[3.25] Splitting Steel Gladiator - All Uniques, Cheap League Start, Explody Mapping

After reading your guide I was curious to try out the build, I'm still in doubt between this and another build. Waiting for the pob for 3.23 to test, very well organized your post, congrats.

3.23 League Start PoB Export

Hi Guys,

Honestly, PoB 3.23 update is taking too long and I can't see the export changing very much from what it currently is, so I'm going to post it right now and just update it whenever PoB itself is updated.

I figure some of you newbies out there could use the next few days to test this setup to see if it's up to your liking, and to practice leveling faster.

There's not much else to say about it, everything you need to know should be included...

And please make sure to read the "Notes" in detail!

3.23 Splitting Steel League Start PoB Export **Updated 12/5/23 4:20PM EST (added First & Second Kitava kills SSF gear examples)

I just tested this setup in 3.22 SSF and here's the gear I used for the second Kitava kill:

**Purity of Elem. wasn't active, just leveling it there.

This is how the setup looks doing Merciless Izaro and the first T1 Maps:

Youtube: 3.22 SSF League Start Test (Merciless Izaro + T1 Map)

Best of luck to all of you in 3.23!

"

corosou wrote:

3.23 League Start PoB Export

Hi Guys,

Honestly, PoB 3.23 update is taking too long and I can't see the export changing very much from what it currently is, so I'm going to post it right now and just update it whenever PoB itself is updated.

I figure some of you newbies out there could use the next few days to test this setup to see if it's up to your liking, and to practice leveling faster.

There's not much else to say about it, everything you need to know should be included...

And please make sure to read the "Notes" in detail!

3.23 Splitting Steel League Start PoB Export **Updated 12/4/23 2:45PM EST

Best of luck to all of you in 3.23!

Depending on the price, I tihnk Fury Valve could be a good early unique for the league start. I know right now it's crazy expensive but early league it's usually 5-10c, but for the 2 add proj and the overlap in AoEs it'd be worth it

EDIT: I made some slight changes that I will personally be running, this is just personal preference but sharing this just in case: https://pobb.in/R8Tp5rWlInEj

Changed: mark mastery, instead of taking Expert Hunter I go for Marked for Death, saving 1 point & allowing me to remove Culling Strike support. Instead I take Brutality & Main, as Chance to Bleed has a lower More multiplier
Also removed both Impale Mastery, we probably won't have the Call to Steel anymore (which is fucking nice to me)

Just allocated the Impale mastery for 10% chance at extra impale, when it procs it is very strong

Also this is very much a preference as well, but the Axe Mastery to destroy enemies you kill is super strong early on. I would recommend it while running the campaign when encountering porcupine mobs, it renders them harmless

Cheers!

"

dreais wrote:

Spoiler

Depending on the price, I tihnk Fury Valve could be a good early unique for the league start. I know right now it's crazy expensive but early league it's usually 5-10c, but for the 2 add proj and the overlap in AoEs it'd be worth it

EDIT: I made some slight changes that I will personally be running, this is just personal preference but sharing this just in case: https://pobb.in/R8Tp5rWlInEj

Changed: mark mastery, instead of taking Expert Hunter I go for Marked for Death, saving 1 point & allowing me to remove Culling Strike support. Instead I take Brutality & Main, as Chance to Bleed has a lower More multiplier
Also removed both Impale Mastery, we probably won't have the Call to Steel anymore (which is fucking nice to me)

Just allocated the Impale mastery for 10% chance at extra impale, when it procs it is very strong

Also this is very much a preference as well, but the Axe Mastery to destroy enemies you kill is super strong early on. I would recommend it while running the campaign when encountering porcupine mobs, it renders them harmless

Cheers!

Cool! Glad you're taking the build and making it your own; that's what the game is all about.

Fury Valve is fine, but it's gonna be tough to cover attribute reqs at League Start with a bunch of Uniques. Not to mention acquiring Carnage with +1 Curse is cheap/easy, while I doubt the same for Valve.

Regarding Mark Mastery, you say you want extra projectiles, but not sure if you realize more Mark Effect makes Sniper's Mark Split into more projectiles, and Culling can be fit in many different places. Plus it's not just about Culling bosses; I want its clear-speed on trash, combined with HoA and Punishment, more than I care about it saving me a few seconds on a boss.

Yes, Brutality looks better on paper, but now you don't have any lingering DoT from Bleeding or from Herald of Ash that can kill things off-screen as you move, nor the explosions, instead what will happen is, if you don't kill a mob outright from a Splitting hit, it won't ever die, unless you walk back to shoot it.

It's not just about raw numbers. HoA feels really good early on, and Brutality completely disables it. Raw DPS is something to worry about once you get to late Red Mapping and bosses start getting tougher. This is a League Start setup, and it's all about how it feels to play it; something that is very important for a new player just starting to learn a very tough game to get a good grasp on, so the more they can enjoy the build, the better they will do, and sadly Brutality just doesn't bring much fun to the table.

Impale Masteries will be addressed once PoB is updated for 3.23. What I didn't want was newbies trying to test this setup before 3.23 is out without picking up those Masteries.

The destroy mastery is fine, but you should have enough armour as a Champ to not have to worry about Porcupines early on. I just tested a toon in SSF and they weren't doing much damage at all. I want to be able to just Warlord's Mark twice to gain 50 Rage and then sustain it through Rage on Hit.

