How to survive in the harsh world of PoE2: choosing your first character

Path of Exile 2: Top Tier Builds for Early Access

Choosing your starting class in Path of Exile 2's early access can be daunting. With six classes and two Ascendancy options each, finding the strongest build is crucial. This guide highlights top-performing builds for each class, perfect for both newcomers and veterans. Note that future updates may shift the meta.

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Witch: Minion Summoner Infernalist

This build excels at summoning and offers a smoother learning curve than other Witch options. The Infernalist's demonic transformation adds a unique gameplay element.

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Key Skills: Skeletal Brute, Skeletal Cleric, Pain Offering, Skeletal Arsonist, Detonate Dead, Flame Wall, Raging Spirits, Vulnerability, Summon Infernal Hound.

Gameplay: Command a horde of minions, providing fire support and utilizing strategic positioning during boss encounters. Remember to apply Vulnerability for increased damage. Flame Wall acts as both damage and additional minion summoning. Detonate Dead offers AoE damage, but requires corpses. Skeletons provide sustained damage over time.

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Mercenary: FrostFerno Witch Hunter

A hybrid build combining fire and ice, utilizing two crossbows and dual passive skill trees. Excellent for both early and late game.

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Key Skills: Permafrost Bolts, Explosive Grenade, Gas Grenade, Explosive Shot, Herald of Ash, Galvanic Shards, Herald of Thunder.

Gameplay: Freeze enemies with Permafrost Bolts and Galvanic Shards, then unleash devastating fire damage with grenades and Explosive Shot. Utilize Hypothermia and Biting Cold for extended freeze duration.

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Monk: Herald of Thunder Invoker

A balanced build prioritizing defense while delivering significant damage. Herald of Thunder is the core skill. Great for beginners.

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Key Skills: Tempest Flurry, Tempest Bell, Staggering Palm, Vaulting Impact, Orb of Storms, Storm Wave.

Gameplay: Utilize Tempest Flurry for lightning strikes, Orb of Storms for crowd control, and Tempest Bell/Storm Wave for AoE damage. Vaulting Impact provides mobility, and Staggering Palm offers crowd control and damage.

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Warrior: Armour Breaker Warbinger

A well-rounded build using a two-handed mace for high damage and survivability in melee combat.

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Key Skills: Mace Strike, Stampede, Leap Slam, Ancestral Warrior Totem, Scavenged Plating, Hammer of the Gods, Seismic Cry, Attrition.

Gameplay: Utilize Mace Strike for single-target damage, Rolling Slam for mobility, and Ancestral Warrior Totem for additional support. Warbinger ascendancy skills enhance armor breaking for increased damage.

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Sorceress: Ember Fusillade Stormweaver

A strong build balancing damage and survivability, allowing for rapid progression through the campaign.

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Key Skills: Spark, Flame Wall, Ember Fusillade, Solar Orb, Firestorm, Flammability, Blasphemy (Enfeeble).

Gameplay: Use Flame Wall for defense and damage amplification for Spark. Transition to Ember Fusillade with Scattershot and Controlled Destruction. Solar Orb and Firestorm provide additional AoE damage.

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Ranger: Deadeye Grenadier

High mobility and AoE damage, but lower survivability. Not recommended for beginners.

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Key Skills: Permafrost Bolts, Fragmentation Rounds, Flash Grenade, Gas Grenade, Explosive Shot, Explosive Grenade, Rapid Shot.

Gameplay: Freeze enemies, then unleash devastating grenade combinations. Focus on maximizing evasion, elemental resistances, and movement speed.

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These builds represent strong starting points, but experimentation and adaptation are key to success in Path of Exile 2. Remember that balance changes will impact build viability over time.