3.8| Stress Free PoE - TRIGGER HAPPY |Clear the Atlas with YOUR Items at YOUR Pace (SSF & Co-op)

The 3.9 version of this guide is now live! Click here to get there! Thank you so much for such a great and encouraging league! You were all so great to each other and I appreciate the attitude you all brought to the thread. I'm very blessed to have had you all around. Thank you to all who tried the build out, whether you're a poster or not. Thank you.

My Builds Going Forward (PoE 2 & Onwards...)
So ExileCon made some HUGE announcements! I'm really really really excited for them to come to fruition. That being said, character building will be completely different and as a result, existing guides/builds will be changing dramatically.

Now I love theory crafting. I would LOVE to have a build/guide for each of the current 19 ascendancy classes. Ideas are always rolling through my head (as I'm sure they are for you too ;).) With PoE adding an ADDITIONAL 19 ascendancies, I obviously have to pick and choose...38 ASCENDANCIES!!! I restrict myself to a maximum of 6 guides for the amount of personal time it takes to keep them updated and to be active in their threads. So I'll have to continue with the current strategy that I have when picking guides which is, "pick an idea or mechanic of the game that I really like, and build around it." Unfortunately, the number of things I'd like to write a guide on is much greater than 6. So I try to mix and match my preferences within one build while making it efficient, fun to play, that can be played with any rare items, something that doesn't require finicky aiming on PC, and something that can accommodate my long list of medical restrictions.

So with 38 ascendancies, there will obviously be a ton of options. Currently, there's one Necromancer...maybe there will be more. Currently, Occultist is perfect for CI, maybe more will be added. I'd love to keep all of my guides with their current base classes but if one of the new ascendancies matches more what I enjoy, I may end up changing to it. I want all my guides to be the same league in, league out. So IF I make any class changes, it's with the intent of the change being permanent.

So, here's a list of things I really like in PoE and that I'll hopefully be able to incorporate into 6 guides (I currently can't):

- A legion of minions that stay summoned and kill everything for me.
- A max Block character
- A max Dodge Character
- A bow character
- A totem character
- A CI character
- An RF character (if there was ever a Cold RF skill I'd choose that)
- I LOVE Phasing
- I love killing my minions
- A character that buffs allies (I know it's hard without uniques)
- Having a Scion would be cool
- I love lots of charges
- I LOOOOOVE slowing Enemies
- I love Shield skills


So anyway, the point of all this is, I don't know what PoE 2 will bring but I'll be doing my best not to change any ascendancies...but I will if it helps me get everything I love about the game into 6 builds/guides.

Thanks for your time and support. You're all fantastic. :)
WELCOME to my TRIGGER HAPPY guide :)!

With this build you just block everything that comes your way and kill everything with Bladestorm that isn't already dead. (If you hate PoE's porcupines, you'll love this build.) It's one (and a half) button fun with everything but your main Attack being automatic! The Atlas will be cleared and you'll have been snacking with one hand the whole time...well, you could use two hands to snack since blocking kills enemies. The build doesn't require any specific items or mods to play so you can just pick up and play like a good old fashion "dungeon crawler".

If you're curious about any aspect of the title or why my builds are the way they are, I give the details here. The guides I post will easily clear the Atlas despite the limitations I play with.

*For those with similar limitations to mine, I can play this build on both PC and Console.

(Thanks Tagz for always being willing to figure out the Wiki with me.)

Here's 3.8's Example Gameplay Video and Here's what my gear looks like. (My character name doesn't match my build anymore...too many respecs.)

The Guts (Gems/Gear/Tree/Attributes)
Gem Links
PoE restricts which gems are available to each class until Act 3. Until then you can get some gems for free from quest rewards, purchase some from specific NPCs in each town, or find them as loot.

There are two NPC's that sell all purchasable gems: the first one is Siosa in the Library in Act 3 (you have to do his quest first (the Library is connected to The Imperial Gardens)), the second NPC is Lilly Roth in Act 6.

