Path of Exile 2: Which Classes Should You Play?
Path of Exile 2 is set to release in just a week, and gamers are already anticipating some potentially powerful builds. On the other hand, new players wanting to jump into PoE 2 are figuring out which classes they should pick at the start of their journey. This guide will show you what each playable class can do and what it entails.
Unlike most other ARPGs, Path of Exile’s “classes” are more like starter templates that do not limit what gear and skills you can use. While each “class” starts on a different section in the massive Passive Skill Tree and an initial weapon proficiency, you can allocate your passive skills anywhere on the tree to create your own bespoke build. If you feel like it, you can still take Intelligence-based nodes as a Marauder or a Strength build while using the Witch class.
Table of Contents
Marauder
- Pure Strength
- Weapon proficiency: Axes
The Marauder is one of the original PoE classes, focusing on Strength passives and skills to dominate all enemies before him. The Marauder class dishes out massive AoE damage in close range while wearing heavy armor to survive in the heat of battle. He is proficient with Warcries, skills that buff him and his allies while taunting all enemies to attack him. The Marauder is a great template for tank builds, especially in multiplayer.
Warrior
- Pure Strength
- Weapon proficiency: Hammers, Maces
- Ascendancy classes: Warbringer, Titan
The Warrior is the classic sword and board class, focusing on pure physical power. His first Ascendancy, Warbringer, allows him to channel primal energies as totems into the battlefield, giving him a few magical buffs to fuel his power. The Titan ascendancy on the other hand, focuses on slow and heavy strikes that can ripple out as earthquakes, functioning as a damage and crowd control build.
Ranger
- Pure Dexterity
- Weapon proficiency: Bows
- Ascendancy classes: Deadeye, Pathfinder
For players who prefer ranged combat over melee, the Ranger is one of the original PoE classes that specialize in bows. Her high Dexterity makes her very evasive and accurate, dealing precise strikes to her enemies at range. Many of her skills are oriented toward critical strikes, making her a powerful DPS option for any endgame build.
The Deadeye ascendancy augments all bow skills with faster attack speed buffs and projectile count multipliers. The Pathfinder ascendancy on the other hand, adds some utility options like Poison and Flasks for damage, making her more versatile for more situations.
Huntress
- Pure Dexterity
- Weapon proficiency: Spears
For players who prefer to get up close and personal in combat, the Huntress is a great melee option for Dexterity builds. She is an agile class with fast attacks and extreme mobility, allowing her to clear a group of enemies and move on to the next in the blink of an eye.
Witch
- Pure Intelligence
- Weapon proficiency: Wands
As an outcast from her village, the Witch is an Intelligence class that can summon minions on the battlefield to do her bidding while casting curses and diseases on her enemies to sap away their strength. Though the Witch may be a fragile class, her spells can keep her alive with the ability to generate barriers that soak up any damage she might take.
Sorceress
- Pure Intelligence
- Weapon proficiency: Staves
- Ascendancy classes, Stormweaver, Chronomancer
The Sorceress is a master of elemental magic, slinging fire, ice, and lightning magic at her enemies to deal massive burst damage. She is the classic burst damage magic caster who can exploit the elemental weaknesses of her foes while inflicting status effects like Freeze, Shock, and Ignite.
The Stormweaver ascendancy allows the Sorceress to unleash powerful storms that inflict Shock on all her enemies. As for the Chronomancer ascendancy, this gives the Sorceress unrestricted mastery over time, allowing her to stop time and rewind it to survive otherwise lethal damage.
Mercenary
- Hybrid Strength and Dexterity
- Weapon proficiency: Crossbows
- Ascendancy classes: Gemling Legionnaire, Witch Hunter
The Mercenary class takes elements from shooter damages, which fundamentally changed the way he plays over the other classes. Unlike the point-and-click playstyle of traditional ARPGs, the Mercenary moves with WASD keys and has mouse aim, playing more like a twin-stick shooter. His abilities match with this shooter theme, with shotguns, sniper rifles, and assault rifles as abilities, along with gadgets like grenades and turrets for tactical use.
As for his ascendancies, the Gemling Legionnaire unlocks more skill gems for him to use, while the Witch Hunter gives him more resistance against magic damage.
Monk
- Hybrid Intelligence and Dexterity
- Weapon proficiency: Quarterstaves
- Ascendancy classes: Invoker, Acolyte of Chayula
Players who like a classic battlemage-type class will love the Monk, as he can imbue his melee strikes with magical effects. The Monk can deal fast melee combos on his foes to charge his next attacks with Ice, Lightning, and Wind damage, displaying his mastery over the magical and martial arts.
For his ascendancies, he has the Invoker and Acolyte of Chayula. The Invoker ascendancy allows him to add more bonuses for his Lightning and Ice skills while giving him bonus defensive stats. The Acolyte of Chayula, on the other hand, exchanges elemental for Chaos damage, giving players an option for a more versatile damage type while granting fast mana leech.
Druid
- Hybrid Strength and Intelligence
- Weapon proficiency: Scepters
Druids channel the power of nature by switching to different animal forms. They can take on a mighty Bear form, summon Wolves to aid them in battle, and call forth Lightning storms to strike down at his enemies. The Druid combines raw physical power with a few elemental spells to become a highly versatile class in melee and range.
