[2.4] It's Glacial Hammer time!
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Hi there!
I am Ramonacus, theory-crafter nerd, moustache wearer, middle-aged gamer and this is my very first guide for PoE. I am quite happy with my latest character, a tanky Juggernaut that shatters his enemies into pieces with Glacial Hammer. This guide and character are still work in progress, there is a lot of room for improvement but nevertheless I though it would be cool to share my experiences with the community. I haven spent almost no currency in this build and I am still doing tier 7 maps. You could say it's "budget", I say it's very green. Thus, this post will definitely change in the near future when I find or buy some better gear to tackle top tier maps. I am open to suggestions, please check my wishlist below to see what I am currently looking for. Change log
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12-10-2016 Now in tier 7 maps! Added video and moved the change log section at the top. 09-10-2016 Changed the gloves, updated gem links, updated wish list, added summary sections. 08-10-2016 First version  The basics
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The basic idea behind this build is to combo Glacial's Hammer shattering mechanics with Herald of Ice. These two togethet simply evaporate white and blue mobs in a couple of swings and makes tougher mobs much easier to deal with. Besides, I have several defence mechanisms in place which include: * Up to 4 seconds of immunity to physical damage through Immortal Call + 8 endurance charges. * Retaliation curses, currently running Warlord's Mark for extra leech, extra charges and stun galore but I am considering changing to Frostbite. * Leap Slam + Fortify gives mobility and further damage reduction, this is a no-brainer. * Blood Rage and Tempest shield manually cast with Increased Duration because I like the blue bolts darting through my enemies with some lucky shocks. Oh, and I like being orbited by tons of orbs. Pros & cons
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Pros Stupidly cheap. ~6K life. Overcapped elemental resistances even when cursed. 8 endurance charges. Frozen mobs means even less damage dealt to him. Shatters blue and yellow mobs when their life drops to 30%. Elemental reflect maps are a bit more difficult but do-able. Cons Underwhelming damage. Boss fights take ages. Chaos damage wrecks him. Bad. Elemental Equilibrium and Cold Resist combined with the low DPS makes those maps excruciating. Skill tree, bandits and ascendancy
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Skill tree - level 80 https://www.pathofexile.com/passive-skill-tree/AAAABAEBAAGRBLMFLQbGDPcOPBLhFCAUcRa7GJEaOBo-G5cnLygqLdIvzDH7Mk41kjpSOtg64TwFPC09Dz38QKBHfk3jUEdYY12kXhNfP2FSYuxlTWjycql07Xasd-V673y7fNl99X7if-OCB4Kbg8yE2YTvhVKGYItPjM-QVZHOktCXeZo7m2qf36IAouqmV6mVrK-tja-ntoq3PrvtvJ-9Nr6nwAHAZsC_wYLEFcT2xq7G2M9-2L3ZYdl83dXkUeoY7DjvDu9O73zwH_JB8kX2SPcy97n46_4K_o8= Bandits Normal: Oak. Cruel: Kill all or Oak. Merciless: Oak or Kraityn if you feel that 7 endurance charges is enough. I don't. Ascendancy Normal: Unstoppable is simply too good. Cruel: Unflinching. Merciless: Unrelenting. Uber: Unbreakable. Gem setup
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I am currently wearing a 5L, normally running Hypothermia unless I am certain this fella is going to run into some cold resisting mobs. 6L Glacial Hammer + Melee Splash + Weapon Elemental Damage + Multistrike + Cold Penetration or Hypothermia. 4L Leap Slam + Fortify + Blood Magic + Culling Strike. 4L Curse on Hit + Warlord's Mark + Vengeance + Reckoing. 4L Cast on Damage Taken + Frost Bomb + Immortal Call + Fire Golem. 3L Herald of Ice + Hatred + Enlighten. 3L Blood Rage + Tempest Shield + Increased Duration. Items and stuff
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Currently, my only remarkable unique is Doryani's Catalyst, which gives me quite a bit of elemental damage and the ability to leech from it. I recently bought these gloves for 1 chaos and they are basically to refill mana. They also give some life and damage, which is always welcome. The rest of my items are sub-par, even mediocre, focusing on resistances and life.
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The videos
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Everybody likes seeing the builds in action, so I'll try to upload a couple of videos. Take into consideration that I am a total N00B with video. Castle Ruins + Catarina Quest Pretty easy mods, additional damage and added cold damage. I could have cleared this way faster but I run into Catarina and I felt like doing her quest. Besides, my first attempt ever on a yellow tier 7 map. https://youtu.be/fA21OzTOJRo Next actions and wish list
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Get MOAR block chance I get a lot from blocking: damage, curses and potentially shocked monsters that will shock nearby monster thanks to Doryani's Elemental Proliferation. Find a way to deal with chaos damage Pretty obvious, at -60% resistance, chaos damage turns this fella into a messy pulp in seconds. Find a way to deal with cold resistance Cold resisting monsters are a pain. It's not because they are more dangerous, unless you consider dying of boredom an issue. Prioritize which gems will need quality Currently all my gems are 0% and I am poor, so I need to prioritize which of my gems are more important to upgrade to 20%. Melee Splash Support seems like a good first candidate. Finally, thanks to all guide writers (you really help a lot of people!), thanks GGG for making this such addictive game and thank you for reading this guide. Your contribution is welcome! Last edited by Ramonacus on Oct 12, 2016, 5:00:05 AM Last bumped on Oct 9, 2016, 9:21:43 PM
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glacial hammer in T6 maps
now i've seen it all | |
"  Joking aside, the thing with Glacial Hammer is that it has pretty high base damage: 181,8% at level 20. This might not seem much but then Hatred aura scales with it and Herald of Ice gives an extra punch. Besides, everything is frozen or at least chilled around him, allowing me to focus on dealing more damage instead of keeping this fella alive. Anyway, I am not stopping ther, let's see how I fare in higher tier maps. | |
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Good effort. It's great to see skills such as Glacial Hammer being used. I am hopeful that the changes to melee behavior hinted at by the developers will finally allow this ability to rise to its rightful place.
In the meantime, it would be nice to see a video of it in action. I've always thought that the animation and sound effects of this skill were very well done and impactful. This build might be very satisfying to play as a result. Light as a neutral force.
The new flesh emerges. |
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