PoE 2 Dawn of the Hunt Best Budget Build - Endgame Shockwave Totem Build Guide

Welcome to an exciting new guide for PoE 2 Dawn of the Hunt. If you're looking for a powerful, budget-friendly build that can dominate the endgame, look no further than the Shockwave Totem build! Despite the nerfs to Shockwave Totems, the damage is still more than enough to smash through tier 15 and 16 maps with ease. Whether you're a beginner or a seasoned player, this build will help you get the most out of your totems without breaking the bank.

In this guide, we’ll walk through everything you need to know to get this build up and running, including gearing, skills, and passive tree. So, grab your weapon of choice, and let's dive in!

Skills Breakdown for PoE 2 Dawn of the Hunt Best Budget Build

Main Skill: Shockwave Totem

The core of this build is Shockwave Totem.

While it's been nerfed in the latest update, it still deals substantial damage, especially when combined with high gem levels and proper gearing.

As soon as you hit level 6, you can start using Shockwave Totem and continue scaling it into the endgame without any issues.

You'll want to link Shockwave Totem with these support gems:

• Heft

• Brutality

• Heavy Swing

• Martial Tempo

• Concentrated Effect

These gems will maximize your damage output and ensure you’re dishing out those shockwaves with maximum efficiency.

Movement Skills: Shield Charge & Leap Slam

• Shield Charge: This skill is a must-have for quicker mobility. You’ll be able to zip across the map, speeding up your progression through high-tier maps.

• Leap Slam: A great skill to clear gaps or obstacles, making map navigation a breeze.

Utility Skills

• Time of Need: Provides life regeneration and removes curses and ailments every 10 seconds, making it an invaluable tool for survivability.

• Overwhelming Presence: This helps lower the enemy's stun threshold, allowing you to stun them more easily.

Gear Setup for Best Endgame Shockwave Totem Build

While gearing is essential for maximizing your damage and survivability, you don’t need the most expensive items to get going.

Here's a breakdown of what you need, starting with the basics.

Weapon - Brood Blow Zealot Greathammer with Skull Wing Royal Tower Shield

Your weapon should ideally have the +1 to All Melee Skills mod, which significantly boosts your totem damage.

A 2-handed weapon with a +7 mod is optimal, but you can go for a budget option with a +5 mod for a fraction of the price.

Gloves - Hypnotic Touch Vaal Mitts

Look for gloves with:

• Physical Damage to Attacks

• +1 to All Melee Skills (if possible)

• Attack Speed

• Maximum Life

Budget gloves may cost only a couple of Chaos Orbs, while higher-end versions with +3 to All Melee Skills will be more expensive.

Helmet - Gloom Visor Paragon Greathelm

Your helmet should focus on life regeneration, resistance, and maximum life. 

A decent choice would be a helmet with an Area of Effect socket to further increase your totem’s area coverage.

Armor - Hypnotic Guardian Ornate Plate

Your chest armor should aim for:

• High Maximum Life

• Resistances

• Life Regeneration

Ideally, go for an Ornate Plate with 2% Life Regeneration per Second, as this will help sustain your health while casting Shockwave Totems.

Amulet - Brood Collar

Look for an amulet that offers:

• +2 to Level of All Melee Skills

• Increased Damage

• Increased Life

• Resistances

If you can, try to also get Siege allocated for a nice DPS boost and block chance.

Rings - Ghoul Coil Sapphire Ring and Ghoul Twirl Prismatic Ring

Your rings should focus on:

• Physical Damage to Attacks

• Life

• Resistances

You’ll also want to grab some strength or dexterity if needed for attribute requirements.

Belt - Carrion Snare Heavy Belt

A high-quality belt should provide:

• Maximum Life

• Strength

• Life Regeneration

• Resistances

If possible, look for a belt that also boosts Chaos Resistance, as you’ll want to cap that to avoid taking too much damage from chaos-based enemies.

Boots - Hypnotic Hoof Vaal Greaves

When it comes to boots, you want:

• 30-35% Movement Speed

• High Armor

• Life

• Resistances

• Life Regeneration

This will help you move quickly while keeping your defenses high.

Flasks - Substantial Ultimate Life Flask of Bottomless and Flask of Practitioner

• Ultimate Life Flask: Boosts life recovery and charge gain, which is essential for staying alive during tougher fights.

• Chaos Resistance Flask: Consider adding this once you cap out your Chaos Resistance.

Passive Tree & Ascendancies for Best Budget Build

Ascendancy

• Titan: This is the most important ascendancy for this build. It boosts the effectiveness of all your passives, giving you more damage, attack speed, and totem buffs. Want more insight on which Ascendancy or Class to pick for Dawn of the Hunt? Check out our guide!

