[3.16] Fire Lacerate | Oni-Goroshi | Lacerate Chieftain | 10M+ DPS | Boss Killer | Starter friendly

Hello exiles, Im JasonL, this is my first guide on Path of Exile.

Since in Poe forum there are mostly bleed lacerate build for Hardcore SSF or physically based build, I decided to try making a strong Fire conversion Lacerate build with Chieftain. The main elements for this build are fast mapping, boss killer and a little bit tanky for easy leveling to 95+ level.

[3.22 changes (updated from 17/8/2023]
- Say goodbye to Chieftain :( , this guide will be just for reference as it is not playable right now. If you still wish to follow the path of lacerate + oni, try following another guide which is the slayer version. Good luck to you all :D




Change Log and reminder for previous patches.
Spoiler

[3.16 changes (updated from 23/11/2021]

- Firstly I apologize that I did not have an update for this build in league start. The reason are the huge changes to passive skill tree and difficulty on mobs makes me think that the build cant catch up with the current difficulty. I had played a while in this league and I noticed that GGG wants us to invest more in defensive layers (e.g. Tier 10 scourge mod 'Take 15000 lightning damage when you shift into nightmare). These mods are limiting this build since we do not have either block or max armor.
- Though lacerate is still charming for its unique playstyle. If you have extra currency and still want to give it a try or even improve it, I made a POB for 3.16 based on the gears on previous pob. I found it quite difficult to push its dps while maintaining some basic defensive layers (HP, some armor), maybe slayer version would do it better nowadays and in the future.
- For now, I would not recommend playing it into late endgame because in 3.14 I can enjoy both farming currency and this cool playstyle but for now I hardly say it can do so. As I said previously, if your goal is to find some fun builds to play, this is definitely still viable for the core gameplay.
- *** For starters and newbies, this build is definitely doing good for low investments, I would rate it 8/10. The ascendancy and Oni-goroshi's own power are still capable to clear through most contents. However, for late end-game contents (e.g. scourge, blight-ravaged map...) this build barely survive a single hit. Therefore you can use it as a transition for farming currency for another build.


[3.15 changes (updated from 8/8/2021]

- Damage nerf from all aspects, maximum output damage should drop 25-30% drop.
- ** The immunity from 'Her Embrace' becomes very valuable when all immunity got heavily nerfed, this makes it a relatively great buff compared to other builds.
- Might be a little squishy since they nerf fortify effect, not sure how much it will affect. To compensate, I am now considering using the new Defiance banner, however I may not have time to try it out in the next league so not sure how much it can help.
- New pob updated, huge thanks to Fire309 which rerouted the skill tree which save 2 points. If chieftain is not working as intended, I recommend try out the slayer version from him which I believe it has the potential for better clearing and survivability. Check out Page 10 for his recommendation.
-*** If you are looking a stable build with little deaths and clear, this one may not suit your needs. There are only few builds in this league can have such balance in survivability, damage and clear(e.g. Spectral shield throw)

I did not update every section because it seems nothing really needs to change, please feel free to discuss if there are anything I miss. Hope you guys enjoy this challenging league :D.


[3.14 changes (updated from 21/4/2021]

- Harvest big nerf. Jewel crafting hopefully still viable since ggg focusing nerf on modification on influenced items. Amulet and rings should be much harder to obtain. Just focus on getting the most important mod (curse).
- Xoph's blood are quite expensive currently (~4ex [21th April]), I suggest relocate some skill points to get 'Avatar of Fire'. Grab oni-goroshi and offering to the serpent first for starter.
- DPS will be harder than last league to push through 20M mark because you need specifically crafted gears for late game. Before that It should be fine by just some easy decent gear.
-[IMPORTANT]***** After some testing on chainbreaker, It is currently unavailable to use it any more.(GGG why ruin us, we are not spell build T_T) To modify it, dont use Lethal Pride anymore. I suggest changing one notable in the Large cluster jewel into 'Bloodscent'(Preferably Feed the fury), which gives you rage slowly as you clear through enemies. However it will cost much more from my experience in the previous league.








