Two weeks into the league, you've probably farmed some currency. Or maybe you've been on Reddit complaining about Fubgun crashing the economy. Either way, if you're looking to reroll into something that trivializes endgame content, these builds represent the best options available right now.
We've organized them from the most expensive mirror-tier setups down to builds that won't empty your stash but still deliver serious power.
Ultra-High Investment Builds
These require extreme currency, often measured in mirrors. They're the theoretical ceiling of character power, but let's be honest: most of us will never afford them.
Temporalis Choir of the Storm
Temporalis is the most expensive item in PoE 2 right now. The helmet grants skills negative two seconds to cooldown, which is absurdly powerful because you can reduce certain skill cooldowns to basically zero.
This build stacks cooldown reduction on Choir of the Storm until it has essentially no downtime. You end up hitting as many times per second as the game's tick rate allows. Massive damage, massive clear, and everything dies before it touches you.
This costs around two mirrors though, so realistically you're not playing it. If you somehow have that kind of currency lying around, this is where it goes.
Temporalis Pounce
Same concept as Choir of the Storm, just built around different skills in Druid's dog form. You spam Pounce across the screen, triggering explosions that wipe entire packs instantly.
It's the same two-mirror investment with a different playstyle. If you prefer shapeshifting over standing still and spamming, this is your Temporalis variant.
High Investment Builds
Expensive, but actually within reach if you've been farming consistently.
Choir of the Storm Oracle
For players who want the Choir of the Storm experience without selling their organs, Oracle offers a solid alternative. It won't hit the same ceiling as Temporalis, but it gets surprisingly close for a fraction of the cost.
Without Temporalis, you can't just delete cooldowns entirely. Instead, you stack as much cooldown reduction as possible through other sources. The Oracle ascendancy compensates by guaranteeing critical strikes for Choir of the Storm, giving you consistent damage output.
You also gain defensive flexibility since you're not locked into Temporalis. Running a proper energy shield chest piece gives you real survivability. Everything usually dies instantly anyway, but having that safety net feels good.
Reverse Chill
Chill normally slows you down. Reverse chill does the opposite: it speeds you up. This archetype was popular in PoE 1 but only became viable in PoE 2 recently.
The speed boost is multiplicative and affects almost everything: movement, portal animations, pulling levers, built-in attack timers on skills like Rolling Slam. It's a direct multiplier to how fast your character does anything.
To actually chill yourself consistently, you need Vaal Cultivation Orbs to roll Shackles of the Wretched gloves with "elemental ailments other than freeze are reflected back to you." Now every time you hit enemies, you chill yourself, and that chill becomes a speed buff through Sierran Inheritance.
The cheaper option is stacking chill duration above 6 seconds so you never have downtime. The expensive option uses Vaal Cultivation Orbs to remove that line entirely from a second pair of gloves. Going this route lets you use the Stormweaver Sorceress ascendancy, which applies two chills for even more chill effect.
Core Meta Builds
Proven performers across multiple patches. These stay relevant regardless of balance changes.
Cast on Crit Comet
Comet has huge base damage but a brutal one-second cast time. Self-casting it is miserable. Triggering it through a meta gem bypasses the cast time entirely, letting you access all that damage without the downside.
Multiple trigger methods work here. Cast on Crit is generally more reliable for mapping since you're constantly landing crits. Cast on Ignite uses skills like Flame Breath to trigger Comet. Cast on Freeze hits hardest against bosses but struggles with clear speed.
The meta gem mechanics have changed a few times since launch, but the build still works and still hits hard.
Lightning Crossbow
Lightning Crossbow has been a consistent performer since PoE 2 launched. People keep predicting nerfs will kill it, but every adjustment so far has been minor. It's still a map blaster with solid boss damage.
For single target, you've got options. Stormblast Bolts provides steady damage while Plasma Burst offers burst windows. Both work well depending on your preference.
Ascendancy choices are flexible too. Pathfinder gives flask sustain, Blood Mage offers life-based scaling, and Deadeye works for projectile and accuracy builds. Pick whatever fits your playstyle.
Unique Playstyle Builds
Different gameplay patterns for players who want something outside the usual spam-and-clear formula.
