Welcome to the ultimate guide for league starters in Path of Exile 2's 0.3 patch! With the launch of The Third Edict, players are eager to dive into the new content with builds that are strong, efficient, and capable of tackling endgame challenges. As one of the top build creators in the community, Uber Uber Dan has carefully created three powerful builds that are perfect for this league. Whether you're a seasoned veteran or a newcomer to PoE 2, these builds will set you up for success.
Why League Starters Matter
Choosing the right league starter is crucial to your experience in Path of Exile 2. As one of Path of Exile's top build creators, Uber Uber Dan recommends choosing from the following options: Deadeye, Minions, Chaos, or Hollow Palm as your league starter. It's best to avoid selecting a melee warrior build.
Lightning Arrow/Lightning Rod/Tornado Shot Bow Deadeye Build Guide
This Deadeye build is going to be incredibly powerful, featuring two amazing combos: Tornado Shot and Lightning Rod. This setup has been effective in defeating every single Uber in the game since patch 0.2.
Key Features
Buffs: This build will get significant buffs for both Deadeye and Lightning Rod in The Third Edict league.
Damage Output: The damage can reach 1 billion in the 0.3 patch.
Gear Recommendations
• Vortex Reach Gemini Bow
• Havoc Star Skycrown Tiara
• Bloom Nails Two-Point Quiver
• Corruption Idol Solar Amulet
• Rage Circle Amethyst Ring
• Skull Shell Vile Robe
• Rage Finger Breach Ring
• Tempest Goad Sandsworn Sandals
• Opaque Ultimate Life Flask of the Verdant
• Lustrous Stone Charm of the Eternal
• Thawing Charm of the Medic
• Abundant Transcendent Mana Flask of the Distiller
• Against the Darkness Time-Lost Diamond
• Controlled Metamorphosis Diamond
• Corruption Wound Time-Lost Emerald
• Dusk Solace Sapphire
• Oblivion Curio Emerald
• Hand of Wisdom and Action Spiral Wraps
Mods: Focus on stacking useful mods like resistance and attributes, avoiding rarity and dead stats like stun.
Jewels: Unique jewels are optional; add them once you have enough currency.
Ring and Gloves: Focus on high flat damage, preferably lightning and physical.
Resistances: Aim for 75% fire, cold, and lightning resistances.
Weapon: Look for the highest DPS with flat elemental or physical damage, preferably on a Gemini base.
Quiver: Seek high flat bow damage or projectile speed with attack speed. Ideally, aim for three to four stats.
Amulet: Aim for plus projectile levels, life, and resistances. Try to get some spirit for your Rhoa Mount.
Body Armor: Go for the highest evasion chest you can afford, with some deflection stats.
A higher Increased Rarity Item Found stat is excellent for maximizing your Exalted orb drops. Aim for at least 100% rarity to effectively obtain Divine orbs in PoE 2.
Jewel Recommendations
When considering the jewels on your skill tree, focus on general damage types such as attack damage, elemental damage, movement speed, quiver bonuses, projectile damage, and attack speed.
Be sure to include one Sapphire Jewel that provides Mana on Kill to help sustain your mana while mapping.
Gem Recommendations
Utilizing Voltaic Mark with your new ascendancy point for Mark skills will significantly enhance your clearing speed.
For single-target damage, use Ball Lightning to apply a substantial shock, which is especially beneficial against bosses early on when you need extra damage.
For mapping, stick with Lightning Arrow. When facing map bosses, shoot down at least eight Lightning Rods, then activate your Tornado Shot, followed by Barrage for your Lightning Arrow. Lastly, consider bringing a companion with Haste Aura, which you can farm in Act 3 at the Jungle Ruins.
Gas Arrow Explosive Bow Deadeye Build Guide
Another Deadeye variant that is incredibly overpowered in this league is the Explosive Gas Arrow Build. This build revolves around firing as many gas arrows as possible onto the ground and igniting them. The more arrows you stack, the greater your damage will be.
Key Features
No Unique Requirements: This build doesn't rely on any specific uniques, but if you can afford them, they can significantly boost your damage.
Early Game Strategy: Drop a Flame Wall beneath your enemies to ignite them with your gas arrows.
Crowd Control: Use Herald of Thunder and Voltaic Mark explosions to easily clear large groups of foes. For tankier rare monsters, unleash Freezing Salvo to freeze them in place while dealing substantial damage.
Gear Recommendations
• Dread Song Twin Bow
• Death's Harp Dualstring Bow
• Fate Hail Visceral Quiver
• Tow-Point Quiver
• Honour Nail Ruby Ring
• Armageddon Turn Gold Ring
• Ingenuity Utility Belt
• Radiant Grief Lace Hood
• Birth of Fury Stone Greaves
• Behemoth Mitts Swift Bracers
• Golem Pelt Swiftstalker Coat
• Beacon of Azis Solar Amulet
Mainhand Weapon: Aim for a dual-string type like a Gemini Bow with plenty of additional arrows and high Physical or Fire Damage. If possible, Death's Harp is an excellent choice. Attack speed is also a valuable mod for your mainhand weapon.
Quiver: Look for high flat Fire and Physical damage, along with increased damage with bow skills. Additional attack speed and levels for projectile skills are beneficial as well.
Rings: Seek rings that provide substantial flat Fire and Physical Damage, which can be further enhanced with an Ingenuity Belt if you can afford it.
Helmet and Boots: You can use any suitable items here, but Radiant Grief Lace Hood and Birth of Fury Stone Greaves are two recommended options that simplify your gameplay by offering different ways to explode your gas arrows, reducing the need to constantly press Flame Wall.
