Cyclone Slayer Build Guide (PoE Betrayal 3.5)
Introduction
We are looking at one basic strong all-around build. Two-handed 
Cyclone builds have been solid for long time. Combining high single target damage with decent clear speed and reliable sustain makes the build very fun to play. Slayer’s over leech and Vaal Pact is something that trivializes content when your damage and life pool are high enough. Spinning around with your two-handed weapon and obliterating everything in your path feels very good. Cyclone is a skill that hits multiple times in a short period of time, this is why high damage item bases are great for the skill. There are very solid endgame weapon choices like 
Atziri’s Disfavour, 
Starforge and many other cheaper options. Slayer’s 20% culling strike is insanely strong when it comes to boss killing. Physical reflect is not an issue and that is one less map mod to worry about, also if you choose Starforge you can run elemental reflect too. Overall if you like the beefy melee brutes this is definitely the build for you.
Build Summary
Cyclone ’s early levels do not have enough radius in order to feel good for clearing, at this point you do not have enough movement speed too. It is recommended leveling the build with 
Sunder or 
Earthquake. Leveling should be very easy if you have the right uniques to carry you through it. For mapping you can start very cheaply, two-handers like 
Kaom’s Primacy can carry you to mid-yellow maps with ease. With gear for less than 100 
Chaos Orb you can comfortably clear red maps. A lot of the clear speed is carried by the 
Haemophilia gloves. Every bleeding enemy that dies explodes for 5% of its maximum health, this makes the build feel much smoother when it comes to clearing packs of monsters. For single target these gloves can be swapped with a decent pair of well rolled rare ones with attack speed, physical damage and life. The good thing about the build is that there is no specific item that makes or breaks it, which makes it even Solo Self Found viable.
Pros & Cons
Pros
+ Hardcore viable
+ Smooth leveling experience
+ Can be played on a budget
+ Does not slack in any particular content
+ Can run huge variety of map mods
+ Scales very well into endgame maps
Cons
- Melee builds might not appeal to some people
- Relies on over leech and Vaal Pact, you have to keep in mind you have no health regeneration and you have deal damage in order to survive
- Although the clear speed is better than average, it is not the fastest clearing build in the game
Playstyle
Offensively, you Cyclone straight into packs of mobs, they explode via Haemophilia gloves. 
Blood Rage is a great addition to the build as the over leech out weights the degeneration effect. While over leeching you are considered to be on full life so even Blood Rage does not stop you from benefiting from things like 
Damage on Full Life Support gem. The build also benefits greatly from offensive flasks like 
Atziri’s Promise, 
Lion’s Roar and 
Taste of Hate, although Lion’s Roar knock back effect might make it kind of clunky so you can skip it if you do not like it. 
Hatred and 
Herald of Ash are always a good choice when it comes to builds like this. If you choose to use Starforge you do not benefit from them, at this point I recommend going Blood Magic or just use some defensive auras. Slayer’s Headsman and Bane of Legends are just insanely valuable.
Defensively, as always the over leech takes care of business. Proper passive tree and good item choice can bring a build like this to 9k+ life, while also maintaining great damage output. 
Cast when Damage Taken Support and 
Immortal Call setup prevents you from dying to porcupines. Playing a two-hander build gives us the freedom to run our main 6-Link in the weapon so we can choose to use 
Kaom’s Heart for the extra maximum life. Other good options are 
Loreweave for the additional maximum resists, 
Belly of the Beast provides a decent percent maximum life, or just a well rolled Astral Plate is also a good option. While spinning around with Cyclone you are immune to stuns. This is always a great defensive mechanic. Slayer’s bleed immunity while leeching frees up a flask slot. Make sure you keep up your Blood Rage all the time because the additional attack speed and frenzy charges are very handy. Beyond that you are just spinning around and crushing everything in your path. Indoor maps should feel better for clearing than outdoor ones, although it does not make a huge difference.
