Crusader Akkhan Condemn Build

Last updated on Jun 03, 2025 at 09:00 by Deadset 39 comments
1.

Introduction

This build is the embodiment of the militant spellcaster fantasy, commanding a spectral unit of soldiers at its side and decimating the enemy in waves of holy destruction. The base build presented on this page is the Greater Rift Solo Pushing Variation, but this build also has a Nephalem Rift Farming Variation and a Greater Rift Speed Farming Variation; follow the links above to the respective alterations.

2.

Quick Reference

2.1.

Skill Setup

The basic skill setup of the Akkhan Condemn Crusader is displayed below. Read the dedicated Skills page for detailed information on choices, alternatives and build customization.

Active Skills
Left Mouse Button Justice Icon Justice Sword of Justice Sword of Justice Right Mouse Button Judgment Icon Judgment No rune chosen 1 Laws of Valor Icon Laws of Valor Unstoppable Force Unstoppable Force 2 Phalanx Icon Phalanx Bowmen Bowmen 3 Condemn Icon Condemn Shattering Explosion Shattering Explosion 4 Akarat's Champion Icon Akarat's Champion Prophet Prophet
Passive Skills
2.2.

Gear Setup

The required gear setup for the Akkhan Condemn Crusader is listed below. Check the Gear page for detailed information on choices, alternatives, gemming, Kanai's Cube and Paragon distribution.

Note that you can shift around Akkhan and Cpt. Crimson pieces according to your best rolls, as long as you maintain the equipped ratio of 5 Akkhan pieces and 2 Cpt. Crimson pieces. The outline above is just an example of several viable combinations.

2.2.1.

Altar of Rites

The former Season 28 theme, the Altar of Rites, has been revised and re-added to Diablo 3 as a permanent character progression mechanic. — For virtually all builds and players of all skill levels — from casual to advanced — we recommend progressing through the Altar tree using the path outlined below. The suggested path is geared towards maximum quality of life first, then amplifying damage, and then mopping up the tree with defensive and edge case utility nodes.

Note that while they require reaching them with a Seal, Legendary Potion Powers are not part of the Seal cost system; Potions unlock with a separate resource called Primordial Ashes, obtained from salvaging Legendary or Set items of Primal (red bordered) quality. Upgrade them as soon as possible, and in the order shown below (courtesy of Caleko's Altar of Rites planner).

Altar of Rites Planner

You can read more on the Altar of Rites, Seals and Legendary Potion Powers in our dedicated Altar of Rites Mechanics guide.

2.3.

Legendary Gems

2.4.

Kanai's Cube

2.5.

Season 35 Theme — Eternal Conflict

This Season revives the Pandemonium Kill Streak buff from Season 19. Each stack grants a bonus to movement speed and damage, capping at +50% movement speed and +100% damage at 1000 kills. Hitting specific kill thresholds unleashes powerful effects. Read more in our dedicated Season of the Eternal Conflict Mechanics Guide!

While speedfarming sees limited use from this theme, Greater Rift pushing benefits significantly. Effects like Geysers (150), Meteors (400), and Angels (500) can clear elites and Rift Guardians instantly. Players may reset streaks after 150 kills to repeatedly trigger Geysers or push for 500+ kills near boss fights, often using Nemesis Bracers Nemesis Bracers to spawn extra enemies.

Because the most potent effects (Geysers, Meteors, Angels) can obliterate Rift Guardians instantly up to GR150, players can retool builds for efficiency and comfort. Here’s how:

2.5.1.

Legendary Gem Considerations

Since you can rely on killstreak procs to clear the Rift Guardian, Bane of the Stricken Bane of the Stricken can be safely omitted in favor of:

2.5.2.

Equipment and Skill Flexibility

Adjust your equipment to items that favor durability, health sustain, and ease of movement. Consider adjusting non-essential skills for the build to ones that pull, reposition, or otherwise displace enemies to facilitate large pulls of enemy packs. In more concrete terms, this means:

