PoE 3.25 Eviscerate Gladiator Build

Path of Exile offers a ton of flexibility when it comes to the skill gems that you can use. You could create a character that excels at dealing damage directly. Aside from that, if you’re creative enough, you can even create a build that does even more damage when it retaliates!

The focus of this article is to provide you with information about a build that utilizes one of the new “Retaliation Skills” introduced in PoE 3.25. We are talking about the Eviscerate Gladiator, which has been making a name for itself in the Settlers of Kalguur League. Let’s dive right in, shall we?

Why Choose the Eviscerate Gladiator?

Before anything, Grinding Gear Games (GGG) released a new set of skill gems called “Retaliation Skills” in Path of Exile: Settlers of Kalguur. Unlike most of the skill gems in the game, Retaliation Skills are only usable for a limited time after you have successfully blocked an attack.

These new skills help you create a build that takes a more defensive identity. With the newly buffed Gladiator ascendancy class, there is no one better for the job than this one. Hence, the Eviscerate Gladiator is born!

Let’s talk about the build’s bread and butter, Eviscerate. When used, this skill prompts the user to unleash two waves of force that have a 100% chance on inflicting bleed. The V-shaped attack covers a huge area — pretty much every monster that you see on the screen.

While other PoE builds can use Eviscerate as long as they are wielding a shield, the Gladiator is better in terms of consistency due to Measured Retaliation. This new ascendancy node makes Retaliation Skills become usable for four seconds after blocking. Furthermore, there is a huge chance that Eviscerate won’t go on cooldown, allowing you to execute the skill once more!

Obviously, you need to be able to block incoming attacks to utilize your primary skill. Thankfully, the Gladiator’s Determined Survivor can easily address that without fail. By allocating this notable ascendancy passive skill, you will immediately get a 50% chance to block attacks as long as you are utilizing a shield.

Your map-clearing efficiency becomes better once you are finished with your third labyrinth trial. This is because you are going to take Gratuitous Violence. Since Eviscerate makes enemies bleed, those that get killed while suffering from the said condition will explode, dealing physical damage to nearby monsters.

The last ascendancy node you take is More Than Skill. This just ensures that you block attacks and spells more often, which makes the build a lot smoother to play.

When you have access to better gear, you can remove Gratuitous Violence and opt for War of Attrition or Weapon Master for bosses.

Take the above-mentioned nodes in the following order:

1. Measured Retaliation
2. Determined Survivor
3. Gratuitous Violence
4. More Than Skill
5. War of Attrition OR Weapon Master (Swap with Gratuitous Violence)

The Eviscerate Gladiator relies on bleed damage to deal with the enemy. As such, this build benefits from damage over time, physical damage over time, and increased bleeding damage modifiers, among others.

If you noticed, the Gladiator has another new ascendancy node called Jagged Technique. The “Aggravated” word, in this sense, just means that bleeding enemies receive triple damage!

Here are the mods that you should look for when it comes to improving the damage of this Path of Exile Eviscerate build:

• Increased Chance to Block
• Increased Damage with Bleeding
• Increased Physical Damage
• Physical Damage Over Time Multiplier
• Damage Over Time Multiplier
• Added Physical Damage
• Aggravate Bleeding
• Retaliation Skills Have Increased Cooldown Recovery Rate

In addition, the Eviscerate Gladiator has a ton of defensive layers, so much so that enemies will not be able to kill this formidable fighter, especially when fully geared. For instance, this build has the ability to achieve 100% spell suppression, which effectively reduces the spell damage received by half!

If that still does not impress you, the build is capable of gaining Fortification stacks. Each stack makes you take 1% less damage. Combine that with the other defensive layers and you pretty much have a character that can withstand anything that the game can throw at you!

Playstyle

While you are still in the process of leveling your character, we recommend that you use Sunder to progress through the campaign. This is because your block chance is still mediocre in the early Acts.

Once you have Measured Retaliation, grab a good shield with a “+% Chance to Block” mod. This will enable you to start using Eviscerate. Take note that things will only get a lot smoother when you have Determined Survivor.

When Eviscerate is not available, you could utilize Bladestorm to put constant pressure on your enemies. You can either add Blood Stance into one of your pieces of gear or allocate “Wicked Blade” on the passive tree to grant Bladestorm the power to inflict bleed.

Another way you could play this build is to anoint Prepared Response (Clear Oil, 2x Sepia Oils) to allow you to take advantage of another Retaliation Skill, which you can use in an alternating fashion.

