Top 3 Best Builds in PoE 2 Dawn of the Hunt New League Season (0.2.0)

Path of Exile 2’s Dawn of the Hunt is here, bringing a new league, new mechanics, and fresh opportunities to climb the ladder fast. Whether you're pushing maps or taking on the hardest bosses, having the right build makes all the difference. This guide breaks down the Top 3 Best Builds in PoE 2 Dawn of the Hunt New League Season (0.2.0) — easy to start, powerful in the endgame, and reliable all the way through. If you're aiming for smooth progression and high damage without complicated setups, these builds have you covered.

1. Bonestorm Witch (Blood Mage Crit Variant)

Class & Ascendancy:

• Class: Witch

• Ascendancy: Blood Mage

Playstyle Overview

Bonestorm might start out looking like a clunky, slow spell, but don’t be fooled — with proper critical strike scaling, the best synergy gems, and heavy life stacking, it transforms into one of the most devastating caster builds in the game.

This version ditches the Detonate-on-Death gimmick and instead leans fully into crit-based spell nuking backed by a blood-fueled core.

You’ll be shredding packs with explosive AoE and melting bosses once your crit multipliers and power charges kick in.

Skill Setup

Main Damage:

• Bonestorm – Brutality, Arcane Tempo, Inevitable Critical, Super Critical

Utility + Clear Boosters:

• Bone Cage – Spell Cascade, Lockdown, Splinter

• Life Remnant – Vitality, Clarity, Cannibalism

• Combat Frenzy – Profusion, Pin, Potential

• Bone Blast – (no supports, instant burst trigger)

Passive Skill Tree

Target these passives early for massive power scaling:

• Potent Incantation

• Critical Exploit

• Sudden Escalation

• Tempered Mind

• Resonance (Keystone)

• Power Within & Last 4 Power

Start by weaving through spell damage, minion scaling, and life nodes, then pivot into crit multiplier stacking.

This smooth progression ensures fast leveling and early access to insane burst damage once your Blood Mage engine revs up.

For the absolute best starting in the game, check out our PoE 2: Dawn of the Hunt Best Tips for Starting Classes.

Ascendancy Priority

1. Sanguimancy (after 2nd trial) – Enables blood magic

2. Grasping Wounds – Defensive synergy

3. Gore Spike – Scales off max life

4. Crimson Power – Big energy shield bonus

Gear Setup

Weapon: Attuned Wand (Mana Drain)

• +3 Physical Spell Skills

• Spell Damage, Crit Chance & Multiplier

Shield: Emblem Crest (Armor + Energy Shield)

Helmet: Expert Wicker Tiara
Chest: Guild Vestments
Belt: Rachide Belt (Recovery, Resists)
Gloves: Tauren Gloves (Life + Armor/Evasion)
Boots: Bushwhack or High-Move Speed Evasion Boots
Rings: Ruby Ring + Sapphire Ring (stacking Life & Resists)
Amulet: Solar Amulet (Spirit, Max Life)

Aim for 75% resistance cap on all elements.

Atlas Passives

• Prioritize Rituals and Expeditions for tightly packed mobs.

• Clear speed > bossing for this setup.

Rotation

Clear:

• Bonestorm should be your primary skill for clearing, dealing high AoE damage as you spam the skill into enemy packs. Combine it with Bone Cage to enhance your defense and increase survivability while clearing. The Bone Cage also provides additional control over the battlefield, helping to lock down enemies while you focus on clearing.

Boss:

• For boss fights, Bone Blast should be added to your rotation for extra burst damage. Bone Blast, when used alongside Bonestorm, can significantly increase your damage output, especially when you’ve built up critical hits and life scaling. Aim to time Bone Blast after Bonestorm to maximize your total damage during the burst window.

Sustain:

• Kiting is key for maintaining your health, as this build relies heavily on positioning and keeping enemies at a distance while your minions and totems deal damage.

