Herald of Purity/Dominating Blow
Guardian Build

Updated for Patch 3.28

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Herald of Purity and Dominating Blow share the same theme - they create Minions while you are fighting monsters. They always create them when you kill an Enemy, but now they also have a chance to occur when you Hit a Rare or Unique Enemy, so you never run out of Minions during longer fights. 

The Dominating Blow creates 9 Normal Minions, but can also create 3 Magic and 1 Rare Sentinel if you kill a Rare or Unique Enemy, borrowing their powers for yourself. You can also Ascend up to 3 of your regular Minions with the Vaal Domination, greatly enhancing their Damage for almost a minute. The Herald of Purity works very similarly, although it can summon only 4 Sentinels. It is a Mana-reserving Skill, but thanks to the Crest of Desire Helmet, you can greatly empower their Damage without raising the Reservation Cost. 

Your Sentinels use regular Melee Attacks, sometimes accompanied by a powerful Slam. Initially, they deal only Physical Damage, but later on, you should convert their Damage to Elemental using the Triad Grip. It allows for easier scaling of their Damage, as you can now utilize Shock, Exposure, Elemental Curses, add Damage through free Wrath, Anger, and Hatred via Guardian's Relics, and include the new Hollow Flame mechanics. 

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1. Gameplay

It is a Summoner Build, but you will lead your army to the battle directly, as it is the only way to summon your Minions. Against Bosses you should Ascend your Sentinels of Domination, place the War Banner, and activate the Arcanist Brand, which will activate Curse and Offerings for you. For Movement, use Shield Charge and Frostblink, which also grants you 25% Block for Spells and Attacks temporarily. 

2. Build's PROS & CONS

3. Leveling tips

The Dominating Blow requires level 28 to use, so you will have to start by using Raging Spirits or Absolution. The Sentinel of Radiance from the first Guardian Ascendency will trivialize the early progression. Early Melee Weapons rarely support Minion playstyle, and you will need the Resolute Technique to land your Hits, so it is recommended to finish the Campaign before switching to the Dominating Blow.

Bandits:

You should kill all three Bandits for one additional Skill Point or kill Alira to ease gearing.

Leveling Skill Trees:

42 Points Skill Tree
Rush the Enduring Bond Notable to improve the Duration of your Minions, then pick up the remaining Minion Damage Notables nearby

67 Points Skill Tree
Pick up all Minion Notables, even the small nodes. Once you exhaust your options completely, focus on your maximum Life.

4. Final Skill Tree, Ascendancy Points, and Pantheon

Final Skill Tree:

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

Ascendancy points:

Preferably in that order:

1. Radiant Crusade
2. Unwavering Crusade
3. Time of Need
4. Bastion of Hope

Pantheon:

Major God: Soul of Arakaali: 10% reduced Damage taken from Damage Over Time, +40% Chaos Resistance against Damage Over Time

Minor God: Soul of Shakari: You cannot be Poisoned while there are at least 3 Poisons on you; 50% less Duration of Poisons on You

5. Final Gems links

[DPS] Herald of Purity setup socketed in the Crest of Desire
	Herald of Purity -  summons powerful Sentinel Minions which use Attack, Slam, or Crusade Slam. Beneficial Support Gems also raise the Reservation Cost.

[DPS] Dominating Blow setup
	Dominating Blow - after Hitting an enemy with this Attack, you create your own Sentinels of Dominance. You can even have a Rare one with special modifiers. The Vaal version Ascends up to 3 Minions, granting them 200% More Damage and bypassing Summon limits.
	Melee Splash Support - it greatly improves the Clear Speed, but you can also use Elemental Damage with Attacks Support for better Damage against Bosses.
	Added Fire Damage Support - it can also be replaced by Hollow Flame Support.
	Increased Critical Damage Support
	Multistrike Support
	Minion Damage Support

[UTILITY] Utility Minions setup
	Raise Spectre - you can summon up to 3 monsters to boost your other Minions. The default recommendation is a combination of Host Cheftain, Carange Cheftain, and a Perfect Warlord.
	Animate Guardian - supports you and your Minions by wearing specific Unique Items.
	Feeding Frenzy Support
	Minion Life Support

[UTILITY] Aura setup
	Purity of Elements - makes you immune to Elemental Ailments and improves your Resistances.
	Flesh and Stone - reduces the Damage you take from nearby Enemies if you stat in the Sand Stance. You can also use the Blood Stance before you acquire the Triad Grips.
	Clarity - Regenerates your Mana over time. If your mana regeneration is sufficient, replace it with Tempest Shield for Spell Block Chance.

