Path of Exile players have something exciting on the horizon, and it's arriving sooner than many expected. Grinding Gear Games has announced the Return of the Ancestors event, a three-week celebration that combines fan-favorite mechanics from past leagues into one experimental package. With the event launching on June 25th, theorycrafters are already hard at work figuring out which classes and builds will dominate the arena. This guide walks you through everything you need to know about the event, ranks every Phrecian ascendancy, and covers the strongest starter builds to take into ToTA.

PoE 3.28 ToTA Tier List - Best Phrecian Class & Builds for Return of the Ancestors Event

Before jumping into rankings, let's go over what RoTA actually offers. The Return of the Ancestors event runs for three weeks on a fresh economy across all platforms, including console. It pulls together three pieces of PoE history: the currently running Mirage League mechanic, the Phrecian ascendancies from previous Fresh Start events, and the Trials of the Ancestors arena mechanic from patch 3.22.

The 20 core ascendancies are entirely replaced by 19 Phrecian alternatives, which means every build you create must work around these reworked classes. Balance from the previous Phrecia event carries over, with some of the worst offenders buffed and the most egregious overperformers toned down. On top of this, ToTA arenas return with a new layer of customization through Forbidden Tattoos, which can replace an ascendancy notable on your tree with one from a different class, limited to one per character. Characters made during the event aren't voided, so any currency or gear earned moves to standard afterward.

With the event format covered, let's rank the Phrecian ascendancies from strongest to weakest.

PoE 3.28 ToTA Phrecian Ascendancy Class Ranking for RoTA

S-Tier: Top Performing Phrecian Ascendancies

Servant of Arakaali (Shadow) - Arguably the most busted ascendancy in the entire Phrecian lineup. It grants level 15 Envy with no reservation right out of first lab, level 30 Aspect of the Spider for free, 50% chance to poison on minions, and Silk Dancer for damage reduction plus reduced enemy resistances. Animate Weapon and SRS builds reach absurd power levels almost immediately.

Whisperer (Shadow) - Built around mana-as-life mechanics with the Mind of the Council setup. The Whisperer offers a 24% more damage node, free flat lightning damage scaling, and incredible synergy with totem-based skills like Kinetic Fusillade Ballista.

Ancestral Commander (Duelist) - A powerhouse for melee builds, granting strong Endurance Charge generation and exceptional tankiness. Works perfectly with Cyclone, Explosive Arrow direct hit variants, and similar physical-focused builds.

Scavenger (Witch) - The closest thing to a Reliquarian replacement in the event. Scavenger has a chaos damage explosion node, an ignite-on-chaos node for chained explosions, and physical-to-fire conversion comparable to Cloak of Flame. New Tabula Rasa notable accepts ascendancy tattoos for extra flexibility.

A-Tier: Reliable and Strong Picks

Paladin (Templar) - Versatile and beginner-friendly with synergy across elemental damage, minion builds, and support roles. Smite Paladin remains a smooth leveling experience and end-game performer.

Servant of Arakaali variants for Animate Weapon - Already mentioned, but worth repeating because the AW of Ranged Arms variant deserves recognition as a top-tier build platform.

Architect of Chaos / Surfcaster - Solid spellcaster ascendancies with good clear and consistent damage scaling.

B-Tier: Decent but Situational

Antiquarian (Marauder) - A workable Marauder option that pairs nicely with build-around uniques.

Daughter of Merveil / Polytheist - Niche choices that work well for specific archetypes but lack the explosive scaling of the top tier.

Wildspeaker - Provides a unique playstyle but requires more investment to feel competitive.

C-Tier: Underperformers

Behemoth (Marauder) - Held back by Rampager being a mandatory first notable. Disabled auras on top of the bizarre 10% character size buff makes it nearly unplayable without a Forbidden Tattoo replacement.

Gambler (Duelist) - Strong four-pointers like Reversed Odds are gated behind weak two-pointers like Risky Exploit and Overly Confident. Damage-of-enemies-hitting-you-is-unlucky on low life only equates to roughly 1/15 less damage taken in a niche scenario.

Harbinger of the Storm and similar low-impact options - Functional but offer little compared to the S-tier picks.

Now that we've ranked the classes, let's move on to which builds actually capitalize on these ascendancies.

