PoE Sanity

Slam Titan is BACK for PoE2 0.5!

By Path of EveningWatch videoDuration: PT21M43S

Summary

  • Playstyle: A highly durable, melee-focused “Slam Titan” that excels at clearing content and provides excellent single-target boss damage through stun-based combos.
  • Key Changes in 0.5: Armor received significant buffs (up to 15-33% increased efficiency), Rolling Slam is faster but deals slightly less damage, and Brink is now craftable at level one.
  • Core Mechanics: Utilizes high physical damage two-handed maces, “Fist of War” for heavy-hitting slams, and “Ancestral Empowerment” to maximize burst damage on bosses.
  • Survivability: Relies on high armor values, stun-based defense, and “Blood Magic” for sustained health/mana management.
  • Versatility: Capable of transitioning to Facebreaker gloves if specific gear requirements are met, though two-handed maces remain the standard.

Changes in Patch 0.5

  • Armor Buffs: Armor now provides significantly higher elemental and physical damage reduction. This scaling becomes increasingly potent as you accumulate more armor.
  • Rolling Slam: The skill has been adjusted for better usability; it now executes about half a second faster, facilitating quicker hits during combat.
  • Support Gems: Brink is now craftable at level one, allowing for easier heavy stun building early in the game.
  • Facebreaker Gloves: These are being introduced. While they are a potential option for the build, their performance relative to the traditional two-handed mace setup remains to be fully tested.

Passive Tree Progression

The build prioritizes physical damage, stun-related nodes, and defensive armor bonuses.

  1. Early Campaign: Path through melee damage nodes, focusing on “Brutal” and “Burning Strikes” for added fire damage. Prioritize a high physical damage two-handed mace.
  2. Core Clusters: Focus on the Split the Earth and Skull Crusher sections of the tree. The reduced attack speed on these nodes is offset by massive damage multipliers.
  3. Defensive Layers: Utilize Polished Iron (armor-based stun threshold) and Prismguard to allow armor to contribute to elemental damage reduction.
  4. Endgame Adjustments:
    • Once sufficient life sustain (leech/regen) is acquired, take Blood Magic to resolve mana management issues.
    • In the endgame, consider pathing toward From Nothing to improve build efficiency.

Ascendancy Choices

  1. Earthbreaker: Provides a 25% chance for slam skills to cause an additional aftershock. Take this for your first two points.
  2. Hulking Form: The priority for the second ascendancy. This node increases the effectiveness of all small passive nodes in the tree by 50%.
  3. Ancestral Empowerment: Acts as the cornerstone of the build, ensuring every other slam is “ancestrally empowered,” allowing for consistent Fist of War procs.

Skill Setup and Boss Combos

  • Early Game (Act 1-2): Use Rolling Slam to prime enemies for stuns, followed by Bone Shatter to trigger Impact Shockwave for area clear.
  • Mobility: Craft a Pounce gem at level 6. Use it with a talisman in the off-hand to maintain high movement speed throughout the campaign.
  • Endgame Boss Combo:
    1. Place Forge Hammer under the boss.
    2. Use Infernal Cry to cause an explosion.
    3. Use Stampede to deal damage, build stun, and generate heat.
    4. Once the boss is stunned, execute with Hammer of the Gods and Sunder to maximize damage against the broken armor.

Gearing Priorities

  • Weapon: Prioritize the highest physical damage two-handed mace available. Look for modifiers that grant increased physical damage and melee skill gem levels.
  • General Gear: Focus on life, resistance, and armor.
  • Stat Stacking: Strength is the primary attribute. If utilizing Facebreaker gloves, prioritize strength-stacking gear (e.g., Brute Strength nodes).

Key References