Video!



This is a relatively cheap build. All you need is a Soul Taker (Currently 3 - 5 exalts & a Jack, the Axe currently 1 chaos - 1 exalt. Prices taken from Warabnds league.



Been working on this character for a while now. I've always liked Soul Taker it's a great item that doesn't see much use anymore. However with Jack the Axe finally being added to the game I just knew I had to make a build with it!



This build takes advantage of the new Bloodlust support gem giving us up to 59% MORE damage on our attacks!



http://pathofexile.gamepedia.com/Bloodlust



Now, how do we activate Bloodlust? Jack the Axe! That's how! This new weapon added with the 2.0 expansion is pretty damn awesome!







It gives us everything we want to supplement a Soul Taker build. High attack speed, huge life leech and of course! Jack causes bleeding on hit.



How do we trigger Bleeding on hit? You can't directly cause bleeding on hit with Cyclone because of how the Bloodlust gem works. Make sure Jack, the Axe is in your main hand other wise Leap Slam and Vengeance won't apply the bleed effect.



Typically you just mow everything down even in high level maps but for rares and bosses or tough magic packs we make use of Leap Slam linked with Increased Area of Effect to bleed an entire pack or rare monster / boss. At which point the 59% MORE damage modifier kicks in and lets us absolutely melt tough targets.



Current Gear

Spoiler



Jewels:



Bandits were Normal: Help Oak / Cruel: Help Kraitlyn / Merc: Kill all or help Oak or Krait if you want extra charges.



The skill tree is pretty no brainer you can path just about any way you want. However if there is enough feedback requesting a more detailed leveling path I'll do my best to set that up.



Skill Tree - level 88

Spoiler https://poebuilder.com/character/AAAAAgQAuR2bLRXsivDEgulGypCE2Ud-Ady9NnfjZU2pbr6neWjAGmBBwQR4DW87Y3BfP7XyEdX2SBQgcmw1km20V5eMz-8ObEb-j9i9qAdDMT38UEcyCU3jZ4C_1cMz2sFYY-RRpldTu1oaLlN07Webl3kxnkSe028FLUF0KCohYHrvJJuLT8GLdPH3TZtqgUEppYVSNe_ZYTrtrY3Pfnas6hj3Mvjrcql82WRSFHHz3bvtrKpVqU4ywaPZfGhlkc5Z85e0F-HiYYIHGjhqASb4MHfyQZBVE0xZ_icvLdKfPg==



Skill Tree - level 93

Spoiler https://poebuilder.com/character/AAAAAgQAuR2bLRXsivDEgulGypCE2Ud-Ady9NnfjZU2pbr6neWjAGmBBwQR4DW87Y3BfP7XyEdX2SBQgcmw1km20V5eMz-8ObEb-j9i9qAdDMT38UEcyCU3jZ4C_1cMz2sFYY-RRpldTu1oaLlN07Webl3kxnkSe028FLUF0KCohYHrvJJuLT8GLdPH3TZtqgUEppYVSNe_ZYTrtrY3Pfnas6hj3Mvjrcql82WRSFHHz3bvtrKpVqU4ywaPZfGhlkc5Z85e0F-HiYYIHGjhqASb4MHfyQZBVE0xZ_icvLdKfPhjbWp9kxO3XZrY=



Skill tree - level 100 *It's finally happening this league!*

Spoiler https://poebuilder.com/character/AAAAAgQAuR2bLRXsivDEgulGypCE2Ud-Ady9NnfjZU2pbr6neWjAGmBBwQR4DW87Y3BfP7XyEdX2SBQgcmw1km20V5eMz-8ObEb-j9i9qAdDMT38UEcyCU3jZ4DDM9rBWGPkUaZXWhouU3TtZ5uXeTGeLIXTbwUtQXQoKiFgJJuLT8GLdPH3TZtqgUEY2ymlhVI171qf2WE67WTErY3t189-ZrZ2rOoY9zL463KpfNlkUhRx89277ayqVamJ2E4ywaPZfGhlkc5Z85e0aFgX4eJhggefPho4cg9qAdeWJvgwd_JBLdKQVZRvE0xZ_icvZlT-CvJFOuE=



You can drop the Cloth & Chain cluster soon as you have enough res on gear. It's just a nice cluster that gives quite a bit of armor and res early on while not being terribly out of the way.



Current gear will allow me to swap out my Daresso's for a Lightning Coil I just haven't bought a 6 link one yet. The only required gear for the build to work are Soul Taker and Jack the axe. Everything else is supplementary. You can make this build for under 3 exalts or spend as much as you like with Lightning Coil + Headhunter as long term goals.



