[3.20] MELEE ISN'T DEAD!! Avery's Vaal Reave/ Blade Flurry Build [League starter, 200+ million DPS]

Welcome to my Reave/ Blade Flurry build!

This build is my first shared build that I have been working on for the past 4 leagues. I finally want to share this with everyone to see how it really can turn out. I have not been able to get this build yet to level 100 or do all content because work has been busy but through the storyline and up to level 10 maps it's smooth as butter. Originally it was a near 1/2 billion DPS build but I realized it needs to last and not be a glass cannon so I have focused on defense in the last two leagues.

Do note your more than welcome to change the build however you like. This is simply a recommended build not a follow 100% down-the-line build.

If you have any questions please ask and I will try to answer as often as I can.


Now let's get started!

Updated (3/7/23):
PoB link: https://pastebin.com/4dTDwNpM

For PoB- please play around with it. It has multiple Trees for leveling, gear can be changed out (for referencing) and a level guide in the notes. In the skills section, you can cntrl+ click to activate/ de-activate the skills for easy skill swapping between each act.

Filter: https://www.filterblade.xyz/?profile=Silentlegion24&saveState=H1NVSXQFLKOOXQ&platform=pc


Pro's
+Huge damage = kills things quicker
+Fast
+It can be a do-all build
+Cheap to start, powerful to max out
+Can League Start since you really don't need any uniques to do well
+Tanky


Con's
- Can't do physical damage reflect maps
- Can get expensive to max out
- Do not know how it does in Hardcore
- Lot of button pressing
- Its a damage ramp up build= more you attack quickly the more damage you can output


3.20 Changes
We get Vaal Blade Flurry- will be giving it a try this league.
Smite- devs said this didn't change mechanically just wording wise
Waiting for PoB to update to see full changes but devs said melee builds should do better this league against enemies.

How I play this build
Spoiler
For Bossing make sure to save up your Vaal's, first lay down Vaal Ancestral Warchief and Ancestral Protect. If boss needs to load up when meeting charge up with Blade Flurry and release once they start fight (work on timing as holding can take away our mana fast). Use Vaal Reave after BF release if the boss isn't dead. With 3.20 Vaal BF, we can try VBF at this time or early on. If the boss isn't dead you can use BF or Reave to finish them off.

For mapping, I stay with Reave.


Leveling
Spoiler

Act 1
Spoiler

-Pickup your first weapon, kill the first enemy and equip the gem he drops to the weapon.
Make sure to pick up everything along the way. Once you get to the chest, open it and equip that gem with the first one. Kill Hillock, the mini-boss. Don't forget to pick up everything. Go into Lioneye's Watch.

-Talk to Tarkleigh to receive your reward for killing Hillock and sell it, Sell all the items you have picked up that you do not need (keep armor-based gear and axes or swords).
-Purchase from Nessa Cleave gem (R) and Smite gem (R). Slot them into your gear.
-Look for boots with movement speed from Tarkleigh (purchase if available and equip, he sells boots with 10% movement speed). (If not available continue looking every time you level up until you find boots with movement speed or get the crafting mod in Act 2)
-Purchase a mana flask if you have extra currency.

-Advance to The Coast and continue the storyline. Start looking for R+R+G, and R+R+R gear. (Make sure to equip)

Note: Find any shield to equip as quickly as possible (Armor with life or evasion with movement speed type shields are preferred). Axe weapons early on are a favorite due to attack speed and damage output.
Reminder: you can sell your currency like armor scraps early on for scrolls if you are short on them and need them for boots or gems (keep blacksmith whetstone for Physical Damage gear crafting). You can also purchase chrome gear (R+B+G 3 linked gear) from Tarkleigh early on, it is an easy currency upgrade.

-Once you enter The Submerged Passage, hit the waypoint and return back to town (Lioneye's Watch). I recommend you complete Mercy Mission in The Tidal Island before returning back to town, this area is to the side of your first waypoint you come across.
-In town speak to Tarkleigh for reaching the Submirged Passage and receive Ancestral Protect(R) and Stealskin(R). Equip Ancestral Protect(R) in any open red slot and sell Stealskin(R).
If you completed Mercy Mission (or when you complete this mission), talk to Nessa at this time to earn Onslaught gem (G) and a Quicksilver Flask.
-Equip Onslaught(G) with Smite(R). I recommend having a 3-link setup at this time (R+R+G).
-Go to Nessa and purchase 2- Chance to Bleed(R), 1- War Banner(R), 1- Ancestral Call(R) and 1- Blood and Sand(R).
-Equip a Chance to Bleed (R) with Cleave(R) and keep the other Chance to Bleed for later on (level up the gem in off weapons).
-Equip Smite(R)+Ancestral Call(R)+Onslaught(G), if you do not have 3 link sockets yet just do Smite(R)+Ancestral Call(R) until available to upgrade.
-Equip War Banner(R), and Blood and Sand(R) in available gear slots.
Purchase and equip a Jade Amulet from Nessa as early as possible until dexterity from the tree is sufficient for gear and green gems.

