The Huntress is a powerful new class in Path of Exile 2: Dawn of The Hunt, and players have been eager to try her kit, which can deflect damage, attack enemies with powerful Projectile and Melee skill shots, and cause triggered effects, bleeding, and elemental ailments.
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The Huntress is a hard class to learn, but it has a lot of payoffs, and in this guide, players will find all the information they need to maximize their leveling with this new class, as well as lots of tips to make the most out of her powerful skills in PoE2.
Best Huntress Skills To Level Up Faster
The basic kit of the Huntress includes the following skills, which should be leveled up as a priority to ensure players have access to the 3 basic elemental ailments this class can trigger, as well as Blinding and Bleeding, which are essential for her core mechanic:
- Parry: Basic skill that comes with Round Shields. It can be held to Deflect the next enemy attack and leave it exposed. If held for too long, it will stun the Huntress instead. It doesn't have mana cost.
- Spear Throw: Throws the Huntress equipped spear. If the Huntress has a Frenzy charge, the spear will automatically explode. It doesn't have mana cost.
- Whirling Slash: The basic mechanic of the Huntress, it creates a swirling storm around her that blinds the enemies that enter into contact with the AoE. This attack can be triggered three times in a row to create an even bigger storm. The storm will remain for as long as the Huntress doesn't move from its center (roll or get out of the AoE). It can pick up certain elemental hazards like Fire, Ice, and Lightning to empower itself, acquiring Elemental damage of the corresponding type. It interacts with the environment, enemy attacks, projectiles, auras, and the Twister Skill.
- Twister: The Huntress swings her spear, projecting a gust of wind that will move randomly and bounce on surfaces, blinding and dealing considerable damage to the enemies. The Twister can interact with Whirling Slash in the following ways: Cast inside, it will create two gusts of winds instead of one. If cast inside empowered Whirling Slash, it will create even more (Up to 5) gusts of wind. The Twister can also pick up the elemental hazards from inside the Whirling Slash, becoming Ice, Fire, or Lightning Twisters.
- Disengage: The Huntress jumps away from melee range and launches a potential attack on enemies who have been affected by Deflect, granting one Frenzy charge.
- Explosive Spear: Throws a spear that falls to the ground and explodes after a brief time. It can consume a Frenzy charge to explode upon contact, causing a Cross pattern fire explosion and leaving a trail of Fire Elemental hazard on the ground. The fire can interact with the Whirling Slash effect.
- Lightning Spear: Can be cast continuously, and hurls a spear that releases Lightning on Impact, shocking enemies and liberating more splinters by consuming a Frenzy Charge. The Lightning bolts can interact with the Whirling Slash's effect.
- Fangs of Frost: A Melee attack that can cause Freeze build-up. Attacking an enemy affected by Deflect will consume this debuff to generate an ice explosion. The ice explosion can also interact with Whirling Slash's effect.
- Rake: Lunges forward, damaging enemies in a semi-circle, and making them Bleed.
- Cull the Weak: The Huntress lunges forward, executing enemies below a certain damage threshold (which increases according to the level of the skill, equipped support gems, etc.) And grants a Frenzy Charge.
Pay attention to these basic Skills that can be acquired up to Level 10, and will create the best build to level up if they combine them and learn how to use them. For more advanced tactics and combos, check the sections below.
Additionally, they should pick up Attack Damage, Projectile Damage, Frenzy Duration, Deflect Duration, and Elemental Damage Perks as they level up.
Skill Duration Support Gems are also useful to prolong the Twister and Elemental attack effects such as the Explosive Spear lingering fire effect. Elemental Damage Support gems (that grant 25 % Elemental Damage) are also good. Now, let's take a look at the best combos to clear adds to speed up leveling.
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Best Huntress Combos To Clear Adds
Basic Area Damage + Blind: The basic Huntress Combo for area denial and clear is Whirling Slash x3 + Twister. It will create several projectiles that bounce on surfaces and, as explained before, can pick up the Elemental Damage type of other skills or environment effects. The AoE from Whirling Slash will also blind enemies, causing them to miss attacks and empowering the Huntress' survivability.
Basic Spear Throw Combo (Physical Aoe): Use Parry + Disengage, then use Frenzy Empowered Spear Throw to cause Explosive Physical Damage. This is useful for enemies that resist elemental damage, but it will be situational in most cases.
Fire Burning AoE Combo: When surrounded, players will want to use Parry + Disengage + Frenzy Empowered Explosive Spear. Then lunge with Cull the Weak, use Whirling Slash x3 to catch Fire, then Twiste r to release a devastating area attack. This attack causes burning on each hit enemy.
Lightning Shock AoE Combo: The same can be done with Lightning Spear as follows: start with Parry + Disengage, then throw a Lightning Spear, and lunge with either Cull the Weak or Rake to pick up the Lingering elemental effect with Whirling Slash and Twister. This elemental attack will cause Shock build-up.
