With the new Path of Exile 2 0.4 update on the way, let's gear up for a fresh start in the Fate of the Vaal league. The Last Of The Druids Season brings sweeping changes to ascendancies, new class mechanics, and a host of buffs and nerfs. With the introduction of the Druid class and two new ascendancies, the meta has shifted, opening up new possibilities for builds and strategies. Here we update the new PoE 2 Tier List for Patch 0.4 League, to sort out the best starter builds for each class to consider for a strong, enjoyable league start and endgame running.
Path of Exile 2 0.4 Tier List
Patch 0.4 is highly anticipated thanks to the introduction of the Druid class, long teased by the developers and finally confirmed for release. The Druid brings a unique approach to class fantasy in PoE 2, offering multiple playstyles that have already been previewed in-depth at events like Gamescom 2023.
The broader ascendancy meta also refreshed. Several ascendancies received buffs or reworks, such as Pathfinder, Warbringer, and Stormweaver, while others saw subtle adjustments. With 250 new passive skills added to the tree, new clusters, and adjustments to many existing nodes, this patch offers new ways to build every character. The new league mechanic, the Wild Temple, gives players the chance to craft their own dungeons and chase new rewards, while performance optimizations and endgame tweaks round out the update. Although some promised endgame changes are delayed to 0.5, the current state of ascendancies offers a dynamic environment for build experimentation.
So, we can expect the Last of the Druids update to bring a refreshed meta state, with its new class, buffs to old ascendancies, additional weapon options, and a focus on hybrid playstyles, giving players a fresh set of tools and strategies for the upcoming league.
PoE 2 0.4 Best Ascendancy Classes Ranking
Based on information about Druid's released classes and the potential performance of other classes in Season 3, we have compiled a new ranking of ascendancy classes and identified some starter builds that we believe have meta potential in the Fate of the Vaal league! Below, ascendancies are grouped by overall strength, versatility, and ease of use in the current patch. Some may rise higher with investment, while others are solid choices for any player.
1. Pathfinder (Ranger) - S Tier
Pathfinder has been transformed by new ascendancy nodes that allow starting points from the Warrior or Sorcerer sections of the passive tree. This flexibility enables virtually any build: melee, spellcaster, bow, or crossbow. Sprinting speed reaches up to 120% increased movement speed, and new passive options allow for enhanced damage, global defenses, or cost efficiency in place of traditional attribute nodes. Pathfinder can now access all three layers of the passive tree and gains bonus passive points. This ascendancy is one of the biggest winners in this patch and is ideal for players who value speed and adaptability.
2. Deadeye (Ranger) - S Tier
Despite receiving a nerf to Tailwind and losing Wind Ward, Deadeye remains at the top. The addition of the Mirage Deadeye meta skill provides huge clear speed and damage amplification. Tailwind still grants solid movement speed, skill speed, and evasion, even with reduced values. Explosive shot Deadeye builds benefit from the new mirage mechanic, allowing for automatic skill echoes while moving, making Deadeye exceptionally fast and powerful. Fast map clearing and easy access to critical weaknesses ensure Deadeye is still a premier pick.
3. Invoker (Monk) - S Tier
Invoker now offers much stronger spirit reservation efficiency, thanks to the buff to Soulspring Eternal. Defenses are improved, and the class excels with cast-on-crit and complex meta skill builds. Protect Me From Harm now reduces evasion rating by only 35% instead of 50%, making it more practical for defensive play. Invoker remains one of the most flexible ascendancies, supporting a variety of playstyles and thriving in spirit-heavy builds.
4. Ritualist (Huntress) - S Tier
Ritualist’s power peaks with endgame gear. The buff to Ritual Sacrifice extends powerful corpse modifiers to 120 seconds, and Blood Boil debuffs nearby enemies, increasing the damage they take. With the ability to equip an extra ring and boost jewelry stats, Ritualist can be built for high damage or tankiness, excelling in both caster and ranged archetypes. It’s a strong contender for top tier with sufficient investment.
5. Witchhunter (Mercenary) - A Tier
Witchhunter’s defenses are stronger than ever. Sorcery Ward now protects against physical and chaos damage, making this one of the tankiest ascendancies. The change to Ceremonial Ablation further bolsters survivability, and Witch Hunter provides solid damage for grenade and crossbow builds. This ascendancy has moved up from previous tiers and is now a reliable choice for players seeking durability.
6. Titan (Warrior) - A Tier
Titan excels with melee skills, especially slams. The addition of Mountain Splitter, which causes every third slam to create additional aftershocks, synergizes perfectly with bear druid builds. Crushing Impacts now grants more damage against heavily stunned enemies. With access to the new Druid passive area, Titan can pick up powerful shape-shifting nodes, making it a premier pick for melee and hybrid builds.
7. Stormweaver (Sorceress) - A Tier
Stormweaver benefits from extensive buffs to infusion mechanics and elemental skills. Multiplying Squalls allows for more elemental skills to be active simultaneously, and collecting infusions is now easier. Stormweaver is more attractive for casters and hybrid builds, especially those that want to stack multiple elemental skills. While it previously struggled for a place in the meta, infusion improvements have propelled it upward.
8. Bloodmage (Witch) - A Tier
Blood Mage remains a strong caster ascendancy, though map mods reducing regeneration have become more dangerous. The class offers excellent spell crit scaling and has synergy with elemental bleed builds. While no longer as dominant as before, Blood Mage still provides major offensive potential, especially in the hands of players willing to invest in regeneration solutions.
9. Lich (Witch) - A Tier
Leech offers one of the most stable forms of sustain, allowing life to be expended without losing it directly and stacking large energy shields. The class is a stable A-tier pick, always reliable and close to S-tier, especially for builds focused on survivability and sustain.
10. Shaman (Druid) - A Tier (Potentially Higher)
Shaman, one of the new Druid ascendancies, offers high spirit generation and powerful rage bonuses for spell damage. Defensive nodes like Reactive Growth and adaptation mechanics provide significant mitigation, especially when stacking adaptations for multiple elements. The class is positioned as a strong starting point for minion, totem, or rage-based spell builds. Its final position will depend on the power of the Apocalypse node and how adaptation stacking performs in practice, but early indications are promising.
11. Oracle (Druid) - A Tier (Potentially Higher)
Oracle is another new Druid ascendancy, providing unique defensive mechanics such as unlucky damage rolls from enemies, increased critical hit chance, and support for totem builds. The align fate and moment of vulnerability skills offer creative build options. Oracle’s overall power level is still being determined as more details emerge, but it stands as a flexible support or hybrid ascendancy.
12. Amazon (Huntress) - A Tier
Amazon remains focused on elemental surges and open weaknesses. Recent changes have shifted elemental surge to only grant lightning surges when consuming charges, but surging avatar now triples surges per charge. Amazon’s skill speed and crit scaling offer high damage potential. While defensively weaker than Witch Hunter and Leech, Amazon still shines with the right investment, particularly for bossing or charge-based builds.
13. Infernalist (Witch) - A Tier
Infernalist continues as the main minion ascendancy and supports multi-elemental spellcasters. The key change is that Scathing Body now grants elemental arkon, combining flame, ice, and lightning buffs into a permanent effect. This gives 25% more fire damage with spells and converts all elemental spell damage to fire, which is ideal for hybrid turret-style or minion builds. Infernalist is a pretty good pick for minions or casters wanting to stand still and channel devastating AoE.
14. Tactician (Mercenary) - B Tier
Tactician remains a good choice for crossbow builds, with improvements to siege cascade and artillery ballista play. However, it has lost some ground to Witch Hunter and Pathfinder, which now offer better defenses or speed. Strategic Embankment and aura changes provide interesting options, but Tactician is now a more specialized pick.
