[2.2] Gladiator Cleave/Dual Strike

This build won't work until such time as cleave/dual wield counts as hitting with both weapons instead of applying damage from both weapons but only counting as a MH hit.

This is my first formal guide that I've made. It's by no means optimized yet and will be changing over the course of the Perandus league. If you have suggestions as to content or presentation, please let me know.

This character is centered around the Gladiator Ascendancy talents Outmatch and Outlast, Gratuitous Violence and Blood in the Eyes. We use cleave and dual strike since these abilities use both weapons every attack, meaning we get the Outmatch and Outlast frenzy/endurance generation chance on every kill. We use either piercing swords or unique items to optimize chance to apply bleeds to enemies, which in turn provides a significant damage boost.

Applying Bleeds

Swords Tree

Axes Tree

Weapons

Bandits

Gem Links

1. Jack, the Axe is kinda lousy. Probably better off just going with sword passives and the natural bleed chance

2. This one is far more painful to read, but I had the same idea as you with Outmatch and Outlast, but neither Cleave nor Dual Strike will give both charges. They give Frenzy only. I don't have the source, but Mark_GGG made a post somewhere explaining that because of technology limitations, they both count as main hand only attacks. Since there is no alternating involved they're actually worse than other attacks for this talent because they CANNOT generate the endurance Charges - Frenzy Charges only.

Well that really sucks.

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HeimdallsWrath wrote:

1. Jack, the Axe is kinda lousy. Probably better off just going with sword passives and the natural bleed chance

2. This one is far more painful to read, but I had the same idea as you with Outmatch and Outlast, but neither Cleave nor Dual Strike will give both charges. They give Frenzy only. I don't have the source, but Mark_GGG made a post somewhere explaining that because of technology limitations, they both count as main hand only attacks. Since there is no alternating involved they're actually worse than other attacks for this talent because they CANNOT generate the endurance Charges - Frenzy Charges only.

i've read the quote about charge generating too, it's here somewhere in the duelist section i think (it says that cleave/dual count as main hand attacks).

That really does suck. I mean the damn image for the gladiator is friggin DW...I've always been a ranged bow guy, but I really loved the frenzy/endurance charge node...I'm no PoE super expert, but it seems like that pretty much kills building any type of DW build around gladiator...GGG seriously needs to fix.

EDIT - it even says on the wiki that both DS and Sweep alternate MH/OH, so why doesn't this work?

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GRANDLarsony wrote:

That really does suck. I mean the damn image for the gladiator is friggin DW...I've always been a ranged bow guy, but I really loved the frenzy/endurance charge node...I'm no PoE super expert, but it seems like that pretty much kills building any type of DW build around gladiator...GGG seriously needs to fix.

EDIT - it even says on the wiki that both DS and Sweep alternate MH/OH, so why doesn't this work?

It's because of how those skills are coded. If I recall correctly, with Dual Strike and Cleave, the damage from your offhand is just added to your main hand's damage and you attack with your main hand. Way way back, it didn't really matter if it was your main hand or your off hand doing the damage mechanically, so how the skill functioned was 'good enough' for skill interactions at the time.

Use Lightning Strike instead of Dual Strike. It clears mobs faster and generates the charges just fine. When built correctly it melts everything.

Just so everyone knows, Cleave and Dual Strike BOTH give endurance charges and frenzy charges, sometimes simultaneously. Tested myself. Cheers

i still prefer "Gratuitous Violence" than the frenzy-endurance node. I like the explosion(great aoe for mapping) and also the extra damage on bleeding(no need for bloodlust gem).