[3.23] The Reckoner

EDIT, May 2nd, 2024: Super dead in 3.24 due to loss of charms and patch changes to cap max block.


What is this build?
This is a build using the Reckoning counterattack skill as its primary form of damage! This archetype has existed for a decade in PoE's history, but I'm doing my best to re-imagine it for 2024. :)


Who is this build for?
Do you order cortado when you go out to the coffee place? Do you enjoy beeswax candles? This build is for you. And fans of Thom Yorke.

This is not an "all-rounder" by any stretch of the imagination and excels with specific content like fighting huge packs of mobs (Delirious harbingers in breaches and expeditions anyone? Cozy Beachhead & Delve?)

Don't care, give PoB
https://pobb.in/bYUCkyzDcqSV -- lvl90, Jan 7/2024
https://pobb.in/y2zqOJI5fuEP -- lvl94, Jan 8/2024
https://pobb.in/qQtfuiA4P-df -- lvl100, Jan 16/2024

Pros and Cons
+ Comfy borderline zero button gameplay
+ Very tanky in maps
+ Fully automated flask setup
+ Cheap to get going
+ Scales well with investment
+ No mana to manage
- Very abrasive bossing experience -- don't even try it!
- Not particularly capable of completing all content in the game
- Requires a lot of specific items

Counterattack Mechanics
Vengeance is an AoE skill that counterattacks with your weapon when you get hit. Investing in block and cooldown recovery are strong ways to improve this build.

Counterattacks do NOT leverage attack speed, and as such, we can tweak the build to invest more in raw damage without giving any consideration to attack speed, and even use strong supports that decrease attack speed like Pulverize or Melee Physical Damage.

Why Gladiator?
Blocks and Counterattacks are just prototypical Gladiator things! With this build, we're going to try and lean into the strengths and Gladiator, which I believe to be extremely underrated. With 99 attack block, we can generally forego physical mitigation, allowing us to do neat things like pick up Discipline, which has excellent synergy with spell blocks.

What's unique about this take on the build?
As mentioned, Facebreaker Reckoning is as old as PoE itself, but there are 4 things here that I think are novel.

1) Most importantly; newly available 99% block achievable in 3.23 really spins the build on its head, I feel. Not only is blocking significantly more reliably, you can functionally now ignore physical mitigation as rather than taking ~1/8 hits before (where you'd probably need to still run Determination) you are taking 1/100 hits which is beyond negligible. This opens up options to run Discipline, which has great synergy with other ES that you unavoidably get on your gear, and helps provide additional spell block via Watcher's Eye.

2) The combination of Forbidden Shako (now no longer requiring a helm enchant) and Replica Shroud of the Lightless provides the ability to lean into a very high level Pulverise on the helm (really helps with AoE) and gives you a wild amount of life + flat damage on the 6 abyss jewels. As your budget improves, and as the abyss farmers of the league start to churn out the atlas enhanced 6 mod corrupted jewels, you can really round out your stats via these jewels and solve additional problems like stats, resistances, and even neat stuff like ailment avoidance.

3) Gladiator is really underrated and underepresented. One theory I have, is that PoB dictates too much about how people gauge power. The line "ignore enemy physical damage reduction" (if you've blocked in the last 20 seconds.. which you have) in PoB provides zero sheet damage. Go ahead and slap some physical damage reduction % on the enemy and see how the value of this line changes. We know that physical damage reduction mobs exist. ;] There's a reason there's a ton of Overwhelm/Crush on the tree.. now we get to ignore it! Furthermore, the other line "attack damage is lucky" also needs to be milked. This is an extremely strong node, and is completely unique to Gladiator. On its own, this line provides me about ~12% more DPS with a random belt. With Ryslatha's Coil, it provides ~23% more DPS. In the end, we get about ~28% more DPS from the belt slot. That's unparalleled! (Mageblood aside! ;}) So, if you're fighting a rare archnem mob with phys reduction, and wearing Ryslatha's coil, this node that is often considered lackluster (IMO because of default PoB output) can provide absolutely massive gains.

In the same vein, the relatively new Volatility Support further enhances this lucky hit concept. If you're stacking both, it may be too much 'feast or famine' on the damage range for your taste, but ideally we're blocking many times a second and so the average should be quick legitimate.




On the defensive side, block doesn't add to max hit taken... but of course, once we get to 99-100% block, this is no longer a conditional thing and it can be an entirely reliable source of defense.

4) Stacking flat phys on Facebreaker builds is an age-old tradition. But what about Impale? We're a not crit build that uses Resolute Technique to solve accuracy. Crit is just a bridge too far IMO having to use Rigwald's Neck and then investing huge passive points into accuracy and crit... why not just stack Impale? We get great damage from this, but best of all, there is synergy between impale and flat phys stacking via Champion's Master of Metal, which we can pick up via Forbidden Flesh & Flame, and enhance via Watcher's Eye as well.




What Changed in 3.23?
- Helm/Glove/Boots enchants were removed, which takes some strain away from finding the right helm enchant on the right helm
- The power of skill gem quality on Reckoning were vastly increased, which for me enables this build to function in 3.23+ and makes Ashes of the Stars a very viable build choice. (it was also strong in 3.21 with Crucible trees, but those did not go core)
- The abundance that the Affliction league mechanic has meant that experimenting with whacky high-budget builds is great! Be cautious if you're reading this post 3.23.
- With alt quality gems being removed, there are many more people farming Replica Uniques which means that previously perhaps unable attainable items are now much more readily available.