15. Smith of Kitava (Warrior) - B Tier
Kitava has seen improvements, especially in tankiness, with buffs to Smith Masterwork and more access to armor and spirit. However, it still lacks significant damage bonuses and speed, which keeps it from rising higher in the rankings.
16. Warbringer (Warrior) - B Tier
Warbringer is strong for fissure and totem builds, especially with the addition of spell totems and buffs to volcanic fissure. However, it feels clunkier and slower compared to Titan or other top melee ascendancies, and speed is now more valuable than ever. Warbringer is a fine pick for totem or slam builds but is overshadowed by Titan’s new synergy with Druid passives.
17. Acolyte of Chayula (Monk) - B Tier
While there have been buffs to leeching and stacking darkness, Acolyte of Chayula still struggles to reach the top of the meta. It’s a niche pick, suitable for chaos or poison builds, but generally requires significant investment or specialized gear to match the performance of other ascendancies.
18. Chronomancer (Sorceress) - C Tier
Chronomancer has some unique gameplay, particularly with cooldown and curse builds. Despite the removal of the curse limit and increased damage from inevitable agony, the ascendancy remains slow and requires complex setups. It’s best suited for players who enjoy experimenting with niche mechanics.
19. Gemling Legionnaire (Mercenary) - C Tier
Gemling Legionnaire received minor buffs to max resistances and charge generation, but is generally outperformed by other ascendancies in both offense and defense. It remains a niche option, with some potential in specialized builds.
PoE 2 0.4 Best League Starter Builds
Choosing the right league starter build is key to enjoying the early game and progressing efficiently. Below are some of the most recommended starter builds and classes based on community feedback, recent league experiences, and the expected impact of the 0.4 patch.
1. Best Shaman Druid Build - Wyvern Elemental Hybrid Shaman Druid (Lightning & Fire)
Druid Wyvern form combines melee, ranged, and caster mechanics, letting you shift between powerful lightning-infused attacks, devastating breath skills, and ranged elemental barrages. The build fully uses rage, power charges, and elemental synergies, making it incredibly strong as you access better gear, ascendancy nodes, and unique talismans. The Shaman ascendancy further boosts both rage and spell/attack power, and grants unique access to the Bringer of the Apocalypse for massive elemental nukes. Spell totems automate persistent spell effects (Volcano, Thunderstorm), allowing you to focus on damage and positioning. With strong area damage (via breath and projectile skills) and high single-target output (using power charge-fueled attacks and flame breath), it is dominant in both mapping and boss encounters.
Leveling to Endgame Setup:
Leveling: Start with Wyvern form as soon as possible, using Rend and Wing Blast to generate power charges and clear packs. Use Rolling Magma and Thunderstorm in human form for persistent AoE coverage.
Mid-Game: Transition to including Devour for power charge and life sustain, and start using Flame Breath for strong area and boss damage. Add Spell Totem for automated spell support (e.g., Volcano for extra fire damage zones).
Endgame: Maximize elemental penetration, rage and power charge generation. Use Shaman ascendancy for increased rage regeneration, spell/attack scaling, and the Apocalypse skill for elemental storms. Rotate between Wyvern breath skills, melee attacks, and spell totems for a complete damage package.
Core Skills & Supports:
Wyvern Form:
Rend (melee attack, can be lightning-infused)
Wing Blast (AoE, knockback, power charge generation)
Devour (consume corpses for healing/power charges)
Flame Breath (channel for huge fire damage, ignores rage cost at start)
Oil Barrage/Rolling Magma (fire/projectile skills)
Human Form:
Thunderstorm (cast before shifting for shocked/drained enemies)
Volcano (persistent AoE, can be triggered by Wyvern and totems)
Spell Totem (automate Volcano or Thunderstorm)
Key Supports:
Fan the Flames (spread ignite)
Grounding Shots (chain lightning to shocked enemies)
Advancing Storm (move storm skills across the battlefield)
Passive Focus:
Elemental penetration (lightning, fire)
Power charge generation and bonuses
Increased rage, spell, and attack damage
Life and resistances for survivability
Recommended Ascendancy: Shaman
Rage/Spell synergy (every two rage grants more spell damage)
Furious Wellspring (constant rage regeneration)
Wisdom of the Magi (extra rune/idol modifiers)
Bringer of the Apocalypse (huge elemental storm ultimate)
Recommended Uniques (if available):
Fury of the King Talisman (if focusing on fire; converts to fire demon in bear form, but can be useful for hybrid setups)
Any talismans or idols that boost elemental, spell, or power charge effects
2. Best Oracle Druid Build - Oracle Lunar Frost Wolf Starter Build
The Oracle Lunar Frost Wolf build is an appealing league starter for PoE 2 0.4 Fate of the Vaal due to its fast-paced, smooth gameplay and strong scaling potential from early to late game. Utilizing the new Druid class with Oracle ascendancy, it leverages high attack speed, crit chance, and cold conversion for both clear and single target damage. The build makes use of the werewolf form, which is naturally agile and synergizes with the talisman weapon type, providing both speed and offensive power. Access to powerful passive node interactions via the Oracle’s "Travel Wisdom" node lets you efficiently grab impactful bonuses, while multiple defensive options—including mana-based mitigation—help you stay alive even with minimal gear. The flexibility to handle mapping and bosses, plus options to adapt defensive layers as you progress, makes it a practical and enjoyable starting point for league launch.
Leveling to Endgame Setup:
1. Early Game and Leveling
Choose the Druid class and select the Oracle ascendancy.
Equip a talisman weapon as soon as possible for werewolf form access.
Focus on cold and crit-based passive nodes as you level, aiming for routes that boost melee and cold damage.
Use fast-attacking wolf skills for early clearing; begin practicing multi-skill rotations as needed.
Prioritize picking up "Travel Wisdom" and "Men Path" Oracle nodes for efficient access to strong passives (like increased melee damage against frozen/immobilized enemies).
Allocate keystones such as Resolute Technique for a powerful early boost, and plan to use a unique jewel later to switch if needed for crit scaling.
2. Core Skill Setup
Main skills:
Cross Slash for both AoE and single target (excellent freeze and damage).
Luna Assault for rapid map clearing and freezing enemies.
Pounce as a single-target/execute skill, socketed with a mark (such as Freezing Mark) for boss fights.
Luna Blessing used on cooldown for a big cold damage buff and burst potential.
Summon extra wolves for both offense and defense.
Practice swapping between mapping skills and single target skills as needed for smooth progression.
3. Passive Tree and Defense
Use "Travel Wisdom" to allocate strong passives outside your main tree path, especially cold, crit, and immobilization bonuses.
Plan for defensive keystones like "Harmony Within" and "Sacrifice of Mind" if aiming for a mana-based mitigation setup.
Stack mana on gear to benefit from mind over matter effects and use armor/mana scaling nodes for additional defense.
If more defensive layers are needed, explore the use of ES leech or armor from mana via specific passives and gear.
4. Ascendancy and Adaptation
Take Oracle ascendancy nodes that boost crit, cold, and elemental damage.
Adapt to revealed patch changes by adjusting passive and skill gem choices as needed based on the league’s patch notes and datamined info.
If you want more tankiness or a different playstyle, consider the defensive Oracle node options or even a backup plan into Shaman ascendancy if Oracle proves weak at launch.
5. Transition to Endgame
Upgrade your talisman weapon for higher base crit and attack speed as you approach maps.
Seek out gear with increased crit chance, cold damage, life, mana, and resists.
Continue to optimize your passive tree with late-game jewels and cluster jewels as available, prioritizing those that further boost cold/melee damage, crit multi, and defensive layers.
Fine-tune skill links for maximum damage (e.g., adding critical support gems, area of effect, and cold penetration as appropriate).
For hard content, adjust your skill rotation for survivability—use wolf summons and defensive buffs as needed.
