Choose Your First PoE2 Character Wisely

When starting Path of Exile 2 during early access, your first major decision involves choosing a character class. With six available classes—each offering two Ascendancy specializations—the selection can feel overwhelming. Considering developers plan to add six more classes with additional Ascendancies, making this choice now seems almost merciful! To simplify your selection process, we'll break down the current best builds in PoE2.

Best Witch Build in PoE2

The Minion Summoner Infernalist stands as the premier Witch build, perfectly utilizing the class's summoning capabilities while remaining beginner-friendly. Unlike the high-risk Blood Mage alternative, this Ascendancy offers balanced gameplay centered around commanding an undead army. Notably, it also grants a demonic transformation ability, adding unique flavor to combat scenarios.

Core Gameplay Mechanics

This summoner-focused build ranks among PoE2's top performers. While the playstyle might not suit everyone, its effectiveness justifies experimentation. You'll command legions of undead and demons while providing fire support—all while maintaining constant movement during boss encounters. Remember to apply Vulnerability debuffs for maximum damage output.

Key Skills and Rotation

Flame Wall serves dual purposes: area damage and Raging Spirit summons. Detonate Dead requires fresh corpses, which can alternatively be reanimated temporarily. Skeletons prove more reliable than zombies due to their permanent duration—especially when supported by healing Skeletal Clerics. The strategic sacrifice via Pain Offering enhances remaining minions' offensive capabilities.

Best Mercenary Build in PoE2

The FrostFerno Witch Hunter represents the Mercenary's most versatile build, combining frost and fire damage across dual crossbow setups. This unique hybrid playstyle freezes enemies before obliterating them with explosive effects—perfect for both early progression and endgame content.

Damage Synergy

This build excels through elemental combinations: freeze enemies with Permafrost Bolts before detonating them using Explosive Shot and various grenades. Hypothermia and Biting Cold support gems extend freeze duration for optimal damage windows. The dual passive trees allow extensive customization for ice and fire specialization.

Best Monk Build in PoE2

The Herald of Thunder Invoker offers exceptional balance between defense and offense, making it ideal for newcomers. Centered around lightning-based melee attacks, this build transforms the Monk into a mobile storm capable of clearing content efficiently while maintaining high survivability.

Combat Flow

Early game relies on Quarterstaff Strike for basic crowd control, while Herald of Thunder unlocks the build's true potential. Tempest Flurry delivers devastating electric combos, complemented by Orb of Storms for area control. Mobility skills like Vaulting Impact ensure optimal positioning, with Staggering Palm providing crucial interruption effects.

Best Warrior Build in PoE2

The Armour Breaker Warbinger exemplifies Warrior excellence, delivering crushing two-handed mace attacks while maintaining impressive durability. This well-rounded approach makes it suitable for all content types, especially when focusing on armor penetration mechanics.

Optimal Playstyle

Early progression utilizes Earthquake and Shockwave Totem for area clears, transitioning into specialized Warbinger skills that enhance armor-breaking capabilities. For those preferring defensive options, shield-based variations exist utilizing blocks and counterattacks while still delivering punishing strikes.

Best Sorceress Build in PoE2

The Ember Fusillade Stormweaver provides exceptional firepower for the Sorceress class, combining explosive fire magic with strategic positioning. Its excellent damage-to-survivability ratio makes it particularly effective for rapid campaign progression.

Elemental Combos

The rotation evolves from basic Spark/Flame Wall combinations to sophisticated Solar Orb and Ember Fusillade sequences. Strategic use of debuffs like Flammability enhances damage output, while Blasphemy+Enfeeble offers defensive utility when needed.

Best Ranger Build in PoE2

The Deadeye Grenadier specializes in high-mobility, area-focused combat using various grenade types and precision shots. This technically demanding build rewards skilled players with explosive results but requires careful positioning to compensate for lower defenses.

Explosive Tactics

Gameplay revolves around freezing foes (Permafrost Bolts), poisoning them (Gas Grenade), and triggering chain explosions (Explosive Shot). Crossbows provide the ideal weapon platform, with stat priorities focusing on Evasion, Elemental Resistance, and Movement Speed for optimal survivability.

Note: These represent the current meta builds, but forthcoming updates may introduce balance changes and new character options. Regardless of your choice, mastering these builds will provide a strong foundation for your Wraeclast adventures.