[Top 5] Path of Exile Best Duelist Builds That Wreck Hard!

Updated:

13 Feb 2023

[Top 5] Path of Exile Best Duelist Builds That Wreck Hard!

Quick to anger, even quicker to strike, the Duelist is a man of haughty character and deadly skill. He is brash and confident. Some might call him arrogant, but he backs up his taunts with a keen blade and a callous heart.

The Duelist is one of the seven primary classes and is a hybrid of Dexterity and Strength, specializes in combat, and is adept with every kind of melee weapon to its maximum effect.

They are versatile in how they fight, either tanky or glass cannon, able to adapt and overcome any barriers, and have a sassy mouth to boot.

Here are some of the best Duelist builds.

5 – Frost Blades + Herald of Ice + Crest of Desire Champion

Frost Blades Killing The Shaper

This build revolves around maximizing Herald of Ice to its maximum potential by using two special uniques that work synergistically with Herald Skills: Crest of Desire and Calamitous Visions.

What the FB + HoI Crest of Desire Excels in:

Very quick and strong clearer;
Extremely Defensive in Ascendancy;
Able to clear all content, with proper investment;
Instant satisfying shatters.

Frost Blades + Herald of Ice + Crest of Desire full details:

The Crest of Desire gives a whopping 8 levels to any socketed gems, alongside over 40% increased gem quality and making them deal Double damage, at the cost of not having any supports. It synergizes well with the Lone Messenger Keystone from Calamitous Vision, by buffing your Herald skills further;
It has a magnificent clearing, with chain reactions of icy explosions that can clear screens away with nary a touch, following the old adage of PoE: Kill them before they kill you!
Past that, the build is also fairly tanky with the Champion Ascendancy giving you permanent Fortify (20% less damage taken) as well as reducing incoming damage further from any taunted sources.

For more information, check here: https://www.pathofexile.com/forum/view-thread/3025068

4 – Devon’s Shocking Lawnmower

Cyclone in the Pit of Chimaera

Spin to Win! That’s the motto of most melee builds, because of the notorious flexibility and uses of Cyclone. In this build, it pushes the physical damage aspect of Cyclone, with full Impale effect as well as Starforge’s Shock.

What the Shocking Lawnmower Excels in:

Fairly tanky with a few layers of defense on top of a large life;
Respectable clear speed;
Good single target damage;
Relaxed one-button gameplay.

Devon’s Shocking Lawnmower full details:

With Slayer’s Overwhelm Notable, we manage to get a fixed 8% base critical chance with any weapon, which enables Starforge its fullest potential, despite all the previous nerfs.
Works on any budget, making it great as an SSF and League Starter, and can do most map mods, except ‘cannot leech’. It boasts over 7k life, Fortify, and great leech.
The impale effect is what brings that extra oomph that Cyclone needs, to stack up quickly and deal several loads of damage in chunks, dealing higher shocks and increasing enemies’ damage taken.

For more information on this build, check here: https://www.pathofexile.com/forum/view-thread/2128004

3 – strTrader’s Block Bleed Lacerate Gladiator

Lacerate's Blood and Sand Stances.

This build is perfect to shred and explode packs of enemies into gory bleed explosions, combined with a lot of survivability and mobility. It even got buffed after 3.16, increasing performance by about 15%!

What the strTrader’s Block Bleed Lacerate Excels in:

Can do all content;
Good League Starter and SSF capable;
High survivability;
Respectable damage;
Bleed explosions!!!

strTrader’s Block Bleed Lacerate Gladiator full details:

You can achieve upwards of 85%/55% block and spell block easily with the reworked Tempest Shield aura and other better affixes in your shield. By adding more armor or evasion (or both) in your gear, you’ll improve your survivability even further;
It makes use of the rapidly attacking Lacerate to stack bleeds with Crimson Dance Keystone, which enables the build to function and deal enough damage to do all content, with some caveats;
The two biggest damage boosts are a good, high DPS axe, and Ryslatha’s Coil, to boost your base damage high enough so your bleeds will scale properly, and with Crimson Dance, the game only stores the 8 strongest hits, so you can sit there and stack a lot of damage for a bit and then watch your enemies bleed to death.

For more information, click here: https://www.pathofexile.com/forum/view-thread/3136830

2 – Donkster5’s The Bright Knight – Vaal Lightning Strike Champion

Vaal Lightning Strike

Tanky, fast, high damage, fantastic clearer, and respectable single target. What more could you want from this build? Oh, that’s right, the VLS is also SSF and League Starter friendly!

What The Bright Knight VLS Excels in:

Can facetank most enemies in the game;
League Start, HC, and SSF viable;
Great clear speed;
Respectable single target damage.

Donkster5’s The Bright Knight – VLS Champion full details:

You are Fortified. That’s the bread and butter of Champions. Permanent fortify, great extra buffs to it, like extra attack and movement speed, more armor and evasion, or more damage;
With the bare minimum gear, you can clear T16 content with no hassle, and with some more investment, especially in good claws, you can do any content;
It makes use of both lightning and cold damage to proc Trinity and both shatter and shock enemies into submission!

For more information, check here: https://www.pathofexile.com/forum/view-thread/3145653

1 – Flicker Strike with Brutal Charges

Flicker Strike during a Delirious Map

This build will make you feel like you’re the fastest character in the world. Combining some very synergistic passives and uniques, you can deal upwards of 100 million damage. It is honestly the highest damage build I remember ever seeing in PoE that isn’t a PoB warrior.

What the Flicker Strike with BC Excels in:

Pushing damage to the highest ceiling possible;
Insane clear speed;
Able to ‘insta-phase’ many bosses.

Flicker Strike with Brutal Charges:

This monster of a build makes use of Brutal Charges from Arn’s Anguish, which transforms any Endurance Charges into Brutal Charges, giving you up 30% chance to deal TRIPLE damage, as well as a Replica Farrul’s Fur, for easy and constant Frenzy and Brutal Charges generation.
Extreme high-end damage, and thus, it has a minimum budget of at least 80 to 120 exalted orbs.
Can be fairly glass-canon, in the true ‘kill them before they kill you’ PoE fashion.

For more information, check here: https://www.pathofexile.com/forum/view-thread/3077330