PoE 2 Class Overview (2024)

Welcome to the PoE 2 class overview! Path of Exile 2 features 12 playable classes each of which have 3 Ascendancies. There is no Scion or Ascendant in PoE 2 but this still results in 36 unique Ascendancies. This means twice the choice of the original Path of Exile! A lot is unknown about Path of Exile 2, but Grinding Gear Games has dropped several tantalizing hints about classes and their associated fantasies. These are no mere nameless, faceless avatars for you to customize. Each character is unique with their own backstory, lore, and personality.

Path of Exile 2 is a game which stresses player choice! You can use any weapon or play any skill on any class in the endgame. However, due to their starting location on the Passive Tree, Ascendancy bonuses, and skills offered throughout the campaign some classes are more suited to one playstyle over another. The class section of this post is written from the perspective of the fantasy presented. For example, you can make your Mercenary into a Greatsword wielding tank, but his section of the post is written from the perspective of the perspective of the Crossbow/Gun fantasy.

Each Attribute combination has 2 unique classes, one of which is taken from the original Path of Exile, the other of which is fully unique to PoE 2. For example, the 2 Dexterity classes are Ranger and Huntress. Each class and its Ascendancies have synergies for skills from the associated Attribute(s). However, you have a lot of freedom to use Gems from other Attributes and customize your build. As we learn more about all the Ascendancies available in Path of Exile 2, we'll update this chart to include the Ascendancies available to each base class.

Class	Icon	Attribute(s)
Warrior		Strength
Huntress		Dexterity
Sorceress		Intelligence
Mercenary		Str / Dex
Monk		Int / Dex
Druid		Str / Int
Marauder*		Strength
Ranger		Dexterity
Witch		Intelligence
Duelist*		Str / Dex
Shadow*		Int / Dex
Templar*		Str / Int

The Warrior stands proud and ready to take on all the challenges found within Wraeclast. This Strength class specializes in getting close and personal to unleash dealing devastating blows that sunder armor and stun bosses. Warriors are the counterpart to Path of Exile 2's Marauder so it's likely they receive Strength skills while leveling with a focus on Attack skills such as Strikes and Slams. Exilecon and other PoE 2 gameplay showcases have shown the Warrior using melee attacks. The faster melee skills are capable of easily dealing with smaller enemies, and slower heavier attacks like Supercharged Slam deal massive damage.

However, the charged attacks are difficult to pull off without stunning your target. Comboing skills by inflicting Armor Break to maximize your damage was a big part of the Warrior gameplay. Several showcases included skills that consume Armor Break to trigger additional effects. The Warrior uses several slams including the fan-favorite Sunder and gains a lot of benefit from weaving Warcries between attacks to Exert them.

A Huntress stalks her foes, fighting through the barren wastes. This Dexterity class specializes in using Spears from close to medium range to provide peerless control over the battlefield. Huntresses are similar to Path of Exile 2's Ranger, using their mobility to Evade damage before it lands and then retaliate from a safe distance. Several of the Huntress gameplay showcases included Spears. A versatile new melee weapon that deals damage from close or medium range. Many people who got to try the class said she feels like playing a bow build in PoE, with lots of damage, speed, and AoE.

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Mobility is a key part of Path of Exile 2's design! The Huntress showcases this by jumping to targets and then using a separate skill to disengage. She also has area of effect control skills like Field of Spears which slows any foes attempting to re-engage. Little is known about what Ascendancies the Huntress has, but we've seen aspects of Melee, Bleed, Mobility, Evasion, and Elemental Damage in the showcases.

The Sorceress class focuses on weaving elemental magic to unleash an apocalypse upon her enemies! This class relies on being able to cast from a distance as many Intelligence spells are powerful but have a long cast time. Because she is better suited to the theme of blending elements, Path of Exile 1's Elementalist Ascendancy is available to the Sorceress in PoE 2 instead of the Witch. Her showcases have included some familiar spells like Spark and some new ones like the impressive Comet. These elemental Spells have less movement than their Attack counterparts but still provide ways to disengage and set up a burst of damage.

We haven't seen too much Sorceress gameplay but so far weapon swapping looks especially crucial here. Caster weapons have innate skills, providing efficient damage and additional customization. You use weapon swapping to combine spells from different elements, such as freezing an enemy to set up for a hard hitting fire or lightning spell with a slow cast time. Alternatively, you could Shock enemies with lightning damage before unleashing a Comet.

