Lightning Arrow Deadeye

Deadeye remains at the top - or possibly even in a Tier of its own. With the introduction of Mirage Archer, which fires a copy of your Attack, your single-target damage will grow significantly. Deadeye itself picked QoL and power: Avidity that grants Frenzy Charges more reliably, and Called Shots auto-marks enemies and chains your shots into marked targets. Eagle Eye also applies Critical Weakness against enemies to boost your damage even further. It is the fastest ascendancy (speed is a defensive layer too) and has one of the highest DPS without weird gear asks, and that's why so many players deem it the best choice overall. Lightning Arrow with Lightning Rod are simply the best Skills here.

Fireball Blood Mage

Blood Mage remains a top-tier caster starter in Patch 0.3.0, thanks to its raw damage output and straightforward gameplay. Already a favorite for league starts, it now feels smoother with recent tweaks and new Support Gem options. The Blood Mage ascendancy enhances both damage and sustain by converting life into casting power, removing early Mana struggles. This combination offers explosive clear speed, strong Bossing potential, and a reliable path through the Rise of the Abyssal League.

Toxic Growth Pathfinder

The Poison archetype for a Pathfinder will benefit from the lifting of the Support Gem restriction the most. 0.3 also reworked the Toxic Growth - removing the clunky jump effect. The whole Ranger class is a huge winner with the new Deflection mechanic that works similarly to Suppression from PoE 1. Pathfinder also has brand new Concoctions, with the Acidic Concoction looking especially promising when combined with Poisonburst Arrows - you can now instantly deal ~20 seconds worth of Poison Damage as Hit. Bows are now better, too.

Essence Drain Lich

This build has already been one of the most reliable League Starters in Path of Exile 2, and Patch 0.3.0 makes it even better. Already powerful thanks to safe playstyle, strong clear, and solid single-target damage, it now benefits from minor buffs and quality-of-life improvements that smooth out progression. The reworked Living Bomb gem and synergy with items like Blackflame Covenant add extra versatility, while the Lich Ascendancy provides excellent sustain, making this build both forgiving and efficient for Rise of the Abyssal League.

Mortar Tactician

Totems should be good now. Mortar Cannon, a Persistent Buff, spawns a Totem that fires Grenade skills for you with faster Cooldown Recovery. This way, you don't need to stop shooting to benefit from the Grenades, which are designed to be a Crossbow-wielder's best friend, especially when combined with Rapid Shot that loses its heat when you stop firing, or Shockburst Rounds that deal any real damage only when the target is electrocuted by Voltaic Grenades, preferably. Tactician will take advantage of the Pin gimmick, Deflection, the new changes to Banners, or the direct buffs to its Totem passives. Many routes to take; you'll be able to easily respec later into something different.

Minion Infernalist

The changes to the Infernalist won't affect this archetype. Minion builds received not that many drastic alterations, making them a very safe pick. Ravenous Swarm is a new Persistent buff that spawns untargetable Minions that pursue and Poison enemies. Grim Feast has been reworked to scoop up and revive your fallen Minions with a press of a button. Spectres now cost less Spirit and deal much more damage, so a full Spectre build should be viable. The behaviour or skillsets of all Skeletal Minions have been adjusted, especially Skeletal Storm Mages' Death Storm. It's not a mechanically involving starter, which is appealing to many.

Hollow Palm Invoker

0.3 adds the Hollow Palm Technique Keystone - it funnels you into an unarmed playstyle, but allows you to use Quarterstaff Attacks. Not relying on a weapon is a huge advantage on a league-start - they often need to be replaced, and that's troublesome. You can scale up the damage with Skill Level, Attack Speed with Evasion on Armour gear, and Crit Chance with Energy Shield on gear. That's damage from defence, which can get very stupid very fast. Invoker and Amazon both have some ascendancy passives that complement this scaling. You will also have a lot of fun wearing new Thuerfist Gloves and hunting for gear with high defences for weeks to come.