PoE Cleave of Rage Build 3.25 – Path of Exile: Settlers of Kalguur
The Cleave of Rage build in Path of Exile combines the sweeping power of Cleave with the ferocity of Rage, creating a deadly and dynamic melee setup. This guide will provide a comprehensive overview of how to optimize a Cleave of Rage build in the 3.25 patch, ensuring you maximize your damage output and survivability.
Key Features of Cleave of Rage
Cleave of Rage (Level 20):
Attack, AoE, Melee: Cleave of Rage is a melee attack that swings both your weapons in an arc, damaging enemies in an area in front of you. This skill requires dual wielding both an Axe and a Sword.
Mana Cost: 13 mana.
Attack Speed: 80% of base.
Attack Damage: 511.2% of base.
Effectiveness of Added Damage: 511%.
Weapon Requirements: Requires Level 70, 98 Strength, 68 Dexterity, and dual wielding an Axe and a Sword.
Dual Wielding: When dual wielding, deals 60% damage from each weapon combined.
Radius Increase: +0.1 metres to Radius per 5 Rage.
Rage Mechanic: Gain 3 Rage on Attack Hit.
Building Around Cleave of Rage
1. Weapon Choice:
Dual Wielding Axes and Swords: Choose high-damage axes and swords with added physical damage, increased attack speed, and critical strike chance to maximize your damage output. The combination of both weapon types enhances versatility and damage potential.
2. Passive Skill Tree:
Focus on nodes that enhance melee damage, attack speed, critical strike chance, life, and physical damage mitigation. Specific clusters to prioritize include those near the Marauder, Duelist, and Templar start areas.
Consider pathing to nodes that increase area of effect, life regeneration, armour, and resistances.
Ascendancy Choices
1. Berserker:
Crave the Slaughter: Increases Rage generation and grants attack speed.
Aspect of Carnage: Provides a massive boost to damage at the cost of increased damage taken.
Rite of Ruin: Enhances Rage effects and provides immunity to stuns.
War Bringer: Heals life and grants additional Rage on Warcry use, increasing survivability and Rage generation.
2. Slayer:
Headsman: Increases damage and grants culling strike.
Bane of Legends: Grants increased damage against unique enemies and culling strike.
Endless Hunger: Grants life leech effects that continue past full life.
Brutal Fervour: Enhances leech effects and grants immunity to stun while leeching.
Support Gems
1. Main Skill Setup:
Cleave of Rage: Primary attack skill.
Support Gems: Brutality, Melee Physical Damage, Multistrike, Fortify, Pulverise, and Rage.
2. Secondary Skill Setup:
Ancestral Warchief: Totem skill to enhance melee damage.
Support Gems: Multiple Totems, Melee Physical Damage, and Brutality.
3. Utility Skills:
Leap Slam: For mobility.
Steelskin / Immortal Call: For defense.
Blood and Sand: To switch between Blood and Sand stances.
Precision: For increased critical strike chance and accuracy.
Armor and Accessories
1. Armor:
Body Armor: Prioritize armor with high life, resistances, and physical damage reduction. Consider options like Belly of the Beast for increased life and resistances.
Helmet, Gloves, and Boots: Look for items that boost melee damage, attack speed, life, and resistances. Consider using items with life regeneration to enhance survivability.
2. Accessories:
Amulet and Rings: Focus on items that enhance physical damage, life, resistances, and critical strike chance. Look for mods that increase Rage generation and damage mitigation.
Belt: A Stygian Vise with life, resistances, and increased physical damage is ideal.
Flask Setup
1. Life Flask:
Instant Recovery: For emergency healing.
2. Utility Flasks:
Quicksilver Flask: For increased movement speed.
Basalt Flask: For physical damage reduction.
Jade Flask: For increased evasion.
Atziri’s Promise: For additional chaos damage and life leech.
Combat Strategy
1. Engaging Enemies:
Use Cleave of Rage to deal high damage to enemies in a wide arc in front of you. Utilize the increased radius from Rage to maximize your area of effect.
Maintain high Rage levels to boost your damage and attack speed.
2. Utilizing Ascendancy Passives:
Leverage the Berserker or Slayer passives to enhance survivability and damage output. Use Berserker for a focus on Rage generation and raw damage, and Slayer for life leech and culling strike.
3. Managing Buffs and Debuffs:
Maintain high uptime on Blood and Sand stances and leverage the increased damage and control provided by each stance.
Use your flasks to boost damage, resistances, and survivability during combat.
Example Builds
1. Berserker Cleave of Rage Build:
Focus on Rage generation and raw damage.
Utilize Crave the Slaughter and Aspect of Carnage to maximize damage output.
Use support gems that enhance Rage effects and attack speed.
2. Slayer Cleave of Rage Build:
Focus on life leech and culling strike.
Utilize Headsman and Bane of Legends to increase damage and survivability.
Use support gems that enhance physical damage and leech effects.
Conclusion
The Cleave of Rage build for Path of Exile 3.25 offers a powerful and dynamic playstyle for melee enthusiasts who enjoy combining high damage with the ferocity of Rage. By focusing on maximizing damage, attack speed, and physical damage mitigation, players can effectively dominate both single-target and group encounters. Proper gear selection, passive skill tree planning, and strategic use of ascendancy passives will ensure that you unleash the full potential of this powerful skill. Equip your weapons, prepare your flasks, and carve through your enemies with the devastating power of Cleave of Rage.