In Path of Exile 2, one of the most important choices for a player is class and ascendancy. With the various ascendancies available to the player, each representing different ways to play the game, the sequel brings a combination of excitement and strategy with this selection. We hope this article has helped to outline in detail all classes and their ascendancies, which will help you find the one that best suits your intended playstyle.

Overview of Classes and Ascendancies of Path of Exile 2

In Path of Exile 2, the gameplay begins with the selection of a character class from six base classes, each with different attributes and unique ascendancy options. The classes include Witch, Ranger, Warrior, Monk, Mercenary, and Sorceress. Each class will specialize in specific archetypes, each granting various abilities and bonuses. The reworked system in the game places great emphasis on diverse builds via ascendancy trees, which confer strong passives and active abilities that further customize your character.

Witch: Master of Magic and Summoning

The Witch can be considered the pure caster class that specializes in dark magic and summoning, but mostly deuffs. She offers two main ascendancies:

• Infernalist: It focuses on fire and summoning. The ability of Demonic Possession and Pyromantic Pact make this class one of the best at summoning hellhounds and doing AoE damage with fire. This is great for players who like managing minions in addition to using devastating area-of-effect spells.
• Blood Mage: It utilizes life-based skills and leech mechanics. Due to the ascendancy nature, damage dealt can also be turned into life so that players can sustain most of their survivability conditions while dishing out high amounts of spell damage. Commonly known skills like Crimson Power and Vitality Siphon make this kind of class perfect for a Self-Sustain playstyle build.

Recommended Ascendancy: Infernalist

Infernalist brings destructive fire-themed gameplay like summoning hellhounds and turning into a demon to amplify spell power and ignite damage. This ascendancy will fit those who enjoy an aggressive style of damage-over-time build or a fire-themed build. The Blood Mage focuses more on the niche life-leech mechanic, which feels a bit restricted unless specialized​

Ranger: Agile and Precise Combat

Ranger is the class of choice for all archery lovers and for those players who like to have quick, mobile gameplay. Its ascendancies focus on projectile attacks, poison, and elemental damage.

• Deadeye: Increases damage and speed of projectiles. This ascendancy is usually considered to be one of the best choices for anyone using bows. Skills such as Eagle Eyes (negates accuracy penalties) and Endless Munition (added projectiles) make sure that anything is obliterated before closing in on your position.
• Pathfinder: More of a poison-based ascendancy with increased damage over time. Overwhelming Toxicity doubles the poison effect; Contamination allows the poison to spread, which is perfect for cleaning mobs efficiently.

Recommended Ascendancy: Deadeye

Deadeye is still one of the most powerful selections for any kind of projectile-based builds, granting additional abilities with increased projectiles and the speed at which they fly, and making it an ease to out-screen or clean up hordes of people. With the new buffs to Endless Munitions and Tailwind, you get unparalleled mobility and a DPS unlike any other class out there. While Pathfinder does boast some interesting builds with Poisons and Concoctions, it doesn't rival the overall damage output and adaptability Deadeye holds for any traditional Bow/Crossbow playstyle.

Warrior: Strength and Durability Unmatched

A Warrior is a melee powerhouse that excels at being very tanky with a lot of raw physical damage. The ascendancies all generally focus on brute force and survivability.

• Warbringer: Utilizes totems and warcries to bolster offensive and defensive capabilities; most of the skills, such as the Answered Call, allow ancestral spirits to play an active role, while others Jade Heritage provide great tanky. Very nice for players who are into strategic melee gameplay.
• Titan: A pure melee build that relies on a few crushing blows while stunning the enemy. With Surprising Strength, Titans are allowed to make the most vicious aftershocks-makin them perfect for people who enjoy slow, strong attacks.

Recommended Ascendancy: Titan

Titan excels in brute-force playstyles by using stuff like Crushing Blows to shred through defenses, and aftershocks to increase slam damage. If you like simple, heavy melee, then Titan's simplicity combined with raw power makes it one of the best options for you. Warbringer, while more versatile concerning Totem builds and Warcry synergy, just doesn't have the consistent damage boost for general builds that Titan does.

