With the Path of Exile 2: Dawn of the Hunt release scheduled for April 4th, I took a deep dive into the new Witch Ascendancy: the Lich. I analyzed its skills and designed two builds that I believe will be the strongest, and the ones I’ll likely play on release.
If you’d rather watch a video where I break this down in detail, check it out below!
First Build – Based on the Proposed Ascendancy Tree
As a starter, Necromantic Conduit is a strong Ascendancy skill choice. It grants your character and nearby allies Unholy Might, adding 30% additional Chaos Damage on top of your and your minions’ existing damage. Since Chaos Damage is one of the hardest damage types to resist, this makes Necromantic Conduit a powerful tool for the Lich.
The second choice is Rupture the Soul, which provides a solid damage boost, especially early on. While leveling, I expect the build to utilize Enfeeble, Vulnerability, and later Despair curses. This skill grants a 33% chance for slain cursed enemies to explode, dealing 25% of their maximum life as Chaos Damage. This means roughly one in three enemies will explode, creating powerful chain reactions.
The third pick, Blackened Heart, further enhances Necromantic Conduit by increasing Unholy Might’s magnitude by 4% per 100 maximum Mana. This makes having a large Mana pool crucial for maximizing damage when playing the Lich Ascendancy.
Finally, the fourth choice is Crystalline Phylactery, which allows you to socket a non-unique jewel while doubling its modifiers (100% increased effect). This makes it an incredibly strong scaling tool. Increased Minion Damage and Attack Speed are great choices, and if you can stack Critical Strike Chance and Critical Damage, the impact will be massive. Since this works in addition to jewels socketed in the normal passive skill tree, the benefits quickly add up.
Below, you’ll find a visual representation of the build.
Potential Adjustments to the Ascendancy Tree
After analyzing the Lich Ascendancy Tree, I noticed some inconsistencies, suggesting that adjustments may be made. Since a picture is worth a thousand words, let’s take a look at the image below.
I believe Blackened Heart and Dominion Over Flesh are mapped to the wrong branches of the Lich Ascendancy Tree. Blackened Heart should be on the left branch, while Dominion Over Flesh should be on the right. This adjustment would better align them with Necromantic Conduit and Rupture the Soul, while also ensuring that major Ascendancy skills correspond with minor ones, such as Mana and Cursed Area.
If this change is implemented on release, I’ll likely play the Lich Ascendancy build outlined below.
Second Build – If the Ascendancy Tree is Updated
I will play the below build if the adjustment mentioned in the previous section is implemented on release.
Assuming Blackened Heart is moved to the left branch, I will choose Necromantic Conduit and Blackened Heart as my first and second Ascendancy skills, fully utilizing the benefits of Unholy Might. Since these two Ascendancy skills are now on the same branch, I can unlock both with just two Ascendencies.
For Ascendancy 3 and 4, I will focus on the right side of the tree, selecting Soulless Form and Eternal Life. Soulless Form causes 10% of damage to bypass Energy Shield, directly hitting the player’s Life pool. It also impacts Mana regeneration, which will now regenerate at a rate of 6% of maximum Life per second. So a decent Life pool remains important.
The standout feature is Eternal Life, which cancels any damage that bypasses Energy Shield, as long as an Energy Shield is active!
If the third Ascendancy without Eternal Life makes survival difficult, it’s possible to select Crystalline Phylactery until the fourth Ascendancy is unlocked.
Wrapping Up – Final Thoughts on the Lich Ascendancy
In conclusion, the Lich Ascendancy in Path of Exile 2 offers exciting potential for diverse and powerful builds, especially with the proposed changes to the Ascendancy Tree. While these changes are still speculative, I believe they could open up new avenues for players to explore. Whether you’re looking to focus on minion damage, Chaos scaling, or survivability, the Lich has something to offer. As always, I’ll be testing these builds on release and sharing my findings. Let me know your thoughts in the comments, and feel free to share your own Lich Ascendancy ideas!