This setup ensures a smooth start, strong progression, and flexibility to handle whatever the new league throws at you.
Check out more details on Oracle Druid Starter Build
3. Best Pathfinder Build - Exposure Stacking Primal Strikes Pathfinder Starter Build
The Pathfinder build is very well-suited for the start of the 0.4 league thanks to its immunity to slows, which removes a major source of frustration in PoE 2. In this version, it's almost impossible to get full ailment immunity, particularly against chill and temporal chains, both of which have a severe effect on movement and action speed. These effects can stop your character in their tracks, leaving you unable to escape danger or respond to threats, which often leads to deaths. With Pathfinder’s ascendancy granting speed that is unaffected by slows, you can ignore these debilitating effects, allowing for fluid gameplay even in harsh environments. Additionally, this approach doesn't rely on the newest and potentially untested content, instead opting for proven mechanics that let you progress quickly and safely. The combination of strong ascendancy nodes, recent buffs to Primal Strikes, and reliable skill interactions provides a smooth experience from early acts all the way into endgame maps.
Leveling to Endgame Setup:
Leveling Path and Early Setup
Acts 1-4:
Begin as a Pathfinder, using grenades as your main skill. Grenades are described as "ridiculously good" for progressing through the early acts, and are expected to perform well until at least Act 4.
After completing Act 4 (or even a bit earlier if you prefer), you can transition into Primal Strikes for your main attack. This timing allows you to take advantage of the new buffs to Primal Strikes as soon as you have the required gear and passives.
Ascendancy and Passive Tree Planning:
Ascendancy Choices:
Take the new Path Seeker and Traveler’s Wisdom, which together now grant six additional passive points plus several strong bonuses.
Include running assault for immunity to heavy stun while sprinting and reduced movement speed penalties from skills.
Choose Relentless Pursuit, which keeps your speed unaffected by slows—this is a key feature that addresses the most dangerous slows in the game.
Avoid poison-oriented nodes, as spending ascendancy points here would mean giving up powerful bonuses available elsewhere.
Passive Tree:
Move through energy shield clusters toward the Sorceress start, picking up exposure effect nodes and jewel sockets along the way.
Focus on exposure effect with nodes on the passive tree, a helmet mod, and possibly a support gem, though using the support gem on your main skill can lower your damage.
Gather shock magnitude and spear clusters if you use Lightning Spear for clearing.
Core Skills and Support Choices:
Main Damage:
Primal Strikes: After its buff, this skill applies 50% exposure (up from 20%), which means enemies lose much more resistance, letting you deal more damage. With increased exposure effect from the tree and gear, you can push enemy resistances far below zero.
Lightning Spear: Chosen for map clearing because it's fast, efficient, and applies shock easily, making it a reliable tool for progressing through maps.
Utility and Synergy:
Gathering Storm: Use Gathering Storm on weapon swap (quarterstaff) for placing shock ground beneath bosses or large packs. The recent buffs to its range and number of shockwaves mean it performs even better in this patch.
Toxic Growth (optional): If you want extra synergy, weapon swap to bow to place toxic growths before detonating them with Gathering Storm, stacking up high damage effectiveness on bosses.
Curse Setup:
Apply Elemental Weakness for added resistance reduction on bosses. At level 20, this curse provides minus 59 to enemy resistances, further reducing their defenses when combined with exposure.
Transition to Endgame:
Gear and Skill Upgrades:
As you move into mapping, focus your gear on increasing critical chance, spell or skill levels, and exposure effect.
Seek out adorned unique items, which are receiving buffs and can slot into passive tree jewel sockets for extra value.
Farm for uniques or gear upgrades as needed, using the build’s reliable speed and clear to efficiently target bosses or content of your choice.
Passive Tree Refinement:
Prioritize pathing nodes for flexibility and increased access to powerful passives.
Fill out additional jewel sockets if you obtain strong jewels, especially adorned ones.
Skill and Playstyle Adjustments:
If you feel the need for more single-target burst or want to try something different, consider pivoting into Gathering Storm as a main skill, taking advantage of its increased shockwave capacity and synergy with toxic growth.
Adjust your support gems and gear as new items become available or as you push into harder content.
Check out more details on the best Pathfinder League starter
4. Best Pathfinder Leveling Build - Poison Burst Arrow Pathfinder Starter Build
Poison Burst Arrow Pathfinder is a revised in PoE 2 0.4 The Last of the Druids with its outstanding clear speed, strong single-target output, and flexible gearing options. The build thrives on poison proliferation and explosive chain reactions, letting you wipe out packs with minimal effort and maintain high damage on bosses. Even with projectile nerfs, support gems and new ascendancy options ensure you keep most of your firepower, while buffs to items like Arakali’s Lust and Voltaxic Rift open new damage scaling paths. Defensive upgrades, especially the ability to turn evasion into elemental mitigation, make this build both deadly and durable, and the playstyle remains smooth, with the choice between pure evasion, hybrid life/ES, or CI versions, depending on preference and gear.
Leveling to Endgame Setup:
Acts 1–3 (Early Campaign):
Start with any fast-attacking bow skill (like Splinter Arrow or Poison Arrow), using early support gems that add poison or chaos damage.
Prioritize gear with added chaos/physical damage to attacks, attack speed, and life.
As soon as possible, equip a bow with decent physical damage and apply Poison and Bursting Plague supports for clear and proliferation.
Focus passives on life, evasion, attack speed, and early poison nodes.
Acts 3–6 (Mid Campaign):
Transition into the main arrow skill (Poison Burst Arrow, or similar, depending on gem availability).
Add supports: Bursting Plague (for explosions), Multi-Shot (for more projectiles), and anything that boosts poison or chaos damage.
Start using Herald of the Plague for further poison spread, keeping in mind the higher spirit reservation—adjust your other auras as needed.
Upgrade your bow as often as possible; flat physical, chaos, or elemental damage bows all work depending on your planned final setup.
Acts 6–10 (Late Campaign):
With access to more support gems, fine-tune your links: Poison Burst Arrow + Bursting Plague + Multi-Shot + Added Chaos/Physical + Damage on Full Life (or Crit if going for that version).
Consider early unique items like Arakali's Lust if available for a boost in poison power.
Build up life, evasion, and energy shield on gear, and keep resistances capped for survivability.
Adjust your ascendancy choices as new labs become available, picking up Overwhelming Toxicity, Pathseeker, and upgrades that feed your chosen defense layer (evasion or hybrid).
Reallocate passives into poison damage, projectile speed, and global defenses as your gear improves.
Endgame Transition:
Physical/Poison: Use a high physical bow and supports that boost poison and physical damage.
Voltaxic Rift: Stack flat lightning and chaos damage, using the bow’s unique scaling.
Elemental/All Damage Poison: Equip Plague Fingers gloves to convert all hit damage to poison magnitude, stacking flat damage from all sources.
Choose your preferred endgame variant:
If going for a crit build, equip Kadiro’s Gambit quiver for powerful on-hit effects and chain mechanics.
Focus on maximizing poison stacks (up to 12) and pick up jewels with increased poison magnitude or critical bonuses if available.
For defense, adapt to current league mechanics: hybrid life/ES with high evasion is recommended, especially with the new passive that converts evasion to elemental reduction.
Drop Blasphemy if spirit is tight, and manually cast curses as needed.
Cap your resistances, stack life/evasion/ES, and use flasks or gear to round out defenses.
Seek late-game uniques like Head Hunter or Darkness Enthroned with poison jewels, but until then, use belts with attack speed or life.
With this approach, Poison Burst Arrow Pathfinder remains fast, durable, and able to handle nearly any content, offering both flexibility and top-tier performance in the new league.
