Path of Exile 3.26 day-one meta wrap-up: Most popular builds this league (so far)

The first day of Path of Exile 3.26 has concluded, and despite some server hiccups, players have managed to reach the endgame. With the changes to Ascendancy passive and Skill Gems, there are new meta builds on the rise, one in particular being a community favourite when it comes to speedrunning towards the endgame.

This article will cover the three most popular builds players used during the first day of Path of Exile Secrets of the Atlas launch.

Day-one meta builds in Path of Exile 3.26

Path of Exile Secrets of the Atlas saw players race to the top with several popular builds. Let's check out the day-one meta everyone used for the endgame.

Volcanic Fissure Berserker

Berserker performing leap slam (Image via Grinding Gear Games)

Hitting enemies with a two-handed weapon has been a tradition each season, and for the Mercenaries League, Volcanic Fissure takes the crown. That’s because Berserker is currently one of the best tanks, which can also deal a large amount of damage with minimal investment.

Patch 3.26 introduced some changes to the Ascendancy passive, some of which also affected Berserker. However, most of the builds are made ignoring all the changes.

The notable changes were the rework of Defy Pain Ascendancy passive, which now grants Defiance buff, and the removal of Blitz with Gore Dancer, which provides instant 30% of Life Leech.

Volcanic Fissure Berserker passive tree (Image via Path of Building || Grinding Gear Games)

These are the most common passive nodes allotted by the top Berserker players. Most of these passives are used to stack armor and life, paired with life leech for survival. The same goes for gear that stacks life and elemental resistance.

For Ascendency, most players went with Warbringer and Rite of Ruin. That's likely because while the build is tanky, the tradeoff is speed, which is countered by picking up these nodes. If you don’t mind the slow map clear, the new Ascendency changes are also good options.

Here are the most common gem setups:

Volcanic Fissure of Snaking: Pulverise Support - Fist of War Support - Ruthless Support - Melee Physical Damage Support - Overexertion Support
Autoexertion Support: Intimidating Cry - Seismic Cry - Rallying Cry
Cast when Damage Taken Support: Molten Shell - Blood Rage

Poisonous Concoction Pathfinder

Poisonous Concoction with multiple projectiles (Image via Grinding Gear Games)

Pathfinder remains the same, meaning the Poisonous Concoction build remains a viable League starter. This build is favoured because of incredible clear speed. Movement is easy to build with a Ranger, but another advantage is that there isn’t a requirement for a mainhand weapon.

Getting a good weapon can be a headache, especially if you aren’t that good with crafting or recognizing what’s useful and what’s not. Poisonous Concoction completely removes this issue, giving you one less thing to worry about. This isn’t the only factor affecting its popularity, but it’s still an advantage.

Poisonous Concoction Pathfinder passive tree (Image via Path of Building || Grinding Gear Games)

If you’ve previously played Poisonous Concoction with Ranger, these are the most common passive nodes. Since the skill can also utilize your flask charges, the build is based around flask recovery and poison damage.

The same goes for Ascendency, as you pick up Nature’s Adrenaline for flask recovery and Master Toxicist for spread poison damage. For defence, Range only has evasion and life nodes to rely on.

Here are the most common gem setups:

Poisonous Concoction of Bouncing: Unbound Ailments Support - Greater Multiple Projectiles Support - Greater Volley Support - Vicious Projectiles Support - Void Manipulation Support
Auras: Haste - Purity of Elements - Malevolence - Precision
Shield Charge: Faster Attacks Support

Explosive Arrow Elementalist

Explosive Arrow makes a comeback (Image via Grinding Gear Games)

Cutting very close to Poisonous Concoction, we have an old meta making a comeback with Elementalist using Explosive Arrow, triggered by your Ballista Totem. The build starts as a regular Witch leveling build using Rolling Magma for the starter acts before moving on to other skills.

After reaching Act 8, you’ll switch to Explosive Arrow with Ballista Totem. Note that you must increase Dexterity to use bows and equip Explosive Arrow. There are a few nodes in the passive tree, while a bit more can be acquired through amulets.

Explosive Arrow Elementalist passive tree (Image via Path of Building || Grinding Gear Games)

This build is a bit more complex, but here’s the passive node distribution for early mapping with Explosive Arrow. This is after a respec and should not be followed in the early game.

There are also some big changes to Elementalists, the most notable being the Liege of Primordial passive. The passive now grants an extra golem spawn while making all Golems immune to elemental damage.

With Golems also receiving various buffs, the Elementalist is now much stronger. Even if the Explosive Arrow does not work out, you can still build towards a Golem/Minion build.

Here are the most common gem setups:

Explosive Arrow: Unbound Ailments Support - Burning Damage Support - Ballista Totem Support - Elemental Damage with Attacks Support - Deadly Ailments Support
Golems: Summon Stone Golem - Summon Lightning Golem - Summon Chaos Golem - Summon Flame Golem
Auras: Precision - Vitality - Clarity - Haste

These are just the early builds after the release of Path of Exile patch 3.26. With more players trying different things, new builds will surely overtake many of these. However, Volcanic Fissure Berserker looks like it’s here to stay and possibly get nerfed in future updates.

Check out more on Path of Exile:

About the author

Mayank Singh Rathour is an MMO writer at Sportskeeda. He graduated from college with a degree in Business Administration and has over two years of experience as an esports journalist.

Mayank was introduced to gaming at an early age and played Contra, Double Dragon, Castlevania, etc., on his Nintendo DS. When he was a little older, Counter-Strike — a title that majorly helped develop his passion for gaming — became his favorite pastime. Though he's played a bunch of games since then, his love of CS has remained strong. Shroud, a former Counter-Strike: Global Offensive pro, is an inspiration to him. He's also a fan of series' esports scene, following teams like Vitality, NAVI, and The Mongols closely.

When Mayank has some free time, he plays basketball and helps people build PCs.

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Edited by Adarsh J Kumar