PoE 2 Lich Ascendancy Best Builds & Skills in 0.2.0 (Dawn of the Hunt)

In the upcoming Path of Exile 2 0.2 Patch next week, Lich will be available as the third ascendancy for the Witch class. Are you going to play it? 15 Lich skills have been shown during the Dawn of the Hunt live stream; now we'll look into an overview of the Lich ascendancy and recommend some best Lich leveling & endgame builds to try in the new league for PoE 2 Witch Lich.

Updated (April 7, 2025)

Best PoE 2 Lich Builds in Dawn of the Hunt League (0.2.0)

The Lich ascendancy in Path of Exile 2 is very likely to be one of the strongest and best league start characters in the Dawn of the Hunt. Whether you want to summon hordes of minions with enhanced specters or deal massive chaos damage solo, this ascendancy offers incredible flexibility. Every ascendancy node in its skill tree feels impactful, with no weak options, making it appealing for both summon-focused builds and pure damage setups. Its ability to combine minion control with devastating direct damage output makes it stand out, and the addition of new support gems in the update further amplifies its potential.

PoE 2 Lich Ascendancy Tree & Key Skills

• Soulless Form: This skill changes how you manage your mana and defenses. Instead of using regular mana, you gain a percentage of your maximum life as mana each second. This can be beneficial if your life is high, as it boosts your mana recovery. Additionally, it allows 10% of damage taken to bypass your energy shield, making you tougher against hits.

• Eternal Life: It is a powerful node that enhances your survivability significantly. It keeps your life from changing, which means you can avoid death from fatal damage. This node synergizes well with specific items, allowing you to maintain an energy shield without sacrificing your life. It has the potential to make your character feel nearly immortal by constantly replenishing your energy shield.

• Price of Power: Allows your non-channeling spells to consume power charges for a boost in damage. By using skills that generate power charges, you can easily increase your damage output. Additionally, if you consume a power charge, you gain a nice bonus to your energy shield. This skill is versatile and can enhance many different builds.

• Crystalline Phylactery: This introduces a unique way to enhance your jewels. It acts as a special jewel slot that allows you to mirror your best jewel, making it even more powerful over time. This flexibility means you can adapt your setup as you progress through the game, making it a valuable addition to your character.
  

• Eldritch Empowerment: Provides a hefty damage boost of 30% to your spells. It requires you to manage your energy shield effectively, as casting spells will cost energy shield. If you can find ways to regain an energy shield while casting, this node can lead to incredible damage scaling for your spells.
  

• Rupture the Soul: With it, you can explode cursed enemies for additional damage. To maximize its effectiveness, you need to keep enemies cursed, which can be done through various skills. This node is particularly strong for clearing mobs efficiently, making it useful in endgame content.
  

• Dominion over Flesh: Use it to apply multiple curses to enemies, enhancing your curse mechanics. It functions similarly to a keystone that lets you curse hexproof enemies, making it easier to debilitate foes and improve your damage output. This node is essential for builds focused on curse synergy.
  

• Necromantic Conduit: Grants you and your allies a significant damage boost by adding extra chaos damage to your attacks. While you lose a bit of mana each second, this can be mitigated with good mana recovery. This node is great for both solo play and team setups, enhancing the overall damage potential of your group.
  

• Blackened Heart: It further amplifies the effects of your Unholy Might, increasing damage based on your current mana. The more mana you have, the greater the boost to your chaos damage. This makes mana management crucial for maximizing your damage output, especially in builds focused on high mana pools.
  

Top 3 Best Lich Leveling & Endgame Builds in PoE 2 0.2 Dawn of the Hunt 

The PoE 2 Witch Lich focuses on Chaos damage and Energy Shield mechanics. It features skills that empower the player and their allies with effects like Unholy Might, which grants extra chaos damage, and Rupture the Soul, enabling cursed enemies to explode upon death, dealing significant area damage. Key features include the ability to apply multiple curses, enhanced spell damage through nodes like Eldritch Empowerment, and defensive mechanics such as Eternal Life, which allows the player's life to remain unchanged while Energy Shield is active. Lich offers versatile gameplay, combining high damage potential with robust survivability. Try it in the new PoE2 league if you enjoy minion-focused or chaos-damage builds.

1. PoE2 Lich Spectre Summoner Build

The Dawn of the Hunt Lich Spectre Summoner build in Path of Exile 2 maximizes the potential of minions while maintaining strong survivability and damage output. By utilizing the unique abilities of the Lich class, this build focuses on stacking mana recovery through passive skills and effective gear choices, allowing for a sustainable and aggressive playstyle. With the ability to summon a variety of minions, including skeletal warriors and raging spirits, players can adapt their strategy to different encounters while utilizing potent curse mechanics to enhance damage. This build is particularly effective for both solo play and group content, it is a solid choice to clear endgame content with proper equipment.