Path of Exile 2's Strength and Dexterity class, the Mercenary draws heavy inspiration from First Person Shooters. This lead to a fundamental redesign of how movement is handled in PoE 2 and the addition of WASD controls. The Mercenary reveal focused heavily on the mechanics of Crossbows in PoE 2. You're able to use a Burst Shot (Shotgun), Rapid Shot (Assault Rifle), or Power Shot (Sniper Rifle) Crossbow with a variety of special ammunition. Armor Piercing Ammo inflicts Armor Break, Incendiary Ammo sets enemies on fire and Permafrost Ammo freezes foes in place or creates walls of ice while you lay down suppressing fire.

In addition, the gameplay showcase included Crossbow weapon attachments. No scopes so far to 360 with, but several grenades were revealed. These offer additional ways to deal damage, Stun enemies, or create oil slicks which can be ignited later to cause a massive explosion. This enigmatic PoE 2 class looks like a blast to play!

The Monk is a martial arts specialist who wields his inner power to strike at foes, executing combos with precise timing. As an Intelligence and Dexterity class the Monk bears an affinity with Power Charges but wields them differently from Path of Exile 1's Assassin. As a mobility focused melee fighter the Monk has access to a lot of skills to effortlessly disengage to avoid enemy attacks, strike from a distance then re-engage to hit them again. Killing Palm for example marks an enemy when they enter Culling Strike range. You then use the skill to lock onto that enemy and execute them, obtaining a Power Charge to fuel your other skills in the process.

If you value agility and want to make the most of the dodge roll and tighter animation timings then the Monk is the class for you. In comparison to some other classes, the Monk hasn't had as much time in the spotlight so we look forward to learning more through future showcases.

The Druid is a hybrid shapeshifter-spellcaster class who is able to rapidly switch between different gameplay modes. Therefore a Druid blends their Strength and Intelligence to overcome foes. Each of your different Shapeshifting forms provide unique benefits. So far the only one which has been showcased is Bear Form. Maul your foes to build Rage then unleash it by going on a Rampage. Gameplay showcases so far have focused heavily on the Druid's ability to shift between a human-form caster and a rampaging bear, hell bent on turning enemies into red milk.

Casting in Bear Form automatically shifts you back to human form, so buffs and spells with a long duration are ideal for setting up combos with other skills. Jonathan also showcased the Summon Wolf minion skill during the Druid showcase, hinting that one of the ascendancies may be animal companion themed.

Skill Options enable specific Spirit reservations for each weapon set you have. Bear Form counts as a weapon set offering you a great deal of flexibility to maximize your Spirit effects. This also means you can have one set of Passives for your Bear Form which focus on maximizing Attack damage, then use a separate set for your human form which better enhances spellcasting.

Original PoE Classes

In addition to new classes, PoE 2 has all of the base classes from the original Path of Exile. However, some Ascendancies have moved around.

Templar*

Marauder*

Duelist*

Shadow*

After years away the Ranger explores her old hunting grounds. These once familiar forests have grown dark and now teem with sinister enemies. Wraeclast's master survivalist returns in search of new prey.

the Ranger class has been teased extensively, showcasing various bow Skills and some mounted combat! Currently, we don't know if the Rhoa is a permanent companion tied to one of the Ranger Ascendancies or a skill anyone can use. When mounted you can attack while moving, but when you suffer a heavy stun you're knocked to the ground and need to survive a long animation to stand up and continue fighting.

The Necropolis League Path of Exile 2 gameplay showcase included a deep dive on many of the bow skills and how they combo into each other. Some bow skills can be used while moving and some have inbuilt mobility. But others are slower to execute in exchange for hitting much harder.

Surrounded by her loyal Minions the Witch makes a triumphant return to the land she previously bent to her will. Now armed with incantations of Bone, and Curses containing forbidden knowledge she looks for new power to harness.

The Witch Gameplay showcase focused on Path of Exile 2's Minion skills. Minions require a Spirit reservation and so long as no other Minions have died recently, automatically revive. The Minions have a wide variety of unique skills, some of which you use on command. Spells like Unearth, Essence Drain, and Contagion were showcased alongside the Minions.

The Witch blends Curses, Minions, Power Charges, Physical Spells, and Chaos Spells to desecrate her foes. Then conducts profane rituals on their corpses to fuel the very spells she then expertly turns against their allies. In Path of Exile 2, the Witch does not have access to the Elementalist Ascendancy.

Path of Exile 2 has 12 playable classes, each of which has 3 Ascendancies making for 36 combinations to support a wide variety of playstyles and class fantasies. 6 of the playable classes are inspired by the original Path of Exile, and 6 are unique to PoE 2. Skill combos and incorporating movement into gameplay dominate the design philosophy behind the playable classes in PoE 2.

Written by: Tenkiei

Reviewed by: Crouching_Tuna, Havoc616, Palsteron