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Reasons Why you need to play this build:

-You are a lacerate fan
-Lacerate Celestial MTX looks cool af
-Slashing bosses in seconds
-Fan of Kimetsu no Yaiba (LOL)



Here is the ladder in POE.ninja week 3 for Lacerate build
IGN: TanjiroLacerate


Pros
Spoiler

+ Destroying all bosses, high end-game damage
+ Easy to start
+ Decent Clear speed on maps
+ 6k health pool with 13k+ armour and strong fortify
+ Strong survivability due to 'Her embrace' from Oni-goroshi



Cons
Spoiler

- Cant do elemental reflect map
- Easy to die with low regen mod or status
- Standing while attacking makes boss fight harder
- Playstyle is a little bit clunky due to totems
- Could killed by 'Her embrace' fire damage if no measures are taken


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Path of Building (Download PoB community Fork to use it)
Spoiler


[3.16] https://pastebin.com/qcTjMrXD
[3.15] https://pastebin.com/EQxXNiU5
[3.14] https://pastebin.com/3rUnrrAV
[3.13] https://pastebin.com/5VjrfRij
The bottom includes a few versions for you to follow when you level up, number means how many skill points has allocated.


Videos
Spoiler


A8 Baran with clear
https://youtu.be/nMxcaS0YOQE

A8 Sirus
https://youtu.be/bvInd1cX9TE

Maven's Crucible- Distant memory bosses
https://youtu.be/iCUUiepzJk8

Maven - 2 deaths (Dumb brain forgot the pattern)
https://youtu.be/bAawReKIENc



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Please before going on to in-depth discussions in the build, understand the mechanics of this special goddess sword
Oni-goroshi and mechanics
Spoiler


When you ignite enemies, you will gain "Her Embrace" buff which grants the following:

-Cannot be Stunned
-123% of Sword Physical Damage gained as Extra Fire Damage
-Unaffected by Burning Ground
-Immune to Freeze, Chill and Ignite
-20% increased Attack, Cast and Movement Speed


However while in Her Embrace, take 0.5% of your total Maximum Life and Energy Shield as Fire Damage per second per Level.
This will kill you quicker and quicker if you keep leveling up and have no measures to deal with it, fire resistance could lower the damage taken by it.

Herald of ash will be used to ignite enemies in early games to help gaining 'Her embrace' buff, in late game all physical damage will be converted to fire damage which will cause ignite when you critical strike enemy also.

Also Oni-goroshi grants physical damage per level, therefore leveling is also important to get more damage. This build focus on increasing Physical damage as high as possible so you gain more as extra fire damage from Oni-goroshi.




Gears
Spoiler

Full Gear list is here



Helmet
Spoiler



Helmet basically covers your resistance with some life, try to get some great armour base with high item level.

Since you will be lacking a lot of dexterity and some intelligence, helmet could be a easier place for you to get these two attributes in early game and potential upgrades for ring. This is what I used before

Try search dexterity as priority in trade if you really need a lot dexterity, or you could buy a helmet with suitable enchantment then slam Dexterity essence until you get something decent as mine for transitioning.

There are two helmet enchantments that could be useful for this build
- Ancestral protector Totem grants #% increased attack speed
- Blood and Sand has #% increased buff effect

Blood and Sand enchant gives smoother clearing(bigger AOE) while attack speed from totem increase DPS a lot.

For further min-maxing, these mods can be used depending on your choice, remember that these mods require item level 85 or above.
-More survivability -> Crusader's mod [Increased #% effect of fortify]
-More DPS -> Warlord's mod [Increased #% elemental damage] & [Nearby enemies -#% fire resistance]
OR you could get all those and enchance it with maven's orb if you are really rich.

Reminder: The above two enchantments with 85 item level & armour base are extremely expensive from trade(I have been monitoring it for weeks which still cost 10+ Ex, therefore I give up and craft the above one.



