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

Embarking on your journey in Path of Exile 2 during the early access phase presents you with the crucial first step of choosing a character. With six distinct classes, each offering two Ascendancy Classes, deciding on the strongest option can be daunting. And with the developers planning to add six more classes and an additional Ascendancy Class each, the decision becomes even more complex. To help you navigate this, we'll explore the best builds available for each class in Path of Exile 2.

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Table of Content ---

• Best Witch Build in PoE2: Minion Summoner Infernalist
  • Important Skills
  • Gameplay Tips
• Best Mercenary Build in PoE2: FrostFerno Witch Hunter
  • Important Skills
  • Gameplay Tips
• Best Monk Build in PoE2: Herald of Thunder Invoker
  • Important Skills
  • Gameplay Tips
• Best Warrior Build in PoE2: Armour Breaker Warbinger
  • Important Skills
  • Gameplay Tips
• Best Sorceress Build in PoE2: Ember Fusillade Stormweaver
  • Important Skills
  • Gameplay Tips
• Best Ranger Build in PoE2: Deadeye Grenadier
  • Important Skills
  • Gameplay Tips

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Best Witch Build in PoE2

For the Witch, the Minion Summoner Infernalist build stands out as it maximizes the class's potential as a summoner while being accessible for beginners. Unlike the Blood Mage, which teeters on the edge of life and death, the Infernalist offers a balanced playstyle. You'll command a legion of summoned creatures in combat, and the ability to transform into a demonic form adds a thrilling twist to your gameplay.

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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 is one of the top characters in PoE2, though it may not suit everyone's playstyle. Leading a horde of undead and abyssal demons, you'll need to provide fire support, dodge and weave during boss fights, and apply Vulnerability to debuff enemies. Flame Wall not only deals area damage but also summons Raging Spirits, while Detonate Dead requires fresh corpses to explode. Skeletons, especially with Skeletal Clerics, offer a more permanent solution than temporary zombies. Pain Offering sacrifices one skeleton to boost the others, and the variety of summonable creatures allows for endless strategic fun.

Best Mercenary Build in PoE2

The Mercenary's unique gameplay in Path of Exile 2 is best showcased through the FrostFerno Witch Hunter build, which blends fire and ice skills using dual 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

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FrostFerno Witch Hunter Gameplay Tips

The FrostFerno Witch Hunter excels due to its unique hybrid playstyle, freezing enemies before exploding them in a fiery blast. Start with Permafrost Bolts and Galvanic Shards paired with Herald of Thunder for clearing mobs, then transition to Explosive Shot for maximum impact. Use Explosive and Gas Grenades to devastate the battlefield, freezing enemies first with Permafrost Bolts to ensure they can't escape. Enhance your freeze duration with Hypothermia and Biting Cold gems, and configure your weapons and skills to maximize ice and fire damage bonuses.

Best Monk Build in PoE2

The Herald of Thunder Invoker build is ideal for the Monk, offering strong defense while maintaining enough damage to progress through the campaign and into the endgame. This build, centered around the foundational Herald of Thunder skill, is perfect for newcomers due to its survivability.

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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 on, use Quarterstaff Strike for swift, smooth attacks. As you level up and gain the Herald of Thunder buff, your strikes will unleash lightning bolts, turning you into a living storm. Tempest Flurry showers enemies with lightning, while Orb of Storms helps control crowds. Tempest Bell and Storm Wave clear mobs with powerful AoE damage. Utilize the Monk's mobility with Vaulting Impact to charge into enemy groups, and Staggering Palm to stun and electrify opponents, preventing their attacks.

Best Warrior Build in PoE2

For the Warrior, the Armour Breaker Warbinger build is the best choice, offering a balanced approach with a Two-Handed Mace for high damage and survivability in tough melee encounters.

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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

In the early game, focus on Earthquake and Shockwave Totem for quick mob clearing. Mace Strike with enchanted gems will deal high single-target damage, while Rolling Slam offers mobility and survivability. As you progress, unlock exclusive Warbinger skills like Anvil's Weight and Imploding Impacts to break enemy armor and increase your damage. For a mace-and-shield setup, focus on Giant's Blood, Glancing Blows, Turtle Charm, and Renly's Training to enhance survivability while delivering devastating blows.

Best Sorceress Build in PoE2

The Sorceress's Ember Fusillade Stormweaver build offers a great balance of damage and survivability, allowing you to quickly progress through the campaign.

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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

Begin with Spark and Flame Wall, then progress to more powerful spells. Use Flame Walls to boost Spark's fire damage. Once you have Solar Orb, you can phase out Spark. Enhance Ember Fusillade with Scattershot and Controlled Destruction, and use Flammability to weaken bosses. As you level up, focus on nodes like Exploit the Element, Potent Incantation, and Dampening Shield. Use a rotation of Flammability, 3x Fusillade, Flame Wall, Solar Orb, and Firestorm for maximum boss damage, and Blasphemy Enfeeble for additional defense.

Best Ranger Build in PoE2

The Deadeye Grenadier build excels in mobility and area damage, making it ideal for clearing locations and battling bosses, though its lack of survivability may challenge newcomers.

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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

Freeze enemies with Permafrost Bolts, then bombard them with grenades, poison them with Gas Grenades, and finish with Explosive Shot. Use a crossbow for high physical and elemental damage, and stack Evasion, Elemental Resistances, and movement speed. Start with Fragmentation Rounds and Permafrost Bolts, then use Flash Grenade to stun bosses before hitting them with Explosive Grenades. Gas Grenades create poisonous clouds that weaken armor, and a well-timed Explosive Shot can ignite these clouds for massive damage.

These are the top builds in Path of Exile 2 as of now, but expect new heroes and strategies to emerge over time. Balance changes may also shift the meta, so stay tuned. We hope this guide helps you choose your character wisely and enjoy your adventure in Path of Exile 2!