Slayer or Champion?

Hello.

I'd like to ask some help in deciding which ascendancy class to pick for my Duelist.

I'm not yet very experienced with the game, but I believe I understand the basics. (less than 100 hr logged in on various characters combined)

This is my planned build;

https://www.pathofexile.com/fullscreen-passive-skill-tree/AAAABAQBAQHnBTwGIAaiB3UIsQmWDF8OPBDwERoUIBRxFHUV7BfcGNsaPhpVG6ob-hynHOchVSFgJd8nICefKS4s-y0wLiM26DkOOlI9Pj_8QKBFqUd-SHhQR1HaU6VVqVdUWHVan14TXz9hIWFSYxdlTWa2aGVqAWoeajtul3Kpc2t0oHTxd9d4enlofLiBOoIHhNmE74WnhmCGtIdqiO2KIoqzkGySfZOolSSXeZe0mG-ZK57NpBmpJ6mUqfqygLYsuR29Nr2BvqfApsEEwQfE9sVTxq7KkNIh137ZfNwj3DLcPd-_4e_kUeXP6GbqGO567w7vTvIv8kHyWvKc8933Mve--Ov6GA==

and this is where I stand atm;
https://www.pathofexile.com/fullscreen-passive-skill-tree/AAAABAQBAQHnDjwQ8BEaFCAUcRXsGj4aVRuqG_oc5yXfKS426DpSR35QR1dUXz9hIWFSZU1oZWoeajtul3NreHp8uIE6ggeE2YTvhmCHaojtirOQbJOomSuezaQZqSeplKn6tiy5Hb02vYG-p8qQ0iHZfN-_4e_ueu8O8i_yQfJa8pzz3fe--Ov6GA==

My main attack is Cyclone, currently with life on hit, melee dmg, and faster attack support. I plan to add Fortify and dmg on full health when I manage to find a 5 or 6 linked weapon.

I also use Heavy Strike as a secondary attack, with the same supports. Sometimes Cyclone is unhandy and a simple strike seems to work better.

The rest of my skills are; Warlords Mark, Rallying Cry (might switch to enduring) and Blood Rage, all three with increased duration. Might link WM to a Cast when DMG Taken gem.
Leap Slam with stun, and Vengeance with life on hit.

So far my experience is; As long as I can hit things, I don't die. Could use more survivability, especially against sudden, drastic damage (Izarro, I'm looking at you!).

My original choice was Slayer, mostly for sentimental reasons; my fondness of greatswords, the cool art, the whole bloody-killy style, the favourite trash metal band of my school years, and a cartoon series that sits close to my heart.

All horrible reasons, as far as efficiency is considered.

I'd pick Brutal Fervor to boost my damage, since life leech is present in my build.
Impact to increase the range of Cyclone, and help Heavy Strike with a little aoe
And for last, Endless Hunger so my leech triggered dmg bonus doesn't flash on and off, and not being stunned sounds nice, although I'm yet to meet an npc that'd stun me.

The problem is, I think there are more powerful choices.
Maybe Blood Magic is enough to keep my health below full so the dmg boost from leeching can proc, and that jittering I see on the stat panel doesn't matter? In that case I'd pick Headsman instead of Endless Hunger, though it's far too circumstantional for my liking. I prefer bonuses that are always on.
Even with that, I wouldn't gain anything defensive aside from a little extra life leech which I already have aplenty.

I could just go with a Champion ascendancy.
Inspirational is already a better damage boost, AND it offers movement speed which is a must have for efficient play, even if my choice of attack favors slow movement. At worst I'll run two circles around the foe instead of one. And I'm sure any party would love to receive it's effect.
First to Strike, Last to Fall would be next, again, more damage, and a life saver armor boost,
Then Unstoppable Hero for yet more dmg and defense and more movement. Add a Fortify gem to my attacks (planned anyway) and it'd be almost always on, so no need to spend points on Fortitude.

I'm left to wonder; Where do these bonuses fit in my damage calculation? For example, is Inspirational at the same level as a simple % dmg with two-handed weapons passive? Do they apply to the base value, or to my total damage?
If it's the same, the Slayer could pump out roughly the same damage, but would still fall short on defense and movement.

I would experiment, but that'd take at least two times 30 respec points which, at the moment sound a bit too laborous to acquire. And I'm still halfway into Cruel difficulty.

Would anyone care to share some insight on the matter?

If you're in doubt, choose Champion. It's a simple and straightforward class, that benefits all builds.

Slayer, on other hand, is quite tricky and requires proper understanding of its mechanics to be used effectively. I say this being a Slayer myself.
Also, Cyclone is pretty bad skill for a Slayer.

Pretty simple. Do you wanna be 1 handed or 2 handed? If 1 handed go with Champion. If 2 handed go with Slayer.

I wish. Champion has nothing one-handed specific. That's the Gladiator.

"

Atech2 wrote:

Pretty simple. Do you wanna be 1 handed or 2 handed? If 1 handed go with Champion. If 2 handed go with Slayer.

You're wrong there.
Sure, you wont choose Slayer for 1-hander, probably. But for two-hander, both are viable. Actually, Champion is viable for almost EVERY build - because every build benefits greatly from permanent "24% reduced damage taken from hits".


Edit - to truly benefit from Slayer's Endless Hunger, you should use the most hard-hitting skills - and there's only one such a skill - Earthquake. Using other skills greatly gimps your Endless Hunger - Slayer.

Slayer with Endless Hunger is pretty good if you have enough emphasis on Leech. Just be aware that Brutal Fervor is broken in that you only get the benefit while you're below maximum life, even with Endless Hunger, so you're essentially stuck with a four-point Ascendancy if you want to get Endless Hunger.

"

gilrad wrote:

Slayer with Endless Hunger is pretty good if you have enough emphasis on Leech. Just be aware that Brutal Fervor is broken in that you only get the benefit while you're below maximum life, even with Endless Hunger, so you're essentially stuck with a four-point Ascendancy if you want to get Endless Hunger.

You're always not at full life while under effects of Blood Rage. And since it provides 1.2% Life Leech, there are absolutely no reasons NOT to use it. With Blood Rage on, Brutal Fervor works "as intended".

"

MortalKombat3 wrote:

"

Atech2 wrote:

Pretty simple. Do you wanna be 1 handed or 2 handed? If 1 handed go with Champion. If 2 handed go with Slayer.

You're wrong there.
Sure, you wont choose Slayer for 1-hander, probably. But for two-hander, both are viable. Actually, Champion is viable for almost EVERY build - because every build benefits greatly from permanent "24% reduced damage taken from hits".


Edit - to truly benefit from Slayer's Endless Hunger, you should use the most hard-hitting skills - and there's only one such a skill - Earthquake. Using other skills greatly gimps your Endless Hunger - Slayer.

Endless hunger works just fine with other skills... your leech instances won't last for 10 seconds but they do not need to anyway.