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

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

Author : Eleanor Update : Mar 28,2025

Embarking on your journey in *Path of Exile 2* during the early access phase starts with a crucial decision: choosing your character. With six diverse classes and each having two Ascendancy Classes, deciding on the strongest option can be daunting. And with the developers planning to introduce six more classes and a new Ascendancy Class each, the choices will only grow. To help you navigate this complex decision, we'll explore the top builds for each class in *Path of Exile 2*.

Path of Exile 2Image: screenplaysmag.com

Table of Content ---

  • Best Witch Build in PoE2: Minion Summoner Infernalist
    • Important Skills
    • Gameplay Tips
  • Best Mercenary Build in PoE2: FrostFerno Witch Hunter
    • Important Skills
    • Gameplay Tips
  • Best Monk Build in PoE2: Herald of Thunder Invoker
    • Important Skills
    • Gameplay Tips
  • Best Warrior Build in PoE2: Armour Breaker Warbinger
    • Important Skills
    • Gameplay Tips
  • Best Sorceress Build in PoE2: Ember Fusillade Stormweaver
    • Important Skills
    • Gameplay Tips
  • Best Ranger Build in PoE2: Deadeye Grenadier
    • Important Skills
    • Gameplay Tips

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For the Witch, the Minion Summoner Infernalist build stands out as the best choice. This path harnesses the Witch's potential as a summoner and is beginner-friendly. Unlike the Blood Mage's risky playstyle, the Infernalist offers a balanced approach. In combat, you'll command an army of summoned creatures. Additionally, transforming into a demonic form adds a thrilling twist to your gameplay.

Best Witch Build in PoE2Image: skycoach.gg

Minion Summoner Infernalist Important Skills

  • Skeletal Brute + Martial Tempo & Heavy Swing
  • Skeletal Cleric + Arcane Tempo
  • Pain Offering + Ablation
  • Skeletal Arsonist + Feeding Frenzy & Scattershot
  • Detonate Dead + Magnified Effect & Spell Echo
  • Flame Wall + Fortress & Persistence
  • Raging Spirits + Fire Infusion & Immolate
  • Vulnerability + Focused Curse
  • Summon Infernal Hound

Minion Summoner Infernalist Gameplay Tips

The Minion Summoner Infernalist is among the top characters in PoE2. This build might not suit everyone, but experimenting is key! You'll lead a horde of undead and demons into battle, requiring you to provide fire support and maneuver skillfully during boss fights. Don't forget to cast Vulnerability to debuff enemies.

Minion Summoner PoE2Image: sportskeeda.com

Flame Wall not only deals area damage but also summons Raging Spirits. Detonate Dead requires fresh corpses for AoE damage, which can be turned into zombies or small minions. Skeletons, supported by Skeletal Clerics, are more reliable due to their unlimited lifecycle. Pain Offering sacrifices one skeleton to enhance the others' attacks. With a vast array of creatures at your disposal, you can enjoy summoning various combinations and watching them dominate the battlefield.

Best Mercenary Build in PoE2

The Mercenary's unique gameplay in Path of Exile 2 is best experienced with the FrostFerno Witch Hunter build. This build combines fire and ice skills, utilizing two crossbows and two passive skill trees, making it effective in both early and late stages.

FrostFerno Witch Hunter Important Skills

  • Permafrost Bolts + Glaciation & Ice Bite & Deep Freeze
  • Explosive Grenade + Frostfire & Concentrated Effect & Primal Armament & Eternal Flame & Searing Flame
  • Gas Grenade
  • Explosive Shot + Wildfire & Nimble Reload
  • Herald of Ash + Clarity & Vitality & Precision
  • Galvanic Shards + Lightning Infusion & Pierce
  • Herald of Thunder

FrostFerno Witch Hunter PoE2Image: skycoach.gg

FrostFerno Witch Hunter Gameplay Tips

The FrostFerno Witch Hunter stands out due to its unique hybrid playstyle, freezing enemies before exploding them in flames and smoke. Early on, use Permafrost Bolts and Galvanic Shards with Herald of Thunder for mob control. Later, Explosive Shot will unleash your inner pyromaniac.

FrostFerno Witch Hunter Poe2Image: sportskeeda.com

Use Explosive Grenade, Gas Grenade, and Explosive Shot to devastate the battlefield. Start with Permafrost Bolts to freeze enemies, then follow up with grenades. Hypothermia and Biting Cold gems will extend freeze durations, maximizing damage. Configure your weapons and skills to optimize ice and fire damage bonuses.

Best Monk Build in PoE2

The Herald of Thunder Invoker is the top Monk build in PoE2, balancing defense with enough damage to progress through the campaign and endgame. Herald of Thunder is the core skill for this build, making it ideal for newcomers due to its survivability.

