Cyclone Slayer Build Guide (PoE Betrayal 3.5)

Vvckd

February 6th, 2019, 13:26

6

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.

For Playstyle, as in all builds that depend on Vaal Pact and over leech mechanic, you should start slow in every new zone. Once you’ve killed the first pack of monsters and have some leech stored up, you can activate Blood Rage and go aggressive.

Ascendancy, Passive Tree, Bandits, and Pantheons

Ascendancy (Duelist – Slayer)

1. Headsman
2. Bane of Legends
3. Endless Hunger
4. 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.

Gems

Cyclone is the build’s main skill, it should ideally be used in a 6-Link. For mobility, use Leap Slam. Vaal Ancestral Warchief is used for some additional damage when fighting tougher foes. Vaal Grace can be used only for the vaal version of the skill, the additional dodge chance combined with all your other layers of defence will make you very hard to kill. Hatred and Herald of Ash are offensive buffs that provide a lot of damage to the build. Dread Banner is a great addition to the build, mainly for the chance to Impale it provides. A standard Cast when Damage Taken Support is used for additional defence. Blood Rage provides great amount of damage via the attack speed and Frenzy charges, along with a very good amount of life leech.

Cyclone (6-Link)

Cyclone can have very strong area and single target damage, especially when used with 2-handers. While cycloning around you are immune to stun and you will stun-lock regular packs of mobs before they even have the chance to strike at you. Slayer’s over leech mechanic will make you feel save while you recklessly Cyclone into enemies and leave only corpses behind. We recommend two 6-Links, depending on the type of content you are running.

For clearing, use the following link.

Cyclone

Melee Physical Damage Support

Maim Support

Damage on Full Life Support

Added Fire Damage Support

Increased Area of Effect Support

For single target, we recommend the following link.

Cyclone

Melee Physical Damage Support

Maim Support

Damage on Full Life Support

Added Fire Damage Support

Concentrated Effect Support

Leap Slam (4-Link)

Leap Slam will provide the mobility you need. When combined with a decent amount of attack speed this skill will feel very good when you need to move around quickly, you will also get the Fortify effect for free with the following link.

Leap Slam

Faster Attacks Support

Fortify Support

Blood Magic Support

Immortal Call and Enfeeble (4-Link)

Immortal Call is used in order to prevent Porcupine deaths. Since the build does not utilize any other curse, Enfeeble is used in combination with Cast when Damage Taken Support as an additional layer of defence.

Cast when Damage Taken Support

Immortal Call

Enfeeble

Increased Duration Support

Vaal Grace (2-Link)

Vaal Grace proved to be very useful in hairy situations. When you encounter a very tough foe simply use Vaal Grace for the additional dodge chance and you will have 6+ seconds to go for the kill without worrying about your survivability.

Increased Duration Support

Vaal Grace

Vaal Ancestral Warchief (4-Link)

Vaal Ancestral Warchief is used for the additional damage multiplier it provides and the damage it does on its own is very respectable too. Place a regular and a vaal totem on the ground for maximum single target damage output.

Vaal Ancestral Warchief

Melee Physical Damage Support

Maim Support

Added Fire Damage Support

Hatred

Hatred is an offensive aura that adds cold damage, based on your physical damage. The Cyclone Slayer has a great amount of physical damage and this is why Hatred is very effective damage buff.

Herald of Ash

Same as Hatred, Herald of Ash adds fire damage, based on your physical damage. The amount added is simply lower, at a lower reservation cost.

Dread Banner

The Dread Banner is a great addition to every fast-attacking build, especially this one. When clearing maps simply keep the banner on you, when you encounter a boss or any other tough monster, drop down the banner for increased effects. When you are done with the fight, press the banner button to pick it up again and continue your journey.

Blood Rage

Blood Rage brings many benefits to the build, the life degeneration effect is easily countered by your life over leech. Keep in mind that you are out-regenerating this degeneration effect and you are always considered full life, this is why you benefit from Damage on Full Life Support, even with Blood Rage on.

Gearing

Capping your elemental resistances is essential and it should always be your top priority in any build; it should be the first thing you do when gearing up a character. Obtaining a 6-link, while very powerful and certainly recommended, can potentially be very expensive (requiring an average of 1500 Orbs of Fusing, obviously depending on your luck); as such, this should not really be a goal for you while gearing up, and you should instead settle for a 5-link until you have enough resources. 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:

1. Elemental resistances (until capped)
2. Maximum life (at least 80)
3. % Increased Maximum Life (Pristine Fossil)
4. Nearby Enemies take #% Increased Physical damage (Jagged Fossil)
5. Attributes (Intelligence; Strength)
6. 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:

1. Elemental resistances (until capped)
2. Maximum life (at least 100)
3. % Increased Maximum Life (Elder mod; Pristine Fossil)
4. Socketed Gems are supported by Level 1 Maim (Serrated Fossil)
5. Attributes (Intelligence; Strength)
6. 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:

1. Elemental resistances (until capped)
2. Maximum life (at least 60)
3. Physical damage to attacks
4. Attack speed

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:

1. Elemental resistances (until capped)
2. Movement speed (preferably 25%+)
3. Maximum life (at least 70)
4. Strength
5. Chaos resistance

Belt

Heavy Belt, Leather Belt, Rustic Sash and Stygian Vise are all good belt bases. A well-rolled rare belt provides more benefits than any unique for the build. The Rare Affix priority is:

1. Elemental resistances (until capped)
2. Maximum life (at least 80)
3. Elemental damage with attacks (at least 25%)

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:

1. Elemental resistances (until capped)
2. Maximum life (at least 50)
3. Gain percent of physical damage as extra Fire/Cold/Lightning damage
4. Gain percent of non-chaos damage as extra chaos damage
5. Physical damage to attacks
6. Elemental damage with attacks (at least 25%)

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:

1. Elemental resistances (until capped)
2. Maximum life (at least 50)
3. Physical damage to attacks
4. Elemental damage with attacks (at least 25%)
5. Attributes (Intelligence/Dexterity if needed)

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

1. % Increased Maximum life
2. Physical damage
3. Melee damage
4. Increased damage
5. Area Damage
6. Damage with specific weapon / with two-handed weapons

Abyssal Jewel Affix Priority

1. Maximum life (at least 35)
2. % Chance to Blind enemies on hit with attacks
3. Increased damage if you if you’ve killed recently
4. 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

Level 30

Level 50

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 will make 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, 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.

Ground Slam

Onslaught Support

At level 4, you should add Ancestral Protector for additional single target damage.

By level 8, your Ground Slam link should look like this.

Ground Slam

Onslaught Support

Maim Support Added Fire Damage Support

Ruthless Support

At level 10, you should add Leap Slam for additional mobility.

At level 16, you should add Herald of Ash for the additional damage.

By level 18, your Ground Slam link should look like this.

Ground Slam

Onslaught Support

Maim Support

Added Fire Damage Support

Melee Physical Damage Support

Ruthless Support

At level 24, you should add Hatred in order to improve damage even further.

At level 28, you can replace your Ground Slam gem setup with the following Earthquake. Cyclone is not the best leveling skill, due to the fact its area of effect scales with gem levels, at this point you also do not have enough attack speed for the skill to feel good. You should start using Cyclone around level 62, when you equip Sinvicta's Mettle.

Earthquake

Melee Physical Damage Support

Maim Support

Added Fire Damage Support

Concentrated Effect Support

By level 31, you should replace Ancestral Protector with Vaal Ancestral Warchief. Your Earthquake link should look like this.

Earthquake

Less Duration Support

Melee Physical Damage Support

Maim Support

Added Fire Damage Support

Concentrated Effect 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.