Eviscerate and Crushing Fist
Retaliation Gladiator Build

Created for Patch 3.25

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The newly introduced Retaliation Skills offer great initial AoE, insane Damage Effectiveness, and a guaranteed chance to Hit, but have a pretty hefty requirement to be usable: they can be only used after you Blocked an Enemy's hit, and have a short Cooldown. With this setup, you can rely entirely on the Retaliation Skills as your main form of dealing Damage. As a Gladiator, you will easily Block 90% of the incoming Damage, have a 70% chance for your Skills to be usable again immediately, and a 35% chance to make them usable when you use a different Retaliation Skill. You will use two Skills alternately: the Eviscerate which creates two huge waves and a Crushing Fist which causes a powerful slam. They hit very hard, but slowly. Thanks to the high chance to reset Cooldown, you will often be able to use them a few times in a row, which will be enough to take down most Enemies in the game in an instant. You will also occasionally use Smite while waiting to be Hit by Enemies to get the bonus Lightning Damage Aura. 

With the return of Reflective Mist, the Doryani's Prototype Armour is a very powerful way to scale your Damage again. You can quite easily lower your Lightning Resistance down to -200%, which will also apply to nearby Enemies. It will make you more vulnerable to Lightning Damage too, but not as much as your Enemies. You will shift half of the incoming Elemental Damage to be taken as Chaos Damage instead with the Divine Flesh Keystone, and the remaining 50% of the Lightning Damage will be reduced by your Armour. You can also use the Watcher's Eye modifier to take 20% of Lightning Damage as Fire or Cold, but it is rarely noticeable. 

To capitalize on the negative 200% Lightning Resistance the Enemies now have you will use the Paradoxica Sword that grants a 100% chance to deal Double Damage and source your flat Damage from the Smite and Wrath Aura. Your every 4th Hit with the Retaliation Skill is guaranteed to be a Critical Strike, but you should aim to have a 100% Critical Strike Chance anyway for more consistent Damage. The Block-related Notables on the Cluster Jewels are also surprisingly well matched for this setup, as the Precise Retaliation Notable grants you a 30% Critical Strike Multiplier if you have Blocked recently. You can fit in 3 of such Notables in your Setup. 

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1. Gameplay

Use Smite to gain extra Lightning Damage Aura for a few seconds. Use the Retaliation Skills when they are available, which should happen all the time. The Crushing Fist can deal more Damage, but the Eviscerate is much faster and covers a larger Area. Your Curse and Guard Skill will be triggered automatically. For movement used Shield Charge and Frostblink. 

2. Build's PROS & CONS

3. Leveling tips

The Retaliation Skills are quite bad during levelling - you won't have enough Block Chance, and there are not enough Enemies. We recommend the other Gladiator's speciality to level up - the Bleed Damage. It will easily carry you through the campaign and early maps until you get all the necessary Items and Passive Points to transition into the Crit Retaliation version.  You can check out our Bleeding Gladiator Guide for PoE to see more tips!

Bandits:

Kill all Bandits to get an additional Passive Tree Skill Point.

4. Final Skill Tree, Ascendancy Points, and Pantheon

Final Skill Tree:

98 Points Final Passive Tree  
118 Points Path of Building (PoB) link

Ascendancy points:

Preferably in this order:

1. Measured Retaliation
2. Determined Survivor
3. More Than Skill
4. War of Attrition

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 Garukhan: 60% reduced Effect of Shock on you; Cannot be Blinded, You cannot be Maimed

5. Final Gems links

[DPS] Eviscerate setup socketed in Thunderfist Gloves
	Eviscerate - performs a quick slash that releases two damaging Waves, hitting the close Enemies twice. It can be used after Blocking a Hit.
	Expert Retaliation Support - greatly reduces the Cooldown of your main Skill.
	Volatility Support  - lowers the minimum Attack Damage but greatly raises the maximum Attack Damage.
	Pulverise Support - slows down your Attack Speed but greatly improves your AoE and Damage.
	Added Lightning Damage Support - provided by Thunderfist Gloves, grants a lot of base Lightning Damage.

[DPS] Crushing Fist setup
	Crushing Fist - summons a giant Fist that slams the ground in front of you, dealing massive Damage in the Area.
	Pulverise Support - greatly improves the AoE of your Skill.
	Volatility Support  - the lightning Damage has a broad range of Damage, so lowering it won't affect your DPS at all.
	Fist of War Support - nearly doubles your Damage and AoE with a Slam Skill, but this effect has a short Cooldown.
	Added Lightning Damage Support - use the Awakened version to get more flat Lightning Damage.
	Expert Retaliation Support - reduces the Cooldown of your Skill. You can also use the Elemental Damage with Attacks Support to increase its one-shot potential.

