Path of Exile: How to Find and Use the Spectral Leader in 3.24

In the constantly evolving world of Path of Exile, players are always searching for ways to push their builds to the next level—especially as they dive deeper into high-tier maps, boss content, and league mechanics. With the introduction of the 3.24 update as part of the Necropolis expansion, a new wave of strategies has emerged, including a surge in interest around certain minions available via the Raise Spectre skill.

One of the most impactful additions to the meta is the Spectral Leader, a support-oriented Spectre that doesn’t bring raw DPS to the table but provides something arguably even more important—a massive action speed buff that can supercharge your build’s efficiency and damage output.

In this guide, we’ll break down everything you need to know about the Spectral Leader, including how to find it, why it's so powerful, and how to integrate it into your Path of Exile strategy in 3.24.

What Is the Spectral Leader?

The Spectral Leader is a reanimatable monster that you can summon using the Raise Spectre skill gem. Unlike typical Spectres that focus on dealing damage, the Spectral Leader shines as a support minion, granting a 20% action speed boost to nearby allies. This includes attack speed, cast speed, and movement speed—a trifecta that benefits nearly every build archetype.

The buff itself has roughly an 80% uptime, meaning it’s active for the vast majority of any fight, making it ideal for players pushing difficult content such as Tier 17 maps, league mechanics like Necropolis monster crafting, or deep delve.

Whether you’re a summoner looking to squeeze out more efficiency from your army, or a non-minion build leveraging spectres for utility, the Spectral Leader is an incredibly valuable addition to your team.

Why the Spectral Leader Matters in 3.24

The Necropolis expansion introduced many changes to mob behavior, minion survivability, and action speed interactions. In previous metas, minions like Arena Masters and Pale Seraphim were fan favorites due to their aura buffs and debuffs. But 3.24 brought the Spectral Leader into the spotlight with:

A reliable 20% action speed buff.

High uptime compared to other support spectres.

Easier accessibility through specific Atlas strategies.

This buff isn’t just “nice to have”—in endgame mapping or bossing, a 20% increase to action speed means more DPS, better kiting, smoother animations, and quicker reaction times across the board. It’s one of those invisible power-ups that makes your build feel significantly more fluid.

Where to Find the Spectral Leader

Before you can summon a Spectral Leader with Raise Spectre, you’ll need to find and kill one first. The challenge is that they don’t spawn in every map, and they aren't labeled in-game, so knowing where and how to find them can save you a lot of time.

1. Use the Atlas Passive Tree – Invasive Adversaries

Your best bet for farming Spectral Leaders is by investing into the Invasive Adversaries passive on your Atlas Tree. This passive provides:

“Maps contain 10% more Monster Packs consisting of difficult and rewarding monsters.”

This modifier increases the density of rare and elite monsters that have the potential to include the Spectral Leader. The great part about this node is that it works even in lower-tier maps, meaning you can avoid burning expensive high-tier maps while still getting great results.

By combining this with other passives that increase monster pack size, map modifiers, or influenced mobs (like Delirium, Beyond, or Abyss), you drastically improve your odds of running into the Spectral Leader and other powerful spectres.

2. Run High-Tier Maps (Tier 15–17)

While the Invasive Adversaries strategy allows you to farm efficiently in lower tiers, the natural spawn rate of the Spectral Leader increases significantly in Tier 15-17 maps. These maps contain more rare and unique monsters with advanced AI and skill sets, which often includes Spectres from the Tier 17 pool.

Try running maps like:

Crimson Temple

Cemetery

Primordial Blocks

Underground Sea

And if you're using mechanics like Delirium Orbs or Scarabs, these can further increase elite density. Just make sure to bring Desecrate if you find a Spectral Leader and want to summon it again later.

3. Trade or Party with Other Players

If you're struggling to find one yourself, consider asking around in global or trade chat. Many players who specialize in farming spectres offer services where they’ll spawn a Spectral Leader for you via Desecrate in their hideout or map. These community-run services are often free or cost a minor tip in Chaos Orbs or DivinePOE orbs.

Alternatively, you can purchase a Spectral Leader corpse service on trade websites using your accumulated PoE currency, which can be a shortcut if you’re short on time.

How to Raise the Spectral Leader

Once you’ve found a Spectral Leader and killed it, make sure to:

Use Desecrate to spawn its corpse in a safe zone (your hideout or map).

Equip and use Raise Spectre linked with Minion Life and Elemental Army (optional, if you want it to survive longer).

Summon it and enjoy the speed boost!

You can desecrate the corpse later if you want to add more to your army or swap to different spectres. Just make sure the instance doesn’t reset before you summon it!

Recommended Build Pairings

The Spectral Leader can slot into a variety of builds, but it’s especially good for:

Summoner Necromancers – Pair with aggressive Spectres like Carnage Chieftains or Syndicate Operatives for a mix of DPS and support.

Poison/Chaos Builds – Faster cast and movement speed greatly help DoT builds reposition and avoid danger.

Totem or Trap Builds – Improved action speed allows for faster totem/trap placement and movement between phases.

Bossing Builds – Especially useful for Maven, Uber Elder, or Shaper fights where positioning and speed are critical.

You don’t need to fully invest in minion passives to benefit from Spectral Leader either. Even a level 1 Raise Spectre can do the job with a +2 minion wand or helmet.

Final Thoughts

The Spectral Leader is a game-changer in Path of Exile 3.24. While it doesn’t deal massive damage itself, the 20% action speed boost with 80% uptime makes it arguably the best support spectre currently available. Whether you’re a league starter pushing red maps or an endgame player clearing Tier 17 content, this minion brings a powerful buff to your entire build.

By unlocking the right Atlas nodes or diving into high-tier content, you’ll be able to locate and utilize this powerful ally. And once it’s part of your army, you’ll wonder how you ever played without it.

If you’re serious about optimization in PoE, don’t overlook the Spectral Leader—it might just be the missing piece to take your build to the next level.