Check out more details on the best Pathfinder League starter
5. Best Witch Build - Ethan Strain Contagion Witch Starter Build
This hybrid Essence Drain/Contagion/Unearth minion build stands out as a league starter because it is incredibly flexible, powerful early, and forgiving for new or returning players. By combining chaos damage spells with minion support, especially leveraging Unearth warriors with Infernal Legion and Minion Instability, the build provides strong single-target and clear speed without needing expensive gear. The weapon swap trick allows you to "snapshot" powerful stats onto Unearth minions, massively boosting their damage and survivability, and the build naturally transitions from leveling into strong endgame options. It can tackle bosses and clear packs with ease, is not gear-reliant, and offers multiple damage sources (chaos DoT, minions, Living Bomb), making it robust for progressing through the new league’s content.
Leveling to Endgame Setup:
1. Early Leveling (Acts 1-2)
Main Skills:
Bone Cage: Use with Spell Cascade and Brutality as your first major damage source. It kills small groups quickly and is faster to set up than the ED/Contagion combo.
Unearth: Early on, link to Prolonged Duration and Brutality. It’s useful, but its full power comes online later.
Essence Drain + Contagion: Get these at level 3; they become your primary clear for large packs and safety.
Support Skills:
Orb of Storms with Overabundance and Unleash for easy shocking, boosting your damage.
Blasphemy for applying curses.
2. Weapon Swap & Minion Tricks
Weapon Set 1:
Main hand: Wand for personal spell damage.
Offhand: Scepter (ideally Rattling Scepter) with “increased spirit” and minion damage mods.
Weapon Set 2:
Wand: +Physical Damage to Spells (for Unearth).
Scepter: +Minion Skill Levels.
Snapshotting: Summon warriors from Unearth on weapon set 2 (with the best stats), then swap back to weapon set 1 for personal damage. This lets your minions keep the better stats.
Helm:
Get a +1 to all minion skills helm as soon as possible.
3. Passive Tree Pathing
Early: Start with chaos/spell damage nodes for ED/Contagion. Grab minion life/damage nodes and the movement speed node mandatory for minion builds.
Weapon Swap Points: Invest in nodes that benefit your alternate weapon set (spell/minion stat snapshotting). Take Gigantic Following on weapon set 2 for Unearth’s warriors, not for your main skills.
Important: Don’t take regeneration or reservation nodes that keep skeletons alive too long; you want them to die for Minion Instability damage.
4. Gem Links & Priority
Bone Cage: Spell Cascade + Brutality (early clear)
Essence Drain: Chain + Swift Affliction (for clear, don’t worry about the hit damage loss)
Contagion: Magnified Area (for bigger spread), Unleash if spare support gems.
Unearth: Prolonged Duration + Brutality, Add Infernal Legion and Minion Instability as soon as possible.
Living Bomb: Overabundance + Poison (upgrade to 60% version), then Bursting Plague for off-screen chain kills.
Other: Bonestorm: Use for act five boss, as it trivializes the encounter for any build. Armor Break (on Contagion, once available).
5. Mana & Life Management
Essence Harvest on warriors for mana recoup (8% max mana per minion death). Grim Harvest passive for additional mana/life recovery. Build into Mind Over Matter around level 65 for survivability.
6. Gear Priorities
Weapons: Get +minion skill levels, physical spell damage, spell damage, and spirit/minion stats.
Helm: +1 minion skill levels.
Defenses: Stack energy shield and resistances as you progress.
Necklace: Prioritize +minion skills and chaos damage.
Jewels: Use for more minion life/damage and chaos damage scaling.
7. Endgame Adjustments
Shift some points into Mind Over Matter and more chaos/minion nodes, upgrade support gems: prioritize duration, minion life, and chaos damage multipliers, optimize gear for more minion skill levels and defenses, then continue leveraging weapon swap for Unearth minion snapshotting.
Check out more details on the best witch league starter
6. Best Mercenary Build - Stormblast Bolts Merc Starter Build
The 0.4 update brought a wave of buffs for mercenaries, with almost no nerfs affecting this approach. The leveling build has been able to one-shot act three and act four bosses in the campaign. It stands out as super fast, highly efficient, powerful, and sturdy, making it a strong league start. Storm Blast Bolts, Galvanic Shards, and grenades have all escaped changes, so the core skills remain untouched. Explosive Grenade in particular was expected to be nerfed, but it remains as effective as ever. The only minor adjustment was Wild Storm on the skill tree dropping from 15% to 4% maximum lightning damage, but the main playstyle and boss-killing power are still intact. With such reliable tools, this strategy remains an excellent choice for those seeking a smooth and effective beginning in the new league.
Leveling to Endgame Setup:
1. Early Leveling (Acts 1-2)
Main Skills:
Armor-Piercing Rounds: Use with grenades and high velocity rounds as your initial clear and single-target tools. Armor-piercing rounds provide AOE via the armor explosion, making early packs and bosses manageable.
Grenades: Your primary source of burst; throw them after breaking armor for fast kills.
High Velocity Rounds: Use these for riven armor stacks and extra damage versus bosses.
Support Skills:
Galvanic Shards: Upgrade to this skill for pack clearing as soon as you get a five-link or the gem itself. It replaces armor-piercing rounds for general clearing.
Artillery Ballista: Acquired in act two, deploys totems that pin and maim enemies, granting you 90-100% extra damage against affected targets.
2. Power Spike & Key Unlocks (Acts 2-3)
Rapid Shot: Introduced in act two, this is a powerful alternative for single-target. Build heat with rapid shot, then launch grenades for major burst.
Herald of Thunder: Adds clear and damage when you unlock it, further improving speed through packs.
Storm Blast Bolts: Obtain this in early act three (or late act two if you overlevel). Place up to 30 bolts in the ground, then detonate them with grenades or mortar cannon for massive boss damage.
Mortar Cannon: Once unlocked, it automates grenade delivery and enables you to simply keep firing Storm Blast Bolts for effortless boss phases.
3. Passive Tree Progression
Early: Focus on projectile damage, grenade scaling, and lightning/elemental nodes. Prioritize movement speed and life for smoother campaign progress.
Totems: Path into totem and pinning nodes for artillery ballista synergy, boosting both clear and bossing with extra damage against pinned targets.
Storm Blast Scaling: Once you have Storm Blast Bolts, take nodes that grant lightning damage, storm skill enhancements, and grenade interaction.
4. Gem Links & Priorities
Armor-Piercing Rounds: Add support gems for AOE and single-target—look for Increased Critical Strikes and Added Lightning Damage.
Grenades: Link to supports that boost AOE and damage, like Elemental Proliferation or Increased Area.
Galvanic Shards: Support with Chain for better clear, and Lightning Penetration for bosses.
Storm Blast Bolts: Use supports like Increased Critical Damage, Elemental Focus, and Lightning Penetration as you unlock more links.
Mortar Cannon: Link with Faster Attacks and Increased Area of Effect for wider grenade coverage.
Herald of Thunder/Ash: Run both auras for added flat damage and clear power.
5. Gear Progression
Weapons: Start with the best available crossbow you can find, focusing on increased lightning damage, projectile speed, and attack speed. Upgrade whenever possible.
Helm/Body Armour: Prioritize life and resistances, with lightning or elemental damage bonuses where possible.
Accessories: Seek increased lightning damage, projectile speed, and life.
Flasks: Use movement speed, life, and utility flasks for consistent uptime and survivability.
6. Mana & Life Management
Sustain: Use mana flasks early on, and pick up passive tree nodes that grant mana leech or recovery on kill. Life leech from the tree or gear is helpful for smoothing out rougher encounters.
Defenses: Stack life and resistances as you progress, and consider spell suppression or evasion on gear later.
7. Endgame Adjustments
Shift to full Storm Blast Bolts and Mortar Cannon for bossing and mapping.
Upgrade support gems to high-quality versions, focusing on damage multipliers and critical strike enhancements.