Ascendancy, Passive Tree, Bandits, and Pantheons
Ascendancy (Duelist – Slayer)
- Headsman
- Bane of Legends
- Endless Hunger
- Eternal labyrinth
You will have no reason early leveling to invest into leech. This is why we are going for Headsman first. More damage and area of effect feels great while clearing the game content. Bane of Legends basically makes boss fights a joke. 20% culling on everything you hit is actually so strong, when you get used to it and play some other build you will miss it for sure. Onslaught also improves overall speed. Endless Hunger makes leech more reliable and you do not have to worry about bleeds any more. Brutal Fervour is the bread and butter of the build. This ascendancy combined with Vaal Pact is what makes the build great.
Passive Tree
Considering the build can be played with two-handed axes and swords we will provide two passive skill trees.
The sword tree uses Blood Magic since you are most likely to be using Starforge.
The axe passive tree is pretty straight forward.
Note: To check your skill tree priority during leveling, refer to the leveling section below. It includes the state your passives should be at early levels, prior to the absolute endgame.
Bandits
The Act II quest Deal with the Bandits presents few character choices for us. Considering the build does not benefit from helping any specific bandit we choose to kill them all.
Pantheons
Major: Soul of Arakaali – Capturing Arachnoxia in Toxic Sewers provides us with 50% additional life recovery rate if you’ve stopped taking damage over time recently. This means every time your Cast when Damage Taken Support and Immortal Call setup is triggered you stop taking damage from Blood Rage. This increases the rate at which you leech life greatly.
Minor: Soul of Shakari – Poison immunity is always a good addition to a build. Other minor gods can be chosen depending on personal preference. Just keep in mind Ralakesh is useless to this build since you are bleed immune, blind does not matter too since you are most likely to be using Resolute Technique.
Gem Links
6-Link
Clearing
| Cyclone |  Melee Physical Damage Support |  Maim Support | Damage on Full Life Support |  Added Fire Damage Support |  Increased Area of Effect Support |
Single Target
For single target simply swap Increased Area of Effect Support with 
Concentrated Effect Support.
Mobility 4-Link
 Leap Slam |  Faster Attacks Support |  Fortify Support |  Blood Magic Support |
4-Link
| Cast when Damage Taken Support | Immortal Call |  Enfeeble |  Increased Duration Support |
2-Link
| Increased Duration Support |  Vaal Grace |
4-Link
 Vaal Ancestral Warchief | Melee Physical Damage Support | Maim Support | Added Fire Damage Support |
Note: Hatred and Herald of Ash can be socketed where ever you have free slots. 
Dread Banner works great with the build and should be used at all times
Gearing
Getting Atziri's Disfavour as early as possible will boost your damage output a great deal. Belly of the Beast and 
Carnage Heart will help out with the survivability before you can replace them with better gear pieces.
Helmet
A rare helmet is best in slot here. We recommend high armour base with Blood Rage or Cyclone labyrinth enchant. The Rare Affix priority is:
- Maximum life
- Elemental resistances
- Intelligence
- Strength
- Chaos Resistance
Body Armour
Belly of the Beast is a cheap starting option for the build. Later on it is recommended moving to Kaom’s Heart when you 6-Link your weapon. Rare body armor with same stat priority as the helm can work too. The Rare Affix priority is:
- Maximum life
- Elemental resistances
- Intelligence
- Strength
- Chaos Resistance
Gloves
Haemophilia is best in slot when it comes to clearing. Considering the gloves are not expensive they can be corrupted for an additional maximum frenzy charge, attack speed, life or a decent curse on hit. Rare pair of gloves is recommended when it comes to high-end bosses like shaper guardians, Shaper and all versions of the Elder. Gripped gloves have melee damage implicit which is best for the build. The Rare Affix priority is:
- Maximum life
- Physical damage to attacks
- Attack speed
- Strength
- Elemental resistances
Boots
Movement speed is important for this build. It determines how fast you spin around so it is basically clear speed improvement. A pair of 
Bubonic Trail is great choice for the build. The Rare Affix priority is:
- Movement speed (preferably 25%+)
- Maximum life
- Elemental resistances
- Strength
- Chaos resistance
Belt
Heavy Belt, Leather Belt, Rustic Sash and Stygian Vise are all good belt bases. A well-rolled rare belt has more benefits than any unique for the build. The Rare Affix priority is:
- Maximum life
- Strength
- Elemental resistances
- Elemental damage with attacks
Amulet
A rare shaper or elder based amulet is best in slot. Carnage Heart can also be used while you progress through content. The Rare Affix priority is:
- Physical damage to attacks
- Gain percent of physical damage as extra Fire/Cold/Lightning damage
- Gain percent of non-chaos damage as extra chaos damage
- Maximum life
- Intelligence
- Elemental resistances
Rings
Best in slot rings are very specific and can get very expensive. Steel rings rolled with Essence of Hysteria for the extra damage. Before that use rare rings with following mods. The Rare Affix priority is:
- Physical damage to attacks
- Maximum life
- Elemental resistances
- Intelligence
- Elemental damage with attacks
Weapons
Atziri’s Disfavour is the best two-hander when it comes to well spend currency. Starforge is always a valuable option but brings up some problems when it comes to not being able to deal non-physical damage and kind of hinders the damage potential of the build. Rare two-hander with at least 650 pDPS can be considered as well.