The skill tree is pretty flexible you can pick up some extra stat nodes if you can't get the stats on gear. You can also pick up a 5th Endurance charge if your gear is lacking in defense.



For jewels. You want to focus on stacking phys damage, attack speed and life. High attack speed is really powerful in conjunction with the massive damage we get from Bloodlust but it's really preference.



You can do any map mods with this build. I personally choose to avoid Blood Magic just because I like my auras, but its easily doable with a little more caution and potion management. For exceptionally hard mods you can swap out Herald of Ashe + AA for Grace, or if the map is ElE weakness you can use Purity of Elements.



I prefer to use the Punishment Curse however Vulnerability is really powerful and probably better because it doesn't require a monster to physically attack you to trigger the buff and it also double dips and causes our bleed from Jack to do even more damage. You can however use any curse you like. Temp Chains, Enfeeble, Vulnerability, or Punishment.



Sadly the Fortify Buff



The build also has a passive 17% chance to block and in my case 6% chance to dodge. You could obviously choose to use a Rumi's Concoction for another 20 - 30% additional block and 10 - 15% spell block. Giving you 47% chance to block on top of your already stacked defenses.



Defense - No Buffs

Spoiler Note* I'm still missing 20% life from tree and a possible 7% extra if I roll it for my 4th jewel socket. I suspect I'll easily have 6k HP by then. Note* I'm still missing 20% life from tree and a possible 7% extra if I roll it for my 4th jewel socket. I suspect I'll easily have 6k HP by then.



Defense - Endurance Charges x4

Spoiler



Defense - Endurance Charges x4 + Flasks

Spoiler Note* This includes Taste of Hate which means 30% of all physical damage I take is instead taken as cold. Basically Lightning Coil in a bottle. Note* This includes Taste of Hate which means 30% of all physical damage I take is instead taken as cold. Basically Lightning Coil in a bottle.



Offense - No Buffs

Spoiler True DPS with Hypothermia is 26,782. Against a bleeding target that goes up to 42,583. True DPS with Hypothermia is 26,782. Against a bleeding target that goes up to 42,583.



Offense - Frenzy Charges x4 + Onslaught

Spoiler Note* This is your standard DPS. You'll have this with 100% up time. True DPS with Hypothermia is 37,837. Against a bleeding target that goes up to 60,161. Note* This is your standard DPS. You'll have this with 100% up time. True DPS with Hypothermia is 37,837. Against a bleeding target that goes up to 60,161.



Offense - Frenzy Charges x4 + Onslaught + Taste of Hate + Atziri's Promise + Punishment

Spoiler Note* This is pretty standard though for any tough rares, magic packs or bosses. With good flask management this isn't hard to keep up. True DPS with Hypothermia + Bloodlust here is 116,109. Not to shabby :^) Note* This is pretty standard though for any tough rares, magic packs or bosses. With good flask management this isn't hard to keep up. True DPS with Hypothermia + Bloodlust here is 116,109. Not to shabby :^)



Obviously with some better gear and Lightning Coil you'll have even higher damage than what you see here. I'm confident this is a better build than any 2h Axe build. For starters you don't need to sacrifice a gem slot for Blood Magic and we can easily take advantage of Bloodlust.



I've been having a load of fun with this build and wanted to share with anyone interested. Jack the Axe is an awesome item and hearing him ramble on while doing maps is pretty comical. So far I've noticed he has a few lines when entering specific maps, Spider Lair, Vaults of Atziri, etc.



In the end, sure it's just another Cyclone build but it's insanely versatile, strong, defensive and is super cheap for HUGE damage all thanks to the undervalued support gem Bloodlust and the super cheap axes Jack & Soul Taker.



This is my first "guide" so if you have any advice please comment. I hope some of you consider trying this build out!



Thanks for reading!



