Path of Exile 3.27 "Keepers of the Flame" brings a new level of build diversity with the introduction of Bloodline Ascendancies. These ascendancies, absorbed from certain bosses you defeat, offer new paths to customize your character and add fresh complexity to the endgame. With each Bloodline Ascendancy tied to a unique boss encounter and offering powerful, often build-defining nodes, choosing the right one can take your build to new heights, or open up entirely new archetypes.
In this guide, we’ll break down how these new ascendancies work, provide a clear overview of each, and present a tiered ranking of the best Bloodline Ascendancies for 3.27, including the most promising build setups for each.
PoE 3.27 Best Bloodline Ascendancies & Builds
Players can now acquire Bloodline Ascendancies by defeating specific bosses throughout the Keepers of the Flame expansion. Each ascendancy comes with unique passives and notables, offering powerful effects and sometimes severe trade-offs. Integrating these ascendancies into your build requires careful planning, as each point spent is one taken from your main ascendancy.
Some Bloodline Ascendancies introduce entirely new mechanics, like summoning spectral tigers on critical strikes, while others offer specialized support for minions, ward builds, or Herald stacking. Many notables grant effects at the cost of equipment slots or other powerful bonuses, so evaluating the opportunity cost is a key part of the new build-crafting process.
Below, you’ll find a ranking of the top Bloodline Ascendancies in 3.27, complete with examples of the builds that make the best use of each.
1. Lycia Bloodline Ascendancy (S Tier)
Lycia Bloodline Ascendancy takes Herald-centric builds to a new level. Farewell to Flesh transforms reserved mana into a multiplicative boost for Herald effects, allowing players to reach flat elemental damage numbers that rival high-tier wands with minimal investment. This ascendancy is especially attractive for early progression, and it remains powerful into endgame, especially for builds that can reserve large amounts of mana or life. The accessibility and scaling potential make it a top choice for those aiming to maximize Herald skills.
Best Lycia Bloodline Nodes:
Farewell to Flesh: Herald skills gain 2% more buff effect for each 1% of maximum mana reserved, and 1% more damage per 1% life reserved. This is a multiplicative bonus and scales extremely well with Herald reservation stacking, creating some of the highest flat elemental damage possible on a reasonable budget.
Bit of Heresy: Converts consecrated ground creation into profane ground, inflicting Malediction (10% increased damage taken, 10% reduced damage dealt) on enemies and granting Chaotic Might (30% of physical as extra chaos) to allies.
Sinner Saint: Supports complex elemental-to-chaos conversion setups.
Best Lycia Bloodline Build Setup: Elementalist Herald Stacker Wander
This build stacks Herald effect through cluster jewels, tattoos, and ascendancy points, enabling Herald of Thunder and Herald of Ice to provide massive flat elemental damage. By reserving large amounts of mana (using Essence Worms, Honorhome, and reservation efficiency gear), you can achieve 600+ flat elemental damage per Herald—outperforming even high-end wands. The build is viable for early league start and scales into late game with further investment, boasting strong clear and bossing potential.
Other Viable Build Setups:
Low-life Herald of Agony
Pathfinder/Poison Pen builds (using profane ground conversion for extra chaos scaling)
Autobomber Herald of Thunder/Herald of Ice builds
2. Delirious Bloodline Ascendancy (S Tier)
Delirious Bloodline Ascendancy offers high risk and high reward for those looking to maximize damage output in specialized setups. Nodes like Manic Episodes dish out enormous debuffs to enemies, vastly increasing damage taken at the cost of stacking self-inflicted debuffs. Schizophrenic Dissociation brings a potent defensive layer by reducing hit damage and applying delayed life loss, suitable for tanky builds able to manage the delayed downside. This ascendancy excels in bossing and cluster jewel-focused builds, but requires careful planning to mitigate its drawbacks.
Best Delirious Bloodline Nodes:
Manic Episodes: While affected by Glorious Madness, inflicts "Mania" on nearby enemies every second, stacking up to 15 times for up to 60% increased damage taken and 30% reduced action speed. The drawback is that you constantly gain random Delirium debuffs on yourself, stacking up to 10 times.
Schizophrenic Dissociation: Provides 40% less damage taken from hits, with delayed life loss and disables standard jewels.
Hallucinogenic Tendencies: Grants a unique movement skill leaving a damaging clone on use.
