Best New Unique Items in PoE 2 Dawn of the Hunt

There are over 100 new unique items in Path of Exile 2’s Dawn of the Hunt content update. However, not all of them are good. In reality, less than 10% will likely see use in the best builds.

Instead of going through all the unique items in Dawn of the Hunt, here is a rough list of the best new unique items that will likely see some play in PoE 2.

The Best Unique Items in Path of Exile 2’s Dawn of the Hunt Update

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Voltaxic Rift Fanatic Bow (Bow)

• Adds 1 to (200–300) Lightning Damage
• (10–15)% increased Attack Speed
• 100% of Lightning Damage converted to Chaos Damage
• Chaos Damage from hits also contributes to Shock Chance

The Voltaxic Rift Fanatic Bow is a familiar name to those who played Path of Exile 1. However, it is popular for the wrong reasons as it is a T0 unique, meaning one of the lowest drop rates, and it isn’t really valuable.

It returns in PoE2, giving lightning builds an easy way to swap to chaos damage. Chaos damage is always better, but it is way harder to scale up. There are going to be some uses for the Voltaxic Rift, but since it takes up the weapon slot, it’ll be hard to compensate for the lost damage. Weapons typically have the best offensive affixes and you don’t want to sacrifice that as much as possible.

Vis Mortis Plated Raiment (Body Armour)

• (70–100)% increased Energy Shield
• +(70–100) to maximum Mana
• Minions have 50% reduced maximum Life
• Minions have Unholy Might

Vis Mortis Plated Raiment could see some play with fast-paced summons, taking advantage of the 30% extra chaos damage from the Unholy Might at the cost of more brittle minions. Some might see use in it, but generally, you also want Spirit on your Body Armour, especially for minion builds.

The Unholy Might alone does show some interest in niche builds, and it’ll be interesting to see if some players could make the body armor work.

The Coming Calamity Heroic Armour (Body Armour)

• +(60–80) to maximum Life
• Grants Skill: Herald of Ash
• Grants Skill: Herald of Ice
• Grants Skill: Herald of Thunder
• +(30–40)% to all Elemental Resistances
• Enemies in your Presence have no Elemental Resistances

The Coming Calamity Heroic Armour could already see use in the early endgame since it gives you extremely high resistances and is almost like an “ele pen” buff from the “Enemies in your Presence have no Elemental Resistances.”

However, it is hard to see the usefulness of the body armor in T15+ and above content apart from its stats. The Herald auras don’t matter much if you don’t have enough Spirit, which this body armor does not have. Regardless, the stats alone merit some use in the early game.

The Black Insignia Corsair Cap (Helmet)

• (70–100)% increased Evasion Rating
• (10–20)% increased Rarity of Items found
• +(15–25)% to Lightning Resistance
• Gain Tailwind on Critical Hit, no more than once per second
• Lose all Tailwind when Hit

The Black Insignia Corsair Cap might be the most underrated unique of the Dawn of the Hunt. While it doesn’t boast any ridiculous effects or stats, it gives any class access to Tailwind.

Tailwind is one of the best buffs in both Path of Exile 1 and 2 since it gives a stacking buff that grants movement speed, skill speed, and evasion rating. The effect turns any build into a speed clearer, and builds with high CSC stats could use it.

You’ll sacrifice your helmet slot for the Tailwind, so you’ll have to be strong enough to throw away some affixes for the Tailwind.

Tabula Rasa Garment (Body Armour)

• Has 6 Rune Sockets

This is one of the most coveted items in PoE 1’s early endgame but isn’t all that great in PoE 2’s new mechanics, as sockets and links aren’t as significant.

There are some rumors about the Tabula Rasa Garment getting stats, which is the only reason it is here. If it could get some base armor, evasion, or ES stats, it could be used as a massive defensive stat stick for the early endgame.

Prism Guardian Sectarian Crest Shield (Shield)

• 63% increased Armour and Energy Shield
• +27 to Dexterity
• +18% to all Elemental Resistances
• +1 to Maximum Spirit per 50 Maximum Life

Since Spirit got a nerf for minion builds, the Prism Guardian Sectarian Crest Shield could help solve those Spirit problems while providing decent stats and resistance.

Nocturne Wooden Buckler (Shield)

• +(60–80) to maximum Mana
• +(10–15)% to all Elemental Resistances
• 20% increased Accuracy Rating
• Parried enemies take more Spell Damage instead of more Attack Damage
• 100% increased Parried Debuff Duration

The Nocturne Wooden Buckler is perfect for the new Huntress class. Since some passive skill nodes rely on using the parry mechanic to deal damage, this shield should help you activate spell-based skills when clearing.

Parry has never been a popular mechanic in PoE 2, and most players despise the playstyle, but it could be useful to those who want to try a build revolving around parries.

The Bringer of Rain Decorated Helm (Helmet)

• (600–800)% increased Armour and Evasion
• +(200–300) to Accuracy Rating
• (30–60) Life Regeneration per second
• Can’t use Body Armour
• You can wield Two-Handed Axes, Maces, and Swords in one hand

The Bringer of Rain Decorated Helm is one of the earliest unique items to be revealed in PoE 2’s Dawn of the Hunt. It allows the player to wield two two-handed weapons without losing a body armor piece. A body armor piece is by far the highest defensive piece for any player, while a weapon piece is the highest offensive piece.

There are indeed some wild ideas for massive glass cannon warrior builds, especially since Smith of Kitava’s ascendancy could carry the defensive side of things. The helmet also has some decent stats to compensate for the lost defense rolls.

Yriel’s Fostering Strider Vest

• (100–150)% increased Evasion Rating
• +(80–120) to maximum Life
• +(10–30) to Spirit
• (40–60)% reduced Bleeding Duration on you
• (40–60)% reduced Poison Duration on you
• You can have two Companions of different types

Players are only allowed one companion type since they are way stronger than your typical minions. Yriel’s Fostering Strider Vest gives you the option to have two different companions, which could push for some zoo minion-type builds.