Path of Exile 3.26 introduces several changes that impact build viability, but the Champion Ascendancy remains one of the strongest choices for both survivability and damage output. This guide focuses on a powerful combination of Reave, Blade Flurry, and General's Cry, offering a balanced mix of clear speed, boss damage, and tankiness. Whether you're starting fresh or seeking a reliable endgame build, this setup offers high durability, strong burst damage, and efficient mapping. PoE 3.26 is on the horizon—jump into this thrilling adventure! Meanwhile, we frequently organize PoE giveaway events on our Discord. Don't miss out—join in to obtain incredible rewards to enhance your adventure! 🎉
The Champion ascendancy benefits from built-in defensive layers, making it one of the safest choices for both hardcore and softcore players. With permanent Fortify, high armor scaling, and strong offensive buffs, this build excels in both league-start scenarios and late-game bossing. The synergy between Reave for clearing, Blade Flurry for single-target damage, and General's Cry for additional burst makes this setup one of the most efficient melee builds in 3.26.
Core Mechanics and Playstyle
Skill Synergy
Reave (AoE Clear): Expanding attack radius with each hit makes Reave an excellent choice for clearing large packs of enemies. The skill benefits from high attack speed scaling, ensuring smooth and efficient crowd control.
Blade Flurry (Single Target Burst): Charged burst attacks allow for massive damage output against bosses. By channeling Blade Flurry, players can unleash devastating attacks in short windows.
General's Cry (Phantom Warriors): Summoned Warriors use Blade Flurry, significantly increasing overall DPS. This mechanic allows players to deal millions of damage passively, making it one of the strongest melee setups.
General's Cry Setup
The core of this build revolves around General's Cry + Blade Flurry clones, passively dealing millions of damage. With proper cooldown recovery (CDR), players can reach 6–7 million DPS, especially with 1.8 to 1.9 CDR on General's Cry. The correct timing of General's Cry activations ensures maximum uptime on Blade Flurry clones, leading to consistent high burst damage.
Champion Ascendancy Benefits
Exceptional survivability with built-in armor and evasion scaling.
Permanent Fortify, ensuring consistent damage reduction.
Enhanced clear speed due to new Champion ascendancy nodes, improving movement and attack speed.
Adrenaline Buff: Provides massive damage boosts when activated, making burst windows even stronger.
Recommended Gear and Itemization
Budget-Friendly Unique Items
This build is optimized with three highly efficient yet affordable unique items:
Hyaon's Fury (Weapon): A powerful sword with high base elemental damage, scaling well with Frenzy Charges. This weapon is easy to obtain via divination cards and provides excellent attack speed scaling.
Perseverance (Belt): Grants attack damage scaling based on armor and evasion rating, making it ideal for this setup. The Onslaught buff ensures faster movement and attack speed, improving overall efficiency.
Perquil's Toe (Boots): Provides Lucky Damage rolls to summoned companions, enhancing General's Cry warriors' damage output. This item is key to maximizing burst damage, ensuring consistent high DPS.
Additional Gear Choices
Hungry Loop & Rare Shields: Hungry Loop is an affordable ring option post-day one. Alternatively, Dawnbreaker or rare shields with high armor are viable choices.
Perseverance – Core Utility Belt: Grants permanent Onslaught, enhancing both offense and mobility.
Defensive Gear Rolls: Focus on high armor and suppression cap through gear and passives. Magebane, Entrench, or passive suppression nodes help maintain survivability.
Tinctures and Curse Scaling: Elemental Penetration and reduced elemental resistances become more impactful due to the Inversion Mastery Nerf.
If you're looking to further enhance your gear, Exalted Orbs are essential for crafting powerful rare items that can push your build to the next level.
Weapon and Helmet Crafting
Instead of relying on weapon-swapping, players can utilize helmets with +1 AoE via Essence of Horror or benchcrafts to simulate a 4- to 4.5-link setup. This provides flexibility for softcore trade league players, ensuring consistent damage scaling.
Additionally, investing in PoE Orbs allows players to craft high-quality gear, further enhancing survivability and damage scaling—complementing the flexibility offered by helmet crafting.
League Start and Leveling Recommendations
Leveling Strategy
Use Explosive Concoction up to Cruel Lab for smoother leveling.
Follow a streamlined 5-hour Tombstone run guide for efficient progression.
Switch to Reave & Blade Flurry once Champion ascendancy points are obtained.
Transitioning Into Late Game
Dream Feather Champion Setup: Leverages armor stacking mechanics for increased damage scaling.
New Champion Ascendancy Node: Further enhances damage output, making it one of the strongest late-game builds.
Companion Setup and Configuration
Mercenary (Companion): Equip your mercenary with Perlus Toe, as it grants "damage is lucky"—a huge benefit due to Blade Flurry's wide damage range (1–600). Even with magic find gear, survivability can be maintained, or gear can be swapped for defense if needed.
Passive Tree Planning
Early & Midgame Focus
Champion ascendancy starts with First to Strike, Last to Fall, followed by Fortify nodes and Inspirational.
Grace and Determination scale well, reducing the need for increased damage nodes.
Frenzy charges provide additional multipliers for attack speed and damage.
Molten Shell offers massive mitigation, with over 160k max hit when active.
Pathing Recommendations
Early pathing should focus on accuracy, life leech, and on-kill recovery.
Blood Drinker is helpful for sustaining during mapping.
The left side of the tree offers defensive options, while the right side provides utility and Frenzy generation.
For resistances: Cloth and Chain, Weathered Hunter.
Instant leech is slightly weaker in 3.26 but still viable.
Why This Build Stands Out
High Burst Damage & Survivability
Capable of 8-9 million burst DPS against bosses in peak windows.
50k Evasion & Armor, providing excellent defenses.
More than screen-wide clear potential due to Reave mechanics.
Ideal for League Start & Late Game
Uses low-budget uniques, making it affordable yet efficient.
Smooth transition from early game to endgame, ensuring long-term viability.
Excels in both mapping and bossing, offering a balanced gameplay style.
This build is especially ideal for those looking to scale damage passively, leverage high-value utility PoE items like Perseverance, and maximize uptime on General's Cry while focusing on strong defensive layering and Champion's natural synergies.
Conclusion
The General's Cry Champion in 3.26 remains one of the best blends of offense and survivability. It's adaptable for both softcore and trade league environments and doesn't require extensive weapon swapping or niche mechanics to shine. With proper itemization, skill gem setups, and configuration awareness, players can push high-end content with ease while maintaining mapping speed and defensive security.
The content is quoted from Jungroan’s video.