  • For class-synergistic items, Crusaders should strongly consider equipping Obsidian Ring of the Zodiac Obsidian Ring of the Zodiac if not already included, as it synergizes well with cooldown-heavy builds that rely on Akarat's Champion Akarat's Champion or Bombardment Bombardment.
  • For additional defense, cross-class standouts like Unity Unity (used with follower and immortality relic for them), and the Endless Walk set (The Traveler's Pledge The Traveler's Pledge and The Compass Rose The Compass Rose) are top picks, balancing damage reduction during movement with stationary damage scaling.
  • Situational defensive gear includes staples like Aquila Cuirass Aquila Cuirass (perfect for builds with minimal resource spending like Invoker Thorns), Stone Gauntlets Stone Gauntlets ((mitigated by Akarat's Champion Akarat's Champion, Iron Skin Iron Skin, wearing Ice Climbers Ice Climbers, or Altar of Rites CC-immunity node), and even niche inclusions like Justice Lantern Justice Lantern (boosts block-based mitigation) and String of Ears String of Ears (massive melee damage reduction).
  • For situational items that improve your utility, strongly consider Nemesis Bracers Nemesis Bracers as the extra elites equal both killstreak upkeep and GR progression. When soloing, they should be equipped by your follower; in groups, at least one party member should commit to wearing them. Edge cases will see the inclusion of Warzechian Armguards Warzechian Armguards or Krelm's Buff Belt Krelm's Buff Belt (more speed for easier scouting and pulls), and Strongarm Bracers Strongarm Bracers (extra damage vs. displaced enemies). To facilitate large pulls, consider using a Follower equipped with The Ess of Johan The Ess of Johan, a proc-based analogue to an enemy-pulling skill (albeit outside your control).
  • Skill-wise, make sure to include at least one movement skill (Steed Charge Steed Charge) and/or an enemy-pulling tool like Condemn Condemn Vacuum Vacuum or Sweep Attack Sweep Attack Gathering Sweep Gathering Sweep. Take a look if you can include passives like Fervor Fervor (for cooldown reduction and attack speed with one-handed weapons), Lord Commander Lord Commander (reduced cooldown on Steed Charge Steed Charge) or Long Arm of the Law Long Arm of the Law (to extend the benefits of your Laws for both solo and group play). The latter will be especially beneficial if you can slot Laws of Hope Laws of Hope Wings of Angels Wings of Angels in the build.
3.

