Infernal Blow
Berserker Build

Updated for Patch 3.23

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Infernal Blow is a Melee Attack that stacks up debuffs on the enemy. You can charge it up to six times, to then cause an explosion dealing Fire Damage. It is very similar to the Impale mechanic in this regard, but as the Attack Converts 60% of its Physical Damage to Fire by default, we have to specialize in this type of damage instead of Physical. To maximize our damage we have to build up high Attack Speed and stack more debuffs more often, and there is no better tool to increase one's damage in such a build than Trauma stacks from Trauma Support. It also solves the issue of a low-DPS weapon we're using - Trauma Stacks will add this flat Physical Damage to the Attacks that the build lacks. There are more than a few ascendancy choices for this build. We've selected Berserker with Flawless Savagery for Critical Strike Chance, Damage, and flat added Damage, Blitz to attack faster, Crave the Slaughter to attack faster via Rage, and Rite of Ruin, to again - attack faster.

The defensive layers of this build are uniquely expensive - we aim to "convert" all incoming Cold and Lightning Damage to be taken as Fire Damage. We should also strive to do the same with Physical Damage, however reaching 100% of Physical Damage to be taken as Fire is nearly impractical. It is done with a set of specific Unique Items, some of which are very pricey. This defensive layer is extremely powerful and it will definitely help sustain the self-inflicted Trauma damage. Your Fire Resistance is 90% with a "less Fire Damage Taken" bonus from a Ruby Flask, Arctic Armour, and Immortal Call. You're also Fortified and Beresrking to take less damage. This has to be combined with some Life Recovery. The best Life Recovery mechanics for this build are Life Recoup, Life Leech, and simple Life Regeneration. It's a very complex build juxtaposed with a surprisingly simple gameplay where you just bash enemies with a hammer repeatedly.

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1. Gameplay

Use Infernal Blow to blow up enemies as you go. During boss fights try to stand still to benefit from Arctic Armour. Set up Infernal Cry as your movement key. Keep your Blood Rage always on, maintaining Berserk active should be rather easy too. During tough fights activate both Ancestral Totems. Your Curses are Assassin's Mark and Flammability, both applied automatically. So is your Guard Skill - Immortal Call. Your Mana-reserving Skills are Purity of Fire, Arctic Armour, Herald of Ash, and Herald of Fire.

2. Build's PROS & CONS

3. Leveling tips

Follow our Marauder Leveling Guide. It's the most efficient way to level up such a character on a league start or as your second character.

Bandits:

Killing all Bandits for two additional Passive Points is the best option

4. Final Skill Tree, Ascendancy Points, and Pantheon

Final Skill Tree:
121 Points Final Skill Tree (doesn't include Unique or Cluster Jewels)
121 Points Path of Building (PoB) link

Ascendancy points:

Preferably in that order:

1. Crave the Slaughter
2. Rite of Ruin
3. Flawless Savagery
4. Blitz

Pantheon:

Major God: Soul of Solaris: 6% additional Physical Damage Reduction while there is only one nearby Enemy; 20% chance to take 50% less Area Damage from Hits

Minor God: Soul of Gruthkul: 1% additional Physical Damage Reduction for each Hit you've taken Recently up to a maximum of 5%

5. Final Gems links

[DPS] Infernal Blow setup
	Infernal Blow - A Melee Attack that applies up to 6 Charge debuffs on an enemy with every Attack. The charged enemy explodes after reaching this debuff limit. It Converts 60% of its Physical Damage to Fire, the rest will be Converted with Fire Mastery.
	Trauma Support - It adds Physical Damage to Attacks and deals Physical Damage to your character per Trauma that you gain with every Attack.
	Increased Duration Support - Increases Trauma buff duration so that you can maintain more of them during prolonged fights. It can be replaced with  Faster Attacks if your enemies die so fast that it doesn't do much.
	Elemental Damage with Attacks Support - More Elemental Damage with Attacks.
	Increased Critical Damage Support - Your Critical Strike Chance should be around 100%, making this Gem very powerful.
	Fire Penetration Support - Lets you Penerate a big chunk of Fire Resistance.