5/6 Link - Main Skill (Socket in your chest)
-Bladestorm - Our main skill. It's quite fancy. We do an attack that hits enemies all around us. It also creates a storm that spins for a bit that also hits enemies. The storms are created by the skill naturally. Bladestorm can have up to three storms active at once. Creating a new storm removes the oldest storm. The skill's storms act differently based on which "stance" we are in. Our "stance" is determined by the "Blood and Sand" and "Flesh and Stone" skills. I'll let you play around with the skills together and see what it's like. To simplify it, Sand Stance is great for almost everything except for hard to kill enemies. Blood Stance is for enemies that take a little longer to kill. Bladestorm's initial attack isn't the strongest, but if your attack and three storms are all hitting the same enemy(ies), you do really high damage.
-Fortify Support - This skill gives bonus damage to Bladestorm and also more gives us Fortify. Fortify gives us 20% damage reduction to ALL Hits (not Damage Over Time).
-Rage Support - This support gives us Rage when we hit an enemy with Bladestorm. Rage is a buff that can stack up to 50x. This support gives bonus damage based on the amount of Rage we have. Rage itself also provides us with more damage, attack speed, and movement speed. So both Rage AND Rage Support give us perks based on the amount of Rage we have stacked.
-Chance to Bleed Support - Has a 25% chance to apply Bleed to enemies we hit with Bladestorm, gives extra physical damage, and also gives bonus damage if the enemy is bleeding. Bleeding is explained in the Mechanics section. (Our storms hit and therefore apply Bleed as well.) This is actually our highest DPS support. It doesn't give as much damage per hit as the other supports, but when you add the bleed it does x8 (Crimson Dance on the tree), it's by far our strongest support.
-Close Combat Support - Gives Bladestorm a huge damage bonus based on how close the enemy is. The farther away the enemy is, the less damage Close Combat gives us. The closer the enemy is, the greater. Even though this skill has some range in Sand stance, it won't be an issue. You really only notice/need the max support from this skill against hard enemies...and you'll be in Blood Stance for that (right next to the enemy) anyway.
-If you get a 6 link - Melee Physical Damage Support - This gives lots of extra damage but also bonus damage to our Bleed ailment :).

4 Link - Extra Damage and Ailments (Socket in any 4 link)
-Riposte - A Counter-Attack skill that deals damage. You can't activate this skill yourself. Once you socket it in your gear, it'll "trigger" automatically based on its conditions, which is whenever you block.
-Bloodlust Support - This support gives this skill extra damage agianst enemies that are already bleeding (from Bladestorm).
-Close Combat Support - Gives this skill a huge damage bonus based on how close the enemy is. The farther away the enemy is, the less damage Close Combat gives us. The closer the enemy is, the greater.
-Melee Physical Damage Support - Extra melee damage.

4 Link - Extra Damage and Ailments (Socket in any 4 link)
-Reckoning - A Counter-Attack skill that deals damage. You can't activate this skill yourself. Once you socket it in your gear, it'll "trigger" automatically based on its conditions, which is whenever you block.
-Bloodlust Support - This support gives this skill extra damage agianst enemies that are already bleeding (from Bladestorm).
-Close Combat Support - Gives this skill a huge damage bonus based on how close the enemy is. The farther away the enemy is, the less damage Close Combat gives us. The closer the enemy is, the greater.
-Melee Physical Damage Support - Extra melee damage.

4 Link - Extra Damage and Ailments (Socket in any 4 link)
-Vengeance - A Counter-Attack skill that deals damage. You can't activate this skill yourself. Once you socket it in your gear, it'll "trigger" automatically based on its conditions, which is whenever you get Hit. That includes either taking damage from a Hit (not Damage Over Time) or by blocking.
-Bloodlust Support - This support gives this skill extra damage agianst enemies that are already bleeding (from Bladestorm).
-Close Combat Support - Gives this skill a huge damage bonus based on how close the enemy is. The farther away the enemy is, the less damage Close Combat gives us. The closer the enemy is, the greater.
-Maim Support - Has a chance 30% to Maim the enemy on hit and gives bonus damage. Maim also slows enemy movement speed (not actions) by 30% for 4 seconds. More importantly, Bladestorm will also do increased damage for a duration after Vengence hits (thanks to Maim). Only one Maim will give bonus damage to Bladestorm so I put in in the Trigger skill that triggers from ALL HITS and hits in a complete circle around us.