Changelog

  • 03 Jun. 2025 (gear page): Added Season 35 Eternal Conflict killstreak recommendations.
  • 03 Jun. 2025 (skills page): Skills and passives reviewed for Season 35.
  • 03 Jun. 2025 (this page): Added Season 35 Eternal Conflict killstreak recommendations.
  • 18 Jan. 2025 (gear page): Added Season 34 Angelic Crucible recommendations.
  • 18 Jan. 2025 (skills page): Skills and passives reviewed for Season 34.
  • 18 Jan. 2025 (this page): Added Season 34 Angelic Crucible recommendations.
  • 21 Oct. 2024 (gear page): Added Season 33 advice for 4th Kanai slot.
  • 21 Oct. 2024 (skills page): Skills and passives reviewed for Season 33.
  • 21 Oct. 2024 (this page): Added Season 33 advice for 4th Kanai slot.
  • 09 Jul. 2024 (gear page): Added Season 32 advice for ethereal weapons.
  • 09 Jul. 2024 (skills page): Skills and passives reviewed for Season 32.
  • 09 Jul. 2024 (this page): Added Season 32 advice for ethereal weapons.
  • 10 Apr. 2024 (gear page): Added Season 31 advice for the unbound Kanai's Cube slots.
  • 10 Apr. 2024 (skills page): Skills and passives reviewed for Season 31.
  • 10 Apr. 2024 (this page): Added Season 31 advice for the unbound Kanai's Cube slots.
  • 08 Jan. 2024 (gear page): Revised guide for the permanent addition of the Altar of Rites, and added Season-specific Soul Shard recommendations.
  • 08 Jan. 2024 (skills page): Skills and passives reviewed for Season 30.
  • 08 Jan. 2024 (this page): Revised guide for the permanent addition of the Altar of Rites, and added Season-specific Soul Shard recommendations.
  • 13 Sep. 2023 (gear page): Added Season 29 Paragon Cap and Gearing recommendations.
  • 13 Sep. 2023 (skills page): Skills and passives reviewed for Season 29.
  • 13 Sep. 2023 (this page): Added Season 29 Paragon Cap and Gearing recommendations.
  • 22 Feb. 2023 (gear page): Added Season 28 Altar of Rites recommendations.
  • 22 Feb. 2023 (skills page): Skills and passives reviewed for Season 28.
  • 22 Feb. 2023 (this page): Added Season 28 Altar of Rites recommendations.
  • 26 Aug. 2022 (gear page): Guide reworked for the Akkhan set changes in Season 27, and added Season 27 Angelic Crucible recommendations.
  • 26 Aug. 2022 (skills page): Guide reworked for the Akkhan set changes in Season 27, and added Season 27 Angelic Crucible recommendations.
  • 26 Aug. 2022 (this page): Guide reworked for the Akkhan set changes in Season 27, and added Season 27 Angelic Crucible recommendations.
  • 13 Apr. 2022 (gear page): Guide reviewed for Season 26.
  • 13 Apr. 2022 (skills page): Guide reviewed for Season 26.
  • 13 Apr. 2022 (this page): Guide reviewed for Season 26.
  • 09 Dec. 2021 (gear page): Added Season 25 Soul Shard recommendations.
  • 09 Dec. 2021 (skills page): Reviewed for Season 25.
  • 09 Dec. 2021 (this page): Added Season 25 Soul Shard recommendations.
  • 23 Jul. 2021 (gear page): Added S24 Ethereal recommendation.
  • 23 Jul. 2021 (skills page): No changes necessary for Season 24.
  • 23 Jul. 2021 (this page): Added S24 Ethereal recommendation.
  • 31 Mar. 2021 (gear page): Added follower recommendation.
  • 31 Mar. 2021 (skills page): No changes necessary for Season 23.
  • 31 Mar. 2021 (this page): Added follower recommendation.
  • 18 Nov. 2020 (gear page): Revised equipment and Cube recommendations for Season 22.
  • 18 Nov. 2020 (skills page): Revised skill recommendations for Season 22.
  • 18 Nov. 2020 (this page): Revised equipment and Cube recommendations for Season 22.
  • 30 Jun. 2020 (gear page): No changes required for Season 21.
  • 30 Jun. 2020 (skills page): No changes required for Season 21.
  • 30 Jun. 2020 (this page): No changes required for Season 21.
  • 12 Mar. 2020 (gear page): No changes necessary for Season 20.
  • 12 Mar. 2020 (skills page): No changes necessary for Season 20.
  • 12 Mar. 2020 (this page): No changes necessary for Season 20.
  • 19 Nov. 2019 (gear page): Guide revised and updated for Season 19.
  • 19 Nov. 2019 (skills page): Guide revised and updated for Season 19.
  • 19 Nov. 2019 (this page): Guide revised and updated for Season 19.
  • 26 Aug. 2019 (gear page): Included additional recommendations for craftable sets.
  • 26 Aug. 2019 (this page): Included additional recommendations for craftable sets.
  • 22 Aug. 2019 (gear page): Item recommendations have been revised for Season 18.
  • 22 Aug. 2019 (skills page): Skill recommendations have been revised for Season 18.
  • 22 Aug. 2019 (this page): Item recommendations have been revised for Season 18.
  • 15 May 2019 (gear page): Guide was reviewed and approved for Season 17.
  • 15 May 2019 (skills page): Guide was reviewed and approved for Season 17.
  • 15 May 2019 (this page): Guide was reviewed and approved for Season 17.
  • 27 Jan. 2019 (gear page): Revised Kanai's Cube recommendations for high end pushing.
  • 27 Jan. 2019 (this page): Revised Kanai's Cube recommendations for high end pushing.
  • 17 Jan. 2019 (gear page): Added suggestions for the baseline Ring of Royal Grandeur for Seasonal characters.
  • 17 Jan. 2019 (skills page): Information was reviewed and approved for Season 16 with no changes required.
  • 17 Jan. 2019 (this page): Guide was revised with additional recommendations for Season 16.
  • 20 Sep. 2018 (this page): Guide was reviewed and approved for Season 15.
  • 14 Jun. 2018 (this page): Guide was reviewed and approved for Season 14.
  • 26 Nov. 2017 (gear page): Revised gearing and cube recommendations to be more consistent in Rift Guardian fights.
  • 26 Nov. 2017 (this page): Slight revision to the itemization of the build.
  • 31 Oct. 2017 (gear page): Made a number of wording changes following the Akkhan set buffs of Patch 2.6.1. Esoteric Alteration replaces Taeguk and Convention of Elements is now recommended for the Jewelry slot of the Kanai's Cube in place of Unity.
  • 31 Oct. 2017 (skills page): Made Holy Cause the fourth passive and Indestructible a variant for that slot (was previously the other way around).
  • 31 Oct. 2017 (this page): Revised the guide according to the 2.6.1 buffs to the Akkhan set and its dedicated weapons.
  • 02 Jul. 2017 (this page): Updated for 2.6 and moved to new guide format.
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