[Top 5] PoE Best Armor Sets for Champion That Are Powerful
The strongest ascendancy, in terms of tankiness and survivability, bar none, Champion dominates the meta and reigns, pardon the pun, Champion over all else. As such, there’s a wild variety of builds that Champion excels in, both melee, ranged and spell-based, simply because of how immortal it is when properly geared.
5 – Explosive Arrow Ignite
A build that’s been meta for over 8 months now, lauded as one of the best league starters, and capable of clearing the entire game on a budget, it’s no surprise this build would become a great combo with Champion. Lots of damage combined with the tankiest class in the game right now. Recipe for success!
Helmet
You’ll want as much life and evasion as possible since this is where you’ll get a bunch of Spell Suppression to help gearing be easier on you later on. It’s also a great place to get a ton of Flammability Curse effect or Reservation Efficiency for your auras.
Body Armor
Yet another good place to cap yourself on Spell Suppress, but your main goal here is getting as much Armor, Evasion (use hybrid equips!) and Life as possible.
Gloves
You can either go with an Eldritch Influenced gloves, if you’re on a budget, with Fire DoT Multi and Ignite Prolif, or if you’re splurging, going for a Maven’ed and Woked Hunter/ Warlord glove, with Culling, Fire DoT Multi, Damage over Time, on an Apothecary’s Gloves, is a good way to get a ton of damage.
Boots
Lots of Suppression again, Life, Attributes, Resistances as you need them, and Onslaught, since the ignite damage your ballistae deal counts as your kills. Also, Ignites deal Damage Faster from Eldritch Implicits is a great way to increase your damage!
Weapon
You’ll want a +3 Bow with as much attack speed and some source of cold or lightning damage (to proc EE), and if you can splurge, a bunch of Fire DoT Multi/Dot Multi.
Quiver
As much Life, DoT Multi, and attack speed as possible will go a long way to help your damage. Also, make sure to focus a lot on getting all the resistances you might be lacking.
Amulet
Ashes of the Stars. In my opinion, the most fun equipment in the game, Ashes unlocks the hidden potential of all Alt Quality Gems, and this brings a whole host of benefits for auras, secondary skills, buffs… It’s a powerhouse item, that also grants a +1, easily.
Belt
Mageblood. It comes as no surprise that a top-tier build would want to wear an MB, which enables a much more selfish playstyle and improves your stats so significantly high that it eclipses everything else. Truly a marvel and an overpowered item.
Rings
Polaric Devastation is a fairly new item that grants the much coveted Covered in Ashes mod, amping up your damage significantly. On the other slot, you’ll want as much Life and Resistances possible, to round out your build.
https://poe.ninja/challenge/builds/char/almoay/Almochamp?time-machine=week-2&i=5&search=time-machine%3Dweek-2%26class%3DChampion%2CGladiator%2CSlayer
4 – Lightning Strike Omni
Also a very meta build, strong as they come, especially when aided by Crystalized Omniscience, to reach hundreds of Elemental penetration as well as freeing up the need to pick up Res on gear. It also synergizes supremely well with Champion, making it a fantastic all-around build, capable of dealing against anything and anyone with ease.
Helmet
Though not always used, Black Sun Crest is single-handedly the item which gives the most Omniscience in the game, capable of giving up to 45% Omni in a single slot! It also comes with the wonderful +1 to socketed gems, which is great if you have Enlighten, in order to maximize your mana usage.
Body Armor
It’s a great place to pick up a lot of life and Spell Suppress, while also being a fantastic place to eliminate ailments altogether, with Veiled Mods. You also will be able to pick up a lot of damage through the use of Eldritch Implicits, by boosting an Anger up.
Gloves
One of the most crucial slots, due to how VLS works, and how much you want +2 to Strike Skills, as this unlocks the double dipping that LS has on single target, with proper positioning. Pick up as much Attribute and Life as possible, with some extra attack speed as gravy.
Boots
This is a prime slot to pick up whatever resistance you’re lacking as well as attributes. You’ll also want at least one empty suffix to craft Ailment Avoid, and then roll Ailment Avoid with Eldritch Influence, capping you at 100% with some extra from the passive tree.
