[Expedition] PoE 3.15 Duelist Cyclone Champion Starter Build

This PoE 3.15 Duelist Cyclone Champion Starter build is very easy to make and a good build to start with if you are new to the game, making a new character or its league start. But that does not mean you will completely destroy endgame bosses within a few days of playing. It will require some investments to easily kill most Endgame bosses.

Quick Jump

Pros & Cons

Skill Tree

Ascendancy: Master of Metal->Conqueror->Worthy Foe->Unstoppable Hero (Please note that the 3.13 update)

Pantheon

Major

Soul of Solaris - for single target/bossing. %Physical Damage Reduction helps to balance out the Abyssus.

Soul of Lunaris - for mapping. Extra clear speed and defenses with %Physical Damage reduction and %Movement Speed.

Minor

Soul of Gruthkul mainly for the %Physical Damage Reduction. Otherwise Soul of Shakari for defenses against Chaos Damage and Poison. Very useful for Al-Hezmin maps/bossfight.

Bandit

KILL ALL for 2 Skill Points

or

Save Alira for Resists + Critical Strike Multiplier(damage)

Passive Tree & PoB

Lv 12 - Lv 22 - Lv 32 - Lv 40 - Lv 45 - Lv 50 - Lv 54 - Lv 60 - Lv 64 - Lv 68 - Lv 68 +

https://pastebin.com/vZkbqHk8

Gems Setup

Vaal Cyclone isn't specifically needed. A Normal 20/20 Cyclone is perfect as well!

5 Link

Cyclone - Impale - Infused Channelling Support - Fortify Support - Brutality Support

6 Link  + Melee Physical Damage Support

Auras

Dread Banner, Blood and Sand, Precision

Keep Precision at Level 4. We will use it at level 4 later when we acquire more money and go for the Expensive Gem setup.

Auras #2

Flesh and Stone, Maim, Herald of Purity

Make sure Flesh and Stone-Maim is linked.

Movement Skills

Blood Magic - Faster Attacks - Whirling Blades

4-Link Totem for Extra Single Target DPS

Ancestral Warchief - Culling Strike - Melee Physical Damage - Brutality Support

Use Vaal Ancestral Warchief to help with Map Clearing. Specially useful for clearing inside the Delirium.

Cast When Damage Taken Setup

CWDT - Molten Shell

Utility

Blood Rage

You want to level Blood Rage to level 20 and 20% Quality. It doesn't show here yet but I will fix that when I can.

Gear Setup

IMPORTANT This Build struggle to get enough Intelligence. If you can you should try to pair any Rare items here with Intelligence. I myself usually try to squeeze in some Intelligence on my belt or boots perhaps. If you have a hard time finding Intelligence on gear then skill +30 Intelligence nodes in your skill tree in the meanwhile.

Also if you are playing the "Expensive/Difficult to gear Version" you will struggle with Dexterity as we no longer go to the right side of the skill tree and pick up Dexterity nodes along the way. You need to try and get Dexterity on gear as well! If you have a hard time finding Int/Dex on gear then skill +30 Int/Dex nodes in your skill tree in the meanwhile.

Cheap or Expensive The Wasp Nest is actually really good for DPS and extremely cheap. If you want to try out this build or wanna use it as a league starter then the Wasp Nest is still very viable. I payed 3 exalts for my Rare Claw and only gained from 4.5m DPS to 5m DPS. Which isn't that much for such an expensive weapon.

Claw
Quality: +42%
Physical Damage: 139-312
Critical Strike Chance: 6.00%
Attacks per Second: 1.82
Weapon Range: 11
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+46 Life gained for each Enemy hit by Attacks
190% increased Physical Damage
+26% to Global Critical Strike Multiplier
+32 to Accuracy Rating
Can have up to 3 Crafted Modifiers
Adds 17 to 29 Physical Damage
14% increased Attack Speed
+13% to Quality

If you wanna push it though, a high pDPS Rare Claw is what you are looking for as your main weapon. High pDPS means physical damage per second... AKA a weapon that deals high amounts of damage. Mine has 410pDPS 6% Critical Strike Chance and 1.82 Attacks Per Second. Try to get something similar or even better if you can.

Cheap Bloodseeker Hellion's Paw is what gives us our instant life leech and provides a decent amount of damage as well with a very cheap item. This makes it great as a league starting item and even end game. 

Body Armour

+40 to Strength
+14 to Evasion Rating
46% increased Armour and Evasion
+134 to maximum Life
10% increased maximum Life
+45% to Cold Resistance
+20% to Fire and Lightning Resistances

Medium Prize or Expensive This Rare armour is a bit overkill as it has extremely high Life and Resists. But yeah you get the point.

