Returning Player - Mara vs Duelist 2H Advice

Hi all,

Returning to the game after a couple of years away, lots has changed - not least the game only had 3 acts! Wanting to ease back in with a fairly basic build - planning to run Ground Slam with a 2H mace, focus on stun with some bleed damage as well. I'd like to be somewhat tanky too - I'd rather clear a bit slower but stay alive than be dying all the time. I don't have loads of time to play so practically all self-found gear to start with. I may farm currency for some specific items but I'm not really bothered about this being a top-tier build in any way.

I put together two identical builds as follows:

https://poeplanner.com/AAwAAOUADBEAAG97jMbYWGM9_IzP9khfPxQg7w5QR-RRl3kJljkO6wmFUtlhrY3Pfnas6hj3MnzZUeZ3Uzs7nsWUh9-yQT-0LyE0Vw3SIfJBggfZfJ7NpzC2pN6WmApCjuJDAecUTfxLvJ8YkTpSHHUv19wnhmDkrWdYYJEZ6WDEDjzfv9tP4MMlvGFSRZrvTpOoirNXVF4TIVUs-4oiJyDcPQd1wKaS0BLhouqE76kneHqplIdqhNlHfr02ZU3KkOlGivDEghXsuR3awXTtBS167_Kcbpf3vve5FrvAAQbG8430g8se0jgAAAAAAA==

https://poeplanner.com/AAwAAOUADBQAAG-5HRXsypCE2YrwxILpRqmUh2p4eqknhO_awXTtBS1676LqEuGS0F4TIVXcPQd1wKYs-4oiJyDvTmFSRZqGYOStZ1hgkWDEGek6Uhx1L9fcJ7yfGJH8SxRNAecb-iXfpBm2LKcwtqTelpgK4kNCjg4837_bT-DDJbyezfKcbpf3vtIhVw3ZYYVS6wk5DgmWl3nkUVBH7w4UIF8_9kiMzz38WGPG2PJBggfZfK2Nz352rOoYUea0LyE0QT_fspSHnsU7O3dT9zJ82Ud-vTZlTe_RQ6OlNfVhO7YMcFHalSQAAAAAAA==

I was all set to go Marauder until I saw the Slayer nodes for the duelist, which seem way better for this kind of build. Any thoughts on the two? One downside I can see with Slayer is having to wait for Resolute Technique, or rushing a path there and filling out the major nodes afterwards. The Jugeernaut has some nice tanky skills in his ascendancy, but Slayer notables just seems huge (no phys reflect, 20% AOE, stun buffs and onslaught for attack/move speed).

Definitely thinking Slayer is the way to go but keen to hear what others think.

Also, as an additional question, what is a good number of jewels to aim for? I stopped the build at 80, partly in case I don't make it that far, but also to keep some points back for jewel sockets.

Thanks!
Last bumped on Mar 23, 2018, 5:58:56 AM
If you are going slayer, i would play heavy strike with ancestral call. Also slayer culling isnt really that good for stun build since you get normal cull from stun.
For jewel slots, it depends what kinda jewels you have or can afford. But generally speaking you should get all the jewel slots that require 2 passives in early mapping. Mace jewels are pretty cheap so getting all 3 point jewel slots in late 80 early 90 is usually worth it even if you are poor.
Thanks for the reply. Would you keep the tree as-is with that skill setup or make adjustments?

Whilst I would already have cull from Skull Cracking, it's at 10% health whereas from Slayer it is 20% - seems like a pretty good improvement in damage/reduction in clear speed? Also the 20% boosts from Onslaught seem good when they trigger...

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