Summary

This guide covers a successful Behemoth build using Cyclone of Tumult and Rage Vortex during the Trial of the Ancestors event. From league start to mapping, here are the key decisions that made this build work. If you want to skip the early grind and gear up faster, you can buy POE currency to grab key items like your starter weapon and essential flasks without delaying your progression through the acts.

League Start: Sunder to Maps

Sunder is a solid choice for quick Act progression. First Lab provides a nice power boost with increased character size. By the time the campaign ends, you'll have a five-link body armour and basic gear.

The decision then: try Cyclone of Tumult, the transfigured version of Cyclone, paired with Rage Vortex.

The Skills

Cyclone of Tumult

This skill causes reduced movement speed as a drawback. Many players use unique boots to negate this, but they're expensive on day one and cost you HP and resistances.

Use Cyclone strategically:

Large groups of enemies

Boss fights where movement speed doesn't matter

Rage Vortex handles regular trash mobs

Rage Vortex

Rage Vortex works great with the node that grants Rampage on melee hit. The Rampage meter fills incredibly fast. Rage Vortex of Berserking was tested but deals less damage, so the regular version is better until gear improves.

Atlas Progression

Shrines – quality of life and occasional explosions.

Syndicate – good experience and sometimes solid gear. Found an insane ring on day one.

Gear Progression

Early Gear

Carnage Heart amulet provides attributes and culling strike – solid for starting.

Weapon Crafting

Buy a base

Use Essences

Bench craft

Result: a solid starter axe

Mid-Game Upgrades

Body armour with armor and resistances

Gloves, helmet, boots focusing on life, armor, resistances

Crafted belt when the right one was too expensive

Jewels and Flasks

Abyss jewel with life and phasing on kill

Jewel with mana leech and damage

New flasks for survival

Build Decisions

Tattoo the Disabling Node

The Behemoth Ascendancy disables your spells – no auras, no Molten Shell. You must tattoo away this node. Any cheap tattoo works. Without auras, an armor stacking build simply doesn't function.

Fortify Stacking

Fortify stacking requires the unique gloves. The cheapest ones work. Two Divine Orbs upgraded them on the first try.

Skip Beacon of Madness Boots

These boots might seem obvious for Fortify builds, but the opportunity cost is too high:

Sacrificing an amulet slot

Reaching specific breakpoints

Managing negative buffs that never fully go away

The build should feel good, not just maximize a damage number.

Ascendancy Tattoos

Keep the Rampager node to maintain Behemoth identity. Replace a weak node with Fortify on melee hit mastery. Use Duelist ascendancy tattoos for:

Attack and movement speed

Mega culling strike from Slayer – huge DPS boost

15% more damage from a successful gamble

Trial of the Ancestors Mechanic

Use a Silver Coin to enter. Destroy all opposing totems by channeling them. Being hit while channeling stuns you for 5 seconds.

Building Your Team

Attacker – pushes forward

Escort – fights alongside you

Flanker – targets enemy totems (prioritize these)

Defender – protects your totems

Winning earns Favour for buying warriors and equipment. Tattoos are the main reward – they modify passive skill tree nodes.

How the Build Performs

Rage Vortex for clear, Cyclone of Tumult for groups and bosses. The high attack speed makes Leap Slam feel fast and responsive. If you need to speed up your gearing, you can grab cheap POE currency from MMOEXP to afford key upgrades without endless farming.

Endgame Priorities

With three Void Stones collected and most of the Atlas unlocked, focus on:

A bigger axe for damage

Helmet with damage mods

Clusters and jewels for optimization

Tattoos for fine-tuning

Summary

The key elements of this build:

Tattoo away the disabling node – essential for viability

Use Rage Vortex for clear, Cyclone for groups and bosses

Skip the drawback-negating boots – opportunity cost isn't worth it

Pursue Fortify stacking – strong defense for mapping

Leverage ascendancy tattoos for powerful combinations