Use Either a 6-Linked Rare Armour with Life & Resists as a cheaper option.

A medium prized option is a Belly of the Beast, it gives a good amount of HP to increase our health pool which is always good and it helps balance resists decently.

IMPORTANT If you have more money to spend then Socketed Attacks have -15 Total Mana Cost modifier is a nice Quality of Life. It isn't 100% needed to play this Build. Mana Leech/-3 Channeling Cost on Jewellery works fine! The -15 Armour allows for more smooth gameplay, higher DPS because we can craft better things on Jewellery and allows for the Pride Gem setup!

Helmet

Medium Price We have 3 different options for helmets this League.

Starkonja's is CHEAP and pretty good because it gives us Dexterity to help with our Stat Requirements. It also provides a nice damage boost and is pretty damn good defensively as it adds a good amount of evasion and Life.

Devoto's Devotion is a tad more expensive but is very good overall. It also gives Dexterity to help with our Stat Requirements, a decent amount of damage with the High Attack Speed. Both Armour and Evasion and the 2 best things...Chaos Resistance and MOVEMENT SPEED! This is a very good Helmet for overall Map Clearing as the Movement Speed makes us go much faster with Cyclone.

Abyssus is the top tier helmet for overall damage on almost any Physical Build. The high Flat Physical Damage it adds along with the Critical Strike Multiplier is insane. The Abyssus can literally give a MILLION DPS itself endgame when we have overall good gear to scale this with. It also gives All Stats to help us with Stat Requirements and also a decent amount of Armour. But it also has its obvious flaws with the %Increased Physical Damage Taken mod. So therefor you want a low %Increased Phys Dmg Taken as possible, preferably 40%.

Amulet

Allocates Claws of the Hawk
+30 to Strength
Adds 10 to 21 Physical Damage to Attacks
+31 to maximum Energy Shield
+58 to maximum Life
+9% to all Elemental Resistances
+42% to Lightning Resistance
+14% to Fire and Cold Resistances

Medium price Life & Resists amulet mainly and if you can, physical damage to attacks or critical strike multiplier will add lots of damage to this build.

ANNOINT Annointing "Claws of the Hawk" (Violet, Black, Opalscent) is pretty cheap and gives a LARGE damage increase and gives a chance to Blind Enemies on Critical Strikes to give us another defensive layer. 

Ring

Adds 3 to 14 Physical Damage to Attacks
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Adds 7 to 11 Physical Damage to Attacks
Regenerate 12.6 Life per second
+33 to maximum Mana
+38% to Lightning Resistance
+42 to maximum Life

Medium Price or Expensive Here you can see two different Steel Rings that each of them has an extra damage mod, resists and life! These aren't too expensive but still really great!

Steel Ring's is a great Base Ring for this Build. It adds so much Physical Damage to Attacks and if you can have any other damage on your rings then thats great too! For example, More Physical Damage to Attacks, Attack Speed, Global Critical Strike Multiplier. Also if you need get some Resists and get LIFE!

Gloves

20% increased Melee Damage
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9% increased Attack Speed
+87 to maximum Life
+43% to Lightning Resistance
+2 Life gained for each Enemy hit by your Attacks
Adds 5 to 7 Physical Damage to Attacks

Medium Price Mainly what you are looking for are Spiked Gloves with Life, Resists and either some flat physical damage to attacks or Attack speed. I have both because I managed to find a good pair that had an open prexif to craft on.

Belt

Medium Price I use the belt slot to increase my Intelligence as much as possible. I spam used Spite Essences til I had a good enough belt that I can use. Life, Resists and that high Intelligence is what you want.

Boots

69% increased Armour and Energy Shield
+89 to maximum Life
+33% to Fire Resistance
+26% to Lightning Resistance
30% increased Movement Speed
5% chance to Dodge Attack Hits
+33% to Cold Resistance

Medium Price Life, Resists and Movement Speed boots is fine.

Flasks

80% increased Critical Strike Chance during Flask Effect

A FLASK WITH CRITICAL STRIKE CHANCE DURING FLASK EFFECT IS EXTREMELY GOOD FOR DPS! It actually increased my DPS by 400k! If you want this Craft get a Prefix only on the Flask and ask me on Stream for the craft. I have a free Crafting Service with almost every Craft in the game.

Other than that I suggest Anti Bleed, Anti Freeze and perhaps Anti Burn/Anti Shock. It's important to have 1 Diamond Flask (Your Critical Strike Chance is Lucky) and I would strongly suggest a Basalt Flask as well for more defenses.

15% additional Physical Damage Reduction
20% of Melee Physical Damage taken reflected to Attacker

Also the Lion's Roar gives an annoying Knockback but it is EXTREMELY good for DPS as well!

