[Top 5] Path of Exile Best Gladiator Builds That Wreck Hard!

Updated:

30 Apr 2022

[Top 5] Path of Exile Best Gladiator Builds That Wreck Hard!

Gladiators are probably the most melee class in the game, and they embody the up close and personal archetype that guarantees that either the enemy dies or you do. They can be unkillable gods of the arena or they can burst the screen away in a shower of blood explosions, whichever they feel like doing.

Here are some of the best Gladiator builds as of 3.16:

5 – Herald of Agony Cyclone Gladiator

Agony Crawler

HoaG Builds have always been a staple durable, strong, slow but steady clearer, and capable of doing all content comfortably, and this variant is no different. This one, though, pushes the envelope on tankiness, with the reworked Block Nodes for Gladiator, bringing us to a whopping 87% max Block Chance!

What the Herald of Agony Cyclone Excels in:

Extremely Tanky through several mechanics.
Can clear all maps and all mods.
Respectable single target and smooth, albeit slow, clear.
HC, SSF, Gauntlet–Any league, any mode.

Herald of Agony Cyclone full details:

We achieve this massive tankiness through several layers of defense, the first and foremost, a massive 8,000 life pool. Then, we have a lot of block chance, capping out at 87/77 Attack and Spell Block, respectively. Further on, we have a claw (usually Gemini) that grants us massive amounts of Life Gain on Hit, combined with Cyclone being Linked to Life Gain on Hit Support Gem, to make us essentially immortals while we are hitting with Cyclone (which we do over 7 times a second). To top it off, we also have % Life Gained on Block in our shields, to survive harder hits.
As if all that tankiness wasn’t enough, we also have curses at our disposal that reduce incoming damage, like Enfeeble, as well as Immortal Call and Purifying Flame’s consecrated ground, granting us 6% life regen (remember, we have over 8k life, that’s a lot of regeneration!), all this linked to a Cast When Damage Taken, to automate our defenses further.
As for damage, you’ll want a helmet with +2/+3 Level of Socketed Minion Gems, combined with Socketed Gems are Supported by Minion Damage Support, and swap your gems from Pierce to Awakened Vicious Projectiles when you want single target. Also get a +1 Dexterity Gems Amulet to boost Herald of Agony’s level further. As a Minion, it scales amazingly well with levels!

For more information, check here: https://www.pathofexile.com/forum/view-thread/3214924

4 – Bloodslinger/Corrupting Fever/Exsanguinate/KB Bleed Explosions

Exsanguinate in Blood Aqueducts

Quick and deadly, smooth and satisfying. That’s what this build wants to be. It’s not a dedicated boss killer, but you’ll cruise through maps and delve with no issues, even after the mana nerfs back in 3.15. Cover your enemies with blood and make them burst into a feast of gory goodness, chain reacting all over your screen!

What the Bloodslinger CF/Ex/KB Excels in:

Buttery smooth playstyle.
Fantastic clear, clearing as fast as you can walk.
Respectable single target damage since everything scales the same way.
Satisfying bleed pops.
All modes viable, League Start, HC, SSF.

Bloodslinger CF/Ex/KB full details:

Every spell and damaging skill in this build scales off Physical Damage over time Multiplier, and that’s what we stack as much as possible, together with general Physical Damage increases (not attack! Global!) makes it much easier to deal a lot of damage with Corrupting Fever and Exsanguinate.
You can League start with this build to cruise through maps until you farm enough currency to swap to a dedicated Bleed Bow Tornado Shot build, like Grimro’s, to go to town against bosses.
Corrupting Fever has a massive cost when properly linked, but we negate that with a high life pool and fantastic regen. You can be more defensive if you want, scaling everything at your leisure and to your preference. It’s that flexible of a build!