• Hook and Form: This boosts your totem’s area of effect, making it easier to hit multiple enemies and increasing your overall damage output.

• Mysterious Lineage: This gives you additional maximum life and regeneration, keeping you tanky while dishing out damage.

• Bone Skin: This final ascendancy node boosts your armor, making you even more resilient.

Passive Tree

As you level up, your primary focus should be:

• Totem Nodes: These nodes are essential for improving your totem damage and effectiveness.

• Life Regeneration: Since you cast with Blood Magic, you’ll need to ensure you have enough regeneration to maintain your health.

• Armor: Increasing your armor and defense is important for survivability, especially when taking on tougher enemies and bosses.

Key nodes to pick up:

• Ancestral Artifice: Grants an additional totem early on and boosts totem placement speed.

• Relentless: Increases attack speed and helps with map clearing.

• Resolute Technique: Ensures you don’t need to worry about accuracy, which is great since Shockwave Totem doesn’t rely on critical hits.

Gameplay Tips for Best Endgame Shockwave Totem Build

Focus on Regeneration

Since you're using Blood Magic to cast Shockwave Totem, life regeneration is crucial.

Prioritize gear and passive tree nodes that boost Life Regen and maximum life.

Keep Life Flasks handy for emergencies, and consider Flasks with Life Regen to keep your pool topped off.

Keep Moving

• Shield Charge for quick map movement. Enhance it with Faster Attacks for speed.

• Leap Slam helps you jump over obstacles and evade enemies, giving you extra mobility and crowd control.

• Keep your distance to dodge damage and avoid getting surrounded.

Optimize Your Gearing

• Offensive: Look for Totem Damage and Physical Damage mods on gear. Crit can be a bonus, but not essential.

• Defensive: Prioritize high life, resistances, and armor on your gear.

• Flask Mods: Use Life Flask with Instant Recovery, Divine Flask for curse immunity, and Quick Silver Flask for speed.

Tactical Use of Flasks

• Always keep your Life Flask up for emergencies.

• Use Quick Silver Flask to maintain movement speed.

• Don't forget Mana Flasks for skill-heavy moments and Flasks that cleanse poison or bleed.

Endgame Scaling for PoE 2 Shockwave Totem Build

As you move toward the late stages of the game, focusing on scaling and improving your build becomes key to maintaining power in high-level maps and boss fights.

Here’s how to optimize your build for the endgame:

Level 20 Shockwave Totem

At higher levels, your Shockwave Totem will become a key source of your damage.

Reaching level 20 for Shockwave Totem dramatically boosts its effectiveness, offering higher damage output with each totem placed.

This is vital for clearing tougher maps and bosses, and as you level up, the synergy with your gear and passive tree should make the totem’s shockwaves increasingly destructive.

• Key Tip: Focus on upgrading your Shockwave Totem gem as early as possible to maximize its damage potential.

More Totem Skills

To increase your overall damage and effectiveness in high-tier content, consider equipping a second weapon.

This can allow you to deploy additional totems for greater damage scaling, particularly against bosses or during high-difficulty encounters.

Weapons with a plus level to all melee skills will be crucial here, and a two-handed weapon can help optimize the damage output of your totems.

• Key Tip: Use a second weapon when dealing with pinnacle bosses or tough enemies to double your totem damage and overwhelm the toughest foes.

Maxed Chaos Resistance

One of the most critical aspects of preparing for the late-game content is ensuring your Chaos Resistance is capped.

Chaos damage becomes increasingly prevalent in high-tier maps and on endgame bosses, often catching players off guard.

Having maxed chaos resistance ensures that you can survive these tough encounters without being overwhelmed by chaotic damage bursts.

• Key Tip: Prioritize gear and passive tree nodes that boost Chaos Resistance to help make your build more resilient in late-game content. Consider utilizing chaos-resistant flasks if you need an extra layer of protection.

By optimizing these key areas, your build will be ready to handle the challenges of the endgame, from high-level maps to the most difficult bosses.

While this might be a budget build, in case you want to take it to the endgame, taking the elemental path is the best option here. So, don't forget to buy PoE 2 Currency from MMOPixel before taking the route. 

Conclusion

This Shockwave Totem build is perfect for those who want a budget-friendly yet powerful way to clear maps and bosses in Path of Exile 2: Dawn of the Hunt. With the right gear, skills, and passive tree, you can easily make it through high-tier maps and boss fights. This build is only going to get stronger as you optimize it, so keep leveling up and improving your gear!