In total you should have setup:
Chance to Bleed (R) + Cleave (R)
Smite (R) + Ancestral Call (R) + Onslaught (G)
War Banner (R)
Blood and Sand (R)


-Continue on with Storyline and make sure to activate War Banner (R) and Blood and Sand (R) (press twice to make it into blood mode for most damage (may have to wait for cool down)). You will use Smite for multiple enemies and Cleave for single hard-to-kill enemies/ bosses.
-Once you get to the Prison, take the waypoint back to town (Lioneye's Watch).
-Talk to Nessa and receive Melee Splash(R) as a reward.
-Purchase from Nessa: Maim(R) to use with Cleave(R) (will need two R+R+R gear items at this time).

Equip your gem setup as follows:
Smite(R)+ Ancestral Call(R)+ Melee Splash (R)
Cleave(R)+ Chance to Bleed(R)+ Maim(R)
(Smite for AoE, Cleave for single target)
Keep Onslaught(G) leveling in off-gear for later use with Lacerate (G).

-On with the Storyline. Once you defeat Brutus and get to the Prisoner's Gate waypoint, go back to town.
-Speak with Tarkleigh to earn Leap Slam(R) as your reward. (Leap Slam can be used with swords).
-Purchase from Nessa: Precision(G) (Cost: 1x orb of transmutation)(ATTENTION: DO NOT level Precision(G) past lvl 3 in early game. All your other gems you can continue leveled up as normal (save room in mana pool))

-Continue on with Storyline. Start looking for G+G+R sword. Once you get to Merveil's Caverns hit the Waypoint and go back to town.
Pick any skill gem for reward and sell it. Purchase Lacerate(G) from Nessa. You will replace Smite (R) with this and equip Lacerate(G) with Onslaught(G) and Chance to Bleed(R). This is were that G+G+R sword will be needed.

Complete Act 1.



Act 2

Spoiler
-Pick any- sell, purchase- Herald of Purity(R) (cost 1- Orb of Alt (blue orb)) and Flesh and Stone (R) (not needed but helpful for Lacerate (G)) (will need to turn off Precision to use with Flesh and Stone (R))

-Help Alira (will change to 2 passive points later (20x Orb of Regret +
1x Onyx Amulet) in mapping but the mana reg. is very helpful early on)

-Pick Faster Attack (G), swap Onslaught (G) out, buy Melee Physical Damage (R), swap out Chance to Bleed (R) (on Lacerate (G) for both gems)
-Buy Culling Strike (G) for Ancestral Protect (R). Buy Close Combat (G) for later. Buy Faster Attack (G) for Leap Slam (R).

End of Act2 gem checkpoint:
Lacerate(G)+ Faster attack(G)+ Melee Physical Damage(R)
Cleave(R)+ Chance to Bleed(R)+ Melee Physical Damage(R)
Ancestral protect(R) + Culling strike(G)
Leap Slam(R) + Faster Attack(G)
Precision(G)
War Banner(R)
Herald of Purity (R)
Flesh and Stone(R)
Blood and Sand(R)

When attacking in Blood mode you will have: Lacerate(G)+ Faster Attack(G)+ Melee Physical Damage(R)+ Maim(R)+ Bleed (R) (Maim and Bleed are free from Lacerate itself and Flesh and Stone)


Act 3
Spoiler

-Pick Pride (R) and level up in your extra gear set. Purchase Dread Banner(R)(orb of alt), swap out with War Banner(R)
-Start looking for 4L gear (continue checking gear sellers) (look for G+G+R gear or G+G+R+R or G+G+R+B)
-After opening up the tunnel with the flame, kill the mini-boss then head for the library, hit the waypoint in the garden then go back to town
-Pickup Ancestral Warchief (R) and equip with Ancestral Protect (R) + Culling Strike (G), once you get Vaal Ancestral Warchief (R) you will replace it for normal AW (don't forget to add maim in the set when you get a 4L available 3R+G)
-Head for the library but bring with you for currency: (1)Orb of Transmutation, (1)Orb of Chance, (1)Scroll of Wisdom, (1)Orb of Alt
-Pickup Impale(G), Buy Reave(G)(Trans), Blade Flurry(G)(Chance), Conc Effect (B)(Alt), Infused Chan (B)(Wis)
Swap Reave(G) for Vaal Reave(G) (VR) as soon as possible for smooth gameplay
If you are a veteran player you can do 1st Lab at this time. If not recommend waiting till Act 4.