Best Delirious Bloodline Build Setup: Megalomaniac Cluster Stacking Trickster/Elementalist
This ascendancy shines for characters focused on maximizing damage, especially those who can mitigate or cleanse debuffs efficiently. Since Manic Episodes is one of the most potent debuffing nodes ever introduced, it can be build-defining for high-end bossing and group play. Hardcore and SSF players may also find value in the defensive options of this ascendancy, especially when paired with unique jewels like Stasis Prism to accelerate debuff expiry.
3. Farrul Bloodline Ascendancy (A Tier)
Farrul Bloodline Ascendancy brings a fresh angle for crit-based builds, especially those using totems such as Siege Ballista or Shrapnel Ballista. This ascendancy shines by granting powerful buffs through spectral tigers triggered on critical strikes, boosting attack speed and crit chance. While the spectre-focused options offer strong auras, they can be challenging to use due to spectres' fragility and the need for dedicated minion support. The real value here comes from the Huntleader node, which fits perfectly into crit-centric totem builds needing extra speed and damage.
Best Farrul Bloodline Nodes:
Hunt Leader: Triggers summon spectral tiger on critical strikes, granting buffs to critical strike chance and attack/cast speed.
Spectre Path: Limits you to one raised spectre, but grants powerful auras like increased accuracy, crit chance, or damage and regen.
Primal Roar: Boosts minion damage and offers a large chunk of attack speed if you have warcried recently.
Feral’s Will/Fertile Will/Wild Will: Provides unique aura effects for spectres, such as increased accuracy, crit chance, or action speed.
Best Farrul Bloodline Build Setup: Crit-Based Totem Builds (Siege Ballista, Shrapnel Ballista)
Hunt Leader is a standout for crit-based totem builds, providing a straightforward way to stack crit chance and attack speed by summoning spectral tigers with frequent crits. The synergy is especially strong for self-casting or totem builds that can easily trigger criticals and benefit from speed boosts. While the spectre node is more niche due to minion survivability concerns, the aura options may be relevant for creative minion or aura-bot builds.
Other Viable Setups:
Spiritual Aid Minion Hybrids
Minion-focused Elementalist/Necromancer variants
4. Catarina Bloodline Ascendancy (A Tier)
Catarina Bloodline Ascendancy is designed for hybrid minion and self-buffing builds. It grants substantial bonuses to attack speed, spell damage, and defenses based on the types of minions you summon. While not universally applicable, Umbreal Army and Prolonged Servitude provide potent effects for builds that can maintain a large minion roster. The ascendancy is particularly well-suited for SRS (Summon Raging Spirit) and Dark Pact Skeleton builds, where minions act as both offense and support.
Best Catarina Bloodline Nodes:
Umbreal Army: Grants attack/cast speed per SRS, attack damage per zombie, defenses per spectre, movement speed per phantasm, spell damage per skeleton—great for hybrid minion/self-buff builds.
Prolonged Servitude: Minions cannot be killed for 6 seconds after reaching 1 life, enabling longer-lasting minions even under heavy fire.
Death Offering: Increases offering effects but at the risk of killing affected targets on expiry.
Best Catarina Bloodline Build: SRS (Summon Raging Spirit) Minion Hybrid
This ascendancy is excellent for SRS builds, allowing for significant attack/cast speed buffs and improved minion uptime. The spell damage per skeleton line is a natural fit for Dark Pact skeleton builds, while the spectre defense line is appealing for tanky minion setups. Prolonged Servitude also opens up new minion-explosion or Infernal Legion builds, thanks to extra survival time at low life.
5. Olroth Bloodline Ascendancy (A Tier)
Olroth Bloodline Ascendancy introduces new possibilities for ward-based builds, particularly those that hit very frequently. Nodes like Boon of the River allow for ward restoration on hit, well-suited for characters like Barrage Deadeye or Spark builds. Volatile Runes offers a powerful retaliation when ward breaks, and Enhanced Starlight adds another layer to hybrid defense strategies. The ascendancy is best for ranged characters or anyone looking to get the most from frequent ward restoration and shatter effects.
Best Olroth Bloodline Nodes:
Boon of the River: 5% chance to restore your ward on hit, extremely potent for fast-hitting builds.
Volatile Runes: Triggers a ward shatter explosion when your ward breaks, scaling with your ward pool.
Enhanced Starlight: Damage taken bypasses unbroken ward if the hit is less than 15% of your ward, offering a unique defensive layer.
Best Olroth Bloodline Setup: Deadeye/Barrage or Spark Ward Build
Boon of the River is particularly potent for high-hit builds like Barrage or Spark, maintaining high ward uptime and providing a strong defensive layer. Runesmith Olth's ascendancy is also attractive for characters focusing on unique ward mechanics, using combinations like Yinder's Stand and hybrid armor/ward scaling.