Optimize the passive tree by adding more life, lightning damage, and projectile/area scaling as you move into higher-tier maps.
Continue to improve your crossbow and accessories, aiming for increased critical strike chance, lightning penetration, and overall survivability.
Maintain both Herald of Thunder and Herald of Ash, and select the best companion for your preferred playstyle and content.
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7. Best Ritualist Build - Bleed & Poison Infinite HOB Explosion Chain Starter Build
The Bleed & Poison Infinite Ritualist build is an excellent league starter for PoE 2 0.4 Fate of the Vaal because it combines high single target and mapping power with minimal gear requirements and strong early survivability. Core mechanics like Herald of Blood and Bursting Plague support remain effective, while buffs to Ritualist ascendancy and spear weapon bases further increase damage and quality of life. The build can be played with or without specific uniques, works well in solo self-found or trade environments, and has flexible defensive options (armor or evasion/life scaling). Its ability to chain explosions and scale with cheap items means you can progress smoothly through the campaign and into endgame content, even as patch changes or league mechanics shift.
Leveling to Endgame Setup:
1. Starting Out
Choose the Ritualist class.
Use early melee skills that work with spears (such as Puncture, Double Strike, or Splitting Steel).
Focus on picking up Herald of Blood and Bursting Plague support gem as soon as possible.
Stack flat physical damage, attack speed, and life on early gear.
2. Passive Tree Progression
Allocate early points into physical damage over time, bleed, poison, and life nodes.
Prioritize attack speed and movement speed as you progress through early acts.
Take Ritualist ascendancy nodes that boost bleed, poison, and ritual mechanics.
Pick up utility nodes for survivability (life/evasion or life/armor, depending on your preference).
3. Weapon and Gear Upgrades
Use spiked spear as your main weapon base for its higher attack speed and faster bleed implicit.
Seek gear with added physical damage, increased damage over time, and attack speed.
Early on, prioritize life and resistances on armor; later, look for evasion or armor, depending on your defensive setup.
Darkness Enthroned is a strong belt choice—socket one rune for increased bleeding/poison effect and one for added flat physical damage (Rune of Claws).
Use resist or attack speed runes in gloves as needed for balance.
4. Core Skill Setup
Main skill: Herald of Blood linked with Bursting Plague support.
Use a movement skill (such as Dash or Leap Slam) for mobility.
Use Puncture or similar bleed/poison skills for applying ailments to multiple targets.
Keep Herald of Blood active for clear speed and chain explosions.
Add Poison or Deadly Ailments support to your main attack for extra damage over time.
Pick up utility gems for survivability or quality of life, like Molten Shell or Steelskin.
5. Ascendancy and Key Interactions
Take Ritual Sacrifice for powerful rare monster buffs that last up to 2 minutes (gained from consuming rare monsters).
Utilize Constricting Command for surrounded bonuses (only need one enemy nearby to benefit).
Consider switching to an armor-based setup with Constricting Command or an evasion/life setup without it, depending on gear and personal preference.
In either case, focus on maximizing bleed and poison multipliers, as well as life and block chance for defense.
6. Transition to Endgame
Upgrade all gear with higher life, resistances, and increased damage over time.
Seek sources of faster bleed (including new spear implicits).
Continue to optimize weapon for high attack speed and flat physical damage.
Adjust runes and jewels as needed based on new league or patch changes.
For endgame, consider alternative setups (armor vs. evasion) and adjust passive tree accordingly.
7. Mapping and Bossing
Use Herald of Blood explosions to clear packs quickly.
For bosses, keep poisons/bleeds applied at all times and utilize Ritual Sacrifice buffs for extra power.
Swap in single-target support gems if needed for tougher encounters.
8. Best Deadeye Build - Lightning Arrow Deadeye Ranger Starter Build
The Lightning Arrow Deadeye build remains a top league starter for PoE 2 0.4 Fate of the Vaal due to its high clear speed, smooth progression, and reliable mapping power even after recent adjustments. Despite a reduction in single-target damage and some defensive nerfs, the core combo of Lightning Arrow with Leningrad Rod is still extremely strong and accessible, offering millions of DPS with little gear. Buffs to Lightning Arrow’s base conversion further improve clear, and the movement speed from Tailwind is untouched, giving the build a fast and enjoyable playstyle. Early-game bow nodes and surpass chance on the passive tree help maintain arrow count, while the option to transition into Pathfinder later gives flexibility for endgame. Overall, the build’s speed, power, and ease of gearing let you reach maps quickly and farm currency efficiently from league start.
How To Set the Lightning Arrow Deadeye Build Leveling to Endgame:
1. Leveling (Acts 1–10)
Class: Ranger → Deadeye Ascendancy
Main Skills:
Start with Split Arrow or Rain of Arrows until Lightning Arrow becomes available (Act 3).
Use Galvanic Arrow or Ice Shot as alternatives if you prefer.
Supports:
Pierce, Added Lightning Damage, Onslaught, Mirage Archer (when available).
Switch to Lightning Arrow as soon as you can, link with Greater Multiple Projectiles, Mirage Archer, and Elemental Damage with Attacks.
Passive Tree:
Go for early bow damage, attack speed, projectile nodes, and life.
Take starting projectile nodes and pick up small companion nodes for an early boost.
Gear:
Use the highest physical damage bow you can find or craft.
Prioritize life and resistances on gear.
Pick up a quiver with added elemental damage or attack speed if possible.
2. Transition to Mapping
Core Setup: Lightning Arrow (6-link: Lightning Arrow – Greater Multiple Projectiles – Mirage Archer – Elemental Damage with Attacks – Added Lightning Damage – Pierce or Inspiration). Take Deadeye ascendancy points, focusing on Tailwind, extra projectiles, and the new Mirage Archer node. Use Blood Rage for attack speed and Frenzy Charges. Add a movement skill (Dash or Blink Arrow) for mobility.
Bow Upgrades: Look for bows with high attack speed and flat elemental (especially lightning) damage. The new surpass chance wheels on the passive tree help replace plus arrow mods lost from Gemini bows. Upgrade to a better base like Thicket Bow or Short Bow with appropriate mods as you progress.
Quiver: Look for increased attack speed, added lightning damage, and life.
Auras: Use Herald of Thunder, Wrath, or Precision for extra damage.
3. Endgame Preparation
Main Links: Lightning Arrow – Greater Multiple Projectiles – Elemental Damage with Attacks – Mirage Archer – Added Lightning Damage – Inspiration or Pierce.
Ascendancy: Prioritize Tailwind, extra projectiles, and Mirage Archer node. Consider Far Shot or Point Blank for extra damage, depending on playstyle.
Passive Tree: Focus on projectile damage, attack speed, surpass chance nodes for more arrows, elemental penetration, and life. Drop early-game companion nodes and pick up critical strike and penetration nodes as you get better gear.
Gear: Upgrade bow to a rare with high lightning and attack speed, or a unique bow if available. Seek quivers with increased damage, crit multiplier, or elemental penetration. Cap resistances and stack life on all rare gear. Consider Darkness Enthroned belt with damaging jewel combos for extra power.
Jewels: Look for attack speed, projectile damage, elemental damage, or life.
4. Endgame & Bossing
Single Target: Focus on stacking as many Leningrad Rod stacks as possible with Lightning Arrow, as the new mechanics limit stacking rate but still allow very high DPS. Do not use Tornado Shot or Barrage for single target, as their synergy with Leningrad Rod is removed.
Defenses: Stack evasion and life; consider spell suppression if available. Use Grace or Determination if your mana allows, for extra survivability.
Flasks: Prioritize quicksilver for speed, diamond for crit, and life flasks with bleed or freeze removal.
Pantheon: Choose movement or defense-based pantheons depending on content.
