Surviving PoE2: Selecting Your First Character

Embarking on your journey in Path of Exile 2 during the early access phase begins with a crucial decision—choosing your character. With six distinct classes and two Ascendancy Classes each, selecting the strongest character can feel daunting. And with the developers planning to introduce six more classes and an additional Ascendancy Class per existing class, the choice will only become more complex. To help you navigate this decision, we'll explore the best builds 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

Best Witch Build in PoE2

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The optimal build for the Witch in Path of Exile 2 is the Minion Summoner Infernalist. This build harnesses the Witch's full potential as a summoner, making it an excellent choice for beginners. Unlike the high-risk, high-reward Blood Mage, the Infernalist offers a more balanced approach. You'll summon creatures to fight alongside you and can even transform into a demonic form, adding a unique 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

The Minion Summoner Infernalist is one of the top characters in PoE2, though its playstyle may not appeal to everyone. As you lead a horde of undead and abyssal demons into battle, you'll need to provide fire support, dodge during boss fights, and cast Vulnerability to debuff enemies. Flame Wall not only deals area damage but also summons Raging Spirits. Detonate Dead requires fresh corpses, which can also be turned into temporary zombies or minions. Skeletons, supported by Skeletal Clerics, have an unlimited lifecycle, making them particularly useful. Pain Offering sacrifices one Skeleton to enhance the attacks of the rest, allowing for diverse and fun combinations of hellish creatures.

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Best Mercenary Build in PoE2

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The Mercenary class offers unique gameplay in Path of Exile 2, and the best build for both early and late stages is the FrostFerno Witch Hunter. This build combines fire and ice skills, utilizing two 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's unique hybrid playstyle sets it apart as one of the top builds in PoE2. Early on, use Permafrost Bolts and Galvanic Shards with Herald of Thunder to clear mobs. Later, Explosive Shot lets you indulge in pyromania. Use Explosive Grenade, Gas Grenade, and Explosive Shot to maximize battlefield destruction, but first, freeze enemies with Permafrost Bolts to prevent their escape. Enhance your freeze duration with Hypothermia and Biting Cold gems, and configure your weapons and skills to boost ice and fire damage.

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Best Monk Build in PoE2

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The Herald of Thunder Invoker is the best Monk build currently available in PoE2. It focuses on defense while still delivering enough damage to progress through the campaign and endgame. Herald of Thunder is the core skill of this build, making it ideal 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

In the early game, rely on Quarterstaff Strike to keep enemies at bay. 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 strikes, while Orb of Storms helps control crowds. Tempest Bell and Storm Wave provide powerful AoE damage to clear mobs. Use Vaulting Impact to charge into enemy crowds and Staggering Palm to stun and electrify opponents, enhancing your mobility and survivability.

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Best Warrior Build in PoE2

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For the Warrior class, the Armour Breaker Warbinger build strikes a perfect balance between dealing impressive damage with a Two-Handed Mace and surviving in intense melee combat.

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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 stages, use Earthquake and Shockwave Totem to quickly clear areas. Mace Strike with enchanted gems will deal high single-target damage, while Rolling Slam offers mobility and survivability. As you progress, gain access to Warbinger-exclusive skills like Anvil's Weight and Imploding Impacts to break enemy armor and increase your damage output. For a mace-and-shield setup, focus on Giant's Blood, Glancing Blows, Turtle Charm, and Renly's Training to enhance your survivability and deliver devastating mace strikes.

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Best Sorceress Build in PoE2

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The Ember Fusillade Stormweaver is the best Sorceress build, offering a balanced mix of damage and survivability to quickly progress through campaign acts.

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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

Start with Spark and Flame Wall, then transition to more powerful spells. Use Flame Walls to boost your Spark's fire damage. Once you acquire Solar Orb, you can move away from Spark. Enhance Ember Fusillade with Scattershot and Controlled Destruction, and use Flammability to weaken bosses and increase your damage. As you level up, focus on nodes with Exploit the Element, Potent Incantation, and Dampening Shield. For bosses, use a rotation of Flammability, 3x Fusillade, Flame Wall, Solar Orb, and Firestorm. If you need more defense, use Blasphemy Enfeeble.

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Best Ranger Build in PoE2

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The Deadeye Grenadier build offers excellent mobility and high area damage, ideal for clearing locations and battling bosses. However, its lack of survivability makes it challenging for beginners.

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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 use grenades to poison and explode them. Use a crossbow for high physical damage and elemental bonuses, and focus on stacking Evasion, Elemental Resistances, and movement speed. Initially, rely on Fragmentation Rounds and Permafrost Bolts. Flash Grenade can stun bosses, allowing you to throw Explosive Grenades at them. Gas Grenade creates a poisonous cloud that weakens armor, and a precise crossbow shot with Explosive Shot can detonate the cloud for massive damage.

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These are the best builds in Path of Exile 2 as of now, but with future updates and balance changes, new heroes and tactics may emerge. We hope this guide has helped you choose the perfect character to conquer the challenges of PoE2.