Ground Slam of Earthshaking
Berserker Build

Updated for Patch 3.25

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Berserker is a class specializing in, among other things, Exerting Attacks and utilizing Rage to its fullest potential. Rage grants more Attack Damage. Exertion is a stackable buff granted by Warcries that upgrades the Attacks in various ways. In almost any case you will run out of these buffs, that is unless you pick the Warbringer passive and use slow Attacks, like Slams. It ensures that all your Attacks have huge AoE and deal tons of damage, a commodity that builds with high Attack Speed just cannot afford. Despite that, it's not a button-intensive build; there are only 3 Warcries that are used manually. Rage will also provide you with Attack Speed and more damage thanks to Crave the Slaughter and Rite of Ruin passives - this way you can reach almost 3 Attacks per Second, which is high for a Slam build. Echoes of Creation plays a big role here. It gives you damage per Exertion, which results in up to 60% more Damage, so getting this Helmet is more or less required.

The Skill that's used here is Ground Slam of Earthshaking. It's the most popular Attack for this archetype and for a good reason. It has very high damage that grows if you stay close to the enemy. Its AoE is good too so it's not bad at mapping. The Warcries have limited AoE, and Pride Aura too encourages you to keep the gap between you and your foe closed. Such playstyle requires good defence, which this build excels at. It has high Maximum Life, Armour, Maximum Elemental Resistances, and additional Physical Damage reduction. On top of that, you will utilize 7 Endurance Charges to reduce Hit Damage even further. A high-end build may even be able to reach 11 Maximum Endurance Charges, but we tried to keep the price low, and we won't delve into Endurance-stacking intricacies, because it quickly gets too expensive. To Recover Life use a Life Flask, Enduring Cry, and DoD, given you can afford it. It's overall a great build for Melee enthusiasts; one of the best, and most affordable ones in this category.

You can also find our other Path of Exile builds right over here Odealo's Crafty Guides - Full List

1. Gameplay

The Ground Slam is your sole damaging ability. Try to stay close to your foes to get the most out of it. Your Warcries which you have to use manually are Rallying Cry, Enduring Cry, and Seismic Cry. Blood Rage and Berserk are your other two active abilities. Use them for more damage. Battlemage's Cry and Intimidating Cry are linked to Autoexertion. The latter will Trigger Vulnerability on Hit. Molten Shell is Triggered automatically after taking damage. Your passive Skills are Pride, Herald of Purity, and Blood and Sand.

2. Build's PROS & CONS

3. Leveling tips

Use our Marauder Leveling Guide. It's the best way to level up such character quickly.

Bandits:

Kill all Bandits for an extra Passive Skill Point.

4. Final Skill Tree, Ascendancy Points, and Pantheon

Final Skill Tree:

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

Ascendancy points:

Preferably in that order:

1. Crave the Slaughter
2. Aspect of Carnage
3. Rite of Ruin
4. War Bringer

Pantheon:

Major God: Soul of the Brine King: You cannot be Stunned if you've been Stunned or Blocked a Stunning Hit in the past 2 seconds

Minor God: Soul of Abberath: 60% less Duration of Ignite on You

5. Final Gems links

[DPS] Ground Slam setup
	Ground Slam of Earthshaking - A stronger and wider version of Ground Slam that's not as good against nearby targets. It's a basic Melee Physical Attack.
	Overexertion Support - Deal more Damage for each Exertion. You're using 4 Warcries which can Exert an Attack.
	Melee Physical Damage Support - More Melee Physical Damage but less Attack Speed.
	Brutality Support - More Physical Damage and inability to deal Elemental Damage.
	Pulverise Support - More AoE and Melee Damage, but less Attack Speed.
	Fist of War Support - Boosts an Attack every 1.8 seconds, making it good in builds with low Attack Speed. You can swap it for  Fortify if you don't have Fortify on Hit from a Fortify Mastery or Body Armour, or  Ruthless if you already have Fist of War from Forbidden Jewels' Tukohama.

