Top 10 Builds to Play in Path of Exile Patch 3.25

Grinding Gear Games has recently revealed the things that you can expect in Path of Exile: Settlers of Kalguur expansion.

Those who love playing melee builds will certainly love the fact that the company has finally made huge balancing changes in favor of this build archetype. If you love to slay enemies up close and personal, then you will be in for a treat in Patch 3.25!

Although ranged and magic builds do not get the same kind of treatment in the upcoming expansion, there are still builds that are quite viable regardless.

So, if you are looking for builds that you can play from start to finish, then read further. This is our extensive list of the top 10 builds to play in Path of Exile 3.25 Settlers of Kalguur!

Top Builds in PoE Patch 3.25

Melee builds reign supreme in Path of Exile: Settlers of Kalguur due to the massive balancing changes GGG has made. Despite that, you can still expect some ranged and magic builds as well. So, without further ado, let’s get started!

10. Bleed Lacerate Gladiator

+Possibly a good boss killer

+Insane clear speed

+League starter

-Cap on bleeding damage

The Gladiator ascendancy class has finally been reworked in Patch 3.25 and it certainly has a few amazing nodes that you need to know about.

First, there is a new set of skill gems known as Retaliation Skills that allow you to initiate a counterattack when wielding a shield. That said, the Gladiator has a new ascendancy notable passive called Measured Retaliation, which makes Retaliation Skills become usable for a couple more seconds before going on cooldown. With this, you can deal damage twice from your primary skill, as well as your Retaliation Skill of choice.

Second, you have Weapon Master – an ascendancy node that provides you with different bonuses depending on the type of weapon you’re using. For example, you deal more damage with hits and ailments against enemies that are below 50% of their maximum life when wielding an axe, which this build uses, by the way.

Then, you have the War of Attrition. This is an incredible new notable ascendancy passive skill that enables you to deal 1% more damage with hits and ailments against rare or unique monsters for each second they’ve ever been in your presence. Although this maxes out at 100%, that is still insane when fighting uber pinnacle bosses.

With the things mentioned above, you can easily make a Gladiator build that can work even with a minimal investment. That is where Bleed Lacerate Gladiator comes in.

Lacerate prompts you to initiate a couple of slashes that inflict bleeding on enemies hit by the attack. The skill gem saw a massive damage increase in the Settlers of Kalguur expansion. Although it no longer has added physical attack damage, its effectiveness of added damage has been buffed substantially. All you have to do is put as many added physical damage mods on your gear and you should be able to utilize this skill gem to great effect.

The Bleed Lacerate Gladiator has insane potential and it's relatively affordable to put up. There is a slight problem with this build, however, in that bleed has a damage ceiling due to server ticks and other complicated stuff.

Other than that, this build is a solid league starter and one that you can definitely scale into the endgame.

9. Lightning Strike Champion

+Good league starter

+Lightning Strike skill gem received a buff

-Champion ascendancy got nerfed, though not massively

Another melee build that is worth investing in, the Lightning Strike Champion has been buffed, but only because the primary skill gem for this build got buffed.

You see, Lightning Strike has its effectiveness of added damage increased heavily at the cost of losing added lightning damage. The loss of flat lightning damage can easily be rectified by using the Added Lightning Support and its awakened variant.

For a long time, the Lightning Strike Champion has been a good league starter and we think that it is still the case in Path of Exile: Settlers of Kalguur. However, there are some important things that we need to point out, starting with the ascendancy class.

The Champion got two noteworthy nerfs in Patch 3.25. For one, the Unstoppable Hero node no longer grants additional bonuses when you are Fortified. On top of that, Fortitude now only gives you a permanent 15 fortification stacks instead of 20.

However, we believe that is still an incredible ascendancy class due to the adjustments made to Banner Skills in general. Banner skills like Defiance Banner and Dread Banner now cause enemies to take 8% increased damage so long as they are within the banners’ area of effect.

Additionally, when you leave the AoE of your Banner Skill, you can recover 30% of the Valour you have consumed for the Banner. Valour is a new mechanic that you can gain in melee combat, which is required to use your preferred Banner Skill.

Despite the changes to the ascendancy class itself, the Lightning Strike Champion is still quite viable in the upcoming expansion.

8. Shield Crush Juggernaut

+Quick mapper

+League starter

+Benefits greatly from armor and weapon quality

-Might be a bit clunky due to removal of Ancestral Protector

The Shield Crush Juggernaut unleashes its full potential thanks to the melee rework in Patch 3.25. Let’s start with the primary skill gem for this build.

Shield Crush now has an increased added physical damage that scales with the gem’s level. On top of that, it greatly benefits from the weapon and armor quality bonuses. If you are unaware, the quality of your equipment now has multiplicative bonuses rather than additive bonuses. Think about “more” damage rather than “increased” damage.

