The eagerly awaited Path of Exile 2: Dawn of The Hunt expansion is on the horizon, prompting discussions about promising League Starter builds. While these suggestions come with a dose of uncertainty, they appear to have the potential to perform exceptionally well.
I’m particularly excited about the prospect of playing a Lich and at least one Amazon build, as both seem immensely enjoyable. Below, I will outline a few selections along with my confidence level in their viability for the upcoming update.
Top League Starter Builds in Path of Exile 2’s Dawn of the Hunt Update
1. Eye of Winter Lich (Theorycrafted by Jungroan)
- Core Skills: Eye of Winter, Lightning Warp, Despair, Flame Wall, Withering Presence, Blasphemy, Temporal Chains, Disengage
- Initial Leveling Skills: Frostbolt, Eye of Winter, Disengage, Fire Wall
- Confidence Level: High
- Advantages: Simple setup for cold damage and solid clearing capability once Lich is properly unlocked
- Disadvantages: Clearing speed may lag until acquiring Rupture the Soul and other curse-enhancing abilities in the Lich Ascendancy
Witch characters are already powerful options in Path of Exile 2, but with recent bug fixes and buffs, the Eye of Winter Lich has received a remarkable upgrade. The skill now enhances its effectiveness, converting 75% of its damage when interacting with Elemental Ground Effects—a leap from the previous 50% effectiveness.
Utilizing Embitter (a Support Gem) allows players to channel cold damage through their Ground Effects. With the combination of Lightning from Disengage and Fire from Despair together with Burning Inscription, creating elemental effects becomes straightforward, enabling users to effectively spam Eye of Winter. Plans to swap out Embitter for Chaos Support later can potentially result in significant damage increases.
This build harnesses Lich Ascendancy mechanics, particularly benefitting from Rupture the Soul, which triggers explosions on cursed enemies. Combating enemies effectively requires utilizing curses like Blasphemy and Enfeeble for maximized effectiveness.
2. Gas Grenade Witch Hunter (Theorycrafted by Fearless Dumb0)
- Core Skills: Gas Grenade, Oil Grenade, Flash Grenade, Herald of Ash, Wind Dance, Attrition, Stormcaller Arrow, Explosive Grenade
- Initial Leveling Skills: Gas Grenade, Oil Grenade, Explosive Grenade
- Confidence Level: Medium
- Advantages: Outstanding mapping and bossing capabilities due to explosion buffs
- Disadvantages: Requires the unique item Radiant Grief for optimal efficiency; Explosive Grenade received a slight nerf
Despite the Witch Hunter class not gaining the popularity Grinding Gear Games anticipated—with only a 2% player adoption rate—the explosion damage enhancements may herald a breakthrough for the Gas Grenade build, positioning it as an unexpected powerhouse.
This build doesn’t require perfect setup; with the Radiant Grief unique, players can automate their Gas Grenades with a simple button press for effective area clearing. For tougher enemies, an Oil Grenade can be deployed beforehand to ensure maximum impact.
3. Lightning Arrow Deadeye
- Core Skills: Lightning Arrow, Lightning Rod, Tailwind, Orb of Storms, Herald of Ice, Barrage, Conductivity, Wind Dancer
- Initial Leveling Skills: Lightning Rod, Lightning Arrow, Orb of Storms, Herald of Ice
- Confidence Level: High
- Advantages: Extremely user-friendly and powerful for leveling; transitions smoothly into endgame
- Disadvantages: Considered a glass cannon; gear optimization is crucial
As expected, the Deadeye Ranger makes a significant appearance on this League starter build list, courtesy of the Lightning Arrow variant. Its design maximizes damage and movement speed, enabling players to sweep through zones with ease.
In this build, players generate chaos with skills like Lightning Rod and Lightning Arrow, creating a succession of lightning bursts that obliterate foes. The primary skill for bossing is Orb of Storms, ideally placed strategically near a Lightning Rod, while Barrage can further enhance damage output.
Additionally, integrating Herald of Ice introduces cascading ice explosions to surrounding enemies, augmenting the overall damage reliability. Employing Wind Dancer provides much-needed survivability, while spells like Conductivity can reduce enemy lightning resistance for optimal effectiveness against bosses.
4. Lightning Spear Amazon
- Core Skills: Lightning Spear, Twister, Storm Lance, Spear of Lunaris, Tame Beast (optional), Explosive Spear, Thunderous Leap
- Initial Leveling Skills: Lightning Spear, Storm Lance
- Confidence Level: High
- Advantages: Echoes the feel of Diablo 2’s iconic Lightning Amazon/Javazon; straightforward gameplay with high damage output
While it might not dominate like the Spiritborn in Diablo 4, it has the potential to be one of the top builds in Path of Exile 2.
Map clearing with this build is straightforward, leveraging Lightning Spear and its chain lightning mechanics. Twister serves as an excellent clearing tool, but Lightning Spear is favored for its effectiveness. For boss fights, Storm Lance and Spear of Lunaris play crucial roles.
This build may also explore the integration of Tame Beast, potentially summoning a formidable ally to assist in combat, although their durability and resilience remain to be seen. Overall, this setup looks to be a powerful clearing force, and I remain optimistic about its prospects in the upcoming Path of Exile 2 expansion.