[3.2] Bobby's Lacerate Bleed Gladiator [Budget Friendly | HC Viable | TANKY] UPDATED!

Intro:

UPDATE: This build still absolutely works in 3.2. In fact, it quite literally got 25% better, as Gratuitous Violence now gives "25% MORE damage with bleeding"! Everything is the same. Carry on!

Hey guys, Bobby Googus here with a forum guide for my Lacerate Bleed Gladiator. This has been a phenomenal league-starter character, and is currently running T14-15 rare corrupted maps with no issues whatsoever.

UPDATE: This build was so hipster that it was featured in a LiftingNerdBro hipster builds video! Link is in the video section below. (2/1/2018) I've also done a Final Thoughts video on this character and have taken him out of budget mode and into high-end endgame nonsense with better gear options, as well as some of my thoughts on the character. Link will be in the Videos section below. I'll also add an "Updated Gear" section so you can see what I ended up doing with the character.

Note that I usually don't make forum guides. I usually just stick to doing YouTube build guides. I'm excited to get feedback from you all. So that being said, if there are errors in the layout of this build guide, please don't hate me, it's been a long time since I've formatted a post here!



Pros/Cons:
Pros:
+ Fast trash clear speed thanks to bleed explosions.
+ Safe trash clearing, as Lacerate has a good amount of range attached to it.
+ Does not require any expensive items to get going.
+ Sword & Board for extra tankiness.
+ No auras are really necessary, we only run a Blasphemy setup.
+ Essentially reflect-proof, as our damage is backloaded. We can even run Bleed Avoidance maps.
+ Completely obliterates Blue packs, Rares, Abyss, & Bloodlines packs.
+ Perfect Form = Free AA = tanky goodness.
+ We don't care about the Vaal Pact nerf at all.
+ Can run EVERY map mod. I don't even ID rare maps anymore.
+ Mind over Matter, a 5.5K life pool, a shield, a Rumi's, and the Gladiator spell block makes us incredibly tanky.
+ No one plays Lacerate so you'll be a special snowflake (read: hipster).

Cons:
- There are definitely faster builds. It isn't slow, it just isn't top-tier in terms of speed.
- Occasionally bossfights can be slow (depending on map mods and what boss it is).
- That's honestly about all I can come up with.


Offensive Mechanics:
• Lacerate ranged melee attacks.
• Lacerate can overlap (double bleeds).
• Eight bleeds.
• Enemies explode on death, dealing 10% of their max life as AoE damage.
• 100% chance to bleed.
• 100% change to hit.

Defensive Mechanics:
Update: I've added some more expensive gearing options below to expand upon the already tanky gladiator nonsense. At this point, I'm runnning a 6L Perfect Form, which lets me run an Arctic Armour buff without the mana reservation, as well as giving us Phase Acrobatics. This isn't necessary if what you're after is a budget league starter character, I just wanted to mention it.
• Large life pool.
• Mind over Matter damage buffer.
• Rumi's Concoction.
• Reflect proof.
• Spell block (46%, 72% with Rumi's).
• Some evade because why not?

Videos:

Skill Tree - Bandits - Ascendancy:

Gems/Links:

Gear:

Mechanics/FAQ:

Leveling a Lacerate Character:


Passive Tree:

Well, that's about it! I hope this at least helps point you in the right direction. Lacerate is an extremely satisfying skill to play. It melts trash packs, has a good feel to it, and the bleed explosion from the Gladiator sounds cool. Give it a shot and let me know what you think!
Thanks guys.

Very nice guide dude, thank you.
I was just trying my lacerate build but struggling to heal, did you only rely on potion for recover?
I am kinda new to poe, sorry if i asked a too simple question.

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gn01145600 wrote:

Very nice guide dude, thank you.
I was just trying my lacerate build but struggling to heal, did you only rely on potion for recover?
I am kinda new to poe, sorry if i asked a too simple question.

Thanks for the compliment! Your question is fine, no worries there. So I'm relying on a variety of things- I have a shield and great block chance, so I might block the hit. I have Mind over Matter, so if I do take a hit, 30% of that gets sent to my mana pool, we have about 300 life regen- which helps once we do get it, and I have two life flasks- one is an instant recovery flask, the other is a slower but bigger heal. Also, remember that Lacerate has some decent range attached to it, so playing smart and baiting enemies to attack then moving out of the way is always a good idea. I'll also note that this build does have a small amount of life leech, but since we're a bleed build, we don't do much upfront damage, and thus the leech doesn't heal for a very significant amount (it also heals us slowly, it acts more as extra regen).

very nice build, currently lvl 40 but enjoying it. What are the priority stats on Jewels that I should be looking for? Life%/Axe Physical/Bleed%?

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qawsican wrote:

very nice build, currently lvl 40 but enjoying it. What are the priority stats on Jewels that I should be looking for? Life%/Axe Physical/Bleed%?

Thanks! Yes, you're spot on for the Jewel priorities. You can also fill some resistances as well with jewels while you're leveling.

No Pantheons listed yet.


Anything goes or what? :D

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Sovekop wrote:

No Pantheons listed yet.


Anything goes or what? :D

Honestly I usually don't list Pantheons because I switch them a lot depending on the content I'm currently running. Physical damage reduction works well though.

Going to give this build a go!

Can i build a crit version of this build?

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Tashn wrote:

Can i build a crit version of this build?

I think you could, yes. I'd go with an Assassin most likely; that'd better help you focus on the crit side of things. I'd still try to make my way down to the duelist area of the tree if possible, as there is very good bleed damage down there. Let me know how it turns out if you end up doing it, I'd love to hear how well it performs.