PoE 3.26 is on the horizon! PhazePlays brings us an elite starter build for Volcanic Fissure of Snaking Berserker on his YouTube channel. Fissures erupt under enemies repeatedly, dealing massive AoE damage while granting the safety of ranged play in a melee package. Despite its melee label, this build functions beautifully at range and handles all content with ease — including all seven Ubers — and it's a blast to play. Let's dive in. Meanwhile, we hold PoE 1/2 giveaway events regularly on our Discord. Join in to get epic rewards to boost your journey.
Pros & Cons
Pros:
Fast mapper with excellent screen coverage
High damage output
Fissures persist briefly, letting you loot while enemies die
Plenty of life leech to keep health topped off
Surprisingly tanky: 6 Endurance Charges, Fortify, and Debilitate
Late-game suppression cap possible
Cons:
Visual clarity during boss fights (Exarch, Sirus) can be rough
Health degeneration from Berserker can limit recovery early on
Lost Settler's Mace enchants this patch (mitigated by Echoes of Creation)
Playstyle Overview
Fissures act like heat-seeking DoT minions — they erupt four times, auto-target enemies (with 20% quality), and stack without limit. You'll stay mobile and can safely attack from range with little damage loss.
Warcries are essential. Three are automated via Autoexertion, while the other two are manually alternated. Cursor placement is critical:
- For single-target, position your cursor just outside the boss hitbox — not directly over it — to maximize fissure hits (3 instead of 2).
- Prismatic Tincture is a huge burst cooldown. Activate it with your Warcries for 10–15 seconds of sustained burst. Disable it once the boss is dead to preserve mana.
Leveling
Act 1–2:
- Start with Ground Slam
- Add Frostblink for mobility
- At level 12, replace Ground Slam with Sunder once available, and start using Intimidating Cry on single targets.
Act 3–4 and onward:
- At level 24, link Autoexertion, Intimidating Cry, and Seismic Cry
- Manually use Infernal Cry
- Prioritize the "Warcries cannot Exert Travel Skills" mastery
- Aim to farm Volcanic Fissure of Snaking in the first or third lab. If you reach the third lab, upgrade the fissure gem to 20% quality for one extra eruption.
Ascendancy
Berserker is the top choice due to its synergy with Warcries and unmatched damage/attack speed:
- Warbringer – Improves Intimidating Cry uptime
- Crave the Slaughter → Rite of Ruin – Turns you into a speed demon
- Aspect of Carnage – Taken last due to its damage/defense tradeoff
Alternative ascendancies: Chieftain and Slayer work, but Berserker outperforms overall.
Skill Tree Progression
There are two Path of Building (PoB) setups:
- Primary PoB – Covers full leveling (Sunder leveling → Maps → Endgame)
- Volcanic Fissure Campaign PoB – For those who acquire the gem early (lab farm or trade). Switch to the main PoB after finishing the campaign.
Skill Gems Progression
Inside PoB in the skills tab, there is skill progression through the campaign.
- Start with Ground Slam and Sunder and add 24 Autoexertion
- 38 Autoexertion adds in Fist of War
- Midgame would be Volcanic Fissure of Snaking
Gear Progression
Early Game:
- Focus on resistance caps and life
- Get at least two minus mana crafts on jewelry
- Add "Warcries cannot Exert Travel Skills" craft to jewelry
Mid-Game: Gear gets better with more chaos resistance and better bases
Endgame:
- Weapon: Recombinator + Warlord slam (last suffix)
- Helmet: Get Echoes of Creation from Uber Shaper (massive DPS)
- Chest: Prioritize high armor/evasion and physical reduction
- Gloves: Convert damage for Trinity support
- Boots: Chill avoidance is mandatory. Use Torment Essences and look for suppression
- Amulet: Yoke of Suffering (drops from T17 Fortress boss with a 2–3% drop rate)
- Rings: Resistances + attributes → Finish with a minus mana craft (Harvest chaos reforges)
- Belt: Get Warcries cannot Exert Travel Skills – Craft with Pristine fossils
- Ghastly Eye Jewel: Life + Shock Avoid
- Tincture: Elemental Penetration is mandatory and gets a good increased effect prefix
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Clusters & Jewels
Large Cluster (ilvl 50–67): Feed the Fury, Fuel the Fight, and Martial Prowess (Crafted with Harvest Reforge Attack).
Small Cluster (for Suppression Build): Elegant Form and 25% increased effect
Medium Cluster (ilvl 68+): Lead by Example and Warning Call (Crafted with ~190 Alterations each)
Other Key Items:
Thread of Hope + Glorious Vanity – Optional but powerful
Light of Meaning – Optional high-impact unique
Fire vs. Trinity – Damage Conversion and Transition
Early in the game, it's optimal to go pure Fire by picking up Lava Lash and one of the Fire-related masteries. However, once you gain access to 40% conversion gloves, transitioning to Trinity Support becomes a powerful late-game option. Trinity not only boosts damage significantly but also allows you to apply various ailments such as Chill, Freeze, and Shock. To swap to Trinity, drop Lava Lash, change Divine Fury to Divine Judgment, and replace Herald of Ash with Herald of Purity.
Yoke of Suffering – A Major Power Spike
The Yoke of Suffering amulet provides a massive damage boost by enabling large Shock effects on enemies. It scales with all ailments applied—including Bleed and Poison. The more ailments you inflict, the more damage your enemies take.
Optimized Setup:
- Achieve 39% Cold Conversion from gloves
- The remaining 1% keeps some Physical damage to allow Bleed and Poison
- Gain Bleed chance from a Tattoo
- Get Poison chance from a Jewel
Glorious Vanity – Overleech Mechanic
The Glorious Vanity Timeless Jewel enables Overleech, meaning any Life Leech remains active even at full life. This completely offsets the Berserker's health degeneration and becomes a major late-game upgrade. You can pair this with a large Threat of Hope jewel for even greater power.
Additional Tips and Utilities
- Always ensure "Warcries cannot Exert Travel Skills" is enabled—either via Warcry Mastery or gear crafting.
- Three ways to solve Mana issues early game: First, allocate 5–6 Passive Points for Mana Leech. Secondly, use a Viridian Jewel with Physical Mana Leech. Lastly, anoint Clever Thief. Later, a large Cluster Jewel with Fuel the Fight resolves the mana leech entirely.
- Weapon Choices: Karui Chopper and Vaal Axe are ideal weapon bases. Impact Force Propagator from Heist is a great late-game option if you like to go Maces.
- During mapping, Endurance Charges sustain passively. For boss fights early on, use Enduring Cry. Later, any Exarch chest implicit that generates Endurance Charges periodically can sustain them indefinitely. This is very effective during the Campaign and early mapping stages, especially with a slower weapon. However, once your Attack Speed increases, consider dropping this setup.
- Suppression isn't necessary early to mid-game but is strongly recommended for Uber Boss farming.
- Berserk offers massive burst damage and suspends all Berserker health degeneration while active.
- Get a Prismatic Tincture as soon as possible and practice using it consistently—it's absolutely worth it.