3 Socket - Mana Reservation (Socket in any 3 link)
-Pride - An aura that reserves 50% of our mana. It makes enemies take extra damage from physical damage, and bonus damage, the longer the enemies stay near us (capping at 4 seconds).
-Blood and Sand
and
-Flesh and Stone - Blood and Sand combines with Flesh and Stone. They work cohesively. Once you turn them both on, switching one will switch the other. When both are active, you can choose between Blood or Sand. While in Sand stance you'll Blind enemies that in the aura, take less damage from those that aren't blinded by the aura, you'll have more AoE, deal 5% less damage, and we'll gain a Challenger Charge per kill (see the Ascendancy section). While in Blood Stance you automatically Maim nearby enemies, make Maimed take increased physical damage, you'll have 5% less AoE, deal 15% more damage, and you'll have a 25% chance to gain a Challenger Charge when you hit a Rare or Unique enemy.
An easy way to be efficient with this odd aura set is to remember how your Challenger Charges work (see the Ascendancy Section). Sand is best against easy to kill enemies while Blood is best against Rare and Unique enemies.

3 Link - For Fun (Socket in any 3 link)
-Tempest Shield (Level 1) - Keep this gem at Level 1. Don't level it. There is no value to levelling this skill as it's Block Chance and duration don't improve when levelled. I love this skill. It's so fun to actually incorporate this old-time favourite of mine into a build that it actually coincides well with. Tempest Shield increases our Block Chance but the fun thing about it is that once you manually cast it, it'll strike back the enemy (and one more enemy) that hit it. It's like a trigger skill above except it's a Spell and it needs to be manually cast. Every block refreshes the duration though, so that's nice. So this gem is just to up our block chance and cast Culling Strike Support :).
-Culling Strike Support - This support gives Tempest Shield a little value ;). When an enemy has only 10% or less of their health left with Tempest Strike hits them, the enemy will die.
-Berserk - When you activate Berserk, it'll start consuming your hard-earned Rage Stacks. But it'll give you a buff until your Rage is gone (good in boss fights). While the buff is active, you get more attack damage, attack speed, movement speed, and take less damage.


Cyclone: If you played this build in 3.7 and really liked Cyclone I suggest this setup to replace the Bladestorm links: Cyclone - Fortify Support - Rage Support - Close Combat Support - Infused Channelling Support - Melee Physical Support. Don't bother with Crimson Dance (on the Passive Tree) with Cyclone. (But those points wherever else you like.) Cyclone's individual hits are weak like a wet noodle; so it doesn't hit hard enough for Bleed to be too efficient. Cyclone has amazing DPS, but it comes from its frequency of hits. And since you won't be bleeding, replace Bloodlust on the trigger skill links with whatever you like (if you don't care about elemental damage, Brutality is likely the strongest support).
Gear
ANYTHING YOU WANT! - Well, the node Brutal Blade on the tree makes us want a Sword and the blocking nodes on the tree that I selected were for Shields...sooooo...you do need and Sword and Shield. Other than that, ANYTHING YOU WANT ;).

If you’re new to PoE, check out the Tips for New Players link. It gives lots of help and tips on gear, mods, currency, levelling, and endgame mapping. Some good to know stuff that you'd hate not knowing.

- Weapon - Anything One Handed Sword.
- Shield - Anything you like (but it must be a shield).
- Head - Anything you like.
- Chest - Anything you like.
- Hands - Anything you like.
- Feet - Anything you like.
- Amulet - Anything you like.
- Ring - Anything you like.
- Ring - Anything you like.
- Belt - Anything you like.
- Jewel - Anything you like.
- Flasks - Anything you like. I simply use 4 health flasks (all modified to remove bleeding) and Quicksilver/Quartz Flask that removes Chill/Freeze.

Sword Mods to look for:
- Anything that improves Physical Damage on Attacks. This can be added damage or an increased %. Elemental damage is totally fine, but Bleed only scales off of physical damage.
- Anything that improves Attack Speed
- Anything that improves Bleed
- Any other minor thing that helps (resists, leech, attributes...). This isn't important. It's just a bonus.

