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 first character can be daunting with six classes, each boasting two Ascendancy options. This guide simplifies the selection process by highlighting some top-tier builds.

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 maximizes the class's summoning potential, offering a smoother experience for newcomers compared to the riskier Blood Mage. Command an army of undead and demons, transforming into a demonic form for added flair. This is a top-tier PoE2 build.

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 your undead and demonic horde into battle, supporting them with fire spells and employing strategic dodging. Remember to cast Vulnerability for crucial debuffs. Flame Wall provides area damage and summons Raging Spirits, while Detonate Dead offers AoE damage using corpses. Skeletons, especially with Skeletal Cleric support, prove more valuable than temporary zombie minions.

Pain Offering sacrifices a skeleton to enhance others. Experiment with diverse minion combinations for optimal battlefield devastation.

Best Mercenary Build in PoE2

The FrostFerno Witch Hunter offers a unique and effective Mercenary build for both early and late game. This hybrid build combines fire and ice skills using two crossbows, leveraging 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

Freeze enemies with Permafrost Bolts and Galvanic Shards (early game), then unleash explosive fire damage with Explosive Shot (later game). Combine Explosive Grenade, Gas Grenade, and Explosive Shot for devastating area-of-effect attacks. Hypothermia and Biting Cold gems extend freeze duration. Utilize two self-shot skills, each with a separate skill tree, maximizing ice and fire damage bonuses.

Best Monk Build in PoE2

The Herald of Thunder Invoker is a top Monk build, balancing defense and damage for campaign completion and endgame progression. Its survivability makes it ideal for newcomers.

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, use Quarterstaff Strike. Later, Herald of Thunder empowers attacks with lightning. Tempest Flurry delivers lightning strikes, Orb of Storms controls crowds, and Tempest Bell and Storm Wave provide AoE damage. Vaulting Impact offers mobility, and Staggering Palm stuns and electrifies opponents.

Best Warrior Build in PoE2

For Warriors, the Armour Breaker Warbinger excels. This balanced build utilizes a Two-Handed Mace for high damage and 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, focus on Earthquake and Shockwave Totem for crowd control. Mace Strike deals high single-target damage, while Rolling Slam provides mobility and survivability. Later, utilize Warbinger skills like Anvil's Weight and Imploding Impacts to break enemy armor. Mace-and-shield users should prioritize Giant's Blood, Glancing Blows, Turtle Charm, and Renly's Training for survivability.

Best Sorceress Build in PoE2

The Ember Fusillade Stormweaver Sorceress build offers a balance of damage and survivability, enabling rapid leveling and 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 protection and Spark for bonus fire damage. Solar Orb replaces Spark later. Enhance Ember Fusillade with Scattershot and Controlled Destruction. Flammability weakens bosses, increasing damage. Prioritize Exploit the Element, Potent Incantation, and Dampening Shield nodes. Use a rotation of Flammability, 3x Fusillade, Flame Wall, Solar Orb, and Firestorm. Blasphemy Enfeeble adds defense.

Best Ranger Build in PoE2

The Deadeye Grenadier Ranger boasts excellent mobility and area damage, but its lower survivability makes it challenging for beginners. Experienced players will appreciate its explosive gameplay.

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 area damage. Gas Grenade weakens armor. Explosive Shot detonates gas clouds for massive damage. Prioritize Evasion, Elemental Resistances, and movement speed.

These builds represent some of the strongest options in Path of Exile 2's early access, but future updates may shift the meta. Remember to adapt your strategies as needed!