[UTILITY] War Banner
	War Banner - improves the Physical Damage of your Minions, even if it's later converted to Elemental Damage.

[UTILITY] Utility setup
	Arcanist Brand - use it to automate your other Utility Spells.
	Spirit Offering - boosts the Critical Strikes of your Minions during its Duration.
	Desecrate - created Corpses required to use Offering Skills.
	Elemental Weakness - lowers the Elemental Resistances of affected Enemies.

6. Gear Setup

The gearing process for most Summoners is very similar, although you can't use the usual Covoking Wand for your Melee Attacks. Instead, you will use Maata's Teachings and lean more into Minion's Critical Strikes. You will also need increases for your Minion's Damage, Attack Speed, and Gem Levels. You will use plenty of Unique Items, so the remaining Rare pieces should be focused on capping your Resistances and Attribute Requirements. 

(Helmet) Crest of Desire - This is the Helmet to host your Herald of Purity. Try to find one with a high roll Level of Socketed Gems.

Has 1 Socket +(5-8) to Level of Socketed Gems +(30-50)% to Quality of Socketed Gems Socketed Skills deal Double Damage (100-150)% increased Armour and Evasion

(Weapon) Maata's Teaching - this Weapon adds 2 Gem Levels for all your Minions and nearly doubles their Critical Strike Chance. Try to get a Corruption that raises the Crit Chance even more.

+(30-40) to Intelligence (15-30)% increased Critical Strike Chance +(1-2) to Level of all Minion Skill Gems Minions' Base Attack Critical Strike Chance is equal to the Critical Strike Chance of your Main Hand Weapon

(Shield) Rare Shield - your Shield can provide a lot of Damage for your Minions, but it can also greatly boost your personal defence through Block.

Min. requirements: Minions deal 75% increased Damage Minions have 75% increased Critical Strike Chance Optional affixes: +1 to Level of all Minion Skill Gems (41-50)% increased Chance to Block +# to maximum Life

(Body Armour) The Brass Dome - raises your maximum Resistance, provides tons of Armour, and makes you immune to Critical Strikes. Try to get the Foulborn version, which disables all bonuses from Strength, as it doesn't directly collide with the Life Mastery.

(350-400)% increased Armour +(1-5)% to all maximum Elemental Resistances Strength provides no bonus to Maximum Life Take no Extra Damage from Critical Strikes

(Boots) Rare Boots - Rare Boots are the best option; these should get you more Movement Speed, Maximum Life, and Resistances of all kinds.

Min. requirements: 25% increased Movement Speed +70 to maximum Life +70% to Elemental Resistances Optional affixes: Dexterity Freeze Immunity Chaos Resistance

(Gloves) Triad Grip - an easy way to Convert the Damage of your Minions. Try to get the Blue Sockets to make Shocking Enemies easier, but the exact combination does not matter.

(80-120)% increased Armour and Energy Shield Minions convert 25% of Physical Damage to Fire Damage per Red Socket Minions convert 25% of Physical Damage to Cold Damage per Green Socket Minions convert 25% of Physical Damage to Lightning Damage per Blue Socket Minions convert 25% of Physical Damage to Chaos Damage per White Socket Minions have (5-10)% chance to Freeze, Shock and Ignite

(Belt) Darkness Enthroned - boosts the effect of your Abyssal Jewels and can host 2 Jewels instead of the usual 1.

Has 2 Abyssal Socket (50-100)% increased Effect of Socketed Abyss Jewels

(Amulet) Rare Amulet  - at first, you will need to use an Amulet that boosts the effect of all Skills. The Dominating Blow has no Physical Tags, so your options are very limited.

Min. requirements: +40 Maximum Life +50% to Elemental Resistances +1 to Level of all Skill Skill Gems Dexterity Optional affixes: Attributes Chaos Resistance

(Amulet) Replica Dragonfang's Flight  - boosts the level of your Dominating Blow Skill by 3, while also providing a decent amount of Reservation Efficiency and lowering the Requirements for Attributes.