• Use channeling tricks to delay or escape incoming damage, especially when dealing with high-damage boss abilities or map mechanics.

• Picking up Life Remnants (via the Life Remnant skill) provides a boost to sustain, allowing you to recover health as you go along. This is critical for surviving longer encounters, especially in high-end maps or boss fights.

2. Warbringer Warrior (Shockwave Totem + Mage Strike)

Class & Ascendancy

• Class: Warrior

• Ascendancy: Warbringer

Playstyle Overview

Looking for a build that hits like a truck and clears like a storm? This setup brings the brute force of melee combat together with totem tech and burst AoE, making it a true elite-melting powerhouse.

Even with recent armor explosion nerfs, this build remains top-tier thanks to overlapping damage sources, insane totem uptime, and relentless frontline presence.

Whether you're farming fast or boss rushing, this Warbringer build handles it all with raw power and battlefield control.

Skill Setup

Core Damage Combo:

• Mage Strike – Rage, Armor Explosion, Magnified Effect, Primal Armament

• Shockwave Totem – Inspiration, Close Combat, Overpower

Support & Sustain:

• Scavenge Plating – Precision, Vitality, Clarity

• Ancestral Warrior Totem – Thunder, Supercritical, Overabundance

Utility & Finisher:

• Time of Need – Fast Forward, Herbalism, Clarity

• Hammer of the Gods – Fist of War, Exploit Weakness, Heft

Passive Skill Tree

To get this build online fast and scale hard into endgame, prioritize:

• Brutal, Smash, Sturdy Metal, Relentless

• Ancestral Ridge, Supportive Ancestors (for totem synergy)

• Devastation, Carving Earth, Hardened Wood

• Totem Mastery Nodes (boosts uptime + power stacking)

Stack totem damage, melee hit scaling, and rage generation to fully unlock this build’s insane DPS potential.

Ascendancy Priority

1. Anvil’s Weight

2. Floating Impact

3. Unswerved Call

4. Wooden Wall

Gear Setup

Weapon: Cultist Great Hammer (Melee Splash Passive)

• Physical Damage, Armor, +Melee Skill Levels

Helmet: Warrior Great Helm (Armor, Accuracy, Resists)
Chest: Advanced Full Plate
Belt: Rawhide Belt (+Charm Slots)
Gloves: Intricate Gloves (Life, Melee Skills) 
Boots: Advanced Bronze Greaves
Rings: Ruby + Topaz (Elemental + Chaos Res)
Amulet: Crimson Amulet (Regen, Life, Armor)

Atlas Passive

• Focus both on bossing and clearing.

• Keystone: Deadly Evolution

Rotation

Clear:

• Shockwave Totem + Ancestral Warrior Totem should be your go-to for clearing packs. Set up Shockwave Totem in the middle of mob groups to trigger massive AoE damage, while Ancestral Warrior Totem follows up with extra damage from your summoned warrior allies. These two totems combined can one-shot large packs of enemies, making your clear speed lightning fast.

Rage Generation:

• Use Mage Strike periodically to generate Rage, which is essential for ramping up your damage output. This skill helps keep you empowered for your more powerful abilities and ensures you stay at optimal Rage levels for when you need to unleash massive damage.

Boss:

• For elite or stunned bosses, use Hammer of the Gods to maximize your damage output. This skill is especially effective for bosses with high health pools, as it deals massive burst damage when used with Fist of War, Exploit Weakness, and Heft. Time your Hammer of the Gods casts for when the boss is either stunned or under a debuff to ensure maximum effectiveness.

3. Chronomancer Sorceress (Spark + Time Freeze Hybrid)

Class & Ascendancy

• Class: Sorceress

• Ascendancy: Chronomancer

Playstyle Overview

This build is the perfect blend of chaos and control. It uses high-crit Spark to clear massive packs at lightning speed while setting up devastating Time Freeze + Comet combos for boss fights.

The playstyle rewards smart timing, quick movement, and explosive burst rotations — making it both strategic and ridiculously fun.