GL

"

corosou wrote:

Regarding Mark Mastery, you say you want extra projectiles, but not sure if you realize more Mark Effect makes Sniper's Mark Split into more projectiles, and Culling can be fit in many different places. Plus it's not just about Culling bosses; I want its clear-speed on trash, combined with HoA and Punishment, more than I care about it saving me a few seconds on a boss.

Yes, Brutality looks better on paper, but now you don't have any lingering DoT from Bleeding or from Herald of Ash that can kill things off-screen as you move, nor the explosions, instead what will happen is, if you don't kill a mob outright from a Splitting hit, it won't ever die, unless you walk back to shoot it.


GL

I did the maths and the mark on hit + the nodes only means 1 extra proj. You go to 79% of projectiles from Sniper's with the mark on hit and no nodes, and 115% with the nodes. So you just recoup what you've lost due to the support. This is minor, but I'd still prefer a reliable culling strike over a 1 projectile AoE, even outside the "raw" numbers it would help clearing early on.

As for Brutality, this is more of a playstyle preference I guess, I usually hate playing a hybrid of bleed + impale, I'll never leave enemies lingering, so you can take that as my own opinion. I prefer to just hold longer and make sure I kill enemies myself. I did test the HoA with a similar setup but I really didn't feel much of a difference personally. That said I'll gladly give it another go after your recommendation, so I'll keep you posted after league start :)

"

dreais wrote:

Spoiler

I did the maths and the mark on hit + the nodes only means 1 extra proj. You go to 79% of projectiles from Sniper's with the mark on hit and no nodes, and 115% with the nodes. So you just recoup what you've lost due to the support. This is minor, but I'd still prefer a reliable culling strike over a 1 projectile AoE, even outside the "raw" numbers it would help clearing early on.

As for Brutality, this is more of a playstyle preference I guess, I usually hate playing a hybrid of bleed + impale, I'll never leave enemies lingering, so you can take that as my own opinion. I prefer to just hold longer and make sure I kill enemies myself. I did test the HoA with a similar setup but I really didn't feel much of a difference personally. That said I'll gladly give it another go after your recommendation, so I'll keep you posted after league start :)

Sounds good yo! Def keep us posted...

Thinking about trying Splitting steel next league, but not sure if it's a good idea. Tried to level a char now in SSF, and it hasn't gone terribly well I gotta say.

One question tho, which I don't really understand. Why don't you use Perseverance belt? Looks like you have it on some personal chars, but not in the PoBs I checked out. How come?

"

Pangaearocks wrote:

Spoiler

Thinking about trying Splitting steel next league, but not sure if it's a good idea. Tried to level a char now in SSF, and it hasn't gone terribly well I gotta say.

One question tho, which I don't really understand. Why don't you use Perseverance belt? Looks like you have it on some personal chars, but not in the PoBs I checked out. How come?

If you're new to the game, you really need to stick to the guide.

Why are you still leveling Double Strike? And where is your Vitality? I also didn't call you to grab Grace, nor Dread Banner. We need the Accuracy from War Banner, not more Chance to Impale from Dread.

You also didn't follow the pathing order and should already have switched to a 2H axe.

Perseverance is great, but also a very popular item and most likely going to be rather expensive at League Start. Belt of the Deceiver is gonna cost 1c, has Resistances, Intimidate and less Crit damage taken. Thrillsteel is also 1c.

GL

EDIT: Forgot to mention and important reason I don't go for Perseverance; it can get very expensive to buy the Corruptions I want on a Helmet, while a nicely double-corrupted Thrillsteel can be very cheap.

I'm guessing this one is gonna be pretty good in this league. Really well done.

PoB got updated recently. Any news on the updated PoB link as well?

EDIT: Really curious about which masteries you think will be best as we don't have Call of Steel anymore. It's been some time since I last played anything with Impale.

"

corosou wrote:

If you're new to the game, you really need to stick to the guide.

Why are you still leveling Double Strike? And where is your Vitality? I also didn't call you to grab Grace, nor Dread Banner. We need the Accuracy from War Banner, not more Chance to Impale from Dread.

You also didn't follow the pathing order and should already have switched to a 2H axe.

Perseverance is great, but also a very popular item and most likely going to be rather expensive at League Start. Belt of the Deceiver is gonna cost 1c, has Resistances, Intimidate and less Crit damage taken. Thrillsteel is also 1c.

GL

EDIT: Forgot to mention and important reason I don't go for Perseverance; it can get very expensive to buy the Corruptions I want on a Helmet, while a nicely double-corrupted Thrillsteel can be very cheap.

Didn't try to copy this guide, I went my own way, heh. Don't think it makes sense to base a starter on (double) corrupts and whatnot, and wanted to eventually path up to Charisma.

So feel free to laugh at my efforts I guess.

In any case, after very sloooowly killing the first Kitava, think I'll have to abandon this Splitting Steel idea. Maybe it's awesome in end game with lots of good gear, Nimis and whatnot, but this simply wasn't fun. Felt like I hit with wet paper. This was the only SS guide I found, so that's why I posted here in the first place. Back to not knowing what to start with now lol. Maybe I'll revisit this idea, but don't think I dare to start with it.