Flasks
Quicksilver flask is important for the build since it improves clear speed. Rolling additional movement speed is recommended. Basalt flask is a defensive flask that should be rolled with curse immunity. Lion’s Roar or Atziri’s Promise shoud be chosen based on personal preference. Taste of Hate is one of the strongest flasks both in offensive and defensive aspects. Divine life flask is the usual instant life flask you need in every build.
Jewels
There is no specific unique jewel that is required for the build.
Regular Jewel Affix Priority
- Maximum life
- Physical damage
- Melee damage
- Increased damage
- Area Damage
- Damage with specific weapon / with two-handed weapons
Abyssal Jewel Affix Priority
- Maximum life
- Increased damage if you if you’ve killed recently
- Unholy Might on kill
Leveling
Leveling the build is fairly easy. Having decent weapons will carry you through the leveling content. Sunder and Earthquake are both strong skills. Leap Slam helps jump through broken roads and edges. Both gem levels and weapon range improve the area of effect of Cyclone and therefore it is recommended to start using it at level 70+.
Leveling Trees
Resolute Technique is an essential part of the build, this is why we head to it as soon as possible. Grab all the life and two-hand nodes on the way.
Useful Leveling Uniques
As you begin a new character there are few unique items that can boost your power exponentially. 
Tabula Rasa allows you to have a 6-Linked skill as early as you get the gems. 
Wanderlust gives a decent movement speed, which willmake your leveling that much more efficient. 
Goldrim provides a lot of elemental resistances, this will let you worry less about gearing when approaching certain Act encounters. 
Limbsplit, 
Reaper's Pursuit and 
The Blood Reaper will carry you up to level 60 without any problems. 
Sinvicta's Mettle will take care of the of the game up until Atziri's Disfavour.
Gem Progression
Using Tabula Rasa will allow you to have 6-Link gem setups early on, this is why such are shown down below as examples. 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, do it yourself in Act III Library or buy them off poe.trade.
Level 1
 Molten Strike |  Onslaught Support |
Level 4
 Ancestral Protector |
Level 8
| Molten Strike | Onslaught Support | Maim Support Added Fire Damage Support |
Level 10
| Leap Slam |
Level 12
| Sunder | Onslaught Support | Maim Support | Added Fire Damage Support |
Level 16
| Blood Rage | Herald of Ash |
Level 18
| Sunder | Onslaught Support | Maim Support | Added Fire Damage Support | Melee Physical Damage Support |  Ruthless Support |
Level 24
| Hatred |
Level 28
| Vaal Ancestral Warchief | Melee Physical Damage Support | Faster Attacks Support | Maim Support |
Note: Replaces Ancestral Protector.
Level 38
| Sunder |  Multistrike Support | Maim Support | Melee Physical Damage Support | Added Fire Damage Support | Ruthless Support |
Conclusion
The build is very versatile over all. This is one of the few two-handed builds that can keep up with the current meta. The Cylcone Slayer has enough damage and survivability in order to deal with the toughest encounters the game has to offer.
Enduring Cry
How do you generate endurance charges for Immortal Call to use?