Spectres have long been a core part of minion builds in Path of Exile, offering a wide variety of playstyles and utility for summoners. With each league, changes to minions, new monsters, and evolving gameplay mechanics shift which spectres are truly effective. In the current 3.27 league, the new meta situatin for spectre summoners continues to grow, making it vital to know which spectres are performing at the highest level and how to upgrade your gear to support them.
PoE 3.27 Best Spectre Tier List
The 3.27 league has introduced new spectrable monsters and brought attention to both old favorites and new contenders. The process of acquiring and maintaining spectres remains a pain point, especially for rarer monsters. For instance, some monsters, like the Forge Frostbearers, are known for their high single-target damage, but summoning them requires manual effort since desecrate cannot be used to resummon them after death. This makes building and maintaining an optimal spectre army more involved than with other minions. Additionally, the randomness in monster abilities and map modifiers can result in varying experiences, with some encounters feeling much harder or easier than others. Spectres like It That Guards show promise for clear speed, while others offer utility or unique effects, but damage and AI quirks often determine their real value. As the community tests more spectres, Forge Frostbears remain a top pick, especially for high-budget builds, while others, despite looking impressive, may fall short due to cooldowns or underwhelming numbers.
S Tier: Top Choices
Forge Frostbearers: These spectres stand out for their exceptional single-target damage and reliable performance across content. Their damage output is impressive, and they scale well with investment, making them the go-to choice for many spectre builds. Players often seek them out in global channels and rely on community help to acquire them due to their manual summoning requirement.
Rich Defilers: Another favorite for high-budget spectre builds, Rich Defilers offer strong performance and remain a personal top pick for many summoners.
Utility Spectres: While not always in the top damage tier, certain utility spectres—like Guardian Turtles for Determination aura, Carnage Chieftains for frenzy charges, and Primal Crushclaws for cold damage and Bonechill synergy—play a vital role in maximizing the damage and survivability of your main spectre army.
A Tier: High Potential, Needs Gear or Support
It That Guards: These are likened to a budget version of Syndicate Operatives. They offer fast projectiles and decent clear, making them appealing for players looking for speed mapping spectre builds. Their damage is serviceable, especially when supported by gear, but they struggle to match Forge Frostbearers for boss damage.
It That Lashes: These spectres have great tankiness and reasonable damage, with a powerful tentacle hit. Unfortunately, their attack cooldown makes their real-world DPS much lower, limiting their effectiveness in fast-paced content.
B Tier: Niche or Utility Spectres
It That Hates: These spectres use chaos and physical projectiles, but lack the ability to shotgun, resulting in mediocre DPS. They may have some use for clear coverage, but generally underperform in bossing and high-tier maps.
It That Controls: They bring a hard-hitting "spirit bomb" ability that can one-shot bosses in early maps, but the long cooldown and poor filler attacks limit their overall impact.
It That Stalks, It That Hunts, It That Shreds: These and similar spectres have lackluster damage, squishiness, or awkward attack patterns. While some can offer situational utility—like shock application or partial conversion—they rarely justify a slot over the top picks.
It That Creeps: Their main value is as a shockbot, but with low damage output and many alternative sources of shock in the game, their use is limited.
C Tier: Generally Avoid
Spectres with low damage numbers, poor AI, or substantial survivability issues. Many new or visually impressive spectres unfortunately fall into this category once tested in real content.
How to Upgrade Gear for Your Spectre Build?
Progressing your spectre build from starter to endgame requires careful upgrades and a focus on increasing both the number and power of your spectres.
Starting Out:
Begin with a plus one trigger wand and basic minion gear. Transition from early minion skills like Absolution to spectres as soon as you can reliably field three spectres at level 25 or higher with the Raise Spectre gem and passive tree investment.
Increasing Spectre Count:
Unlocking Death Attunement on the passive tree gives you four spectres. The next milestone is acquiring items in PoE that add to your maximum spectres. The Dark Monarch helmet is a key upgrade, effectively doubling your spectre count but restricting you to only spectres. When using Dark Monarch, make sure you maintain a Raise Spectre gem level of 25, achieved through a combination of gem levels, gear, and passive bonuses.
Pushing Spectre Levels:
Look for elder-influenced boots, amulets, or shields with +level to minion or spectre gems. Crafting a +2 minion wand using resonators and fossils is a valuable investment, though it may take several tries to hit the right combination.
Utility and Support:
With Dark Monarch, you lose the ability to summon other minions, so feeding frenzy and other utility auras must be provided by secondary spectres and linked support gems. Utility spectres like Guardian Turtle (for Determination aura), Carnage Chieftain (for frenzy charge generation), and Primal Crushclaw (for Bonechill synergy) help maximize your main spectres' output.
Further Upgrades:
As you progress, look for a Delve body armour with +1 or +2 to maximum spectres, and consider the Bitterbind Point shield for additional minion levels. Balance your resistances and attributes as your gear shifts, and use cluster jewels with bonuses like increased attack and cast speed for minions, or Fortress Covenant for defense.
Remember that some spectres—especially powerful ones like Forge Frostbearers, must be manually acquired from other players, as desecration will not summon them. Join global channels or community groups to get help obtaining these valuable spectres. Regularly review your gear to maximize spectre levels, utility, and survivability as you climb into higher-budget territory.