when damage taken (level 1 is required, do not level it up) - a gem which triggers your immortal call and blood rage when you get a certain amount of damage. Thanks to this gem you do not have to cast this buffs manually.

Increased duration support - a support gem which boosts the duration of linked buff gems. Your buffs can last 64% longer. By increasing the quality, you can increase the gems duration by 20%.

Helmet 4 linked sockets ( two green sockets, one red and one blue socket)

Reckoning - a gem which provides some kind of counterattack that triggers automatically after a successful block. It deals 108% of your base damage. A very useful additional source of damage. Since you are blocking 82% of minion hits, this ability will deal huge damage to the opponents.

Hatred - an aura gem which converts your physical damage into cold damage. The buff gives you and your allies 25% physical damage, dealt as cold damage. Also, your skills deal 18% more cold damage.

Riposte - a gem which provides some kind of counterattack that triggers automatically after a successful block. It deals 138% of your base damage. A very useful additional source of damage. Since you are blocking 82% of minion hits, this ability will deal huge damage to the opponents.

Generosity support - a support gem which increases the effect your buffs and auras by 39%. The only problem is the fact that linked buffs do not affect you, but only your allies. Thanks to this gem, your Crawler will deal much more damage.

L) Skill Tree (also viable in Synthesis league)

Skill tree for Herald of Agony Gladiator with the ascendancy

M) Bandits

For Herald of Agony build, you should kill all the bandits. It will give you two additional passive skill points which will boost your damage and survivability. As in every build you can also help Allira, in order to get survivability and regeneration boost, but having 2 skill points is highly recommended.

n) Pantheon                            

main God - Soul of Lunaris – the Lunaris blessing gives you damage reduction which is highly recommended. What is more, it increases your movement speed which helps you when mapping. It perfectly boosts our weaker points.

minor God - Soul of Shakari – the Shakari blessing is mostly focused on increasing our survivability towards chaos damage. It reduces 5% of chaos damage taken and AoE chaos damage. Additionally, when you catch Soul of terror, it grants you immunity for poison.

O) Jewels

In normal jewels you should look for:

• additional boost to your maximum life (70 would be nice)
• increased minion damage
• increased life regeneration per second
• additional boost of minions physical damage
• increased attack speed
• if there is a need for elemental resistances, here you can make up them

In abyssal jewel (required for stygian vise socket) you should look for:

• Additional maximum life
• Increased minion damage
• Additional % to your physical damage block
• Physical damage boost
• Attack speed boost
• Resistances if you need