For more information, check here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4yZBrC0OsTk

3 – Spectral Shield Throw Bleed

Spectral Shield Throw

Similar to the Bloodslinger, this build revolves around physical damage over time, but this time, we scale our Shield’s defense to increase our own damage. It’s also extremely tanky and can reach respectable single target damage with proper investment. You’ll explode everything in your screen while being a veritable moving fortress!

What the Spectral Shield Throw Bleed Excels in:

Great mapping and can do most map mods.
League Start viable.
Tanky with several layers of defense.
Captain America Cosplay!

Spectral Shield Throw Bleed full details:

While in 3.16 we saw some big nerfs to shields and to shield skills in general (they were heavily overpowered in 3.15) this build is still strong and more than viable to do all content, with proper investment. You can achieve enough single-target damage to deal with most bosses comfortably and you’re MUCH tankier than before, thanks to armor and Evasion changes (as well as Spell Suppression, if you can somehow fit that in).
The clearing is great, with your Shield chaining through packs and exploding everything in its path. And there’s nothing as satisfying as bleed explosions. The sound it makes is just chef’s kiss.
You’ll want to go with a Shield with the highest amount of Armor you can grab, usually a Colossal Tower Shield, to reach over 2,8 to 3k Armor. For chest piece, a Lioneye’s Vision is usually BiS, with the free Pierce, making it a 7L with great stats and massive amounts of Armor as well.

For more information, check here: https://www.pathofexile.com/forum/view-thread/2672813

2 – The BLOCKman Cyclone

Enduring Cry

As the name suggests, this is another full block build that focuses on utilizing the reworked Gladiator Ascendancy nodes to their fullest effect. Lucky Attack Damage, an extra 10% maximum block chance, reworked Armor and Evasion system. All of that boosts this build’s damage and defenses sky high!

What the BLOCKman Excels in:

Ridiculously Tanky.
Few million Single Target Damage.
Can do all content and League Start.
Fast Clear with Asenath’s or Haemophilia Gloves for Explosions.

The BLOCKman full details:

Since we can get Fortify on the tree now, we gain another, better support gem with Close Combat, combined with Violent Retaliation and Ryslatha’s Coil increases our DPS by at least 55% compared to before.
We’re obviously Attack and Spell Block capped at 85/75 (more if you really want to push the envelope) with a ton of armor to help mitigate heavier hits. Life Gain on Block as usual to keep us topped off, Permanent Fortify, Infused Channeling for less Physical Damage Taken and, of course, a substantial life pool of over 6k with proper gear.
You can go even crazier with Brass Dome and stacking more Elemental Resistance in the tree, or if you’re uber rich, a Mageblood to cap off all resists and get a massive damage and defense increase.

For more details, check here: https://www.pathofexile.com/forum/view-thread/2775490

1 – strTrader’s Max Block Lacerate

Celestial Lacerate MTX against Veritania

As with most Gladiator builds, Block is the defining trait of this Ascendancy and the one that does it best. Its other face in this coin, though, is the Bleed archetype, and this build takes both from both worlds to its fullest potential!

What strTrader’s Max Block Lacerate Excels in:

Can do All Content.
Extremely Tanky.
Relatively low budget.
Great clear.

strTrader’s Max Block Lacerate full details:

Lacerate is one of the best skills to stack high damaging hits to ramp up Crimson Dance, 8 of the highest bleeds, combined with Ryslatha’s for massive damage, makes this build a great and reliable bosser, even if not as quick as a miner or a minion build would.
For survivability, we have life gained on block from our Surrender Shield, a lot of Armor, Flesh and Stone, a large Life pool, obviously Max Attack and Block Chance, Tempest Shield, Fortify, Blind on Hit and as always, killing enemies before we are killed.
It can be quite expensive to min-max, but you have a low bar of entry to play this build, and you can even League start with it, if you know what you’re doing. The fact that you can do many things and it has a low ceiling of expenses means you can farm the whole game with it, making it a perfect Jack of All Trades build.

For a complete breakdown of this build, check here: https://www.pathofexile.com/forum/view-thread/3136830