Path of Exile 2 is a game renowned for its depth and complexity, offering players a vast array of skills, items, and customization options to tailor their characters to their preferred playstyle. Just when you think you've mastered the intricacies of your character, the game presents another layer of depth with the choice of an Ascendancy Class. Currently, in the early access phase of PoE2, each class features two progression paths, but by the time of the full release, players can expect three paths per class. Let's delve into the existing Ascendancy Classes and explore their unique abilities and playstyles.

Before we dive in, make sure to check out our article on choosing the best build to start 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 fire spells, offering a robust arsenal for players to unleash devastating attacks. If you're fond of summoning minions, the Infernalist introduces the Infernal Hound, a new skill that calls forth a hound from the underworld to aid you in battle.

For those who dream of becoming a hellish beast, the Infernalist allows you to transform into a demonic form, boosting your attack damage and mobility at the cost of faster health depletion. To mitigate this risk, the Loyal Hellhound skill is crucial. Additionally, the Beidat's Will node ties your Spirit to your maximum HP, encouraging investment in both HP and Strength. This setup enables you to command an army of the undead, enhancing your combat prowess.

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Blood Mage

While not as popular as the Infernalist, the Blood Mage offers a unique and engaging gameplay experience. This class revolves around Sanguimancy, a mechanic that replaces MP with HP consumption, forcing players to balance on the edge of life and death. Recklessness can lead to quick demise, but skills like Vitality Siphon and Life Remnants help by draining health from enemies.

Sunder the Flesh increases the critical hit chance needed to trigger buffs, and Gore Spike amplifies attack damage. Playing as a Blood Mage requires careful management of your health, making it a thrilling choice for those who enjoy high-risk, high-reward gameplay.

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Sorcerer Ascendancy Classes in PoE2

Stormweaver

The Stormweaver is a Sorcerer who excels in dealing massive elemental damage, often with a high critical hit chance that triggers Elemental Storm via Tempest Caller. This class thrives on inflicting status ailments on enemies, enhanced by the passive skill Strike Twice. Utilizing the new Spirit Gems mechanic, Stormweavers can amplify their elemental attacks against groups of enemies suffering from negative effects.

Constant Gale and Force of Will improve spell casting speed and MP regeneration, essential for a magic-heavy playstyle. The Heart of the Storm node significantly boosts survivability by converting part of Elemental Damage into an Energy Shield, ensuring you can withstand multiple attacks.

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Chronomancer

The Chronomancer introduces a novel approach to combat by manipulating time. This unique class, not present in the original Path of Exile, offers exclusive spells like Temporal Rift and Time Freeze, opening up new possibilities for combos and strategic gameplay.

While currently not the strongest Sorcerer Ascendancy, the Chronomancer holds significant potential. Skills like Now and Again, which can bypass cooldowns, Apex of the Moment, which slows down nearby monsters, and Quicksand Hourglass, which speeds up magic creation, showcase the class's innovative time manipulation abilities.

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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 tactic is particularly effective against bosses, as totems can distract and absorb damage. Enhancing armor penetration with Imploding Impacts and Anvil’s Weight significantly boosts this build’s effectiveness.

Warcaller’s Bellow causes enemy corpses to explode upon using a Warcry, while Greatwolf’s Howl removes Warcry cooldowns. For a more defensive approach, Renly’s Training and Turtle Charm enhance shield and blocking capabilities, offering a versatile playstyle.

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Titan

If you prefer a more controlled and defensive playstyle, the Titan is an excellent choice. With powerful, slow attacks, Titans paralyze enemies, forcing them to break through thick armor before dealing damage. Stone Skin increases the defensive power of equipped gear by 50%, while Mysterious Lineage boosts max HP by 15%, enhancing survivability.

Despite their defensive focus, Titans can deal significant damage. Earthbreaker and Ancestral Empowerment strengthen Slam abilities, and Surprising Strength increases damage against stunned enemies by 40%, making the Titan a formidable force on the battlefield.

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Monk Ascendancy Classes in PoE2

Invoker

The Invoker allows Monks to harness elemental power, granting access to powerful abilities and status-enhancing effects. This melee-focused class utilizes elemental damage and status effects to annihilate enemies and trigger potent effects. The ability to use Power Charges to enhance skills adds strategic depth, making the Invoker a versatile and powerful choice.

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Acolyte of Chayula

The Acolyte of Chayula has embraced Darkness, gaining dominion over dark forces bestowed by Chayula. The Embrace the Darkness skill allows you to forgo the Spirit resource entirely, increasing the maximum Darkness to 100 and granting exceptional survivability.

To reinforce defenses, Consuming Questions can be used with Mana Leech. However, this setup removes the Energy Shield’s cooldown, relying solely on MP drain, which is currently not efficient enough. Until this issue is addressed, the Acolyte of Chayula remains less effective than the Invoker.

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Mercenary Ascendancy Classes in PoE2

Witchhunter

The Witchhunter is one of the strongest classes in the current version of Path of Exile 2, excelling in hunting and swiftly eliminating demons and the undead. This class deals increased damage on both the first and last hits, quickly clearing areas of weaker enemies. Against bosses, passive skills like Pitiless Killer, Damage vs Low Life Enemies, and Judge, Jury, and Executioner are crucial for securing victory.

Witchbane and No Mercy enable a playstyle focused on reducing enemy concentration and dealing increased damage. The Zealous Inquisition node reflects the Witchhunter’s deep-seated hatred for demons and the undead, with a 10% chance to make slain enemies explode, damaging their living allies.

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Gemling Legionnaire

The Gemling Legionnaire is a unique class whose gameplay revolves around gems, focusing on their stats, quality, and even color. Thaumaturgical Infusion increases resistances based on the number of equipped stones of a particular color, while Crystalline Potential and Implanted Gems enhance the level of all skills.

Advanced Thaumaturgy reduces skill costs and attribute requirements, and Integrated Efficiency expands the arsenal of active skills by three additional slots. 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 follows a familiar gameplay style for players who favor ranged combat. Unique passive skills increase effective attack range and enhance damage output. Endless Munitions allows you to fire one additional projectile per skill use, which is incredibly useful for clearing entire screens of enemies.

This path is an excellent choice for those who prefer 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 this build.

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Pathfinder

If you're drawn to the color green and enjoy poison mechanics, the Pathfinder is the perfect choice. This class constantly drains enemies’ health bars with double effectiveness. The passive skill Overwhelming Toxicity doubles the amount of Poison applied to enemies but shortens the debuff duration.

One of the Pathfinder's signature weapons is the gas grenade, which, when combined with high movement speed and slow resistance, allows you to quickly and efficiently blanket the battlefield in toxic mist. This path offers a unique and engaging gameplay experience for those who enjoy poison mechanics.

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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 game updates may introduce changes to passive skills, meaning the details in this guide may differ from the final version.