Path of Exile 2 — Dawn of the Hunt All Unique Gloves

The latest expansion brings a diverse range of Unique Gloves, each offering specialized mechanics, scaling conditions, or build-defining properties. Here’s a breakdown of each pair, highlighting what makes them shine — or fall short.

The Prisoner’s Manacles (Diviner Cuffs)

+100 to maximum Life
297% increased Armour and Energy Shield

100% increased Attribute Requirements
+22% to Lightning Resistance |
20.8 Life Regeneration per second |

Debuffs you inflict have 28% increased Slow Magnitude
Cannot Immobilise enemies

Analysis: A tanky hybrid glove geared toward curse/hex or ailment-based builds. The increased Slow Magnitude can synergize with Temporal Chains-like effects. However, the inability to Immobilize is a big drawback for crowd control strategies. Viable in niche crowd-control or degeneration builds.

Endgame Viability: Moderate. Defensive values are high, but the utility is situational.

Essentia Sanguis (Furtive Wraps)

Adds 1 to 36 Lightning damage to Attacks

Life Leech is Converted to Energy Shield Leech
+16 Intelligence, +27% Lightning Resistance
57% increased Evasion and Energy Shield

Analysis: Tailored for hybrid Evasion/ES Lightning attackers. The life-to-ES leech conversion is powerful for spellcasters or wanders scaling off Intelligence, especially in crit-based builds. Consider this for high-Attack-Speed + ES archetypes.

Endgame Viability: High for Lightning ES leech builds.

Best Amazon Build POE2 – Lightning Spear & Storm Lance Guide (Dawn of the Hunt Patch 0.2.0f)

Valako’s Vice (Plate Gauntlets)

100% of Fire damage Converted to Lightning damage

+35% Lightning Resistance, +20 Str, +29 Dex
90% increased Armour and Evasion
6% increased Attack Speed

Analysis: Built for conversion-focused melee builds, especially with a focus on Fire Elemental classes. Enables full Fire-to-Lightning scaling — a powerful base for shock builds or synergizing with unique jewels.

Endgame Viability: Strong niche pick, especially in Lightning stacking or conversion setups.

Empire’s Grasp (Titan Mitts)

Knockback direction is reversed
Gain 30 Life per Kill
+28 Strength, 12% Global Physical Damage

Analysis: Quirky mechanics like reversed knockback give this item interesting PvP or minion-control potential. Otherwise, the stats are too low-impact for late-game.

Endgame Viability: Low, mostly for memes or fun interactions.

Death Articulated (Ornate Gauntlets)

Lose 5% Life per second
Regenerate 5 Rage/sec — No Inherent Rage Loss
121% Armour and Evasion, 9% Attack Speed, +19% Chaos Res

Analysis: A rage engine in glove form. Must be paired with Rage-based builds (e.g., Berserker) or items that benefit from Rage. Self-inflicted Life drain limits general use.

Endgame Viability: Niche, but high ceiling with Rage synergies.

Dreadfist (Bolstered Mitts)

Critical Hits inflict Impale (but cannot Extract)
Thorns Physical Damage, +26% Crit Damage

Analysis: A unique Impale glove that introduces an uncommon restriction: Crits apply Impale but can’t extract it.

Endgame Viability: Very low outside of specific fun builds.

Nightscale (Pauascale Gloves)

Mana Regen boosted 150% if Crit Recently (or disabled if not)

+39% Crit Chance, +18 Int, +23% Cold Res

Analysis: All-in on crit — a high-risk glove that disables mana recovery if you’re not critting. Strong for sustained crit casters, deadly in misfiring hands.

Endgame Viability: Solid for high-crit spell builds with mana issues.

Hand of Wisdom and Action (Spiral Wraps)

Adds Lightning Damage to Attacks per 20 Intelligence
1% increased Attack Speed per 20 Dexterity

Analysis:
A classic stat-scaling glove, Hand of Wisdom and Action remains a fan favorite for attribute-stacking archetypes due to its elegant synergy: Intelligence boosts flat Lightning damage, and Dexterity ramps up attack speed. However, what many might not realize—especially returning players—is that this is actually a nerfed version of the original glove.

The original version of this item, formerly named Hand of Wisdom and Action (Furtive Wraps), had a significantly stronger scaling:

Adds 1 to 10 Lightning Damage to Attacks per 10 Intelligence
3% Attack Speed per 25 Dexterity

That scaling made it a near-universal pick for any build stacking attributes, often outperforming even league-specific rares. The rework reduces both the base item level and the effectiveness of the scaling, making the current version a more balanced choice rather than a default BIS (best-in-slot) for attribute-stacking builds.

Endgame Viability:
Still strong—but no longer dominating. While it no longer breaks balance for Int/Dex-stacking builds, it remains a solid and reliable pick for those looking to scale stats efficiently. If you’re running a precise attribute stacker, keep both versions in mind when theorycrafting your loadout.

💎 Leopold’s Applause (Embroidered Gloves)

+84 Mana, +91% Energy Shield
10% Penetration to Elemental Res
Your Hits can Penetrate down to -50% Elemental Res

Analysis: One of the best gloves for caster or elemental DoT builds. That -50% elemental resistance floor opens massive damage scaling potential.

Endgame Viability: Very high. Chase item for elemental casters.

Conclusion:
Among these gloves, Leopold’s Applause, Hand of Wisdom and Action, and Valako’s Vice stand out for their build-defining qualities. The rest offer experimental mechanics or niche synergies that can be powerful in the right hands — or fun in off-meta meme builds.

Conclusion:
Whether you’re theorycrafting your next endgame build or looking for early leveling gear with niche effects, the gloves introduced in Dawn of the Hunt offer a wide variety of options—from mechanical depth to stat-stacking synergy. While some shine in very specific builds (like Rage or Critical scaling), others may serve better as stepping stones toward more optimized gear.

Check out Path of Exile 2 Dawn of the Hunt Unique Compilation: