Overview
This is a defensive update to the Corrupting Wings Gemling, a melee build that scales corrupted blood damage off war cries and increased physical damage while turning itself into an extremely durable block-stacker. The headline change is a Svalin shield enabling block stacking up to roughly 86% effective block chance, layered on top of heavy armour from both the shield and a war-cry-focused helmet. The build is shown comfortably running 200% delirium maps without dying.
The damage comes from corrupted blood, which scales purely with increases to global physical damage, war-cry damage, and skill levels — so much of the build’s investment goes into stacking those modifiers rather than conventional hit damage. A Verona’s Carnage helmet supplies berserking war-cry stats, while a corruption on the gloves restores the lost +1 melee skill level. Extensive testing led the creator to drop fully-broken-armour and resonating-shield setups (which did nothing for corrupted blood) in favor of a Shockwave Totem purely as a damage-buff bot via increased damage while you have a totem.
This is fundamentally an endgame tank update rather than a beginner guide — the gear involves layered crafting, corruptions, and a Svalin shield, so it rewards players who already understand the build and want to push its survivability ceiling.
Pros & Cons
Pros
- Up to ~86% effective block chance plus heavy armour makes it exceptionally tanky
- Comfortably clears 200% delirium maps in the showcase
- Corrupted blood damage scales off cheap, stackable physical and war-cry modifiers
- Endurance-charge generation supports a near-permanent damage buff loop
Cons
- Heavy crafting and corruption requirements (gloves, helmet, Svalin) make it gear-gated
- Not a league starter — assumes an established character
- Single-target damage is modest compared to its defensive ceiling
- Several intuitive defensive layers were found to do nothing, so the setup is unforgiving of guesswork
Key Skills
- Corrupted Blood (via Corrupting Wings) — the core damage-over-time source, scaled by physical and war-cry modifiers
- War Cries — the primary damage multiplier the build is built around
- Leap Slam + Jagged Ground — mobility that also creates damaging ground via endurance charges
- Shockwave Totem — used as a buff bot for increased damage while you have a totem
Gear & Anointments
Centerpiece is a Svalin shield (ideally with an Ox idol for increased base block chance) for block stacking, alongside a Verona’s Carnage helmet crafted for war-cry stats. Gloves need a +1 melee skills corruption to recover the level lost on the helmet, and Saffron’s Resolve adds a Ruby jewel socket for extra survivability. A Megalomaniac jewel supplies Wide Barrier for additional block. The crafting sequence is involved — refer to the creator’s dedicated mobility/crafting guide and the source video for exact steps.
Endgame Notes
The update is demonstrated on 200% delirium maps, where the block-plus-armour layering keeps the character safe while corrupted blood and war cries handle the clear. The build prioritizes survivability ceiling over raw boss damage.
Credits & Source
Build credited to Skadoosh. See the source video for the full build’s gameplay footage and voice commentary: Corrupting Wings Gemling, Tank Update + 200% Delerium Map.