[UTILITY] Autoexertion setup
	Determination - a defensive Aura that greatly improves your Armour Rating, which is also used to reduce incoming Lightning Damage in this Build.
	Wrath - an offensive Aura that grants you a lot of Lightning Damage to Attacks.
	Flesh and Stone - being in Sand Stance reduces the Damage you take from nearby Enemies. You can also use Blood and Sand to improve your AoE and Damage instead.
	Enlighten Support - you will need this Support to reduce the Mana Reservation of linked Auras.

[UTILITY] Curse setup
	Assassin's Mark - a Mark Skill that increases your Chance to Critically Strike your Enemy and improves your Critical Strike Multiplier. It also generates Power Charges for even more Crit chance.
	Mark on Hit Support - automatically applies linked Mark to Rare and Unique enemies you Hit with your Attacks.
	Lifetap Support - turns your Mana Costs into Life Costs which are much easier to sustain.

[UTILITY] Movement setup
	Shield Charge -  your main Travel Skill, it is a swift charge towards the targeted location. It doesn't have a Cooldown but can't cross terrain gaps.
	Faster Attacks Support - makes your Shield Charge faster to perform.

[UTILITY] Guard setup
	Molten Shell - when used it creates a flame barrier around you that absorbs incoming Damage and improves your Armour. .
	Cast when Damage Taken Support - triggers the Molten Shell when the Hit passes through your Block.

[UTILITY] Other utility setups
	Frostblink -  allows you to instantly teleport a short distance, which is useful to dodge incoming threats or cross terrain.
	Vaal Smite -  deals a small amount of Damage in Area and creates an Aura that grants you bonus Lightning Damage to Attacks for a few seconds.

6. Gear Setup

The main Damage scaling comes from two Unique Items, namely Doryani's Prototype Armour which allows you to reduce Enemy Lightning Resistances down to -200%, and a Paradoxica Sword which always deals Double Damage. The Thunderfist Gloves are also very useful, as they allow you to use two main setups more efficiently. The Glorious Vanity can grant you the Divine Flesh Keystone which helps greatly with the Lightning Damage you take. To fully utilise your Armour you will also need special Rare Rings and an Amulet that grant you negative Lightning Resistance. Other than that, you will need the usual defensive modifiers such as maximum Life, all Resistance except for Lightning, and some Elemental Damage for Attacks and Critical Strike Multiplier. 

(Armour) Doryani's Prototype - your main way of reducing Enemy Defense is by lowering your own Lightning Resistance and applying it to nearby Enemies. Doing so makes you quite vulnerable to Lightning Damage, but Armour, Block, and shifting half of Elemental Damage taken to Chaos greatly helps with that.

(150-200)% increased Armour and Energy Shield +(60-90) to maximum Life Deal no Non-Lightning Damage Armour also applies to Lightning Damage taken from Hits Lightning Resistance does not affect Lightning Damage taken Nearby Enemies have Lightning Resistance equal to yours

(Helmet) Rare Helmet - your Helmet can provide you with tons of Mana Reservation Efficiency, which will be required if you don't have Enlighten Support or want to include 4th Aura in the Build. Otherwise look for high maximum Life, Armour, and Resistance.

Min. requirements: +100 to maximum Life +30% to Chaos Resistance Optional affixes:  Attributes  Resistance % increased Mana Reservation Efficiency of Skills  % increased Area of Effect

(Weapon) Paradoxica - attacks with this Weapon always deal Doubled Damage, which works excellently with the added Damage from other sources such as Aura or Support Gems. For its Veiled modifiers be sure to include Critical Strike Chance, and try to get Lightning Damage or Elemental Penetration.

+25% to Global Critical Strike Multiplier Attacks with this Weapon deal Double Damage Recommended veiled modifiers:  (28-32)% increased Critical Strike Chance (70-79)% increased Lightning Damage Attacks with this Weapon Penetrate (14-16)% Elemental Resistances

(Shield) Rare Shield - try to get a Shield that restores your maximum Life upon Block, which requires a Shaper Influence. It should also provide maximum Life, Armour, or Resistance. The Block Chance gets overwritten by Gladiator Ascendency, but it can still provide an extra chance to Block Spells.

Min. requirements: Recover 5% of Life when you Block +100 to maximum Life Optional affixes: Attack Speed Resistance Chance to Block Spells

(Belt) Rare Belt - look for maximum Life, bonus Elemental Damage for Attacks, and Resistances. You can add a bit of Cooldown Recovery Rate too, but you will be limited by Enemy Attack frequency anyway.

Min. requirements: +90 to maximum Life 30% increased Elemental Damage with Attack Skills +50% to Elemental and Chaos Resistance Optional affixes: % increased maximum Life Attributes Cooldown Recovery Rate

(Jewel) Rare Abyss Jewel - on the Abyss Jewel look for high maximum Life and added Lightning Damage for Attacks with Swords. It can also provide lacking Resistances or Attributes, or be Corrupted to make you immune to Corrupted Blood.

