PoE Earthquake Build 3.25 – Path of Exile: Settlers of Kalguur

The Earthquake build in Path of Exile is a powerful melee setup that focuses on dealing massive area-of-effect damage through ground-smashing slams and aftershocks. This guide will provide a comprehensive overview of how to optimize an Earthquake build in the 3.25 patch, ensuring you maximize your damage output, effectiveness of added damage, and overall survivability.

Key Features of Earthquake

Earthquake (Level 20):

• Attack, AoE, Duration, Slam, Melee: Earthquake is a melee attack that smashes the ground, dealing damage in an area and causing cracks that erupt in powerful aftershocks.
• Mana Cost: 13 mana.
• Attack Speed: 75% of base.
• Attack Damage: 229.3% of base.
• Effectiveness of Added Damage: 229%.
• Quality: +20%.
• Requirements: Requires Level 70, 155 Strength.
• Aftershock Mechanics:
  • Base duration is 1.00 second.
  • Aftershock deals 180% more damage with hits and ailments.
• Weapon Requirements: Requires an Axe, Mace, Sceptre, Staff, or Unarmed.

Building Around Earthquake

1. Weapon Choice:

• High Physical Damage Weapons: Prioritize weapons with high base physical damage, attack speed, and added physical damage to maximize your initial Earthquake hits and aftershocks.

2. Passive Skill Tree:

• Focus on nodes that enhance physical damage, melee damage, attack speed, life, and area of effect. Specific clusters to prioritize include those near the Marauder, Duelist, and Templar start areas.
• Consider pathing to nodes that increase life regeneration, armor, and elemental resistances.

Ascendancy Choices

1. Juggernaut:

• Unflinching: Grants Endurance Charge generation and reduces physical damage taken.
• Unyielding: Increases the effectiveness of fortify and grants damage reduction.
• Unbreakable: Increases armor and grants life recovery based on physical damage prevention.
• Unstoppable: Grants immunity to stuns and slows, and increases movement speed.

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:

• Earthquake: Primary attack skill.
• Support Gems: Melee Physical Damage, Ruthless, Pulverise, Fortify, Increased Area of Effect/Concentrated Effect, and Brutality.

2. Secondary Skill Setup:

• Ancestral Warchief: Totem skill to enhance melee damage.
• Support Gems: Multiple Totems, Melee Physical Damage, and Ruthless.

3. Utility Skills:

• Leap Slam: For mobility.
• Steelskin / Immortal Call: For defense.
• Blood and Sand: To switch between Blood and Sand stances.
• War Banner: For increased accuracy and physical damage.

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 physical damage, attack speed, life, and resistances. Consider using items with increased armor and defensive attributes.

2. Accessories:

• Amulet and Rings: Focus on items that enhance physical damage, life, resistances, and critical strike chance. Look for mods that increase physical damage and defensive attributes.
• 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:

• Granite Flask: For increased armor.
• Basalt Flask: For physical damage reduction.
• Quicksilver Flask: For increased movement speed.
• Jade Flask: For increased evasion.

Combat Strategy

1. Engaging Enemies:

• Use Earthquake to smash the ground, dealing high damage and causing aftershocks. Maintain high uptime on your attacks to maximize your damage and defensive capabilities.

2. Utilizing Ascendancy Passives:

• Leverage the Juggernaut or Slayer passives to enhance your defenses and damage output. Use Juggernaut for increased endurance charges and physical damage mitigation, 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. Juggernaut Earthquake Build:

• Focus on endurance charge generation and physical damage mitigation.
• Utilize Unflinching and Unyielding to maximize survivability and damage reduction.
• Use support gems that enhance physical damage and fortify effects.

2. Slayer Earthquake 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 Earthquake build for Path of Exile 3.25 offers a powerful and dynamic playstyle for melee enthusiasts who enjoy combining high damage with devastating area-of-effect attacks. 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 smash through your enemies with the overwhelming power of Earthquake.