Path of Exile 2 is a highly intricate game, offering players a vast array of skills, items, and customization options to tailor their characters to their preferred style. Just when you think you've mastered these elements, the game introduces the challenge of selecting an Ascendancy Class. Currently, in the early access phase of PoE2, each class offers two progression paths, but this will expand to three upon full release. Let's dive into the details of the existing Ascendancies and explore the unique abilities they bring to the table.
Before we proceed, don't forget to check out our article on choosing the best build to kickstart your journey in Path of Exile 2.
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Table of Contents
- Witch Ascendancy Classes in PoE2
- Infernalist
- Blood Mage
- Sorcerer Ascendancy Classes in PoE2
- Stormweaver
- Chronomancer
- Warrior Ascendancy Classes in PoE2
- Warbringer
- Titan
- Monk Ascendancy Classes in PoE2
- Invoker
- Acolyte of Chayula
- Mercenary Ascendancy Classes in PoE2
- Witchhunter
- Gemling Legionnaire
- Ranger Ascendancy Classes in PoE2
- Deadeye
- Pathfinder
Witch Ascendancy Classes in PoE2
Infernalist
The Infernalist stands out as one of the most powerful Witch Ascendancies in Path of Exile 2. This class specializes in a wide range of fire spells, making it a formidable choice for those who enjoy dealing elemental damage. Additionally, if you're a fan of summoning minions, the Infernalist introduces the Infernal Hound, a new skill that brings a fiery companion from the underworld to assist you in battle.
Dreamed of becoming a hellish beast? The Infernalist can transform into a demonic form, enhancing attack damage and mobility at the cost of quicker health loss. To counteract this, the Loyal Hellhound skill becomes crucial for prolonged survival in this form. The Beidat's Will node also ties Spirit to maximum HP, encouraging investment in both HP and Strength to command an army of the undead effectively.
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Blood Mage
While not as popular or balanced as the Infernalist, the Blood Mage offers a thrilling and unique gameplay experience. This Ascendancy utilizes Sanguimancy, which replaces traditional mana with health, pushing players to balance on the edge of life and death. Reckless play can lead to quick demise, but skills like Vitality Siphon and Life Remnants help drain health from enemies to sustain yourself.
To further enhance your offensive capabilities, Sunder the Flesh increases critical hit chances for triggering buffs, while Gore Spike amplifies attack damage. Playing a Blood Mage requires careful management of your health pool, making it a challenging yet rewarding choice.
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Sorcerer Ascendancy Classes in PoE2
Stormweaver
The Stormweaver excels in dealing massive elemental damage, often with high critical hit chances that trigger Elemental Storm through Tempest Caller. A core aspect of this Ascendancy is inflicting status ailments on enemies, facilitated by the Strike Twice passive skill. Utilizing Spirit Gems, a new game mechanic, Stormweavers can significantly boost their elemental attack damage against groups affected by negative effects.
For a magic-heavy playstyle, Constant Gale and Force of Will enhance spell casting speed and MP regeneration. The Heart of the Storm node is vital for survivability, converting part of Elemental Damage into an Energy Shield, ensuring the character can withstand multiple attacks.
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Chronomancer
The Chronomancer introduces a novel concept to Path of Exile 2 by manipulating time to control the flow of battle. Exclusive spells like Temporal Rift and Time Freeze open up new possibilities for strategic combat and experimentation. Although not the strongest Sorcerer Ascendancy at the moment, the Chronomancer holds immense potential for unique gameplay.
As a master of time manipulation, the Chronomancer can avoid cooldowns with Now and Again, slow down nearby monsters with Apex of the Moment, and increase magic creation speed with Quicksand Hourglass, offering a fresh approach to combat dynamics.
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Warrior Ascendancy Classes in PoE2
Warbringer
The Warbringer combines war cries with totem summons, focusing on close combat and maximizing melee damage. This approach is effective even against bosses, as totems can distract enemies and absorb incoming damage. Enhance your armor penetration with Imploding Impacts and Anvil’s Weight for increased effectiveness in combat.
Warcaller’s Bellow can cause enemy corpses to explode upon using a Warcry, while Greatwolf’s Howl removes Warcry cooldowns. For those preferring a defensive stance, Renly’s Training and Turtle Charm improve shield and blocking capabilities, offering a versatile playstyle.