[UTILITY] Autoexertion setup
	Autoexertion - Will Trigger linked Warcries; these won't grant you buffs, but the Exertion will stay, so keep that in mind.
	Battlemage's Cry - Exerts 5 Attacks. The first Attack after using this Skill will Trigger a linked Spell.
	Vulnerability - Triggerd with Battlemage's Cry. It causes an enemy to take increased Physical Damage.
	Intimidating Cry - Exerts 2 Attacks and causes them to deal Double Damage, so remember that you don't need any other sources of Double Damage.

[UTILITY] Warcry setup socketed in Echoes of Creation
	Urgent Orders Support - Linked Warcries are used manually because they grant useful buffs. This Gem increases their Warcry Speed.
	Enduring Cry - Generates Endurance Charges and Regenerates Life.
	Rallying Cry - Exerts 5 Attacks and causes them to deal 5% more damage per Ally. Your allies are Sentinels of Purity and you can have 4 of them. The buff grants you more damage the higher the damage of your Weapon is.
	Seismic Cry - Exerts 6 Attacks and causes them to have 50% more AoE. The buff increases Armour and Stun Threshold.

[UTILITY] Reservation setup
	Pride - Nearby enemies take increased Physical Damage, and after 4 seconds they take double the amount. You can swap it for  Determination if you want more Armour instead.
	Herald of Purity - More Physical Damage. The Sentinels it spawns won't do much on their own but are used to boost Rallying Cry.
	Blood and Sand - While in Blood Stance your damage is more concentrated; in Sand Stance it's thinner.
	Enlighten Support - Linked Skills Reserve less Mana. If you have enough Mana even without it, use  War Banner instead.

[UTILITY] Molten Shell setup
	Molten Shell - Prevents a portion of Hit Damage before it expires or breaks.
	Cast when Damage Taken Support - Molten Shell is Triggered after you take enough damage.

[MOBILITY] Leap Slam setup
	Leap Slam - A movement Attack to move faster and jump over rocks and whatnot.
	Faster Attacks Support - Faster Attack to jump faster with Leap Slam.

[UTILITY] Blood Rage
	Blood Rage - Life Leech, more Attack Speed, and Frenzy Charges on Kill.

[UTILITY] Berserker
	Berserk - You can consume your Rage at an accelerating rate to boost the effect of it.

5. Gear Setup

The only Unique Item that's exceptionally good for this build is the Echoes of Creation Helmet so be sure to acquire it. Other items can be of Rare Quality, but some Uniques may be equally good in certain situations, such as Defiance of Destiny or Death Rush. You will need a good Weapon - a two-hand Axe, with high Physical DPS, but other than that, look mainly for Maximum Life, Resistances, Maximum Resistances, and sources of Physical Damage Reduction, although these are very rare. A bit of Intelligence and a fair amount of Dexterity will be needed. Despite being fully Physical, it's not an Impale Build, and with Resolute Technique, you won't need any Accuracy or Critical Strike Chance. You may struggle with Mana, and if that's the case, make sure you have one source of Mana Leech, jewelry that reduces the Mana Cost of Skills, and some extra Mana Reservation Efficiency. You're also stacking Endurance Charges, but we're not expanding much on that gimmick, the items for additional Endurance Charges are expensive. We tried to make it budget-friendly, that's why we included affordable Uniques in place of most Rare Items.

(Helmet) Echoes of Creation - You will socket your Urgent Orders Warcries here. It grants more Damage, but also causes you to take Physical Damage each time you attack, which requires good Physical Damage Reduction on your character.

Socketed Warcry Skills have +1 Cooldown Use (80-120)% increased Armour +(50-70) to maximum Life When you Attack, take (15-20)% of Life as Physical Damage for each Warcry Exerting the Attack Skills deal (10-15)% more Damage for each Warcry Exerting them

(Body Armour) Rare Body Armour - On a Body Armour look for Maximum Life and Armour with additional Physical Damage Reduction for a Suffix. For the Eldritch mod get Physical Damage taken as Elemental and Maximum Elemental Resistance.

