Arakaali's Fang
Guardian Build

Updated for Patch 3.20

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Arakaali's Fang is a Rune Dagger that summons Spiders from nearby corpses when you kill an enemy. These Spiders are not only immune to damage and extremely powerful on their own, but they also boost the damage of another ally - Agony Crawler. Guardian's ascendancy outperforms Necromancer in this particular case - it has significantly better defenses when combined with the stats like Mana and Armour and Unique gear. The build is pretty well understood, but since 3.17 a lot of core items have been changed. It now is a lot more flexible and can make use of different unique items.

The defensive layers of this Guardian character are: Energy Shield (5 to 10k) with Chaos Inoculation that grants complete immunity to Chaos, 50 to 100k Armour, capped Chance to Block at 75% with Glancing Blows Keystone, and instant ES on Block. The Auras used in this build are defensive-oriented as well. The additional easy-to-get layer is a Guard Spell. The character stacks a lot of Mana which translates to a lot of Armour and ES, Intelligence grants us ES and Mana so stacking a lot of Intelligence is highly beneficial. Curses will have little to no effect on you. The only weakness is damage over time - from Bleeding or Fire mostly. It can be countered by magic Flasks mods and Pantheon choices.

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1. Gameplay

You'll be using Cyclone just so you can land hits on enemies which will spawn Sentinels of Purity from your Herald of Purity Skill. To spawn the Spiders there needs to be some corpses nearby as you kill enemies. Usually, that's not an issue at all but there are some boss fights where the lack of corpses and small enemies you can easily kill could cripple your performance, that's why you need Desecrate - to spawn corpses, and Writhing Jar - to kill something and enable the summoning mechanic. There are two Offering Spells for you to choose from - Flesh or Spirit, depending on your preferences. the Guard Spell of your choice should be Molten Shell since it scales with the Armour which the character has a lot. Holy Relic is a utility Minion that can benefit us, it doesn't die often so a popular choice is to link it with Cast When Stunned.

This video was recorded on a level 91 Guardian. We had approximately 80k fully buffed Armour Rating and the character felt nearly unkillable. The Boss DPS wasn't insane, but it feels like the only reason was that it wasn't easy to generate Flask Charges - if we had a Rare Belt or Precision Watcher's Eye mod that would allow us to generate Charges with Cyclone it would have been so much smoother - possible upgrade coming soon :)

2. Build's PROS & CONS

3. Leveling tips

As with all Chaos Inoculation build, you start with Life to later switch to ES. The point at which you switch cannot be pinpointed to a specific level, you need to have a reasonable amount of ES on your gear already and some Skill Points along with enough Refund Points or Orb of Regret. Your leveling Skill tree can vary a lot from the final one. Before act 2 in which you can get Herald of Purity Skill use a generic Minion Skill like Raise Zombies or Summon Skeletons. Summon Holy Relic is a Skill you can get early on, use it with an Attack like Smite, Shield Charge. Herald of Purity is recommended over Herald of Agony for leveling.

Suggested leveling Gem setups:

Herald of Purity setup
	Herald of Purity - be aware of your Mana pool - supporting this Skill with more Gems will increase the amount of Mana it Reserves.
	Minion Damage Support - increases the Damage of all linked Minion Spells
	Melee Physical Damage Support - one of the best Support Gems for Sentinels of Purity which boosts their Physical/Melee DPS
	Multistrike Support - makes Attacks of your Sentinels to repeat additional times with increased Damage and speed

Flame Dash setup
	Flame Dash - use Flame Dash to move around and pass through rivers and cliffs
	Faster Casting Support - increases your mobility with Flame Dash

Holy Relic setup
	Summon Holy Relic - it heals you and your minions as you attack, for example with Smite or later with Cyclone
	Increased Area of Effect Support - increases the radius of your Holy Relic's abilities
	Feeding Frenzy Support - grants your Holy Relic a chance to gain the Feeding Frenzy buff that grants increased DPS to your other Minions

Bandits:

Bandits can't offer you any favorable option to the two Skill Points you gain after killing them

Leveling Skill Trees:

32 Points Skill Tree
There are a lot of Beneficial Notables near your starting location. Take Sanctity and from there go for Gravepact, Amplify, and Resolute Technique Keystone so that your this will always land.

70 Points Skill Tree
Form a path to Chaos Inoculation but don't take it yet. Grab the Maximum Life and Mana nodes that are close. At the end of the last act, you'll be able to respec 20 points for free, and by following this tree that should be barely enough.