Sword Mods to Ignore
- Accuracy mods will be pointless once you select Resolute Technique on the Passive Tree.

Your goal on the rest of your gear is:
- Increases to Maximum life
- Increases to Resists
- Increases to Movement Speed (Typically on Boots)
- Any mods that you were looking for on your weapons
- Ensuring you have high enough attributes for your skills

*Newbie Tip - Attack weapons in PoE, have local modifiers. This means that any improvements to Attack Speed or Physical Damage are only applied to the weapon's rating at the top of the item. So the stats you're focusing on are at the top of the weapon: Physical Damage and Attacks per Second. But on top of that, a weapon may have poor stats up top, but you may find that it rolled a really good physical damage mod along with only 2 Prefix. That means you could add another Prefix to it and increase its damage. (See the Tips for New Players link...you'll get used to mod tiers if you take your time). So don't forget to increase the quality of your weapon if you're keeping it for a while. Remember that hitting harder instead of faster is more beneficial for Bleed.

- Here are my customized 3.8 loot filters (PC). They will make looting a lot more relaxing for those that play my builds.

This is my setup if you're interested. I play the same as the guide unless I'm testing something out.
Passive Tree
3.8's Passive Tree link

3.8's Pastebin - https://pastebin.com/xnVEvST9 - Pastebin for Path of Building. (Copy the link, open Path of Building, click on “New”, then click “Import/Export Build”, click “Import from Pastebin…”, paste the link.)
Passive Tree Explained
We start as a Duelist because we want the Gladiator Ascendancy (subclass) and starting as the Duelist is the only way to get there. The Gladiator gives us tons of additional blocking and lots of bonus offence and defence for when we do and don't block.

Leveling Path: You can go in any direction you want. No matter which branch you decide to complete first, you'll be selecting important nodes. Unfortunately, all the nodes are important. There is a mana leech node that you'll find VERY valuable. On the left is Resolute Technique which means we have a 100% hit chance with our Attacks. Everything else is increasing damage, life, and block chance. So there isn't a wrong direction to go, just don't forget to include life as you're going for everything else.

*The tree takes you to level 90 which will be easily achieved with this build. If you make it past 90, pick any nodes you like!

Tree Focuses:
- Block Chance - The higher our block chance, the better our build. We don't get every blocking node, so we won't be over-capped by much. Most of the nodes will be for blocking Attacks. We'll pick an ascendancy node that'll help us out with blocking spells.
- Fortify Improvements - I took some Fortify improvement nodes the tree offered as we'll be in the middle of battle, wanting to get hit, as much as possible.
- Leech - There's a little bit of life and mana leech on the tree. Even though it's one node, it is HUGE for us.
- Life and Damage - I've heard they help.
- Bleed - I didn't specifically focus on Bleed. But Bleed naturally coincides with the original layout I wanted for the build. So by adding Crimson Dance on the tree and Chance to Bleed to Bladestorm, we've improved our DPS substantially.
- Jewels - Jewel slots are amazing. Jewels are items you can find that you can actually allocate on your tree. They can give almost anything from health, damage, resists...anything. We only have one jewel slot selected :(. I'd love to put more in, many other guides would. But I don't have the ability to remember what each of my builds needs if a decent jewel drops while I'm playing. And I don't have the ability to focus on 7 jewels per build are remember what I'm doing. So one is plenty enough for me.

Don't forget about attributes. The tree provides all the attributes we need for our skills. You'll pass some nodes on the tree that give +30 Attributes. If you don't have items to cover what you're short in, feel free to select some of these as you pass them. You'll get respec points that will let you remove them later once you have better gear. We need a very small amount of Intelligence but you may need it on gear for a bit.

Now, feel free to modify this is anyway. This is just my preference for easy Solo Self Found.

Take your time to look at each skill as they come along. Some of the nodes are pretty dramatic.

Some quests earn you respec points in case you regret any decisions you made on the tree. You can also use Orbs of Regret for the same thing.
Ascendancy
As you go through the game you'll come across Trials of Ascendancy. Starting in Act 3 you'll see their value. Once you have completed all 6 of the first set of trails, you'll get to attempt your first Labyrinth (lab). Good luck! Upon completion Choose Gladiator. You get two ascendancy points per lab. There are four labs for a total of 8 points. (Redoing the same lab difficulty will not reward you with more ascendancy points if you've already completed it.)