For better totem support start looking to purchase Vaal Caress off the market board (level 27) also if you need a 4-link VR you can get Lakishu blade (level 28) for multistrike until you can get it on your own.


Act 4
Spoiler

-Pickup Berserk (R), Purchase: Immortal Call (R) (orb of chance)
-Do Labs at level 38 or when feel comfortable (recommend after opening mines)
-Pickup MultiStrike(R), Purchase: Brutality(R)(Alch) and Cast when damage taken (R)(Alch) (Both can be purchased at a later time if needed)

End of Act 4 gem Checkpoint:
You should have every gem setup or secondary weapon leveling to be ready to be put into the main slots.


Act 5 +
Spoiler

Reminder when finding gear for order of priority:
Resistance (get on all gear but weapon)
Health (all gear but weapon)
Armor (all gear)
Attack Speed (weapon and gloves)
Physical damage buffs (rings, gloves, and weapon)
Crit/sparkles/ bling




Tips and Tricks
Spoiler

Note: When changing Tree to specific setup you will also need to change skills (turn off previous set and turn on current map set) and flip to the correct item set for a more accurate repensentation.

Physical damage recipe:
weapon + blacksmith's whetstone + rustic sash.
magic sash will give you 20-49% physical damage,
rare sash will give you 50-69% physical damage

Movement speed recipe: (max speed is 30%)
1 pair of boots + Quicksilver Flask+ Orb of Augmentation
Boots can be with or without movement speed but will increase by 5% each time until you get to 30%. Boots will become blue spec'ed.

Helpful Level Uniques but not needed:
wonderlust
goldrim
Lochtonial Caress
screaming eagle
any unique sword you find useful
lakishu blade
wake of destruction
wurms molt

Reminder when finding gear for order of priority:
Resistance
Health
Armor
Physical damage buffs
sparkles/ bling

Weapons stat priority:
Attack Speed
Physical Damage
Crit
Added effects


Gear order colors for Vaal Reave (VR):

G+G+R
VR+fast attack/impale/close combat + melee phy
G+G+R+R
VR+impale+melee phy+ multistrike
G+G+R+R+B
VR+ impale + melee phy + multistrike + conc effect
G+G+G+R+R+B
In skill tree



Gear order for Blade Flurry(BF):
G+G+R
BF+Close Combat(CC)+ Melee Phys(MP)
G+G+R+B
BF+CC+MP+Infused Channeling
5L+ start gem swapping it with VR setup

Ascendancy order: Crave the Slaughter -> Rite of Ruin -> Flawless Savagery -> Aspect of the Carnage

Pantheons: use what you like and find useful for you.
Suggestions:
Main: Lunaris for early game, Brine King when your able to unlock cannot be frozen, Arakaali for end game using Blood Rage trick
Secondary: Gruthkul for early leveling, Garukhan if you don't want shock, blind or maim, Shakari if you don't want to deal with Chaos

If you find any corrupt areas do them to find Vaal Ancestral Warchief or VaalReave^7^7. Vaal orb + gem= possible chance to turn it into a Vaal gem(rare chance) (ESSENCES ARE FREE ALCS)

Notes:
When you get to maps and have enough Resistance swap out Alira to 2 Passive points (20 Orb of Regret + 1 Onyx Amulet)

Min. suggested HP per Acts:
1-300
2-600
3-900
4-1200
5-1500
6-1800
7-2100
8-2400
9-2700
10-3000

Chaos recipe: 60-74 gear set, Regal recipe: 75-100 gear set

Labryth min. level per area:
Normal: As soon as you get the trials- recommend doing it once you get to the mines in act 4
Cruel: 40
Merc.: 50
Uber: 60
Monster lvl per lab: 33,55,68,75


Q&A
Spoiler
Coming soon


Like to thank Kiss_Me_Quick, g00fy_goober, and killdeath for sharing their builds as this build wouldn't be this build without there knowledge and guidance


Guide in works
Last edited by Silentlegion24 on Mar 7, 2023, 6:26:34 PM
Last bumped on Feb 8, 2023, 3:25:07 PM
Hello how you know its 200 m when your highest char lvl 70 ?

