1.3 [Newbie Friendly] GROUNDSLAMMER BUILD

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Natorius wrote:

Is this build still going strong into maps 70+? I notice a lot of the higher marauder ground slam builds I see people link don't get Blood Magic so that they can still run some auras.

im 78lvl on this build. tried lv70 map. doable.

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merandill wrote:

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Natorius wrote:

Is this build still going strong into maps 70+? I notice a lot of the higher marauder ground slam builds I see people link don't get Blood Magic so that they can still run some auras.

im 78lvl on this build. tried lv70 map. doable.

I believe this, if you can get to this level.
Died at 58 with this build to weaver in merci (-60% chaos) + Teleporting in to weaver and then not having immunity is also very painfull.

But this build is nice and easy to build.
But I do not agree on only weapons from Vendor.
You need mods to get strong. For that or alot of alcs or some chaos to buy some.

--- Disclaimer: i am not an expert! ---

@Shivver2001:
Goldrim is a very popular piece of gear for people coming to Merciless, >100 total res on one item is hard to beat (cheap too). You can use until you get res on other gear, having high res is essential at Merc.
In a few lvls you will be able to find a nice lvl57 >300DPS Mace for 1-2 chaos, i suggest you buy one with your last currency, it will make a big difference.
A belt with "ok" life and one res >30 can be found for cheap if you look at poe.xyz or even free.
Until then and if you got no currency, farm and lvlup a bit i guess...
Add me ingame, i have a Granite flask i can give you and maybe some other crap ;)


@judobike2000:
Well it all depends of how currency you have/are willing to spend...
You mace looks ok for your lvl (65), not that you couldn't use an upgrade, but its DPS is not lacking. Having said that, you should have at least one 5L piece, if you can afford it ofc...

Personally i would not buy a cheap 5L lower than 350 DPS, and if you are going to spend more than a few ex then you can probably find something closer to 400 and over.
The best thing i can suggest for you is this:
Don't spend a few ex for a "cheap" 5L/"low-DPS" weapon that will last you less than 10lvls.
Save your currency and go for a good 5L that will last you more (up until you can afford a >20ex upgrade), go for more than 400DPS.
That is if you do ok DPS: if you do fine in Catacombs (and don't have any close calls dieing), then you are good to go and try free-to-join public parties doing lvl68-69 maps. I think with a 5L on you you would be ok for that (depends on you tree and overall survivability ofc).

I would suggest against spending currency to try and 5L your armor.
First of all it's not worth it imo: the minimum for me would be 1K or over AR, high life (90 and over) and two high res (over 35% each). You are borderline close to life and res, but AR is not up to par...
Plus crafting is always an expensive endeavor, you can spend a lot on fuses and still not get what you want (see http://www.pathofexile.com/forum/view-thread/203971).
That currency could be better used to strait up buy the thing you need, imo ofc.


@Natorius:
Maps are all about mods and then boss type.

I have done up to lvl75 and did fine at around lvl82, not that lvl is what matters: it's all about the gear! My char was very different from lvl81 to lvl84, and it's not due to the 3 more skill points ;)
Done lvl73 maps without using one flask and at the same time died to lvl70 map from deadly mods/bosses (Piety, Weaver).
You can do fine in a high-lvl map, kill the boss without too much trouble and everything, then walk into a large blue group with a rare that has "Allies reflect phys dmg" and insta-die...
Currently lvl72 maps with phys reflect but no other deadly mods are ok if you don't act stupid (and jump in the center of a 20 monsters group then hold down GS).

About respecing out of BM, pre-release (too many changes to list) is was kind of the norm really, most players preferred to drop BM for using 3-4 Auras (easy then).
Now it's still an option, but i think it's not as popular as before (not "common practice").

*Note: when i say "you can do lvlX maps" i don't mean steamroll the map with one hand. Just like when you say "i can kill Dominus just fine" you don't mean facetank him and never worry about your health pool ;)


@gustafff:
Cool build! :)

@buzzinowt & @Monty_The_3rd

Thanks for your input! I'm playing dominion and it seems like any mace with better pDPS than mine is not worth the squeeze or way out of my price range. As far as armor, I agree, I've been saving up for a 5L with life (I'm maxed out on all resists except for one which is 71%). I can afford getting more life on my equipment, though, so I will definitely do that!

I wrote the above before writing again today, and I'm happy to say I've improved my character quite a bit.



