Mathil's Shield Charge FaceBreaker - The... Pinball?

Head on over to twitch.tv/mathil1 for live stream goodness and to have any questions answered that weren't covered here.

Brief:
Shield Charge received an overhaul in 2.3.0 which changed the skill to be an area based attack while charging and at the destination of the charge. These changes essentially turned it into a Tier 1 clearing skill and one of the strongest melee skills available.

Scaling that AoE with Slayer Ascendancies and Facebreaker's Martial Artistry gives us some extreme clearspeed on a fairly easy to build and cheap early game setup. There are going to be plenty of ways to build and scale Shield Charge (crit ele, crit phys, poison, crit FB versions) but Facebreaker non crit is very easy and will clear everything you need it to all the way into endgame mapping.

Video first showcasing Shield Charge in the first few days of the league.

Video with some extra highlights taking on Ghosted Atziri and speed Gorging.

Video for some build conclusions in endgame and a bit of discussion about the nerf.


Ascendancy Discussion
Shield Charge can and will be played by a lot of Ascendancies including: Slayer, Berserker, Juggernaut, Gladiator, Champion, Raider, Assassin, Trickster, Elementalist and Inquisitor. However for THIS build in particular I think your strongest 2 choices are Slayer and Berserker.

Slayer
As a Slayer for this build you will gain:
- nearly permanent Onslaught
- 20% culling strike
- 50% reduced reflected phys damage (huge for Abyssus)
- 20% more damage if killed recently
- 40% increased area to your Shield Charge
- 10% attack speed
The last 2 points if you get 8 would go towards Endless Hunger and potentially removed Impact to also get Brutal Fervour. Brutal Fervour seems like it would give near instant life leech by that point so it may be worth losing 20% of our area scaling for, when completing the end game Lab and getting 8 points.

Berserker
As a Berserker for this build you will gain:
- 40% more damage
- 1% permanent mana and life leech
- 2% mana and life leech while clearing fast (most of the time)
- 12% attack speed & 48% increased physical damage
- Some movement/attack speed gains based on recent situations
Berserker may struggle to take on reflect quite a bit more and while the damage scaling is great I would say that damage isn't much of an issue on Slayer anyway so I'd rather scale area more and go Slayer.




Passive Tree Discussion: 2.3 Slayer Passive Tree - 112 points
- Fairly straight forward, get life and physical damage all over
- Facebreakers require you to scale Melee, Physical and Area damage. Melee/Physical with one hand melee weapon nodes do not work.
- Customizable to get more defensive nodes if needed, like life regen, armor, block, shield defense, etc.
- Currently at 207% life without jewels
- Getting Int is hard for the build so take Ancestral Knowledge for 30 int if need be
- There's only really 1 path you can follow so far leveling it should be obvious
- If you cannot get mana leech on gear, travel 3 points to the right of Golem's Blood below duelist and take .4% mana leech




Facebreaker Scaling:

Facebreakers have a huge increased damage multiplier for unarmed attacks. This means you don't wear a weapon and gain up to 800% increased damage. Without a weapon however you have no physical damage so to make use of them you must stack add x-x physical damage. Since you start with a base of 0, every point counts for a lot so uniques like Abyssus, Meginords and Great Old One's Ward can increase your damage dramatically. Getting physical damage on rings and amulet is also important.





Gear:

Prophecy Sc Character - MathilSlays


Dps Stats


Offensive stats at level 91 with a 5L:


Defensive stats at level 91:



Gear Discussion:

Weapon - We don't use one in this build.

Helm - Abyssus/Bringer of Rain - You have 2 choices. Abyssus is the majority of your damage on this build so it's extremely worth trying to fit in. If you really really don't want to build around it and take 40% inc phys damage then you can wear a Bringer of Rain which is half the damage but also an easy 6 link. I strongly recommend Abyssus.

Chest - Anything you want. Lightning Coil or Rare Armor Chest is recommended - I went with a strong rare Astral Plate as it fills out most of my armor, resists and life for this build allowing me more flexibility in the rest of my gear. A Lightning Coil would be stronger defensively but would stress everything else for way more resists.

