TL;DR – Nerfed Builds and What To Play Instead in Path of Exile 2: Dawn of the Hunt (v0.2.0)

Key Builds That Got Nerfed

Build	Nerf Summary	Impact
Invoker Ice Strike + Tempest Bell	Tempest Bell reworked: more combo required, shared cooldown, lower shockwave DPS	Build is dead – requires full redesign
Flurry Strike Gemling Legionnaire (Attribute Stack)	Archmage nerfed, curse effects lowered, attribute-scaling weakened	Still viable, but no longer top-tier
Attribute Stacking Builds (Str/Dex/Int)	Weakened scaling from passive tree and item synergies	Weakened across the board
Energy Shield Overflow (Grim Feast)	Grim Feast removed; ES overflow no longer possible	Unplayable in current patch
Minion Builds (e.g. Raging Spirits, Spectres)	Minion damage/life scaling reduced after gem level 20	Weaker in endgame, still usable
Barrage Repeat Projectile Builds	50% less damage on repeats, longer cooldowns	Substantial nerf
Concoction Skills (Poison/Bleed/Ignite)	Require unarmed set, consume more flask charges, no base scaling	Niche and gear-intensive now
Curse-Centric Casters	Resistance reduction on all major curses nerfed; curse delay increased	Slower ramp, less damage burst
Arc / Shock Builds (Sorceress)	Arc lost bonus chain damage; Lightning Conduit shock scaling gutted	Severely weakened – not boss viable

What Builds to Consider Instead

• Hybrid Melee/Ranged: Huntress (Spear) – combines elemental damage, mobility, and synergy
• Tanky Strength Scaling: Smith of Kitava (Warrior) – craftable body armor + fire-themed attacks
• Minion/Support Hybrid: Tactician (Mercenary) – works with projectile Pins and Supporting Fire
• Dark Ritualist: Ritualist (Huntress) – uses corpse sacrifice and corrupted blood effects

Potential Fixes and Alternatives

• Invoker Tempest Bell: Replace with Explosive Spears + Twister or Fire combo setups
• Attribute Stackers: Rely more on hybrid builds with Life/Spirit instead of pure stats
• Minion Builds: Pair with Tactician’s group aura and new Raise Spectre combinations
• Archmage Casters: Transition to mana-efficient spell builds with flat scaling
• Arc / Lightning Builds: Shift toward Lightning Rod Arrow or spell crit instead of shock-based burst
• Curse Casters: Use Hexblast with better timing and longer duration curses

 

---

Top 20 Biggest Nerfs in Path of Exile 2: Dawn of the Hunt (Version 0.2.0 Update)

 

What Builds Got Hit the Hardest in the New League?

The release of Path of Exile 2: Dawn of the Hunt (Version 0.2.0) not only brings exciting new content — like the Huntress class and five new Ascendancies — but also a wave of sweeping balance changes that shake up the meta. If you’ve been playing Early Access, you’ll want to know which builds were nerfed the hardest before diving into the new league.

Based on the official patch notes and changes to skill mechanics, we’ve compiled the Top 20 Most Significant Nerfs in Dawn of the Hunt, focusing on the meta-defining builds from previous patches — including attribute-stacking, Energy Shield overflow, Tempest Bell shockwaves, and more.

---

1. Tempest Bell Rework — Complete Mechanic Overhaul

My Monk, My Precious Monk!!!

Build Impacted: Invoker Ice Strike + Tempest Bell combo

 

• Combo now requires 10 Combo instead of 4 – Massively reduce your DPS.

• Shockwave trigger has a strict 250ms delay (cannot be modified) – Cannot utilize skill that has short hit threshold like 

• Damage reworked and lowered in scaling

• Herald of Ice explosions no longer stack with multiple Bells

• Bell limit is now shared across copies of the skill

Verdict: One of the hardest-hit skills this patch. The popular auto-clearing Bell loop is effectively dead.

 

---

2. Archmage Support Nerfed

 

Build Impacted: Flurry Strike + Archmage (Attribute Stacking builds)

• Damage conversion lowered from 5-6% ➝ 3% per 100 mana

• Additional Mana cost scaling increased

• Quality no longer provides bonus lightning damage

Verdict: Massive hit to mana-stacking spellcasters, including the Gemling Legionnaire version of Flurry Strike builds.

 

---

3. Grim Feast Disabled

Oh sweet old memories

Build Impacted: Energy Shield Overflow builds (Effectively 80% of Builds) 

• Grim Feast Gems disabled in this patch

• Devs mention a full rework is coming later

Verdict: Entire archetype removed from the game temporarily. No more ES-overflow tanks in the current meta.

---

4. Herald of Ice Explosion Radius Reduced

Build Impacted: Invoker + Tempest Bell freeze-chaining builds (And other builds that utilizing Herald of Ice for clearing 

• Explosion radius reduced from 1.8m ➝ 1.6m

• Cannot trigger on-kill effects from other Herald skills

Verdict: Reduced clear speed for Freeze-based explosion builds.