+(10-16) to all Attributes +3 to Level of all <Random Skill> Gems +(5-10)% to all Elemental Resistances (5-10)% increased Reservation Efficiency of Skills Items and Gems have (10-5)% reduced Attribute Requirements

(Ring) Rare Bone Ring - Bone Rings are Minion-oriented jewelry that could increase your Minions' DPS, mobility, and survivability. You should also look for stats for your own character.

Min. requirements: +60 to Maximum Life +40% to Elemental Resistances Minions deal 40% increased Damage Minions have 15% increased Attack and Cast Speed Optional affixes: Minions have increased maximum Life Minions have to all Elemental Resistances Attributes Chaos Resistance

(Jewel) Rare Abyssal Jewels - here you will want to improve the Damage of your Minions, add some Physical Damage to your Attacks, or increase their Attack Speed. You should also use a Jewel that grants them a chance to inflict Taunt and Blind on Hit.

Recommended affixes: increased maximum Life Attributes Elemental Resistances Minions deal #% increased Damage if you've used a Minion Skill Recently Minions deal # to # additional Physical Damage Minions have #% chance to Taunt on Hit with Attacks Minions have #% chance to Blind on Hit with Attacks

(Jewel) Quickening Covenant - This Jewel enhances Attack Speed and the chance to Suppress Spell Damage for your Minions, making them more durable.

Minions have (12-16)% increased Attack Speed Minions have (12-16)% increased Cast Speed Minions have +(20-24)% chance to Suppress Spell Damage Notable Passive Skills in Radius are Transformed to instead grant: Minions have 25% reduced Movement Speed

(Jewel) Fortress Covenant - Another Covenant Jewel, this one increases Damage and Block Chance for your Minions. Socket both covenant Jewels in your Cluster Jewels to take no penalty.

Minions deal (35-45)% increased Damage Minions have +(10-12)% Chance to Block Attack Damage Minions have +(10-12)% Chance to Block Spell Damage Notable Passive Skills in Radius are Transformed to instead grant: Minions take 20% increased Damage

(Jewel) Reckless Defence - grants you tons of Block Chance. Thanks to the Brass Dome, you don't have to worry about the downside.

+(2-6)% Chance to Block Spell Damage +(2-6)% Chance to Block Attack Damage Hits have (140-200)% increased Critical Strike Chance against you

(Jewel) Forbidden Flame & Forbidden Flesh - There are some Keystones you can look for if you have spare currency. Searing Purity is great if you take too much Chaos Damage. Conviction of Power would be good for four Endurance Charges. Pious Path can be good when combined with Sulphur Flask and some Energy Shield.

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

(Jewel) Large Cluster Jewel - the dominant way of improving your Minions. By adding extra Attack Speed and boosting the effect of small Notables, it becomes much more efficient than the regular Passive Tree.

Recommended affixes: {crafted}Added Small Passive Skills grant: Minions deal 10% increased Damage Added Small Passive Skills also grant: +#% to all Elemental Resistances Added Small Passive Skills also grant: +# to Maximum Life Added Small Passive Skills also grant: Minions have 3% increased Attack and Cast Speed Added Small Passive Skills have 35% increased Effect

(Jewel) Medium Cluster Jewel - if your Spectres or Animate Guardian dies too often, you can include Medium Jewels to boost their survivability.

Recommended affixes: 1 Added Passive Skill is Dread March 1 Added Passive Skill is Feasting Fiends

(Flask) Bottled Faith - creates a large Consecrated Ground that also increases the Damage taken by Enemies. Keep in mind the Critical Strike Chance bonus does not apply to your Minions.

(30-15)% reduced Duration Consecrated Ground created by this Flask has Tripled Radius Consecrated Ground created during Effect applies (7-10)% increased Damage taken to Enemies (100-150)% increased Critical Strike Chance against Enemies on Consecrated Ground during Effect

Other suggested Flasks: Life Flask with Bleeding immunity/removal Granite Flask with increased Armour Rating Jade Flask with increased Evasion Rating Quicksilver Flask with increased Movement 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.