The Templar has remained a popular choice in Secrets of the Atlas League, with one of the three powerful ascendancies (Guardian, Inquisitor, Hierophant) dominating the endgame meta. If you're looking to start a new character or optimize your next build, this comprehensive guide to the best Templar builds in PoE 3.26 will help you get started.

Why Choose the Templar?

The Templar is a hybrid class with equal parts Strength and Intelligence, allowing access to tanky armor builds as well as powerful spellcasting. With its central location on the passive skill tree, the Templar easily branches into high-impact life, mana, elemental, and minion nodes. Depending on the ascendancy path you choose, you can build the Templar into a high-damage spellcaster, a resilient support tank, or a mana-fueled totem summoner.

Ascendancy Choices

Guardian: Tanky support, strong minion synergy, excellent aura scaling.

Inquisitor: Elemental spell powerhouse, ideal for crit-based or DoT builds.

Hierophant: Best for mana-stacking and totem builds; a top-tier boss killer.

Top 10 Templar Builds in PoE 3.26

10. BAMA Guardian (Blink Arrow / Mirror Arrow of Bombarding Clones)

· + Excellent for early- to mid-game

· Tanky minion playstyle

· Strong elemental auras and utility

· Lower endgame damage ceiling than the Necromancer version

This build focuses on summoning minions via Mirror Arrow of Bombarding Clones and Blink Arrow of Prismatic Clones. The Guardian ascendancy enhances elemental auras with Radiant Crusade and Unwavering Crusade, while maintaining impressive defenses with Time of Need and Radiant Faith.

You'll combine minion damage support gems with Animate Guardian (equipped with Leer Cast, Kingmaker, etc.) and spectres like Wretched Defiler or Spectral Leader to round out your offensive potential.

9. Siege Ballista Hierophant

· + Viable league starter

· Fantastic for Sanctum farming

· Strong single-target damage

· Relies on expensive uniques (Iron Commander, Fractal Thoughts)

This totem-based build scales its damage through Dexterity, with Iron Commander and The Poised Prism being core gear. Hierophant is selected for its totem synergy via Pursuit of Faith and Ritual of Awakening. With enough DEX (2,500+), each Siege Ballista totem becomes a mini-machine gun dealing cold and physical damage.

Not only is this build effective at farming Sanctums, but it's also great for Path Of Exile currency budget mapping and solo self-found leagues with incremental upgrades.

8. Elemental SRS Guardian

· + Fast mapper with good scaling

· Built-in survivability with Guardian nodes

· Heavily nerfed in 3.26, now gear-dependent

The once-popular Summon Raging Spirit build suffered a nerf in 3.26, losing its inherent damage multiplier per level. However, with strong gear and smart spectre choices (Pale Seraphim, Necrotic Bones), the build remains viable.

Guardian's aura boosts enhance the minions' elemental damage, while Bastion of Hope and Time of Need offer resilience. Min-maxing through level 21+ minion gems and fresh supports like Awakened Unleash make this build a solid all-rounder.

7. Ice Spear of Splitting Inquisitor (Cyclone CoC)

· + Massive burst damage

· Unique Cyclone + Ice Spear synergy

· Must manage cooldown and attack speed

· Requires a low-life setup

Using Cyclone linked to Awakened Cast on Critical and Ice Spear of Splitting, this build is a high-DPS crit-focused Inquisitor archetype. You'll equip Energy Blade to scale with high-energy shield from The Ivory Tower, transforming mana reservation into damage.

Rathpith Globe, Pain Attunement, and low-life auras like Zealotry and Wrath complete this devastating package. The build excels in bossing and melts screenfuls of enemies in a spin-to-win playstyle.

6. Righteous Fire Inquisitor

· + Beginner friendly

· Excellent for SSF

· Insane regen and tankiness

· Weak single-target scaling without investment

Righteous Fire Inquisitor remains one of the smoothest league starters. The synergy between Pious Path, Sanctuary, and Augury of Penitence makes this build highly sustainable.

The playstyle involves activating Righteous Fire and running through mobs while generating Consecrated Ground. Later game additions like Legacy of Fury boots or Ashes of the Stars elevate the build's clear and scaling.

5. Spark Inquisitor (Low Life or CI)

· + Classic screen-clear build

· Easily scales with levels and gear

· Requires projectile speed/duration scaling for comfort

Spark has seen a resurgence in PoE 3.26, especially in low-life setups with Shavronne's Wrappings or Chaos Inoculation. Inquisitor benefits from Inevitable Judgement, ignoring enemy resistances, and Righteous Providence for crit scaling.

This build works well for mapping and can be tailored for bosses with projectile scaling, spell crit chance, and energy shield stacking.

4. Storm Burst Totem Hierophant

· + Excellent clear with massive AoE

· Synergizes with mana stacking

· Requires a good understanding of mana mechanics

Storm Burst Totem builds are making waves in 3.26. By stacking mana and relying on Sanctuary of Thought and Divine Guidance, you reduce reservation costs and convert mana investment into direct damage.

The key is to use Archmage Support and maximize mana regen through gear, jewels, and mana recovery rate. Totem builds also benefit from Arcane Blessing for automatic Arcane Surge uptime.

3. Holy Relic Guardian

· + A unique take on summoner gameplay

· Amazing survivability

· Less damage compared to meta builds

Holy Relic builds leverage life scaling and minion regeneration. When paired with Guardian's aura synergy and Unwavering Crusade, Holy Relic damage becomes surprisingly potent.

By triggering Holy Relic with static strikes or Cyclone, you can automate the build's damage output. Pairing this with Meat Shield Spectres and Animate Guardian makes for a hands-off but effective summoner.

2. Divine Ire Inquisitor

· + Incredible burst

· Easy to scale with crit + AoE

· Requires precise positioning

Divine Ire is a channeled beam skill that releases massive AoE damage. The Inquisitor ascendancy removes the resistance bottleneck with Inevitable Judgement, while Sanctuary amplifies damage on Consecrated Ground.

By combining this with Zealotry, Arcane Surge, and critical scaling, the build becomes one of the strongest single-target casters in PoE 3.26.

1. Mana Stacking Archmage Ball Lightning Hierophant

· + S-tier bossing build

· Absurd damage ceiling

· Expensive to min-max

Topping our list is the Archmage Ball Lightning Hierophant. With the support gem Archmage, every mana point reserved and spent increases your damage.

Divine Guidance and Sanctuary of Thought are essential, providing 30% more mana and cost efficiency. With 8-10 active auras and high unreserved mana, each Ball Lightning can deal thousands of hits per second.

You'll want gear with flat mana, reduced reservation, and energy shield on hit. Pair with Indigon, a Watcher's Eye with mana modifiers, and you've got one of the most destructive boss killers in the game.

Final Thoughts

The Templar continues to shine in PoE 3.26 Secrets of the Atlas League thanks to its versatile ascendancies and wide variety of powerful builds. Whether you're after a defensive tank, an elemental spell nuke, or a mana-stacking totem master, the Templar has something for everyone.

If you're looking for a build that can dominate all content solo or in groups, the Inquisitor and Hierophant are top-tier choices. But for those who prefer minion support or tanky gameplay, the Guardian is still a strong and fun option.

So, get ready to channel divine energy, cast destructive spells, or summon an army of clones. The sands of Wraeclast await your judgment.