Splitting Steel
Champion Build

Updated for Patch 3.21

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Splitting Steel is a ranged Attack that uses Melee Weapon. You launch a Projectile, consuming Steel Shard, that splits and deals Physical Damage. It comes with a second skill - Call of Steel. It's used to replenish Steel Shard charges while dealing AoE damage. It removes Impale to deal reflected damage based on the amount of Impales inflicted. It's quite simple to use and most players are probably familiar with it as it is available since level 1. It is also one of the best leveling tools used by most Duelists. The most efficient way to apply this Attack is to use its Physical form and benefit from Impale, as this Skill increases the chance of Impaling by 60%. It's great with Call of Steel too. Champion is the Ascendancy that should come to your mind as you think about such Skills.

The Champion can enhance Melee Attacks with his Master of Metal Keystone that allows for an extra Impale on an enemy and adds tons of Physical Damage and Armour. Unstoppable Herto and Fortitude guarantee permanent 20 Fortify, Stun Immunity, 20% increased Attack Speed, Armour, and Evasion. Inspirational is an overall improvement of your performance. It makes for a great character with tons of Armour and Evasion, magnified by Grace and Determination, the effect of which is again increased with Inspirational. Add to that nearly 100% Chance to Suppress Spell Damage, the aforementioned Fortify and you've got yourself an extremely tanky and evasive character. To deal meaningful damage equip a pair of Swords with high PDPS, allocate Point Blank Keystone, Anoint Vengeant Cascade, and try to reach 100% Critical Strike Chance.

You can also check our other Path of Exile builds right over here Odealo's Crafty Guides - Full List

1. Gameplay

Use your Splitting Steel at and Call of Steel if you run out of Shards. Due to Chaining and AoE, it's great for clearing. Keep bosses close to benefit from Point Blank and use Call of Steel during their invulnerability phases. Use only one Ancestral Totem - Ancestral Protector for more Attack Speed. Blood Rage will get you more Attack Speed, Life Leech, and Frenzy Charges. For Curses use Sniper's Mark and Vulnerability. Implement Molten Shell for a Guard Spell. For Auras, we've selected Precision, Vitality, Grace, Determination, Pride, and Dread Banner.

2. Build's PROS & CONS

3. Leveling tips

To level up efficiently, use our Duelist Leveling Guide with Melee/Impale in PoE. It's actually designed around Splitting Steel so it's very fitting.

Bandits:

Kill all three bandits and be rewarded with two additional Skill Points

Leveling Skill Trees:

23 Points Passive Tree
Get Maximum Life, Point Blank, Graceful Assault, and some Mana Leech
 

62 Points Passive Tree
Allocate more Maximum Life, Accuracy Rating, Damage with Swords/Projectiles/Dual Wielding, and head for Charisma as shown

4. Final Skill Tree, Ascendancy Points, and Pantheon

Final Skill Tree:

106 Points Final Passive Tree (doesn't include Cluster Jewels)
120 Points Path of Building (PoB) link

Ascendancy points:

Preferably in that order:

1. Master of Metal
2. Unstoppable Hero
3. Fortitude
4. Inspirational

Pantheon:

Major God: Soul of Solaris: 6% additional Physical Damage Reduction while there is only one nearby Enemy; 20% chance to take 50% less Area Damage from Hits

Minor God: Soul of Ryslatha: Life Flasks gain 3 Charges every 3 seconds if you haven't used a Life Flask Recently; 60% increased Life Recovery from Flasks used when on Low Life

5. Final Gems links

[DPS] Splitting Steel setup
	Splitting Steel - Splitting Steel deals Physical Projectile Damage with an additional high Chance of Impaling. Be sure that you have Steel Shards at hand.
	Brutality Support - You're unable to deal Chaos or Elemental Damage, but in turn your Physical Damage is much higher.
	Vicious Projectiles Support - Lowers Attack Speed, but grants a lot more Physical Damage.
	Increased Critical Damage Support - Increases Critical Strike Multiplier which is good if your Crit Chance is high.
	Increased Critical Strikes Support - Increases Critical Strike Chance.
	Maim Support - Maim enemy to cause Slow and increased Physical Damage taken.  Cruelty can be used instead if the enemy is already Maimed as it's the second-best Red Support Gem.

[UTILITY] Sniper's Mark setup
	Sniper's Mark - The enemy Marked with this Curse receives increased Projectile Damage. Projectiles are additionally split on impact.
	Mark on Hit Support - Sniper's Mark is applied automatically on Hit against Rare and Unique enemies.
	Lifetap Support - Skill costs Life instead of Mana.

[UTILITY] Auras setup
	Determination - Adds and Increases Armour Rating.
	Grace - Adds and Increases Evasion Rating.
	Pride - Nearby foes take increased Physical Damage. This effect is doubled after 4 seconds.
	Enlighten Support - Linked Spells that Reserve Mana now Reserve less of it.

