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 starting character can be daunting with six classes, each boasting two Ascendancy options. This guide highlights top-tier builds to simplify your decision, though remember, the meta may shift with future updates.

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 reigns supreme. This build fully leverages the class's summoning potential, offering a less demanding experience for new players compared to the riskier Blood Mage. Command an army of undead and demonic minions, 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

Lead a horde of undead and Abyssal demons into battle! Provide fire support, utilize strategic movement during boss fights, and remember to cast Vulnerability for crucial debuffs. Flame Wall provides area damage and summons Raging Spirits. Detonate Dead offers AoE damage, utilizing corpses effectively. Experiment with diverse minion combinations for optimal battlefield control. Pain Offering sacrifices a minion to enhance others.

Best Mercenary Build in PoE2

The FrostFerno Witch Hunter Mercenary shines in both early and late game. This hybrid build expertly blends fire and ice skills, utilizing 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

Freeze enemies with Permafrost Bolts and Galvanic Shards (early game), then unleash explosive fire damage with Explosive Shot (later game). Explosive Grenade, Gas Grenade, and Explosive Shot provide devastating AoE potential. Utilize Hypothermia and Biting Cold gems to extend freeze duration. Configure your skills and gear for maximum fire and ice damage synergy.

Best Monk Build in PoE2

The Herald of Thunder Invoker Monk offers excellent defense and respectable damage, making it ideal for both campaign completion and endgame progression. This build is highly recommended for new players.

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, Quarterstaff Strike provides effective crowd control. Herald of Thunder empowers your strikes with lightning damage. Tempest Flurry delivers lightning strikes, while Orb of Storms controls crowds. Tempest Bell and Storm Wave provide powerful AoE clear. Vaulting Impact enhances mobility, and Staggering Palm stuns and electrifies enemies.

Best Warrior Build in PoE2

The Armour Breaker Warbinger Warrior provides a balanced approach, wielding a two-handed mace for high damage output while maintaining solid 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, Earthquake and Shockwave Totem provide excellent AoE clear. Mace Strike deals high single-target damage, while Rolling Slam offers mobility and survivability. Later, utilize Warbinger ascendancy skills like Anvil's Weight and Imploding Impacts to break enemy armor. A mace-and-shield setup benefits from Giant's Blood, Glancing Blows, Turtle Charm, and Renly's Training for enhanced survivability.

Best Sorceress Build in PoE2

The Ember Fusillade Stormweaver Sorceress offers a potent blend of damage and survivability, enabling rapid leveling and efficient 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

Begin with Spark and Flame Wall, progressing to more powerful spells. Use Flame Wall for cover and bonus fire damage to Sparks. Solar Orb replaces Spark later. Enhance Ember Fusillade with Scattershot and Controlled Destruction. Flammability weakens bosses and boosts damage. Focus on Exploit the Element, Potent Incantation, and Dampening Shield nodes. Use a rotation of Flammability, 3x Fusillade, Flame Wall, Solar Orb, and Firestorm. Blasphemy Enfeeble provides additional defense.

Best Ranger Build in PoE2

The Deadeye Grenadier Ranger excels in mobility and AoE damage, making it effective against both single targets and large groups. 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

Utilize a crossbow for high physical damage and elemental bonuses. Freeze enemies with Permafrost Bolts, then use grenades for AoE damage and crowd control. Gas Grenade weakens armor and sets up Explosive Shot for massive damage. Prioritize Evasion, Elemental Resistances, and movement speed.

These builds represent the current top contenders in Path of Exile 2, but future updates may shift the meta. Remember to adapt and experiment to find what suits your playstyle!