There are six class options so far in Path of Exile 2. While this is planned to expand to twelve by the time the game is out of early access, there are already many options for players. Each class plays differently, and there are multiple ways to build each one, including two ascendancy subclasses for each class.
With all these options and the built-in differences in how each is designed, not every class is as easy to work out and make an efficient build. Some classes start with a simple playstyle but are difficult to work with in the endgame, others are tough to level but show their full power once the build is fully online. These are the game's classes, ranked by how difficult they are to master.
6 Sorceress
Easy To Work With And Great Damage Potential
The Sorceress is one of the easier classes to work with in Path of Exile 2, despite having little in the way of protection from physical damage. That's mostly because her strong elemental attacks give her plenty of ways to take out foes before they get too close. Players who do want a bit of survivability can also build up a decent amount of energy shield with investment in passives.
Stacking lightning damage, shock, and electrocute buildup is a popular way to build damage with the sorceress that gives plenty of both AoE and single target damage potential. The main thing that players need to keep in mind to scale their damage throughout the game is that the sorceress is dealing spell damage, not attack damage, so suffixes like "+ elemental damage to attacks" won't work.
Lightning damage continues to synergize with Sorceress buff gems like Archmage, as well as the Stormweaver ascendancy, and these are two things that are fairly obvious picks for scaling sorceress damage potential in the mid-game. The Sorceress might be the easiest class in the game to take to Path of Exile 2's end game, as a high-energy shield stat and passives like Mind Over Matter give more survivability than players might think.
5 Ranger
Playing Keep Away With AOE And Ranged Attacks
The Rangers' skill-shot abilities make it seem like a complicated class to play, with timing and awareness needed. That's true to an extent, and there are certainly high skill-cap builds for the Ranger with big damage potential. There are also easier ways to dish out damage as a Ranger, and the class comes with a lot of effective crowd control and mobility moves.
Dealing a ton of area damage through lightning or poison damage, and keeping enemies at range with freezing moves like Escape Shot and Freezing Salvo, is easily achieved with the Ranger. It only takes investment in the relevant passive damage skills, i.e. Lightning damage, penetrate lightning resistance, and freeze buildup for elemental builds, to keep the damage high throughout the game.
Path Of Exile 2: Best Skill Gems For Ranger Builds
Players who want to get the most out of their Ranger builds in Path of Exile 2 should prioritize the following Skill Gems.
The factor that makes the Ranger harder to master is the lack of survivability. Relying on evasion rating is fine for evading light attacks, but any slams, many ranged attacks, ground effects, and those big boss attacks will completely ignore this stat. That means players need to pay close attention to both boss attack patterns and the composition of mobs and stay mobile to avoid attacks.
4 Witch
Minion Management To Create An Army That Is Inconsistently Dependable
The Witch is a mixed bag in terms of difficulty to use. They start relatively easy, with minions giving a big advantage in the early game to keep enemies away while the Witch deals damage from range. However, this falls off a little once bosses and elites start dealing enough damage to decimate minions, leaving the Witch to wait for respawns before they can focus on damage output again.
This situation flips again in the mid-game when the Witch gains access to her ascendancy class. The popular choice at the moment is the Infernalist, as this gives the Witch access to a powerful demon form, giving her a way to defend herself when minions are off the field. The Hell Hound minion from the same ascendancy is also a useful addition to the Witch's army and mitigates some incoming damage.
It's tempting to focus all of a Witch's passive points into minion-boosting abilities, but players shouldn't ignore her access to energy shield passives. Having the energy shield stat boosted throughout the game can help avoid instant death when the meat shield of minions breaks. Curses and Contagion mechanics add a little complexity to the class for optimum damage, but the Witch sits right in the middle of the class difficulty scale.
3 Mercenary
Reload Control
At first glance, the Mercenary functions similarly to the Ranger class. They're both ranged damage dealers that can mix in elemental and poison attacks. The Mercenary, however, trades the mobility of the Ranger for more max life and armor potential, as well as a more methodical method of firing.
The crossbow can shoot a variety of bolts and ammo types, giving Mercenary players the option to switch between ammo like Fragmentation Rounds for up-close encounters, and Permafrost Bolts for freezing enemies at range. Grenades allow the Mercenary to use the powerful technique of igniting poison gas clouds, which can deal large AoE damage consistently while leveling.
Path Of Exile 2: Best Skill Gems For Mercenary Builds
The Mercenary can be a force to be reckoned with, should players pick the best skill gems to optimize their builds in Path of Exile 2.
Using these various attacks while keeping enemies at a distance can be a challenge, especially when the player has to manage loading bolts. Players will have to pay attention to armor and max life while leveling, skewing toward investment in strength over dexterity, though they'll need both to use higher level Mercenary skills and damage-mitigating gear.
2 Warrior
Deceptively Hard To Master As Requires Balancing Quite A Few Options
For players used to typical ARPG gameplay, the Warrior might seem like the simplest class to pick up and master. Path of Exile 2's more intricate melee mechanics means that this isn't the case here. Warrior PoE2 players will need to balance priming enemies for stuns, applying armor breaks and building stagger against bigger opponents.
Players do get the standard boost to survivability that comes from speccing into strength for more max life and armor for damage reduction. However, that's balanced by POE 2's demanding gameplay style, meaning that even the highest armored Warrior can't simply stand still and tank boss attacks.
It's entirely possible to create Warrior builds that can clear endgame content, and the class does have some of the highest single-target damage potential for boss encounters. Yet, these require precise and patient gameplay that pays careful attention to move rotations and enemy status.
1 Monk
High Risk, High Reward
Path of Exile 2's Monk offers excellent clear speed once players have their build online and have mastered using the class. Learning to use the class and getting to that point isn't always easy, though. Players will have to master the use of power charges, which boost a lot of Monk skills and need to be actively generated.
Hitting the highest DPS output with the Monk also basically requires players to use the Tempest Bell skill. This is a little restrictive but does offer very high damage potential, scaling the damage of other Monk skills when they hit it. The trade-off for combat complexity is that the Monk only really has to worry about getting a good quarterstaff to keep up with gear upgrades.
Survivability is tricky for the Monk in Path of Exile 2. The stat balance is spread over intelligence and dexterity, which means evasion rating and energy shield are the main defenses. An unimpressive evasion rating stat offers virtually no protection from anything, so players may want to focus more on boosting their energy shield to protect from the occasional hit. Other than that, players will need to stay mobile with this class.
Path of Exile II
- Released
- December 6, 2024
WHERE TO PLAY
- Developer(s)
- Grinding Gear Games
- Publisher(s)
- Grinding Gear Games
- Franchise
- Path of Exile
- Early Access Release
- December 6, 2024
- Platform(s)
- PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X, Xbox Series S, PC
- Genre(s)
- Action RPG, Hack and Slash, MMORPG
