What are the Path of Exile 2 classes? The class you pick in Path of Exile 2 will define how you play the game. Some classes are glass cannons that opt to attack foes from a distance, while others are hulking tanks that thrive on the frontlines.
While 12 classes are confirmed for the full Path of Exile 2 release date, there are only six PoE 2 classes available right now: Ranger, Witch, Warrior, Monk, Sorceress, and Mercenary. We’ve got a full overview of the weapons, combat style, and attributes of each one, to bring you the best one to pick for your playstyle and prior experience with the RPG game series.
What is the best Path of Exile 2 class?
The best PoE 2 class is the Mercenary thanks to the variety of elemental damage and crowd-control effects they can deploy at range, letting them respond to most combat scenarios while staying out of harm’s way.
The beauty of ARPGs is that all classes are viable depending on your preferred playstyle, but ranged classes allow you to disengage from enemies and avoid perilous situations. When going Mercenary, we recommend you choose Witchhunter in PoE 2 ascension to incorporate execution abilities and soak up damage with defensive wards.
While the Mercenary is the best class for beginners, the Witch is our follow-up choice for veteran Path of Exile players thanks to the sheer number of DoTs and minions at her disposal, though spirit and stamina management is a must. No matter which class you choose, craft our best PoE 2 builds to make the most of their base stats.
All Path of Exile 2 classes ranked
Here are all the PoE 2 classes ranked from best to worst:
- Mercenary
- Witch
- Sorceress
- Monk
- Ranger
- Warrior
It’s important to bear in mind that this list is how the classes currently stand at early access launch. As more classes are introduced, we expect the rankings to shift, until we eventually see how all 12 classes fare at release.
Mercenary
The PoE 2 Mercenary has been designed to incorporate shooter-style gameplay using a crossbow. The Mercenary’s weapon can act like an assault rifle, shotgun, or sniper, using different skills for elemental effects and making the most of incendiary ammo and fire abilities, as well as deadly crossbow attachments and grenades.
Witch
The PoE 2 Witch specializes in summons and chaos spells using wands to cast powerful spells that cause disease to spread, and summon undead minions into battle to do her bidding. She excels in critical damage and uses bone spells and debuffs to tackle from range.
Sorceress
The PoE 2 Sorceress is one of the new intelligence-based classes, joining the Witch as a dedicated spellcaster. She specializes in elemental destruction, wielding a staff to inflict fire, ice, and lightning damage against enemies. She’s slightly squishy but dishes out a lot of elemental magic to freeze, stun, and burn enemies, and can use defensive skills to push them back.
Monk
The PoE 2 Monk is a melee fighter specializing in both dexterity and intelligence, combining spells with melee attacks to create a unique playstyle. This class also utilizes lightning, ice, and wind effects, moving through the battlefield at pace while flitting between ranged and close combat. The monk deals elemental damage to its target first, then follows up with powerful strikes.
Ranger
The PoE 2 Ranger is a very versatile class that wields a bow and arrow. She can specialize in both close and long-range combat by utilizing elemental-infused arrows, and has some powerful earth-based skills such as using vines and plants to poison and root enemies to the spot. She’s also able to backflip out of sticky situations and has plenty of AoE skills, as well as being able to ride a mount and fire an arrow when moving.
Warrior
For those who enjoy tanking and melee combat, the PoE 2 Warrior is tailormade for you. This strength-based class uses war cries and one and two-handed melee weapons such as maces and clubs to slam into the ground and deal heavy blows to groups of enemies while blocking either using shield skills or protective armor.
Path of Exile 2 launch classes
Here are the PoE 2 classes confirmed for 1.0’s launch:
- Shadow
- Huntress
- Templar
- Druid
- Marauder
- Duelist
Shadow
The PoE 2 Shadow is essentially a rogue, slipping in and out of the erm, well, shadows, to use daggers to assassinate enemies. It’s a returning class, though we’re not sure what the differences are exactly yet, but the Shadow is a tricky class to play. He lays traps to deal damage and inflicts stun on enemies, whilst dipping in and out of combat.
Huntress
The PoE 2 Huntress is an agility-based class that uses spears for close and medium-range attacks. This highly mobile class can evade encounters, focusing on damage, speed, and AoE abilities to effortlessly plunge her spear into enemies. She sits alongside the Ranger in the passive skill tree, and with her high dexterity, the Huntress is shaping up to be an interesting new class.
Templar
The PoE 2 Templar shares the strength and intelligence attributes, a paladin-adjacent mix that makes for quite straightforward combat by using both melee and magic to create a varied fighting style. The Templar is very beginner-friendly, able to invest in defenses while still capable of wading into the fray.
Druid
The PoE 2 Druid shares the strength and intelligence traits and can shape-shift into animal form and maul enemies, building to a rage attack that goes all out on enemies. In short, this class casts spells when in human form and attacks and tramples hordes of monsters when in animal form. If you ever wanted to turn into a bear, this is the class for you.
Marauder
The PoE 2 Marauder offers a solid alternative to the Warrior. A melee brawler that scales off the strength attribute, this class is more akin to a classic berserker, unleashing heavy blows and rally cries to intimidate enemies. He uses one-handed weapons to strike single targets or deliver sweeping attacks, then relies on shields to block damage coming its way.
Duelist
The PoE 2 Duelist is an agile class that specializes in swords and axes. Unlike other strength classes, the Duelist dispenses with heavy armor and instead prefers to dodge out of harm’s way then dash in with a swift counterattack. He falls under the dexterity and strength attributes and uses both of these for attack speed and large amounts of damage.
Now you’re caught up on classes, check out our Path of Exile 2 review for our early access impressions. Don’t forget to check out Path of Exile 2 co-op to experiment with class synergies, and pick up some PoE 2 Twitch drops while watching your favorite streamers.