*Edit*



I messed around with Hypothermia in a Tabula and worked out the math. It is indeed quite a bit more damage than Wep Ele and with how Soul Taker functions (Physical damage chills) You have basically 100% chance chill effect on all targets. This increased our maximum damage by 9,000 DPS. Which will only go up once you get 20 quality gems or vaal your gems for 21lvl/20q or 20lvl/23q. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F_QCz7Gtrm8 I apologize for the lack of editing. I have never created a video before. It's about 8 minutes long showing a couple maps + boss kills. Highest map level is only 74. I haven't been mapping much. Waiting for 2.0.2 patch. However when I do 80 - 82 maps /w friends it's about the same.All you need is a Soul Taker (Currently 3 - 5 exalts & a Jack, the Axe currently 1 chaos - 1 exalt. Prices taken from Warabnds league.Been working on this character for a while now. I've always liked Soul Taker it's a great item that doesn't see much use anymore. However with Jack the Axe finally being added to the game I just knew I had to make a build with it!This build takes advantage of the new Bloodlust support gem giving us up to 59% MORE damage on our attacks!Now, how do we activate Bloodlust? Jack the Axe! That's how! This new weapon added with the 2.0 expansion is pretty damn awesome!It gives us everything we want to supplement a Soul Taker build. High attack speed, huge life leech and of course! Jack causes bleeding on hit.You can't directly cause bleeding on hit with Cyclone because of how the Bloodlust gem works. Make sure Jack, the Axe is in your main hand other wise Leap Slam and Vengeance won't apply the bleed effect.Typically you just mow everything down even in high level maps but for rares and bosses or tough magic packs we make use of Leap Slam linked with Increased Area of Effect to bleed an entire pack or rare monster / boss. At which point the 59% MORE damage modifier kicks in and lets us absolutely melt tough targets.Current GearJewels:Bandits were Normal: Help Oak / Cruel: Help Kraitlyn / Merc: Kill all or help Oak or Krait if you want extra charges.The skill tree is pretty no brainer you can path just about any way you want. However if there is enough feedback requesting a more detailed leveling path I'll do my best to set that up.Skill Tree - level 88Skill Tree - level 93Skill tree - level 100 *It's finally happening this league!*You can drop the Cloth & Chain cluster soon as you have enough res on gear. It's just a nice cluster that gives quite a bit of armor and res early on while not being terribly out of the way.Current gear will allow me to swap out my Daresso's for a Lightning Coil I just haven't bought a 6 link one yet. The only required gear for the build to work are Soul Taker and Jack the axe. Everything else is supplementary. You can make this build for under 3 exalts or spend as much as you like with Lightning Coil + Headhunter as long term goals.The skill tree is pretty flexible you can pick up some extra stat nodes if you can't get the stats on gear. You can also pick up a 5th Endurance charge if your gear is lacking in defense.For jewels. You want to focus on stacking phys damage, attack speed and life. High attack speed is really powerful in conjunction with the massive damage we get from Bloodlust but it's really preference.You can do any map mods with this build. I personally choose to avoid Blood Magic just because I like my auras, but its easily doable with a little more caution and potion management. For exceptionally hard mods you can swap out Herald of Ashe + AA for Grace, or if the map is ElE weakness you can use Purity of Elements.I prefer to use the Punishment Curse however Vulnerability is really powerful and probably better because it doesn't require a monster to physically attack you to trigger the buff and it also double dips and causes our bleed from Jack to do even more damage. You can however use any curse you like. Temp Chains, Enfeeble, Vulnerability, or Punishment.Sadly the Fortify Buff http://pathofexile.gamepedia.com/Fortify isn't shown on your character sheet but this build has 100% uptime on Fortify granting us an additional 20% reduced damage taken from all hits 100% of the time! Excluding damage over time effects.The build also has a passive 17% chance to block and in my case 6% chance to dodge. You could obviously choose to use a Rumi's Concoction for another 20 - 30% additional block and 10 - 15% spell block. Giving you 47% chance to block on top of your already stacked defenses.Defense - No BuffsDefense - Endurance Charges x4Defense - Endurance Charges x4 + FlasksOffense - No BuffsOffense - Frenzy Charges x4 + OnslaughtOffense - Frenzy Charges x4 + Onslaught + Taste of Hate + Atziri's Promise + PunishmentObviously with some better gear and Lightning Coil you'll have even higher damage than what you see here. I'm confident this is a better build than any 2h Axe build. For starters you don't need to sacrifice a gem slot for Blood Magic and we can easily take advantage of Bloodlust.I've been having a load of fun with this build and wanted to share with anyone interested. Jack the Axe is an awesome item and hearing him ramble on while doing maps is pretty comical. So far I've noticed he has a few lines when entering specific maps, Spider Lair, Vaults of Atziri, etc.In the end, sure it's just another Cyclone build but it's insanely versatile, strong, defensive and is super cheap for HUGE damage all thanks to the undervalued support gem Bloodlust and the super cheap axes Jack & Soul Taker.This is my first "guide" so if you have any advice please comment. I hope some of you consider trying this build out!Thanks for reading!*Edit*I messed around with Hypothermia in a Tabula and worked out the math. It is indeed quite a bit more damage than Wep Ele and with how Soul Taker functions (Physical damage chills) You have basically 100% chance chill effect on all targets. This increased our maximum damage by 9,000 DPS. Which will only go up once you get 20 quality gems or vaal your gems for 21lvl/20q or 20lvl/23q. Last edited by Rainbowvomit on Aug 18, 2015, 9:38:22 AM Last bumped on Mar 5, 2016, 6:32:57 AM