[UTILITY] Ancestral Totems setup
	Multiple Totems Support - This lets you Summon both Ancestral Totems at the same time.
	Combustion Support - Totems apply Combustion with Ignite, lowering Fire Resistance by 10%.
	Ancestral Protector - Grants more Attack Speed as it stays active.
	Ancestral Warchief - Grants more Melee Damage as it stays active.

[UTILITY] Mana Reservation setup socketed in an item that would increase the Gem Level of Purity of Fire to level 23
	Purity of Fire - Use for Fire Resistance and Maximum Fire Resistance - very important in this build. Corrupt it for a level-21 Gem.
	Herald of Ash -  More Fire Damage sourced from Physical Damage, and Burns nearby enemies on kill for better clear speed.
	Herald of Purity -  More Physical Damage.
	Arctic Armour - Freeze Immunity; 20% less Physical and Fire Damage taken while stationary, which are the types of damage you take the most of.

[UTILITY] various gems
	Infernal Cry - Set it up as your movement key. It covers enemies in Ash so that they take increased Fire Damage, and detonates them on kill.
	Blood Rage - Increased Attack Speed with Frenzy Charges on Kill.
	Berserk - Drains all your Rage for a temporary Movement Speed, Attack Speed, Attack Damage, and less Damage taken buff.
	Enhance Support - Increases Quality of linked Active Skill Gems.

[UTILITY] Curse setup
	Assassin's Mark - Marked enemy is more likely to be struck Critically and takes more Critical Damage. It can grant you a Power Charge on Hit.
	Mark on Hit Support - Assassin's Mark is applied with each Hit against Rare and Unique enemies.
	Lifetap Support - Assassin's Mark costs Life instead of Mana.

[UTILITY] various gems
	Leap Slam - A simple Movement ability. It can be replaced with a second Curse, like  Punishment or  Flammability if you have Whisper of Doom anointed.
	Immortal Call - A temporary but potent Guard Spell that makes you take less damage,
	Cast when Damage Taken - Linked Spells are triggered after you take enough damage.

6. Gear Setup

The build's unique defensive layer stems from taking any damage as Fire Damage - as much as the game allows us for, which is all Fire, Cold, and most (up to around 90%) Physical Damage. You will need a well-rolled Dawnbreaker, Cloak of Flames, and specific Lethal Pride and Sublime Vision. Then, make sure your Fire Resistance is at 90% - it can be done with passives, Leadership's Price Amulet (3%). The last 1% can be gained from Small Cluster's (or Megalomaniac's) Notables like Non-Flammable, Corrupted Body Armour, or Exarch's Implicit on Boots. Leadership's Price and Rational Doctrine will encourage you to balance out Intelligence and Strength which is easy to do as your Suffixes no longer need to contain Resistances. On the rest of your gear search for defensive traits like Maximum Life, Armour, Life Regeneration, and Life Recoup. Have at least one source of Mana Leech or Mana Recoup to sustain the Mana Cost of Attacks. The important offensive stats are Attack Speed, Crit Chance, Crit Multiplier, and Fire Penetration. It's possible to reach 100% Crit Chance with Flasks and Power Charges (from Pain Forger notable and Assassin's Mark), but it's difficult without Mageblood. You should need no Accuracy with a proper weapon. Fire Exposure can be gained from Master or Fire Notable or Gloves' Eldritch Implicit.

Our recommended items will:

1. Cap your resistances at 75%
2. Provide you with enough DPS and Life to start mapping

(Helmet) Rare Helmet - Search for Maximum Life and Physical Damage taken as Fire. For the other Eldritch Implicit get Life Recoup. Intelligence is found on most Helmets so it's a good idea to get it here.

Min. requirements: +90 to Maximum Life 14% of Physical Damage taken as Fire (Eater's + Veiled/Crafted Prefix) Optional affixes: Armour +2 to Level of Socketed AoE Gems Intelligence Chaos Resistance

(Weapon) Rare Sceptre - Attack Speed and base DPS, physical or Fire, are the most important stats. Fire Penetration and "Hits cannot be Evaded" should be included too. The best Suffixes are for Crit Chance and Crit Damage.

Min. requirements: 120% Increased Fire or Physical Damage 25% increased Attack Speed Hits can't be Evaded (crafted) Optional affixes: Elemental Damage Critical Strike Multiplier Critical Strike Chance Fire Penetration

(Off-hand) Dawnbreaker - Redirects a portion of all Elemental and Physical Damage to be taken as Fire Damage. You need all these "taken as" stats rolled at 20%, especially the Cold and Lightning ones.

