Dear Exiles, the PoE 3.29 league launched two days ago. I want to showcase Ronarray's set of cool builds that look like they will be very fun league starters for 3.29. Some of them are completely new, while others are tried-and-true options that you probably have already seen. I will also give a pretty quick overview for each, sharing why it's a nice option to try in this league.
1. Ethereal Knives Ignite Elementalist
- Buffed for early game
- Speed potential
- Item versatility
- Great clear
The first build is Ethereal Knives Ignite Elementalist. I believe that at the moment EK got a pretty nice buff for the start, and later on it will use massacre as the way to clear big buffs on the screen. It has almost everything built in - potential for speed, versatility in items, pretty nice clear, and heavily focused on farming maps as fast as possible to get the PoE currency.
2. Chaos DoT Occultist
- Smooth start
- Good clear
- Easy to set up
- Will likely be cheaper
Another great option for damage over time is ED plus Contagion. ED plus Contagion received a pretty decent buff in 3.29 and probably going to be one of the smoothest starters if you just want to focus on chaos damage. It has everything from a pretty nice clear with decent screen coverage, and the build itself is also very easy to set up and pretty tanky too. The main idea here, when everybody else is going to play elements such as cold or fire, is that just focusing on chaos could also be a cheaper option if you're not sure. And you can always swap to some other elementalist or occultist builds later on when you will have more currency in PoE 3.29 or if you dislike it.
3. Merc Bot Luminary
- Looks fun and is a pretty new concept
- Completely new
- Looks very promising
- Adventurous option in a sense
- Scion has other potential builds to swap to
And the next option is a completely new build for 3.29. It's practically a luminary with Merc, which is going to play most like an aura board for your own Merc. So, Mercs in point 3.29 are looking pretty decent, especially if you're going to play new ascendancy with them and just focus on buffing your MS as far as you can get it. I think that variation is a fresh option for people who want to try something completely new. Unfortunately, there's no gameplay for it right now, but based on the information that we have, Luminary is looking like a pretty strong option both for the start and scaling later into the endgame. I also believe that Scion could be a build-enabling option for some other builds too.
4. Winter Orb Elementalist / Occultist
- The most buffed skill this league
- Speedy + Autoaim
- Pretty fresh
- Great clear
- Can get kinda expensive, but even without insane items the build is very strong
And another option is probably the most obvious build for 3.29 - Winter Orb. Winter Orb is looking absolutely amazing. GGG buffed it pretty significantly and is probably the most buffed skill that we have in the league. It also has an auto-target and very comfortable gameplay with decent damage. Unfortunately, packed off bait is not going to give us a tremendous amount of projectiles for free, but the damage for winter orb is still going to be pretty good. You can play it with power charges, or you can play it without power charges at all. There are a few options going around. And even if some particular art items for Winter Orb might be a little expensive, I believe that the power that build can provide is definitely worth it. So if you're not afraid of higher prices, make sure that you're trying Winter Orbs in that league.
5. Ice Crash Ignite Chieftain
- Chieftain is good early
- Ignite pops
- Not a spell
- Great option if you don't want to go EK or other Ignite spell
And the next option is very unusual. It is Ice Crush Ignite Chieftain. But even if it sounds kind of strange, the build itself is looking pretty solid. And especially if you're fine with being kind of melee, but enjoy bonuses that Chieftain can provide. I think ice crash can actually carry you up to the endgame without a lot of issues. Ignite builds are looking pretty nice in 3.29, and they received not that many changes, and Chieftain is going to be a pretty nice option to just start the league with because it's a very strong start in ascendancy. That way, if you enjoy ignite but don't want to play ethereal knives or any other elementalist ignite option, you can just go for ice crash instead and have a blast.
6. Absolution Guardian Templar
- Got a QOL buff for cast speed
- Easy Campaign
- Less expensive
- Endgame scaling
- Guardian is very strong early
And the next option is the build that I played myself in 3.28. It is Absolution Guardian, and Absolution is looking pretty good for 3.29. First off, it got a buff. So, right now, it will have higher quality of life with faster cast time, but on top of that, the build itself is also pretty easy to scale, especially in the league when everybody else will just play like self-cast spells instead. I believe the prices for Absolution are going to be pretty low, and it will be even easier to get the item that you need to force it as high as possible. And Guardian is another ascendancy which is absolutely amazing for the league start. It's going to provide a lot of upside just from ascendancy itself. So campaign and early map should be an absolute breeze with that. You can also play the Absolution as a necromancer, but I believe the guardians with auras and an amazingly easy early game is worth the look, and that probably is one of the options when you want to play minions but don't really want to overinvest and pick the build which is going to be too complicated.
7. Bleed Slams Slayer
- A very safe Slayer starter
And here we're reaching another build which is a tried and true option, and that's been a pretty popular starter for Slayer for at least a few leagues already. It is a bleed slams Slayer. Bleed slams provide a pretty nice clear for the screen. The damage itself is fine, and the only downside is that playing slams in general could not be everybody's cup of tea. However, I believe that if you want a safe starter for Slayer and you don't want to play a cyclone, going for bleed slams is a pretty good idea, especially if you tested the slam skill itself and you consider them pretty fun or just fine to play in general.
8. Animate Chains Necromancer
- Minions
- Relaxed gameplay
- Endgame scaling
- Received nerfs to some versions, but Chains of Command should still be decent.
And here at the next option, we have a build which is very close to Merc, but instead of buffing your Merc, you're going to just buff Animate Guardian instead. Animate Guardian with chains of command has been a very nice option for a few leagues too. It kind of might be harder to set up. So if you're a new player, it's easier for you to play something more straightforward such as Absolution. But if you played a lot of other builds and want something spicy, going animate guardian necromancer with like chain of command could be a very fun option. It's also very nice in terms of farming things like blight. So if you're looking into mechanics like that, it will be a pretty good idea to try it out.
9. CWS Chieftain
- Leveling with RF
- Super chill
- Dedicated farming
- Always a fun build to farm currency with
10. Boneshatter Hydrosphere Berserker
- Very good for HC
- Super tanky
- Good damage
- Should be pretty cheap to set up
And the next build we have in the bunch is probably one of the tankiest options that you can get. It's just boneshatter hydrosphere berserker. You can even swap it to another ascendancy, getting even tankier if you go juggernaut. But even as a berserker, it's still looking very, very nice and is completely hardcore viable. That's probably one of the best builds at the moment to play in hardcore, which can provide both damage and decent survivability, which will feel absolutely amazing, especially if you are afraid to die. You can also do that without a lot of additional items. So, if you want a cheap build that is going to cover most of the things and you are not afraid to click at least a few buttons, look into the boneshatter hydrosphere because that option is fun by itself.
Honorable mentions: RF + Cyclone
I also want to mention two builds which have been good for so many leagues in a row that you can't even imagine. The first one is the Cyclone Slayer, which provides relaxing gameplay, and another one is the Righteous Fire, which has been a go-to build for all senior citizens and people who just want to keep playing the same build for years. Cyclone and Righteous Fire are solid options if you want something that people have been playing for almost a decade and you don't really want to bother with something new.
Conclusion
Enjoy your League Starts! And pick any, and I'm absolutely sure that you will have a nice start.