This build uses Emperor’s Vigilance – a unique shield that has the mod: “1000% increased armour and energy shield.” With the multiplicative changes to item quality bonuses, as well as the mechanics of the Shield Charge skill gem, you can see that this build has insane potential in the endgame!

Now, the Juggernaut’s Unrelenting ascendancy node has received a change where you only get 1% additional elemental damage reduction per Endurance Charge rather than additional chaos resistance and reduced elemental damage taken.

Take note that “elemental damage reduction” and “reduced elemental damage taken” are two different modifiers, the former being stronger than the latter. So, you are still quite tanky, though you might have to raise your maximum Endurance Charges to take advantage of this change.

There is a slight tweak to this build. Previously, the Ancestral Protector totem that is enhanced by the Panopticon notable passive skill played a major part due to the massive attack speed boost that you can gain from this combo. However, melee totem skills have been completely removed in this expansion, as well as the said notable passive skill.

Not to worry, you just have to add Faster Attacks Support or perhaps even Momentum Support to account for the removal of Ancestral Protector and Panopticon.

The Shield Crush Juggernaut is something that you need to try out, especially if you want a build that has a good mix of offense and defense.

7. Frost Blades Trickster

+Fast attack speed makes this build go zoom

+Efficient mapper and boss killer

-Expensive

The Frost Blades Trickster, from a mechanics perspective, remains largely the same. Only the skill gem itself, as well as one of the flasks this build uses, and Hatred, have received notable changes.

Frost Blades no longer has added cold damage. Instead, the effectiveness of base and added damage has increased exponentially (from 110%-225% to 143%-409%). Not to worry, you can easily address that by using Awakened Added Cold Damage Support and an endgame claw as your main weapon.

For that reason, this build can still be used as a league starter, though it will feel a bit clunky due to the change in the skill gem itself.

Although a slight nerf in our opinion, Hatred no longer causes you to deal more cold damage. Instead, it now has 30% of physical damage as extra cold damage that scales to 39% at gem level 20. Since there are no changes to the Heatshiver in this update, this may become stronger than we think, but that still remains to be seen.

Overall, the Frost Blades Trickster is still efficient in Path of Exile: Settlers of Kalguur.

6. Cleave of Rage Berserker

+Insane damage potential due to Rage rework

+Fun and easy playstyle

+Large AoE attacks make clearing maps a breeze

-Needs a higher investment to scale

Rage, the stackable resource that used to provide increased attack speed and more damage, has received a substantial rework in Patch 3.25. To put it simply, Rage now deals even more damage at the cost of increased attack/movement speed. But, the good news is that gaining Rage and sustaining it has become more reliable than in the past.

That is why the Cleave of Rage Berserker has become even more fun to use than ever before! The Berserker ascendancy class has the Crave of Slaughter notable passive skill, which has changed to provide increased attack speed per point of Rage! Sure, the maximum amount of Rage you can have at a time is capped at 30, but that is still a 30% increased attack speed we are talking about here!

If that is not enough, the Rite of Ruin ascendancy node now provides a 50% increased Rage effect. This effectively boosts your damage even more!

How about Cleave of Rage? This skill gem now has a whopping 511% effectiveness of base and added damage at gem level 20, up from 300%. Besides that, you gain two Rage on attack hit now compared to one Rage if the skill hits an enemy, provided that you increase the quality of the skill gem to 20%.

The Cleave of Rage Berserker hits fast and hard, which is why it is definitely one of the top builds in PoE Patch 3.25!

5. Lightning Arrow Deadeye

+Impressive clear speed

+Scales well into the endgame

+Build still performs well despite Deadeye nerf

-Requires heavy investment for the endgame version

GGG has placed more emphasis on improving melee builds rather than any other build archetypes in the Settlers of Kalguur expansion. But, this is not to say that builds that focus on ranged attacks are no longer viable; they still are and the Lightning Arrow Deadeye is a good proof of that!

The Lightning Arrow Deadeye is the most-played Deadeye build in the previous league and for good reason! It has insane damage potential relative to the gear investment. It is an efficient mapping build that can clear maps in less than two minutes. But more importantly, it can kill any bosses in the game without a sweat!

Now, it is important to note that the Deadeye ascendancy class got a couple of nerfs. Gathering Winds now only provides a 10% increased effect of Tailwind, which means that you only gain a 100% increased effect with 10 charges as opposed to 150% prior to Patch 3.25.

Additionally, the ascendancy node “Far Shot” now only grants “Projectiles gain damage as they travel farther, dealing up to 30% more damage to targets” instead of Far Shot, which is a superior version of the aforementioned effect.