Min. requirements: +30 to maximum Life Optional affixes: Corrupted Blood cannot be inflicted on you Added Lightning Damage to Attacks Attributes Resistances

(Boots) Rare Boots - your Boots should give you tons of maximum Life, high Movement Speed for the Shield Charge, and Resistance. You can add the Cannot be Frozen modifier via the Crafting Bench.

Min. requirements: +100 to maximum Life 80% to Elemental and Chaos Resistance 30% increased Movement Speed Optional affixes: 100% chance to Avoid being Frozen Attributes

(Gloves) Thunderfist - the Level 30 Added Lightning Damage provides an insane amount of Damage, which mostly offsets the lack of a 5th Support Gem for your main Skill. Try to get a Corrupted version that boosts your Critical Strike Chance for Attacks, or Level of socketed Gems.

Socketed Gems are Supported by Level 30 Added Lightning Damage 100% increased Effect of Lightning Ailments 10% increased Attack Speed (150-200)% increased Evasion and Energy Shield

(Amulet) Rare Amulet - to get the most out of your Body Armour you will need a Rare Amulet Reflected by the Mist that grants negative Lightning Resistance and positive maximum Life and other Resistance types. You can still Anoint it using the Reflective Oil, but you won't be able to modify it in any other way.

Min. requirements: +150 to maximum Life -50% Lightning Resistance Optional affixes: % increased Elemental Damage with Attack Skills Attributes Chaos Resistance

(Ring) Rare Ring - similarly to the Amulet, look for negative Lightning Resistances and positive maximum Life, Attributes, or remaining Resistance types. At a higher budget, you can include Elemental Damage with Attacks and try your luck with Reflective Mist.

Min. requirements: +150 to maximum Life -50% Lightning Resistance Optional affixes: % increased Elemental Damage with Attack Skills Attributes Chaos Resistance

(Jewel) Rare Jewels - on Jewels try to get bonuses to maximum Life, Critical Strike Multiplier, and lacking Resistances or Attributes.  It can also provide a bit of Mana Reservation Efficiency if you still need it.

Min. requirements: increased maximum Life Recommended affixes: % to Critical Strike Multiplier with One-Handed Melee Weapons % to Melee Critical Strike Multiplier % to Global Critical Strike Multiplier Resistance Attribute

(Jewel) Large Cluster Jewel - try to get the Prodigious Defence which greatly helps with capping the Chance to Block Spells, and the Precise Retaliation for massive Critical Strike Multiplier bonus. The Heavy Hitter is the best 3rd Notable you can get, but it is not as impactful.

Recommended affixes: 1 Added Passive Skill is Heavy Hitter 1 Added Passive Skill is Precise Retaliation 1 Added Passive Skill is Prodigious Defence

(Jewel) Medium Cluster Jewel - the Crit Cluster allows you to get even more Precise Retaliation Notables. Try to mix it with the Basics of Pain and some useful bonuses such as Resistance or Attribute, as those are very cheap to get.

Recommended affixes: 1 Added Passive Skill is Basics of Pain 1 Added Passive Skill is Precise Retaliation

(Jewel) Impossible Escape - this Jewel allows you to easily access Notables that grant Mana and Life Leech, Onslaught Buff for a few seconds on Kill, generate Frenzy and Endurance Charges on Block, and improve your Reservation Efficiency for Stance Skills.

Passive in Radius of Vaal Pact can be Allocated without being connected to your tree

(Jewel) The Light of Meaning - causes all nearby Passive Skills to additionally improve your Lightning Damage. At first, you can use the version for Critical Strike Chance for weaker but more reliable Damage output.

Passive Skills in Radius also grant 6% increased Lightning Damage

(Jewel) Watcher's Eye - grants very powerful modifiers if you are under the influence of certain Aura. You can also include a level 1 Precision or Vitality if you get a Jewel with synergistic modifiers.

(4-6)% increased maximum Energy Shield (4-6)% increased maximum Life (4-6)% increased maximum Mana Recommended Aura modifiers:  +(600-1000) to Armour while affected by Determination +(5-8)% Chance to Block Attack Damage while affected by Determination (70-100)% increased Critical Strike Chance while affected by Wrath (40-60)% increased Lightning Damage while affected by Wrath

(Jewel) Glorious Vanity - converts nearby Notables and Keystones to grant completely different bonuses. You will need the Divine Flesh Keystone to partially reduce incoming Lightning Damage with your Chaos Resistance instead.

Bathed in the blood of (100-8000) sacrificed in the name of Xibaqua Passives in radius are Conquered by the Vaal Historic

(Flask) Bottled Faith - a great offensive Flask that increases your Critical Strike Chance and Damage against Enemies standing on the Consecrated Ground.

(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

Suggested Flasks: Life Flask  with Bleeding Removal Quicksilver Flask with reduced Effect of Curses on you  Granite Flask with increased Armour Bonus  Diamond Flask with increased Critical Strike Chance bonus

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.