Tips for Selecting Optimal First Character in PoE2 for Survival

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 some of the strongest builds currently available, categorized by class. Note that future updates may shift the meta.

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Witch: Minion Summoner Infernalist

This build leverages the Witch's summoning potential, offering a balanced and beginner-friendly experience compared to the riskier Blood Mage. You'll command a horde of undead and abyssal creatures, providing fire support and utilizing strategic movement.

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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, utilizing Flame Wall for both damage and additional minions (Raging Spirits). Detonate Dead offers AoE damage, but remember to manage corpse availability. Strategic use of Vulnerability is crucial for debuffing enemies.

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Mercenary (Ranger): FrostFerno Witch Hunter

This hybrid build combines fire and ice damage using crossbows, offering a unique and effective playstyle throughout the 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 devastating fire damage with your grenades. Early game focuses on Permafrost Bolts and Galvanic Shards, transitioning to Explosive Shot later.

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Monk: Herald of Thunder Invoker

This build prioritizes defense while delivering substantial damage, making it ideal for newcomers. The Herald of Thunder skill is central to its effectiveness.

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

Gameplay: Utilize Tempest Flurry for lightning strikes, Orb of Storms for crowd control, and Tempest Bell/Storm Wave for AoE damage. Vaulting Impact and Staggering Palm enhance mobility and crowd control.

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Warrior: Armour Breaker Warbinger

This balanced build utilizes a two-handed mace for high 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 focuses on Earthquake and Shockwave Totem for AoE clearing. Mace Strike provides high single-target damage, while Rolling Slam offers mobility and survivability. Warbinger ascendancy skills enhance armor breaking.

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Sorceress: Ember Fusillade Stormweaver

This build offers a strong balance of damage and survivability, enabling efficient campaign progression.

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

Gameplay: Utilize Flame Wall for damage and defense, combining it with Spark (early game) and Ember Fusillade (later). Solar Orb and Firestorm provide powerful AoE damage. Flammability and Blasphemy enhance damage output.

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Ranger: Deadeye Grenadier

This build excels at AoE damage and mobility but requires more skill due to lower survivability.

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

Gameplay: Freeze enemies, then utilize grenades for devastating AoE damage. Explosive Shot capitalizes on Gas Grenade's weakening effect. Prioritize evasion and elemental resistances.

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These are some of the strongest builds currently available, but remember that balance changes and new content may impact their effectiveness. Choose the build that best suits your playstyle and enjoy the journey through Wraeclast!