'%20x='0'%20y='0'%20height='100%25'%20width='100%25'%20%0A%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20xlink%3Ahref='data:image/jpg;base64,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'%3E%3C/image%3E%3C/svg%3E)
In Path of Exile, the Guardian class is a solid Ascendancy path choice for Templars. It consists of tank/support characters with skills and passives focused on enhancing and protecting allies. With the ability to specialize in Auras, Guardians can grant their allies up to four additional defensive auras. They also excel in charge generation and sharing, periodic defensive skills, and the ability to use Onslaught for increased ally speed.
Guardians in Path of Exile are flexible in terms of builds. They are known to be a powerful class even in different playstyles. However, patch 3.21 has seen some major buffs and updates on skills.
In this article, we will look into a Guardian build that capitalizes on the current meta changes. If you are looking for a solid build that deals high DPS and does not require a lot of resources to invest in, this one is for you.
Note: Some aspects of this article are subjective and reflect the opinions of the writer
Path of Exile Crucible guide: What is the best Guardian Crucible League build?
Path of Exile Patch 3.21 marked the return of a fan-favorite spell, the Animate Weapon. While it was never truly gone in the previous versions, it just did not have significant impacts on the game. However, with the adjusted attack speed and damage provided by the Animate Weapon gem, clearing has never been so efficient.
The clunky playstyle has also been fixed, making it very easy to stack DPS. Additionally, a new Vaal Skill Gem has been introduced. The Animate Weapon functions by transforming a melee weapon found on the ground into a flying minion that hunts down and eliminates your foes.
To animate weapons, you can use those dropped by enemies or make use of Lingering Blades created by skills like Ethereal Knives or Bladefall. If no suitable dropped weapons are available, casting knives and animating them can serve as a viable alternative.
This build is also focused on Fire damage. Armor in Path of Exile reduces physical damage by blocking a fixed amount of damage per hit, making it more effective against smaller hits rather than a percentage reduction like resistances.
This means that bosses with high armor will take less physical damage from Animated Weapons, which deliver multiple fast hits. However, converting our damage to elemental can bypass monster armor entirely, and we have various means to overcome resistance.
In particular, fire damage offers several effective ways to reduce monster resistance. By linking the Combustion Support Gem to a secondary minion, we can ignite enemies and lower their fire resistance by 10%.
Additionally, setting up a dual-curse configuration on our Animate Guardian in Path of Exile allows us to apply both Flammability and Elemental Weakness curses, which is not possible with other elements. Furthermore, using skills like Scorch and taking advantage of the Exposure from the Elemental Army support, we can further reduce enemy fire resistance.
Here are some of their notable passives for Guardians in Path of Exile:
Radiant Faith - Bestows upon you and your allies a substantial boost in protection. It provides you and nearby allies with armor equivalent to 160% of your Reserved Life, ensuring enhanced defensive capabilities. Additionally, it grants you and your allies a maximum Energy Shield equal to 10% of your Reserved Mana, reinforcing your resilience even further.
Unwavering Faith - Greatly bolsters your resilience in combat through the power of auras. Auras emitted by your Skills not only grant you a solid +1% reduction in Physical Damage, but they also bestow upon you and your allies the ability to regenerate 0.2% of your Life per second. This restorative effect aids in sustaining your health pool during intense battles, providing continuous healing to you and your allies.
Harmony of Purpose - Disrupts the plans of your adversaries while fostering unity within your party. Nearby enemies are deprived of the ability to gain Power, Frenzy, or Endurance Charges, hindering their offensive capabilities. On the other hand, you and your nearby party members share these coveted charges with each other, strengthening your collective prowess. Moreover, there is a 20% chance to gain a Power, Frenzy, or Endurance Charge whenever you successfully land a hit, further augmenting your combat potential.
Radiant Crusade - Reinforces your resistance to elemental threats and empowers you and your nearby allies. It imparts a significant 20% increase to all Elemental Resistances, making you more resilient against elemental damage. Additionally, as long as there are at least five nearby allies, you and your comrades benefit from the Onslaught effect, granting increased attack and movement speed. Even if there is only a single nearby ally, you and your allies deal 10% more damage, amplifying your offensive capabilities.
Ascendancy Perks
Radiant Crusade - This ascendancy provides increased resistance and Onslaught, enhancing both speed and damage. It's perfect for quickly progressing through the campaign.
Unwavering Crusade - This choice takes your damage to the next level and significantly improves the movement speed of Animated Weapons, resulting in a fantastic quality of life improvement.
Time of Need - The additional life regeneration offered by this option proves to be very useful, especially when undertaking the challenging Eternal Labyrinth.
Bastion of Hope - With extra block chance and immunity to stun, this ascendancy choice not only provides a nice boost to your own survivability but also enhances the longevity of your minions in the late game.
Selecting Gears
When it comes to selecting rare items, prioritizing Armor as a defensive stat is generally advisable since it is heavily scaled by the passive tree. Energy Shield can also be useful, while Evasion is considered less valuable. To be considered of high quality, all rare items should ideally have at least +50 Maximum Life, with +80 or more being even better.
In order to meet gem requirements, it's important to obtain around +70 Dexterity from gear. Rings, Amulets, Boots, or Jewels are the best sources for acquiring Dexterity.
Flexibility is key when it comes to most gear choices. Focus on obtaining the necessary stats, maximizing resistances, and aiming for minion-related modifiers on the Shield, Rings, and Helmet whenever possible.
Bandits and Pantheon
For skill point allocation, it is recommended to kill all the Bandits in order to obtain additional skill points. When fully upgraded, the Soul of Lunaris provides the benefit of avoiding chained projectiles, which can pose a significant threat to summoners. Lunaris also offers damage reduction, making it the preferred choice for this build.
Finally, you are recommended to choose either Gruthkul for increased physical damage reduction or Shakari for defense against poison if you have low Chaos Resistance.
The Animated Weapons build in Path of Exile offers a safe and strategic playstyle, utilizing minions that taunt and divert enemy attention. It excels as a boss killer, even on a limited budget. While it requires a little investment to get started, it has the potential to scale well into the end game.
With a focus on obtaining high maximum life, armor, and spell block, this build offers strong defenses for late-game encounters. However, compared to other builds, it involves a more active playstyle.
One drawback is that upon entering a new zone, there is a brief delay in summoning weapons. Additionally, if you happen to die in the midst of a challenging boss fight, it can be challenging to quickly jump back in without any animated weapons. It's important to ensure gear provides enough dexterity to meet gem requirements.
