The long-awaited Path of Exile 2: Dawn of the Hunt expansion has finally arrived with Patch 0.2.0, and summoners across Wraeclast can rejoice: Raise Spectre is back and better than ever. With over 400 monsters analyzed from the latest datamines and early access gameplay, summoner builds are experiencing a full revival in PoE 2’s reimagined spirit system. If you’re a fan of commanding powerful undead allies and shaping your army from the corpses of your enemies, this tier list will walk you through the best spectres in PoE 2 and the strongest summoner builds to run in the early game.
What Changed with Raise Spectre in PoE 2 Patch 0.2.0?
In PoE 2: Dawn of the Hunt, Raise Spectre now interacts with a more robust spirit and minion framework, offering more strategic depth than ever before. Spirit is the new limiting factor for summoning minions, requiring summoners to balance quantity vs. quality when picking spectres. While traditional summoner builds still hold their place, the revamped Raise Spectre shines due to:
• Expanded monster database: Hundreds of new monsters with unique abilities, stats, and AI logic.
• Improved minion AI: Ranged spectres are now far more intelligent, avoiding issues like door blocking and poor pathing.
• Better synergy with exposure and elemental scaling.
• Support for hybrid roles: Damage dealers, buffers, debuffers, and crowd control spectres can now all play a role on your team.
Let’s break down the best spectres to raise early in the league.
PoE 2 Dawn of the Hunt – Best Spectres for Early Game Leveling
1. Frost Wraith (Act 1)
• Strengths: High energy shield scaling, strong life multiplier (160%).
• Abilities: Cold projectiles that shotgun for burst damage, chance to freeze, and an explosive AoE when near enemies.
• Why It’s Good: One of the best spectres for Act 1. It clears fast, freezes mobs, and has solid survivability for early mapping or campaign pushing.
2. Forsaken Miner (Act 2)
• Strengths: Double grenade attacks with great base damage.
• Abilities: Throws AoE fire grenades. Benefits from increased projectile count and reduced cast time.
• Why It’s Good: Ideal for early burst and screen-wide ignite setups. Highly compatible with fire support gems.
3. Priest of the Sun (Act 3)
• Strengths: 200% life modifier; 20% ES from life.
• Abilities: Fires a massive beam attack, and creates burning ground.
• Why It’s Good: Think of it as a fire-based laser cannon. Great for the duration and cooldown reduction stacking.
4. River Hag
• Strengths: Cold damage DoT and control.
• Abilities: Homing orbs and persistent cold vortex AoE.
• Why It’s Good: Great area denial and persistent cold damage make it an excellent pick for crowd control or hybrid builds.
5. Brutal Transcendent
• Location: The Ziggurat Refuge / The Black Chambers.
• Strengths: Lightning AoE and projectile-based grenades.
• Stats: 250% base damage; over 20,000 life at level 70.
• Why It’s Good: Versatile lightning spectre with powerful AoE and smart AI. Great for shock-heavy or elemental penetration builds.
Best Melee Spectres in PoE 2 – Patch 0.2.0
While melee spectres still struggle with some AI quirks, a few standouts are definitely worth trying:
Spectre | Highlight |
Antlion Charger | Fast attack speed, knockback charge. Great early melee damage. |
Black Scythe Mercenary | Super fast movement, AoE scaling. Ideal for aggressive builds. |
Drudge Osseodon | Uses Sunder. Excellent slammer with large AoE. |
Forgotten Stag | Applies Corrupted Blood and shield charges. Synergizes well with bleed builds. |
Gargoyle Demon | 100% block rate — the ultimate tank. |
Gold-Melted Sentinel | CD-based slam attacker; great burst potential. |
It That Stalks (Breach) | Converts physical to lightning. Has dash and stab attacks. |
Knight-Gaunt | Bleed-inflicting reaper-style melee spectre. Stylish and fast. |
Best Ranged & Caster Spectres – PoE 2 Meta Tier Picks
This is where Raise Spectre truly shines in Dawn of the Hunt. The AI, range, and elemental synergy make ranged and caster spectres the current meta favourites:
Spectre | Notes |
Fiery Zealot | Fire spear caster. High artillery-style output. |
Ancient Ezomyte | Lightning Arrow user. Top-tier ranged DPS. |
Black Scythe Arbalist | Rain of Arrows + AoE synergy. |
Black Strider | Massive mortar and projectile spam. |
Blood Elemental | Applies Corrupted Blood. Extremely high pDPS. |
Blood Priest | Corpse detonation specialist with Exsanguinate. |
Frost Wraith | Cold shotgun and explosion combo. Excellent clear. |
Lightning Wraith | Chaining lightning spells that pierce. Top-tier for elemental setups. |
Vaal Skeletal Priest | Exploding mortars with chaining mechanics. Spectacular AoE. |
Expect many of these to be staples in endgame mapping setups.
