PoE 2 0.3 Best Minion Builds (The Third Edict)

Path of Exile 2's 0.3 patch, The Third Edict, has brought a huge wave of changes for minion builds. Summoners will notice a major overhaul to support gems, minion abilities, reservation efficiency, and key mechanics. Here we talk about the important changes in the minions in the 0.3 patch and point out the most promising minion builds to try in Rise of the Abyssals league.

PoE 2 Minion Summoner Builds in 0.3: Stats and Key Patch Changes

Minion builds in Path of Exile 2 have always focused on balancing the number of summons, their survivability, and scaling their damage with gear and passive points. In 0.3, several core mechanics have shifted. All minion attacks now always hit, so accuracy is no longer a concern. Reservation efficiency has become a central focus, and quality on minion gems now increases damage instead of reducing reservation. Melee skeletons receive a dash attack, and some minions gain new command abilities, such as Skeletal Brutes with a war cry that detonates frozen enemies and Skeletal Frost Mages applying ice armor for improved defenses.

The patch rebalanced mana and spirit costs, especially at higher gem levels, making late-game active minion skills much more accessible. Spectres have been overhauled with reduced reservation costs and increased damage scaling, and corpse generation has improved, notably with Unearth now usable on revived skeleton corpses. Additionally, the support gem overhaul allows more flexibility, letting you run multiple copies of key supports. Socketable items, especially helmets and belts, now provide higher reservation efficiency, shaping both gearing and build-crafting.

PoE 2 Best Minion Builds for 0.3 Rise of the Abyssals

With all these updates, the minion meta is in flux, but several builds would stand out for their synergy with the new mechanics. Here we give early theorycrafting builds based on the current state of minions and the changes coming in the 0.3.0 update! More accurate information and more meta minions builds will be updated here later, so stay tuned!

1. Lich Arsonist Detonators

This build leverages both Explosive Demise and Unearth to create a chain reaction of detonating minions, combining fire and chaos explosions for a visceral playstyle. The addition of Lich’s Rupture the Soul brings chaos explosions into the mix, making it a strong choice for both mapping and bossing. The defensive setup is robust, with 15% damage mitigation, a large energy shield pool, and block. Energy shield recharge is the main form of recovery, and the build benefits from the patch’s reduced late-game mana costs for Explosive Demise, Unearth, and Pain Offering.

The gameplay loop involves spamming elemental weakness to generate raging spirits, detonating minions with Explosive Demise, and using Unearth to create more corpses for additional minions or explosions. When facing tougher enemies or bosses, you maintain curses and exposure, use your defensive skills, and keep minions topped up for maximum detonation potential. The build is flexible, with gearing focused on minion levels, spirit, and energy shield, and benefits greatly from the quality-of-life changes in 0.3.

Key Features:

• Explosive chain reactions with fire and chaos

• Tanky energy shield setup with good block

• Active playstyle, but manageable with Lich’s mana regen

• Strong mapping and bossing potential

• Synergizes with the new dash attack and improved corpse generation

2. Skeletal Brutes and Frost Mages Combo

The update brings a synergy between Skeletal Brutes and Frost Mages that’s hard to ignore. Brutes now have a command ability, Shattering Roar, which detonates frozen enemies and allies in an area, dealing significant damage. Skeletal Frost Mages provide ice armor as an area-of-effect ability, reducing incoming damage and reflecting cold damage when struck. This setup not only increases minion survivability but also enables powerful interactions, such as using Brute’s war cry to trigger explosions from frozen minions.

Frost Mages now count as being frozen, which lets Brutes’ war cry detonate them for burst damage. The quality on Frost Mage gems now grants more damage, making them a strong offensive and defensive pick. Combining these minions allows for creative setups, particularly with the new dash attack, so your minions can leap into combat without getting stuck on terrain.

Key Features:

• Brute war cry detonates frozen minions for high burst

• Frost Mages provide defensive ice armor and thorns effect

• Improved mobility and combat effectiveness with dash attack

• Synergistic playstyle for both clearing and bossing

3. Spectre-Focused Summoner

Spectres have received a notable overhaul this patch. High spirit-cost spectres are now cheaper to reserve, and all spectres benefit from a 25% more damage multiplier at all gem levels. Quality on the Bind Spectre gem now increases their damage up to 20%. With over 100 new spectre monsters added, the variety and power ceiling for spectre-focused builds have risen sharply.

The Darkness and Throne unique belt, along with socketed helmets and new timeless jewels, provide huge boosts to reservation efficiency. This means it’s possible to run more and stronger spectres simultaneously. While the exact best spectres are still being mapped out due to the influx of new monsters, players can expect a wider selection of endgame-viable choices, with more support gem options than ever before.

Key Features:

• Reduced reservation costs allow more (and stronger) spectres

• 25% more damage at all gem levels

• Improved support gem flexibility

• Huge variety with over 100 new spectres to test

4. Unearth Minion Specialist

Unearth has been reworked to allow the creation of bone constructs from revived skeleton corpses, making it especially potent in single-target boss fights where corpses are scarce. Bone constructs now have a dash attack, boosting their mobility and damage uptime. Quality increases their movement speed, further enhancing their effectiveness.

This build takes advantage of the new corpse generation mechanics, combined with the improved mana and spirit economy for active minion skills. It’s particularly useful for summoners who want reliable minion uptime in all scenarios, with the ability to quickly fill the battlefield with aggressive bone constructs.

Key Features:

• Reliable corpse generation for sustained minion output

• Bone constructs with dash attack for improved targeting and damage

• Good synergy with other minion types and support gems

5. Ravenous Swarm and Poison Minion Hybrid

A new persistent buff gem, Ravenous Swarm, has been introduced. This grants an untargetable swarm of insects that periodically attack and poison enemies. It serves as a strong alternative or supplement to traditional minions like raging spirits, especially for chaos or poison-focused builds. The Black Flame Covenant keystone, which converts fire damage to chaos, opens up even more hybridization potential.

This setup is ideal for players who want to try something different from the usual skeletons or spectres, with a focus on poison and chaos synergies.

Key Features:

• Persistent swarm applies regular poison damage

• Can be combined with fire-to-chaos conversion for unique builds

• Flexible support for hybrid minion setups