PoE 3.27 Best Bloodline Ascendancy Tier List (Starter & Endgame)

Path of Exile 3.27 Keepers of the Flame league introduces an exciting new layer of build customization in the form of Bloodline Ascendancies. These are powerful passives tied to endgame bosses, offering distinct mechanics and boosts. As players rush to unlock and experiment with these ascendancies, knowing which ones to aim for can have a significant impact on your early and late league success. Here, you'll find a comprehensive look at the new Bloodline Ascendancies, their mechanics, and a tier list ranking the best choices for both league starters and specialized builds.

Path of Exile 3.27 Best Bloodline Ascendancy Tier List - Best Nodes & Builds

Bloodline Ascendancies are a major addition in 3.27, each tied to a unique endgame boss encounter. After defeating the corresponding boss, you unlock a set of minor and notable passives themed around that boss’s mechanics. From minion-boosting nodes to game-changing defensive layers and build-enabling offensive engines, these ascendancies offer a level of power and specialization rarely seen outside of core ascendancy classes. They are not universally applicable, most nodes require a certain build archetype to properly leverage their strengths. However, the right synergy can elevate a build to new heights.

While a few nodes are universally powerful, many Bloodline Ascendancies shine brightest in the hands of creative or specialized builds. With nine out of ten ascendancies known at league start, there’s already enough information to confidently rank the best and most versatile options for the current meta.

Below, Bloodline Ascendancies are ranked from S to C tier based on their overall power, flexibility, and potential to enable both league-start and endgame builds.

S Tier: Game-Changing, Highly Versatile, or Build-Defining

1. Olroth Bloodline (Runesmith)
Olroth’s ascendancy is a defensive powerhouse, especially with the Enhanced Starlight notable. This node allows damage taken to bypass unbroken ward if the hit is smaller than 15% of your total ward, effectively nullifying most chip damage and preventing one-shots. Combined with Boon of the Mountain (30% less damage from damage over time while ward is unbroken) and Boon of the Sun (20% faster ward restoration), Olroth’s nodes finally push ward-based builds into the mainstream. Ward stacking now feels reliable, making it one of the best defensive choices for hardcore and mapping. The ability to tailor your ward/life ratio means even glass cannon archetypes can survive content that previously felt out of reach.

2. Lycia Bloodline (Herald)
For damage scaling, Farewell to Flesh stands out as one of the most potent nodes ever introduced for herald and aura stacker builds. Herald skills receive 2% more buff effect for every 1% of mana reserved, which is a multiplicative scaling factor and can generate immense flat damage, surpassing even high-investment mirror-tier wands with a budget setup. This ascendancy also offers solid curse effect and chaos conversion through other nodes, making it perfect for both early league and high-budget herald setups. Sinner Saint is a major enabler for chaos conversion builds, especially those running Chaos Inoculation.

3. Delirious Bloodline (Impostor)
The Schizophrenic Dissociation notable is a standout for its defensive value: taking 40% less damage from hits, with the tradeoff of delayed life loss. Creative builds using mechanics like Petrified Blood, Defiance of Destiny, or Dissolution of the Flesh can abuse this to create near-immortality in mapping. This node is especially appealing for hardcore players or those seeking unique, tanky builds. Hallucinogenic Tendencies is also strong for bossing and clear, inflicting a debuff that causes enemies to take more damage and deal less, in an area.

A Tier: Powerful, but More Build-Specific

4. Catarina Bloodline (Lich)
A minion-focused ascendancy with strong bonuses for SRS, zombies, and skeletons. Umbral Army grants increased attack/cast speed per SRS, attack damage per zombie, and increased defenses per spectre. Prolonged Servitude and Death Offering turbocharge minion damage and duration, especially for temporary minions that can be resummoned quickly (SRS, skeletons, spiders). The offering nodes open up new interaction potential for necromancer minion builds, although the self-destruct on offering expiry requires careful build planning.

5. Farrul Bloodline (Animist)
Farrul ascendancy shines for spectre and minion builds, particularly with the Farric Will and Fertile Will nodes. These grant spectres extra modifiers, stun immunity, and strong defensive buffs. The Huntleader node summons spectral tigers that grant you crit chance and speed, acting as a self-buff engine even outside dedicated minion builds. These nodes are especially effective if the spectres or tigers have powerful inherent modifiers.

6. Oshabi Bloodline
Oshabi's ascendancy offers notable bonuses for unleash spell builds, rage stacking, and builds interested in elusive or stealth mechanics. The Primal Owl gives unleash spells more damage per reoccurrence and extra seals, boosting burst spells. The Wild Bear grants permanent adrenaline if you can generate rage quickly, which is a massive DPS and speed boost for berserker and rage vortex builds. While these nodes are more niche, in the right build they’re extremely potent.

7. Chaos Bloodline (Trialmaster)
The Trialmaster's ascendancy rewards corrupted gear, vaal skill usage, and introduces strong defensive and offensive layers. Nodes like Everlasting Sacrifice (plus 5 max resist for 4 seconds after reaching full energy shield) and Sacrifice of Blood (blood barrier before life, which acts as an extra effective HP pool) are exceptionally strong. While it requires some build-around, it can create powerful, unique playstyles.

B Tier: Niche, Useful in Some Setups

8. Nameless Bloodline (Ritualist)

Nameless Bloodline is more niche. Its nodes support life scaling and unique mechanics like skills gaining added chaos damage based on life cost. Some nodes offer immunity to curses or bleeding at the cost of losing an amulet or ring slot, which is only useful for very particular builds that don’t rely on those gear slots. There’s also a choice between several minor passives, but none are widely applicable compared to the top-tier ascendancies.

C Tier: Limited or Awkward Utility

9. Aul Bloodline (Primordial Knight)

Aul’s nodes rely on charge states and gear socket restrictions. Precursor’s Release can grant ailment immunity or prevent action speed reductions, but only if you leave certain gear slots unsocketed—something most builds can’t afford. The aura bonuses are conditional and not easy to use efficiently, making this ascendancy difficult to recommend for most characters.

10. Breach Bloodline

Details for Breach Bloodline remain unrevealed, as the associated boss is yet to be released. Its place in the tier list cannot be judged until more information becomes available.