Welcome to our in-depth guide on Torvian, the Hand of the Saviour, one of the most anticipated new classes for Path of Exile 2. This guide focuses on a powerful and resilient melee build that leverages holy-themed attacks and formidable defenses. Torvian excels as a battlemage, combining the raw power of a melee juggernaut with the divine magic of a cleric. This build is designed to be a strong league starter, capable of clearing all endgame content with proper investment, while offering a satisfying and visually spectacular playstyle centered around Consecrated Ground and divine judgment. For players looking to enhance their journey, resources like PoE 2 Currency can be a valuable addition to progress efficiently.
Understanding Torvian's Core Mechanics
The Hand of the Saviour ascendancy is built upon a unique resource system and a deep synergy with holy skills. Unlike other melee characters, Torvian's power is not just in his weapon, but in the divine energy he channels. The primary mechanic you will manage is Divine Favor.
- Generating Divine Favor: You gain stacks of Divine Favor by hitting enemies with holy skills, blocking attacks, or using specific warcries. Each stack enhances your power and resilience.
- Spending Divine Favor: Certain powerful abilities, particularly the capstone skills of the ascendancy, consume all your Divine Favor to unleash devastating attacks or grant immense temporary buffs.
Additionally, this build heavily utilizes Consecrated Ground. As the Hand of the Saviour, your interaction with it is significantly enhanced. You gain life regeneration, increased damage, critical strike chance, and immunity to curses while standing on it. Your primary skills will continuously create and benefit from this sacred terrain, making positioning a vital component of your combat approach.
Ascendancy Path: Hand of the Saviour
For this build, we follow a path through the Hand of the Saviour's ascendancy tree to maximize offensive and defensive power. These choices define Torvian's role as an unyielding force of divine retribution.
1. Path of Zeal
Invest the first two points into Path of Zeal. This node boosts attack speed and elemental damage with attacks. It also makes your holy skills create Consecrated Ground on hit, ensuring constant uptime in battles.
2. Bastion of Faith
Next, take Bastion of Faith. This defensive node increases block chance and armour while on Consecrated Ground. It also grants the Aegis of Light buff upon blocking, absorbing a portion of incoming elemental damage for a short duration.
3. Righteous Fury
Third, choose Righteous Fury. It converts a percentage of Physical Damage to Lightning and Fire Damage. Enemies on your Consecrated Ground are intimidated and have reduced elemental resistances, boosting party-wide damage.
4. The Final Judgment
The capstone, The Final Judgment, grants an active skill that consumes all Divine Favor. It strikes the ground with a massive nova of holy energy whose damage and area scale with the Divine Favor consumed, serving as both a boss-killer and a clear skill.
Skill Gems and Links
Main Skill: Consecrated Smite (6-Link)
- Consecrated Smite
- Multistrike Support
- Elemental Damage with Attacks Support
- Melee Physical Damage Support
- Trinity Support
- Increased Critical Damage Support
Auras and Buffs
- Determination: Scales armour and physical damage reduction.
- Zealotry: Boosts spell critical strike chance and creates Consecrated Ground.
- Herald of Purity: Adds physical damage and summons Sentinels of Purity.
Movement and Utility
- Leap Slam (3-Link): Leap Slam + Faster Attacks Support + Momentum Support.
- Divine Shield (4-Link): Divine Shield + Increased Duration Support + Cast when Damage Taken Support (Level 1) + Molten Shell (Level 10).
- Ancestor Totem: Warchief or Ancestral Protector for boss damage boosts.
Gearing Philosophy and Itemization
Torvian's gear should balance physical and elemental weapon damage, high armour, block chance, and capped resistances. While unique items can enhance the build, well-crafted rares perform excellently.
Endgame Rare Gear Stat Priority
| Gear Slot | Primary Stats | Secondary Stats |
|---|---|---|
| Weapon (Sceptre/Mace) | High Physical DPS, Added Fire/Lightning Damage, Increased Elemental Damage with Attack Skills | Critical Strike Chance, Attack Speed |
| Shield | High Block Chance, +% to maximum Life, Increased Armour/Evasion | +% to Elemental Resistances, Chance to Suppress Spell Damage |
| Helmet | +% to maximum Life, +% to Elemental Resistances, Armour | Nearby Enemies have -X% to Fire/Lightning Resistance, Increased Mana Reservation Efficiency |
| Body Armour | +% to maximum Life, +% to Elemental Resistances, High Armour | +% additional Physical Damage Reduction, Attacks have +% to Critical Strike Chance |
| Gloves | +% to maximum Life, +% to Elemental Resistances, Attack Speed | Added Physical Damage to Attacks, Culling Strike |
| Boots | +% to maximum Life, +% to Elemental Resistances, Movement Speed | Chance to avoid being Stunned, Cannot be Chilled/Frozen |
| Amulet | +% to maximum Life, +% to Global Critical Strike Multiplier, +1 to Level of all Physical Skill Gems | +% to Elemental Resistances, Added Physical Damage to Attacks |
| Rings | +% to maximum Life, +% to Elemental Resistances, Added Physical Damage to Attacks | Increased Elemental Damage with Attack Skills, Reduced Mana Cost of Skills |
Comparative Advantages of Torvian
| Aspect | Torvian Build | Typical Melee Build |
|---|---|---|
| Damage Type | Hybrid Physical + Elemental (Fire/Lightning) | Mainly Physical or Single Element |
| Defensive Layers | High Block, Armour, Elemental Absorption | Armour/Evasion with limited block |
| Utility | Consecrated Ground buffs, Party-wide Resist Reduction | Minimal party utility |
| Boss Damage Potential | Extremely high with The Final Judgment | Moderate to high depending on gear |
This comprehensive gearing and skill approach ensures Torvian stands out as both a powerhouse and a durable fighter, capable of excelling in solo and group play. By leveraging Divine Favor, Consecrated Ground, and optimized rare gear, you can dominate endgame encounters. For those seeking an efficient progression path, options such as cheap path of exile 2 currency can help fine-tune your build faster and more effectively.