PoE 3.28 ToTA Build Tier List - Best Starter Builds for RoTA

S-Tier Starter Builds

Animate Weapon of Ranged Arms - Servant of Arakaali

Quite possibly the strongest league starter in the event, AW Servant of Arakaali activates at first lab with level 15 Envy free of reservation. The build clears every form of content in the game — Ubers, T17 maps, Valdo's, and 1500-2K Delve runs. Cobra Lash carries you to first lab, then you swap to Animate Weapon or Animate Weapon of Ranged Arms.

Key items include Foul's Cutlass United in Dream, Foulbone Surrender shield, Archdemon Crown with minion skills, Covenant body armor, and Spider Silk Covenant. The build scales from low budget all the way to Mageblood with Aegis Aurora, dual Animate Weapon setups (50 minions on screen), and Defiance of Destiny.

Kinetic Fusillade Ballista - Whisperer

A skill the developers admitted they forgot to nerf in 3.28, making this the last chance to play it before 3.29 changes things. The Whisperer mana base setup with Mind of the Council provides 22 million damage on a sub-five divine setup, scaling to 124+ million damage on a Mageblood configuration without needing Indigon.

The build leverages the new Hakuna Matata Makanga tattoo paired with Warrior's Tale unique jewel for an additional projectile, reaching 12 total projectiles. The keystone-conversion tattoo lets you swap Perfect Agony to Mind Over Matter, saving valuable passive points.

Explosive Arrow Direct Hit - Ancestral Commander

A different take on the typical EA DoT build, focusing on direct hit damage instead. Extremely tanky, extremely cheap, and capable of clearing T16 content for under one divine. Perfect for new players and casuals who want a smooth campaign experience and reliable end-game performance.

A-Tier Starter Builds

Righteous Fire - Scavenger

The Scavenger variant of RF brings chained chaos explosions through the Occultist-like explosion node and ignite spreading. Survives well against physical damage thanks to the Cloak of Flame-style ascendancy node. Slightly harder to cap all three resistances at 90 compared to Chieftain RF, but the explosion scaling makes up for it.

Cyclone with General's Cry - Ancestral Commander

A physical variant using Stampede boots and Ground Slam instead of the standard elemental Tectonic Slam Cataclysm setup. Tanky enough to safely run Abyssus, with high DPS scaling potential.

Strength Stacker Zombies - Templar

A relaxed minion build where every point of strength flows into your minions through the helmet of Bar and your ascendancy. Twelve zombies, two golems, an animate guardian, and three support spectres clear maps automatically. Level using Absolution (corrupt for Vaal Absolution if possible), then swap to zombies once gear comes online.

Poison SRS - Servant of Arakaali

The Mirage League brings back the glove mod that converts minion fire damage to chaos, making SRS scale meaningfully with minion levels for the first time. Free level 15 Envy and Aspect of the Spider mean you can drop the sword requirement and use a wand with minion levels and attack speed. Higher damage ceiling than Necromancer SRS with built-in wither hits.

Herald of Agony - Scavenger

The Pyromaniac scorpion clears and bosses through poison stacks and virulence accumulation. An immortal minion makes this one of the safest builds in the game, capable of killing Uber bosses with proper investment.

B-Tier Starter Builds

Flicker Strike Dexterity Stacker - Ranger Phrecian

A flicker build accessible from second lab, scaling minion damage through dexterity stacking (applied at 150% to your character). Caps suppression easily and converts 150% suppress into spell dodge cap, combining with block for solid defenses. Pure claw damage with a fun, fast playstyle.

Smite Paladin

Easy to level, easy to gear, and incredibly forgiving with three elemental auras from Guardian relics. Branches into support roles and minion variants if you want to switch later in the event.

ToTA Build Selection Tips

Since tattoos cannot be obtained through King's March shipping during the event, your build should plan around farming the ToTA arena directly to acquire ascendancy-replacement tattoos and Makanga tattoos. Some builds, like AW of Ranged Arms, fit naturally into farming arenas without modification, while others may need void-spear-style CC kits to handle the high-rank arena scaling where enemies start one-shotting glass cannons.

The three-week event window gives you enough time to league start, push into Ubers, and experiment with Forbidden Tattoo combinations. Whether you go for the explosive power of Servant of Arakaali Animate Weapon, the projectile spam of Kinetic Fusillade Ballista on Whisperer, or the comfort of an Ancestral Commander Explosive Arrow build, RoTA offers more build flexibility than any event in recent memory.

Have fun in the arena, and may your Vaal Orbs roll in your favor.