No trolling serious question

If you want to claim 200 mil dps u need uber boss vids not pobs

Respect
Your strength is the law !!

MadG poe on youtube for mellee content
"
eldest-bike4 wrote:
Hello how you know its 200 m when your highest char lvl 70 ?

No trolling serious question

If you want to claim 200 mil dps u need uber boss vids not pobs

Respect


Pob has everything activated kekw

69 rage kek

Post is a troll, op is a minion boi and haven't gone far with any build
Sorry, didn't realize my personal builds would be an interest to look at. With the cap of 25 characters per account, I try to free up space before every league to play multiple builds per league. I typically save the ones I like playing to play again at a later time. I deleted most of my Reave builds because I know I'm going to replay them and I don't treat my highest builds like trophies like most people.

To explain who I am: I have been playing PoE since the Nemesis league. I have seen the highs and lows of Reave and remember the stat sticks as a big buff that GGG took away. Killdeath was a big early league builder for Reave but got banned for life from GGG because of his builds and play style being too much for them to handle. They would make changes and he would find ways of breaking the system. Back then it was against the rules unlike now.

Did you know Neversink was a builder before his filters? He had a bow-build guide that was very nice. Tornado shot was the big damage dealer back then but he also had lightning shot as the AOE attacker. We didn't have build guides as in-depth or focused on defense as they are today but Neversink builds were always amazing to play. He even made a Reave build at one point early on.

I'm trying to share my build as I have been seeing Reave as the overlooked gem and I feel underplayed. Everyone keeps saying Melee is dead. I feel like it is not dead but they just haven't found the right build. This build focuses heavily on defense and then attacks at the end with a little bit more defense added in. Most of our damage is slow until we slot our first Ascendancy node and then it's smooth sailing from there.

Happy 3.20 playing and good luck everyone. May the currency gods be in your favor.
"
Sorry, didn't realize my personal builds would be an interest to look at. With the cap of 25 characters per account, I try to free up space before every league to play multiple builds per league. I typically save the ones I like playing to play again at a later time. I deleted most of my Reave builds because I know I'm going to replay them and I don't treat my highest builds like trophies like most people.

To explain who I am: I have been playing PoE since the Nemesis league. I have seen the highs and lows of Reave and remember the stat sticks as a big buff that GGG took away. Killdeath was a big early league builder for Reave but got banned for life from GGG because of his builds and play style being too much for them to handle. They would make changes and he would find ways of breaking the system. Back then it was against the rules unlike now.

Did you know Neversink was a builder before his filters? He had a bow-build guide that was very nice. Tornado shot was the big damage dealer back then but he also had lightning shot as the AOE attacker. We didn't have build guides as in-depth or focused on defense as they are today but Neversink builds were always amazing to play. He even made a Reave build at one point early on.

I'm trying to share my build as I have been seeing Reave as the overlooked gem and I feel underplayed. Everyone keeps saying Melee is dead. I feel like it is not dead but they just haven't found the right build. This build focuses heavily on defense and then attacks at the end with a little bit more defense added in. Most of our damage is slow until we slot our first Ascendancy node and then it's smooth sailing from there.

Happy 3.20 playing and good luck everyone. May the currency gods be in your favor.

But you have not even killed any endgame bosses to speak of. Not even 2 voidstones. Bait post.
After adjusting for all the BS and taking away flasks, Reave is at 15.8m dps (with no infusion).

Adrenaline/Elusive/69 rage KEKW
Those who say melee is dead...take a look at THIS build and get back to me.

https://poe.ninja/challenge/builds/char/asg3195/성역버커힘스태킹할꺼다?i=0&search=sort%3Ddps
"
Mystheria wrote:
Those who say melee is dead...take a look at THIS build and get back to me.

https://poe.ninja/challenge/builds/char/asg3195/성역버커힘스태킹할꺼다?i=0&search=sort%3Ddps

You´re posting a build worth multiple mirrors... with that amount of currency you can make everything work. This is not a testament of melee working, though I am personally not even convinced it doesn´t work.
"
Mystheria wrote:
Those who say melee is dead...take a look at THIS build and get back to me.

https://poe.ninja/challenge/builds/char/asg3195/성역버커힘스태킹할꺼다?i=0&search=sort%3Ddps



Mellee not dead lol i clear all game every leaugue on mellee

This leaugue perforate voidforge berserk

All content done

Respect
Your strength is the law !!

MadG poe on youtube for mellee content
Last edited by eldest-bike4 on Feb 8, 2023, 3:25:24 PM

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