Best Warbringer builds to try in Path of Exile 2 The Third Edict (0.3)

If you want to feel unstoppable in Path of Exile 2, Warbringer is one of the best ascendancies to pick. The sheer amount of defense you can stack makes you almost invincible across fully juiced T15 maps. Patch 0.3 made some significant changes to the Ascendancy and introduced new Skill Gems that brought Warbringer back to popularity.

One of the best parts about playing Warbringer is that you don’t need to spend too much to take your character into the endgame. Unless you are doing T4 Twisted Domain, the investment can be as low as 20 Divines.

Note: This is not a build guid.

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Pros and cons for playing Warbringer in Path of Exile 2

All budget builds will have some limitations (Image via Grinding Gear Games)

Before we dive into the recommended Warbringer builds, it’s best to know what the build can or cannot do. For example, most of the warrior builds are slower than other characters; as such, you may not be able to complete the highest-tier Twisted Domain without a lot of investment.

Here is a list of pros and cons for playing as Warbringer:

Pros

• Cheap
• Tanky (80% Physical and Elemental armour)
• Minions
• Can kill almost all pinnacle bosses without any issues

Cons

• Slow
• Some builds may require a decent PC due to particle effects

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Best Warbringer builds after Path of Exile 2 patch 0.3

1) Forge Hammer Warbringer in Path of Exile 2

Forge Hammer is the new in Volcanic Fissure Path of Exile 2 (Image via Grinding Gear Games)

Path of Exile 2: The Third Edict introduced new Skill Gems to the game, one of which was Forge Hammer. On regular use, it works like a one-off skill that you can throw on enemies and warcry to make it explode into Volcanic Fissures, but paired with any slam-based skill, you can trigger them over and over.

Main skills used

• Forge Hammer: Rageforged - Fist of War - Fire Attunement - Elemental Armament
• Shockwave Totem: Overabundance - Urgent Totems - Rapid Attacks - Magnified Area - Font of Blood
• Ancestral Cry: Prolonged Duration - Close Combat - Fire Penetration - Immolate - Elemental Armament
• War Banner: Cannibalism - Magnified Area - Daresso's Passion - Prolonged Duration

Important Uniques

• Chernobog’s Pillar (low priority)

The gameplay loop is simple for this build. All you need to do is throw your Forge Hammer and perform a warcry to make it explode. Using the Shockwave Totems, you can trigger the fissures multiple times. The banner is to generate ‘Glory’, which you can use to activate Ancestral Cry and boost your melee attacks.

Volcanic Fissure Warbringer does not require any uniques to work, but Chernobog’s Pillar will help convert your block chance into additional fire damage. The defense stats from the shield, particularly the additional resistances, are also helpful.

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2) Ancestral Totem Warbringer in Path of Exile 2

A Minion build without a Witch (Image via Grinding Gear Games)

If you want to play alongside minions but don’t want to play as a Witch or Sorceress, Ancestral Totem Warbringer is the next best option. With a dozen minions on screen, you’ll never feel alone, and the best part is that they provide various passive buffs that will help you take down even the most formidable enemy in sight.

Main skills used

• Ancestral Warrior Totem: Earthshatter - Branching Fissures - Fire Attunement - Urgent Totems - Rage
• Infernal Cry: Raging Cry - Swift Affliction - Second Wind - Brutality - Corrupting Cry
• Seismic Cry: Execute - Elemental Focus - Astral Projection - Magnified Area
• Fortifying Cry: Raging Cry - Second Wind - Astral Projection

Important Uniques

• Hateforge with ‘three random charge’ gain
• Constricting Command (low priority)

The idea is to fill the rage meter for Hateforge to convert them into charges. With three Endurance charges, you can summon an Ancestral Warrior Totem that will add a minion to the army with Warbringer’s Ancestral Spirit Ascendancy. Additionally, they’ll create spikes from Earthshatter, which you can destroy using a warcry for additional damage while stacking defense and attack buffs on yourself.

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3) Thorns Warbringer in Path of Exile 2

Thorns will test your defense (Image via Grinding Gear Games)

Thorns build in Path of Exile 2 has a very unique gameplay style where, instead of avoiding hits, you’ll want as many enemies to hit you as possible. It’s a risky playstyle, but if you want to play something non-meta, this is the way.

Main skills used

• Rapid Assault: Barbs - Quill Burst - Rapid Attacks - Ancestral Call
• Fortifying Cry: Raging Cry - Cooldown Recovery - Physical Mastery
• Time of Need: Thornskin
• Scavenged Plating: Thornskin - Prolonged Duration - Physical Mastery

Important Uniques

• Crown of the Pale King
• The Brass Dome

The name of the game is defense, as you are trying to get hit as much as possible. Most of the skills you’ll use should help you tank enemy hits. As for armor, you’ll need as much ‘Thorns Damage’ as possible to maximize outgoing damage.

Crown of the Pale King will make it so that any hit, be it physical, elemental, spell, or melee, will retaliate with a thorns attack on enemies. Additionally, you’ll need skills to break enemy armor with hits, so Rapid Assault is the perfect choice to hit enemies multiple times while paired with Anvil’s Weight Ascendancy passive.

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Check out other features and guides for Path of Exile 2:

• How to find and unlock the Jade Isle Map in Path of Exile 2?
• How to get and use Kulemak's Invitation in Path of Exile 2