[Scourge] PoE 3.16 Duelist Spectral Shield Throw Gladiator Starter Builds
This is a beginner build based on defense. In 3.16 Scourge, the dps of the Shield Throw has been reduced by the influence of passive changes, but the Gladiator has been strengthened to a certain extent. PoE 3.16 Spectral Shield Throw Bleed Gladiator is still an excellent choice for league starter.
Quick Jump
Pros & Cons
- + fast mapping
- + great clear with bleed explosions
- + can do all content
- + tanky with 75/75 block, tons of armour & molten shell
- + really fun Captain America playstyle (throwing a shield that chains)
- - lacking some single target until you invest currency
- +- you need to play the game yourself
Skill Tree
Ascendancy: Blood in the Eyes -> Gratuitous Violence -> Painforged -> Versatile Combatant
Pantheon: Lunaris or any you like
Passive Tree & PoB
Path of Building Link:
Note the changes in 3.16 skill tree, please wait for the update after 3.16 is released
Early / Mid / Late / Late with Cluster - https://pastebin.com/A3RnfEyP
Gems Setup
Main Link
4 Link
Spectral Shield Throw - Vicious Projectiles Support - Brutality Support - Unbound Ailments
5 Link
Swift Afflication Support
6 Link
Deadly Ailments Support / Cruelty Support / Lifetap Support
Most support gems have affordable Awakened versions.
Aura Setup
Pride or Malevolence: 50%
Pride has the potential to do more damage and also affects our initial hit. With Malevolence you can outrange enemies and its always up. Malevolence also has a nice Watcher's Eye mods to scale our bleed further.
War Banner: 10%
Pretty good for just 10%. Adds another Physical Damage Multiplier. It also helps our single target as you can just place it on the boss for a big boost.
Herald of Purity or Aspect of the Spider: 25%
More Physical Damage and some cool looking dudes
or
a stacking dps + slow debuff (Mandatory for Fenumus Gloves)
Utility
Blood Rage: Leech, Frenzy Generation, Attack Speed. Mandatory.
Dash: Just to get over Gaps.
Enduring Cry: Good regen, Endurance charges, Just use on autocast with Call to Arms Keystone.
Shield Charge - Lifetap - Faster Attacks - (Fortify)
Movement setup. Fortify is added through the weapon. You could also use Culling Strike Support if you feel comfortable with your mana.
Keep in mind that your Shield charge does a lot of damage as it also scales with your shield. In lower tier maps or just to have some fun you can easily shield charge packs to death.
(Vaal) Molten Shell: With the granite flask i have over 35k armour, which gives some huge boosts. You can use the normal version as additional life and the vaal one as "oh shit" button. You can also link it to Cast when damage taken.
Ancestral Protector - Multiple Totems - Maim - Culling Strike
Good bossing setup: Maim + Cull are a great dps boost. And the attack speed is good QoL.
Corrupting Fever - Brutality Support - Efficacy Support - Swift Afflication Support / Empower
Damage Support that scales well with all our multipliers. Go for Empower 4 if you have the money.
Flexible Setups
Tempest Shield: Gives 3% Block and you have some open gem slots. Also gives a free shield mtx
Vulnerability - (Blasphemy): If you are using Impresence. See gear section. Otherwise get Vulnerability another way (ring, trigger, corruption)
Precision: I use it to boost my Accuracy a bit and for my watcher's Eye. Just adjust the level to your mana needs. Only run if you don't play RT and have a related watcher's mod.
Gear Setup
Weapon
There aren't a lot of good Statsticks for physical SST. For a cheap and strong weapon i choose Advancing Fortress
15% Block Chance, free Fortify and some defense are quite good.
Alternatives: Prismatic Eclipse with 3 green Socket for 36% attack speed buff, as it's a global modifier. You can also corrupt it for RT.
Quality does not increase Physical Damage
Grants 1% increased Area of Effect per 4% Quality
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12% increased Global Physical Damage
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73% increased Physical Damage over Time
Adds 16 to 35 Physical Damage
14% reduced Enemy Stun Threshold
Gain 18% of Physical Damage as Extra Fire Damage
Attacks have 30% chance to cause Bleeding
41% increased Damage with Bleeding
Trigger a Socketed Spell when you Use a Skill, with a 8 second Cooldown and 150% more Cost
Runic Hatchet with Warlord Influence. Go for double bleed mods. I also like trigger craft so you can't forget your tempest shield / blood rage and put vulnerabilty on it if you don't have a another source.
Keep in mind that most buffs on weapons are local modifiers, so won't affect your SST.
Shield
Colossal Tower Shield with as much armour as possible.
You can buy a ilvl86 for some chaos. Just throw some dense Fossil on it and you should be able to get one with 2k+ armour. This should be enough for nearly all content.
In 3.10 you can also use Defeaning Essence of Dread. They are now really cheap and always have a > 400 armour roll.
+438 to Armour
147% increased Armour
16% increased Stun and Block Recovery
Recover 4% of Life when you Block
+25 to Intelligence
+18% to Quality
With Harvest you can go for a Shaper / Warlord base and craft without affecting your big armour prefixes. Life gain on block is just crazy.
Chest
Easy to coluor. Mana leech included . Life and a ton of armour. Free Pierce.
