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, offering a solid foundation for your journey. Note that future updates and balance changes may shift the meta.
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Witch: Minion Summoner Infernalist
This build maximizes the Witch's summoning potential, offering a relatively forgiving experience for newcomers. The Infernalist Ascendancy provides a balanced alternative to the riskier Blood Mage. You'll command an army of undead and demonic minions, supported by your own offensive spells.
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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: Maintain your minion army, providing fire support and utilizing strategic positioning during boss encounters. Don't underestimate the Vulnerability debuff. Flame Wall not only deals damage but also summons Raging Spirits. Detonate Dead provides AoE damage, requiring corpse generation.
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Mercenary: FrostFerno Witch Hunter
A hybrid build combining fire and ice, the FrostFerno Witch Hunter utilizes two crossbows and dual passive skill trees for devastating effect. Effective in 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 explosive fire damage with grenades and Explosive Shot. Early game focuses on Permafrost Bolts and Galvanic Shards with Herald of Thunder; late game utilizes Explosive Shot's pyromaniacal potential.
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Monk: Herald of Thunder Invoker
This build prioritizes defense while delivering substantial damage, making it excellent for both campaign completion and endgame progression. Herald of Thunder is the core skill.
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Key Skills: Tempest Flurry, Tempest Bell, Staggering Palm, Vaulting Impact, Orb of Storms, Storm Wave.
Gameplay: Utilize mobility (Vaulting Impact) and crowd control (Staggering Palm, Orb of Storms) alongside powerful AoE damage (Tempest Bell, Storm Wave) and the core Herald of Thunder buff.
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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: Early game utilizes Earthquake and Shockwave Totem for AoE clearing. Mace Strike provides single-target damage, while Rolling Slam offers mobility and survivability. Later, Warbinger ascendancy skills like Anvil's Weight and Imploding Impacts enhance damage by breaking enemy armor.
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Sorceress: Ember Fusillade Stormweaver
This build offers a good balance of damage and survivability, allowing for rapid leveling and campaign progression.
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Key Skills: Spark, Flame Wall, Ember Fusillade, Solar Orb, Firestorm, Flammability, Blasphemy (Enfeeble).
Gameplay: Early game utilizes Spark and Flame Wall. Later, Solar Orb and Ember Fusillade (with Scattershot and Controlled Destruction) become the core damage dealers. Flammability weakens enemies, increasing damage output.
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Ranger: Deadeye Grenadier
This build excels at 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: Utilize a crossbow for high physical damage and elemental bonuses. Freeze enemies, then use grenades (Flash, Gas, Explosive) for devastating AoE damage.
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These are some of the strongest builds currently available, but remember that the meta is subject to change. Choose the build that best suits your playstyle and enjoy your journey through Wraeclast!