Body armour
Spoiler


For early game, just grab some 4 linked armour since you already got a six-linked sword. After pushing through acts, you could buy a corrupted six-linked armour with some life and resist for transitioning, usually cost around 10-20c. Remember to have 3 red, 1 green and 1 blue for the auras and enlighten gem.

When you have finished crafting boots, helmet, gloves and belt, farming red-tier maps and looking for upgrades in rings for two curses, you can buy a Hunter-influenced astral plate with item lvl 85+ and a prophecy Jeweller's touch to make it 5-linked. Start farming harvest encounters and look for Caster modification. Reforge you armour with caster modifiers until you get [You can apply an additional curse] and perhaps some life or even %increased life if you are lucky. I crafted this in late week 1.


For late game, you can follow the armour I am using now. Awakener's orb is required for this armour.


Crafting guide
Spoiler

Basically you could easily buy a white-socketed, six-linked, Redeemer-influenced Astral plate, then use alteration(or harvest reforge to save money) to get [10% chance to gain a frenzy charge on hit].
On the other hand grab any Hunter-influenced armour and get [Attacks have +#% to critical strike chance].

First click the Awakener's orb on Hunter's and second click on Redeemer's, make sure there is no other influenced mod before using awakener's orb on both armour. You can then spam 'Reforge keeping suffixes' to get life mod and then augment caster to get [You can apply an additional curse]. Remember to fill the suffixes to full because reforge keeping prefixes could add a mod in the black space in suffixes


Some other useful mods that could be used also.
Smoother clearing -> Crusader's mod [Enemies you kill explode, dealing 5% of their life as physical damage]



Gloves
Spoiler



Offering to the serpent gives you 'Overleech' ability, which is a great utility for us to compensate the enormous fire damage taken from 'Her embrace'. Just buy a good one from the market to sustain your life.
Usually cost below 10c.

In late game, try to get a pair that has #% Physical damage converted to fire damage because you may want to replace the Xoph's blood to a rare amulet for more DPS and you will lose avatar of fire. Mine are just luxury for me to free up a curse ring.


Boots
Spoiler




Just aim for 25%+ Movement speed, Maximum life, and some resistance is good enough

Mine are bought from market cost 60c

Tailwind will be good for mix-maxing, around 10% increase in DPS

Enchantment
-Attack and cast speed if you have killed recently
-Damage Penetrates 10% of Enemy Elemental Resistances if you haven't Killed Recently


Belt
Spoiler




Mods to aim
-# to Maximum life
-# to Resist
-#% Increased elemental damage with attack skills

A leather belt with decent resist and life are good enough to use even through end game contents. If you wish to have more life and some damage boost, a Hunter-based stygian vise is the best for belts, but it will also cost much more.

One reminder is that [#% Increased elemental damage with attack skills] is the only attack mod in belts prefix, you can craft it at the very last (after getting +# life and +% life)by augmenting attack mods and rem/add until getting tier 1.


Amulet
Spoiler



For budget choice, Xoph's blood will be great for a long period of time, granting you Fire penetration, Avatar of fire for the remaining 10% Phys to fire conversion and #% maximum life. Cost 1 EX

When you have enough currency and you find a Offering to the serpent that has fire conversion implicit, you can start to craft your own rare amulet as well.



Mods that are good for this build
- [#% Elemental damage with attack skills]
- [#% Global critical strike multiplier]
- Warlord's mod [Gain #% of Phys damage to extra fire damage]
- Warlord's mod [Damage penetrates #% fire resistance]
- Shaper's mod [Damage penetrates #% elemental resistances]

I personally recommend use Warlord-influenced amulet as it already covers all you need. You can use Scorched fossil to chance [Gain phys as fire] mod and [Fire Penetration] or using Harvest again for Reforge with fire.

Anointment for amulet should be Fatal blade, more critical chance and more crti multiplier.


Rings
Spoiler


For budget version, I recommend using Thief's torment starting from level 30. Assuming you are already using oni-goroshi from the start of you character, Thief's torment provides LOTS of life gain per hit for each enemy, and one slash to a piles of monster could heal you so much that save you from the 'Her Embrace' damage. Actually I have been using this until I got 1 curse ring ready so you could follow as well.