Best Monk Build in PoE2Image: skycoach.gg

Herald of Thunder Invoker Important Skills

  • Tempest Flurry + Martial Tempo & Lightning Infusion & Crescendo
  • Tempest Bell + Persistence
  • Staggering Palm + Overpower
  • Vaulting Impact
  • Orb of Storms + Unleash
  • Storm Wave + Concentrated Effect & Magnified Effect

Herald of Thunder Invoker Gameplay Tips

Early on, use Quarterstaff Strike for quick hits on nearby enemies. As you level up and gain the Herald of Thunder buff, your strikes will unleash lightning bolts, turning you into a living storm. Tempest Flurry showers enemies with lightning, while Orb of Storms helps control crowds. Tempest Bell and Storm Wave clear areas with powerful AoE damage. Use Vaulting Impact for mobility and Staggering Palm to stun and electrify opponents.

Herald of Thunder InvokerImage: gamerant.com

Best Warrior Build in PoE2

The Armour Breaker Warbinger is the best Warrior build, offering a balanced approach with a Two-Handed Mace for high damage and survivability in tough battles.

Best Warrior Build in PoE2Image: skycoach.gg

Armour Breaker Warbinger Important Skills

  • Mace Strike + Rage & Close Combat & Maim
  • Stampede + Momentum & Fist of War & Brutality & Stomping Ground
  • Leap Slam + Martial Tempo & Holy Descent & Culling Strike
  • Ancestral Warrior Totem + Rolling Slam & Jagged Ground & Ancestral Urgency & Heavy Swing
  • Scavenged Plating + Vitality & Cannibalism
  • Hammer of the Gods + Second Wind & Hourglass & Execute & Concentrated Effect
  • Seismic Cry + Premeditation
  • Attrition

Armour Breaker Warbinger Gameplay Tips

Early in the game, use Earthquake with Shockwave Totem for quick mob clearing. Mace Strike with enchanted gems deals high single-target damage, while Rolling Slam enhances mobility and survivability. Later, gain access to Warbinger-specific skills like Anvil's Weight and Imploding Impacts to break enemy armor and boost damage.

Armour Breaker WarbingerImage: eurogamer.net

For a mace-and-shield setup, focus on Giant's Blood, Glancing Blows, Turtle Charm, and Renly's Training for survivability. With the right gear and skills, you'll achieve a perfect balance of devastating mace strikes and armor protection.

Best Sorceress Build in PoE2

The Ember Fusillade Stormweaver is the top Sorceress build, offering a good balance of damage and survivability to quickly progress through campaign acts.

Best Sorceress BuildImage: skycoach.gg

Ember Fusillade Stormweaver Important Skills

  • Spark + Pierce
  • Flame Wall + Fortress
  • Ember Fusillade + Scattershot & Controlled Destruction
  • Solar Orb + Magnified Effect & Fire Exposure
  • Firestorm + Overabundance & Spell Echo
  • Flammability
  • Blasphemy + Enfeeble

Ember Fusillade Stormweaver Gameplay Tips

Start with Spark and Flame Wall, then transition to more powerful spells. Use Flame Walls to boost your Spark's fire damage. Once you get Solar Orb, you can move away from Spark. Enhance Ember Fusillade with Scattershot and Controlled Destruction gems. Use Flammability to weaken bosses and increase your damage.

Ember Fusillade StormweaverImage: bo3.gg

Focus on nodes like Exploit the Element, Potent Incantation, and Dampening Shield as you level up. For maximum fire damage against bosses, use the rotation: Flammability, 3x Fusillade, Flame Wall, Solar Orb, and Firestorm. Use Blasphemy Enfeeble for additional defense when needed.

Best Ranger Build in PoE2

The Deadeye Grenadier offers excellent mobility and area damage, perfect for clearing locations and battling bosses, though its lack of survivability makes it challenging for newcomers. If you're up for the challenge, prepare for explosive gameplay!

Best Ranger Build in PoE2Image: skycoach.gg

Deadeye Grenadier Important Skills

  • Permafrost Bolts + Pierce
  • Fragmentation Rounds + Double Barrel
  • Flash Grenade + Scattershot & Magnified Effect & Ingenuity
  • Gas Grenade + Corrosion & Deadly Poison
  • Explosive Shot
  • Explosive Grenade + Fire Infusion & Execute
  • Rapid Shot + Martial Tempo & Blind

Deadeye Grenadier Gameplay Tips

Freeze enemies, then throw grenades, poison, and explode them! Use a crossbow for high physical and elemental damage. Stack Evasion, Elemental Resistances, and movement speed buffs.

Deadeye GrenadierImage: reddit.com

Start with Fragmentation Rounds and Permafrost Bolts. Use Flash Grenade to stun bosses, then hit them with Explosive Grenades. Gas Grenade creates a poisonous cloud that weakens enemy armor, and a well-timed Explosive Shot can ignite the gas clouds for massive damage.


These are the best builds in Path of Exile 2 currently, but expect new heroes and tactics with future updates. Balance changes may also shift the top builds. We hope this guide has helped you make an informed choice and saved you from the gallows of indecision!