If Firebrand Sorceress is a wildfire, then Chaos Shade Assassin is a surgical strike.

This is the POE 2 Currency U4GM build you play when you want one thing:

Bosses to disappear.

Patch 0.4 made bosses harder than ever. They have more phases, damage reduction, and immunity windows. Many builds struggle to break through. Chaos Shade Assassin doesn’t care.

Chaos damage bypasses most defenses, ignores resistances, and melts even the tankiest Vaal monstrosities. When others are dodging and chipping away, you are ending the fight.

Why Chaos Shade Dominates Patch 0.4

Fate of the Vaal bosses are designed to outlast players:

  • Massive armor
  • High elemental resistances
  • Damage reduction phases

Chaos Shade ignores all of it:

  • Chaos damage bypasses resistances
  • Damage-over-time stacks shred bosses
  • Crit scaling deletes health bars

This makes it the strongest single-target build in the game.

Core Playstyle

Chaos Shade is a hit-and-vanish assassin.

Your loop:

  1. Enter stealth
  2. Strike
  3. Apply chaos DoTs
  4. Disappear

Enemies bleed shadows while you reposition.

Main Skill – Void Rend

Void Rend slashes enemies with chaos energy that stacks damage over time.

Recommended Supports:

  • Chaos Penetration – bypasses defenses
  • Critical Amplifier – massive crit scaling
  • Shadow Step – teleport on hit
  • Damage Over Time – stronger DoTs
  • Execution – bonus damage to low-life targets

One combo deletes elites.

Secondary Skill – Nightfall Mark

Curses enemies to take increased chaos damage and explode on death.

Movement – Shadow Dash

Instant teleport behind targets, granting evasion and crit chance.

Ascendancy – Chaos Shade

Priority Nodes

  1. Night Reaper
  2. Bonus chaos damage from stealth.
  3. Void Mastery
  4. Chaos penetration + DoT scaling.
  5. Dark Momentum
  6. Cast and attack speed after killing.
  7. Death Mark
  8. Marked enemies take massive increased damage.

You become death incarnate.

Defensive Layers

Assassin defense is avoidance:

  • High evasion
  • Dodge chance
  • Stealth damage reduction
  • Life leech from chaos

You cannot be hit if you are never seen.

Gear Priorities

Weapon

  • Chaos damage
  • Crit chance
  • Attack speed

Armor

  • Evasion + Energy Shield
  • Chaos damage
  • Resistances

Amulet

  • Chaos penetration
  • Crit multi

Rings

  • Chaos damage
  • Life
  • Resistances

Boss Performance

Bosses:

  • Melt under stacked DoTs
  • Skip entire phases
  • Die before enrage timers

This is the fastest boss killer in PoE 2 Patch 0.4.

Why This Is My #5 Build

Chaos Shade Assassin is:

  • The best single-target DPS
  • High skill ceiling
  • Incredibly satisfying

You don’t fight bosses — you end them.