Weapon
A Triple Elemental Claw with as much DPS as possible and high crit.
Shield
Yet another place that will help you cap out on Spell Suppression, attributes, Block chance and as much Evasion, Life, and Armor as possible.
Amulet
Crystalized Omniscience, the tenet of the build.
Belt
Unlike most where going for a Mageblood is a no-brainer, because of how easy it is for Champion to get a ton of Evasion and Armor, we use a Perseverance here, because it not only gives us over 250% increased Attack damage, but also grants Onslaught and Fortify for free!
Rings
A great place to get a bucket load of attributes, either with Synth bases or Fractured mods, as well as getting as much Minus Mana Cost to ease up on LS’s cost.
https://poe.ninja/challenge/builds/char/PADENN/HelixMakesMeCry?time-machine=week-2&i=3&search=time-machine%3Dweek-2%26class%3DChampion%2CGladiator%2CSlayer
3 – Shield Crush
A complete off-meta build, but it goes to show just how powerful Champion is that it can make anything work. Though it isn’t the best clearer, it’s a tanky and powerful build that can do all content when properly built.
Helmet
You’ll want as much Life, Armor and RME as possible. It’s also a great place to pick up Reduces Mana Cost of Attacks through Eldritch Implicits.
Body Armor
Getting Shield Crush to Level 24 is crucial to bring its damage over the next threshold, and we do that by using a Skin of the Lords, for +2, and a level 21 gem, that combined with Ashes of the Stars, brings the gem level to 24. Skin of the Lords also boosts our defences, which were already substantial, sky high, with its 100% Global Defence mod.
Gloves
You’ll want a pair of Sinistral Gloves, as any Shield Build would, and get as much attack speed and Spell Suppression as possible, as well as life and resistance as you need them.
Boots
Yet another great place to pick up a lot of spell suppression and resistances, you’ll also need to be concerned about picking up a bunch of movement speed!
Weapon
This is an odd-ish, choice of weapon but it grants a lot of attack speed, which Shield Crush loves, as well as 100% accuracy while on Low life (we’re always on low life because of Petrified blood!) You could also go with a Prismatic Eclipse, which has great options for corruption!
Shield
As we’re a shield build, we need as many stats from our shield as possible, and the strongest way of doing that is by getting a beefy shield with 2,5k + Armor, some life, maybe max res and spell suppression. Remember, your shield is your weapon, so splurging on it is a good idea.
Amulet
Ashes of the Stars. Best unique amulet in the game.
Belt
Perseverance yet again, as it’s a phenomenal belt for the price tag and how well it synergize with Champion.
Rings
Life, Res, attributes. Whatever else you’re lacking.
https://poe.ninja/challenge/builds/char/mariox1011/Hardmode_modCheck?time-machine=week-2&i=0&search=time-machine%3Dweek-2%26class%3DChampion%2CGladiator%2CSlayer
2 – Corrupting Fever Reap
Yet another extremely powerful meta build, though geared towards clearing as quick as possible, as opposed to being a bosser, CF, in combination with a strong Reap for single target, is capable of deleting most enemies with ease on a budget while also being insanely tanky, thanks to Champion’s inherent survivability.
Helmet
This is a good slot to pick up a Synth base with Aura Effect, or if none of those are available, then going for strong Eldritch implicits, like Curse Effect or Reservation Efficiency. You’ll want as much Life, Res (Chaos in particular), and Spell Suppress as possible.
Body Armor
Again, as much life as possible, with Spell Suppression, perhaps even a a Life Temple Mod, and most importantly, a free prefix to craft Avoid Ailments!
Gloves
This is a great place to pick up a lot of Phys DoT Multi, as it helps both CF and Reap, but also one of the best slots to pick up a bunch of Spell Suppression as well as Chaos Res, Attributes or more damage.
Boots
Same as before, Life, Spell Suppress, Attributes, and the most Movement Speed you can get, and it’s a good idea to pick up some Life Regen, as that’s your resource to cast your spells. And don’t forget that you’ll want some strong Ailment Avoid Eldritch Implicits, at least 30+ to be fully capped!
