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. Since this class is new the current optimal Skill choices are not yet discovered, but below are a list of the useful skills for this Cleave build style.

1. Cleave – The main Skill of the build. Every additional point increases the arc of your swing.
2. Mirrored Blades – A Synergy for Cleave + good for Single Target fights as it swings a bunch of times at once at one monster.
3. 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. 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. Levitation Mastery – Increases Damage, Attack Rating, Critical Strike, and lowers Weapon Requirements. Definitely a must have.
6. Psychic Ward – Prevents Damage and Stuns Melee attackers. Great for Cleave which jumps into the middle of fights.
7. Hex: Siphon – Potentially useful to lower enemy damage if things are too unsafe.

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.

• Weapon: Breath of the Dying, Grief, The Reaper's Toll, Tomb Reaver
• Weapon Swap: Call to Arms and Spirit
• Shield: Phoenix, Exile
• Body Armor: Enigma for Teleport or Fortitude for Damage
• Helm: Guillaume's Face, Andariel's Visage, Crown of Ages
• Gloves: Dracul's Grasp, Steelrend
• Boots: Sandstorm Trek, Gore Rider, Goblin Toe
• Belt: String of Ears, Verdungo's Hearty Cord
• 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 various Eldritch Tree skills including Cleave!

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.