Gear (Starter)

For a solid start, the recommended gear includes the Rattling Sceptre, which provides bonuses to minion skills, and the Soldier Greathelm for added defense. The Hermit Garb offers increased mobility and survivability, while the Amber Amulet boosts overall stats. Lastly, Mail Sabatons enhance movement speed. To stack mana, you can equip Sectarian Crest Shield, Enfolding Dawn, Amethyst Ring, Gravebind, and Midnight Braid.

• Rattling Sceptre

• Soldier Greathelm

• Hermit Garb

• Amber Amulet

• Mail Sabatons

Skill Gems & Support Gems

• Skeletal Warrior + Meat Shield + Elemental Army

• Skeletal Arsonist + Fire Infusion + Martial Tempo + Scattershot

• Flame Wall + Arcane Tempo + Fortress

• Raging Spirits + Minion Instability + Infernal Legion + Feeding Frenzy

• Flammability + Heightened Curse

• Pain Offering + Persistence

• Contagion

Ascendancy Nodes

Necromantic Conduit -> Rupture the Soul -> Blackened Heart -> Crystalline Phylactery

Passive Tree

The passive tree focuses on maximizing minion damage, survivability, and mana recovery. Early points are invested in minion damage and life, followed by paths that enhance mana regeneration and provide bonuses to minion skills.

2. PoE2 Essence Drain Contagion Lich Leveling Build

The Essence Drain Contagion Lich build offers a powerful setup for players struggling with earlier campaign challenges. This Witch build excels in map clearing thanks to its ability to spread damage over time using the Contagion and Essence Drain skills. By poisoning enemies with Contagion and then unleashing Essence Drain, players can create a chain reaction that obliterates entire packs of foes. Despite its slower single-target damage, the build compensates with crowd control and survivability, making it particularly effective against tougher bosses and allowing players to maneuver while their foes succumb to poison. Its early accessibility to essential skills means players won't need extensive respecs.

Gear

The gear for this build is focused on maximizing spell damage, energy shield, and survivability.  

• Dueling Wand

• Kamasan Tiara

• Sacred Focus

• Sacramental Robe

• Amethyst Ring

• Lunar Amulet

• Vaal Gloves

• Heavy Belt

• Sandsworn Sandals

Skill Gems & Support Gems

The skill setup revolves around a combination of damage-over-time effects and utility.

• Contagion + Persistence + Unleash

• Essence Drain + Swift Affliction + Controlled Destruction + Considered Casting

• Withering Presence + Clarity

• Unearth + Brutality

• Despair + Heightened Curse + Decaying Hex

• Dark Effigy + Envenom + Arcane Tempo

Passive Tree

The passive tree mainly enhances chaos and spell damage while providing essential survivability through energy shields and life nodes. Players focus on notable passives that boost overall spell and chaos damage, along with energy shield increases.

3. PoE2 Minion Lich Starter Build

The third build for Witch Lich is an exceptional choice for players looking to dominate the game from level 1 through to tier 15 maps. Even though minions have been nerfed in the recent patch, this build focuses on maximizing the effectiveness of Frost Mages, which provide both solid damage output and utility. With a focus on survivability, players can prioritize resistances and life in their gear while stacking levels for all minion skills on weapons, helmets, and amulets. The build transitions smoothly from a Contagion and Essence Drain setup to a more dedicated minion approach, ensuring players can clear content efficiently at every stage of the game. With optimal gear choices and a carefully crafted passive tree, this build not only excels in leveling but also maintains its strength in endgame content.

Gear

These gear pieces can maximize minion performance and your survivability.

• Rattling Sceptre

• Archon Crown

• Blazon Crest Shield

• Bearskin Mantle

• Amethyst Ring

• Solar Amulet

• Aged Cuffs

• Fine Belt

• Adherent Leggings

Skill Gems & Support Gems

• Contagion + Magnified Effect + Withering Touch

• Essence Drain + Swift Affliction + Persistence

• Skeletal Frost Mage + Scattershot + Feeding Frenzy + Minion Mastery + Cold Mastery

• Frost Bomb + Strip Away

• Pain Offering + Meat Shield + Ablation + Danse Macabre

• Hypothermia + Persistence + Focused Curse + Hex Bloom

• Skeletal Cleric + Arcane Temp + Last Gasp + Ingenuity

Passive Tree

Initially, focus on the left side of the tree, aiming for nodes that enhance minion survivability and damage. Key early nodes include Necrotised Flesh for increased minion life and Crystalline Flesh for additional resistances. As you progress, prioritize Growing Swarm for cooldown recovery and Restless Dead for improved minion uptime. The later stages of the tree should focus on increasing the energy shield and overall survivability, with a gradual shift towards energy shield nodes as the build transitions to a full energy shield setup.