Pretty good chest overall.
Influenced Astral Plate
+12% to all Elemental Resistances
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+127 to maximum Life
+38% to Fire Resistance
+23% to Lightning Resistance
10% chance to gain a Frenzy Charge on Hit
Enemies you Kill Explode, dealing 3% of their Life as Physical Damage
7% Chance to Block Attack Damage
Always a good pick for any build.
Life, Res, Influence modifiers of your choice. I got Redeemer for Frenzy on Bosses and crafted Block for reaching the cap.
Amulet
Allocates Piercing Shots
+16 to all Attributes
Adds 15 to 21 Physical Damage
+490 to Armour
+70 to maximum Life
33% increased Stun and Block Recovery
Vulnerability has 100% reduced Reservation if Cast as an Aura
Gain Maddening Presence for 10 seconds when you Kill a Rare or Unique Enemy
Good life, Armour, Physical Damage and Vulnerablity aura. Presence aura also looks nice in my opinion.
Alternative:
Rare with Physical damage, life, Resist.
With Elder or Hunter you get access to "Physical Damage over Time Multiplier"
Annoint:
Cleaving / Growth and Decay / Crystal Skin / +30 Intelligence / Ambidexterity
Ring
Adds 4 to 14 Physical Damage to Attacks
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+146 to Accuracy Rating
+54 to Evasion Rating
+78 to maximum Life
+44% to Cold Resistance
Non-Channelling Skills have -9 to Total Mana Cost
Just 2 rares with alot of Resist and Life.
I use the mastercrafted Prefix for -9 Mana cost.
Warlord influence for another possible source of vulnerability.
Belt
Stygian with Life, Resist
Gloves
Fenumus' Weave
Aspect of the Spider, Attack Speed, Additional Damage for Bleeds
Rare Apothecarys Gloves (increased Damage over Time) with Life, Attack Speed, Resist.
Hunter influence can give you "Physical Damage over Time Multiplier"
Boots
8% chance to Dodge Spell Hits if you've taken Spell Damage Recently
+12% to Fire and Lightning Resistances
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+43 to Intelligence
+88 to maximum Life
+20% to Cold Resistance
+19% to Lightning Resistance
Projectiles Pierce 2 additional Targets
19% increased Movement Speed
12% chance to gain Onslaught for 4 seconds on Kill
Armour based boots with Life, Resist, Movement speed
Hunter influence can give you pierce.
Helmet
Spectral Shield Throw fires 5 additional Shard Projectiles
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+123 to maximum Life
3% increased maximum Life
+35% to Lightning Resistance
Nearby Enemies take 9% increased Physical Damage
+30 to Intelligence
Armour based with Life and 9% Physical damage.
You need an Elder ILvl85 Base for the mod since and it's not that easy to roll.
A good alternative and cheap helm which is always available with a lot of lab enchants is Crown of the Inward Eye
Jewels
Intuitive Leap - you can grab 3 really good nodes with it in the Ranger area
https://imgur.com/VOFF8Qk
Watcher's Eye - If you have the money go for it. There are some good Malevolence mods.
60% increased Attack Damage while affected by Precision
+21% to Damage over Time Multiplier while affected by Malevolence
Rare Jewels:
Look out for
- Maximum Life
- Damage over Time
- Damage with Bleeding
- Physical Damage
- Attack Speed (while holding a Shield)
Flasks
Bubbling/Seething Divine Life Flask of Staunching
Instant heal flask as in most of life builds with bleed removal.
Alchemist's Quicksilver Flask of Adrenaline: Going fast
Experimenter's Granite Flask of Iron Skin
The Iron Skin suffix boosts our armour by a ton. Great flask for Molten shell
Perpetual Silver Flask of Warding
We don't have a source of Onslaught so we go with this one.
Ample Quartz Flask of Heat
I love Phasing and some extra Defense is welcome. You can swap this flask for something you like.
I choose the Warding and Heat Suffix for my last 2 Flasks. For me thats the most important ones. Prefix are changeable.
Cluster jewels
Large:
12% increased Physical Damage as enchant scales our damage very well. As Notable you can choose between Force Multiplier, Battle-Hardened, Iron Breaker, Master the Fundamentals ...
12% increased Attack Damage with shields can be used as well. Here you have Notables like Gladiator's Fortitude
Medium:
+5% to Physical Damage over Time Multiplier
Notables like Exposure Therapy, Rend, Vivid Hues
Small:
- 1% Chance to Block Attack Damage
can fix some missing block
- 4% increased maximum Life
can't go wrong with that one. Just go full life e.g. with Fettle or use some hybrid notable like Gladiator's Fortitude
Leveling
With some gear leveling as SST is really fast.
You can just use the common leveling items such as:
- Tabula Rasa
- Blackheart Rings
- Lochtonial Gloves
- Goldrim Helmet
- Wanderlust Boots
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For Leveling i would prefer Splitting / Shattering Steel until 30.
Titcus Span will easily carry you to Blood Aqueduct.
At level 61 swap for Chernobog's Pillar. It costs nothing and with over 1k armour you will get into maps fast.
Not sure about leveling with this character for league start. You could try Shield Crush. Lycosidae / Kaltenhalt are good early game shields.