You can spend your points in any order you like. My preference is as follows (defense first):
- 1st Two Points - Painforged. Busy little guy. You get block chance if you didn't block a hit, extra damage if did block, you can't be stunned if you blocked a hit (that's a biggie), but sexiest of all...your counter attacks (Riposte, Reckoning, and Vengeance) deal double damage :).
- 2nd Two Points - Versatile Combatant. This node fixes our spell block chance. With this node, our block chance for spells always equals our attack block chance. Our max spell block chance also increases with the max attack block chance.
- 3rd Two Points - Violent Retaliation. Lots of goodies here. This increases our maximum chance to block from the normal 75% cap to 79%, we get increased Physical Damage for each block in the last 10 seconds (bonus damage while clearing), lots of damage if we've blocked damage from a Rare or Unique enemy in the past 10 seconds (good for boss battles), and additional block chances for each block we've done in the last 10 seconds.
- 4th Two Points - Arena Challenger. This skill revolves around Challenger Charges which can only be earned with this node. Challenger Charges improve your attack and movement speed by 2% per node, capping at 10 nodes (20%). This is the skill that simplifies the Blood and Sand aura set. IF you care to switch between those auras and guarantee your 10 Challenger Charges, use Sand Stance to kill in maps, and Blood Stance to kill bosses.
Pantheon
Pick anyone you want. Personal preference for your playstyle is best. The ones I chose are:
- Major God: Soul of Lunaris - It seems to work perfectly since we plan on being in the middle of every fight. It gives up to 8% physical damage reduction and movement speed based on how many enemies are around.
- Minor God: Soul of Gruthkul - Up to 5% physical damage reduction for each hit taken within the last 4 seconds. Blocking is getting Hit for 0 damage.
Attributes
The passive tree will give you every attribute you need. But you may still need some gear to help you out as you level. Feel free to take the +30 attribute nodes if you're struggling to find gear to help you level. You can always respec in small amounts later.
Media and Extras (Videos/PoB/URLs/Filter)
- Videos? Three options:
- My 3.8 Gameplay Video Example.
- My Trigger Happy playlist shows my most recent sessions with the build.
- My broadcast channel. Mixer keeps the last 14 days worth of broadcasts.
I don't always play awake, but I'd rather play than not :).

- Software:
- PoEMate - The mobile planner I use (if the link doesn't work in your area, just search PoEMate in your mobile store).
- Path of Building - The desktop character planner I use.
- 3.8's Pastebin - https://pastebin.com/xnVEvST9 - (Copy the link, open Path of Building, click on “New”, then click “Import/Export Build”, click “Import from Pastebin…”, paste the link.)

Loot Filters:
- My customized 3.8 loot filters, their details, and how to download them are located here.
For New-ish Players (How I Play/Build Mechanics/Newbie Tips)
How I Play This Build/How it Functions in Gameplay
This build is really easy to play.

Quick Version: Get as close as you can to the enemy and attack. Everything else is automatic! Blocking is the best.

Detailed Version
-Enter a map and turn on your auras (Pride, Blood and Sand, and Flesh and Blood) and Tempest Shield.
-Move to any enemy and attack.

What's Happening in the Background:
-Fortify will "always" be on since it's linked to our main skill.
-Your Trigger skills will attack automatically and deal damage when you block and/or get hit (whether or not you block) (depending on the trigger skill).
-The more you hit, the faster you attack and move thanks to Rage, Rage Support, and Challenger Charges (up to a cap of course).
-You will eventually have a block chance of 79% for all spells and attacks that hit (so you can't block Damage Over Time).
-Every hit with Bladestorm (including the storms) has a 25% chance to make an enemy bleed. We changed Bleed's behaviour with Crimson Dance and we can now stack bleed up to 8x on an enemy...if they last that long.
-Our Trigger skills will do bonus damage against bleeding enemies.
-You'll be leeching mana and life from enemies when you hit them, which means you won't be leeching when you're not hitting them. The storms from Bladestorm leech for you too.
-Bladestorm will do a little bit more bonus damage to enemies that Vengeance has hit (because of Maim).
-You have a chance to generate Frenzy Charges when you block attacks.
-You have a chance to generate Endurance Charges when you kill.
-Tempest Shield will hit two enemies every time you block. If those enemies have 10% or less health, they will die when hit by Tempest Shield.
-We can't regen life. We can only leech it (thanks to Vaal Pact).
-You can hit Berserk anytime for bonus damage.