Min. requirements: +140 maximum Life +40% to Total Elemental Resistances Additional physical Damage Reduction Optional affixes: Armour Life Regeneration

(Body Armour) Loreweave - You can equip it to save some Skill Points that would be otherwise spent on Prismatic Skin, Soul of Steel, and Nomadic Teachings. It's not extraordinarily good, but a copy abundant in stats that interest you is fine.

Has 6 Sockets +(8-24) to all Attributes Adds (4-10) to (14-36) Physical Damage to Attacks (20-60)% increased Global Critical Strike Chance +(15-50) to maximum Energy Shield +(20-60) to maximum Life +(20-50) to maximum Mana (6-30)% increased Rarity of Items found (15-50)% increased Elemental Damage Your Maximum Resistances are (76-78)%

(Body Armour) The Brass Dome - It has a lot of Armour and Maximum Resistances, but a good Rare Body Armour is still better at mitigating Physical Damage, and this is usually a much bigger issue than Resistances.

(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

(Weapon) Rare Two Handed Axe - Seek Physical DPS on the Axe. The Vaal Axe has the highest base DPS so start looking there.

Min. requirements: 900 Physical DPS

(Gloves) Rare Gloves - Maximum Life is a must-have. Resistances, Dexterity and Attack Speed could be good. Mana Leech can be found as a Prefix if you don't have it elsewhere, but Armour is preferable. For the Eldritch mods get increased Attack Speed and increased Exerted Attack Damage.

Min. requirements: +90 maximum Life +40% to Total Elemental Resistances Dexterity Optional affixes: Armour Attack Speed Mana Leech Chaos Resistance

(Gloves) Admiral's Arrogance - Look for a high chance of gaining Maximum rage on Hit. A good Rare Gloves will surely beat Admiral's Arrogance, but if you struggle with Rage generation and you don't need a good substitute yet, use these.

(6-12)% increased Attack Speed (100-140)% increased Armour (10-20)% chance that if you would gain Rage on Hit, you instead gain up to your maximum Rage +(1-3) to Level of all Melee Skill Gems

(Boots) Rare Boots - Maximum Life, Resistances, and Movement Speed are your top priorities. The Eldritch mods shall grant you Action Speed and Life Regeneration per Endurance Charge. You can also go for one Maximum Endurance Charge if you have the open Prefix on the Warlord-influenced Boots.

Min. requirements: +90 maximum Life 30% increased Movement Speed Optional affixes: Resistances Attributes Freeze Immunity Life Regeneration

(Boots) Death's Door - Only if you are Freeze-resistant you can consider these Boots. Better yet, look for a Corrupted version which would get you an additional Maximum Endurance Charge. Such Boots will rival even good Rares.

+(20-40) to Strength 200% increased Armour and Energy Shield +(10-15)% to all Elemental Resistances 25% increased Movement Speed +1 to Maximum Endurance Charges 50% increased Elemental Ailment Duration on you Bleeding cannot be inflicted on you

(Belt) Rare Belt - Here again seek Maximum Life, Resistances, and Life Regeneration. Hunter's Belt can increase your Maximum Life.

Min. requirements: +100 maximum Life +80% to Total Elemental Resistances Life Regeneration Optional affixes: increased Maximum Life Chaos Resistance Armour

(Belt) Ryslatha's Coil - Good in most Physical Attack builds. It's a big increase to your DPS and even Life gain.

(20-30)% increased Stun Duration on Enemies +(20-40) to Strength (30-40)% more Maximum Physical Attack Damage (40-30)% less Minimum Physical Attack Damage Adds 1 to (15-20) Physical Damage to Attacks +(80-100) to maximum Life Gain 50 Life when you Stun an Enemy

(Amulet) Rare Amulet - It's an opportunity to gain more Maximum Life, Resistances, Attributes, and to reduce the Mana Cost of Skills. A Turquoise Amulet can be great as it gives you Intelligence and Dexterity, which you will need anyway.

Min. requirements: +90 Maximum Life +40% to Elemental Resistances Non-Channelling Skills have -7 to Total Mana Cost (crafted) Optional affixes: Life Regeneration Attributes Chaos Resistance

(Amulet) Defiance of Destiny - One of the best Amulets in the game, especially in builds with poor Life Recovery but high Maximum Hit they can take. Definitely worth looking into, though it is expensive.

