Grinding Gear Games continues to expand the dark and intricate world of Path of Exile 2, and with the release of The Third Edict, players are introduced to a brand-new ascendancy class: the Abyssal Lich. This sinister archetype draws power from the abyss itself, weaving shadow and decay into devastating abilities that redefine how exiles can manipulate life, death, and the spaces in between.
Embracing the Abyss
The Abyssal Lich is not a traditional necromancer. Instead of commanding endless undead legions, this class thrives on consuming life essence, feeding off shadows, and corrupting the battlefield with lingering darkness. Its skill tree emphasizes life siphoning, shadow manipulation, and abyssal summons—monsters born from the void rather than corpses. This makes the Abyssal Lich uniquely flexible in encounters where corpses are scarce, offering new playstyles that blend raw damage with sustainability.
Core Mechanics
The hallmark of the Abyssal Lich lies in Abyssal Resonance, a mechanic that allows abilities to interact with darkness zones created on the battlefield. These zones amplify damage, provide defensive layers like concealment, and empower abyssal minions. Players can strategically position themselves and their enemies within these zones, creating a dynamic combat flow that rewards tactical awareness.
Another central aspect is Essence Drain, a passive effect that transforms kills into restorative energy. Rather than relying on traditional life leech alone, the Abyssal Lich converts nearby deaths into temporary power spikes, allowing for fluid transitions between offense and defense.
Playstyle and Builds
The Abyssal Lich caters to players who enjoy hybrid gameplay. It blends aspects of damage-over-time, summon-based offense, and self-sustain mechanics. Popular theorycrafting already points toward combinations of chaos damage over time (DoT), abyssal minions, and darkness-based area control as potent strategies. Builds might focus on withering enemies with stacking debuffs, while others lean into resilient minions empowered by abyssal resonance zones.
Impact on the Meta
With its introduction, the Abyssal Lich shakes up the meta by offering something that sits between necromancers, occultists, and tricksters. It’s not purely a summoner, nor strictly a caster—it’s a hybrid predator. This opens new creative space for players who enjoy experimenting with versatile toolkits and thematic dark-magic archetypes.
Final Thoughts
The Third Edict and its Abyssal Lich ascendancy demonstrate Grinding Gear Games’ commitment to deepening PoE 2’s identity as a game of endless build diversity. Players hungry for a darker, more sinister path will find the Abyssal Lich a perfect vessel for their descent into the abyss.
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