MMOexp-POE: This Champion Build Outsmarts Gladiator at Its Own Game

Chunzliu

Before the league even launched, Festering Resentment was already raising eyebrows. The poison-focused dagger introduced a rare and powerful interaction: triggered spells always poison, while also granting spell block and scaling poison damage directly from spell hits. On paper, it looked tailor-made for Cast When Stunned setups-and most early theorycrafting naturally gravitated toward Gladiator thanks to its block synergies.

But one player took the idea further POE currency.

Instead of playing Gladiator directly, this version uses Champion as the base class, stealing Gladiator's lucky block via Forbidden Flesh and Flame, and layering in some of the most creative damage scaling tech we've seen this league. The result? A build that obliterates Simulacrum Wave 15 bosses in under a minute and outputs absurd poison DPS with surprisingly elegant mechanics.

Let's break down why this setup works-and why it's far smarter than it looks at first glance.

Proof of Power: Wave 15 Simulacrum in Seconds

The best way to understand this build's strength is simply watching it in action. In a Wave 15 Simulacrum run, Kosis and Omniphobia melt almost immediately. The entire wave is cleared in roughly 40 seconds, with the boss fight itself taking only a few moments once combat actually starts.

To put that into perspective, this is several times faster than most traditional Cast When Stunned or damage-over-time builds, even highly optimized ones. The poison ramp is instant, the damage ceiling is massive, and the survivability remains intact throughout.

This isn't brute-force gear carrying the run-it's mechanical synergy doing the heavy lifting.

Core Weapon Setup: Festering Resentment Meets The Black Cane

At the heart of the build is an unusual dual-wield setup.

Festering Resentment (Off-Hand)

Festering Resentment enables triggered spells to always poison, adds spell block, and scales poison damage from spells. For Cast When Stunned builds-where spells are constantly triggering off block and stun interactions-this dagger is effectively a damage multiplier baked into a weapon slot.

It ensures every triggered Blade Blast or utility spell contributes meaningful poison damage, no RNG involved.

The Black Cane (Main Hand)

This is where the build gets clever.

The Black Cane grants Phantasmal Might for each summoned Phantasm, adding flat physical damage to spells. At level 21 Summon Phantasm Support, each Phantasm provides 44–66 flat physical damage to spells.

Now layer in The Dark Monarch, which doubles your Phantasm count.

Final Thoughts: A Masterclass in Build Design POE currency for sale

This Champion Cast When Stunned Poison build is a perfect example of why Path of Exile remains unmatched in build creativity.

By combining:

Festering Resentment's poison-trigger mechanics

Black Cane's Phantasm-based flat damage scaling

Champion's taunt and defensive utility

A three-ring setup that abandons belts entirely

…the build achieves absurd damage without sacrificing survivability.

It's clever, efficient, and deeply satisfying to watch in action. Most importantly, it proves that sometimes the strongest builds aren't the obvious ones-they're the ones that understand how mechanics actually interact under the hood.