This two steel rings are the ones I used to beat all game contents, you just need to buy a Shaper-based steel ring and a Warlord-based steel ring, around 1-2 Ex. Again using harvest with Caster reforging until you get the two curses. If you want to be more budget-viable I recommend buying influenced two-stone rings instead, usually around 10-20c even in league start week.

Other Mods to aim for
- Global critical strike multiplier
- Elemental resistances
- Adds # to # physical damage to attacks

Reminder: The elder ring I am using now in the above gear list is because I have Flammability curse on gloves, so I can free up a curse ring. Its pure luck for such systhesis implicit combination on the gloves to drop. Just aim for 2 curse ring is strong enough.


Flasks
Spoiler



Flasks depends on how rich you are. If you are going budget version, at least get a Lion's roar as it buffs melee damage so much, grab any utility flask to replace Bottled Faith and Cinderswallow if you cannot afford it in the meantime.

Since 'Her Embrace' provides us freeze immunity, you only need curse removal effect on flasks, others depend on your choice eg. Increase movement speed, increase attack speed.



Jewels
Spoiler


[3.14 UPDATE]

Chainbreaker does not work anymore as mentioned above. Lethal pride are not necessary anymore. Unless GGG rework it next league, otherwise it will not be considered anymore. Unwavering Stance (supposed to be Chainbreaker node) no longer requires to take which you could invest on some health node for sustainability.




Cluster Jewel


3.14 update
Try to get 'Bloodscent' in your large cluster jewel, it is the only way to get rage currently due to the big nerf of 'Chainbreaker'. It is not a necessary as you normally deal 10M damage in clearing maps, but would be better to have for bossing by Berserk.


For large cluster jewel, if u buy it from the market it will roughly cost 2-3ex, depending on how long the league has been started. Therefore I recommend using Harvest again with 'Reforge with more common speed modifiers'. The above 3 notables also has a 'SPEED' tag on it, which will be easier for you to make one.

For medium, 'Cremator' is specially designed for those explodey birds which explode lots of projectiles to you and instant kill you. Here's a photo of these demons.

Trust me you desperately need CREMATOR
'Cooked Alive' reduces ignited enemy fire resistances which is great for increasing DPS. Try using scorched fossil or 'Reforge with fire', buying it from market should cost around 2ex.

For small cluster, I just craft it with reforge with more common life, as soon as it get some flat life and decent notable then I started to use. You may want to get a fettle as it really gives a lot more life but it will cost a lot more.


Watcher's eye normally will cost a lot, however this [Increase attack speed while affected by precision] should be the cheapest, around 60c. Attack speed is very important for this build, therefore I strongly recommend buy this as soon as possible if you have a set of gear.

[For 3.13 only]
Timeless Jewel is the source of your rage. Note that it must be conquered by Akoya. Putting your timeless jewel at the closest slot from your skill tree starting point, 'Unwavering Stance' will be changed to 'Chainbreaker', which will generate rage for you to kill bosses. In addition, some additional bonus will be granted to other skill points, I got 2 [10% increased effect of fortify] so you can try to get your best one, mods such as [5% chance to deal double damage] and [+15% global crit multiplier] are also really good.

For normal jewels, you ultimately wants [% increased maximum life] and 3 crit multiplier mod. These are extremely expensive which cost 10+ Ex for one. Since you may lack some attributes in early game, grab some dexterity and intelligence could also be good in this case. Also [attack speed] and [melee damage] is some budget choice for jewels.



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Leveling

I would assume you to have Oni-goroshi before going on this build. It is the core of this build which gears are designed because of it. Therefore either farm it from Twilight Strand or buy 1 from the market. It costs around 1 Ex.

Gears priority
Spoiler

Some budget gears has been provided from the above gear section, therefore I am going to discuss what to aim first.