5. Transition & Flexibility
Ascendancy Swap: If you want, transition to Pathfinder for different defensive or offensive options in the late game.
Bow Upgrades: As you get better currency, move to higher tier bows—look for +arrows through surpass chance, high flat lightning, and attack speed.
Mapping: Use Lightning Arrow for fast, screen-wide clear through packs.
Bosses: Maximize rod stacks, maintain flasks, and reposition as needed.
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9. Best Stormweaver Build - Infusion Arc/Spark CoC Stormweaver Sorceress Starter Build
The Infusion Arc/Lightning Conduit/Spark CoC Stormweaver build is excellent as a league starter in PoE 2 0.4 The Last of the Druids because it combines fast clear, easy scaling, low gear dependency, and great bossing through synergy between Spark, Arc, and the new infusion mechanics. Early on, you get strong damage with Spark and Orb of Storms, and as you progress, Arc with infusion lets you delete bosses and tough rares. The build is highly flexible, letting you adapt to the gear you find, and benefits from staff buffs or can transition to a wand setup for endgame cast-on-crit. Tools like Overabundance support, easy curse application, and the new spell slinger meta gem make the rotation smooth. Defensive options like Mind Over Matter and Chaos Inoculation are easy to access, and gear upgrades are cheap, so you can quickly farm maps and transition to any advanced build as the league progresses.
How to Set Up Infusion Arc/LC/Spark CoC Stormweaver from Leveling to Endgame:
1. Leveling (Acts 1–10)
Skills:
Start with Spark as soon as possible (usually from Act 1).
Supplement with Frost Bomb (for cold exposure and cold infusion) or Flame Wall (for early flat damage).
Orb of Storms for extra single target and infusion generation once available.
Arc becomes available around Tier 5 gem (late campaign) — slot it in for big damage bursts.
Supports:
Pierce (first support for Spark).
Unleash (on Spark and Orb of Storms as soon as possible).
Rapid Casting or Spell Echo (for faster Spark).
Overabundance (for Orb of Storms to reduce duration and generate more infusions).
Playstyle:
Cast Spark for map clear.
Drop Orb of Storms for extra damage and infusions.
Use Arc as a burst skill on bosses or tough packs (once unlocked).
Use Frost Bomb + Elemental Weakness on bosses for massive resistance reduction.
Passive Tree:
Take early spell/elemental/lighting damage, cast speed, and some life/energy shield.
Gear:
Use highest spell damage wand, focus, or staff you can find (staffs are very strong in 0.4).
Upgrade wand at vendor around level 25–30 if damage falls off.
Prioritize life, energy shield, and resistances on rare gear as you approach Act 10.
Look for +spell or +lightning skill gems on weapons.
Pick up a few dexterity nodes if you are short on requirements.
Consider heading to Elemental Equilibrium if planning a cold-infused Spark variant.
Pick up Secrets of the Orb as soon as possible for a third Orb of Storms.
2. Transition to Early Mapping
Main Skills:
Spark with Pierce, Unleash, and Rapid Casting (or Spell Echo).
Arc with Unleash and Controlled Destruction for burst damage.
Orb of Storms with Overabundance for infusion generation.
Frost Bomb + Elemental Weakness for boss and tough rare deletion.
Passive Tree:
Path into more energy shield/life for defense.
Fill out curse effect and duration nodes (via weapon sets if available).
Take mana or Mind Over Matter nodes if needed for defense.
Consider Elemental Equilibrium for cold Spark variant.
Tool Upgrades:
Consider trying a staff if you find one with high +levels to lightning or spell skills.
Begin looking for a dueling wand for endgame setup.
Auras:
Clarity for mana sustain, Herald of Thunder or Wrath for damage.
3. Early Endgame & Mapping
Option 1: Spark/Arc Self-Cast Mapping
Continue as above, improving gear and capping resistances.
Consider Chaos Inoculation (CI) if you want to go immune to chaos damage, or Mind Over Matter for mana-based defense.
Upgrade to rares with spell damage, crit chance, life/ES, and resists.
Option 2: Transition to Cast on Crit (CoC) Endgame
Key Items:
Effigy of Cruelty for instant access to critical weakness (enabling crit scaling early).
Dueling Wand for spell slinger meta gem (lets you automate Orb of Storms and Frost Bomb).
Cloak of Defiance (optional, for Mind Over Matter defense).
Skill Links:
Spark (main skill) with Cast on Crit setups if desired.
Orb of Storms and Frost Bomb inside spell slinger meta gem for automatic casting.
Arc as the CoC-triggered spell for bossing.
Passive Tree:
Fill out crit chance, crit multi, spell damage, and energy shield.
Take curse effect and duration nodes.
Grab Mind Over Matter or Chaos Inoculation if desired.
Gear Priorities:
Prioritize spell crit, spell damage, and cast speed on wands.
Look for Cloak of Defiance with a good mana roll.
Stack energy shield or life on all other gear slots.
Cap resistances.
Prioritize Effigy of Cruelty with as many stacks of critical weakness as you can afford.
Flasks:
Use mana and quicksilver flasks for sustain and speed.
Use defensive flasks for freeze and bleed immunity.
4. Endgame Upgrades and Bossing
Skill Setups:
Spark (CoC) for map clear.
Arc (CoC or self-cast) for bossing.
Orb of Storms and Frost Bomb (via spell slinger) for exposure and curse automation.
Elemental Weakness as main curse; consider getting higher curse effect via passive tree.
Passive Tree:
Fill out remaining crit and energy shield nodes.
Take Curse Mastery and weapon set nodes for more curse magnitude and duration.
Consider experimental setups like full CI (chaos inoculation) or 100% Mind Over Matter for extra defense.
Gear:
Upgrade to higher-powered dueling wands or staves.
Seek out rare shield/focus with spell crit and spell damage.
Farm currency for further upgrades or to transition to a late-league build.
Playstyle:
Move fast with Spark and Orb of Storms clearing packs.
For bosses, drop Orb of Storms, Frost Bomb, and Elemental Weakness, then burst with Arc.
Use spell slinger meta gem to automate curse and exposure application.
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10. Best Warbringer Leveling Build - Grenade Ballista Totems Warbringer Starter Build
The Grenade Ballista Totems Warbringer build shines in PoE 2 0.4 The Last of the Druids for its smooth progression, strong defensive layers, and easy-to-execute gameplay loop that appeals to both new and experienced players. Dropping totems every half a second while benefiting from Warbringer’s defensive buffs and the ability to distract enemies with ancestral spirits allows for safe map clearing and bossing. The build uses league-start accessible gear, requires minimal currency investment, and remains tanky throughout the campaign and into endgame. With the recent buffs to Volcanic Fissure, the build enjoys even stronger damage output, making it a reliable choice for solo progression or casual play.
How to Set Up the Grenade Ballista Totems Warbringer from Leveling to Endgame:
Acts 1-2 (Levels 1-22):
Start as Warrior, using Bone Shatter for pack clearing and Mace Strike (linked to Rage Support and Faster Attacks) for single targets.
Use a high physical DPS two-handed mace and remember to upgrade frequently from vendors or the market.
Shockwave Totem is used not for damage but to distract monsters and keep you safe.
Allocate early passives for attack speed, physical damage, and totem placement speed.
Solve early mana issues by rolling better mana flasks and allocating Blood Magic Keystone by Act 2.
Acts 2-4 (Levels 22-52):
Transition to Volcanic Fissure plus Shockwave Totem at level 22 for smoother gameplay and better clear.
Drop shockwave totems to distract, then spam Volcanic Fissure for damage. Use Earthquake on tough bosses to create Jagged Ground for bonus damage.
Continue upgrading weapon and gear, focusing on life and elemental resistances.
At about level 25, complete your first ascendancy for a big power spike: extra totem, minion buffs (for damage and skill speed), and a defensive turtle.