+(10-20) to maximum Life (150-250)% increased Armour +(20-25)% Chance to Block -1% Chance to Block Attack Damage for every 200 Fire Damage taken from Hits Recently (10-20)% of Cold Damage taken as Fire Damage (10-20)% of Lightning Damage taken as Fire Damage (10-20)% of Physical Damage taken as Fire Damage Scorch Enemies in Close Range when you Block

(Body Armour) Cloak of Flame - It's hard to overstate how essential the "40% of Physical Damage taken as Fire" modifier is.

+(50-75)% to Fire Resistance (40-75)% increased Ignite Duration on Enemies Reflects 100 Fire Damage to Melee Attackers 40% of Physical Damage taken as Fire Damage

(Boots) Rare Boots - Get boots with ES, you can find Intelligence here. There's not much to look for on Boot's Suffixes besides Chaos Resistance anyway, so it's the best place to get this Attribute. Reduced Elemental Damage Taken while stationary is excellent, but can be obtained only from Essence. For Eldritch mods search for Action Speed, Physical Damage as Extra Fire Damage, or Maximum Fire Resistance.

Min. requirements: +70 to maximum Life 30% increased Movement Speed Intelligence Optional affixes: Chaos Resistance 5% Reduced Elemental Damage Taken while Stationary (Essence Suffix) +1% to Maximum Fire Resistance (Exarch's implicit) increased Life Regeneration Rate

(Gloves) Rare Gloves - On your Gloves look for Maximum Life, Chaos Resistance, Dexterity or Intelligence, Attack Speed, and possibly the Veiled Prefix for 2 extra Levels to socketed AoE Gems, like Purity of Fire.

Min. requirements: +80 to maximum Life +20% to Chaos Resistance increased Attack Speed Optional affixes: Attributes +2 to Level of Socketed AoE Gems Armour

(Belt) Rare Belt - Maximum Life, Chaos Resistance, and Elemental Attack Damage are the most important. leave one Suffix open to craft extra Intelligence with Dexterity.

Min. requirements: +90 to Maximum Life increased Elemental Damage with Attacks Optional affixes: Armour Attributes Life Regeneration Flask mods increased Maximum Life

(Belt) Mageblood - Mageblood is especially good in this build because of a Ruby Flask that vastly reduces all damage taken, a Silver Flask that grants you even more Attack Speed, and a Diamond Flask that would let you reach 100% Crit Chance easily.

+(25-35) to Strength +(30-50) to Dexterity +(15-25)% to Fire Resistance +(15-25)% to Cold Resistance Magic Utility Flasks cannot be Used Leftmost (2-4) Magic Utility Flasks constantly apply their Flask Effects to you Magic Utility Flask Effects cannot be removed

(Amulet) Leadership's Price - Get the max-rolled Maximum Fire Resistance, the rest is not important. The Scorching, Brittle, and Sapping Conflux are much better in this Hit-based Critical Strike Elemental Damage build than the default Ignite.

+(10-16) to all Attributes +(-3-3)% to maximum Fire Resistance +(-3-3)% to maximum Cold Resistance +(-3-3)% to maximum Lightning Resistance You have Scorching Conflux, Brittle Conflux and Sapping Conflux while your two highest Attributes are equal Cannot Ignite, Chill, Freeze or Shock Corrupted

Recommended Anointments: Panopticon Whispers of Doom Magmatic Strikes Dismembering

(Ring) Rare Ring - Get as much Life Recoup, Maximum Life, Chaos Resistance, and Attributes as you can on your Rings. Extra Fire Damage sourced from Physical Damage can be crafted only with Essences, but it's a very powerful Prefix.

Min. requirements: +70 to maximum Life 13% of Damage taken Recopued as Life 23% Chaos Resistance Attributes Optional affixes: increased Elemental Damage with Attack Skills Gain 10% of Physical Damage as Extra Fire Damage Non-Channelling Skills have -7 to Total Mana Cost (crafted Prefix)

(Jewel) Rare Jewels - Life Recoup, Maximum Life, Attack Speed, and Critical Strike mods are the most important stats on Jewels.