6. Aul Bloodline Ascendancy (B Tier)
Aul Bloodline Ascendancy, found in Delve, caters to builds that want to manipulate charges and auras but comes with steep opportunity costs. While nodes like Precursor’s Release offer powerful immunities or action speed fixes, they require giving up gem slots in gear. The charge-related nodes are somewhat awkward, as they often require you to be at maximum or minimum charges to get their full effect, which can be difficult to maintain. This ascendancy is best for specialized builds with low socket pressure or specific aura stacking needs.
Best Aul Bloodline Nodes:
Precursor’s Release: Provides defensive immunities (cannot be stunned, cannot be affected by elemental ailments, cannot have action speed modified below base) if specific gear slots are left empty of socketed gems.
The King’s Contempt/Heritage/Might: Provides increased aura effect based on your current charge state.
Best Aul Bloodline Build Setup: Juggernaut or Trickster Aura-Based Tank
Aura-stacking Juggernaut or Trickster builds benefit the most, especially if the build can function with fewer gem slots and wants to capitalize on the unique immunities or action speed bonuses. The ascendancy is also handy for those using Abyssal-socketed uniques or focusing on charge management.
7. Nameless Bloodline Ascendancy (B Tier)
Nameless Bloodline Ascendancy presents trade-offs for ring stacking or ritual farming builds. The notables grant an extra ring slot at the cost of losing access to another equipment slot, such as your amulet, belt, or utility flasks. While the benefit of a third ring is clear, the price paid is steep, so this ascendancy only fits into niche strategies that can function without the lost slot.
Best Nameless Bloodline Nodes:
Unlight Silhouette: Enables the use of a third ring but disables your amulet.
Serpent's Price, Toad's Price, Beetle's Price: Each adds a ring slot at the cost of belt or flask access.
Best Nameless Bloodline Build Setup: Niche Ring Stackers / Ritual Farmers
Nameless Bloodline offers unique notables with steep drawbacks, such as losing access to amulets, belts, or flasks in exchange for an extra ring slot. While the cost is severe, these nodes can enable builds that want to stack rings or take advantage of powerful ritual farming synergies.
8. Chaos Bloodline Ascendancy (B Tier)
Chaos Bloodline Ascendancy is an option for builds focusing on chaos, poison, or Vaal skills. The nodes here provide support for chaos damage scaling, additional Vaal soul generation, and general chaos synergy. While not the most universally powerful, it offers value to characters designed around chaos DoT or those relying heavily on Vaal skill uptime.
Best Chaos Bloodline Nodes:
Corruption’s Embrace: Boosts chaos damage and Vaal skill effectiveness.
Priest of Yaomac/Kopec/Kamasa: Each enhances a different aspect of chaos or Vaal skill interaction.
Best Chaos Bloodline Build Setup: Poison/Chaos DoT, Vaal Skillcasters
Chaos Bloodline is aimed at builds leveraging chaos, poison, and Vaal skills. The nodes grant options for Vaal soul generation, chaos scaling, and more, benefiting Tricksters, Occultists, and anyone focused on chaos DoT or frequent Vaal skill use.
9. Oshabi Bloodline Ascendancy (B Tier)
Oshabi Bloodline Ascendancy supports builds based on rage, elusive, or seal mechanics. The ascendancy isn’t as broadly applicable as others, but for those leveraging these mechanics, it can provide unique bonuses that are otherwise hard to source. It is best suited for high-mobility or burst-damage setups, such as Brand or Berserker builds.
Best Oshabi Bloodline Nodes:
The Primal Owl, The Vivid Cat, The Wild Bear: Each node offers a bonus to rage, elusive, or seal mechanics, depending on the build.
Best Oshabi Bloodline Build Setup: Brand/Rage/Elusive Stackers
Oshabi’s ascendancy supports builds that make use of rage, elusive, or seal mechanics. These nodes are best for high-mobility or high-burst damage setups and may offer new directions for Brand or Berserker builds.
10. Breach Bloodline Ascendancy (C Tier)
Details for the Breach Bloodline Ascendancy are still pending. It is expected to have a connection to Breach mechanics and likely will benefit builds that can interact with or farm Breach efficiently. Full information will become available once the expansion is live.
Best Breach Bloodline Nodes:
To be announced.
Best Breach Bloodline Build Setup:
To be determined, but likely to support Breach farming or synergize with Breach-themed uniques and mechanics.