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

Embarking on your Path of Exile 2 journey during early access? Choosing your character is the first, and perhaps most daunting, step. With six classes, each boasting two Ascendancy classes, the possibilities can feel overwhelming. This guide simplifies the decision by highlighting some top-tier builds for each class.

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 Witches, the Minion Summoner Infernalist build shines. It fully utilizes the class's summoning potential, offering a less demanding, more balanced playstyle compared to the riskier Blood Mage. You'll command an army of undead and demonic creatures, even transforming into a demonic form for added flair.

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 build excels in PoE2, commanding a horde of minions. Provide fire support, utilize strategic movement during boss fights, and remember to cast Vulnerability for crucial debuffs. Flame Wall acts as both area damage and a minion summoner, while Detonate Dead offers AoE damage using corpses. Skeletons prove more useful than temporary minions due to their longer lifespan, especially with Skeletal Cleric support. Pain Offering sacrifices a skeleton to enhance others. Experiment with minion combinations for optimal battlefield devastation!

Best Mercenary Build in PoE2

The Mercenary's unique gameplay shines with the FrostFerno Witch Hunter build, effective in both early and late game. This hybrid build combines fire and ice skills, utilizing two crossbows and two 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 then incinerating them—makes it a top contender. Early game utilizes Permafrost Bolts and Galvanic Shards with Herald of Thunder for crowd control. Later, Explosive Shot unleashes pyromaniacal fury. Explosive Grenade, Gas Grenade, and Explosive Shot devastate the battlefield, while Permafrost Bolts ensure foes remain frozen. Hypothermia and Biting Cold gems extend freeze duration, maximizing damage output. Utilize two self-shot skills with separate skill trees for optimal effect. Optimize your weapons and skills for maximum ice and fire damage.

Best Monk Build in PoE2

The Herald of Thunder Invoker stands out as the best Monk build, balancing offense and defense effectively. Its survivability makes it ideal for newcomers. Herald of Thunder is the core skill.

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. Herald of Thunder transforms your strikes into lightning bolts. Tempest Flurry unleashes a storm of lightning strikes, while Orb of Storms controls crowds. Tempest Bell and Storm Wave provide powerful AoE damage. Vaulting Impact offers mobility, and Staggering Palm stuns and electrifies opponents.

Best Warrior Build in PoE2

For Warriors, the Armour Breaker Warbinger offers a balanced approach. Wielding a two-handed mace, you'll deal significant damage while maintaining survivability.

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 focuses on Earthquake and Shockwave Totem for crowd clearing. Mace Strike with enchanted gems targets single enemies, while Rolling Slam provides mobility and survivability. Later, Anvil's Weight and Imploding Impacts (Warbinger Ascendancy skills) break enemy armor, increasing damage. A mace-and-shield setup benefits from Giant's Blood, Glancing Blows, Turtle Charm, and Renly's Training for survivability.

Best Sorceress Build in PoE2

The Ember Fusillade Stormweaver Sorceress build provides excellent damage and survivability, enabling rapid leveling and campaign completion.

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 cover and bonus fire damage to Spark projectiles. Solar Orb replaces Spark later. Enhance Ember Fusillade with Scattershot and Controlled Destruction. Flammability weakens bosses, increasing your damage. Focus on Exploit the Element, Potent Incantation, and Dampening Shield nodes. Use the rotation: Flammability, 3x Fusillade, Flame Wall, Solar Orb, Firestorm. Blasphemy Enfeeble adds defense if needed.

Best Ranger Build in PoE2

The Deadeye Grenadier Ranger boasts high mobility and area damage, excelling in both clearing and boss fights. 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 devastating area damage. Stack Evasion, Elemental Resistances, and movement speed. Fragmentation Rounds and Permafrost Bolts are early-game staples. Flash Grenade stuns bosses, creating opportunities for Explosive Grenades. Gas Grenade weakens armor and combines with Explosive Shot for massive damage.

These are currently top builds in Path of Exile 2, but future updates may introduce new heroes and strategies. Remember that balance changes can affect build viability. We hope this guide helps you choose your champion!