Recommended affixes: Maximum Life increased Attack Speed Critical Strike mods Damage Recopued as Life Damage Recouped as Mana

(Jewel) Large Cluster Jewel - Attack Damage, Mace/Staff Damage, and Fire Damage Large Cluster Jewels are the best for this build. We recommend two of these. Overlord Fortifies you on Hit which saves you a lot of Skill Points. Master of Fire applies Fire Exposure to nearby enemies.

Recommended affixes: 1 Added Passive Skill is Feed the Fury 1 Added Passive Skill is Fuel the Fight 1 Added Passive Skill is Martial Prowess 1 Added Passive Skill is Overlord 1 Added Passive Skill is Weight Advantage 1 Added Passive Skill is Master of Fire

(Jewel) Medium Cluster Jewel - Here you can invest more into Critical Strikes, it's the most sound way of spending Skill Points. Megalomaniac could get you these notables with something for additional Maximum Fire Resistance present only on Small Cluster Jewels.

Recommended affixes: 1 Added Passive Skill is Quick Gateway 1 Added Passive Skill is Pressure Points 1 Added Passive Skill is Basics of Pain

(Jewel) Megalomaniac - Besides the already mentioned passives, or any Maximum Life passives, you can get here three very powerful notables present only on Small Cluster Jewels.

Recommended affixes: 1 Added Passive Skill is Enduring Composure (Endurance Charges) 1 Added Passive Skill is Prismatic Carapace (Max Fire Res) 1 Added Passive Skill is Prismatic Dance (Max Fire Res) 1 Added Passive Skill is Molten One's Mark (Max Fire Res) 1 Added Passive Skill is Non-Flammable (Max Fire Res) 1 Added Passive Skill is Born of Chaos (Maximum Chaos Res) 1 Added Passive Skill is Pure Might (Reservation Efficiency)

(Jewel) Sublime Vision - Sublime Vision allows you only to have one Aura and then upgrades it. Purity of Fire variant redirects 30% of Cold and Lightning Damage to be taken as Fire. It is mandatory.

30% of Cold and Lightning Damage taken as Fire Damage while affected by Purity of Fire Aura Skills other than Purity of Fire are Disabled Auras from your Skills have (20-40)% increased Effect on you

(Jewel) Lethal Pride - Transform The Agnostic Keystone into Tempered by War, which will redirect the remaining 50% of Cold and Lightning Damage to be taken as Fire. You can also improve notables in its radius with "5% of Physical Damage from Hits taken as Fire Damage". You can get up to 3 or even 4 of these, so it is technically possible to take all Physical Damage as Fire with the right Jewel of that type.

Commanded leadership over (10000-18000) warriors under Rakiata Passives in radius are Conquered by the Karui Historic

(Jewel) Forbidden Flame & Flesh - Marauder has tons of great passives. Tukohama, Indomitable Resolve, and Untiring are some of the best ones.

Allocates <Random Ascendancy Notable> if you have the matching modifier on Forbidden Flesh Allocates <Random Ascendancy Notable> if you have the matching modifier on Forbidden Flame

(Jewel) Rational Doctrine - If you're already using Leadership's Price, adding this Jewel into the build that will benefit from Profane and Consecrated Grounds is a no-brainer.

<Three random synthesis implicit modifiers> You have Consecrated Ground around you while stationary if Strength is your highest Attribute 25% chance to create Profane Ground on Critical Strike if Intelligence is your highest Attribute Effects of Consecrated Ground you create Linger for 4 seconds Effects of Profane Ground you create Linger for 4 seconds

(Jewel) Watcher's Eye - "Physical Damage from Hits taken as Fire Damage while affected by Purity of Fire" is great at mitigating Physical Damage taken.

(4-6)% increased maximum Energy Shield (4-6)% increased maximum Life (4-6)% increased maximum Mana <Two or Three random aura modifiers>

Other suggested Flasks: Life Flask of Staunching for Bleed Removal Ruby Flask with reduced Curse Effect on you Diamond Flask with increased Critical Strike Chance Granite Flask with increased Armour Silver Flask with increased Attack Speed

If you have any other build requests please leave that in the comments below. We are always open to suggestions and constructive feedback.

Pictures used in this article are the intellectual property of Grinding Gear Games.