Sure, the nerfs are indeed noticeable. However, we are convinced that the Lightning Arrow Deadeye still has insane damage potential, especially if you consider the buffs made to the skill gem itself.

More specifically, Lightning Arrow’s effectiveness of base and added damage is now at 149%-177%, up from 130%-154%. That may seem a bit low on the surface, but you have to understand that this build also has insane attack speed.

The loss of added lightning damage is addressed by using a tri-element bow coupled with a rare quiver that is crafted using the Deafening Essence of Torment.

As is the case in the previous iterations of the build, the Lightning Arrow Deadeye in Patch 3.25 still requires heavy investment for the endgame version. However, if that is not an issue, then we still recommend this build for sure!

4. Molten Strike Warden

+Utilizes the new ascendancy class 

+Warden has impressive nodes that synergize well with Molten Strike

+Amazing utility and damage

-Might not be a good league starter

One of the most notable changes in Patch 3.25 is the complete removal of the Raider. The ascendancy class was lackluster and only viable for very niche builds like the Flicker Strike Raider. So, GGG went back to the drawing board and replaced the Raider with the new kid on the block, the Warden.

The Warden is a new ascendancy class in PoE that is inspired by the Warden of the Maji secondary ascendancy class in the Affliction League. This ascendancy class can utilize Tinctures to great effect thanks to Enduring Suffusion and Experienced Herbalist.

In the early game, you can take Mother’s Teachings – a notable ascendancy passive skill that grants Barkskin. If you can recall, Barskin is a skill that grants you a huge armor boost that gets removed gradually. As Barkskin whittles down, you gain a higher chance to evade attacks, making it a great skill from a survival standpoint.

That said, why is the Molten Strike Warden a great build to play in Path of Exile: Settlers of Kalguur? It is very good because the notable ascendancy passive skills available to the Warden synergize really well with the primary skill gem of the build.

Even though Molten Strike fires multiple projectiles per use, it is still considered a melee skill due to the fact that you are still within a few meters of the enemy. Anyway, being a melee skill, Molten Strike received a huge increase in the effectiveness of the base and added damage in Patch 3.25. 

Aside from that, the Warden can greatly utilize Freeze and Shock thanks to Oath of Winter and Oath of Spring. Wait, isn’t Molten Strike a fire attack skill? How can you apply Freeze and Shock then? Well, you use The Taming for that. This is a unique ring that allows you to inflict the said status ailments with your attack skills.

Oath of Spring deserves a special mention here because it not only increases the maximum effect of shock (2% increased damage taken), but it also applies up to 50 Shocks to each enemy. If you scale your Shock effect even further, just imagine the insane damage potential of this build just by taking this one ascendancy node!

It is important to note that these things are still theoretical at this point. How this build ultimately works and performs remains to be seen until the Settlers of Kalguur expansion goes live. But, we’re very excited to see the results! Perhaps you want to try the Molten Strike Warden out for yourself.

3. Sunder Chieftain

+Uses a slam skill that got heavily buffed in this update

+Chieftain’s new ascendancy node increases this build’s potential

+Potentially a good boss killer

-A bit clunky due to the slam skill being used

The Sunder skill is nothing new. But, what is new is the insane damage buff it got in PoE Patch 3.25. This slam skill had a 325% effectiveness of base and added damage at gem level 20 prior to the update. It was respectable, but it could certainly use more. GGG thinks so too, which is why that number is now set at 629%!

Now, you might think that the Chieftain is a rather odd choice for a build that utilizes Slam Skills. Normally, Sunder is utilized by ascendancy classes, such as the Champion and Berserker. However, why do we go for Chieftain in the upcoming expansion?

Well, that is because the Chieftain has a new ascendancy notable passive skill called Sione, Sun’s Roar. What this does is it enhances Warcry Skills to have infinite power similar to the unique effect of the Redblade Banner shield. Furthermore, Warcry Skills gains a 30% increased buff effect, making this an insanely good ascendancy node to take!

With Sione, Sun’s Roar, you could use Rallying Cry for increased damage and Intimidating Cry for a huge chance to deal double damage. The possibilities are endless!

Of course, with the way exerted attacks work, the Sunder Chieftain can be a bit clunky if you want to maximize its damage potential.

However, with the wealth of good changes made to the skill gem, as well as the ascendancy class of choice for this build, the Sunder Chieftain is certainly one that you should put on your radar if you want to play a top build in PoE in Patch 3.25!

2. Elemental Hit Warden

+New Warden ascendancy class is insane

+Elemental Hit got massive damage buffs

+Possibly one of the best boss killers in the game

-Needs expensive gear in the endgame

Another build that utilizes the new ascendancy class in Path of Exile: Settlers of Kalguur, the Elemental Hit Warden is possibly one of the best boss killers in the game. This is due to the buffs that were made to the primary skill gem, as well as the nodes available to the said ascendancy class.

