Path of Exile 2: Lich Ascendancy Breakdown – Skill Nodes and Build Suggestions

The Lich Ascendancy is one of the most visually striking and mechanically distinct paths in Path of Exile 2. This class brings a thematic blend of death magic, energy shield manipulation, chaos damage, and curse specialization. Whether you’re building a caster, a hybrid spell/ES tank, or curse-based support, the Lich Ascendancy offers a deep well of potential.

In this post, we’ll explore every notable and small passive on the Lich Ascendancy skill wheel, dissect what they offer, and suggest optimal builds or archetypes that synergize with each. If you’re looking to master this class in Path of Exile 2: Dawn of the Hunt, this is your guide.

---

Crystalline Phylactery (Keystone Passive)

“Can Socket one non-Unique Basic Jewel
100% increased Effect of Socketed Jewels
50% more Mana Cost if you have no Energy Shield”

This is a unique and highly defining node for the Lich. It introduces a powerful synergy with jewels, especially when paired with basic rare jewels that boost spell damage, chaos resistance, or maximum Energy Shield. The drawback, however, is punishing: any time you’re without Energy Shield, your mana cost skyrockets.

Best Used With:

• Builds with very high Energy Shield uptime.

• Non-Channelling spells that benefit from scaling effects through jewels.

• Hybrid caster builds that always maintain an ES buffer, especially if combined with “Eldritch Empowerment” (explained below).

---

Eldritch Empowerment

Non-Channelling Spells cost an additional 3% of maximum Energy Shield
Non-Channelling Spells deal 30% more Damage
Spending Energy Shield does not interrupt Recharge

This is the powerhouse DPS node of the class. It converts part of your ES pool into a cost, but rewards it with 30% more spell damage and uninterrupted recharge — effectively reducing downtime and increasing sustained spellcasting power.

Recommended For:

• Chaos/Elemental spell builds that do not channel (e.g., Arc, Hexblast, Bane, Blight).

• Builds using “Soulless Form” (see below) for maximum uptime and mana regen independence.

---

Soulless Form

10% of Damage taken bypasses Energy Shield
No inherent Mana Regeneration
Regenerate Mana equal to 6% of maximum Life per second

Soulless Form redefines resource management for the Lich. You trade away your innate mana regeneration but instead scale mana recovery based on life. It’s excellent for characters that otherwise don’t scale mana regen, and especially useful with large life pools or mana-intensive builds like those using “Crystalline Phylactery.”

Strong Pairings:

• MoM (Mind over Matter) alternative hybrid builds.

• Spellcasters who sustain with life-based regeneration.

• Builds with zero mana regen on gear or tree.

---

Price of Power

“Non-Channelling Spells consume Power Charges to deal 25% more Damage”

A consistent damage multiplier that also incentivizes Power Charge generation. This pairs well with spells that don’t rely on long ramp-up times and can rapidly benefit from burst windows.

Ideal Builds:

• Arc/Chain builds with Power Charge generation.

• Spell crit-focused characters using Void Battery or similar gear.

• Builds that already make use of Frenzy and Power charge mechanics.

---

 Energy Shield if Consumed Power Charge

30% increased Energy Shield if you’ve consumed a Power Charge Recently”

This reward stacks naturally with the Price of Power passive. If you consume Power Charges frequently, this gives you more survivability in the form of ES scaling.

Optimized With:

• High-cast-speed spell builds consuming Power Charges often.

• Builds using multiple spells like Arc + Lightning Conduit, or trigger-based spell slingers.

---

Necromantic Conduit

You and Allies in your Presence have Unholy Might while you are not on Low Mana
Lose 5% of Mana per Second

Unholy Might grants 30% of damage as extra Chaos damage, making this extremely valuable for chaos-heavy builds. The mana drain is offset by strong regen mechanics or pairing with “Soulless Form.”

Synergy:

• Chaos builds using Blight, Bane, Soulrend.

• Group-based play where aura share helps teammates.

• Self-casting spells with life-based sustain.

---

Rupture the Soul

“Cursed Enemies Killed by you or Allies in your Presence have a 33% chance to Explode, dealing a quarter of their maximum Life as Chaos Damage”

This is the clear-speed enhancer of the Ascendancy. It turns cursed enemies into bombs, making it ideal for fast-mapping, curse builds, and corpse-clearing setups.

Build Archetypes:

• Hexblast or multi-curse builds.

• Curse On Hit + Herald Persistent skills

• Any high-damage build using Profane Bloom-style corpse explosion mechanics.

---

Dominion Over Flesh

You can apply an additional Curse
Your Curses can affect Hexproof Enemies

A core curse expansion node. The additional curse opens up powerful layering combinations (e.g., Despair + Temporal Chains). Being able to affect Hexproof enemies is vital for mapping and certain bosses.

Curse-Based Builds:

• Support builds that apply multiple curses.

• DoT casters (Bane, Essence Drain, Hexblast).

• Enfeeble + Despair debuffers.

---

Blackened Heart

4% increased Magnitude of Unholy Might buffs you grant per 100 maximum Mana

Unholy Might is a central mechanic in this Ascendancy. This node allows you to scale the effectiveness of that buff based on your maximum mana — incentivizing you to stack mana on gear or tree.

Build Strategies:

• Max Mana stacking for power scaling.

• High-regen or leech builds.

• Hybrid life + mana builds for full effect.

---

 Eternal Life

Your Life cannot change while you have Energy Shield

This is a defensive mechanic similar to the classic “Energy Shield takes damage first” rule. It essentially lets you prevent life fluctuations while you still have ES, which pairs well with Chaos Inoculation or builds that rely on protecting life as a trigger (e.g., Petrified Blood-style mechanics).

---

Curse Area

“25% increased Area of Effect of Curses”

Straightforward but valuable. This increases the radius of your curses, enabling better crowd control and mob marking. Especially strong in groups or fast-paced clears.

---

Mana / Life / Energy Shield Nodes

These small passives offer 3% boosts to their respective stats. Not mandatory, but they serve as solid fillers for builds that scale one or more of these attributes.

 Suggested Lich Build Archetypes

Chaos DoT Caster

Using Bane, Soulrend, and Wither stacking with Eldritch Empowerment and Price of Power for scaling, this build shines in single-target and AoE, especially when paired with Rupture the Soul.

Hybrid Mana/ES Caster

Utilizing Eldritch Empowerment + Crystalline Phylactery + Necromantic Conduit, this variant focuses on keeping Energy Shield up while draining mana over time. Arc, Freezing Pulse, or Fireball make solid cores.

 Curse Support / AoE Exploder

Built around Rupture the Soul and Dominion Over Flesh. Your curses trigger AoE chaos explosions. Best run with curse-on-hit gear or support gems.

 Low Life Chaos Crit

Pairing Eternal Life + Eldritch Empowerment and maximizing Power Charge generation. This variant uses Chaos Crit spells with heavy spell suppression and burst combos