Best Utility Spectres – Buffers, Taunters & Cursebots
Sometimes you don’t want more DPS — you want support. These spectres offer buffs, crowd control, or synergistic debuffs:
Spectre | Utility |
Alpha Primate | Tanky taunter that summons monkeys. Good distraction and slam attacks. |
Gelid Zealot (EoW) | Eye of Winter caster. Great freeze/chill utility. |
Gilded Beetle | Buffs allies via Warcry. Adds lightning AoE. |
Serpent Shaman | Applies curses to boost physical damage taken. A must for phys builds. |
Blood Worm | Explodes on death. Pairs well with Detonate Dead builds. |
Vaal Temporal Researcher | Applies Temporal Chains — slows enemies and boosts DoT uptime. |
Best Hybrid Spectres (Damage + Utility)
Sometimes, you want one spectre that can do both:
• Filthy Crone: A unique pick with AoE curses and spell damage. Overloaded, but may be a sleeper pick for curse-on-hit builds.
Best Spectre-Based Summoner Builds in PoE 2: Dawn of the Hunt
Raise Spectre is only as strong as the build that supports it. Here’s what’s currently looking strongest in early league environments:
1. Lich Ascendancy – The Meta Dominator
This is your go-to summoner ascendancy if you're chasing performance.
Why Lich is Best:
• Unholy Might Scaling: Converts 30% phys to chaos by default, up to 60% with high mana.
• Massive Explosions: Built-in corpse explosion synergy gives top-tier clear.
• Chaos Immunity: Combos perfectly with CI (Chaos Inoculation) builds, enabling ES stacking.
Playstyle Tip: Pair Lich with Lightning Wraith or Blood Priest spectres for shock or corpse-detonation setups. Use Corpsewalker Boots or Desecrate to fuel explosions.
2. Infernalist – Spirit-Heavy & Tanky Alternative
If Lich is the glass cannon, Infernalist is the bruiser.
Strengths:
• Larger base Spirit Pool for more or higher-cost spectres.
• Tankier scaling and better synergy with life stacking.
• Endurance potential — could shine in bossing if Grim Harvest mechanics are tweaked.
Build Tip: Consider pairing with Forsaken Miner and Brutal Transcendent for bursty AoE while staying defensive with high life or regen scaling.
Final Tips for Spectre Summoners in Dawn of the Hunt
• Testing is King: The datamined info is fantastic, but nothing beats hands-on experience. Many spectres listed as "unknown" could rise to the S-tier with the right supports.
• Support Gems Matter: Boosting projectile count, AoE, or duration can dramatically change a spectre’s performance.
• Watch Your Spirit: Always consider spirit cost vs. impact. Sometimes fewer powerful spectres are better than a horde of weak ones.
• Elemental Debuffs Are Powerful: Use curses, exposure, and ailments (freeze, shock) to maximize your spectre’s effectiveness.
Spectre Meta Snapshot (PoE 2 Patch 0.2.0)
Top Spectres Overall:
• Frost Wraith – Cold shotgun + explosion, great early clear.
• Forsaken Miner – Burst fire AoE, amazing levelling.
• Brutal Transcendent – Lightning nuker with great stats.
• Blood Priest / Vaal Skeletal Priest – Corpse-explosion DPS machines.
• Lightning Wraith – Pierce + chain lightning, high endgame scaling.
Top Utility Picks:
• Alpha Primate – Monkey summoning tank.
• Gelid Zealot – Chill and freeze control.
• Serpent Shaman – Physical curse support.
• Vaal Temporal Researcher – Temporal Chains = DoT boost.
Best Build: Lich Ascendancy Spectre Summoner – Unholy Might, corpse explosions, and chaos scaling dominance.
As the Dawn of the Hunt league progresses, more spectres will be tested, optimized, and pushed to their limits. Expect this meta to shift as new interactions and build paths are discovered — but for now, these spectres are your best bet to dominate early maps, bosses, and campaign content.