Elemental Hit is now only usable for melee builds. With that said, this skill gem got huge damage buffs across the board. Mechanically, it still functions the same in that it cycles through the different elements (fire, cold, and lightning), which is why the Warden is the perfect ascendancy class for it.

The aforementioned Oath of Spring allows you to deal even more damage to enemies that are affected by 50 Shocks.

Oath of Summer allows you to Scorch enemies, causing them to have their elemental resistances lowered by up to 30% based on the fire damage of the hit. As you can see, once you have your character decked out with endgame gear, the Elemental Hit Warden can hit hard and will have no problem deleting enemies from the face of Wraeclast!

Then, you have Avatar of the Wilds. This ascendancy node grants you the power of a level 20 Unbound Avatar Skill, which causes you to become “Unbound” for a brief period. While in this state, all of your attacks can inflict Freeze, Shock, and Ignite. Besides that, you deal 80% more elemental damage!

Even though this is purely theoretical until we can try the new ascendancy class out, it is safe to say that the Elemental Hit Warden is a beast, especially in the endgame!

1. Boneshatter Juggernaut

+Got better in Patch 3.25

+Amazing damage output

+League starter

-Slightly less attack speed due to the loss of Ancestor Totems

The Boneshatter Juggernaut is, in our opinion, the top build to play in Path of Exile Patch 3.25. It now deals insane damage due to the buffs made to all melee skill gems and the Juggernaut ascendancy class is the right one to use to maximize Boneshatter’s potential.

Although the skill gem no longer has a longer attack range, that is fine because Boneshatter now deals even more damage thanks to the increase in effectiveness of base and added damage, especially at gem level 20.

Now, you’re probably worried about the nerf to the Juggernaut’s “Unbreakable” ascendancy node given that it no longer mitigates elemental damage. But, you have to understand that, if anything, it got better because it now reduces the chaos damage you take from hits based on 15% of your total armor value.

Moreover, the armor value of your equipped body armor is still doubled, which is insane when you factor in the defensive bonuses you get by increasing its item quality using the appropriate PoE Currency.

Speaking of which, a well-crafted endgame weapon also benefits immensely from the item quality changes. Therefore, it is imperative that you get a good Despot Axe because it can certainly go a long way!

Despite the loss of Ancestral Protector and Ancestral Warchief, the Boneshatter Juggernaut still performs really well. The “Undeniable” ascendancy node from the Juggernaut can easily address the attack speed boost provided by Ancestral Protector.

In fact, you can even think of the removal of Ancestor Totems as a good thing because it now allows you to experiment with other gem setups. Perhaps, you can use Enduring Cry for added life regeneration and physical/elemental damage mitigation, though you can use any other gem that you like.

If you find Boneshatter’s infinite damage scaling problematic due to the self-damaging component of Trauma stacks, then you can replace the regular version of the skill gem with its Transfigured Gem counterpart, Boneshatter of Complex Trauma.

Boneshatter of Complex Trauma got buffed as well in Path of Exile: Settlers of Kalguur. For one, you now deal up to 200% more damage at all gem levels. Furthermore, its effectiveness of base and added damage is now set to 338% at gem level 20, up from 250% previously.

The transfigured version of Boneshatter only maxes out at 10 Trauma stacks, which is easily attained due to the build’s naturally fast attack speed.

All in all, the Boneshatter Juggernaut is definitely one of the best builds in Path of Exile Patch 3.25!

Final Thoughts

Path of Exile: Settlers of Kalguur is definitely one of the best expansions, especially if you enjoy playing melee builds. Seriously, because of the changes GGG has made in Patch 3.25, melee builds saw a massive resurgence.

The Gladiator has been reworked and now has access to a few impressive ascendancy nodes, including Weapon Master, Measured Retaliation, and War of Attrition.

The Chieftain has a new notable ascendancy passive skill in the form of Sione, Sun’s Roar. This empowers War Cry skills to provide their maximum effect when used. It would be interesting to see what the PoE community comes up with, particularly with this ascendancy node allocated.

How about the Warden? We have our eyes set on this new ascendancy class since it has some really powerful nodes. Oath of Spring has the power to buff even the most mediocre attack skill gems thanks to the damage increase of 50 Shocks. Then, you have Avatar of the Wilds, which ensures that you deal 80% more elemental damage while you’re in an Unbound state.

Most melee attack skill gems have their damage increased across the board. The ones being highlighted in this article are what we deem as the best ones, but you can certainly try other skills as well.

With Path of Exile: Settlers of Kalguur just days away from release, which of these top builds will you play once the expansion goes live?