New Skills in PoE 2 Patch 0.2.0 Revealed
09.04.2025 - 15:58:17
Game Guides , Path of Exile 2
Path of Exile 2: Dawn of the Hunt is now live! The game’s first major update introduced a plethora of new skills and support gems, but we will only go over the former for this article. Many of these new skills will scale dramatically if paired with good support gems. To optimize them, check out the Complete Guide to to Get More Support Gems in Path of Exile 2 [0.2.0], which shows you how to acquire, socket, and upgrade support gems for maximum effect. That said, here are the new skills that you can find in the game right now:
Summon Companion
When you have played PoE 2 for some time now, you know that the Infernalist is the most common ascendancy class used for minion builds. That is because she has ascendancy nodes that provide Spirit naturally without the need for specific items.
However, the first skill we are going to talk about today can be utilized by just about any Path of Exile 2 build, assuming that they have enough Spirit to activate it, that is.
Summon Companion is a new skill in PoE 2 Patch 0.2.0 that allows you to get the services of a Mercenary who will aid you in combat! There are a couple of interesting things to note about this minion skill.
For one, the Mercenary companion can utilize any attack skill you give him. Just imagine a powerful minion that can destroy multiple enemies with Explosive Grenades or electrocute your foes with Galvanic Shards!
In addition, you can provide him with a suitable weapon and he will use it as often as needed! If you are going to lean in on his natural proficiency, you can arm him with a high physical damage crossbow for maximum effect!
Demon Magus
Are you familiar with the concept of meta-skills in Path of Exile 2? If not, they are basically skills that trigger other spells and abilities when the proper conditions are met. Cast on Shock, for example, automatically uses the skills socketed into it when you inflict Shock on enemies and accumulate enough energy while doing so.
Having said that, Demon Magus is a bit similar in the sense that it can also trigger spells, though the major difference here is that it is a minion and not a meta-skill. That means that it can freely cast socketed spells without satisfying certain requirements.
Since the Demon Magus can only utilize spells, this minion is better suited for the Infernalist since she is an INT-based ascendancy class that has easy access to spell damage nodes on the passive tree.
Herald of Blood
There is a new herald skill in the game called Herald of Blood. If the previous herald skills all deal elemental damage, this one specifically deals physical damage to nearby enemies.
Herald of Blood causes bleeding enemies to create explosions that deal physical damage when killed. The damage of the explosion is based on a percentage of the amount of HP they have lost prior to getting exploded to bits.
Enemies that are hit by the explosion will have a high chance of having their bleeding status aggravated, dealing 100% extra damage as a result.
Herald of Blood is one of the reasons why bleed damage builds in PoE 2 Patch 0.2.0 are very powerful, especially early on.
For players who enjoy Caster-oriented gameplay—using minions, spells, and continuous damage—these new skills like Demon Magus and Herald of Blood are exciting additions. If that’s your style, you might want to refer to Best Caster Builds in PoE 2: Blood Mage & Chronomancer & Lich Guide [0.2.1] to see how these builds take advantage of the new skillset.
Bloodhound’s Mark
If you want to create a bleed damage build in Path of Exile 2: Dawn of the Hunt, then you might want to consider using the Bloodhound’s Mark.
Bloodhound’s Mark is a new Mark Skill introduced in PoE 2 Patch 0.2.0 that basically releases blood explosions from enemies that are heavy-stunned or killed with at least a 5% heavy stun build-up while affected by bleeding for some time.
What makes Bloodhound’s Mark great is not necessarily because of the blood explosions but more of the heavily increased stun build-up when hitting marked targets. Just make sure to use Rake or other physical damage abilities that are supported by Incision to get the most out of Bloodhound’s Mark.
Best Huntress Skills in Patch 0.2.0
The Huntress is the newest class in Path of Exile 2: Dawn of the Hunt. As such, she brings with her a new weapon type known as the Spear, which is actually the first-ever in the franchise. We have already discussed the spear skills available to the Huntress, so we will only talk about the best ones so far in this section.
Whirling Slash
It was previously thought that Whirling Slash is capable of deleting map monsters with ease. However, in actuality, it is only used as a primer for your other skills to use.
The best combo for Whirling Slash right now is using it three times before following that up with Twister. Doing so will create more twisters in the process.
It is worth noting that Whirling Slash can actually be used on top of the chilled ground created by Frostbolt. Therefore, socket Deceleration and Suffuse into Frostbolt so that it slows down considerably and the chilled ground it creates covers a wider area, respectively.
Rake
Bleeding damage is a great way to finish the campaign in Path of Exile 2: Dawn of the Hunt. That is why Rake is such a good skill to take early on because it is quite easy to scale bleed damage over the others.
While the damage does fall off in the endgame, you could rectify that by using items that increase your physical damage immensely.
Thunderous Leap
Thunderous Leap might be clunky to use, but it makes up for it by dealing considerable amounts of damage while landing. There are a number of ways you can improve this skill. For one, you could hurl an Explosive Spear and have it detonated by Thunderous Leap. Additionally, you can socket the new Shocking Leap support gem so that Thunderous Leap leaves a Shocked Ground on a critical hit.
If you are going to utilize the new Shocking Leap support, you might want to go for the Amazon since it is much easier to scale critical hit chance with this Huntress ascendancy class rather than the Ritualist.
