Melee has received some significant buffs inPath of Exile: Settlers of Kalguur league. This means that we now have a lot more options on Marauder other than Righteous Fire, Boneshatter, and Detonate Dead. If there is one build (skill) that you should definitely play on Marauder, it is Molten Strike of the Zenith. It is not a budget-friendly build by any means, but it can easily do all the content in PoE while being fairly tanky.

While you can leaguestart with it, we recommend it as a second character once you have farmed some currency or the mandatory Uniques if you are playing SSF.

Starting the league as the Marauder that we can later Ascend as the Juggernaut to play the build.

What Is The Best Marauder Build?

The buildrevolves around using Molten Strike of the Zenith, a new Transfigured gem added to PoE. Similar to every other melee skill, Molten Strike of the Zenith was massively buffed in Settlers of Kalguur league. It nowscales up to 239 percent at Gem Level 20, which is a massive multiplier. Moreover, everyfifth attack deals 800 percent more damage.

However, it does have less Attack Speed compared to the normal Molten Strike, which is whywe scale a lot of AS on the build.

The Iron Fortress (Chest Armor) needed to transition into the Strength-stacker version of the build

While you can play the build on Trickster, Slayer, Chieftain, etc.,we recommend sticking to Juggernaut. This is largelybecause of the Undeniable node,which provides an insane amount of Attack Speed. This is something that we need to make Molten Strike of the Zenith feel good —the skill feels very clunky if not invested in a lot of Attack Speed.

It is also possible to get Undeniable on Forbidden Flesh and Forbidden Flame, but those are extremely expensive in the Trade League. Eventually,we switch to being a Strength-stackerand that is where the build truly comes online.

Oro’s Sacrifice, a very cheap Unique that you can get to get started with Molten Strike of the Zenith without any expensive items.

The build can do all the content in the game, likeSimulacrums,Tier-17 maps,Uber bosses,Deep Delve,Delirium, etc., it can do it all. Also, it is a fairly tanky buildwith 90 all-resistances,capped Chaos resistance,around 40k Armor,over 10k HP,and 150k eHP. But since there is nothing you can do about random one-shots,we do not recommend it for Hardcore.

What Are The Mandatory Uniques?

Since we transition into a Strength-stacker, there aresome mandatory Uniques that you will need to acquire. As you continue to upgrade your build, these Uniques will change as well. Keeping this in mind, we have recommended different Uniques to help you push through various stages of the build.

Leaguestart

All these Uniquesshould not cost you more than 10 Chaosat any point in the league and should help you get started with the Molten Strike of Zenith transition:

The skill tree that you need to follow for this setup is linked in the POB:

Rakiata’s Dance, a Two-Handed Sword, that we can use to play the Elemental version of Molten Strike of the Zenith build in Path of Exile.

Elemental Swap

When you are ready to swap to a Strength-stacker, you will need to use these Uniques:

We geta lot of Attributes from Astramentis and Cyclopean Coil. Rakiata’s Dance is an excellent Two-Handed Sword that we can use until we are able to craft a better one. Elemental Damage, Attack Speed, and inverting monsters’ resistances are all very desired stats.

The ultra-endgame version of the build uses the Original Sin from The Forbidden Sanctum to convert all damage to Chaos.

Lastly,Crown of Eyes and The Iron Fortress work together to grant us a lot of Attack Damagebased on our Strength. However, before you switch to this setup,make sure that you have Iron Will allocated.

Since we get a lot of Elemental Damage from Rakiata’s Dance,we also slot in Trinity for some extra damage.

Player standing in the Lioneye’s Watch, the town in Act-1 where we start the leveling process.

We also recommend a Lethal Pride(Rakiata) that providesStrength,Percentage Strength,max HP, and any other useful stats.

Chaos Transition

If you want to push the build to the absolute max, you should consider doing the Chaos swap. In this setup,we add Replica Alberon’s Warpath to get flat Chaos Damage per 80 Strength. We pair this withOriginal Sin fromThe Forbidden Sanctumto further boost our DPS. Lastly, we addMageblood to the build to get a massive QOL— this is, however, not needed, and you can remain on a Synth belt if you want.

We also swap to a crafted Two-Handed Sword, get a lot ofAttack Speed from Clusters, andAttributes from jewels like Emperor’s Mastery,Split Personality, etc.

The build requires us to Ascend as the Juggernaut to get an insane amount of Attack Speed, Accuracy, Movement Speed, etc. that it provides.

As mentioned earlier,this is an ultra-endgame setupthat we do not recommend unless you want to see what the build is truly capable of.You should be able to clear all content in the game with the Elemental version, but this one is a completely different build to experience.

How To Best Level A Marauder Build

There are multiple ways to level the build.Sunder,Bladestorm,Earthquake,Hollow Palm, etc. are all completely viable options. We recommend using these links through the leveling:

Level 1 to Level 12

War Banner, Blood and Sand

Level 12 to Level 24

War Banner, Blood and Sand, Herald of Ash

Intimidating Cry, Blood Rage

Level 24 to Level 32

Sunder + Close Combat + Melee Physical Damage + Faster Attacks

War Banner, Blood and Sand, Pride

Level 38 to Maps

Sunder + Close Combat + Melee Physical Damage + Fist of War

Leap Slam + Faster Attacks, Frostblink

You shouldstay on this setup until you are able to transition into Molten Strike of Zenith. While leveling, be sure to havecapped Elemental Resistances,somewhat decent HP,and an upgraded weapon,ideally a Two-Handed Axe.

You can sellan Axe,any rarity of a Rustic Sash,and a Blacksmith’s Whetstoneto acquirea good Physical Axe for leveling.

We alsorecommend using the Crafting Bench in your hideout. you may use it to cap Elemental Resistances, increase HP, get missing Attributes, and even QOL upgrades such as Attack Speed, etc. Some of the leveling uniques you can use are:

Belt

String of Servitude, Darkness Enthroned, Belt of the Deceiver

Lastly, you shouldkill all the Bandit Leadersunless you need something specific, like extra Movement Speed, Elemental Resistances, etc. We have also made a POB to help you through the entire leveling process:

What Is The Ascendancy Order?

This build requires you toAscend as the Juggernaut. It essentially helps us get a lot ofAttack Speed,Accuracy,Armor,Movement Speed, anda lot of Endurance Charges.

We recommend doing Labs whenever you can comfortably complete them. This is the order you will take your Ascendancy Nodes: