With the Path of Exile 2 0.4 update, spectres have been a major focus for minion players. If you’re looking to maximize your minion build or want to try the new Druid talisman and weapon combos, understanding which spectres perform best is more important than ever. This guide brings together extensive playtesting, patch note analysis, and community impressions to help you choose the most effective spectres for both campaign and endgame content.
Changes To Spectres in Path of Exile 2 0.4
The 0.4 patch introduced a slew of changes to spectres. Many received lowered spirit costs and improved monster AI, while others had their skill cooldowns reduced or particular abilities adjusted. For example, the cultist archer and Valgard Grenadier both saw tweaks that made them even more attractive options. However, not every spectre benefited: some remain too slow or underpowered to recommend, while others have awkward AI patterns or conflicting ability scaling.
The update also brought new flexibility with weapon and talisman combinations for Druid builds, allowing players to run animal forms alongside minions. The result is a meta that leans heavily toward spectres with strong AoE, good mobility, and reliable high-impact abilities.
PoE 2 0.4 Best Spectres Tier List
Below is a tier list based on performance, reliability, and synergy with current meta gear and passives. Spectres are grouped from top performers to those with more niche or limited use.
S Tier: Top Choices for 0.4
Valgard Grenadier (VGA)
Why S Tier: After the patch, the cooldown on oil grenades was increased to 11 seconds (from 2), but the main explosive grenade remains on a 2-second cooldown. This change means Valgards now throw their high-damage grenades more frequently instead of alternating between the less impactful oil trap and explosive grenades. This adjustment has been described as a damage buff, with better visual clarity and less screen clutter. They still have massive damage multipliers on their explosive grenades, and the spirit cost remains manageable. Valgards were already a top spectre, and this update improved their performance even further.
Cultist Archer
Why S Tier: Benefiting from both improved AI and a reduction in the cooldown of their main AoE skill, cultist archers have seen a clear power boost. The rain of spores attack, which previously had an 8-second cooldown, can now be used far more often, and the overlapping chaos damage makes them extremely effective in both clearing and bossing scenarios. Their movement speed is reasonable, and they remain a fan favorite for many minion builds.
A Tier: Very Strong, With Some Limitations
Vile Vulture
Strengths: Receives improved AI and a lower spirit cost. These leaping minions are aggressive and provide solid coverage when properly supported. They are especially useful in mapping, breach encounters, and when paired with Infernal Legion. While their single-target damage isn't outstanding, their clear is reliable, and they scale well with attack speed.
Faradin Impaler
Strengths: Now with improved AI and reduced spirit cost, Faradin Impalers have a versatile set of abilities, including bleeds and area coverage. However, their performance can be inconsistent due to AI cycling through multiple abilities and some less effective default attacks. If the AI improvements help them use their powerful skills more frequently, they could become even more attractive.
Quadrilla
Strengths: Shows promise thanks to improved AI, good stun potential, and tankiness. With the new impact shock wave buff, Quadrillas might be able to stun lock even high-HP targets. They could be especially useful when paired with shamans or rage-sharing builds.
Iron Thermurgist
Strengths: A fast-casting spellcaster with decent fireball damage. The flamethrower is less impressive, but the fireball attack can be amplified with nova projectiles and pierce setups. They offer solid clearing and can keep up better than many other spectres.
B Tier: Usable, But With Clear Downsides
Brimstone Crab
Notes: Reduced cooldown on abilities and a low spirit cost, but remains squishy and suffers from poor movement speed. Their multi-hit spray attack looks good, but the low area coverage and reliance on fire damage hold them back.
Mar Acolyte
Notes: Improved AI and reduced cooldowns help, but damage remains modest and scaling is limited by fire conversion. They may perform well in early mapping or as a campaign choice, but tend to fall off for bossing.
Black Strider
Notes: Improved AI, lower spirit cost, and increased web mortar skill damage make these fast-moving spectres a potential threat, particularly versus melee enemies. However, their area coverage is lower than top choices like cultist archer or Valgard.
Iron Sharpshooter
Notes: AI and cooldown improvements don’t quite solve the issue of an unclear identity—abilities mix physical and chaos damage, making scaling awkward. Damage output is mediocre and movement speed is only average.
C/D Tier: Niche or Underperforming
Frost Wraith / Lightning Wraith
Notes: Both saw reduced spirit costs and lower cooldowns, but their damage remains underwhelming and AI is still clunky. Movement speed is poor, and they tend to fall behind during mapping. They may appeal to niche projectile-focused builds but are not recommended for general use.
Bramble Hulk
Notes: Even with improved AI and lower skill cooldowns, they remain slow and waste time on abilities that have little impact. Unless movement speed is addressed, they are still rarely seen.
Mud Simulacrum
Notes: Slam damage is now more consistent, but these spectres are extremely slow and rarely catch up to the player. Their AoE is limited and they struggle to stay relevant in fast-paced content.
Skeletal Reaper (Night Gaunt)
Notes: Even after AI improvements and lower spirit cost, their slow movement and unreliable bleed ability make them a weak pick, especially when speed matters.
Fungal Proliferator
Notes: Movement speed is a major issue, and their AoE cone is inconsistent. They do chaos damage, but poor targeting and slow animations mean they are rarely used.
Werewolf Prowler / Ancient Ezomite
Notes: Both suffer from low damage and slow movement speed. Werewolf prowlers received only a slight damage boost, and ancient ezomites now scale correctly with attack damage, but neither is recommended unless movement improvements are made.
PoE 2 Best Spectres + Druid Talisman Weapon Combos
The 0.4 patch also brought new build possibilities for Druid minion players. Jonathan confirmed that you can now equip talismans in one hand and a scepter in the off hand, provided you pick up a notable in the passive tree. This approach lets you run animal forms alongside minions, opening up creative combinations for summoners.
Popular Combos and Strategies:
Animal Form + Minions: For example, combining your wolf form with minions is now viable. With the right setup, you can apply a mark to an enemy so that when it dies, it automatically summons more wolves. While this comes with a tradeoff—a passive node that reduces your maximum spirit by 50%—the synergy is strong enough to be worth considering, especially for campaign and early mapping.
Shaman Druid with Furious Wellspring: This build focuses on sharing rage with minions. With the right passive points and keystones, you can ensure that rage generation benefits both you and your summoned creatures. The potential is high, especially if minions can consistently maintain rage without it decaying.
Tactician Wolves: Using a tactician approach with talisman and banner setups can be an effective defensive strategy, especially if you combine it with companion nodes and warlord berserker. This setup supports both your personal survivability and the overall strength of your summoned army.
Weapon Swapping for Specialization: Some players prefer running a clearing spectre (like vile vulture) for mapping, then swapping to a bossing spectre (like Valgard or powered zealots) for tougher encounters. This strategy takes advantage of spectres with specialized strengths and keeps your gameplay efficient.