Alright folks, been grinding hard on my Crusader lately, trying to find builds that actually survive the 2024 madness out here. Figured I’d dump my experience raw, no fluff, just what worked after I ate dirt a bunch of times.
Started With the Hot Garbage
First off, everyone online’s yelling about this “Condemn Vortex” thing. Sounded cool, right? Slap on some gear with Condemn buffs, tried the recommended skills. Ran into a Helliquary boss.
Got absolutely stomped. Felt like paper. My damage tickled him, then he sneezed and I was dead. Back to the drawing board.
The Bouncing Back Part
Scrapped that Condemn nonsense. Needed something tougher. Remembered I had this helmet dropping constantly that buffed Falling Sword. Always ignored it. Figured, what the hell? Dug through my stash.
- Found some random chest piece boosting Shield Charge damage. Didn’t seem great, but threw it on.
- Had boots giving extra Falling Sword hits? Score. Slapped those bad boys on.
- Gems? Anything boosting basic attack speed or damage. Just tossed ’em in sockets.
Skills? Winged it:
- Main Attack: Punish (felt sturdy)
- Falling Sword (duh, because helmet)
- Shield Charge (chest piece synergy)
- Consecration (needed some ground AoE)
- Shield Glare (blind enemies for breathing room)
Used whatever Legendary Gems I had lying around. No fancy stuff.
Actual Results (Mostly Not Terrible)
Took this mess back into a rift. Started slow, but hey, things started dying. Falling Sword landing hard? Sweet. Shield Charge actually felt useful? Even better.
Still got smacked around a bit by elites, but I could actually fight back! Tweaked on the fly:
- Dropped Shield Glare sometimes for Draw and Quarter to yank enemies into my Consecration.
- Changed Punish to Sacred Fire for ranged trash mobs. Seemed to work okay.
Not topping any leaderboards, but cleared content way faster than that Condemn disaster. Survived better too.
PvP? Yeah… About That…
Got cocky. Jumped into Battlegrounds thinking my new Falling Sword spamming build was hot stuff. Got kited by mages. Melted by whales. The usual. Feels like everyone runs that damn spinning horse move now. My build? Not so hot in PvP. Maybe need more unstoppable effects. Still figuring that dumpster fire out.
Bottom Line
Forget chasing the “meta” sometimes. My junk drawer Falling Sword build kinda sorta works for 2024 PvE grinding. It ain’t perfect, but it gets the job done without needing god-tier gear. Found way more fun bouncing around and smashing things than standing still with Condemn. Gear’s still a mix of whatever dropped, but synergy matters more than perfect stats early on. Keep experimenting, even if it looks stupid. Sometimes stupid works.
