Duelists can specialise into one of these three Ascendancy classes: Slayer, Gladiator, Champion.
The Duelist is Path of Exile's strength/dexterity hybrid class, making him unmatched at dealing and avoiding damage. He can effectively use a shield, but is equally comfortable slashing away with a powerful two-hander or fighting with weapons in both hands. His powerful arms can draw the strings of the heaviest and most lethal longbows. His highly honed reflexes give him a cat-like ability to dodge and parry incoming attacks, be they arrows or axe swings. The Duelist is a daunting foe, and his reputation as a ruthless killer is well deserved.
| Classes | Slayer | Gladiator | Champion |
|---|---|---|---|
| Skills Build |
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The Slayer is an Ascendancy class for Duelists. It is a offense oriented class based around attacks. He is a effective boss killer with Headsman and Bane of Legends and gains access to defensive bonuses involving life leech, including the ability to leech beyond his maximum health pool with Brutal Fervour. He also possesses bonuses towards area of effect and critical strike attack builds, as well as Masterful Form for maximizing frenzy and endurance charges.
| Name | Category | Skill Tree |
|---|---|---|
| Attack Damage, Critical Strike Chance |
Basic | 15% increased Critical Strike Chance 10% increased Attack Damage |
| Attack Damage, Attack Speed |
Basic | 5% increased Attack Speed 10% increased Attack Damage |
| Attack Damage, Life Leech |
Basic | 0.4% of Attack Damage Leeched as Life 10% increased Attack Damage |
| Attack Damage, Area of Effect |
Basic | 10% increased Area of Effect 10% increased Attack Damage |
| Headsman |
Notable | Gain 10% increased Movement Speed for 20 seconds when you Kill an Enemy Gain 10% increased Attack Speed for 20 seconds when you Kill a Rare or Unique Enemy Kill Enemies that have 20% or lower Life when Hit by your Skills |
| Overwhelm |
Notable | Base Critical Strike Chance for Attacks with Weapons is 8% +10% to Critical Strike Multiplier per Nearby Enemy, up to +100% Nearby Enemies have -30% to Critical Strike Multiplier |
| Bane of Legends |
Notable | 20% more Damage with Hits and Ailments against Unique Enemies 10% more Damage if you've Killed Recently Cannot take Reflected Physical Damage |
| Endless Hunger |
Notable | 20% of Overkill Damage is Leeched as Life You are Unaffected by Bleeding while Leeching Cannot be Stunned while Leeching 20% increased Attack Speed while Leeching |
| Brutal Fervour |
Notable | Life Leech effects are not removed when Unreserved Life is Filled 10% reduced Damage taken while Leeching 100% increased Maximum Recovery per Life Leech |
| Impact |
Notable | 5% increased Area of Effect per Enemy killed recently, up to 50% +4 to Melee Strike Range 50% increased Global Accuracy Rating Deal up to 15% more Melee Damage to Enemies, based on proximity |
| Attack Damage, Frenzy and Endurance Charge Duration |
Basic | 15% increased Frenzy Charge Duration 15% increased Endurance Charge Duration 10% increased Attack Damage |
| Masterful Form |
Notable | Your Maximum Endurance Charges is equal to your Maximum Frenzy Charges +1 to Maximum Frenzy Charges |
The Gladiator is an Ascendancy class for Duelists. It is an Ascendancy class with a mixture of speed, power, and protection, revolving around certain stats. It covers two primary niches, one which is focused around maximizing block effectiveness, and another which enhances bleed with auxillary effects. The class also covers dual wielding and Blood Stance and Sand Stance bonuses.