That said, the skill we recommend is Crushing Fist because of its considerably large area of effect. Monsters that get hit by the attack suffer from bleeding damage. When they die, they explode due to the Gladiator’s Gratuitous Violence ascendancy node.

When you have the Blood Sap Tincture, use it whenever you need a huge boost in damage. Needless to say, you should have it active in your fight against the pinnacle bosses! Besides that, cast Vulnerability to make your bleeds even more effective.

This build is excellent against huge packs of monsters. If you are in the thick of things, be sure to utilize Enduring Cry to taunt nearby enemies to attack you, thus unlocking Eviscerate for immediate use as a result.

Eviscerate Gladiator Gear Recommendations

The Gladiator ascendancy class saw a massive resurgence in Path of Exile 3.25, primarily because of the rework, as well as the introduction of Retaliation Skills. Thus, some of the pieces of gear are a bit expensive compared to previous leagues. So, if you do not have enough PoE 3.25 currency, do not fret! Head to our RPGStash PoE Store and get your items delivered instantly!

As you browse through our recommendations, you will notice that some of the gear have evasion on them. The reason is that you are going to convert evasion to armor with the help of the Iron Reflexes keystone passive.

Moreover, evasion or armor/evasion-based equipment are the only ones that can roll spell suppression — a defensive layer that is critical to your survival.

Weapon

For those who are new to Path of Exile: Settlers of Kalguur, bleed is an ailment that deals physical damage over time. What this means is that its damage is amplified when you put as many “Increased Physical Damage” mods on your gear, most notably your weapon.

Therefore, we advise you to get a level 82+ Elder-influenced Reaver Axe. Among the one-handed axes available to you, the Reaver Axe has the highest base physical damage, making it the perfect base to craft on.

That said, use Harvest Reforge Physical until you get physical damage, chance to bleed, and damage over time multiplier for bleeding. If you get attack speed, then that is even better!

Jack, the Axe is an awesome unique item for melee builds that deal bleeding damage such as the Eviscerate Gladiator. It has all of the useful mods that you need to make this build shine, including physical damage, chance to bleed, and damage over time multiplier.

However, its standout feature is Thirst for Blood. This buff reserves a small portion of your life in exchange for 20% more damage with bleed. Additionally, Thirst for Blood grants an insane life regeneration that gets better the more bleeding enemies are within your vicinity.

While Jack, the Axe has its uses, it is not the ideal weapon for the Eviscerate Gladiator. Do you want to know what the best weapon is for this build? Well, it is the endgame crafted Reaver Axe with a double dose of damage/physical damage over time mods. If you want to learn how to craft it, head to our ultimate crafting guide for more info.

Shield

Wielding a shield is pretty much mandatory for this Path of Exile Gladiator build. This is because Eviscerate and other Retaliation Skills can only be activated after a successful block attempt using a shield.

That said, the modifiers to look for in a shield include life, armor, and life regeneration. You could even grab an armor/evasion hybrid for a chance to roll spell suppression.

Anyway, if you are into unique items, The Surrender is a solid choice. This shield allows you to recover 250-500 HP when you block. If you are going to use this, prioritize grabbing one with the max roll to ensure that you receive 500 hitpoints, making you virtually unkillable.

The ability to avoid elemental ailments like Shock, Ignite, and Freeze is a must to improve your survivability. While some of that is sorted out by taking specific nodes on the passive tree, you still need some pieces of gear to achieve the full 100% immunity.

Fortunately, you can craft your own with some really good modifiers. Get an ilvl 85+ armor/evasion-based shield with a Shaper influence and use Harvest Reforge Life until you obtain “Chance to Avoid Elemental Ailments,” as well as life and armor.

If you are wondering why you need a Shaper-influenced shield, it is to have a chance to get the useful mod, “Recover % of Life When You Block.”

Body Armor

In the earlier parts of this Gladiator build guide, we mentioned that one of its defensive layers is spell suppression. This toughens you to receive only half of the damage from spells, assuming that you have a 100% chance to suppress spell damage.

Having said that, the said defensive layer can only roll on evasion or armor/evasion-based gear. This is why we recommend Conquest Lamellar as it is well-balanced with the right amount of armor and evasion.

If you are going to craft one for the endgame, use an ilvl 86+ Conquest Lamellar as the base. This will allow you to roll T1 physical damage reduction and spell suppression, the latter of which is huge because you can get as much as 22%!

Now, if you do not have the “Chance to Avoid Elemental Ailments” mod on the shield, do not worry. You could add it as a veiled modifier by utilizing a particular PoE 3.25 currency.

