How to survive in the harsh world of PoE2: choosing your first character

Embarking on your Path of Exile 2 journey during early access presents a crucial first step: character selection. With six classes, each boasting two Ascendancy classes, the choice can feel overwhelming. Imagine the possibilities when more classes and ascendancies arrive! To simplify your decision, let's explore some top-tier builds for Path of Exile 2.

Table of Contents

• Best Witch Build in PoE2
• Best Mercenary Build in PoE2
• Best Monk Build in PoE2
• Best Warrior Build in PoE2
• Best Sorceress Build in PoE2
• Best Ranger Build in PoE2

Best Witch Build in PoE2

For the Witch, the Minion Summoner Infernalist reigns supreme. This build fully leverages the class's summoning potential, offering a less demanding experience for newcomers compared to the riskier Blood Mage. Command an army of creatures, and enjoy the unique gameplay twist of transforming into a demonic form!

Minion Summoner Infernalist Important Skills

• Skeletal Brute + Martial Tempo & Heavy Swing
• Skeletal Cleric + Arcane Tempo
• Pain Offering + Ablation
• Skeletal Arsonist + Feeding Frenzy & Scattershot
• Detonate Dead + Magnified Effect & Spell Echo
• Flame Wall + Fortress & Persistence
• Raging Spirits + Fire Infusion & Immolate
• Vulnerability + Focused Curse
• Summon Infernal Hound

Minion Summoner Infernalist Gameplay Tips

This Witch build consistently ranks among the best in PoE2. While the playstyle may not appeal to everyone, it's worth experiencing! Lead your undead and demonic horde, providing fire support and employing strategic movement during boss fights. Remember to cast Vulnerability for crucial debuffs.

Flame Wall provides both area damage and additional Raging Spirits. Detonate Dead offers AoE damage but requires fresh corpses, which can also be temporarily transformed into other minion types. Skeletons, however, prove more versatile due to their longer lifespan, especially with Skeletal Cleric support. Pain Offering sacrifices a skeleton to enhance the remaining ones.

Best Mercenary Build in PoE2

The Mercenary class offers unique gameplay in Path of Exile 2. The FrostFerno Witch Hunter excels in both early and late game, combining fire and ice skills with two crossbows and dual passive skill trees.

FrostFerno Witch Hunter Important Skills

• Permafrost Bolts + Glaciation & Ice Bite & Deep Freeze
• Explosive Grenade + Frostfire & Concentrated Effect & Primal Armament & Eternal Flame & Searing Flame
• Gas Grenade
• Explosive Shot + Wildfire & Nimble Reload
• Herald of Ash + Clarity & Vitality & Precision
• Galvanic Shards + Lightning Infusion & Pierce
• Herald of Thunder

FrostFerno Witch Hunter Gameplay Tips

The FrostFerno Witch Hunter's unique playstyle—freezing enemies and then incinerating them—is a key reason for its high ranking. Early game focuses on Permafrost Bolts and Galvanic Shards with Herald of Thunder for crowd control. Later, Explosive Shot unleashes pyromaniacal mayhem!

Explosive Grenade, Gas Grenade, and Explosive Shot provide area-of-effect destruction. Use Permafrost Bolts to freeze enemies before unleashing your explosive arsenal. Gems like Hypothermia and Biting Cold extend freeze duration. Utilize two different self-shots, each with a separate skill tree, maximizing ice and fire damage.

Best Monk Build in PoE2

The Herald of Thunder Invoker is currently the top Monk build. It balances defense and damage, making it suitable for both campaign completion and endgame progression. Its survivability makes it excellent for newcomers.

Herald of Thunder Invoker Important Skills

• Tempest Flurry + Martial Tempo & Lightning Infusion & Crescendo
• Tempest Bell + Persistence
• Staggering Palm + Overpower
• Vaulting Impact
• Orb of Storms + Unleash
• Storm Wave + Concentrated Effect & Magnified Effect

Herald of Thunder Invoker Gameplay Tips

Early game utilizes Quarterstaff Strike for crowd control. Once Herald of Thunder is acquired, unleash lightning-infused attacks. Tempest Flurry provides a barrage of lightning strikes, while Orb of Storms controls crowds. Tempest Bell and Storm Wave offer powerful AoE damage. Vaulting Impact and Staggering Palm enhance mobility and crowd control.

Best Warrior Build in PoE2

For the Warrior, the Armour Breaker Warbinger offers a balanced approach. Wielding a two-handed mace, it delivers high damage while maintaining survivability in melee combat.

Armour Breaker Warbinger Important Skills

• Mace Strike + Rage & Close Combat & Maim
• Stampede + Momentum & Fist of War & Brutality & Stomping Ground
• Leap Slam + Martial Tempo & Holy Descent & Culling Strike
• Ancestral Warrior Totem + Rolling Slam & Jagged Ground & Ancestral Urgency & Heavy Swing
• Scavenged Plating + Vitality & Cannibalism
• Hammer of the Gods + Second Wind & Hourglass & Execute & Concentrated Effect
• Seismic Cry + Premeditation
• Attrition

Armour Breaker Warbinger Gameplay Tips

Early game utilizes Earthquake and Shockwave Totem for crowd control. Mace Strike delivers high single-target damage, while Rolling Slam offers mobility and survivability. Later, Warbinger ascendancy skills like Anvil's Weight and Imploding Impacts enhance damage by breaking enemy armor. A mace-and-shield setup can benefit from Giant's Blood, Glancing Blows, Turtle Charm, and Renly's Training for increased survivability.

Best Sorceress Build in PoE2

For the Sorceress, the Ember Fusillade Stormweaver excels. This build provides a balance of damage and survivability, facilitating quick leveling and campaign progression.

Ember Fusillade Stormweaver Important Skills

• Spark + Pierce
• Flame Wall + Fortress
• Ember Fusillade + Scattershot & Controlled Destruction
• Solar Orb + Magnified Effect & Fire Exposure
• Firestorm + Overabundance & Spell Echo
• Flammability
• Blasphemy + Enfeeble

Ember Fusillade Stormweaver Gameplay Tips

Start with Spark and Flame Wall, progressing to more powerful spells. Use Flame Walls for defense and bonus fire damage to Spark projectiles. Once acquired, Solar Orb replaces Spark. Ember Fusillade benefits from Scattershot and Controlled Destruction. Flammability weakens bosses, increasing damage. Focus on Exploit the Element, Potent Incantation, and Dampening Shield nodes. A suggested rotation includes Flammability, 3x Fusillade, Flame Wall, Solar Orb, and Firestorm. Blasphemy Enfeeble adds defense.

Best Ranger Build in PoE2

The Deadeye Grenadier offers excellent mobility and area damage, suitable for both clearing areas and battling bosses. However, its lower survivability makes it challenging for beginners.

Deadeye Grenadier Important Skills

• Permafrost Bolts + Pierce
• Fragmentation Rounds + Double Barrel
• Flash Grenade + Scattershot & Magnified Effect & Ingenuity
• Gas Grenade + Corrosion & Deadly Poison
• Explosive Shot
• Explosive Grenade + Fire Infusion & Execute
• Rapid Shot + Martial Tempo & Blind

Deadeye Grenadier Gameplay Tips

This build utilizes a crossbow for high physical and elemental damage. Freeze enemies with Permafrost Bolts, then use grenades for area-of-effect damage. Gas Grenade weakens armor. Explosive Shot detonates gas clouds for massive damage. Prioritize Evasion, Elemental Resistances, and movement speed.

These are some of the top builds in Path of Exile 2. Remember that balance changes and new content may shift the meta. Hopefully, this guide helps you choose your champion!