In the fast-paced, constantly evolving landscape of Path of Exile 2, discovering a new synergy that actually works is like striking gold.In recent deep dive POE 2 Currency Orbs, explored a strength-stacking build based around Rick’s Stomping Ground-a brutal melee skill that multiplies your Strength by up to 150% and uses it as the base damage.
The result? A one-button juggernaut that’s surprisingly tanky, reasonably cheap, and-most importantly-fun.
Let’s break down how this “Rake Stomping Ground” build works, why it’s viable, and what makes it a hidden gem for endgame farming in PoE 2.
The Core Mechanic: Stomping Ground & Strength Scaling
At the heart of this build is Stomping Ground, a melee attack tied to the unique weapon Rick. This ability takes your character’s total Strength and uses it as base damage-multiplied between 100% and 150%. Naturally, the higher your Strength, the more devastating your attacks become. That makes strength-stacking not just viable, but optimal.
Fully lean into this scaling by combining it with Iron Grasp, Crown of Eyes, and Energy Shield (ES) leech mechanics to create a tanky, spammy melee bruiser that can comfortably handle both clear speed and bossing.
The Weapon of Choice: Sky Sliver
A rare spear known for its insane attack speed and a very special mod: only rolling minimum or maximum values for each damage type. The logic here is simple-Stomping Ground doesn’t care about weapon DPS. You just want to attack fast and frequently to maximize damage application.
Sky Sliver outpaces most rare spears in terms of speed and, thanks to its high roll consistency, ensures smoother damage output. Add in the synergy with Stomping Ground’s flat base damage, and this weapon ends up being the best-in-slot.
Offhand Strategy: Focus for Flat Energy Shield
Runs a Focus item in the offhand instead of a shield or dual-wield setup. Why? Focus provides a significant amount of flat Energy Shield, which helps scale your survivability. Because this build forgoes traditional life-based defenses, stacking ES is key.
Paired with Essence Sanguis gloves (which apply life leech to Energy Shield) and Trample Toe boots, the build manages a solid 5.6k to 6k ES, which can be easily pushed to 7k or even 10k with minor upgrades.
The Tree & Passive Synergies
Blacksite Training Keystone: This node converts the Strength bonus that would normally go to life into Energy Shield, neutralizing the downsides of items like Iron Will and Iron Grip.
Iron Grasp + Iron Will Chest: These modifiers normally remove Strength’s benefit to life, but since we no longer scale life, they become purely advantageous.
Crown of Eyes: Converts spell damage into attack damage, meaning any spell damage you gain from Strength or other sources contributes directly to Stomping Ground’s effectiveness.
Eternal Youth: This keystone makes ES leech consistent and instant, skipping the frustrating ES recharge delay that can otherwise be a death sentence in combat.
Skill Setup and Gameplay Loop
The actual gameplay is refreshingly simple. You activate Rick and then spam Stomping Ground as quickly as possible. Thanks to the high attack speed of Sky Sliver and your massive Strength pool, you deal heavy damage in short bursts while staying mobile.
To cancel animation and improve movement flow, Jay uses dodge roll or another movement skill. Against bosses, he drops Orb of Storms to generate rage and applies Vulnerability curse to reduce enemy armor, maximizing the physical damage output.
This playstyle is essentially one-button efficiency with additional rage-generation and curses when needed.
Damage and Tankiness: Surprisingly Well-Balanced
Is this a top-tier DPS build? Not quite-but it doesn’t need to be. Rake + Stomping Ground isn’t going to delete Uber bosses in 3 seconds. But it does deliver reliable, scalable, and consistent damage for clearing and farming.
On the defense side, the build is arguably better than some glass cannon setups. The ability to push past 7k ES, combined with ES leech from life leech mechanics, makes you resilient to burst damage. Unlike life builds, you’re not as prone to sudden one-shots.
If you wanted to take it further, suggests looking into gear with high ES rolls, or even incorporatingDeepest Tower and a different chest to skyrocket your defenses. Budget and Accessibility
The real kicker? It’s cheap.
Most of the gear used in this build is dirt cheap because it doesn’t scale with gem levels, which are usually the most expensive stat on rare items. Here’s a quick rundown of the cost:
Sky Sliver: Common and affordable.
Rick (Stomping Ground): Easy to get.
Essence Sanguis gloves: Cheap and widespread.
Trample Toe boots: Unique and very affordable.
Amulet and rings: Can cost 1-2 divine each, depending on rolls and Spirit slots.
Focus: Not meta, so easy to find with high ES and spell damage.
Even the Against the Darkness cluster jewel, which gives 24% increased Strength and synergistic minor nodes, only costs around 2 divine. Compared to most meta builds, this one is easy to put together without grinding for weeks.
Final Thoughts: A Hidden Gem Worth Trying
The result is a build that’s:
Comfortable to play
Tanky enough for most endgame content
Affordable for SSF or league starters
A refreshing alternative to spell or bow metas
If you’re looking for a powerful, off-meta melee build in Path of Exile 2, this Rick Stomping Ground setup might be exactly what you need to smash your way through the Atlas-without smashing your wallet.
Build Highlights Recap:
Skill: Rick’s Stomping Ground
Scaling: Strength stacking (up to 150% base damage)
Main Weapon: Sky Sliver (high attack speed)
Offhand: Focus (flat ES, spell damage converted via Crown of Eyes)
Defenses: 6k+ Energy Shield with life leech to ES
Main Utility: Orb of Storms (rage gen), Vulnerability curse
Cost: ~5-10 Divine for full setup
Best Use: General mapping, bossing with comfort, off-meta fun
This build could be the sleeper melee hit of the patch. If you’re bored of projectile spam or mana-intensive spells Path of Exile 2 Currency, it’s time to grab Rick, stack Strength, and start stomping.