I respec-ed out of Blood Magic and took Hatred + Vitality (still playing around with what auras work best). With Hatred, I do very close to the same amount of damage as I did with added fire % (I had to replace with blood magic gem) + I get the benefit of cold damage. On top of that, I gain a second aura, which I currently have as vitality. I also found a GREAT mace for about 1/5th of what it's worth. I got a 5L for a very good price (very low armor though, I really have to pay attention to my endurance charges). LIFE. ON. EVERYTHING. Currently have about 4.5k life. I think I've kept this entire build under 20 chaos or so, which is one of the least expensive characters I've tried to build.

Thank you for your suggestions!

First of all, I love this guide! I had such a nasty time with my first character (dex-based evasive bow ranger) that this build is a simple breath of fresh air.

Second, I have some questions about Cast When Damage Taken shenanigans. I just discovered Cast When Damage Taken + Molten Shell and it's awesome. What else would you pair with those two? I'm thinking Iron Will + Fire Penetration + Added Fire Damage, but I read in an old thread that Added Fire Damage doesn't work with Molten Shell. Is this true?

Cast When Damage Taken + Molten Shell + Enduring Cry + Punishment + Warlord's Mark is also fantastic. You can separately pair Immortal Call with Increased Duration and set off the Endurance Charges from Enduring Cry for brief invulnerability whenever you want.

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Tempada wrote:

I just discovered Cast When Damage Taken + Molten Shell and it's awesome. What else would you pair with those two? I'm thinking Iron Will + Fire Penetration + Added Fire Damage, but I read in an old thread that Added Fire Damage doesn't work with Molten Shell. Is this true?

No added fire damage needs a physical skill in order to add fire damage on it. Molten Shell is not that. CwDT is a must. It is highly suggested you don't level it and keep it level 1 since that way it procs more often because it requires little damage taken. Linked with lvl5 Enduring Cry and lvl5 Enfeeble is probably the most popular combo. If you got it in a 4L the 3rd skill is ambiguous. You can link a second curse like Temporal Chains but keep in mind that there is a 1 curse cap, so they don't stack on top of each other unless you get special passives or items that allow additional curses to stack. You can link it with lvl7 Molten Shell or lvl8 Decoy totem, those skills are kinda weak in early levels, I have no experience testing them so can't say if it's good.

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Tempada wrote:

Cast When Damage Taken + Molten Shell + Enduring Cry + Punishment + Warlord's Mark is also fantastic. You can separately pair Immortal Call with Increased Duration and set off the Endurance Charges from Enduring Cry for brief invulnerability whenever you want.

As already said, 3L CwDT gets the job done, 4L at most since Curses don't stack and you need your 5 links for your damage skills, GS first and HS second. As for Immortal call, it's an option. I use it in a 4L with two other skills (Blood Rage, Warlord's Mark) supported by Increased Duration. At level 18 gem level and 7 endurance charges it lasts 7.5+ seconds so it's quite a long time. Have to remember though it only makes you invulnerable to physical damage and consumes your charges which aside from physical dmg reduction give elemental resistances unless you already are at your maximum.

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eladir wrote:

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Tempada wrote:

I just discovered Cast When Damage Taken + Molten Shell and it's awesome. What else would you pair with those two? I'm thinking Iron Will + Fire Penetration + Added Fire Damage, but I read in an old thread that Added Fire Damage doesn't work with Molten Shell. Is this true?

No added fire damage needs a physical skill in order to add fire damage on it. Molten Shell is not that. CwDT is a must. It is highly suggested you don't level it and keep it level 1 since that way it procs more often because it requires little damage taken. Linked with lvl5 Enduring Cry and lvl5 Enfeeble is probably the most popular combo. If you got it in a 4L the 3rd skill is ambiguous. You can link a second curse like Temporal Chains but keep in mind that there is a 1 curse cap, so they don't stack on top of each other unless you get special passives or items that allow additional curses to stack. You can link it with lvl7 Molten Shell or lvl8 Decoy totem, those skills are kinda weak in early levels, I have no experience testing them so can't say if it's good.

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Tempada wrote:

Cast When Damage Taken + Molten Shell + Enduring Cry + Punishment + Warlord's Mark is also fantastic. You can separately pair Immortal Call with Increased Duration and set off the Endurance Charges from Enduring Cry for brief invulnerability whenever you want.

