Cleave Warlock Build for Diablo 2 Resurrected

The Cleave Warlock uses Area of Effect to dominate mobs in a full circle around himself with every swing. Because he is melee character, there is a need for Attack Rating and some decent Gear so this character may take a little bit of extra farm compared to a caster or summoner Warlock.

The following section shows the core skills for the Cleave Warlock. For a detailed breakdown of all core and optional skills as well as the recommended order for allocating skill points, refer to the Skills page of this guide.

1. 20 points to Cleave – The main Skill of the build. Every additional point increases the arc of your swing.
2. 20 points to Mirrored Blades – A Synergy for Cleave + good for Single Target fights as it swings a bunch of times at once at one monster.
3. 20 points to Hex: Purge – A Synergy for Cleave + adds an AoE Hex. Since we are already hitting a lot of monsters at once, this hex will help blow up mobs even faster.
4. 20 points to Eldritch Blast – A Synergy for Cleave that grants life and mana as it procs. Also very useful as it only works against hexed monsters but we Cleave all around us.
5. 10 or 20 soft points to Demonic Mastery – Every 10 points allows for another summon. Add a few points to get either up to 10 or 20 with all of your +skills from gear.
6. 1 point to Bind Demon – Bind a powerful demon with curse and Fanaticism to really step up your game.
7. 1 point toConsume – Consume a Goatman for increased Life, Run/Walk Speed, and Damage.
8. 1 point toSigil: Lethargy – Slows enemies and increases damage taken.
9. Remaining Points points to Levitation Mastery – Increases Damage, Attack Rating, Critical Strike, and lowers Weapon Requirements. Definitely a must have.

While Cleave is not the strongest skill early on, it is still good enough to use for leveling so long as you focus on increasing your weapon damage as you play. This can be done through items like Honor, Butcher's Pupil, or any other decent Weapon you may farm on your journey.

The following section shows some potentially strong items for the Cleave Warlock. Remember the Warlock can use 2-handed Weapons with a Shield.

High Attack Speed Weapon bases are preferrred for this build. While you can use slower bases like Thunder Mauls (even with high IAS they are still slow), it is recommended to use weapons like Phase Blades for a much better experience.

• Weapon: Breath of the Dying, Grief, The Reaper's Toll, Tomb Reaver
• Weapon Swap: Call to Arms and Spirit
• Shield: Phoenix, Spirit, Stormshield
• Body Armor: Enigma for Teleport or Fortitude for Damage
• Helm: Guillaume's Face, Andariel's Visage, Crown of Ages
• Gloves: Dracul's Grasp, Steelrend, Trang-Oul's Claws
• Boots: Sandstorm Trek, Gore Rider, Goblin Toe
• Belt: String of Ears, Verdungo's Hearty Cord, Arachnid Mesh
• Ring 1: The Stone of Jordan, Bul-Kathos' Wedding Band, Raven Frost
• Ring 2: The Stone of Jordan, Bul-Kathos' Wedding Band, Rare Rings with % Life Steal and Life/Stats/Resistances
• Amulet: Mara's Kaleidoscope, Highlord's Wrath
• Charm 1: Warlock Hellfire Torch
• Charm 2: Annihilus
• Charm 3: Any combination of Max Damage and Attack Rating Charms
• Charm 4: 1x Physical Sunder Charm (optional)

We also have a video showcase that talks about the Cleave Warlock:

In Diablo 2, stats that affect action speed (known as frames) for attacking, casting, blocking, and recovering from a hit can almost never be taken literally. For example, gaining 10% Increased Attack Speed from an item will not necessarily translate into 10% faster attacks. To achieve faster actions, certain breakpoints must be reached, which vary for every class. The tables below list how much of a given stat is required to actually improve the action speed of the class for the stated action.

You can either hire a Defensive (Holy Freeze) or Offensive (Might) Desert Guard Mercenary in Act 2, Nightmare difficulty, depending on whether you want to slow monsters for added safety or improve the overall damage of your Mercenary.

• Weapon: Ethereal Insight or The Reaper's Toll
• Body Armor: Ethereal Fortitude
• Helm: Andariel's Visage socketed with a Ral Rune

For more comprehensive leveling advice, please refer to our Warlock Fastest Leveling Build.