Level 30

Thief's torment for supreme life gain and lots of elemental resistances

Level 64

Xoph's blood for Fire conversion and penetration

Level 70

Offering to the Serpent for overleech

After getting a set of basic armour(boots, belts, helmet), aim for Lion's roar


Watcher's eye (Attack speed)-> Lethal pride -> 2 Curse rings -> Astral plate -> Cluster jewels -> Cinderswallow(crit mod)

If you reach here, you should be able to kill conquerors in just a sec.



To level up, you can start using Oni-goroshi from the start, but be reminded that get as much Fire resistance as possible to prevent yourself dying. Start with molten strike until Level 38 to get 'Multistrike support'. Molten strike has fire conversion itself which makes you easier to proc 'Her embrace'

Lacerate can be used in level 12, you can keep leveling it but I dont recommend using it. This skills heavily depends on attack speed, you will feel clunky for clearing as your AOE is small and also low attack speed. At level 38, you can link it with 'multistrike', 'faster attack support' and 'melee physical damage support'.

For auras, grab blood and sand at level 4, precision at level 10, herald of ash at level 16. You can level up precision to level 10 first, then level it later after using herald of purity to see whether your mana regen or gain can keep up.

Gem links
Spoiler

Main weapon
Lacerate - Multistrike support - Elemental damage with attacks support - Melee physical damage support - Fortify support - Inspiration support

Chest
Herald of purity - Herald of Ash - Blood and sand - Precision - Enlighten

Helmet
Whirling blades - Faster attacks support - Culling strike support - Berserk
Reminder: You could use leap slam as well, but our attack speed is not very high which make it not quick as whirling blades, also slow leap slam looks like Moonwalking LMAO

Gloves
Ancestral protector - Vaal Ancestral warchief - Multiple totem support - combustion support

Boots
Cast when damage taken support (Level 2) - Vaal molten shell (Level 11) - Wave of conviction (Level 2) - Summon lightning golem (Level 20)(Self cast it)



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Ascendancy ,Pantheon and Bandits

Ascendancy
1. Ngamahu, Flames' Advance
2. Hinekora, Death's Fury
3. Tukohama, War's Herald
4. Arohongui, Moon's Presence

Pantheon
- Soul of Solaris
For bossing and reducing damage
- Soul of Shakari
A little compensation for our big weakness- chaos damage

Bandits
- Kill all
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Mapping and bossfights

Mapping
- Switch to Sand stance(Larger AOE)
- Put down ancestral protector (Depends on your attack speed, you will be high enough in late game which makes you feel your clear is smooth, then you can skip putting down it before slash, around aps 3.2 is where you feel smooth)
- Two or three slashes
- Whirling blades to other enemies

Bossfights
- Chill until you gain full rage (Only for old chainbreaker)
- Switch to blood stance
- Put down ancestral protector and Vaal ancestral warchief near boss
- Berserk
- Start your slashing!
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TIPS

1. When you feel clunky when using Lacerate, mostly is because your Attack per second is not high enough, which makes the multistrike animation slow and you need to wait it finish or walk to interrupt it before whirling blades or putting totem again. Therefore buff attack speed in this situation, Boots enchantment, jewels, cluster jewel etc..

2. In 80+ level, if you don't have cluster jewel or feeling confused where to put your skill points, just temporarily puts them in the Life circle behind Marauder's starting point. Buffing your life is not a bad choice.

3. Currently in Maven Boss fight, if you touches the coil beam will cause you have no regen, so DO NOT hit any one otherwise it procs 'Her Embrace' and you will be dead possibly. Check my video where I spam whole HP life flask to stay alive and wait until the debuff is over.


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Thank you all that has read through the whole guide to here, I have been playing POE since Delirium league, some of my advice may not be the best but I hope it works. Feel free to discuss on improving the build and I hope Lacerate this skill could be used by more people, thats why I am writing this guide. It really costs so much time LOL. Please do not hesitate to ask questions, I will reply to the comments ASAP. Also If you feel it is fun, please help me to share my favorite skill to others! Thank you again! :D
Last edited by jasonl1213 on Aug 16, 2023, 1:13:42 PM
Last bumped on Oct 24, 2021, 2:48:11 AM
Frequently Asked Question~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


Q- Chainbreaker nerf on 3.14, what is the alternative solution for rage?


