[POE 3.6 Tempar] Best Synthesis Agony Cyclone Guardian Build (PC,PS4,Xbox) - Simply, Tankly, League Starter
This build uses Cyclone to summon and activate powerful minions. With Cyclone, you attack 6.16 times per second. The only somewhat annoying map mod for the build is physical reflect as your relics will one-shot themselves. To run this mod, just summon one relic at a time before entering each new pack. The relic and your agony crawler will mop up just fine.
Quick Jump
Mechanics
This build uses Cyclone to summon and activate powerful minions. With Cyclone, you attack 6.16 times per second. Here's a list of things that happen as a result:
- Two Holy Relics trigger roughly every .62 seconds
- You gain and sustain virulence stacks (very easy to sustain 40) summoning the Agony Crawler
- Summon and sustain Sentinels of Purity (against uniques, but you can also get them from your poison kils sometimes)
- Gain 150 life and 14 mana on hit
Playstyle
The best way to get an idea for the build is to watch the videos above.
- Simply pop your non-life flasks and Cyclone through packs - your minions will do the rest!
- You can very easily face-tank high level bosses with this build (eg. I did a Minotaur at level 79 with under 5k hp facetanking).
- The only somewhat annoying map mod for the build is physical reflect as your relics will one-shot themselves. To run this mod, just summon one relic at a time before entering each new pack. The relic and your agony crawler will mop up just fine.
Skill Tree
Ascendancy
Radiant Crusade-Unwavering Crusade-Bastion of Hope-Harmony of Purpose
Bandits
Kill all Bandits
Pantheon
Lunaris and Gruthkul for physical damage reduction
Passive Tree
Gems Setup
Gems are listed in priority order
6L Herald of Agony-Pierce-Minion Damage-Vicious Projectiles
This is the core 4L after which you have the following options based on preference.
- Summon Phantasm on Kill: great for additional clear power, you can swap this for minion damage for clear/bossing
- Damage on Full Life: huge damage
- Maim: decent damage and maim
- Empower: only really good if you have level 4 or a +1 socketed gems corruption
- Minion Speed: great for additional clear power, you can swap this for minion damage for clear/bossing
- Vile Toxins: good damage and option to swap for Pierce for bossing/clear
Herald of Purity-Minion Damage-Melee Physical Damage-Maim
Summon Holy Relic-Minion Damage-Controlled Destruction-Minion Life
These three setups are your main sources of damage. Feel free to customise your Herald of Agony setup to the content you're going and personal preference.
Cyclone-Fortify-Life Gain on Hit-Blind (assuming you have double "supported by" gloves)
If you want to use Cyclone before having the double "supported by" gloves, use Cyclone-Faster Attacks-Poison-Fortify/Life Gain on Hit. Additionally, you can get only a single "supported by" gloves and not use blind if you don't have the life gained on hit vs blinded enemies elder claw yet.
Cyclone is how we trigger our minions and sustain life and mana.
Immortal Call (1)-Cast when Damage Taken (1)-Enfeeble (5)
Some nice defensive layers.
Shield Charge-Faster Attacks-Blood Magic
Movement for when you're not Cycloning. Blood Magic is really nice as it means you'll always be able to attack and gain mana back (even in no-regen maps).
Hatred/Haste
Hatred = more hit damage, Haste = increased attacks = higher life gained on hit and minion attack speed - personal preference on this one (I like Hatred).
Flame Dash
Some nice movement utility you can throw into the 6th socket of a 5L Coming Calamity - not essential.
Gear
Move the mouse on the bold poe equipment to see needed mod
Overview
Elder Gemini Claw, Victario's Charity, Geofri's Legacy, The Coming Calamity, Dragonscale Gauntlets, Two-Toned Boots, Stygian Vise, Essence Worm, Ruby Ring, Turquoise Amulet, Crimson Jewel, Viridian Jewel, Viridian Jewel, Viridian Jewel, Seething Divine Life Flask of Staunching, Ample Quicksilver Flask of Adrenaline, Ample Silver Flask of Warding, Experimenter's Basalt Flask of Grounding, Experimenter's Quartz Flask of Heat
Weapon
Elder Gemini Claw with "Life gained for each blinded enemy hit by this weapon" and attack speed. Crafted attack speed is totally acceptable here, and the cheapest way to get this weapon may be to alt-craft it yourself if none are available for trade. Please note, being having a Gemini Claw is critical for the mana gained on hit to sustain Cyclone. Don't worry if you cannot get the Elder Gemini Claw straight away, it's only great once you have your 6 link Elder gloves, until then go for a Gemini Claw with T1 attack speed.
Shield
Victario's Charity is best in slot for this build as it gives our minions frenzy charges. Frenzy charges for minions are an insane damage boost. See HERE for more info on how charges effect minions.
Helmet
Geofri's Legacy. Legacy gives us the second Holy Relic which is our main clearing minion. Don't worry about the cooldown recovery speed mod, it's largely irrelevant, focus on getting resists here. Top enchants are % increased damage for Holy Relics or Agony Crawler - if you get one of these, you're lucky, but they're by no means required.
Body Armour
The Coming Calamity. Coming Calamity is what allows us to run a 5-6 link Herald of Agony and 4 link Herald of Purity. This item is build enabling and a must-have. Don't worry about getting 6 links, 5 is plenty to take down Shaper.
