Hello! In this guide we discuss (seasonally updated) what’s the best or fastest speed farming build and for Crusader! The only truly viable builds are Thorns Based (Akkhan+Norvald Thorns, or LoN Thorns are roughly equal).
We suggest you read these resources on speedfarming:
D3 General Speedfarming | Crusader Speedfarming Primer
Fastest Crusader Speedfarming Builds
THERE ARE MANY OPTIONS AND OPEN SLOTS. The only true core pieces are 6 pieces Akkhan + Norvald’s (Flail of the Charge, Shield of the Steed)
 Crusader Speedfarming Build : Akkhan-Thorns Standard Template | ||||
Equipment | Â | Skill | Rune | |
Head | Helm of Akkhan | Any | Any | |
Shoulder | Pauldrons of Akkhan | Bombardment | Barrels of Spikes | |
Chest | Breastplate of Akkhan (HoI) | Steed Charge | Spiked Barding | |
Hands | Gauntlets of Akkhan | Consecration (Open) | Bed of Nails | |
Legs | Cuisses of Akkhan | Iron Skin (Open) | Reflective Skin | |
Feet | Sabatons of Akkhan | Akarat’s Champion | Prophet or Rally | |
Belt | Belt of the Trove | |||
Bracer | Nemesis (Any) | Passives | ||
Amulet | Talisman of Akkhan (Any) | Iron Maiden | ||
Ring | Avarice Band (Any) | Finery | ||
Ring | (Any) | Heavenly Strength | ||
Weapon | Flail of the Charge | (Open) Holy Cause, Indestructible | ||
Off-hand | Shield of the Steed | |||
Legendary Gems | Kanai’s Cube | |||
Boyarsky’s Chip | Mortal Drama, Swiftmount (Bounties), Furnace | |||
Bane of the Trapped | Leoric’s Crown | |||
Boon of the Hoarder (Open) | RoRG, Avarice Band, Unity, CoE… |
LoN Thorns is brutally hard to roll for, and It’s not any “better” than Akkhan’s Norvald Thorns. You need 67% Sheet CDR for 100% uptime on Steed Charge! Ouch
Crusader Speedfarming Build : LoN Thorns Standard Template | ||||
Equipment | Â | Skill | Rune | |
Head | Leoric’s Crown | Any | Any | |
Shoulder | Any (Homing Pads) | Bombardment | Barrels of Spikes | |
Chest | Heart of Iron (Aquila Cuirass) | Steed Charge | Spiked Barding | |
Hands | Any (St. Archew’s Gage) | Consecration (Open) | Bed of Nails | |
Legs | Any (Hexing Pants of Mr. Yan) | Iron Skin (Open) | Reflective Skin | |
Feet | Any | Akarat’s Champion | Prophet or Rally | |
Belt | Belt of the Trove | |||
Bracer | Nemesis Bracers | Passives | ||
Amulet | Hellfire Amulet (Eye of Etlich) | Iron Maiden | ||
Ring | The Wailing Host | Finery | ||
Ring | Litany of the Undaunted | Heavenly Strength | ||
Weapon | Swiftmount | (Open) Holy Cause, Indestructible | ||
Off-hand | MANY VIABLE SHIELDS | |||
Legendary Gems | Kanai’s Cube | |||
Boyarsky’s Chip | Mortal Drama | |||
Bane of the Trapped | Leoric’s Crown, Heart of Iron | |||
Boon of the Hoarder | Avarice Band, CoE |
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Crusader Akkhan’s Thorns Speedfarming: Rerolls & Stat Priority
Here’s a standard spread of stats you want on your gear.
Crusader Speed Farming Build: Akkhan’s Thorns Rerolls & Stat Priority | ||||||
Head | STR | Thorns | VIT | Life% | RES | LpH |
Shoulder | STR | CDR | Thorns | VIT | RES | Life% |
Chest | STR | Thorns | VIT | RES | Life% | Any |
Hands | STR | CDR | Thorns | VIT | RES | LpH |
Legs | STR | Thorns | VIT | RES | Armor | Any |
Boots | STR | Thorns | VIT | RES | MS% | Armor |
Belt | STR | Thorns | VIT | RES | Life% | Any |
Wrist | Phys% | STR | Thorns | VIT | RES | LPH |
Neck | Phys% | STR | CDR | Thorns | VIT | Any |
Rings | STR | CDR | Thorns | VIT | Any | – |
Main | See | Notes | STR | CDR | VIT | Any |
Off | See | Notes | STR | CDR | VIT | Block |
Bombardment% on Shoulders and Chest is a “luxury”
Crusader Speedfarming Build Options, Notes & Reroll FAQ
Because this is such an open build full of options, let’s dedicate the first three tabs to talk about what’s absolutely set in stone: CDR needed, core items and core skills.
Now we discuss the options, fillers and such.
Cubing Swiftmount for bounties is a great choice to reduce “dead zones” wherein Steed Charge won’t reset. You typically won’t miss Mortal Drama’s effect in these cases. This is a major notable evolution, so I put it up here.
Invoker 2pc – worth it?
Maximizing Invoker 2pc will put a hamper on your Crusaders “speed” of mobility but this is the prime evolution for harder content.
You only need to sacrifice a skill slot (for Punish or Slash, usually Punish-Celerity) and two filler items (Nemesis and another body piece), and it can boost your thorns by a HUGE AMOUNT. Even just 3 stacks DOUBLES your thorns.
Invoker pieces ALWAYS ROLL THORNS so this is a big relief for us. We’re forced to use Bracers (since it’s an “off-piece”), and the next best thing is probably Shoulders… but it doesn’t really matter.
Other Crusader Resources
We suggest you read these resources on speedfarming:
D3 General Speedfarming | Crusader Speedfarming Primer
Learn more about the Crusader sets!
- Armor of Akkhan Set | Akkhan Set Dungeon
- Thorns of the Invoker Set | Invoker Set Dungeon
- Roland’s Legacy Builds Guide | Roland’s Set Dungeon
- Seeker of the Light Builds Guide | Light Set Dungeon
If you need anything else check out our D3 Guide Directory.
Enjoy speed farming with your Crusader by LITERAL drive by. Listen to Norvald, even he didn’t care about defense!
Interesting guide. Two questions came shortly to my mind. If we can use “any” weapon in the cube, why not double bombardment impact (-> Trove Belt + Skillbar)? Second if the amulet slot is free, why not use Akkhan amulet and free a slot for the chest that converts vit into thorns for dmg boost?
Now updated for s9 🙂
I’d guess this guide was converted from before akkhan amulet existed.
yes. we’re going to update this soon! 🙂
Now updated for S9!
Can you link the items please?
will get to it once I’m free! 🙂
With Rorg, I can have 3 sets bonus: akkhan (5 pieces) + inovker (3 pieces) + norvald (2 pieces). Wouldn’t that be a good build?
yes there’s many ways to customize it but I dislike 4 Invoker because its only 50% damage reduction. It can be done with something like Aquila or Unity instead.
Little confused as to why recommend zodiac ring when none of the skills use wrath…..
Zodiac is not recommended in the base build tables but it is an option for sub-optimal builds that wish to cheat CDR – it’s a far fetched option.
Thanks for the guide! I was wondering why you have Leoric’s Crown in the cube and which gem to use. Thanks.
It’s a huge source of CDR which is quite important for our build. You can ditch it if you find other means to get 100% uptime on champion. It may seem strange to see it on a build like this at all, but that’s cause we cant use Fervor with Flail of the Charge. Socket in a Diamond on it.