PoE2 Top 3 Builds in Patch 0.2.0 Dawn of the Hunt

Patch 0.2.0 Dawn of the Hunt will tear Wraeclast apart on 4 April 2025, and these three builds are the nastiest way to shred it. Bone Storm Witch, Shockwave Warrior, Spark Sorceress - each a chaos-fuelled machine built to tear through mobs and bosses without mercy. No fluff, just raw power - skills, passives, equipment and rotations to maximise your damage and flexibility on the blood-soaked fields of Dawn of the Hunt. Stash this for your grind and head to our shop for the gear to juice these beasts. Let's crush them and bury the competition!  

1. Bone Storm Witch (Blood Mage) – Crit Life Blender

Slow base skill, monster endgame—this Witch turns Bone Storm into a crit-charged meat grinder.  Class/Ascension: Witch - Blood Mage. Stack life, crit, and watch enemies explode.  Skills: Bone Storm (Brutality, Arcane Tempo, Inevitable Crit, Super Crit) - Main DPS shredder. Bone Cage (Spell Cascade, Lockdown, Splinter) - Traps and multiplies pain. Remnant of Life (Vitality, Clarity, Cannibalism)-Life support. Combat Frenzy (Abundance, Pin, Potential)-buffs speed. Bone Blast - raw boss burst.  Passive: Start Spell/Minion Damage, Grab Potent Incantation, Critical Exploit, Sudden Escalation, Tempered Mind, Resonance, Power Within, Last Four Power. Prioritise early, fill in power after gear reqs.  Ascendancy Path: Sanguimancy + Grasping Wounds (post-Trial 2 self-damage hurts early), Gore Spike (life-scaled DPS), Crimson Power (energy shield boost).  Gear: Attuned Wand (mana drain, +3 physical spells, crit chance, spell damage), Emblem Crush Shield (armour/ES, health, resist), Expert Waker Tiara (ES, health, resist), Guild Vestments (armour/ES, health, dodge), Rahide Belt (vial recovery, health, resist), Torn Gloves (ES, health, armour), Bushwack Boots (dodge, movement speed or pin gem). Rings: Ruby/Sapphire (resists, health), Sun Amulet (health, mind). Cap 75% resists.  Atlas: Targeted mobs - expeditions, rituals. Skip boss heavy maps early.  Rotation: Spam Bone Storm + Bone Cage for garbage; add Bone Blast for elites/bosses. Dragon, grab Health Remnants - crits do the rest.Health stacks fuel crits - huge damage, tanky as hell. Mana is a hiccup until gear fixes it. Patch 0.2.0's crit buffs (super critical) make this a late-game god.

2. Shockwave Warrior (Warbringer) – AOE Totem Beast

Melee nerfs? This Warrior is laughing - Shockwave Totem and Melee Strike clear screens.  Class/Ascendancy: Warrior - Warbringer. Totem-powered mayhem.  Skills: Melee Strike (Rage, Armour Blast, Magnified Effect, Primal Armor) - King of Splash with Cultist's Great Hammer. Shockwave Totem (Inspiration, Melee, Overwhelm)-AOE nuke. Scavenge Plating (Precision, Vitality, Clarity)-tanky stacks. Ancestral Warrior Totem (Sunder, Super Critical, Overabundance)-DPS boost. Time of Need (Fast Forward, Herbalism, Clarity)-Utility. Hammer of the Gods (Fist of War, Concentrated Effect, Exploit Weakness, Weight) - Boss finisher.  Passive: Start Melee Damage, Grab Brutal Smash, Sturdy Metal, Relentless, Ancestral Reach, Supportive Ancestors, Devastation, Carving Earth, Hardened Wood, Totem Nodes. Strength after reqs.  Ascension Path: Anvil Weight, Implosive Impact, Unsworn Call, Wooden Wall Totem Buffs, Survivability.  Gear: Cultist's great hammer (phys, armour, +melee - splash is key), warrior's great helm (armour, health, resist), advanced full plate (armour, health, resist), Rahide belt (flask speed, health, +2 charms), intricate gloves (ES, health, +melee), advanced bronze gauntlets (armour, movement speed, resist). Rings: Ruby/Topaz (resist, health), Crimson Amulet (regen, health). Cap 75% resists.  Atlas: Grouped mobs - expeditions, rituals - plus some boss cards for totems.  Rotation: Drop Shockwave + Ancestral Warrior Totems, Melee Strike for Fury/AOE, Hammer of the Gods on stunned bosses. Run, smash, repeat.After nerfing melee's live totems and splash one-shot packs, bosses quickly fold. Patch 0.2.0's totem buffs (Overpower) keep this a screen-clearing titan.

