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 classes each, the possibilities are vast. This guide highlights the top-performing builds for each class, perfect for both newcomers and veterans. Remember, the meta may shift with future updates and balance changes.

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Witch: Minion Summoner Infernalist

This build maximizes the Witch's summoning potential, offering a balanced and less demanding experience for new players. The Infernalist Ascendancy avoids the high-risk, high-reward nature of the Blood Mage. You'll command a horde of undead and demonic minions, providing fire support and utilizing strategic mobility during boss encounters. Don't underestimate the utility of the Vulnerability curse.

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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 Tips: Master minion management, utilize Flame Wall for both damage and additional minions (Raging Spirits), and strategically use Detonate Dead with corpse generation. Pain Offering's sacrifice enhances remaining skeletons. Experiment with different minion combinations for optimal battlefield control.

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Mercenary: FrostFerno Witch Hunter

This hybrid build combines fire and ice damage, utilizing two crossbows and two passive skill trees for devastating effect. It's effective throughout the game's progression.

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

Gameplay Tips: Freeze enemies with Permafrost Bolts and Galvanic Shards, then unleash explosive fire damage with grenades and Explosive Shot. Utilize Hypothermia and Biting Cold for extended freeze duration. Optimize your gear and skills for maximum fire and ice damage.

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Monk: Herald of Thunder Invoker

This build prioritizes defense while delivering substantial damage. Herald of Thunder is the core skill, making it a strong choice for newcomers due to its survivability.

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

Gameplay Tips: Utilize Tempest Flurry for lightning damage, Orb of Storms for crowd control, and Tempest Bell/Storm Wave for AoE clearing. Vaulting Impact provides mobility, while Staggering Palm stuns and electrifies enemies.

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Warrior: Armour Breaker Warbinger

This balanced build utilizes a two-handed mace for impressive 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 Tips: Early game, focus on Earthquake and Shockwave Totem for AoE clearing. Mace Strike provides single-target damage, while Rolling Slam offers mobility and survivability. Later, utilize Warbinger Ascendancy skills like Anvil's Weight and Imploding Impacts to break enemy armor.

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Sorceress: Ember Fusillade Stormweaver

This build offers a good balance of damage and survivability, allowing for quick leveling and campaign completion.

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

Gameplay Tips: Early game, use Spark and Flame Wall. Transition to Ember Fusillade with Scattershot and Controlled Destruction. Solar Orb provides significant damage, and Firestorm offers powerful AoE. Flammability weakens enemies, and Blasphemy (Enfeeble) adds defense.

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Ranger: Deadeye Grenadier

This build excels in AoE damage and mobility but lacks survivability, making it challenging for beginners.

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

Gameplay Tips: Utilize a crossbow for high physical and elemental damage. Freeze enemies, then use grenades for AoE damage and Gas Grenade for poison and armor reduction. Explosive Shot detonates gas clouds for massive damage. Prioritize 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. Enjoy the journey!