Gloves: Consider adding flat damage and some Lightning Damage to apply shock effects without relying on skills like Lightning Rod or Ball Lightning.
Body Armor: Aim for the highest evasion chest you can afford, with some deflection stats included.
Amulet: If the Beacon of Azis Solar Amulet is too expensive for you, choose an amulet with projectile levels and spirit. Additionally, scaling crit chance in your build is essential.
Jewel Recommendations
Look for jewels that enhance generic damage, including:
• Physical and elemental damage
• Area of effect
• Crit damage bonuses
• Bonuses from quivers
• Projectile damage
• Attack speed
Gem Recommendations
You won't need Whirling Slash and Shield Charge in your off-hand since sprinting is sufficient for mobility. Remember, the more arrows you have for your gas arrow, the stronger your damage will be.
With the new ascendancy point, Voltaic Mark will be automated, further improving your clear speed.
Shockburst Rounds Crossbow Deadeye Build Guide
The final build is the Shockburst Rounds Crossbow Deadeye Build. However, it's important to note that you should not level up using crossbows, as they currently perform poorly compared to spear skills from Acts 1 to 3. Instead, focus on leveling with Lightning Arrow, Lightning Rod, Freezing Salvo, and Escape Shot—these are the best options from Act 1.
For the explosive shock aspect of this build, you'll be using The Three Dragons Solid Mask to deliver Fire Damage while shocking enemies. Against bosses, you'll deal significant damage with Shockburst Rounds. If the helmet is out of your budget, you can use Galvanic Shards.
Key Features
Shock Duration: The 8-second shock duration allows you to maintain shock on bosses without constantly spamming your clearing skills.
Weapon Swap: You no longer need a secondary weapon to activate your weapon swap, enabling you to focus solely on a crossbow with high physical damage.
Gear Recommendations
• The Three Dragons Solid Mask
• Ghoul Core Flexed Crossbow
• Polcirkeln Sapphire Ring
• Soul Clutches War Wraps
• Storm Knuckle Prismatic Ring
• Corpse Sole Cavalry Boots
• Demon Sanctuary Swiftstalker Coat
• Sol Charm Stellar Amulet
Crossbow: Look for a crossbow that offers substantial physical damage. An additional bolt mod is expensive but very powerful, and you'll also want increased reload speed, as crossbows typically have a short range and don't require high accuracy.
Unique Ring: Polcirkeln Sapphire Ring can restore the old clear speed that was removed in a previous patch.
Automark Abilities: Combine Voltaic Mark with Herald of Thunder to freeze enemies effectively. The Three Dragons Solid Mask enhances this synergy, but if you can't afford it, maintain the same setup and use Galvanic Shards instead of Explosive Shot.
Rings and Gloves: Focus on elemental damage from your rings and gloves while maximizing physical damage on your crossbow.
Other Gear Mods: Other mods on the gear items should include resistances, life, mana, and movement speed.
Amulet: Aim for spirit on your amulet, but critical strike mods are unnecessary for this build.
Jewel Recommendations
Look for rare jewels that provide crossbow reload speed, along with attack speed, projectile damage, and shock duration.
Gem Recommendations
The gem setups are flexible, allowing for multiple support gems. Concentrate on damage and Shockburst Rounds while stacking shock and Area of Effect on your clearing skills, such as Explosive Shot or Galvanic Shards. The new automark ascendancy with Voltaic Mark will significantly enhance your clearing capabilities.
Weapon Swap Setup
• Red Gems: Clearing skills
• Green Gems: Shockburst Rounds
Ranger/Deadeye Leveling Guide
Act 1-3
Lightning Arrow (martial tempo + lighting infusion)
Lighning Rod (scattershot)
Escape Shot (Ice Bite + Glaciation/Magnified effect – great clearing)
Freezing Salvo (cold infusion + hourglass + mag effect)
Other: Barrage, Herald of Ice, Combat Frenzy (Profusion), Wind Dancer
Single Target/Bossing: Freezing Salvo, LA + LR (barrage)
Weapon: Physical damage, attack speed, bow skills fire additional arrows
Leveling Strategy
Uncut Gems: You can easily purchase uncut gems from Alva, the NPC. However, be mindful that adding more support gems will increase your mana cost. For the first three acts, a minimal setup is recommended.
Skill Choices
• Freezing Salvo is excellent for general use, and Escape Shot is fantastic for freezing groups of monsters. Pair these with the Lightning Rod and Arrow combo for effective damage.
• Bow Upgrades: Always upgrade your bow before facing the act boss.
• Exalted Orbs: Use exalted orbs in the campaign solely for purchasing from other players, unless you're playing SSF.
• Life Flasks: Upgrade your life flasks with as much quantity as possible, as this is crucial before major boss fights.
Transitioning Skills
Once you meet the level requirement for your main skill setup, you can switch to it. You can transition to your Gas Arrow build relatively early, but it will take three acts to access your Crossbow build. Feel free to switch whenever you feel ready.
Final Thoughts
The 0.3 patch of Path of Exile 2 introduces exciting changes that make these builds even more powerful. Whether you prefer the electrifying gameplay of Lightning Arrow Deadeye, the explosive action of Gas Arrow Deadeye, or the shock-heavy mechanics of Shockburst Rounds Crossbow Deadeye, each build offers a unique playstyle tailored for success in The Third Edict.
As you prepare for the league start, remember to prioritize gear upgrades, manage your flasks wisely, and adapt your build as needed.
Last but not least, if you found this guide helpful, make sure to subscribe to Uber Uber Dan's channel for more future content related to Path of Exile 2.
