Crusader Build Thorn

1. Best in Slot Gear and Alternatives

Strength and Vitality are recommended on all pieces of your gear, as they both contribute to your overall
performance — the former by scaling your damage, and the latter your survivability. Any base Damage,
Critical Hit Chance and Critical Hit Damage stats can be safely replaced by survivability and utility stats,
as Thorns damage is not dependent on basic attack damage and cannot crit.

The build incorporates the full Thorns of the Invoker set, taking all 6 pieces available and leaving the

jewelry to balance defense (with Justice Lantern) and offense (with the Endless Walk set). Rolls-

wise, this cooldown and attack speed centric build benefits from CDR on both Burden of the

Invoker and Pride of the Invoker, along with an attack speed roll on the latter. Physical damage is

recommended on Shackles of the Invoker, as Thorns has been changed to benefit from the

element. The remaining pieces — Crown of the Invoker, Renewal of the

Invoker and Zeal of the Invoker — can be entirely dedicated to Toughness.

Not skipping on any of the six available set pieces to obtain the full Thorns of the Invoker bonus allows
you to balance between offense and defense in the jewelry slots. Reworked in Patch 2.4, the Endless

Walk set — The Compass Rose ring and The Traveler's Pledge amulet — adds a unique
mechanic that slowly increases your damage by up to a 100% if you remain stationary, and drains it away
and increases your damage reduction while moving. This balance mirrors the Thorns playstyle, which
fights rooted in one spot for extended periods of time, with periodic bursts of movement to the next big
brawl.

The remaining ring slot will be taken by Justice Lantern, whose unique stat Block Chance is now
enhanced by a legendary property that reduces incoming damage by up to 55% of your Block Chance.
The independence of the damage reduction mechanic from followers and the tie-in with the set bonuses

and Akarat's Awakening make it superior to Unity.

Your best-in-slot chest piece is Aquila Cuirass, which cuts incoming damage in half if you maintain
above 90% of your resource — effectively a permanent bonus in this no-spender build. Note that Aquilla
is not a Thorns-related item by nature, so you will need to watch for Thorns damage in your secondary
stats, or reroll for them if necessary. The unique damage reduction property of the item has a range of the
roll that you need not take into consideration, so you can focus strictly on the relevant rolls for the build.

A former Season 2 misfit, Belt of the Trove, is a flavorful best-in-slot item for the waist slot. With its

use, you gain the 50% damage reduction after casting Bombardment from the 4-piece set for free,
allowing you to slot other synergistic skills and not worry about another long cooldown on your hands.
With the added emphasis on quick application of Thorns damage via your primary attack in Patch

2.6.1, Pig Sticker returns as the preferred weapon of the build. While lacking any flashy bonuses,
this noisy knife more than makes up for it. First, it has the superior attack speed of the dagger weapon
class (1.5 base); second, it rolls up to five primary stats, meaning it can have high Strength, Vitality,
Cooldown Reduction and Increased Attack Speed, AND its base weapon damage roll can (and should, in
a perfect scenario) be rerolled into Life per Hit. And third, its unique bonuses vs. human and beast
enemies are multiplicative in nature and can lead to massive damage spikes in certain rift compositions.