Recommended leveling items:

Le Heup of All - It is generally perceived as a great all-around leveling Ring.
Adds 1 to 4 Physical Damage to Attacks +(10-30) to all Attributes (10-30)% increased Damage (10-30)% increased Rarity of Items found +(10-30)% to all Elemental Resistances

Goldrim - Tons of Elemental Resistances from the get-go.

+(30-50) to Evasion Rating 10% increased Rarity of Items found +(30-40)% to all Elemental Resistances Reflects 4 Physical Damage to Melee Attackers Level Requirement reduced by 100 (Hidden)

Tabula Rasa - Tabula is usually a great idea for Body Armour but it can be easily bested by other Rare Armours later on.
Item has no level requirement and Energy Shield (Hidden) Item has 6 White Sockets and is fully linked (Hidden)

4. Final Skill Tree, Ascendancy Points, and Pantheon

Final Skill Tree:

99 Points Final Skill Tree (doesn't include Cluster or Unique Jewels)
122 Points Path of Building (PoB) link

Ascendancy points:

Preferably in that order:

1. Radiant Crusade
2. Radiant Faith
3. Unwavering Crusade
4. Time of Need

Pantheon:

Major God: Soul of Lunaris 1% additional Physical Damage Reduction for each nearby Enemy, up to 8%; 1% increased Movement Speed for each nearby Enemy, up to 8%

Minor God: Soul of Gruthkul 1% additional Physical Damage Reduction for each Hit you've taken Recently up to a maximum of 5%

5. Final Gems links

[DPS] Herald of Agony setup
	Herald of Agony - it creates a Minion as you inflict Poisons on enemies, with each Poisoned enemy you get a stack of Virulence which goes up to 40 stacks, The Minion grows stronger the more enemies have you poisoned recently. Use the Divergent version for a higher chance of Poisoning.
	Minion Damage Support - increases the damage dealt by your minions
	Vicious Projectiles Support - Projectiles of the Agony Crawler deal much more Damage with lower Projectile speed
	Pierce Support - projectiles Pierce more targets, if you don't need it - replace with  Vile Toxins Support
	Empower Support - supports your Herald of Agony
	Void Manipulation Support - Agony Crawler deal more Chaos Damage, use Awakened version for additional Gem Level

[DPS] Raise Spiders setup socketed in Arakaali's Fang
	Melee Splash Support - use it for better AoE of your Spiders
	Withering Touch Support -  increases Spider's damage
	Unbound Ailments Support - Ailments last much longer, have increased effect, and deal more Damage

[UTILITY] various gems
	Desecrate - creates corpses which are really important during boss fights where you typically lack in corpses such as Shaper's fight
	Clarity - keep it at a low level or get rid of it completely, you can switch it to  Enlighten Support or  Faster Casting Support if that's your preference
	Flame Dash - your mobility Skill, one of the best ones you can get
	Molten Shell - a Guard Spell that scales really well with your Armour, which you have a lot in this build

[UTILITY] Auras setup
	Discipline - an Aura that increases your Energy Shield
	Enlighten - linked Aura Skills reserve less Mana
	Determination - an Aura that increases your Armour

[UTILITY] Ball Lightning Setup
	Ball Lightning - this is the most efficient Skill to apply a lot of Hits, each Hit will Poison your opponents granting you Virulence
	Storm Brand - Ball Lightning will be applied via Brand Skill for better efficiency
	Greater Multiple Projectiles Support - more Projectiles will grant more Hits, which will result in more Virulence
	Chance to Poison Support - your Projectiles will need to apply Poison on hit, to achieve it use this Gem

[UTILITY] Frost Shield setup

	Frost Shield - Creates a Frost Shield that protects you and your allies, and grants you Critical Strike Chance; it drains your Energy Shield while Chilling enemies inside of it
	Cast when Stunned Support - Linked Spells will cast automatically if you happen to get stunned
	Spirit Offering - Minions receive Chaos and Elemental Resistances, and Extra Physical Damage as Chaos Damage
	Sniper's Mark - Cursed Enemies are more vulnerable to projectiles, and hitting them grants you Flask Charges

5. Gear Setup

An overwhelming majority of your gear will consist of Unique Items. If you need Elemental Resistances you will have to resort to looking for them in Jewels or equip a Crystal Belt instead of the Unique Stygian Vise. Abyss Jewels will perform exceptionally well here since you can socket two of them in your Unique Belt.

Our recommended items will:

1. Cap your resistances at 75%
2. Provide you with enough DPS/ES to start mapping

(Helmet) Memory Vault - A fine Helmet you can get if you value survivability. The only downside is the reduced Mana Reservation Efficiency but with the right gear Cluster Jewels and Rings, you should have enough unreserved Mana.