| Name | Category | Skill Tree |
|---|---|---|
| Attack Speed, Physical Damage |
Basic | 10% increased Physical Damage 4% increased Attack Speed |
| Attack Speed, Block Chance |
Basic | +2% Chance to Block Attack Damage 4% increased Attack Speed |
| Attack Speed and One Handed Damage |
Basic | 4% increased Attack Speed 15% increased Damage with One Handed Weapons |
| Gratuitous Violence |
Notable | Bleeding Enemies you Kill Explode, dealing 10% of their Maximum Life as Physical Damage 20% more Physical Damage over Time |
| Blood in the Eyes |
Notable | 25% chance to Blind with Hits against Bleeding Enemies Attacks Maim on Hit against Bleeding Enemies Enemies Maimed by you take 10% increased Physical Damage Attacks have 50% chance to cause Bleeding |
| Outmatch and Outlast |
Notable | 25% chance to gain a Frenzy Charge on Kill with Main Hand 25% chance to gain an Endurance Charge on Kill with Off Hand 10% more Physical Damage while at maximum Frenzy Charges 10% reduced Physical Damage taken while at maximum Endurance Charges |
| Painforged |
Notable | +8% Chance to Block Attack Damage if you were Damaged by a Hit Recently Your Counterattacks deal Double Damage Cannot be Stunned by Hits you Block |
| Violent Retaliation |
Notable | 8% increased Physical Damage for each time you've Blocked in the past 10 seconds +1% Chance to Block Attack Damage for each time you've Blocked in the past 10 seconds 80% increased Physical Damage if you've Blocked Damage from a Unique Enemy in the past 10 seconds +4% to maximum Chance to Block Attack Damage |
| Versatile Combatant |
Notable | Chance to Block Spell Damage is equal to Chance to Block Attack Damage Maximum Chance to Block Spell Damage is equal to Maximum Chance to Block Attack Damage |
| Attack Speed, Movement Speed |
Basic | 4% increased Attack Speed 4% increased Movement Speed |
| Arena Challenger |
Notable | +10 to Maximum Challenger Charges 25% chance to gain a Challenger Charge when you Hit a Rare or Unique Enemy while in Blood Stance Gain a Challenger Charge when you Kill an Enemy while in Sand Stance 2% more Attack and Movement Speed per Challenger Charge |
The Champion is an Ascendancy class for Duelists. It is a mixture of defensive/offensive and support class who can act as a tank for his party by debuffing enemies through taunts and impale, buffing his allies with enhanced Banners, or Intimidate enemies to reduce their defenses. He bolsters his own defenses with Fortify, including the ability to permanently Fortify himself, or gains a burst of Adrenaline at low life for increased damage and defenses. The minor nodes grant increased armour and evasion rating across the board to further bolster his survivability.
| Name | Category | Skill Tree |
|---|---|---|
| Armour and Evasion, Taunt Duration |
Basic | 15% increased Evasion Rating and Armour 20% increased Taunt Duration |
| Armour and Evasion, Attack Damage while Fortified |
Basic | 15% increased Evasion Rating and Armour 10% increased Attack Damage while you have Fortify |
| Armour and Evasion, Aura Effect |
Basic | 15% increased Evasion Rating and Armour 5% increased effect of Non-Curse Auras from your Skills |
| Armour and Evasion, Attack Damage |
Basic | 15% increased Evasion Rating and Armour 10% increased Attack Damage |
| Fortitude |
Notable | Fortify |
| Unstoppable Hero |
Notable | 20% increased Attack Speed while you have Fortify Cannot be Stunned while you have Fortify +500 to Armour and Evasion Rating while you have Fortify |
| Conqueror |
Notable | 100% Chance on Hit to Taunt an Enemy 10% reduced Damage taken if you've Taunted an Enemy Recently Enemies Taunted by you deal 20% less Damage with Hits and Ailments against other targets |
| Worthy Foe |
Notable | Enemies Taunted by you take 20% increased Damage Enemies Taunted by you cannot Evade Attacks |
| Inspirational |
Notable | Banner Skills have no Reservation 30% increased effect of Non-Curse Auras from your Skills When you create a Banner, it gains 40% of the Stages of your placed Banner You and Allies affected by your placed Banners Regenerate 0.1% of Life per second for each Stage |
| First to Strike, Last to Fall |
Notable | Your Hits permanently Intimidate Enemies that are on Full Life Gain Adrenaline for 20 seconds when you reach Low Life if you do not have Adrenaline Remove all Ailments and Burning when you gain Adrenaline Recover 25% of Life when you gain Adrenaline |
| Armour and Evasion, Impale Chance |
Basic | 15% increased Evasion Rating and Armour 10% chance to Impale Enemies on Hit with Attacks |
| Master of Metal |
Notable | Impales you inflict last 1 additional Hit If you've Impaled an Enemy Recently, you and nearby Allies have +1000 to Armour You and nearby Allies deal 6 to 12 added Physical Damage for each Impale on Enemy |