To complete the setup, the rarest Crusader shield — Akarat's Awakening — supplies this block-
heavy build with a reliable source of the all too vital cooldown reduction.
Slot Pieces Stat Priority
1. Strength
2. Thorns (Secondary Stat)
3. Vitality
4. Socket
Head  Crown of the Invoker 5. All Resist
1. Strength
2. Thorns (Secondary Stat)
3. Vitality
4. Cooldown Reduction
5. Area Damage
Shoulders  Burden of the Invoker 6. All Res
1. Strength
2. Thorns (Secondary Stat)
3. 3 Sockets
4. Vitality
Torso  Aquila Cuirass 5. All Res
1. Strength
2. Thorns (Secondary Stat)
3. Vitality
4. Physical damage
5. Life on Hit
Wrists  Shackles of the Invoker 6. All Resistance
1. Strength
2. Thorns (Secondary Stat)
3. Vitality
4. Cooldown Reduction
5. Attack Speed
Hands  Pride of the Invoker 6. All Resistance
1. Strength
2. Thorns (Secondary Stat)
3. Vitality
4. All Res
Waist  Belt of the Trove 5. Life %
1. Strength
2. Thorns (Secondary Stat)
3. 2 Sockets
4. Vitality
Legs  Renewal of the Invoker 5. All Res
 1. Strength
2. Thorns (Secondary Stat)
3. Vitality
4. All Resistance
Feet  Zeal of the Invoker 5. Movement Speed
1. Strength
2. Physical %
3. Socket
4. Thorns (Secondary Stat)
Amulet  The Traveler's Pledge 5. Vitality
1. Strength
2. Cooldown Reduction
3. Socket
4. Thorns (Secondary Stat)
5. Life on Hit or Attack Speed
Ring #1  The Compass Rose 6. Vitality
1. Strength
2. Cooldown Reduction
3. Socket
4. Life on Hit or Attack Speed
Ring #2  Justice Lantern 5. Vitality
1. Strength
2. Socket
3. Cooldown Reduction
4. Life on Hit
5. Attack Speed
Weapon  Pig Sticker 6. Vitality
1. Strength
2. Thorns (Secondary Stat)
3. Cooldown Reduction
4. Block %
Off-hand  Akarat's Awakening 5. Vitality

2. Paragon Points
Slot Paragon Points
1. Movement Speed up to 25% cap
2. Strength
3. Vitality
Core 4. Maximum Wrath
1. Cooldown Reduction
2. Attack Speed
3. Critical Hit Chance
Offense 4. Critical Hit Damage
1. All Resistance
2. Life %
3. Armor
Defense 4. Life Regeneration
1. Area Damage
Utility 2. Life on Hit
 3. Gold Find
4. Resource Cost Reduction

3. Gems

Bane of the Trapped is a potent source of additional damage, as it is its own multiplier in your total
damage calculation. The gem procs itself with its level 25 property and matches the set Thorns radius
perfectly.

Added in Patch 2.4, Boyarsky's Chip fulfills a simple and straightforward purpose: increasing your
Thorns damage. Its level 25 property is useful in sticking enemies on top of you, right in the 2-piece set
bonus radius.

Introduced in Season 4, Bane of the Stricken occupies the third and final jewelry socket. Building up
your damage multiplicatively in prolonged fights and with a level 25 bonus specifically targeting Rift
Guardians, this gem is designed to assist during the takedown of the biggest bottleneck in GRs, the
scaling HP numbers.
Slot Gems

 Bane of the Trapped

 Boyarsky's Chip

 Bane of the Stricken (high GRs)

Jewelry  Bane of the Powerful (low GRs)

Helm  Flawless Royal Diamond

 Flawless Royal Ruby (Damage)

 Flawless Royal
Torso and Pants Diamond (Toughness)

Weapon  Flawless Royal Topaz (Thorns)

4. Kanai's Cube

Cubing The Furnace provides you with an incomparable source of bonus elite damage, significantly
shortening fights with champion packs and Rift Guardians — arguably the most dangerous fights in
Greater Rift progression attempts.
To complement the elite hunting strengths of the build, your ideal item for the armor Cube slot are

the Nemesis Bracers. This unique item spawns an elite pack at every shrine or pylon pickup,
shortening the time spent running from pack to pack. It also gets you the extra elite exactly at the time of
a power spike from a pylon, ensuring significant and smooth progression.

The jewelry slot in the cube is best taken by Convention of Elements, squeezing some extra
damage in a spec that already excels at survival. Maximize its benefits by keeping in mind the heavy

burst from a synced Physical proc and active Iron Skin, and wait out the Lightning proc that

precedes it. Awareness of this boost should not lead you to overcommit, and Iron Skin availability

should not be wasted in wait — an Akarat's Awakening reset is bound to come soon anyway.

5. Follower
For more information regarding followers, we advise you to read our Follower Guide, which contains
detailed advice for choosing the skills and the gear of your follower.