Keep leveling Volcanic Fissure and totem gems, and take totem placement speed nodes for quality of life.
Act 4+ (Level 52 onwards):
At level 52 in late Act 4, switch into the Grenade Ballista Totems build (Mortar Cannon skill).
Buy a crossbow (look for ~300 physical DPS, set level filters to match your own so you can equip it). Bombard crossbow is best, but any decent DPS crossbow works fine.
Set up your main links: Mortar Cannon with Cluster Grenade, Fire Attunement, Multi-Shot, and later Payload as you find better gems.
For bosses, use Volley Grenade to apply shock and increase your single-target damage.
Continue to use Ancestral Spirits with supports like Culling Strike and Blind for extra utility.
Use a shield (such as Rise of the Phoenix at level 46) for extra tankiness and life regeneration, though it's not mandatory.
Passive Tree and Gear:
Follow the leveling passive tree, focusing on life, armor, totem nodes, and elemental resistances. Iron Reflexes will convert any evasion on gear into extra armor.
Upgrade gear regularly, prioritizing life, resistances, and weapon DPS.
Use elemental resistance tattoos from side quests, as attributes are plentiful on the tree.
Consider Idova (unique amulet) for another totem and more life/dex, but it's not required.
Use charms and flask setups as recommended for more survivability.
Transition to Endgame:
Once the campaign is complete, move to the normal version of the endgame build as outlined in the guide.
Adjust passive tree and gear as you get access to better items and as the skill tree is updated throughout the league.
For max version and further optimizations, watch for updates as patch 0.4 progresses.
This build offers steady progression, powerful clear, and forgiving defenses, with each phase building naturally into the next. Stick to upgrade recommendations, follow the skill tree, and you’ll have a smooth time from league start through to endgame.
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11. Best Invoker Build - Unarmed Hallow Palm Invoker Starter
The Unarmed Hallow Palm Invoker stands out as a top league starter in PoE 2 0.4 The Last of the Druids because it offers a smooth, weaponless leveling experience with strong attack speed and natural scaling, which means you don’t rely on finding or crafting weapons during the campaign. The Hallow Palm technique provides plenty of early damage, and the build transitions seamlessly into late-game thanks to flexible gear requirements and an ascendancy path that boosts both offense and defense. Its focus on unarmed play removes a lot of the RNG and economic barriers new characters often face, letting you progress through the acts quickly and swap to alternative Monk setups if desired. The ascendancy choices, passive tree pathing, and gem setup all work together to provide reliable clear and boss damage without demanding high-end items.
How to Set Up Unarmed Hallow Palm Invoker from Leveling to Endgame:
Leveling (Acts 1–3):
Begin the campaign using a bow setup for smoother early progression.
Create a Ranger to acquire a bow, Lightning Arrow, Lightning Rod, and stash them for your Monk.
Use Lightning Arrow, Lightning Rod, and Frost Bomb for clearing and bossing.
Prioritize bows with lightning or high physical damage and quick attack speed.
Progress through the skill tree toward Concussive Attack and Killer Instinct.
Transition to Hallow Palm (Level 22–23):
At level 22, path to Hallow Palm Technique on the passive tree, taking Tenfold Attacks along the way.
Swap to unarmed play and use Storm Wave as your main skill, supported by Upheaval and Rapid Attacks.
If Upheaval feels weak, use Lightning Attainment instead.
For bosses, add Tempest Flurry (linked to Rapid Attacks and Rage) and optionally Tempest Bell for extra single-target burst.
Passive Tree Progression:
After Hallow Palm, take Blinding Strike for more damage.
Move left for Alternating Current (mana/shock), Eken Frost/Thunder, and Essence of the Mountain.
Invest in Conservative Casting for mana support if needed.
Take Crushing Wave for some crit scaling and Wild Storm for more damage.
Use Expose to the Storm for lightning penetration during campaign; replace it later after key ascendancy points.
Ascendancy (Invoker):
First, take "I am the Thunder" for more damage and shocking ground.
Second, "Lead Me Through Grey" for utility.
Third, "Sunder My Enemies" for penetration.
Last, "Meditate" for energy shield regen, or consider "Soul Springs Eternal" or "Unbound Avatar" for boss damage.
Endgame Setup:
After finishing the campaign, continue stacking attack speed, elemental penetration, and unarmed scaling.
When available, link Storm Wave to Branching Fissures, Lightning Attainment, and Elemental Armament; add Rage once you have a fourth socket.
Look for amulets and gloves with +level to melee skills or flat damage.
Prioritize high evasion and energy shield on armor, as well as resistances and life.
Run Herald of Thunder for clear, and optionally Herald of Ice/Ash (keep Ash at low level).
Use Vinder for quality of life and add Canvalence as you gain more energy shield.
Consider Elemental Conflux or Lingering Illusion for more utility or charge generation.
For advanced setups, respec into more speed or alternate Monk builds like Ice Strike if desired.
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11. Best Smith of Kitava Build - Shield Wall Smith of Kitava League Starter
The Shield Wall Smith of Kitava League Starter Build excels in PoE 2 0.4 The Last of the Druids due to its sturdy defenses, straightforward playstyle, and reliable progression from the very start of the campaign through endgame. By leveraging abundant armor scaling from both the passive tree and ascendancy notables, this build achieves high base armor that mitigates not just physical, but also elemental and even chaos damage with the right node. Smith’s defensive options let you focus your gear on offense without worrying much about resistances outside of chaos. The combination of Shield Wall and fortifying warcries delivers impactful area damage, while block, ailment immunity, and crit reduction ensure you can face-tank most threats, making the build forgiving and approachable for new and experienced players alike.
Leveling to Endgame Setup:
Acts 1–2: Early Campaign
Start with: A simple mace or axe, prioritizing attack speed and flat physical damage.
Early skills: Use Mace Strike or Bone Shatter linked with Rapid Attacks and Bleed support. Add Herald of Blood for extra damage and clearing.
Defensive focus: Stack cold resistance to survive the first boss; use the best shield you can find with decent armor.
Transition: Aim to pick up Resonating Shield and Infernal Cry as soon as possible. By level 22, start using Shield Wall as your main skill, supported by Magnified Area and Fire Attunement.
Acts 3–4: Mid Campaign
Skill links: Upgrade Shield Wall to a 3–4 link:
Shield Wall + Magnified Area + Brutality + Heavy Swings.Alternate skills: Keep Bone Shatter in the background for single target if needed, supported by Impact Shockwaves and Bleed.
Warcries: Use Fortifying Cry for burst damage and defense; Infernal Cry helps with clear.
Gear priority: Upgrade your shield as often as possible, aiming for 300–400 armor by Act 4.
Ascendancy: Take Smith’s Masterwork and Leather Bindings early for armor and synergy.
Interludes & End of Campaign
Ascendancy upgrades: Progress into Tentalium Alloy, Cole Stoker, and later Wind Dancer for layered defenses and ailment immunity.
Gearing: Equip Rondala Fragility if available—Smith can ignore its resistance penalty, gaining free skill speed and flat damage.
Skill gems: Maintain Herald of Blood linked with Poison, Bleed, and Bursting Plague for extra map clear.
Passive tree: Focus on melee damage, shield nodes, armor, and block early, then shift into more advanced nodes like Iron Reflexes, Gem Enthusiast, and Sand in the Eyes for further scaling.
Early Mapping and Endgame
Skill rotation: Drop two Shield Walls in a cross pattern, use Resonating Strike to break enemy armor, then detonate with Fortifying Cry for big damage.
Defensive play: With block, ailment immunity, crit reduction, and high armor, you can face-tank most content.
Weapon and shield: Prioritize a main hand with attack speed and +gem levels; always upgrade your shield for higher armor.