Boots - Rare Boots - High movement speed, life and triple resists is ideal. Boot slot is going to be one of your main sources of resists for the build so try get at least 2 strong resists on your boots (40+). Movement speed effects the speed of your shield charge as well so try to make it out.

Gloves - Facebreakers - Your only option for this build. Try to get 750% or higher.

Belt - Rare leather belt or Meginords - Meginords is easily your highest damage option but at 5-15 it isn't entirely crucial. If you really need resists then a strong leather belt can be used too.

Rings - Rare rings - Getting max physical rolls and high life is what is most important on these slots as well as phys mana leech to save a few passive points. Resists too are great but those can be filled out elsewhere ideally. Int/Dext is also a bonus.

Amulet -

Rare Int/Dext Amulet - Once again you're aiming for top physical rolls and life. Anything else is a bonus. Int, dext, resists.

Shield - Great Old One's Ward or Rare Armor Shield - The choice is largely yours. After completing the rest of my gear and getting a strong chest piece I felt I could afford to drop my armor shield in favour of more dps from Great Old One's Ward.


Jewels:



What you're looking for in jewels:
- Melee Damage
- Physical Damage
- Melee Damage while wielding a shield
- Max life %
- Area Damage
- Attack speed
- Attack speed with shields







Gems & Links:

6L ideal chest setup - Shield Charge + Melee Physical Damage + Increased Area + Fortify + Faster Attacks + Added Fire Damage (Swap in Conc effect for boss fights)

3L Shield - Lightning Golem + Blood Rage + Herald of Ash

Helm - Ancestral Warchief + Melee Physical Damage + Conc Effect + Faster Attacks

Boots - Cast When Damage Taken + Vaal Haste + Increased Duration + Immortal Call (Vaal haste doesnt work with CWDT, you still use it yourself)

Gloves - Hatred, Blasphemy, Vulnerability, Enduring Cry (Use Hatred or Blasphemy, whenever you want and however you want, you can't use all 3 auras however)



Bandits - 40 Life (Oak)--- 8 Attack Speed (Kraityn) --- Frenzy Charge (Kraityn)


Other Notes:

- Your single target damage largely comes from Ancestral Warchief with his Conc effect setup so make sure to have him 4 linked and use him on boss fights.

- Reflect is not an issue for phys or ele. You can run ele reflect maps but phys reflect is not recommended as it will still likely kill you.

- What flasks you use is up to you but I would recommend a stibnite, basalt, taste of hate and Atziri promise if you can get all those, with an instant life flask on standby.

- What golem you choose basically makes no difference. I took lightning for the added attack speed to help shield charge travel faster.

- Your aura setup is up to you. I usually run Herald of Ash + Vulnerability to leave a large amount of unreserved mana for comfort. I'll use hatred for any curse immune maps or phys resistant maps.

First :D

Build is SOOOO much fun! XD

building mine right now. ty!!! keep up the good work bro

where is link for tree?

Do you think that gladiator with max blocks will be much worst then slayer ? i want use bringer of the rain and play HC. Can you help my choose between gladiator and slayer on hc?
I think if damage of 5 link abysus in bigger then 6 link bringer of th rain?
Thank you

could you aso take
http://pathofexile.gamepedia.com/Chernobog%27s_Pillar

this shield ?

Chernobog's Pillar
Ebony Tower Shield

Adds (7–15 to 10–25) Fire Damage to Attacks
(120 to 150)% increased Armour
+(35 to 50)% to Fire Resistance
25% of Physical Damage Converted to Fire Damage
10% chance to Curse Enemies with Enfeeble on Hit


sounds not to bad imo but i could be totally wrong

I saw shield charge already got an AoE nerf today, the 20% reduction affect the build really?

nm saw your post on the youtube comments that it didnt really change the build. great guide ty!

10 points to Mathil for this great build!

What's the difference between Slayer and Champion for this build, ignoring Conqueror and Worthy Foe from Champion, in terms of endgame?