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Titan
If you favor a controlled, defensive playstyle, the Titan is an ideal choice. With slow yet powerful attacks, Titans can paralyze enemies, forcing them to break through thick armor before dealing damage. Stone Skin increases the defensive power of your gear by 50%, and Mysterious Lineage boosts max HP by 15%, enhancing overall survivability.
Titans are not just defensive powerhouses; they can deal significant damage as well. Earthbreaker and Ancestral Empowerment strengthen Slam abilities, while Surprising Strength increases damage against stunned enemies by 40%, making them a formidable presence on the battlefield.
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Monk Ascendancy Classes in PoE2
Invoker
The Invoker empowers Monks to harness elemental power, granting access to potent abilities and status-enhancing effects. As a melee-focused class, the Invoker utilizes elemental damage and status effects to annihilate enemies and trigger powerful effects. The ability to use Power Charges to enhance skills adds strategic depth, making this class a versatile choice for players who enjoy a mix of offense and utility.
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Acolyte of Chayula
The Acolyte of Chayula has embraced Darkness, gaining control over dark forces bestowed by Chayula. By using the Embrace the Darkness skill, this Monk can forgo the Spirit resource entirely, increasing the maximum Darkness to 100 and enhancing survivability significantly.
To bolster defenses further, Consuming Questions can be combined with Mana Leech. However, caution is advised, as this setup removes the Energy Shield’s cooldown, making it reliant solely on MP drain, which is currently inefficient. As of version 0.1.1, this Ascendancy remains less powerful than the Invoker, but future updates may address these issues.
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Mercenary Ascendancy Classes in PoE2
Witchhunter
The Witchhunter is among the strongest classes in the current version of Path of Exile 2, excelling in hunting and eliminating demons and the undead swiftly. It deals increased damage on both the first and last hits, making it perfect for clearing areas of weaker enemies. Against bosses, passive skills like Pitiless Killer, Damage vs Low Life Enemies, and Judge, Jury, and Executioner can be pivotal in securing victory.
Witchbane and No Mercy facilitate a playstyle focused on reducing enemy concentration and dealing increased damage. The Zealous Inquisition node reflects the Witchhunter's deep hatred for demons and the undead, offering a 10% chance for slain enemies to explode, damaging their living allies.
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Gemling Legionnaire
The Gemling Legionnaire's gameplay revolves around gems, emphasizing their stats, quality, and even color. Thaumaturgical Infusion increases resistances based on the number of equipped stones of a specific color, while Crystalline Potential and Implanted Gems enhance the level of all skills.
Advanced Thaumaturgy reduces skill costs and lowers attribute requirements, similar to Adaptive Capability. The Integrated Efficiency node expands the arsenal of active skills by three additional slots, and Gem Studded allows the use of two identical Support stones, opening up vast potential for experimentation and powerful builds.
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Ranger Ascendancy Classes in PoE2
Deadeye
The Deadeye Ascendancy is ideal for players who prefer ranged combat. It offers unique passive skills that increase effective attack range and enhance damage output. Endless Munitions allows you to fire one additional projectile per skill use, making it incredibly useful for clearing screens of enemies.
This path is perfect for those who favor the classic bow over the modern crossbow and plan to focus on elemental damage. Increased movement speed, extra projectiles, and an additional Mark will prove invaluable in your journey.
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Pathfinder
If you're drawn to the color green and enjoy poison mechanics, the Pathfinder is your perfect match. This class excels at draining enemies' health bars with double effectiveness. The Overwhelming Toxicity passive skill doubles the amount of Poison applied to enemies, albeit with a shorter debuff duration.
Be cautious! The Pathfinder's signature weapon is the gas grenade, which, combined with high movement speed and slow resistance, allows you to blanket the battlefield in toxic mist quickly and efficiently. If you enjoy unique gameplay centered around poison, this path is definitely for you.
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Remember, we've only covered twelve of the planned thirty-six Ascendancy Classes. As Path of Exile 2 progresses through early access, these are the currently available specialization paths for your characters. More will be added over time, and future updates may alter passive skills, so the details in this guide may differ from the final version.
