Level 32 Marauder^3.26

Notes

POEGUY's ANCESTRAL COMMANDER EA BALLISTA MINI-BUILD GUIDE

The Gauntlet is a small event dedicated to veteran Path Of Exile 1 players that will last 10 days. In terms of difficulty, it's about 4x times harder than regular Hardcore, so you need to start it with the right expectations!
The build I'm playing has strong defensive layers and should help people complete the campaign for the free mystery box prize.

Know that you also have a video regarding my build for the 2025 Gauntlet here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NDCr9dH3JnE

-----------------------------------------------PROGRESSION------------------------------------------------------

*As explained, we will need to mule the following gems (since the Marauder class does not has acces to them in the early acts):
Caustic Arrow (lvl 1), Mirage Archer (lvl 4), Void Manipulation (lvl 8), Toxic Rain (lvl 12), Puncture (lvl 1)
**You will create a Ranger in order to aquire them (check the SKILL TREE progression from this PoB)

A. For Acts 1-3 ( Until the Library -Siosa Quest- ) we will use the following gem setups

MAIN DAMAGE:

Level 1- 8: Caustic Arrow + Mirage Archer
Level 8 -12: Caustic Arrow + Void Manipulation
Level 12 - *Until the Explosive Arrow Ballista swap in Act 3: Toxic Rain + Void Manipulation + Mirage Archer ( add Mirage Archer as soon as you get a 3-Link )

UTILITY:

- Decoy Totem ( you get it at level 4 )
// Decoy totem will help you stay alive in the first acts. Make sure to use it as explained in the video guide.
- Dash ( you buy it at level 4 )

AURAS: 

Clarity ( solves mana problems; you buy it after killing Brutus4 )

ACT 1 TIPS & REMINDERS:
- For Brutus, you will use Puncture ( skill that will apply a powerful bleeding effect )
- Do not interact with the Kalguuran Ore deposits OR the Mercenaries ( very deadly! )
- For Merveil ( Act 1 boss ) use at least 1 Sapphire ring ( gives Cold Resistance )

------------------------------------------------------------------------
B. For Acts 3-10 we will use the following gem setup // (You do the Library Quest & buy the gems for Siosa )

MAIN DAMAGE:

- Explosive Arrow
- Ballista Totem Support
- Elemental Damage with Attacks Support
- Lesser Multiple Projectiles Support (When you find a 4-link item, this gem helps a lot with monster clears.)

Utility:

- Dash
- Steelskin + Automation
- Flammability (Curse enemies with Flammability to deal more damage.)
- Frenzy + Manaforged Arrows Support ( for more Damage )

Auras:

- Clarity
- Precision
- Grace ( ADD IT ONLY AFTER YOU TOOK THE "12% Increased Mana Reservation Efficiency of Skills" - MANA MASTERY WHEEL - )

[READ; BIG WARNING] Avoid using a Penetrating Arrow Quiver since it grants pierce! 
This quiver is a very common drop during the campaign. You don't want any pierce effects since it will brick your damage with Explosive Arrow!

For rare items (during the Explosive Arrow Ballista phase), look for:

Attack Speed, Increased Elemental Damage with Attacks, Increased Fire Damage

[READ] Always make sure that you have more accuracy rating than life so you can benefit from that 40% MORE DAMAGE multiplier ( check the "PRECISE TECHNIQUE" Keystone )

-------------------------------------BANDITS, LABS & PANTHEON-----------------

BANDITS: Save ALIRA ( gives 15% to all Elemental Resistances )

--

First Lab: Start of Act 5 or end of Act 4 (allocate Forest of Ancestors)
Second Lab: Start of Act 9 (allocate Ancestral Endurance)
Third Lab: Before killing Kitava in Act 10 (allocate Ancestral Defiance)

--

MAJOR GOD: Lunaris
MINOR GOD: Shakari

---------------------------------------------------------- ITEMS-------------------------------------------------

This is HCSSF, so you won't have many unique items. Focus on gear that boosts your defenses with modifiers like maximum life, resistances, and good armour or evasion ratings. 
You'll deal plenty of damage once you transition into Explosive Arrow Ballista with this skill tree setup, so you don't need to worry about bench crafting or getting damage from your items.


I also added two temporary support channels for this build on the Discord server.
INVITE LINK HERE: https://discord.gg/92ab6Zs3ZT