+(130-160) to maximum Energy Shield +(150-200) to maximum Mana (30-40)% increased Mana Regeneration Rate +(20-30)% to Fire Resistance 20% reduced Reservation Efficiency of Skills 1% increased Armour per 50 Reserved Mana

(Helmet) Eber's Unification - It gives you Void Gaze Skill - Enemies get -20% to Chaos Resistance for 10 seconds. It's a better option for a damage-oriented version.

Trigger Level 10 Void Gaze when you use a Skill (150-180)% increased Energy Shield +(50-80) to maximum Mana 50% increased Stun and Block Recovery Gain (5-8)% of Elemental Damage as Extra Chaos Damage

(Helmet) Ancient Skull - Ancient Skull makes your Minions move and attack much faster at the cost of their Life, but Spiders are immune to damage anyway.

Minions deal (15-20)% increased Damage (150-200)% increased Armour and Energy Shield Minions have (40-20)% reduced maximum Life Minions have (15-25)% increased Movement Speed Minions have 50% increased Critical Strike Chance per Maximum Power Charge you have Minions can hear the whispers for 5 seconds after they deal a Critical Strike

Helmet enchantments: Herald of Agony enchantments

(Weapon) Arakaali's Fang - The core element of the build, the spiders are really doing the heavy lifting there.

40% increased Global Critical Strike Chance 100% chance to Trigger Level 1 Raise Spiders on Kill (170-200)% increased Physical Damage Adds (8-13) to (20-30) Physical Damage Adds 1 to 59 Chaos Damage 15% chance to Poison on Hit

(Shield) Aegis Aurora - Block Chance, Elemental Resistances, Armour, ES, and instant ES based on your Armour on the Block make this shield insanely powerful for this particular build.

(300-400)% increased Armour and Energy Shield +10% to all Elemental Resistances +5% to maximum Cold Resistance +6% Chance to Block Replenishes Energy Shield by 2% of Armour when you Block (10-20)% increased Elemental Damage with Attack Skills

(Shield) The Squire - The Squire allows you to support your Spiders with three additional Support Gems. It's obviously one of the best Shields for this build, but also very expensive.

120% increased Block Recovery Has 3 Sockets All Sockets are White +(5-8)% to Quality of Socketed Support Gems Socketed Support Gems can also Support Skills from your Main Hand (100-150)% increased Armour and Evasion +(3-5)% Chance to Block

(Body Armour) Skin of the Loyal - Increases your Global Defences - Armour and Energy Shield, and it just so happens that you rely on them the most. Get the right sockets since they can not be recolored later. You can also use Skin of the Lords for extra Gem Levels.

Item has no level requirement and Energy Shield (Hidden) Sockets cannot be modified +1 to Level of Socketed Gems 100% increased Global Defences Item has 6 Sockets and is fully linked (Hidden)

(Boots) Rainbowstride - These boots could greatly improve your Chance to Block Spell Hits and not much else.

(15-20)% Chance to Block Spell Damage +(40-60) to maximum Mana +20% to all Elemental Resistances 20% increased Movement Speed

(Boots) Rare Boots - Rare Boots would be a better option, given you can get much more useful stats here, most notably Life and Resistances.

Min. requirements: 30% increased Movement Speed +70 to maximum Life +70% to Elemental Resistances Optional affixes: Dexterity Chaos Resistance Armour

(Gloves) Rare Gloves - Get a version with Shaper or/and Elder influence for extra mods that support your Socketed Gems, preferably with Slower Projectiles and Faster Casting to apply Poison even faster.

Min. requirements: Socketed Gems are Supported by Level 25 Slower Projectiles +30 to maximum Energy Shield 80% increased Energy Shield Optional affixes: Socketed Gems are Supported by Level 25 Faster Casting increased Cast Speed Elemental Resistance​​​​​s

(Gloves) Gravebind - With Gravebind Gloves Spiders with summon themselves on kill so you won't need any other Minions in the build. It's great when combined with Ancient Skull, but good on its own. These are generally very handy.

(100-150)% increased Armour and Evasion +(19-29)% to Chaos Resistance Gain (15-25) Life per Enemy Killed Nearby Enemies Killed by anyone count as being Killed by you instead

(Belt) Darkness Enthroned - Due to its flexibility it can give you tons of the stats you need the most at the moment. Hypnotic Abyss Jewels performs really well since you can get more Mana, ES, Elemental Resistances, Armour, Intelligence, and other good stuff.

Has 2 Abyssal Sockets 75% increased Effect of Socketed Jewels

(Belt) Rare Belt - A Crystal Belt or Stygian Vise with solid defensive stats can outperform Darkness Enthroned, especially if you lack good Abyss Jewels - look only for Elemental Resistances and Energy Shield mods.