See? Easy! Everything is kinda automatic.
Build Mechanics Explained for New Players
Bleed
Bleed is an ailment that deals damage over time. Its damage scales from the physical damage of the inflicting hit. The higher the damage the hit, the more bleed you take for a duration. An enemy can only have one bleed applied at a time. Normally, bleed deals a small amount of damage if the enemy that has bleed is still, and lots of damage if they are moving.

We selected a node on the tree called Crimson Dance. This changes how bleed works. Now bleeds that we inflict will deal 50% less damage and not deal any bonus damage if the enemy moves. BUT we can now stack bleeds on an enemy up to 8 times.
Blocking/Getting Hit
We can only block HITS. Damage Over Time cannot be blocked. The majority of nodes we select on the tree are for blocking Attacks. The Gladiator has an ascendancy node that makes our spell block chance equal our attack block chance.

Blocking an attack means that we get hit, but take no damage. It's not damage mitigation, it means we take 0 damage no matter the size of hit. So if you see a mod or node that says "on hit", it'll apply to our build. Keep in mind that there is a 21% chance of getting hit though.
Challenger Charges
Challenger Charges are a unique type of charges (just like Endurance, Power, and Frenzy Charges) that are exclusive to the Gladiator. We gain them from the Arena Challenger ascendancy node. They are directly tied to the Blood and Sand aura. Challenger Charges differ from the other charge types in that the cap for our charges is 10 (instead of 3 (or more with investment)). Having 10 charges gives us 20% increased Attack and Movement Speed.
Rage
Rage is a buff that we get via Rage Support. Keep in mind that Rage and Rage Support are two different things (though they do work together). Rage is a buff that gives us Attack Damage, Attack Speed, and Movement Speed. Rage Support gives us the ability to earn Rage, but also gives us further boosts when we have Rage. (There are many ways to earn Rage in PoE. But we've chosen Rage Support as our method to get it.)

Rage stacks up to 50 times. You lose stacks of Rage slowly if you don't hit someone with an attack within a short period of time.

So in other words, Rage gives us bonuses, and then Rage Supports gives us bonuses on top of those bonuses. (And you get even greater bonuses when Berserk is active.) Stack it up! :)
Tips for New Players
Loose Ends (Map Mods/Gem Locations/Bandits)
Endgame Mods to Avoid
At the end of the game, the levels (maps) you try and clear will have random modifiers (mods) allocated to them. There are A LOT of mods that can go on a map. There will be Three map mods you want to avoid.

Avoid maps that:
-Reflect Physical Damage
-Cannot Leech Mana
-Reduce Block Chance - You can actually run this, just remember that you'll be blocking at 42% instead of 79% in red maps. (we're over-capped by 3). So it's just a different mentality. I never remember to play "differently" so I just avoid it. (While making this build I tried to over-cap our block chance so that we could run this mod, but I liked this outcome better.)

Over time, with the million other map mods that can roll, you'll learn which mods you prefer to run or not.
Levelling/Quests - Solo Self Found - Quick Reference
- I suggest doing every quest in the game. It doesn't take long. If you're too eager to get to mapping in the endgame, here is a link to all the quests that give Skill Points as a reward.

Bandits - With the Bandits in Act 2, I kill them all for the extra 2 skill points. You, of course, do what you like.

**Remember to prioritize. You may not be lucky enough to get the gear that'll let you play with all your gems as soon as they are available. So do what works best for you until the gear comes (don't be quick to sell your old gear in case something doesn't work out).