Weapon
Here you’ll want at least a +2 Wand (or you go with a Poet’s Pen in a completely different setup, but also works) with as much Phys DoT and Phys DoT Multi or DoT Multi. Spell Damage and Attack speed (you’ll be proccing CF through KB) as possible, but it is gravy.
Shield
A +1 Shield with as much Max Res as possible, to enable Melding of the Flesh, and give you as much Life and Life Regen as possible. Anything else is gravy but welcomed.
Amulet
BiS would be a +2 Amulet with Phys Dot Multi, which while possible, is supremely hard to craft. That said, getting it improves the build monumentally.
Belt
Mageblood. This, combined with great elemental resistance flasks makes you almost immortal to Ele Dmg, and since you’re a Champion, you barely take Phys Damage, making you insanely Tanky!
Rings
These are slots that bring a lot of power to the build. Getting things like Life Gain on Hit, Fractured Curses on hit, and Onslaught on Hit will bring the build full circle. Other supremely strong stats are DoT Multiplier from Delirium Essences, Life, Res, Minus Mana Cost, % Inc Damage, etc.
https://poe.ninja/challenge/builds/char/Exoxit/ExoxitSentinel?time-machine=week-2&i=9&search=time-machine%3Dweek-2%26class%3DChampion%2CGladiator%2CSlayer
1 – Smite Armor Stacker
One of the most intricate and unique builds, Armor Stacking makes you so damn tanky that it is impossible to die even while under fire from multiple sources, while also getting over 5000% Increased damage by simply using synergistic items and getting over 1,1 MILLION armour!
Helmet
Alpha’s Howl, with a corruption, to scale Purity of Fire and all the other Aura gems socketed into it to the maximum. It also has some side benefits of making you immune to freeze and it’s a massive chunk of evasion (which then gets converted to armour with Iron Reflexes!)
Body Armor
Doryani’s Prototype is the FotM body armour. Because of how Kalandra Jewelry works, you can easily get -200% Lightning resistance, which caps out your damage to the maximum, making the enemy have that resistance against you. And to make things better, your armour becomes your lightning resistance, and remember, we have over 1,1 million armour!
Gloves
You’ll definitely want +2 Strike gloves, with as much Phys to Lightning Conversion as possible, Cold and Fire resistance as well as much life as possible. Try to get Chaos Res capped as well.
Boots
Here, you’ll go for a +2 Max Fire Res boots, with as much life, Movement Speed, Cold, Fire and Chaos Res as possible.
Weapons
You’ll be dual-wielding Replica Dreamfeather, which gives 1% increased damage per 450 Armor you have. And when you have over 1 million armour, that translates to over 5000% Increased damage. In two items.
Amulet
Ashes of the Stars is what enables this build to function so well, giving us a lot of Reservation Efficiency as well as buffing our Alt Quality gems, and in particular, Determination, Defiance Banner, Ancestral Protector, our attack, Smite, which boosts our damage a thousand fold, by massively increasing our damage and survivability, all thanks to insane amounts of Aura Effect Stacking.
Rings
You’ll want Kalandra Jewelry with negative Lightning Resistance, as much as possible, though we have a surplus of negative resistance since we are using Melding, which reduces it by up to 80, plus the minus 60 from Kitava’s Debuff. So, in theory, you only need around -45 to make it work. What you desperately want, though, is a lot of Cold, Fire, and Chaos Resistances, as well as attributes and life as you can. Getting a ton of Life Recoup is glorious too, making the build feel that much better.
Belt
This build wouldn’t work without the single best belt in the game, Mageblood. With it, we can scale 4 defensive flasks, Granite and Jade, which give a flat 1500 Armor and Evasion respectively, and Basalt and Stibnite, which grants 20% more Armor and Evasion, respectively. These flasks then get multiplied by 1.95 of their base value, which then all becomes armour at a much better rate, and thus being the reason we can reach over a MILLION armour.
Build details: https://poe.ninja/challenge/builds/char/CrodLuie/FelixFever?time-machine=week-3&i=4&search=time-machine%3Dweek-3%26class%3DChampion%26skill%3D!Lightning-Strike%2C!Corrupting-Fever%2C!Explosive-Arrow%2CSmite
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