You’ll freeze time, shatter the screen with crits, and keep enemies locked in stasis while your Cast on Crit Comets rain devastation.

Skill Setup

Core AoE Clear:

• Spark – Acceleration, Electrocute, Consider Casting, Arcane Surge, Arcane Tempo

Single-Target Deletion:

• Cast on Crit (Comet) – Spell Echo, Elemental Focus, Inspiration, Concentrated Effect

• Time Freeze – Wind Wave, Second Wind, Unbreakable

• Time Snap – (no supports)

Debuffs & Control:

• Temporal Chains – Curse Ground, Encumbrance, Ritualistic Curse

• Conductivity – Heightened Curse, Focus Curse

Defensive & Utility:

• Frost Wall – Icicle, Cold Mastery, Spell Cascade, Cold Exposure

• Archmage – Clarity, Lightning Mastery

• Soul Offering – Minion Mastery, Dance Macabre, Ablation

Passive Tree

To bring this build to life, invest early in:

• Raw Power, Practice Signs, Critical Overload

• Sudden Escalation, Whispers of Doom

• True Strike, Deadly Force

• Lightning Nodes, and Eldritch Battery (Keystone for efficient mana use)

Prioritize crit chance, spell damage scaling, and curse effectiveness to control the battlefield while dishing out massive bursts of lightning damage.

Ascendancy Priority

1. Chronostasis – Time skill efficiency

2. Temporal Overload – CD reduction + cast speed

3. Cometfall – Boosts your critical burst window

4. Stasis Overdrive – More time freeze uptime

Gear Setup

Focus on:

• Crit Multi

• Lightning Spell Scaling

• Duration Increases

Weapon: High crit wand or staff - Siphoning Wand - Rattling Sceptre (2nd)
Shield/Offhand: Lightning Spell or Energy Shield bonuses - Expert Plumed Focus - Crest of Ardura (2nd)
Chest/Helmet: Energy Shield + Life - Expert Feathered Tiara
Body Armor: Expert Keth Raiment
Gloves/Boots: Movement speed, resistances, spell crit chance - Expert Sombre Gloves - Expert Feathered Sandals
Belt: Plate Belt
Rings: Amethyst Ring, Breach Ring, Solar Amulet

Aim for 75% resist cap and boosted cooldown recovery for Time Freeze chains.

Atlas Passives

• Heavy focus on Essences, Rituals, Delirium – cluster mobs = spark profit

Rotation

Clear:

• Spam Spark to decimate enemies with its rapid AoE spread. Focus on positioning yourself where you can maximize the number of targets hit by your Spark for fast clear speed. Use Arcane Surge to maintain uptime on damage boosts and keep your Arcane Tempo active for faster cast speed.

Boss:

• Stack Time Freeze to slow down the boss and set up your combo. Follow it up with Cast on Crit linked to Comet to trigger a powerful burst of damage. Make sure to time your Comet casts when the boss is frozen or slowed, maximizing the damage output during these windows.

Use Temporal Chains to weaken and slow enemies, giving you more control over their movements and attack speed. Apply it early to ensure you’re always in a favorable position for both clearing mobs and dealing with bosses.

Chain Time Snap and Temporal Rift for safety and positioning. Use Time Snap to dodge incoming damage or reposition, while Temporal Rift can give you a few extra seconds to reposition or cast additional spells before enemies catch up with you.

Top 3 Best Builds in PoE 2 Dawn of the Hunt

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Final Thoughts

Each of these Top 3 Best Builds in PoE 2 Dawn of the Hunt offers something unique in PoE 2's current meta. Whether you want a crit-based life tank, a warhammer-swinging god, or a temporal spell slinger, these three setups deliver maximum power, clear speed, and survivability.

Pick the one that fits your playstyle, farm smart with your atlas tree, and dominate the Dawn of the Hunt League like a pro.

Stay grinding, Exile!