Quality of life: The build is lower on hand strain—fewer buttons, more forgiving, and lets you learn boss mechanics safely.
Endgame focus: Continue scaling armor (15,000+ is achievable), upgrade support gems, and invest in gear with offensive stats since defenses are mostly covered by the class and tree.
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12. Best Bloodmage Build - Fusillade Blood Mage Starter Build
Fusillade Blood Mage could be a solid league starter thanks to its minimal gear requirements, strong area and single-target damage, and straightforward scaling through critical strike and energy shield. Using only one key unique: Atziri’s Acuity, for instant leech from crits, the build efficiently converts fire to chaos, leverages Blood Magic to cast from life, and triggers devastating comets with cast-on-crit setups. Even before reaching crit cap, the high number of projectiles ensures consistent spell procs, making campaign progress smooth. The ability to operate effectively on basic gear, combined with fast map clear and robust bossing, allows players to farm and upgrade at their own pace.
How to Set Up Fusillade Blood Mage from Leveling to Endgame:
Leveling (Acts 1–3):
Start with Ember Fuselade and Fireball as your main skills, supported by basic spell and projectile supports like Unleash, Fork, and Wild Shards.
Prioritize spell damage, cast speed, and life gear early, since you’ll be using Blood Magic.
Pick up Flame Wall and shoot your projectiles through it to boost early damage.
Progress through the passive tree by picking up spell crit, spell damage, and life nodes. Focus on crit chance and crit multi early.
Transition to Blood Mage Setup (Acts 4–6):
Equip Atziri’s Acuity as soon as you can for instant life leech on crits.
Start using Remnants (Harmonic Remnants, Remnant Potency, Cannibalism, and Vitality) for life recovery and support.
Use Spellslinger for Living Bomb and Snap to leave fire remnants and boost both clear and single-target.
Continue leveling Ember Fuselade and Fireball, keeping them linked to projectiles and crit supports.
Cast on Crit and Black Flame Conversion (Acts 7–10):
Once you get the Cast on Crit meta gem, link it to Comet, Spell Cascade, Efficiency, and Boundless Energy. This allows you to trigger massive comet barrages for both clearing and bossing.
Start using Despair with Cursed Ground, Heightened Curse, and Magnified Area for chaos conversion and improved single-target.
Run Sigil of Power for a big single-target boost, linking it with area and duration supports.
Add Withering Presence for chaos resistance reduction on enemies.
Ascendancy Progression:
First: Sunder the Flesh for extra damage.
Second: Gore Spike for more damage scaling.
Third: Vitality Siphon for recovery and sustain.
Fourth: Grasping Wounds for defensive utility.
Passive Tree Progression:
Focus on spell crit chance, crit multi, and maximum energy shield.
Take energy shield nodes and life as needed to stay healthy with Blood Magic.
Prioritize nodes that give spell power, cast speed, and projectile bonuses.
You can refund early leveling nodes like Energize once crit cap is achieved and invest more into comet scaling or ES.
Endgame Setup:
Main skills: Ember Fuselade and Fireball, both supported by projectiles and chaos conversion.
Cast on Crit triggers Comet for huge AoE and boss damage.
Stack maximum energy shield and spell crit on gear; aim for +spell skills, crit chance, and cast speed as main stats.
Use Orb of Storms linked to swift affliction and harmonic remnants for extra utility.
Run ailment immunity charms for quality of life.
On weapon swap, have your curse setup (Despair) and Sigil of Power.
Jewels: Prioritize energy shield, spell crit chance, and life recovery.
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13. Best Titan Build - Shield Wall Titan Starter Build
The Shield Wall Titan Build performs exceptionally well in PoE 2 0.4 The Last of the Druids due to its balance of sturdy defenses and high, repeatable damage output, which matches up perfectly with the mechanical changes and buffs introduced in this patch. By leveraging Shield Wall’s multiple explosive hits in combination with warcries like Fortifying Cry, the build delivers both safe clearing and strong bossing, while the Titan ascendancy multiplies your survivability through high armor, physical damage reduction, and extra life. With recent buffs to support gems and the removal of some damage penalties, this build keeps pace with the game’s toughest content, feeling both tanky and satisfying to play from early levels all the way to endgame.
Leveling to Endgame Setup:
Ascendancy Progression: Start as a Warbringer for the early campaign, as this ascendancy provides easier access to rage generation and warcry synergy before you have all the key support gems and gear. Once you reach maps and have a weapon with the "Break Armor" suffix (from crafting or drops), transition to Titan for a large boost to armor, life, and damage.
Skill Setup:
Shield Wall is your main skill, used in combination with warcries.
Early on, link Shield Wall with Rapid Attacks and Magnified Area for speed and coverage.
Add supports like Impel and Bleed Four when available to increase single-target and sustained damage.
For bosses, you can swap Magnified Area for Heavy Swing or Concentrated Effect.
Use Fortifying Cry linked with Enrage Warcry, Raging Cry, Brutality, and Heavy Swing for damage and rage management.
Movement skills: Shield Charge and Leap Slam, both with Rapid Attacks and skill speed supports, help clear maps quickly and safely.
Sunder is used to apply armor break for extra damage on tough enemies.
Passive Tree:
Focus on armor, life, and all available attack and skill speed nodes.
Pick up momentum and movement speed clusters to keep your clear fast.
Once you switch to Titan, invest further into armor, physical damage reduction, and keystones that improve your mitigation and block.
Weapon and Shield:
Look for a weapon with +2 melee skill gems, "damage as extra physical," and "Break Armor" as you approach maps.
Use a shield with as much armor as possible, since this directly scales your Shield Wall damage.
Upgrade weapon and shield as you progress, prioritizing these stats over everything else.
Gear:
Prioritize armor, life, and resistances on all pieces.
Mana leech and life leech on rings or gloves are mandatory for sustaining skills and recovery.
Use boots and belts with movement speed, life, and armor apply-to-elemental mods as available.
If using special body armors (like the new chest that offers overleech and max life), adjust the passive tree to invest in block instead of armor, if you choose that route.
Gems:
Get to 10 red and 10 green support gems total in your setup for the Gem Enthusiast keystone.
Only one set of attribute requirements is needed, as only one weapon set is active at a time.
Auras and Banners:
Use Herald of Ash or War Banner linked to reservation efficiency supports for offense.
Scavenge Plating is required for extra armor on breaks.
Add Refraction Banner if you have enough reservation for more elemental mitigation.
Companion:
Use a companion with Brutus' Brain for a permanent haste aura, but only after acquiring the helmet to avoid dexterity issues and deaths.
Playstyle:
Place Shield Wall, then detonate with Fortifying Cry for big hits.
Alternate between warcries for rage and exert management.
Use Sunder to keep armor break up on bosses.
Keep moving with Shield Charge or Leap Slam for speedy mapping and positioning.
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14. Best Tactician Build - Mercenary Tactician Storm Blast Bolts Starter Build
This build is a meta starter for PoE 2 0.4 league due to its impressive campaign clearing speed, reliable boss damage, and smooth solo progression. From early on, it allows players to breeze through story bosses, often defeating them with just a few hits or even a single well-placed attack, thanks to the power of Storm Blast Bolts and effective use of pins and supporting ballistas. Once Storm Blast Bolts become available in Act 3. the gameplay feels fast and efficient, with strong options for both area and single-target damage. The build’s setup makes it possible to progress quickly without relying on expensive gear or outside trading, as it performs very well with self-found resources, crafting, and random drops. Automated skills like mortar cannon add to the ease of play, and the high movement and attack speed bonuses from companions further increase efficiency. This approach offers a refreshing alternative to more commonly played archetypes, providing both speed and strength for players aiming to reach endgame content early in the league.
More meta starter builds for Path of Exile 2 0.4 League will be updated here continuously, stay tuned!