As already said, 3L CwDT gets the job done, 4L at most since Curses don't stack and you need your 5 links for your damage skills, GS first and HS second. As for Immortal call, it's an option. I use it in a 4L with two other skills (Blood Rage, Warlord's Mark) supported by Increased Duration. At level 18 gem level and 7 endurance charges it lasts 7.5+ seconds so it's quite a long time. Have to remember though it only makes you invulnerable to physical damage and consumes your charges which aside from physical dmg reduction give elemental resistances unless you already are at your maximum.

I just checked Path of Exile's wiki and CwDT has to be leveled up or you will not be able to level up the other skill gems that it supports. If you leave it at level 1 you will not be able to level up any of the skill gems it supports that would require a higher level than 31.

Let's say you have CwDT linked to Enduring Cry and Molten Shell. That means that Enduring Cry could not go any higher than level 5 and Molten Shell could not go any higher than level 7. That change to CwDT was made a while ago forgot which patch.

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eladir wrote:

No added fire damage needs a physical skill in order to add fire damage on it. Molten Shell is not that. CwDT is a must. It is highly suggested you don't level it and keep it level 1 since that way it procs more often because it requires little damage taken. Linked with lvl5 Enduring Cry and lvl5 Enfeeble is probably the most popular combo. If you got it in a 4L the 3rd skill is ambiguous. You can link a second curse like Temporal Chains but keep in mind that there is a 1 curse cap, so they don't stack on top of each other unless you get special passives or items that allow additional curses to stack. You can link it with lvl7 Molten Shell or lvl8 Decoy totem, those skills are kinda weak in early levels, I have no experience testing them so can't say if it's good.

Hmm, I thought about keeping Cast When Damage Taken at level 1, which makes a lot of sense for Enduring Cry and Enfeeble (radius aside), but Molten Shell stinks at low levels (I've been testing it) and I imagine Decoy Totem does too since it dies so quickly. In Merciless, might it be worth it to level Cast When Damage Taken all the way up, especially if you take Unwavering Stance so you're guaranteed to be hit by the enemy? This might be great in single player but not so good in multiplay where you get hit less frequently. Or I could not be lazy and cast Molten Shell on its own and stick to low level Enduring Cry and Enfeeble.

I have to point out that you can link Cast When Damage Taken + Enduring Cry + Immortal Call. Enduring Cry and Immortal Call will not always trigger at the same time, so you can "set it and forget it" when it comes to having regular bouts of physical invulnerability. It's not worth it at low gem levels, though, since the duration will be so short.

I didn't realize you could only cast one curse at a time. Good to know. What items/passives allow you to stack multiple curses?

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As for Immortal call, it's an option. I use it in a 4L with two other skills (Blood Rage, Warlord's Mark) supported by Increased Duration. At level 18 gem level and 7 endurance charges it lasts 7.5+ seconds so it's quite a long time. Have to remember though it only makes you invulnerable to physical damage and consumes your charges which aside from physical dmg reduction give elemental resistances unless you already are at your maximum.

Thanks for the suggestions!

Should I chnage my current chest to 5L Carcass Jack to boost GS??

Or should I stick to armor, cause evasion doesn't work in my build :/

About CwDT:

The gems linked to CwDT must have the same (or smaller) required lvl (NOT actual gem lvl), or they will not trigger.
You can check on the required lvl bu looking at a gem:

This Enduring Cry requires lv19 (even though the gem itself is lvl1).

So, if you have a lvl 18 MoltenShell that requires lvl64, then in order to make it work with CwDT the CwDT must be lvl18 (req lvl65) or higher.
If you link a lvl18 MoltenS to a lvl1 CwDT, nothing will happen, the MoltenS will never be triggered.
But the gems will keep gaining XP and level-up when ready.

I use a low-lvl CwDT combo in my boots:
I started with a CwDT already at lvl5, and put in lvl1 gems. I just stopped lvling up the linked gems at the right point, so they would still work with CwDT.

When a gem reaches the lvl-up and you gem a note on the right side of your screen, you right-click (instead of left-click) on the "+" icon and the notification moves to the stash tab. You can still lvl-up the gem later (for another use) by clicking the "+" icon at the stash tab:



Now, things that i tested linked to CwDT at this low-lvl:
EnduringC works great, keeps your charges up.
Enfeeble is the best Curse from the ones i tried (WarlordsM, TemporalChains)
MoltenS is not much of a help at this low-lvl... I am lvling another CwDT higher to use with my high-lvl MoltenS in a 2L
Other people also use totems, i never tried them so i can't comment on that.