(20-30)% increased Mana Regeneration Rate +(60-80) to maximum Life +(10-40)% to Fire Resistance +(10-40)% to Cold Resistance +(10-40)% to Lightning Resistance Gain (10-20)% of Missing Unreserved Life before being Hit by an Enemy

Recommended Anointments: Admonisher Vanquisher Berserking Tenacity

(Ring) Rare Rings - Rings will get you Maximum Life, Attributes, Resistances, and Reduce the Mana Cost of Skills. We recommend getting some Chaos Resistance and maybe Life Regeneration, Mana Leech, or Attack Speed here as well.

Min. requirements: +90 Maximum Life +40% to Elemental Resistances Non-Channelling Skills have -7 to Total Mana Cost (crafted) Optional affixes: Life Regeneration Mana Leech Attack Speed Attributes Chaos Resistance

(Ring) Circle of Guilt - Here, almost every mod will be fitting, with the exception of the one boosting your Sentinels's Damage. Good Ring if you want more damage, Reservation Efficiency, or Physical Damage Reduction.

<One to three random Synthesis implicit modifiers> +(10-20) to all Attributes Adds (8-10) to (13-15) Physical Damage +(350-400) to Armour <Two Random Herald of Purity modifiers>

(Ring) Death Rush - Death Rush is for mapping only. It grants Adrenaline and Life on Kill which makes you faster and more durable.

+(17-23)% to Chaos Resistance Recover (3-5)% of Life on Kill Gain Adrenaline for (1-3) seconds on Kill

(Jewel) The Light of Meaning - You have a lot of passives clustered around the socket near Stamina notable, underlining The Light of Meaning which should be socketed there. Physical Damage variant is the best one, but Maximum Life, Armour, or Chaos Resistance are not without merits.

Passive Skills in Radius also grant 6% increased Physical Damage

(Jewel) Sublime Vision - You're using only one Aura (Pride or Determination) for you don't have Mana for any additional one. In such cases, Sublime Vision is great.

Enemies you Kill while using Pride have 25% chance to Explode, dealing a tenth of their maximum Life as Physical Damage Aura Skills other than Pride are Disabled (20-40)% increased Effect of Non-Curse Auras from your Skills on Enemies or +1 to Maximum Endurance Charges while affected by Determination Aura Skills other than Determination are Disabled Auras from your Skills have (20-40)% increased Effect on you

(Jewel) Forbidden Flesh & Flame - Most passives are good. You can, for example, go for Tukohama, Unbreakable, or Unrelenting. We recommend getting even a cheap, but influential, passive from these Jewels.

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) Rare Jewels - Rare Jewels are not particularly valuable in such builds, but you can still squeeze a bit of extra damage and Maximum Life from them. Attributes and Resistances are, of course, good too.

Recommended affixes: increased maximum Life Attributes Resistances Axe or Melee Damage Attack Speed Mana Reservation Efficiency Maximum Elemental Resistance

(Jewel) Large Cluster Jewel - One Large Physical, Attack, or Axe Cluster Jewel with notables for increased Physical or Axe Attack Damage is a substantial source of damage.

Recommended affixes: 1 Added Passive Skill is Battle-Hardened 1 Added Passive Skill is Furious Assault 1 Added Passive Skill is Master the Fundamentals 1 Added Passive Skill is Drive the Destruction 1 Added Passive Skill is Bloodscent 1 Added Passive Skill is Smite the Weak

(Jewel) Medium Cluster Jewel - Cry Wolf grants Damage and increased Warcry Power. Warning Call grants tons Armour per Power.

Recommended affixes: 1 Added Passive Skill is Cry Wolf 1 Added Passive Skill is Warning Call

Other suggested Flasks and Tinctures: Life Flask with Bleeding immunity/removal Granite Flask with increased Armour Basalt Flask with increased Movement Speed Silver Flask with Reduced effect of Shock or Curses on you Quicksilver Flask with Life Regeneration (crafted)

If you have any other build requests, please leave that in the comments below.

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