Despite the price needed to craft this thing, the elemental ailment immunity chest can go a long way, for sure!

Helmet

The other pieces of gear that can roll suppression are the helmet, gloves, and boots. Utilize these slots to address any shortcomings. For the helmet, in particular, you might want to use Essence of Sorrow, especially since some of the support gems you will use require a high amount of DEX.

In the late game when you are able to use Retaliation Skills more frequently, you will run out of your mana if you do not have the right set of mods. Thankfully, the helmet can have a couple of mana modifiers when you use the right Eldritch Currencies.

Gloves

The Wyvernscale Gauntlets are one of the new item base types implemented in the Settlers of Kalguur expansion. These gloves offer the highest amount of armor and evasion among their counterparts. Get these gauntlets and make sure that they have an item level of 85+ to roll T1 spell suppression.

What if you’ve already capped spell suppression? If that is so, you could go for some Elder-influenced modifiers, particularly “Chance to Bleed” and “Faster Attacks.” Use Harvest Reforge Attack to get both of these mods and then some.

Boots

Having a pair of Onslaught Boots alleviates the need for a Silver Flask just to enjoy the same effect. To craft them, make sure that you use armor/evasion-based boots as the base for crafting. Next, spam them with the Deafening Essence of Envy (Chaos Resistance) until a chance to avoid spell suppression pops up.

Lock the suffixes and then use a Veiled Orb. Craft “+ to Mana” from the Crafting Bench and then head to Jun to unveil. You have a 33% chance for the movement speed + Onslaught modifier to show up from the list. That is why you might need to try again if you do not get the desired mod the first time.

Amulet

Do you need more DEX and INT? Use the Turquoise Amulet since it provides both of these attributes as implicit modifiers. Use Harvest Reforge Physical until you get other mods that can benefit your particular character.

Having enough PoE Currency enables you to obtain the most expensive pieces of jewelry. If you can, acquire a Focused Amulet with “+ to Level of All Physical Skill Gems” and “+ to Damage Over Time Multiplier” to achieve the best results!

Rings

The rings that you wear are mainly to address resistance, life, or mana issues. Whatever the case may be, make sure to have one open prefix so that you can bench-craft “Non-Channeling Skills Have -7 to Total Mana Cost.”

Belt

Ryslatha’s Coil is the only belt that you should use on the Eviscerate Gladiator. Despite its wording, the “physical attack damage” part actually affects damage over time from bleeding as well.

Ideally, you want a Ryslatha’s Coil that has “more maximum physical attack damage” at 40% and only 30% for the “less minimum physical attack damage” portion. Once you have obtained this unique item, use Noxious Catalysts for good measure.

Flasks/Tincture

• Granite Flask
• Basalt Flask
• Jade Flask
• Divine Life Flask
• Blood Sap Tincture

Flask/Tincture Mods

• 60% Increased Armour (of the Armadillo)
• 60% Increased Evasion (of the Impala)
• 0.8% of Attack Damage Leeched as Life (of Bloodletting)
• Corrupted Blood Immunity (on Life Flask)
• +55% to Damage Over Time Multiplier with Melee Weapon Attacks (of Dissolution, only on Tincture)

Jewels

Our version of the Eviscerate Gladiator build uses Pride and Determination as primary auras. Because of this, get a Watcher’s Eye Jewel that has these modifiers:

• % Increased Physical Damage While Using Pride
• % Additional Physical Damage Reduction While Affected by Determination
• You Take % Reduced Damage from Critical Strike While Affected by Determination

The Light of Meaning (Physical Damage) can greatly increase your damage output. When you have this in your possession, insert it in the jewel socket just below the “Stamina” notable passive. If this is too expensive, you can opt for the other bonuses, including life, armor, or evasion rating.

Next, get Unnatural Instinct and place it in the jewel socket near the “Arsenal of Vengeance” keystone. Doing so will grant increased damage and cooldown recovery rate of your Retaliation Skills.

Do you have PoE 3.25 currency to spare? If so, get the Forbidden Flame and Forbidden Flesh jewels with either Jagged Technique, Weapons Master, or War of Attrition as the matching modifier.