---

5. Lightning Conduit Nerfed

• Shock scaling reduced from 100% ➝ 20% more damage per 5% Shock 

• Now fires multiple bolts, but no guarantee they all hit the same target

Verdict: Substantial damage loss on Shock-trigger spell builds.

---

Arc No Longer Scales with Chain Count

• Arc used to gain more damage the more chains remaining

• That bonus is now removed entirely

• Chains rebalanced to 6–8 rather than scaling up to 5

Verdict: A hit to single-target Arc spam builds, especially in boss fights.

---

7. Flurry Strike Attribute Scaling Nerfed Indirectly

Build Impacted: Gemling Legionnaire attribute-stackers

• Archmage nerfed

• Conductivity, Hypothermia, and Despair curse scaling all reduced

• Herald skill triggers on-kill removed

• Str/Dex/Int-based scaling across several support gems toned down

Verdict: Multiple support pillars weakened — harder to stack multipliers off attributes alone.

---

8. Minion Scaling Reduced at High Levels

Build Impacted: Raging Spirits, Skeleton Mages, Summon Spectre

• Minion damage and life scaling significantly nerfed after gem level 20

• Raging Spirits summon fewer spirits per cast (5 ➝ 2)

• Minion-based explosions (e.g., Skeletal Arsonist) deal less damage

Verdict: High-end minion builds will struggle more in endgame maps.

---

9. Barrage Repeats Heavily Nerfed

• Repeats now deal 50% less damage across the board (was 23–15%)

• Cooldown scaling heavily increased

• Quality bonus reduced

Verdict: RIP to repeat-based projectile setups, including unique item builds around Barrage.

---

10. Concoction Builds Reworked and Nerfed

 

• Now require unarmed weapon set

• Consume 5 Flask Charges per use (was 3)

• No longer scale with base unarmed damage

Verdict: Heavy nerf to Bleeding Concoction, Explosive Concoction, and Fulminating Concoction flask-spam builds.

---

11. Detonate Dead Reworked for Less Corpse Scaling

• Physical damage from corpse life reduced dramatically

• Now scales only from 8.8–10.7% of corpse life (was 20%)

• Fire damage improved slightly, but overall burst potential down

Verdict: Less viable for corpse explosion bossing builds.

---

12. Barrier Invocation Limited to Enemy Damage

Build Impacted: Self-damage ES regen/overflow builds

• Now only builds energy from enemy hits

• No longer procs on friendly hits or self-hits

Verdict: No more abuse of self-hit triggers to generate insane Energy Shield.

---

13. Freeze Builds — Reduced Projectile Count

• Freezing Shards now fires 5 projectiles (was 7)
• Ice Shards and Permafrost Bolts scaling changed
• Cold curses (Hypothermia) weakened

Verdict: Chill and freeze-heavy clear speed builds take a hit.

---

14. Firestorm Critical Chance Halved

• Crit Chance reduced from 14% ➝ 7% on Improved Bolts

• Firestorm’s damage not changed, but scaling options more limited

Verdict: Loss in consistency for Ignite or Crit builds using Firestorm.

---

15. Lightning Rod Arrow Chain Count Reduced

• Now disappears after 6 chains at all levels (was up to 14)

• Pulse effect delayed unless used with Lightning Arrow directly

Verdict: Less AoE coverage and slower clearing for high-chain setups.

---

16. Frost Wall Cooldown Increased

 

• Cooldown now 5 seconds (was 3)

• Ice crystal health scaling reduced past level 20

Verdict: Cold trapper/control builds will lose uptime on key defensive tools.

---

17. Spark Projectile Count Reduced

• Spark now fires 4–9 projectiles (was 6–14)

• No innate projectile speed bonus anymore

Verdict: Spark spam builds lose clear efficiency and shotgunning.

---

18. Curse Scaling Nerfed Across the Board

• Conductivity, Despair, Flammability, and Hypothermia all had their resist reduction lowered by 7–12%

• Delay to curse application increased to 1.5s (was 1s)

Verdict: Curse-centric builds have less burst potential and longer setup.

---

19. Explosive Grenade & Voltaic Grenade Cooldown Doubled

• Explosive Grenade: 3s ➝ 7s

• Voltaic Grenade: 3s ➝ 6s

• Detonation time increased

Verdict: Grenade-using ranged builds (including cluster-based mechanics) now suffer from reduced uptime.

---

20. Soul Offering Spell Damage Reduced

 

• Was “more” Spell Damage — now it’s increased

• Lower overall scaling with minion-focused caster builds

Verdict: Weakens hybrid necromancer-caster builds using Soul Offering for burst.

---

Final Thoughts: What Should You Reroll In Dawn of the Hunt?

With ES overflow disabled, attribute stacks nerfed, and Herald/Tempest Bell reworked, many players will be looking for fresh builds to thrive in the Dawn of the Hunt meta.

Safe picks going forward:

• The new Huntress with hybrid spear builds

• Smith of Kitava Warrior for melee or fire scaling

• Tactician for minion and pin-based projectile synergy

• Ritualist for self-sacrifice buffs and corpse-empowered effects

 

Everything about Path of Exile 2 Dawn of the Hunt