Gloves
Dragonscale Gauntlets. Elder gloves with supported by Poison and Faster attacks. These gloves allow us to run our preferred 6 link Cyclone setup. Until you can get them use a nice rare with life and resists. Prioritise life and resists as secondary affixes in your Elder gloves.
Boots
Two-Toned Boots .Good rare with movement speed (25%+), life and resists. Getting some Dex here can be nice too.
Belt
Good rare Stygian Vise with life and resists. It's important to get a Stygian Vise here to socket our Abyssal Jewel. Until you get the Jewel, use a Leather Belt.
Jewelry
Essence Worm, Ruby Ring, Turquoise Amulet
Essence Worm gives us Hatred (it's free reservation and there's no downside because Coming Calamity overrides the total values of our heralds). The other ring and amulet should be good rares with life and resists. Ideally, you will also have "Minions have % increased movement speed" on your rare jewelry. These can be crafted with Essences of Fear (Screaming or higher recommended), or simply buy them.
Jewels
Crimson Jewel, Viridian Jewel, Viridian Jewel, Viridian Jewel
1x Abyssal Jewel with two affixes: minions have chance to blind and chance to taunt on hit. This helps with your survivability and life gain on his with blind. Socket this in your Stygian Vise. If you can only get one mod, go with taunt then work up to the double mod. 4x jewels with 5% chance to poison on hit, life and attack speed (global/with shield/with claw/etc). These are important to get 100% chance to poison on cyclone, but not so critical to get immediately. Work up to these as you get the jewel sockets on tree. 1x Good rare jewel with life and whatever other stats you need (attributes, resists, attack speed, etc).
Flasks
Seething Divine Life Flask of Staunching, Ample Quicksilver Flask of Adrenaline, Ample Silver Flask of Warding, Experimenter's Basalt Flask of Grounding, Experimenter's Quartz Flask of Heat
Higher budget considerations
Energy Shield on hit Watcher's Eye - Drop your Essence Worm aura for Discipline and get an extra 20% effective health gained on hit. This helps a lot for tankiness/survivability. This also works for Vitlity and LGoH Watcher's eye. Discipline is better though if you can afford the jewel.
Rare elder helm with +2/3 to socketed minion gems and supported by Minion Damage to socket Herald of Purity-Maim-Melee Physical Damage-Ruthless/Empower(level 3+) - This setup is useful against bosses who deal large area damage and kill your Holy Relics. Relics generally are good, but not stellar against bosses like Shaper and you often need to resummon them, so having only one (socketed in boots) and stronger Herald of Purity minions suits if you're going to be chaining t16+ bosses. Note, if you use Ruthless you'll want to drop Hatred for Haste or the Discipline + watcher's eye setup.
Leveling
Guardian Ascendancy priority: Radiant Crusade-Unwavering Crusade-Bastion of Hope-Harmony of Purpose.
The skill tree in this build suits itself well to leveling as almost anything. Simply come out of Templar's start along any track you wish, then travel up to Spiritual Command and Spiritual Aid. This will give you enough damage and attack speed to scale any skill.
No matter how you level, be sure to pick these up along the way to level them:
- Summon Holy Relic - Act 1 after Breaking Some Eggs
- Herald of Purity - Act 2 after Intruders in Black
- Herald of Agony - Act 3 Siosa or from a friend
Switching to the build is pretty flexible based on the gear you have available. Be sure to have the following at a minimum once you've switched (after the respec).
- Resolute Technique
- Spiritual Aid
- Spiritual Command
- Tireless
- Gravepact
- A claw with mana gained on hit implicit (Double/Twin/Gemini) and chance to poison and attack speed suffixes (master crafted attack speed is totally fine; don't need poison chance for final build, but it helps keep up virulence stacks before you have the jewels)
If leveling this build at league start I recommend one of the following four options (trees are in the PoB!). Finish the PoB numbered trees then work towards the level 90 tree taking the above required nodes and life.
Be sure your lootfilter includes Double Claws (at least normal, but there's some value in highlighting and identifying magic too).
Arc (totems): Use Freezing Pulse until you have access to Arc, then Arc with Added Lightning Damage and Controlled Destruction in a +1 lightning gems wand or sceptre. Once you get a 4L BBBR and Ancestral Bond Cluster (take only after you have the 4L) you can use Arc-Spell Totem-Faster Casting-Controlled Destruction. Ascend to Hierophant and take Pursuit of Faith at normal lab. You can continue taking points in Hierophant if you don't want to switch by cruel lab by taking Ritual of Awakening, but it's by no means required.
Melee: Use Smite-Ancestral Call-Melee Physical Damage until Dominating Blow-Melee Physical Damage-Minion Damage-Melee Splash. Also use Herald of Purity-Melee Physical Damage-Maim-Minion Damage.
Cyclone: Start the same as the "Melee" build for trees 1-2 and use Smite-Ancestral Call-Melee Physical Damage. Switch once you can respec some points to the Cyclone3 tree and have gear for 4L Cyclone, 4L Herald of Agony, 3L Herald of Purity and 3-4L Summon Holy relic
Summon Raging Spirits: For Summon Raging Spirits (SRS) you have two options. Either to switch to Cyclone early - in which case complete SRS1 then build towards the Cyclone requirements or you can commit to leveling with SRS longer in which case complete SRS2.