All Character & Ascendancy Classes explained in Path of Exile 2

Path of Exile 2 has revealed each of its Character and Ascendancy Classes for early access. Here’s a breakdown of each one and what they can do.

After the addictive hack-and-slash adventure that was the original Path of Exile, there’s been a lot of hype and mystery surrounding which Character Classes would return in Path of Exile 2. However, what’s been even more exciting is what each Ascendancy Class will look like.

Below, we’ll explain the difference between a Character Class and an Ascendancy Class, then give a breakdown of each. Be aware, that in early access, players will only have access to some of these.

Character and Ascendancy Class differences

A Character Class in Path of Exile 2 is your basic character type, such as Sorceress, Warrior, Ranger, and others. There are 12 Character Classes confirmed so far in the game, and each has three distinct Ascendancy Classes to choose from. However, each Character Class will only have two Ascendancy Classes available during early access.

An Ascendancy Class is a skill path that a Character Class can select to tailor their character further and guide them down a specific path. For example, they could pick the Sorceress class, but then choose Stormweaver as their Ascendancy Class, creating a mage whose magic is based on the weather and elements.

Or they could select the Chronomancer Ascendancy Class, creating a Sorceress that harnesses the power of time and space. So, each player would still be a Sorceress, but they’d have a very different set of skills and craft entirely different builds.

Once an Ascendancy Class has been selected, players are unable to change to another as that character’s path is now locked. However, they can respec skills within that Ascendancy, allowing them to try different skills and builds. This is very different from how builds work in games like Diablo 4.

All Character and Ascendancy Classes

While some Ascendancy Classes are still under wraps until early access is over, we now know each main Character Class and two out of the three, Ascendancy Classes they’ll have access to.

Bear in mind, that every class in the game will be genderlocked, unlike Diablo. Here is a breakdown of each:

The Sorceress

Much like Diablo’s, the Sorceress is Path of Exile’s classing spell-slinger for those who want to do elemental AoE attacks on enemies for massive damage. Those who find themselves drawn to caster builds when playing ARPGs. If you want to blast enemies with fire, ice, or lightning, the Sorceress is for you.

Stormweaver

The Stormweaver Ascendancy is all about maximizing the damage done by elemental magic, buffing her spells, and making them more dangerous. This is the class for those who enjoy the traditional mage class and want to watch enemies burn or freeze in a storm of elemental mayhem.

Chronomancer

A more nuanced style of caster, the Chronomancer Ascendancy focuses her abilities on using time against enemies. This set of skills lets the Sorceress slow enemies down, stop time, or even reverse it should things go south.

The Warrior

The Warrior is the classic melee combat-loving tank in Path of Exile 2. It’s all about getting up close and personal while hacking enemies to bits. We’d compare them to Diablo 4’s Barbarian in that sense. The Warrior is a great pick for those looking for a solid melee character, but as their offense relies on getting into the very thick of the fighting, they could be a difficult first class for new players.

Titan

The Titan is the first of the Warrior’s Ascendancies and leans into the class’s Slam and Stun skills while boosting his defense. This is the purest melee-focused version of the Warrior Class.

Warbringer

The Warrior’s Warbringer Ascendancy leans into his Totem and Warcry abilities, allowing the class to apply various buffs while intimidating his enemies and lowering their stats. This is a more technical style of play than the Titan, but in the right hands can be very rewarding.

The Ranger

The Ranger is the classic Rogue-style class in Path of Exile 2, preferring to slay her enemies with guile and a barrage of arrows, rather than fighting up close. If enemies swarm the Ranger, the archer can use their agility to flip and dodge out of combat, before hitting monsters with a flurry of elemental-infused arrows from a distance.

Deadeye

The first Ranger Ascendancy is all about improving the class’s marksmanship, making their arrows more accurate and deadly. This Ascendancy also comes with a range of abilities designed to make the Ranger’s bow attacks even more dangerous or allow her to fire more arrows.

Pathfinder

The Pathfinder is all about adding poison to the Ranger’s attacks, ensuring that once hit by her arrows, death is soon to follow. Not only can the Pathfinder poison single enemies, but she can also ensure it seeps from one monster to another, infecting entire mobs while she picks them off with arrows.

The Witch

The Witch is also a magic user, but rather than use the power of the elements or time like the Sorceress, she relies on dark magic and summoning minions to do her dirty work. Think of the Witch as Path of Exile’s equivalent of Diablo’s Necromancer – but she’s also so much more.

Blood Mage

The Blood Mage Ascendancy ties her damage output to her own life, leeching the lifeblood from enemies to keep her healed while expending her own life force to deal damage to enemies. This is a high-risk/reward class not advised for newcomers, but those who master the Blood Mage will find it a very rewarding experience.

Infernalist

The Infernalist Ascendancy is closer to the typical summoner class type seen in other ARPGs. Here, the Witch summons her loyal Hellhound and relies on the fires of Hell to deal damage to enemies. This Ascendancy also allows the Witch to transform into a Demon Form, however, this will take a toll on her health, so use the power wisely.

The Mercenary

The Mercenary Class is another Roguish character, comparable to the Demon Hunter and Assassin classes from Diablo. Unlike the Ranger, the Mercenary uses crossbows as their primary source of offense, taking advantage of the technology to serve as a very different style of ranged fighter. They can also throw grenades that can freeze enemies, or cover them in flammable oil which the Mercenary then ignites to cause firey mayhem.

Witchhunter

An Ascendancy specially designed to hunt down and kill casters, this version of the Mercenary is resistant to magic and deals damage that breaks right through a mage’s elemental buffs. While not as effective against standard mobs, the Witchhunter is the ideal class to take down bosses or magically infused enemies.

Gemling Legionnaire

A former soldier turned treasure hunter, the Gemling Legionnaire takes advantage of their knowledge of gems and socketing to enhance their skills. While on the face of it, this Ascendancy is the standard Mercenary class, their Skill Gems allow them to buff a variety of abilities, tailoring their damage output to the player’s preference.

The Monk

No ARPG would be complete without a Holy Warrior supporting the forces of light. The Monk is equipped with a staff and uses rapid attacks and movement to outwit and outmaneuver their foes. Their mastery over the forces of nature allows them to add various elemental charges to their attacks, effectively making them a mage and martial arts master rolled into one.

Invoker

The Invoker is a higher class of Monk whose mastery over the spirits has allowed him to summon one as an avatar and use this powerful force to possess them in battle. In this form, the Monk can deal vast amounts of elemental damage before turning back into their original form.

Acolyte of Chayula

The Acolyte of Chayula Ascendancy sees the Monk embrace the dark side, trading their spirit mastery for powers that reside in darkness. This gives the Monk access to higher defense and offense while letting them wield sinister new Chaos abilities.

Druid

Much like the one seen in the Diablo games, Path of Exile’s Druid can shapeshift into a deadly werewolf or a colossal werebear. The class will also use skills inspired by the earth’s elements and the forces of nature.

So far, their Ascendancies have not been revealed, but we’ll update this guide when they have been.

Huntress

The Huntress is a dexterity-based class, a lot like the Ranger, but this is a melee-based character who uses spears and other weapons to do their damage.

Like the Druid, their Ascendancies have not been revealed yet, but we’ll update this guide when they have been.

Other classes

There are believed to be four other classes that are yet to be revealed by Path of Exiles devs. These include: The Shadow, Duelist, Marauder, and Templar.

There may even be others after this. We’ll be sure to list them here once they have been revealed in full, along with their Ascendancies.

If you’re hoping to jump into Path of Exile 2 as soon as possible, then here’s everything you need to know about early access and preload and the Twitch drop rewards.