Min. requirements: +100% to Elemental Resistances Optional affixes: Energy Shield Armour

(Amulet) Astramentis - Amulet which grants you a lot of Attributes, Dexterity is especially hard to get, and your character scales well with Intelligence. You can Allocate Attributes Mastery for more Dexterity if you don't want to use this Amulet.

+(10-16) to all Attributes +(80-100) to all Attributes -4 Physical Damage taken from Attack Hits

(Amulet) Aul's Uprising - This Amulet allows you to have an Extra Aura for Free - you can use it for Grace or Determination. It also increases your Attributes and grants more Flask Charges from monsters.

+(10-16) to all Attributes +(20-30) to Dexterity/Intelligence/Strength (15-20)% increased Evasion Rating +(50-70) to maximum Life Nearby Enemies grant 25% increased Flask Charges Monster gives 25% increased Flask Charges on death (Hidden) <Random Dexterity/Intelligence/Strength aura> Reserves no Mana

Recommended Anointments: Charisma

(Ring) Circle of Nostalgia - The obligatory Ring for builds that rely heavily on Herald Spells such as this one - use it to increase the effect of Herald of Agony, Reduce Mana Reservation of this Skill, and increase its Damage.

<One to three random Synthesis implicit modifiers> +(10-20) to all Attributes Adds (15-20) to (21-30) Chaos Damage +(17-23)% to Chaos Resistance <Two Random Herald of Agony modifiers>

(Jewel) Abyss Jewels - Around three to four of these will be needed. It's the most customizable part of the build so naturally, after capping your Elementa Resistances look for the stats that'd benefit you the most such as ES, Intelligence, or Armour.

Recommended affixes: Maximum Mana Maximum Energy Shield Elemental Resistances Intelligence Armour

(Jewel) The Golden Rule - As you're completely immune to Chaos Damage. Poison won't do any damage to you. It increases your Armour if you inflict Bleeding on enemies.

(30-40)% increased Armour while Bleeding Bleeding you inflict is Reflected to you +1% to Chaos Resistance per Poison on you Poison you inflict is Reflected to you if you have fewer than 100 Poisons on you

(Jewel) Amanamu's Gaze - It's a very expensive Jewel, but its benefits of more Poions Damage are certainly great for this build.

+(5-10) to all Attributes Minions have +6% to Damage over Time Multiplier per Ghastly Eye Jewel affecting you, up to a maximum of +30%

(Jewel) Split Personality - One or two of your Sockets are located far from your Starting Point, you can use these Jewels to increase your Stats such as Maximum Mana and Maximum Energy Shield.

This Jewel's Socket has 25% increased effect per Allocated Passive Skill between it and your Class' starting location <Two random modifiers>

(Jewel) Watcher's Eye - Your Auras are Determination, Discipline, and maybe Clarity so look for mods that will affect these Auras, there are many good ones.

(4-6)% increased maximum Energy Shield (4-6)% increased maximum Life (4-6)% increased maximum Mana <Two or Three random aura modifiers>

(Jewel) Medium Cluster Jewels - Medium Cluster of a base that grants your Minion increased damage while you're affected by Herald is obviously the best choice here.

Recommended affixes: 1 Added Passive Skill is Cult-Leader 1 Added Passive Skill is Disciples

(Jewel) Small Cluster Jewels - Stalwart Commander increases the Aura Effect of two of your Auras by 15%, and it's the one we recommend the most

Recommended affixes: 1 Added Passive Skill is Stalwart Commander

(Flask) The Writhing Jar - One or even two of these Flasks are absolutely necessary for a long fight with bosses. killing Writhing Worms will summon Spiders from your Arakaali's Fang.

Instant Recovery (75-65)% reduced Amount Recovered 2 Enemy Writhing Worms escape the Flask when used Writhing Worms are destroyed when Hit (20-10)% reduced Charges used

(Flask) Rumi's Concoction - Use for Increased Chance to Block Damage, with this Flask Activated your chances to Block both Spell and Attack Hits should be capped at 75%.

+1500 to Armour +(8-12)% Chance to Block Attack Damage during Flask effect +(4-6)% Chance to Block Spell Damage during Flask effect

Other suggested Flasks: Experimenter's Granite Flask of Staunching (immunity to Bleeding) Experimenter's Quicksilver Flask of Adrenaline (increased Movement Speed)

If you have any other build requests please leave that in the comments below. We are always open to suggestions and constructive feedback.

Pictures used in this article are the intellectual property of Grinding Gear Games.