[UTILITY] Auras setup
	Vitality - Regenerates a certain amount of Life over time.
	Precision - Increases Critical Strike Chance and adds extra Accuracy Rating.
	Arrogance Support - Linked Auras Reserve Life instead of Mana.

[UTILITY] Ancestral Protector setup
	Ancestral Protector - Totem that grants you more Attack Speed as it stays up.
	Culling Strike Support - Enemies below 10% of their Maximum Life are executed upon receiving a Hit from the Totem.

[UTILITY] Molten Shell
	Molten Shell - Guard Spell that mitigates a portion of incoming Hit Damage. It can absorb more damage the more Armour you have.

[MOBILITY] Dash
	Dash - A simple Movement ability used to dash.

[UTILITY] Dread Banner
	Dread Banner - Increases the Impale Effect, Chance to Impale, and reduces the Accuracy of nearby enemies.

[UTILITY] Blood Rage
	Blood Rage - A duration Spell that slowly drains your Life and refreshes on kill, but increases your Attack Speed, Life Leech, and grants Frenzy Charges on kill.

[UTILITY] Vulnerability
	Vulnerability - Only if you can apply an additional Curse, use Vulnerability. It can be found as a Corrupted Implicit on Gloves.

[UTILITY] Berserk
	Berserk - If you have a way to generate Rage, which you may use Gloves for, implement Berserk for a temporary bonus to your damage and durability.

6. Gear Setup

Your primary goal is to accumulate enough Elemental Resistances and Accuracy Rating. If that's taken care of, seek Maximum Life and Spell Suppression for survivability. Armour and Evasion are covered by your Auras. For more Damage try to gain added Physical Damage, Attack Speed, and Critical Strike modifiers. It will be hard to reach 100% Crit Chance on a budget, but it can be patched with Bottled Faith and Diamond Flasks. For weapons, we recommend two Swords. The Saviour and Beltimber Blade are a particularly good combination. The Critical Strike Support Gems in your main setup will require at least 111 Intelligence which you have to acquire from preferably Rings or the Amulet. With Inspirational Keystone you want to have a lot of Auras, so getting extra Reservation Efficiency to fit in more of them would be beneficial.

Our recommended items will:

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

(Helmet) Rare Helmet - What we recommend is a Helmet with Maximum Life, Resistances, Spell Suppression Chance, and the blue eldritch mod for an increased Mana Reservation Efficiency.

Min. requirements: 80 Maximum Life +60% Total Elemental Resistances Optional affixes: Nearby Enemies take #% increased Fire or Physical Damage Chaos Resistance Accuracy Rating increased Mana Reservation Efficiency of Skills Spell Suppression Chance

Helmet enchantments: Splitting Steel deals 40% increased Damage

(Weapon) Beltimber Blade - It's an extremely good weapon for all kinds of Projectile Attacks. Grants Accuracy, two extra Projectiles, Evasion Rating, and Far Shot.

+475 to Accuracy Rating (185-215)% increased Physical Damage (15-20)% increased Attack Speed 80% increased Evasion Rating while moving Skills fire 2 additional Projectiles if you've used a Movement Skill Recently Far Shot

(Weapon) The Saviour - Another excellent choice. It has good base stats and the unique ability to create a Reflection to mimic your Attacks which massively enhances your performance.

40% increased Global Accuracy Rating Triggers Level 20 Reflection when Equipped (130-150)% increased Physical Damage Adds (16-22) to (40-45) Physical Damage (8-12)% increased Attack Speed (8-12)% increased Critical Strike Chance

(Weapon) Paradoxica - Paradoxica with increased Physical Damage and Attack Speed can be very good, but probably not as good as the other two Swords for this build in particular.

+25% to Global Critical Strike Multiplier Attacks with this Weapon deal Double Damage Veiled Prefix Veiled Suffix

(Body Armour) Daresso's Defiance - A cheap unique Armour with a lot of Armour and Evasion. It grants Endurance Charges, Life Leech, Onslaught, and the effect of it.

(180-220)% increased Armour and Evasion +(60-90) to maximum Life 2% of Physical Attack Damage Leeched as Life You lose all Endurance Charges when Hit You gain an Endurance Charge on Kill You gain Onslaught for 5 seconds per Endurance Charge when Hit 100% increased Effect of Onslaught on you

(Body Armour) Rare Body Armour - Rare Body Armour is the preferable option. After getting a copy with enough Maximum Life you can either get the basic mods like Resistances and Spell Suppression, which would allow you to add eldritch implicits for increased Aura Effect, Critical Strike Multiplier, or maximum Resistances, or get some of the good elder-slayers affixes.

Min. requirements: 100 maximum Life Optional affixes: Elemental Resistances You can apply an additional Curse increased Maximum Life Spell Suppression Chance Attacks have +#% to Critical Strike Chance Socketed Attacks have -# to Total Mana Cost

(Boots) Rare Boots - A pair of boots with Maximum Life, Movement Speed, Resistances, and Spell Suppression is sufficient. For eldritch mods, you can get the increased Action Speed or Brittle ground.

