The upcoming Path of Exile Incursion League continues the exceptional pattern of content and gameplay growth of what has become one of the best ARPGs ever made. Even though 3.3 is going to include substantial skill changes, now that the 3.2 Bestiary Ascendancy changes have taken root, players can plan starting builds that we know will be perfectly viable in 3.3 based on their performance in 3.2.
For clarity, this list is not created solely based on the top 100 builds from poe-racing; it’s based on many additional factors including player support/recommendations, end-game viability, overall fun, and personal experience. Here we go!
Best all-around Starting Builds
1. While I love skeletons, there no question Spectres are still exceptional for completing all content in the game. While players are jumping on Melee Skeletons because they’re “new”, Spectres will always be a solid choice. The Zombiemancer is also a lot of fun, just not as quick as the Melee Skeleton build for map clearing, but the Zombies pack a whallop against bosses!
2. Melee Skeletons are decimating end-game and a blast to play with the Ascendancy changes in 3.2. My personal opinion is they are more fun than Spectres because the player doesn’t have to wait for them to move around and catch up, and they can be cast in strategic locations. Put them in the middle of a blue group and watch the entire group explode in one shot. Cast twice around a boss and watch it melt. Melee skeletons are the most fun I’ve had this league and the mapping speed is quite good. Boss killing? I’d rate it a 9 out of 10, and the build runs Eternal Lab with ease.
3. With the recent ascendancy changes to Hierophant, Spell Totems are more powerful than ever. The most popular are Glacial Cascade totems followed by Frostbolt. GC totems handle bosses very well but don’t clear maps as quickly as Frostbolt. Freezing Pulse totems are perfectly viable as well, and with the upcoming buff to FP, they will be even more viable in 3.3. Milky’s Righteous Fire Totems are also very powerful and fun for those who like totem builds.
4. Ancestral Warchief is also considered one of the best league starting builds since it has minimal gear requirements, scales well, and allows for easy farming of the Lab. It’s excellent at killing bosses, but isn’t very quick at mapping. The Facebreaker Variation is considered one of the strongest, but requires the Facebreaker unique gloves; however these are usually very easy to acquire within the first day or two of a league.
5. Essence Drain is still going strong and is one of the best league starters around; it also does a very good job of clearing maps, but requires substantial investment to complete Guardians and Shaper.
6. Molten Strike with leech is crazy powerful and one of the best all-around builds available in PoE able to do all content. I actually completed the storyline and got to mapping faster with this build than any other. While the clear speed isn’t top tier, the boss melting and survivability is top notch. Plus it’s just fun to watch everything melt while sucking your victims life away. There is also a Sword’n’Board Juggernaut variation that’s built to farm all game content.
7. Righteous Fire is the end-game king in 3.2 when it comes to all-around gameplay. Mapping, Eternal Lab, Uber Atziri, Guardians and Shaper; this is the build of choice by some of the most experienced players. While Juggernaut is the most popular ascendancy, the top players to reach 100 in HC and SSF used an Occultist variation of Righteous Fire – but this play style requires crazy flask management and is only for those most experienced with PoE.
8. Sunder still holds the top spot for softcore and hardcore “all around” gameplay. Sunder is also one of the most beginner friendly builds in PoE. The most popular Sunder builds are Gladiator and Champion, but it can be played as Slayer and Juggernaut as well. https://www.u4gm.com/path-of-exile