List of Gems in Order of Story Acquisition:
Act 1 - Enemy at the Gate - Purchase - Level 1 - Chance to Bleed Support
Act 1 - Breaking Some Eggs - Reward - Level 4 - Blood and Sand
Act 1 - Breaking Some Eggs - Purchase - Level 4 - Reckoning
Act 1 - Breaking Some Eggs - Purchase - Level 4 - Riposte
Act 1 - The Caged Brute - Reward - Level 8 - Maim Support
Act 2 - Intruders in Black - Reward - Level 16 - Flesh and Stone
Act 2 - The Root of the Problem - Reward - Level 16 - Tempest Shield
Act 2 - Sharp and Cruel - Reward - Level 18 - Rage Support
Act 2 - Sharp and Cruel - Purchase - Level 18 - Bloodlust Support x3
Act 2 - Sharp and Cruel - Purchase - Level 18 - Close Combat Support x4
Act 2 - Sharp and Cruel - Purchase - Level 18 - Culling Strike Support
Act 2 - Sharp and Cruel - Purchase - Level 18 - Melee Physical Damage Support x3
Act 3 - Lost in Love - Reward - Level 24 - Pride
Act 3 - Lost in Love - Purchase - Level 28 - Vengeance
Act 3 - Sever the Right Hand - Reward - Level 28 - Bladestorm
Act 3 - A Fixture of Fate - Reward - Level 31 - Fortify Support
Act 4 - Breaking the Seal - Purchase - Level 34 - Berserk
List of Gems in Order by Level:
Level 1 - Chance to Bleed Support
Level 4 - Blood and Sand
Level 4 - Reckoning
Level 4 - Riposte
Level 8 - Maim Support
Level 16 - Flesh and Stone
Level 16 - Tempest Shield
Level 18 - Bloodlust Support x3
Level 18 - Close Combat Support x4
Level 18 - Culling Strike Support
Level 18 - Melee Physical Damage Support x3
Level 18 - Rage Support
Level 24 - Pride
Level 28 - Bladestorm
Level 28 - Vengeance
Level 31 - Fortify Support
Level 34 - Berserk
(Let me know if you saw any errors in the list.)

- There are two NPCs that sell all purchasable gems: the first one is Siosa in the Library in Act 3 (you have to do his quest first (the Library is connected to The Imperial Gardens)), the second NPC is Lilly Roth in Act 6 (Do her quest in Act 6).
Awesome. So if you have any questions let me know and I'll respond the best I can. Don't feel embarrassed. Ask anything you like. It's easy to miss/overlook details in the guide or on the wiki. Likely someone else wants to know the answer too :). (I likely won't have time to evaluate characters (sorry!) but I've listed in general what mods to look for on your items so you know what to look for and improve upon. Don't forget to check the Tips section if you're new too.)

Replies: Feel free to respond to other players' posts! The more that's out there, the more we learn. Please be kind, respectful, and theoretical (not a Know-It-All) when helping others out. I will happily respond to questions but please note that I have multiple guides and I'd like to respond to each equally. I’ll do my best to get back to you as quickly as possible but set your expectations that I'll respond to each guide once a week. (Too much time responding to guides makes an unhappy spouse...an unhappy spouse means less time for guide replies...less time for guide replies makes an unhappy me...Unhappy spouse + unhappy me = an epic hockey fight with sweet uppercuts which I would obviously lose...a lost hockey fight against my spouse = busted hands that I can't type with, no teeth to voice type with, and black eyes that I can't read with. So one build a day, m'kay? K.)

Here's a list of my OTHER GUIDES if you're interested :).

OH! Don't forget, to support GGG by buying a skin for all your favourite skills you use. They last forever, you look rad, and it keeps PoE going too :).

Double OH! I make a new thread every league for every guide I do. So all the comments, questions, and answers you read are all relevant for this current expansion. (At the end of a league I post links in the previous guide to guide players to the newest rendition of the build.)

K. Done. Happy gaming :).
https://www.ForeverExiled.com/: Forever Exiled, A Path of Exile Podcast

Annnnnd

Wrecker of Days' One-Stop-Shop: Stress-Free Builds (& Filters): 1-Button, HC SSF, Item Freedom: https://www.pathofexile.com/forum/view-thread/3467875
Last edited by Wrecker_of_Days on Dec 13, 2019, 12:36:00 AM
Last bumped on Apr 30, 2020, 1:26:35 PM
Thank you so much for all your effort to keep your guides updated. You make me feel much less lost in a game with an overwhelming amount of mechanics and constant changes.

