[3.7] Gladiator Max Block Herald of Agony starter to end game SSF HC viable

Just killed Uber Elder for the first time ever!
Thank you very much for making this guide. :)

Hello,

always a fan of HoA, so i tried this version for 3.7 HC, and i got some questions.

atm im running cyclone in gloves with supported with poison, and the herald is in a +2 helmet (still with pierce)

i upgraded to the unique boots to get double course and switched the pierce (in the 4 link) to visc. projectiles, that might be a single target dmg boost but for running into mobs not all creeps get cursed und its slower to get all down, so i switched back to pierce in the 4L....anything i did wring here?

Another thing, if i go on skin of the loyal and 6 link i fear the big loss of life there? Is using a helmet for the herald no option anymore because of 3.7 nerf?

Another thing, when on blood magic and life gain on hit, why not go for a mace with 95% inc. minion damage?

Still makes fun, ty for the build :) (started yesterday and im before kitava act 10 and already did third lab)

Hey all,

Was able to get a robe of lords with elemental equilibrium, and the correct sockets for empower. Feels good man, ty for build.

Wanted to share my version:

https://www.pathofexile.com/account/view-profile/Blightside/characters

https://pastebin.com/VFpSaM4A
(not sure if i did the POB settings correctly to calculate the dps)

Trying this one for my first HC SSF experience.
What is annoying about this build though is that there's no mention about Ascendancy orders or early game leveling. It felt like a slog before i could get agony crawler, and even now it feels pretty meh to most abilities out there that can deal insane damage at low levels with just %phys on your weapons.

I leveled with cleave until i got cyclone, but i would not recommend anyone to go through that agony again.

And you may have mentioned it in your video, but i'm not gonna watch through that just to get an idea. Write a tl;dw section. that'll work.

Hi

i also have some words about this build.

No1.; i don't get why it's not more popular, because it's an awesome build.

I understand why azuz22 was not happy with this build, because it's not a guide written in every detail and every mousclick, if you havent played herald of agony before it can be a little bit difficult to get started, and i would not play it SSF because i think it's sometimes pretty annoying to get the proper gear.....but i guess that's why people play ssf :D

To my experience, i played HoA for the 3. or 4. time now, and the max duelist in combination with cyclone was really cool, it has some up's and down's.

I played it this time in normal legion (not hc) because i wanted to see how engame is. And it was pretty easy, first time did shaper and so on (lvl 91, not all gems an 20, only 2 gems on 20 qual and not much gear investment, i just did low budget investment, so there is plenty of upgrade potential to my char).

Of course i died some times because i ran everything underleveled and i did not looked up the fights in before, i wanted to learn how to do them, and even mit my budget char - if you know the fights a little everything is deathless possible :) - so big HC approve from me!

What i would recommend;
skin of the loyal is impressive dmg boost, but i think going on a helmet would still be the safer way in HC - +2 or +3 for minion gems on the helmet and supported by minion damage and maybe a second support, so you got a nice 5-6 link on the helmet and can go for a belly or kaom's

what i also liked a lot on previous HoA builds is going with barrage instead of cyclone, because positioning can be a lot easier/safer sometimes.

I think i will start next HC league with a HoA build :)

No one is using a "red nightmare" jewel? it gives 13% block chance from one jewel, with this, you don't even need rumi's flask up most of the time

i do use Red Nightmare, yes
long time fan of HoAg Cyclone.
build is even fun to min-max





atm i run 3 curses, poachers, rojectile weakness and assassins mark.
(maybe can swap defensive curses if needed)
there arnt many ways to effectively push Cawlers damage back to insane numbers, but 3 curses are helpful
also we have a 50% chance to shock on block

Aspect of Crab gives basically 20% phys reduction once you miss to block.
have 81% block (all the time, no rumi) and 8.1k life (would like to get more)
we get back 5% of maxlife on block.


i can run Hatred, Pride, War/Dread Banner and Aspect of the Crab while HoAg reserves 6% mana in helmet (also got the essence 50% conversion)


always looking for ways to improve.
not sure about last link in HoAg we free due to ditching pierce. trying faster attacks atm. hypothermia/vicious ect i have to observe longer.
same for last link in cyclone gloves setup.
wanted to try culling strike to get some more defense layers in form of endurance charge generation via red nightmare or some other utility.

i tried to scale my + weapon range wherever i could. (brinksmanship on tree, craft on amulet, craft on gloves)
the better the range, the better the virulence sustain and lgoh.
letting the virulence tick down is a dps dip

cheers

I tried culling strike in the cyclone link, but it seems pretty inconsistent, since usually mobs are one shot anyway, so I only get the endurance charge very occasionally. Is it worth to use this over withering touch?

Though I guess culling strike can be considered as a 10% more damage for boss.

Your gear is crazy, over 100ex?

That synthesis ring is so sweet, I wish it was a regular drop. Can't get it in Legion.

Thanks for the guide, i'm lvl 64 atm, leveling with this build, looks very solid for me (laggy connection) i havent died yet, and i like the agony summon :p

Will probably be even better with that dagger +3to global physical/spell gem levels. Even with one +3 is nothing to laugh at.