Ultimate Bleed Bow Gladiator Build Guide (PoE Expedition 3.15)
Introduction
The Bleed Bow Gladiator has become a community favorite and a powerhouse that can function at any level of gear. Gladiator is the perfect Ascendancy to facilitate this damage over time focused character, providing huge amounts of innate bleed chance, damage, and defense. All of this combines to make a character that is a capable all-rounder, with devastating single target damage and clear.
If you haven’t played a bleed character before, virtually all of the damage comes from the bleed itself. We use tools like 
Ensnaring Arrow to ensure that we can take full advantage of this effect in any situation. This build can also make incredible use of some of those end-game influenced items, which gives you practically infinite room to optimize, craft, and upgrade.
3.14 Changes to this Build
Notable changes to this build in Ultimatum:
- Gratuitous Violence: No longer grants 20% more Damage with Bleeding. Now grants 20% more Physical Damage over Time.
- The Elder-influenced Weapon modifier that grants 60% chance for Bleeding inflicted with this Weapon to deal 100% more Damage has been removed. In its place, Elder-influenced Weapons can now roll a new Local Bleeding Damage over Time Multiplier modifier.
- The Warlord-influenced modifier that granted increased Damage with Bleeding has been removed. A new modifier that grants Physical Damage over Time has been added in its place.
3.15 Changes
Nothing significant, we mainly just lost damage across the board as most builds did.
Build Assessment
Pros
+ Exceptional single target capability
+ Well rounded defenses and corpse removal from bleed explosion
+ Works on any level of budget and very SSF capable
+ Clear matches up well with top tier clear builds
Cons
– End game gear is specific and expensive or requires crafting knowledge
– Can’t deal with Physical Reflect
Path of Building
Path of Building for this build is available here.
Included is the recommended set of mid-game gear, a full skill tree, and all the gem links needed to get the build to tick.
We use the Path of Building Community Fork for all of our builds, which is highly recommended. If you are encountering errors importing the build, please ensure you are using the Community Fork.
Furty’s Character from 3.13 Ritual League
Click here to refer to with Furty’s Ultimate Bleed Bow Gladiator in 3.13 Ritual League.
Playstyle and Build Mechanics
This Bleed Bow Gladiator uses a bow — the name is a dead giveaway — to apply lethal bleeds using 
Puncture and 
Rain of Arrows. Anyone who favors big and juicy damage over time effects is going to have an absolute riot with this style of ranged assassin. Very few things feel as satisfying as applying an eviscerating bleed to a beefy boss and watching its health drain smoothly down in a couple of seconds as you safely kite.
Enemies pop with a satisfying splatter via our Ascendancy, which sounds sweet and doubles as a defensive layer that prevents corpse reanimation or detonation. The build has a lot of malleability and most of your utility links can be adjusted to suit player taste. No matter how you configure your character, however, you’re always left with a reasonably tanky ranged reaper that can eviscerate virtually all available content without issue.
Videos
Passive Skill Tree
This is our recommended end-game skill tree for our Ultimate Bleed Bow Gladiator.
For more details on the Passive Tree, skill acquisition order, and more, be sure to check out the Passive Skill Tree page for in-depth information.
Passive Skill Tree and Gem Links
Gems
We go over all of the gem links this build uses in the end-game on our Gem Link page.
Ascendancy, Bandits, and Pantheon Powers
Our Ascendancy, Bandit, and Pantheon Power page goes into detail about all the choices you need to make in these regards.
Ascendancy, Bandits, Pantheons Page
Gear Summary / TL;DR
These items strike a balance between power and cost-effectiveness. If you want to explore more options for Gear (both budget and high-end), Flasks, or get more information on alternatives and specialty items, please ensure you read the Gear, Jewels, and Flasks page thoroughly.
Our recommendation:
| Item Slot | Item Name |
| Head | Rare Evasion Helmet or  Assailum — Life/Resistances/Intelligence |
| Amulet | Rare Amulet ( Agate Amulet preferred) — Life/Physical Damage/DoT Multiplier |
| Chest | Rare  Assassin's Garb — Life/Resistances/Evasion |
| Gloves | Rare  Slink Gloves — Life/Resistances |
| Boots | Rare Boots — Life/Movement Speed/Resistances |
| Belt |  Ryslatha's Coil |
| Rings | Rare  Steel Rings |
| Weapon | Rare Bleed Bow |
For in-depth recommendations for gear, flasks, jewels, and crafting advice be sure to read our Gear, Jewels, and Flasks page.
Gear, Jewels, and FlasksLeveling
As a reminder, we have several guides to help you level up a character.
- Our step-by-step leveling walkthrough, which allows even more experienced players to save time and speed through the leveling process.
- Our guide to Unique Items for leveling, which helps you gear up your characters for the leveling process.
- Our beginner leveling guide, which answers many of the questions new players might have and will set you on the right path.
Gem Progression
Using 
Tabula Rasa will allow you to have 6-Link gem setups early on, which is why we show such examples below. If you cannot get Tabula Rasa (or another item with a 6-Link), then simply prioritize the first gems in each link provided below.
In order to acquire gems that are not available to your class as a quest reward, simply ask a friend to buy them off vendors for you, or buy them yourself from Sioasa in The Library in Act III Library.
From level 1, you should use the following link.
At level 4, you should pick up 
Dash for additional mobility.
By level 8, your 
Split Arrow link should look like this.
At this point you should also have single target Puncture setup.
Maim SupportAt level 10, you should add 
Blink Arrow for additional mobility.
At level 16, you should add 
Flesh and Stone and Ensnaring Arrow.
By level 18, your Split Arrow and Puncture links should look like this.
Split Arrow
- Split Arrow
Chance to Bleed Support
Pierce Support
Vicious Projectiles Support
Deadly Ailments Support
Onslaught Support
Puncture
At level 24, you can add 
Malevolence for additional damage, although it might reserve too much of your Mana, in which case you can wait until you have a reliable source source of Mana leech.
FAQ
What map mods are impossible to run?
You will one-shot yourself to Physical Reflect. No Regeneration and Cannot Leech are also very nasty. Monster have Chance to Avoid Bleeds also reduces your damage and clear speed by a considerable amount, although it is very manageable.
What anointment should we go for?
Dirty Techniques or Cleaving.
Check out the rest of the guide for any additional information:
Passive Skill Tree and Gem Links
Ascendancy, Bandits, and Pantheon Powers
Lioneye's Fall
Siege Ballista
Ballista Totem Support
Decoy Totem
Well for
Lioneye's Fall usage it is not quite far enough for reaching Cleaving axe note