Tattoos

• Tattoo of the Kitava Blood Drinker
  • 0.5% of Attack Damage Leeched as Life
• Tattoo of the Kitava Shaman
  • Attacks Have a 5% Chance to Cause Bleeding
• Tattoo of the Kitava Warrior
  • 5% Increased Global Physical Damage
• Tattoo of the Valako Shieldbearer
  • +1% Chance to Block Attack Damage
  • Note: Only use this if you have not maxed out your block chance yet

Skill Gems Setup

Body Armor

• Eviscerate
• Expert Retaliation
• Awakened Brutality
• Awakened Melee Physical Damage
• Awakened Swift Affliction
• Volatility

Gloves

• Bladestorm
• Awakened Brutality
• Awakened Melee Physical Damage
• Fortify Support

Boots

• Pride
• Determination
• Herald of Purity
• Enlighten Support (lvl 3 or 4)

Helmet

• Molten Shell
• Automation
• Lifetap
• More Duration Support

Weapon

• Vulnerability
• Lifetap
• Enduring Cry

Shield

• Shield Charge
• Faster Attacks Support
• Lifetap

Pantheons

• Major Gods:
  • Soul of the Brine King: Use this if you are not immune to elemental ailments yet
  • Soul of Arakaali: Potent defense against damage over time effects
• Minor Gods:
  • Soul of Garukhan: Choose this if you have not achieved full elemental ailment immunity
  • Soul of Ralakesh: Reduced damage from bleeds on you

Passive Skill Tree

Evasion is a big no-no for the Eviscerate Gladiator. You want your enemies to hit you to activate your Retaliation Skills. But wait, didn’t we recommend pieces of gear that have evasion on them? Well, the answer is that all of that evasion rating is converted to armor due to the Iron Reflexes keystone passive.

Another mandatory keystone for this build is Versatile Combatant. This pretty much ensures that your block chance is sorted out, both for attack damage and spells.

Unwavering Stance is also a nice addition because it prevents you from ever getting stunned. Plus, it ensures that you cannot evade attacks at all! Since you are not dealing critical strikes here, you might as well take Resolute Technique so that your attacks do not miss!

As for the Masteries, here are the ones that you could take:

• Block Mastery
  • +1% Chance to Block Spell Damage per 5% Chance to Block Attack Damage
• Bleeding Mastery
  • +3% to Damage Over Time Multiplier for Bleeding per Endurance Charge
• Damage Over Time Mastery
  • 10% Less Damage Taken from Damage Over Time
• Retaliation Mastery
  • 80% Increased Duration of Ailments Inflicted by Retaliation Skills
• Mana Mastery
  • 12% Increased Mana Reservation Efficiency of Skills
• Spell Suppression Mastery
  • Chance to Suppress Spell Damage is Lucky

Tips and Strategies

• Roll “Aggravate Bleeding on Gloves: If you do not have the crafted Elder-influenced gloves yet, you can use Eldritch Ichors to roll the Aggravate Bleeding mod. This essentially deals triple damage to bleeding enemies at all times
• Put Enduring Composure: This notable passive skill lets you gain an Endurance Charge every second. The said mod can roll on a Small Cluster Jewel (Armour)
• Anoint “No Forgiveness”: Do you want Eviscerate to become usable more often? If so, No Forgiveness can help you with that. It works in conjunction with Measured Retaliation for a 70% chance for Retaliation Skills to not consume a cooldown
• Replace Bladestorm with Crushing Fist: When your character has all of the necessary equipment, you can use Crushing Fist instead of Bladestorm. Crushing Fist actually fits better with the theme of the build, though you will have to keep an eye on it due to the nature of Retaliation Skills
• Swap Herald of Purity for Blood and Sand: HoP is nice because it boosts physical damage. However, the Sentinels of Purity it creates can take the attention of the enemy away from you, which is not ideal. Instead, switch Herald of Purity for Blood and Sand so you can gain more area damage or AoE depending on your needs

POB

Eviscerate Gladiator

Final Thoughts

An incredibly tanky build that has a “defense-first” mentality, the Eviscerate Gladiator is perfect for those who want a unique playstyle. You have to successfully block an attack in order to activate your primary skill, which was unheard of prior to Path of Exile: Settlers of Kalguur.

Although it feels clunky at first, the build takes off very quickly, especially if you are able to get hold of the right pieces of gear. Having said that, this Eviscerate Gladiator build is a league starter with affordable upgrades you can take later on.

Do you want to avail yourself of the best items in PoE 3.25? Don’t waste time farming currency yourself! Visit our PoE Store and get them right away!

PROS

• Multiple defensive layers make this build unkillable
• Impressive clear speed even on a budget
• Good league starter for those who are playing the Duelist

CONS

• A bit clunky at first
• Not the fastest boss killer around
• Is not the right build for Sanctum runs