I have a question... if I stick to whirlwind-version, do the Bloodlust Support gems still make sense, since there is no source of inflicting bleeding?

Riposte, Vengeance and Reckoning have been reworked in 3.8 and have a smaller bonus to physical damage... I do hope that they still work well for people with rather mediocre weapons.

Do I understand it right that speed is rather important when coosing your weapon if you use Cyclone and damage if you use Bladestorm and Bleeding?
Overwhelmed by Path of Exile? You might want to have a look at Wrecker_of_Days' beginner-friendly guides. One-click-wonders that do not require any specific items to conquer the campaign and the Atlas: https://www.pathofexile.com/forum/view-thread/2606288/page/1
Thanks for updating the guide.
I can recommend Reckoning - Curse on Hit - Vulnerability - Pulverize
"
Thank you so much for all your effort to keep your guides updated. You make me feel much less lost in a game with an overwhelming amount of mechanics and constant changes.

I have a question... if I stick to whirlwind-version, do the Bloodlust Support gems still make sense, since there is no source of inflicting bleeding?

Riposte, Vengeance and Reckoning have been reworked in 3.8 and have a smaller bonus to physical damage... I do hope that they still work well for people with rather mediocre weapons.

Do I understand it right that speed is rather important when choosing your weapon if you use Cyclone and damage if you use Bladestorm and Bleeding?
Hey Caligula_Exile,

Thanks. That's very kind of you as always.

You are correct. If you stick with Cyclone, get rid of Bloodlust in the trigger skills. Good catch.

When it comes to Cyclone, Physical DPS is important, not one or the other (referring to hit damage or attack speed). The same would go for Bladestorm too except for the focus on Bleed. So for Cyclone just pick the best DPS weapon you can find. If you're going Bladestorm and are min/maxing, the harder the hit, the more bleed is inflicted.



"
TherionPrime wrote:
Thanks for updating the guide.
I can recommend Reckoning - Curse on Hit - Vulnerability - Pulverize
Hey TherionPrime,

Ya. Good suggestion. It's hard for me to not have a curse in the build, but I really wanted to see how the Trigger skills deal damage with the changes that came to them in this league.

A good suggestion for sure. And thanks for the thanks! Thanks for taking the time.
https://www.ForeverExiled.com/: Forever Exiled, A Path of Exile Podcast

Annnnnd

Wrecker of Days' One-Stop-Shop: Stress-Free Builds (& Filters): 1-Button, HC SSF, Item Freedom: https://www.pathofexile.com/forum/view-thread/3467875
The realm goes down for 3.8 in under an hour! Good luck everyone!
https://www.ForeverExiled.com/: Forever Exiled, A Path of Exile Podcast

Annnnnd

Wrecker of Days' One-Stop-Shop: Stress-Free Builds (& Filters): 1-Button, HC SSF, Item Freedom: https://www.pathofexile.com/forum/view-thread/3467875
3.8 PC Filters are ready to use.
https://www.ForeverExiled.com/: Forever Exiled, A Path of Exile Podcast

Annnnnd

Wrecker of Days' One-Stop-Shop: Stress-Free Builds (& Filters): 1-Button, HC SSF, Item Freedom: https://www.pathofexile.com/forum/view-thread/3467875
What an amazing guide. Thank you so much for all of the time and effort you put into this. I'm seriously blown away man.

Thank you!

/Cash
Thanks for the guide. Decided to reroll my SSF Standard character to this. Just started at lvl 44, wasn't feeling the new league. Going to take it slow and read all the lore.
Thanks Wrecker. Really hoped that this would be viable for the new league, so going to start with this character this morning. I only have enough time to play one build a season, so here's hoping that it can go far!
thanks thanks and thanks a lot, excuse my english use google translator, your guide allowed me to get to level 89, i'll try to overcome it in this league, i only have problems with the new ability. i still used cyclone because i can move better, I have a little problem with one hand. Thanks again for the filter's enhancement. Good game.

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