Path of Exile 2 Best Builds: Huntress and Monk Picks for the Runes of Aldur League
Path of Exile 2 Best Builds: Huntress and Monk Picks for the Runes of Aldur League
Grinding Gear Games billed Patch 0.5, “Return of the Ancients,” as the biggest update it has ever shipped for Path of Exile 2, and it delivered: a reworked Atlas Passive Tree where you can eventually allocate every passive over time, new Infinite Atlas hub zones for each league mechanic, three switchable Atlas Masters, and an overhaul of Delirium, Expedition, Ritual, and Breach encounters. It also introduced the game’s current league, Runes of Aldur, which adds Kalguuran Skills, new Socketables, Ward, and Rune armour augments, plus two brand-new Ascendancies. With Path of Exile 2’s full 1.0 release confirmed as a free-to-play launch on December 11, 2026 (which will add the Duelist class), this is the build landscape you’ll want to be comfortable with heading into that transition.
Huntress: Spirit Walker Ascendancy
The Huntress’s new Spirit Walker Ascendancy leans into the class’s spear-and-totem toolkit, and it pairs naturally with Runes of Aldur’s new Ward and Rune armour augments for a build that stays mobile while still hitting hard at range. Spirit Walker rewards players who weave between melee spear throws and totem-based area denial, using the league’s new Socketables to patch up elemental resistances that spear builds have historically struggled to cap. For mapping, prioritize the new Infinite Atlas hub zones early to unlock Pinnacle Boss access faster — Spirit Walker’s totems make short work of the add-heavy encounters GGG reworked this patch, particularly Expedition and Breach.
Monk: Martial Artist Ascendancy
The Monk’s Martial Artist Ascendancy is the patch’s clearest melee powerhouse, built around chaining unarmed and quarterstaff strikes into bonus effects rather than relying on a single big hit. It’s an excellent pick for the reworked Ritual and Delirium encounters, where consistent single-target uptime matters more than burst. Because Martial Artist leans on attack speed and combo state rather than elemental conversion, it’s also one of the more forgiving starter builds for players jumping into Runes of Aldur without a fully optimized gear set — and it scales cleanly into the new Atlas Masters’ switchable bonuses once you reach endgame mapping.
Gearing Up for Runes of Aldur
Whichever Ascendancy you pick, keep an eye on the reworked Abyss encounter, which now routes through its own hub zone, and don’t ignore the new Atlas Masters — being able to switch between them at any time makes it much easier to tailor your Atlas Passive Tree allocation to whichever Ascendancy you’re running. For the full patch breakdown, see the official Path of Exile 2 site.
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Leveling and Early Gearing Tips
Both builds level comfortably through the campaign using their class’s starting weapon type, so don’t feel pressure to chase a full Ascendancy respec before you’ve finished Act 1. For the Huntress, prioritize any spear with added elemental damage early, then start weaving in the Runes of Aldur league’s new Rune armour augments once you hit maps — they fill resistance gaps far more efficiently than hunting for rare base items. For the Monk, attack speed on your quarterstaff matters more than raw damage rolls at low levels, since Martial Artist’s combo bonuses scale off how many hits you land, not how big any single hit is.
Once you’re mapping, both builds benefit from grabbing the new Atlas Masters as soon as they’re available, since being able to switch between their bonuses on demand lets you tune your Atlas Passive Tree allocation around whichever league mechanic hub you’re pushing that session — Delirium and Expedition in particular reward very different passive priorities after this patch’s overhaul.