Min. requirements: +60 to maximum Life +50% Total Elemental Resistances 30% increased Movement Speed Optional affixes: Spell Suppression Chance chance to gain Elusive on Critical Strike You have Tailwind if you have dealt a Critical Strike Recently

(Gloves) Rare Gloves - Here you can acquire Attack Speed and Accuracy Rating. For eldritch mods, try to get Rage on Hit, Crit Multiplier, Attack Speed, or extra Pierce.

Min. requirements: +50 to Maximum Life +60% to Elemental Resistances Optional affixes: increased Attack Speed Accuracy Rating Spell Suppression Chance Chaos Resistance increased Global Critical Strike Chance

(Belt) Perseverance - It's the best Belt. You should have tons of Armour and Evasion which translates to a lot of damage. It also grants Onslaught.

+(260-320) to Armour and Evasion Rating (4-8)% increased maximum Life +(20-40)% to Cold Resistance 1% increased Attack Damage per 200 of the lowest of Armour and Evasion Rating Melee Hits which Stun Fortify You have Onslaught while Fortified

(Amulet) Rare Amulet - Amulet can be used for Maximum Life, Attributes, Resistances, and Accuracy. If that's already settled, get the Critical Strike Chance, Multiplier, and added Physical Damage.

Min. requirements: +70 to Maximum Life Optional affixes: Critical Strike modifiers Adds Physical Damage to Attacks Critical Strike Chance Elemental Resistances Attributes Accuracy Rating

(Amulet) Fury Valve - Fury Valve exhibits valuable characteristics, similar to that inherent to the Splitting Steel. You can use it to enhance clear speed.

+(16-24) to Dexterity and Intelligence (15-25)% increased Evasion Rating +(15-20)% to all Elemental Resistances Skills fire 2 additional Projectiles (20-30)% increased Projectile Speed Modifiers to number of Projectiles instead apply to the number of targets Projectiles Split towards

Recommended Anointments: Vengeant Cascade

(Ring) Rare Ring - It's imperative to craft the Prefix that reduces the Mana Cost by 7. Maximum Life, Resistances, Attributes, and Critical Strike modifiers are easy to get.

Min. requirements: 55 Maximum Life +70% Total Elemental Resistances Non-Channelling Skills have -7 to Total Mana Cost Optional affixes: Chaos Resistance Attributes Critical Strike modifiers Curse Enemies with Vulnerability on Hit

(Jewel) Rare Jewels - We recommend a Jewel with Maximum Life, Elemental Resistances, and Mana Reservation Efficiency.

Recommended affixes: Maximum Life Elemental Resistances Mana Reservation Efficiency Critical Strike Chance Critical Strike Multiplier Attributes

(Jewel) Large Cluster Jewel - Large Cluster Jewels are extremely powerful for Physical Attack builds. Try to get one or two with the listed notable passives.

Recommended affixes: 1 Added Passive Skill is Battle-Hardened 1 Added Passive Skill is Force Multiplier 1 Added Passive Skill is Iron Breaker 1 Added Passive Skill is Martial Prowess 1 Added Passive Skill is Run Through

(Jewel) Medium Cluster Jewel - You won't need them, but Eye to Eye and Repeater could improve your Projectile Damage.

Recommended affixes: 1 Added Passive Skill is Eye to Eye 1 Added Passive Skill is Repeater

(Jewel) Lethal Pride - The socket where this Jewel could be the most useful is near Fervour or Savagery. It grants Strength, but can also improve your notables in various ways.

Commanded leadership over (10000-18000) warriors under (Akoya-Kaom-Rakiata) Passives in radius are Conquered by the Karui Historic

(Jewel) Forbidden Flame & Flesh - Almost any Duelist's Keystone is great. The best ones are Bane of Legends, Headsman, Brutal Fervour, Outmatch and Outlast, and of course Fatal Flourish.

Allocates <Random Ascendancy Notable> if you have the matching modifiers on Forbidden Flesh Allocates <Random Ascendancy Notable> if you have the matching modifiers on Forbidden Flame

(Jewel) Watcher's Eye - "Impales you inflict last 2 additional Hits while using Pride" is the single best modifier to seek here. Your other modifiers can enhance Precision, Vitality, Grace, or Determination.

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

(Jewel) Bottled Faith - One of the best Flasks in the game for a build that heavily relies on Critical Strikes. It increases your Damage.

40% increased Damage Creates Consecrated Ground on Use (30-15)% reduced Duration Consecrated Ground created by this Flask has Tripled Radius Consecrated Ground created during Effect applies (7-10)% increased Damage taken to Enemies (100-150)% increased Critical Strike Chance against Enemies on Consecrated Ground during Effect

Other suggested Flasks: Life Flask with Bleeding immunity/removal Granite Flask with increased Armour Jade Flask with increased Evasion Quicksilver Flask with increased Attack 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.