3. Spark Sorceress (Chronomancer) – Crit Time Lord

High-crit Spark with time-freeze shenanigans—this Sorceress owns bosses and maps.  Class/Ascension: Sorceress - Chronomancer. Time-bending DPS machine.  Skills: Time Freeze (Wind Wave, Second Wind, Unbreakable) - Boss lockdown. Time Snap - Cooldown reset. Temporal Rift (Ingenuity)-Utility. Temporal Chains (Cursed Ground, Burden Expanse, Magnified Effect, Ritualistic Curse)-debuff king. Cast on Critical (Comet, Spell Echo, Elemental Focus, Inspiration, Concentrated Effect)-critical burst. Conductivity (Intensified Curse, Focus Curse)-shock boost. Soul Sacrifice (Minion Mastery, Dance of the Macabre, Ablation)-sustained. Frost Wall (Icicle, Cold Mastery, Spell Cascade, Cold Exposure)-defence. Archmage (Clarity, Lightning Mastery)-Mana sap. Spark (Acceleration, Electrocute, Consider Casting, Arcane Surge, Arcane Tempo)-Crit spam.  Passive: Start Spell Damage, Grab Raw Power, Practice Signs, Critical Overload, Sudden Escalation, Whispers of Doom, Lightning Knot, Eldritch Battery, True Strike, For the Juggler, Deadly Force. Mana Focus after reqs.  Ascension Path: Footprints in the Sand, Now and Again, Ultimate Command, Unbound and Core Time Mastery, Crit Scaling.  Gear: Siphoning Wand (lightning damage, +cold spells, mana regeneration, crit), Expert Plumet Focus (ES, spell/lightning damage, mana), exchange set: Rattling Sceptre (+minion skills) + Crest of Artura (armour/ES, cooldown). Expert Feeder Tiara (ES, mana, resist), Expert Kate Raiments (ES, mana regen, resist), Plate Belt (armour, mana, resist), Expert Sombri Gloves (ES, crit), Expert Feather Sandals (movement speed, ES). Rings: Amethyst/Bridge (Chaos/Lightning, Mana, Casting speed), Sun Amulet (Spirit, Mana). Hat 75% resist.  Rotation: Temporal Chains, Conductivity, Time Freeze + Soul Sacrifice, Frost Wall, Spam Spark. AOE? Spark crits. Bosses? Full combo - 13-24 sec lockdown.Crit spark clears fast, time stops crush bosses - patch 0.2.0's lightning buffs (electrocute) and eldritch battery make this a DPS god. Squishy 'til geared-Watch the cooldowns.

Why These Builds Rule Dawn of the Hunt

Bone Storm Witch stacks life into crit chaos, Shockwave Warrior turns totems into AOE nukes, Spark Sorceress freezes time and sparks bosses to death. With patch 0.2.0's gem buffs (Super Critical, Overpower, Electrocute) and over 100 new uniques, these setups have no limits. Start with one, farm chaos, flex on Wraeclast-Dawn of the Hunt's live, and these are your bloody keys to the throne.  

Thanks for Reading

Own Dawn of the Hunt with these top builds—stay savage and keep an eye on MMOJUGG for more PoE 2 fire!