Jewels

Anything with %Life, Critical Strike Chance, Critical Strike Multiplier and Attack Speed will be your best friend in jewels.

Cluster Jewel

Best -> Worst

Large Cluster Jewel Nodes

Wind Up -> Deadly Repartee -> Martial Prowess/Smite the Weak -> Combat Rhytm -> Iron Breaker -> Fuel The Fight -> Master the Fundamentals

Medium Cluster Jewel Nodes

IMPORTANT I suggest getting 1 Enduring Focus and then do what ever you want with the rest.

Also remember that if you don't have a Medium Cluster Jewel to use but you have the Jewel Socket skilled in your skill tree you can use normal Jewels in that Socket as well.

Enduring Focus -> Precise Focus -> Rapid Infusion -> Provocateur -> Basics of Pain -> Precise Commander -> Quick Getaway -> Pressure Points

Small Cluster Jewel Nodes

Also remember that if you don't have a Small Cluster Jewel to use but you have the Jewel Socket skilled in your skill tree you can use normal Jewels in that Socket as well.

For the Small Jewel Nodes its mostly worth it to just use a Normal Jewel or specifically Fettle if you want more HP. But a Normal Jewel can give both Life and Damage without using an extra Skill Point as well.

Fettle/Normal Jewel -> Natural Vigor -> Wall of Muscle

Leveling

All these Gems listed here are "Level 1" But you wanna keep leveling your Gems during the acts. Because higher leveled gems adds more damage.

Damage Skills

Level 1 Setup: Frost Blades - Chance to Bleed - Onslaught

Level 4 Setup: Frost Blades - Ancestral Call - Onslaught

Level 8 Setup: Frost Blades - Ancestral Call -  Onslaught

Once you hit Level 28 you have the choice to either use Bladestorm Setup if you are leveling with Swords. Or you can use the Cyclone Setup already. But I must say that Cyclone doesn't really work too well until around Level 40 when we have our first Ascendancy Skill Points and can use better Gems.

IMPORTANT: Leveling with Bladestorm requires only Swords or Axes as your WEAPONS. You can not swap to Claws and still use Bladestorm as your Damage Skill. If you wish to swap to Claws then use the Cyclone Setup instead.

Level 28 Bladestorm Setup 3 Red 1 Green: Bladestorm - Rage Support - Melee Physical Damage - Close Combat

Level 28 Bladestorm Setup 2 Red 2 Green: Bladestorm - Rage Support - Close Combat - Impale

If you swap over to Cyclone make sure to have #4 Skill Tree finished for the Forceful Skewering Impale nodes.

Level 40 Cyclone: Cyclone - Impale - Fortify - Melee Physical Damage

Movement Skills

Dash, Leap Slam - Faster Attacks

Important to keep in mind is that Leap Slam requires Swords/Axes/Maces for it to work. If you swap over to using Claws at any point. You will need to use Dash or Whirling Blades

Link Leap Slam with Faster Attacks to Leap Slam quicker at the expense of Mana Cost.

Whirling Blades - Faster Attacks

Important to keep in mind is that Whirling Blades requires Daggers/Claws/One Handed Swords for it to work.

Link Whirling Blades with Faster Attacks to Whirling Blades quicker at the expense of Mana Cost.

Auras

Precision, Dread Banner, Blood and Sand, Herald of Purity, Flesh and Stone, Maim

It is important that you stop leveling Precision at Level 4. We will use a level 4 Precision for our HIGH-ENDGAME setup. To stop Leveling a Gem you right click the Gem on the right side once it is ready to level up instead of Left Clicking as you usually do to level up a Gem.

Flesh and Stone should be linked with Maim. It makes it so when you use Sand Stance you also Maim enemies.

Also when you use Blood and Sand & or Flesh and Stone. You can alternate between Blood and Sand Stance. I suggest Sand Stance for clearing packs of mobs and Blood Stance for Single Target/Bosses.

Other Utility Skills

Blood Rage, Ancestral Protector

PRE-ENDGAME 5-Links

5 Link Bladestorm: Bladestorm - Rage Support - Melee Physical Damage - Impale - Fortify

5 Link Cyclone: Cyclone - Brutality - Melee Physical Damage - Impale - Fortify

or swap out Melee Physical for Pulverize

If you want more AoE/Map Clear. It's a DPS loss but Pulverise makes our Cyclone much bigger which can feel really nice for map clearing.

6-Link with Tabula

Frost Blades Level 1-28:

WRITE HERE - NOT DONE YET

Bladestorm Level 28-68:

WRITE HERE - NOT DONE YET

Cyclone 28-68:

WRITE HERE NOT DONE YET

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