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

Path of Exile 2: Top Builds for Early Access

Choosing your first character in Path of Exile 2's early access can be daunting. With six classes and two Ascendancy classes each, the options are vast. This guide highlights the best builds currently available, categorized by class. Remember, these are subject to change with future updates and balance patches.

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Witch: Minion Summoner Infernalist

This build maximizes the Witch's summoning potential, offering a balanced and beginner-friendly experience compared to the riskier Blood Mage. You'll command an army of undead and demons, utilizing fire support and strategic mobility.

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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 a balance between summoning creatures and providing fire support. Utilize Vulnerability for debuffs and strategic movement during boss encounters. Experiment with minion combinations for optimal battlefield control.

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Mercenary: FrostFerno Witch Hunter

This hybrid build combines fire and ice damage, utilizing crossbows and dual passive skill trees for a unique and effective playstyle.

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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 and explosive damage with grenades and Explosive Shot. Prioritize maximizing both ice and fire damage bonuses.

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Monk: Herald of Thunder Invoker

This build focuses on defense and lightning damage, making it a strong and survivable option for newcomers.

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

Gameplay: Utilize Herald of Thunder for powerful lightning strikes. Combine Tempest Flurry and Orb of Storms for crowd control, and leverage Vaulting Impact and Staggering Palm for 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: Focus on high damage single-target attacks with Mace Strike while using skills like Rolling Slam for mobility and survivability. Utilize Warbinger ascendancy skills to break enemy armor.

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Sorceress: Ember Fusillade Stormweaver

This build offers a good balance of damage and survivability, allowing for quick progression through the campaign.

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

Gameplay: Utilize Flame Wall and Spark early game, transitioning to Ember Fusillade and Solar Orb as you progress. Maximize fire damage with Flammability and utilize Blasphemy for added defense.

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Ranger: Deadeye Grenadier

This build offers high area damage and mobility but lacks survivability, making it challenging for beginners.

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

Gameplay: Prioritize freezing enemies, then unleashing devastating area damage with grenades and Explosive Shot. Focus on evasion and elemental resistances to mitigate the build's inherent fragility.

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This guide provides a starting point for your Path of Exile 2 journey. Experiment, adapt, and discover your own preferred playstyles!