A- Lethal Pride cannot be used anymore, at least for now. You can still use it for those small bonus provided in notables, such as increased fortify effect and melee critical strike multiplier. However switch it for a decent jewel should be better than that. To regen rage, 'Bloodscent' is should be the only way right now.



Q- I am always dying because of 'Her Embrace', why is this happening?


A- First thing, make sure you maxed out your fire resistance permanently. Permanently means you get it from your armour or skill tree, but not from flasks or any other sources which has duration.
Secondly, get a utility sulphur flask. If you cant afford bottled faith atm, sulphur flask could be an alternative to provide you consecrated ground which can push your life regen high enough to compete the degen from 'Her embrace'

Last edited by jasonl1213 on May 11, 2021, 7:40:21 AM
Looks cool! I want to try it. Thank you for sharing this build :)
👀
"
denhol wrote:
Looks cool! I want to try it. Thank you for sharing this build :)


Hey you are welcome :D Please feel free to discuss with me or if you need any help. Thanks for ur reply :)
Hi, how do you get frenzy charges if using explody chest? I guess blood rage?
"
DawnOfDusk_ wrote:
Hi, how do you get frenzy charges if using explody chest? I guess blood rage?


Yes, otherwise you will need to craft [chance to gain charges on kill] on amulet. I am not using blood rage is because it will be much more dangerous when you suffer from 'Her Embrace' fire damage and also blood rage degen.

Also, gain frenzy charges on kill are not effective during boss fights, therefore I go for the on hit mod in body armour.

If you really want to use blood rage, I suggest you to have a sulphur flask for consercrated ground to compensate the degen.

Thank you for your reply :D Good luck
"
jasonl1213 wrote:
"
DawnOfDusk_ wrote:
Hi, how do you get frenzy charges if using explody chest? I guess blood rage?


Yes, otherwise you will need to craft [chance to gain charges on kill] on amulet. I am not using blood rage is because it will be much more dangerous when you suffer from 'Her Embrace' fire damage and also blood rage degen.

Also, gain frenzy charges on kill are not effective during boss fights, therefore I go for the on hit mod in body armour.

If you really want to use blood rage, I suggest you to have a sulphur flask for consercrated ground to compensate the degen.

Thank you for your reply :D Good luck


I played slayer lacerate back in 3.7. First time trying fire lacerate. How tanky is this chieftain?
"
DawnOfDusk_ wrote:
"
jasonl1213 wrote:
"
DawnOfDusk_ wrote:
Hi, how do you get frenzy charges if using explody chest? I guess blood rage?


Yes, otherwise you will need to craft [chance to gain charges on kill] on amulet. I am not using blood rage is because it will be much more dangerous when you suffer from 'Her Embrace' fire damage and also blood rage degen.

Also, gain frenzy charges on kill are not effective during boss fights, therefore I go for the on hit mod in body armour.

If you really want to use blood rage, I suggest you to have a sulphur flask for consercrated ground to compensate the degen.

Thank you for your reply :D Good luck


I played slayer lacerate back in 3.7. First time trying fire lacerate. How tanky is this chieftain?


I would say 7/10, mainly because I buffed the fortify effect by 60+% effect and with 6k hp pool. You could see Sirus normal laser beam only deals ~1200 damage at my video 1:47. To be honest Its not very tanky as there are no endurance charges or 80%+ resistances, but I almost never get one-shotted except for the maven's invitation with breach bosses.
this is looking fun so far through the acts
Last edited by ARES_GOD on Feb 17, 2021, 1:22:29 PM
"
ARES_GOD wrote:
this is looking fun so far through the acts


Good luck :D so far this is the build I have most fun on it. Once your AOE get big enough, the clearing looks so satisfying.

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