Monk: A Hybrid of Power and Dexterity

The Monk is a versatile mix of melee and spellcasting, offering chaotic yet fluid gameplay. This class is perfect for players looking to try out unconventional builds.

• Invoker: Utilizes elemental damage and critical strikes, while Unbound Avatar also adds elemental ailments and causes AoE elemental bursts.
• Acolyte of Chayula: chaos damage, mana sustain. Some ascendancy nodes will grant abilities that substitute your mana resource and boost the general tanky/damage for your build - in most cases, great for builds Chaos-based.

Recommended Ascendancy: Invoker

Invoker focuses on an elemental-focused playstyle with strong supports like Unbound Avatar to double the elemental ailments applied and your Energy Shield; works perfectly in tandem with Chaos and ES-heavy builds. Acolyte of Chayula provides a niche, very interesting playstyle focused around mana leech and Darkness mechanics but is strictly for niche players oriented at Sustain. ​

Mercenary: Hybrid Rogue-Warrior Playstyle

The Mercenary combines agility and might, allowing both ranged and melee gameplay with added versatility.

• Witchhunter: This ascendancy focuses on large single-target damage and AoE clear by using skills like Zealous Inquisition, causing chain explosions. This ascendancy shines in boss fights or high-damage scenarios.
• Gemling Legionnaire: Great for increasing the effectiveness of skill gems. This ascendancy makes stat requirements easier and is a very good choice for players who want a flexible build.

Recommended Ascendancy: Witchhunter

Witchhunter brings incredible burst damage potential with abilities like Judge, Jury, and Executioner for massive first-hit damage and Zealous Inquisition for explosive clear effects. This ascendancy is ideal for a ranged, high-DPS playstyle. Gemling Legionnaire, while versatile, is more jack-of-all-trades, making it less specialized for specific power builds​

Sorceress: Elemental Devastation

The Sorcerer is a spell-slinging magician capable of achieving high-range DPS. She's designed for players who enjoy caster-heavy builds with strong capabilities in utility.

• Stormweaver: Focused around elemental crits and AoE. Spells such as Tempest Caller and Strike Twice grant heavy enhancements to your elemental storms, making this setup very well-suited to rapidly clearing packs.
• Chronomancer: A character masterfully manipulating time through abilities like Temporal Rift, turning back time for regained health and mana. The mastery granted by Chronomancer extends excellent mobility to players comfortable constantly on the move, together with great survivability-enabling quick and continued laying of waste using spells while repositioned in new locations.

Recommended Ascendancy: Stormweaver

Stormweaver thrives with elemental damage and critical strikes, so it would suit players looking to maximize AoE destruction and status ailment application. It brings in elemental storms with each critical hit and can stack powerful shocks for those offensively oriented spellcasters. Chronomancer is interesting with its time manipulation mechanics, but it's more situational and feels aimed at utility rather than directly dealing with damage.

How to Choose the Right Class and Ascendancy

1. Consider Your Playstyle: Witch is the best choice for you if you like summoning minions. Agility and ranged-attacks-your thing? Then Ranger or Mercenary will be the right fit for you.
2. Look at the idea of Versatility: Monk or Mercenary classes enable the player to choose any situation that might present themselves and shape into hybrid forms accordingly.
3. Account for Party Play: Most of the time, Warriors and Witches provide utility through either tanking or minion support to help out in group dynamics.
4. Early Game Class Testing: We've found you should decide by actually playing through the early stages of the game with all classes or, at the very least, those that seem interesting to you. When you feel you have narrowed down a class that best suits your taste, it is then that you delve into its Ascendancy paths that complement it most.
5. Focus on the Endgame Viability: Path of Exile 2's endgame favors tanky and AoE viable builds, like Infernalist or Pathfinder.

Conclusion

Class and ascendancies are the things that make the entire experience of Path of Exile 2 so custom. For the most part, your class choice will depend on what kind of playstyle you want to have brute melee force, some form of ranged precision, or some intricate spellcaster. Whatever you choose, the depth of both passive and active skill systems will still provide an enormous field for experimenting and perfecting.