Ice Freeze AoE Combo: Now, a more static combo using Fast of Frost: start with Parry, then target the parried enemy with Fangs of Frost, then follow up with Whirling Slash x3 + Twister. This is the best Crowd Control combo of the Huntress and will make enemies accumulate Freeze build-up in a large area as the gusts of freezing wind move.
These are the basic combos that players should be using from the lower levels until mid-game, though there are other interesting combinations with more advanced skills. Players should familiarize themselves with the previous combos before going for more complex Skill combinations.
Barrage Combo: Barrage is a level 5 Skill, and it can be empowered with the Parry + Disengage + Frenzy combo to create successive waves of Physical AoE. Use it as soon as possible to add more Physical Damage to the build.
When players unlock the Combat Frenzy Herald Skill, they can basically chain endless Frenzy Charges using several skills that cause Ailments since this skill consumes Ailments to grant charges of the Huntress's main resource.
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How To Use Huntress Elemental Attacks Effectively
Here are some useful tips to harness the power of Elemental Attacks with the Huntress and slay hundreds of enemies per hour:
- Pay attention to the Frenzy Meter's counter. At normal levels, it only lasts 15 seconds, but it can be prolonged with certain Perks. Frenzy is key to triggering additional effects, so take it as your main resource.
- Fire causes Burning, and it is effective against large groups of rank-and-file enemies (squishy ones).
- Ice causes slow then freeze, and it is effective against Elite monsters and Bosses.
- Lightning causes Shock, and it is greatly effective against large groups of enemies in enclosed spaces.
- Elemental damage scales with % of the Physical Weapon damage (10-25) plus Elemental Support Gems equipped on the Skill + % Of Elemental Damage (added by the Players Equipment and Perks) multiplied for the Skill Level. Then, add the Additional Elemental Damage values for the Runes, Enchantment, and Weapon perks. Use this formula to maximize damage output.
Once players reach a high enough level (42+), they unlock Level 11 Skill Gems. They should then pick Elemental Sundering, which is the last stage of an Elemental Combo for the Huntress. This skill basically triggers an additional pulse effect depending on each elemental ailment the enemies are suffering, causing elemental damage corresponding to the ailment and consuming its effects.
Path Of Exile 2 Huntress Leveling Tips
Players will want to stick to the basic elemental skills and maximize Twister and Whirling Slash's Elemental Interactions to create a huge AoE effect and blast enemies by the dozens. The more players invest in Elemental Damage and Ailment Threshold, the more they will notice a big increase in their total damage output and their ability to clear wave after wave of monsters.
Of course, leveling up is not all about killing regular monsters, and overcoming Boss Fights is a key factor in the progression of Path of Exile 2's main story and the gateway to the Endgame. Players should tune their build a little bit before engaging in fights, but there's an effective way to kite bosses and deny their damage without having to die thousands of times. We will take a look at the Huntress's 'Player vs. Boss' kit next.
Best Huntress Tactics For PoE2 Boss Fights
By the time players reach this section, they should have dominated (ideally) the basics of how the Huntress works. Nevertheless, here's a brief summary on how to use her abilities against single targets, meaning Elite/Bosses:
- Parry is a double-edged weapon, but one of the most effective ways to deny damage with the Huntress. Hold to parry, then use Disengage to build up Frenzy and prime your next Skillshot, like Lightning Spear/Explosive Spear/Barrage.
- Remember that many skills like Rake can cause Bleeding. The basic Combo recommended for a bleed tactic is: Rake + Parry + Disengage + Empowered Spear Throw.
- The Huntress is most vulnerable at mid-range, since her kit doesn't offer too much mobility once Disengage has been used. If players invest in Movement Speed equipment and Perks, this vulnerability can be somewhat lessened. So think about investing in some mobility to prevent getting in the 'kill zone' of most bosses.
- Bosses will usually practice the 2 to 3 combo assault before resorting to 'Skills.' Those skills that have the characteristic sound cue of a Powerful Attack cannot be parried.
- Fangs of Frost is the Huntress' best ally to nullify bosses. Freeze buildup can be empowered if players use Parry + Fangs of Frost. Mind using this combo often, but also, keep in mind that bosses can stun the Huntress if she uses Parry too often.
- Parry becomes less and less effective the more players use it. It can end up with the Huntress becoming 'stunned' and unable to move for a few lethal seconds, that in boss fights means certain death.
There are many other combinations and effects that will become available as players progress in level, and when they reach Act 2, they can pick their Ascendancy between Ritualist and Amazon. Players should pick Ritualist for a more Buff Meta Focused build, and Amazon for a more Tactical-Parry based build. But ultimately, it will be up to them what path to choose, since either of the Huntress Ascendancy Classes are quite OP.
Path of Exile II
- Released
- December 6, 2024
WHERE TO PLAY
- ESRB
- Mature 17+ / Blood and Gore, Nudity, Intense Violence, Sexual Themes, Language, Users Interact, In-Game Purchases (Includes Random Items)
- Genre(s)
- Action RPG, Hack and Slash, MMORPG