Explosive Spear
Spear skills in Path of Exile 2: Dawn of the Hunt work best when they are used as part of a combo. That is best exemplified by Explosive Spear! When you use the skill by itself, you hurl a flaming spear to the ground that detonates after a short period, dealing fire damage to nearby enemies.
However, the Explosive Spear can also be detonated immediately when you hit it with Thunderous Leap or empower it with Frenzy Charges. The latter is more awesome since the explosion creates a cross-shaped area that leaves Ignited Ground afterward.
The Ignited Ground created by the empowered Explosive Spear can be utilized by Whirling Slash, making the whirlwind it creates infused by fire damage in the process!
Disengage
Used primarily to create a gap between you and your enemies, Disengage actually has another purpose—to gain Frenzy Charges! You can get a Frenzy Charge with Disengage if you have parried a melee attack recently.
Look for the parried debuff (which is denoted by that orange glow on the affected enemy) before activating Disengage to get the much-needed Frenzy Charge. The Frenzy Charge you have just gained can be utilized to empower your other skills, such as the Lightning Spear, Whirlwind Lance, and Wind Serpent’s Fury, to name a few.
For players who prefer ranged or projectile-based playstyles, these additions like Lightning Spear and Twister contribute strongly to that archetype. A good reference for that path is Top Ranged Builds in PoE 2: Bow - Spell - and DOT Archetypes [0.2.1], which covers build options that emphasize bow, spell, or damage-over-time mechanics.
Tame Beast
With this new skill, you can find a beast in the wild that you can turn into a subservient ally that is ready to fight alongside you in battle. If you are confused as to how to utilize Tame Beast the right way, listen up!
Basically, look for any rare monster that has the word “Beast” printed beneath its name. Then, attack it with your best skills and cast Tame Beast when they are about to die. Once you have eliminated them, that particular rare monster will now be turned into a skill gem, which you can then insert into your skill panel for summoning!
Now, there are a couple of things to keep in mind with regard to the Tame Beast skill. First, tame a rare beast that has a good set of modifiers. Some of the modifiers you want include the Hasta Aura, Chilled Ground, Ignited Ground, Shocked Ground, Physical Damage Aura, and Invulnerability, among others.
Second, the beast companion requires a hefty amount of Spirit to summon, which ramps up in the endgame. Make sure that you have enough Spirit or you will have to sacrifice some of your persistent auras to make room for it. You can read our Complete Guide to Get More Spirit in Path of Exile 2 [0.2.0] for more information on how to get more Spirit.
Primal Strikes
If you are familiar with the Shockburst Rounds for crossbow users in Path of Exile 2: Dawn of the Hunt, this next skill follows the same principle in that it only deals huge amounts of damage when used on a Shocked enemy.
Primal Strikes cannot inflict Shock on its own, which is why it is a prime candidate for Elemental Focus for a relatively good damage boost. However, what makes it a stand-out skill is that it conjures a stampede of spirits if you are able to execute the third attack in the combo string.
This skill is best paired with the next one that we are going to talk about, which is…
Lightning Spear
Lightning Spear is actually a pretty awesome skill on its own. It has the special ability to fire secondary lightning bolt projectiles that allow you to kill multiple enemies at once. This is one of the many skills in the Huntress kit that can consume Frenzy Charges, gaining the ability to split towards a few more targets, as well as deal 50% more damage as a result.
Now, Lightning Spear can be used in conjunction with Primal Strikes. You hurl the Lightning Spear as many times as needed until the target is affected by Shock. Once this happens, hit that enemy with a three-hit combo from Primal Strikes and see their HP bar get depleted considerably!
Twister
Among the spear skills available to the Huntress, the Twister is arguably the most “combo-able” in her kit. When cast by itself, you only conjure a measly twister that does nothing significant. However, when you use Whirlwind Slash and then cast Twister afterward, you create several more powerful twisters that can destroy anything and everything in their way!
Now, the Ice Twister Amazon is one of the best builds in Path of Exile 2: Dawn of the Hunt. The gist of this build is to infuse the twisters with cold damage, which is done by casting Frostbolt beforehand. Why Frostbolt, you ask?
Well, Frostbolt creates Chilled Ground, which is an elemental surface that can enhance the Whirlwind Slash, infusing it with cold damage. Since Twister’s damage type is based on the element of Whirlwind Slash, the twisters that were created from a cold-infused Whirlwind Slash become empowered by cold damage as well!
Additionally, Twister can be empowered by consuming Frenzy Charges. When this happens, you create another twister that deals 80% more damage, especially when it was conjured after a third-stage Whirlwind Slash.
Lastly, by using Barrage before casting Twister, you will create even more twisters that can populate the screen, leaving monsters with nowhere to run!
Sure, you can only take full advantage of this skill with a prior setup. However, Twister is a very powerful ability, so setting things up beforehand just to get a hold of that power is likely something that you are willing to take.
Final Thoughts
Yes, we know that information is quite limited in this article, but those are the only two skills that have been revealed so far. Be that as it may, they are quite good and certainly welcome additions for any minion-build enjoyer in Path of Exile 2!
That said, because the said minion skills require 100 Spirit to activate, we recommend that you buy a good Rattling Sceptre with minion skills and increased Spirit. For more information on how to get more Spirit in PoE 2, refer to our guide here.
Anyway, what are your thoughts about the new skills? If Path of Exile 2: Dawn of the Hunt is already released, which of them are you going to try out and why? Do share your thoughts in the comments!