Auto Attack / Oil Barrage Wyvern
The build revolves around maintaining near-100% uptime on several buffs: Bhatair's Vengeance, Power Charges, Rend Power Charge (extra damage for a few seconds), and Blazing Critical. You're constantly refreshing these while executing your damage rotation.
For clearing, Rend on Wyvern form combines with Tribal Fury. Since Tribal Fury makes Strikes deal Splash Damage, and Rend is a massive screen-wide swipe, your clear coverage becomes ridiculous.
Against bosses, you consume your stacked Power Charges to empower Oil Barrage. The empowered version launches a massive projectile barrage that shreds health pools fast.
Twister
This build fills the entire screen with projectiles. If that sounds appealing, Twister delivers exactly what you'd expect: constant screen coverage of spiraling projectiles destroying everything.
The default visuals create serious clutter. Players who grab the MTX get something closer to Spark from PoE 1, which is significantly cleaner.
With enough attack speed, Whirling Slash becomes a solid movement skill for zipping between packs.
Ascendancy options include Abyssal Lich (the common choice), Invoker for alternative scaling, and Deadeye for Frenzy charge stacking. All three work well.
Accessible Endgame Builds
Strong league starters that scale into endgame without requiring massive investment.
Poison Burst Pathfinder
Pathfinder provides flask sustain and poison scaling. The combination of hit damage and stacking poison DoT creates strong sustained damage that handles both mapping and bosses. Nothing complicated here, just a solid build that works at every budget level.
Ice Shot Pathfinder
Ice Shot has one of the most satisfying on-kill effects in PoE 2. You freeze entire packs with a spray of projectiles, then watch them shatter in a chain reaction.
During mapping, you're freezing and shattering constantly. Against bosses, you switch to a sniper approach: freeze them first, then land precise shots for massive single-hit damage.
Ice Shot isn't as popular as some other bow skills, but it performs just as well and looks better doing it. The freeze also provides defensive utility since frozen enemies can't hit back.
Honorable Mention
Atziri's Contempt Pronged Spear
Let's be real: this build isn't efficient for its cost, especially on Pathfinder. The built-in attack timer forces you to stand still during skill execution, which feels clunky. It made this list purely on style points.
You rapidly strike enemies with Spearfield, impaling spears into the ground. The weapon's modifier causes Spear Skills to inflict Bloodstone Lances on hit, stacking up to 30 per target. Then you cast Shattering Spite to detonate all those lances in massive explosions.
Pathfinder offers better mapping through flask sustain. Blood Mage gives more raw damage for less currency. Pick based on what content you're focusing on.
The Atziri's Contempt Pronged Spear animations combined with the Shattering Spite finale create an incredibly satisfying gameplay loop. If style matters to you, this delivers.
Build Selection Summary
| Build | Investment | Playstyle | Best For |
|---|---|---|---|
| Temporalis Choir of the Storm | Mirror-Tier | Rapid cooldown spam | Maximum possible power |
| Temporalis Pounce | Mirror-Tier | Shapeshifting | Dog form fans |
| Choir of the Storm Oracle | High | Cooldown-focused | Budget Temporalis experience |
| Reverse Chill | High | Speed stacking | Players who want to go fast |
| Cast on Crit Comet | Moderate-High | Triggered spells | Meta gem fans |
| Lightning Crossbow | Moderate-High | Ranged attack | Reliable all-rounder |
| Auto Attack / Oil Barrage Wyvern | Moderate-High | Buff management | MMO-style combat fans |
| Twister | Moderate | Projectile spam | Screen-filling chaos |
| Poison Burst Pathfinder | Low-High | Poison DoT | League starters scaling up |
| Ice Shot Pathfinder | Moderate | Freeze/Shatter | Bow players wanting style |
| Atziri's Contempt Pronged Spear | Moderate | Spear combat | Style over efficiency |
Conclusion
PoE 2's endgame has options at every budget level. Mirror-tier Temporalis builds represent the absolute ceiling of power, but builds like Poison Burst Pathfinder prove you don't need extreme investment to dominate endgame content.
When picking your next build, think about both your currency and how you actually want to play. The most expensive option isn't always the most fun. Finding something that matches your preferred playstyle will keep you engaged longer than chasing damage numbers.