Affliction-specific Thoughts
Charms add a lot of power to the build in the form of primarily max block chance allowing us to get to 99-100% attack block (rather than a usual 87-88%), but also can provide other fun stuff like cull, cooldown reduction, mana reservation efficiency, area damage, armour and all res. A nice little bit of 'free' power.



Defenses
- 99% overmax attack block (in Affliction) and 75% max spell block
- 77-78 max res
- 23% fortify
- strong on-demand regen from Enduring Cry
- life & es gain on block


Mandatory Gear
- Facebreakers
- High Block+Spell Block (30+% & 10%+) Shield
- High Flat Phys Damage Rings


Hunting for a Shako
Looking a Forbidden Shako can be a pain, especially depending on what time of the league it is. Get something rolling, don't be too choosey and try to refine it later. Some of these can be quite inexpensive, so you may want to try a few out.

Good Shako mods will include in no particular order: Melee Phys, Brutality, Cruelty, Maim, Pulverize, Impale, Rage.

There is certainly an ideal setup here, but you'll be at the mercy of what Oshabi gives to the market, so take what you can get, at least while getting the build off the ground. Be aware of the skill gem tags to decide what will go in your body armour versus what will go in your Shako.


If you don't want to engage with hunting for a Shako, working from a 6L and using an alternative helm in the interim is totally fine.

Can it be a League Starter?
Anything can be a league starter if you're brave enough! Like most things in PoE, it really depends on your expectations and your goals. If you're the kind of player who looks at league starter tier list and plans to get their watchstones on day 2 or 3? This is probably not your build. If you're the kind of player who is extremely experienced and can farm comfortable in suboptimal scenarios OR you're a player who isn't concerned with meta fervour -- this is a very fun and interesting build, I think! A build that makes 5 div an hour but you quit because its boring nets less currency than a build that makes 2 div an hour that you play for a long, long time. :)

Leveling
Levelling is decent, but don't expect to break any speedrunning records here. Working from the PoB, skip any cluster jewels or any investments in auras and that should take you comfortable to the end of the campaign. It can be a bit slow going at first. For levelling a strike skill build, I always recommend Smite (especially Vaal Smite) as its very strong in the campaign. Once you get your Reckoning + Facebreaker setup going, it starts all clicking.

Gearing










Anoints
A good place to make up the last bit of spell block that you need!


Flasks


Bandits
The 2 skill points are invaluable! Kill all bandits.

Pantheon
Major: Arakaali, as like most Duelist builds, there is a gap in DoT defense.
Minor: Aberrath, to counteract Ignite and Burning Ground. In particular, I enjoyed Delve and Searing Exarch Altars in 3.23, so this was just a natural fit.

About Cooldown Reduction Breakpoints
As you can imagine, the game engine is not capable of reducing a skill cooldown by 10 milliseconds. CDR is more or less the best stat for the build, but spending big money to add 1-2% CDR may not yield any gains. Be cognizant of CDR breakpoints (tinker in PoB!) when you get to the point of very finely tuning the build. You can alternative between 21/20 and 20/23 gems to shift in and out of breakpoints as you gather more CDR via your gear!

Can this build be played in other modes?
x

FAQ
Q: 99 block, why not 100?
A: It's possible with a corrupted shield implicit, but IMO it's not worth it or necessary. You have enough armour to take the extremely occasional phys hit.

Q: How do I deal with stragglers?
A: If you're clearing a Maven 10-way, or a Delve node, or something where all mobs must be killed to proceed, Ancestral Warchief can be quite helpful in killing a pesky single mob that has unaggresive AI or doesn't attack in a conventional way. (ex: Burial Chambers boss)

Q: Any thoughts on Vaal Breach?
A: I don't believe that it really solves the problem with small groups of mobs that are problematic for counterattacking. The souls cost is too high, and the number of mobs spawned is in too wide an area.

Final Considerations
- don't be fooled by PoB (good advice for PoE in general), the DPS is very specific and under optimal concerns. There is a reason counterattacks are not meta. ;}
- hopefully this guide has some cool ideas that get you thinking about counterattacks and Gladiator in general!
- I've posted a Triple Counterattack Slayer guide as well, if counterattacks have your blood pumping

Videos
T16 Map
T16 Delve

Can we use skill such as Cyclone (change the armour) for more active dps?

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darkragnarok100 wrote:

Can we use skill such as Cyclone (change the armour) for more active dps?

I'll give it a whirl. I've been thinking about it, but the attack speed and mana management are pathetic (by design) you might end up adding like 2M DPS on the cyclone at the cost of 20M DPS (of sheet damage) on the Reckoning.

For Counterattacks with Cyclone, I quite like Cyclone Slayer w/ Marohi Erqi or Atziri's Disfavour and Cyclone+Vengeance in each respective 6L... but that's a diff build altogether.

Yo bro, im using your build with adapted megalomaniac so i can use synth shield, tanky af, cheers

Hello, how is this looking for 3.24 ? Many changes? Ty

It's super dead in 3.24, I'm afraid. The 'borrowed power' from the charms, and GGG actually implemented a max block cap ceiling in 3.24.