Path of Exile 2: Ascendancy Classes You Can Unlock in Early Access

Ben Author

Created - 26.11.2024 Updated - 27.11.2024

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Path of Exile 2 Early Access will begin in less than two weeks, according to Grinding Gear Games, and it is quite an exciting announcement indeed. The company promises a true sequel that is definitely worth your time!

With six playable classes to choose from in PoE2, there is plenty to explore! Not only that, but the company revealed the ascendancies that are going to be available as well.

In today’s article, we are going to go over the PoE 2 ascendancy classes that you can look forward to when the game launches in Early Access on December 6!

What Are Ascendancy Classes?

Before we begin, we must first discuss what an ascendancy class is in Path of Exile 2. In the original game, ascendancy classes are more advanced versions of your base class. Treat them as subclasses, if you will.

Each ascendancy class has various nodes that grant unique skills and passive abilities. In fact, some PoE builds only work if you allocate certain notable passives.

Path of Exile 2 will also feature ascendancy classes, albeit the way you can “ascend” from your base class is different than in PoE1.

You see, the game no longer requires you to complete complicated Labyrinths. Instead, you must finish what are known as “Ascension Trials,” which are special dungeons specifically made to unlock your favorite ascendancy class.

How to Unlock Ascendancy Classes in Path of Exile 2

GGG has confirmed that there are two different Ascension Trials that you can play in PoE2 Early Access. The first one is the Trial of the Sekhemas, which is available in Act 2. This piece of content is similar to the Forbidden Sanctum in the original game, where you have to finish several rooms to reach the final boss.

Each room in the Trial of the Sekhemas tasks you to complete a certain objective. For example, there is a room that requires you to find and defeat all the rare monsters in the area. Once they are defeated, you can proceed to the next room.

Just like in the Forbidden Sanctum, there is a resource that you have to maintain while you’re inside the Trial of the Sekhemas called “Honour.” Every time you are hit, a small portion of Honour will be deducted from your total. If this gets to zero, you fail the challenge and will have to go back again from the start.

While it is a bit daunting to have to maintain Honour, the good news is that the monsters’ attacks are telegraphed, which means that you can evade them with a perfectly timed Dodge Roll.

After defeating the boss, you can go to the room full of reward chests. You can use the keys that you’ve found along the way to open the chests. However, the main reason why you’re here is to interact with the Altar of Ascendancy.

Once interacted with, you can then select your preferred ascendancy class. You will also be given two points so that you can allocate your first notable passive skill denoted by the bigger circles in the image below:

Another Ascension Trial that is available in PoE2 Early Access is Trial of the Chaos God. If you find the Trial of the Sekhema’s Honour mechanic a bit cumbersome to deal with, then maybe this one might be to your liking.

Trial of the Chaos God has a similar style of play to that of the Ultimatum Encounter in PoE1. You will be thrust into a 10-round gauntlet where you defeat hordes of monsters.

Before each round begins, you’ll have to choose one of three modifiers that alter certain aspects. For instance, you could choose a modifier where turrets spawn in the challenge area that will periodically shoot lightning-based projectiles.

It is important to note that the mods that you have selected in the previous rounds will carry over to the next one. That’s why you have to be careful which modifiers you choose because they could make the trial even more difficult!

Despite some challenging modifiers, the Trial of the Chaos God might be a bit more accessible to you since you do not have any Honour points to maintain.

Now, the beauty of Path of Exile 2 is that you are given the complete freedom in how you wish to ascend. If you find the Trial of the Chaos God to be easier for your particular build, then you can complete this Ascension Trial until you get all eight ascendancy points for your class.

PoE2 Ascendancy Classes

As mentioned earlier, there are six playable classes in Path of Exile 2. These are the Warrior, Monk, Ranger, Mercenary, Witch, and Sorceress. Even though the game will ultimately have 36 different ascendancy classes, only 12 can be unlocked in Early Access.

Having said that, here are the Path of Exile 2 Early Access ascendancy classes in a nutshell:

• Warrior
  • Titan
  • Warbringer
• Ranger
  • Deadeye
  • Pathfinder
• Sorceress
  • Stormweaver
  • Chronomancer
• Monk
  • Invoker
  • Acolyte of Chayula
• Witch
  • Infernalist
  • Bloodmage
• Mercenary
  • Witchhunter
  • Gemling Legionnaire

Warrior Ascendancy Classes in PoE2

Titan

The Titan ascendancy class is meant for those who want to deliver pain by making the ground beneath them tremble. Some of the nodes available to him grant immense damage, such as Surprising Strength, which allows the Titan’s attacks to deal 40% more damage against enemies affected by a heavy stun.

Aside from that, the Titan has Ancestral Empowerment—an ascendancy node that empowers every second slam skill used, making them “Ancestrally Boosted.” For those who are wondering, an Ancestrally Boosted slam skill deals 20% more damage and gains a 20% increased area of effect.

The Titan has access to the Crushing Impact notable ascendancy passive skill as well. It is still unclear what a “Crushing Blow” is in Path of Exile 2. However, if we take the definition of “Crushed” in PoE1, it is possible that enemies hit by the Titan’s attacks will be more susceptible to physical damage thereafter.

Warbringer

If you like PoE Totem builds, then you probably want to give the Warbringer a try! This ascendancy class specializes in totems and warcries—a potent combination that makes the Warbringer a fearsome warrior on the battlefield!

At the time of writing this Path of Exile 2 ascendancy guide, only several nodes have been disclosed so far for the Warbringer. Despite that, there are some useful tidbits of information that would allow you to theorycraft on possible PoE builds using this ascendancy class.

Answered Call enables the Warbringer to call forth Ancestral Spirits when summoning a totem. The spirits fly to nearby enemies and attack them at will. It still remains to be seen how the damage of the Ancestral Spirits can be improved, but this could open up exciting new possibilities, especially for builds that do not require the Warbringer to lift a finger!

Warcaller’s Bellow is an offensive ascendancy node that makes corpses near the Warbringer explode when using a warcry skill. The damage of the resulting explosion is based on 25% of the corpse’s maximum life. This could potentially be quite lethal in the endgame, particularly when the Warbringer starts encountering monsters with high HP pools.

Greatwolf’s Howl is a nice accompaniment to the previous notable passive skill. Allocating this node will effectively ignore warcry cooldowns, allowing the Warbringer to howl as many times as he pleases.

Lastly, Jade Heritage grants the Warbringer a defensive skill that prevents him from taking damage for a brief period. It’s not known at this time if the “Encased in Jade” skill has any downsides, but if there are none, this can save the Warbringer in tough situations for sure!

Ranger Ascendancy Classes in PoE2

Pathfinder

The Ranger ascendancy classes in Path of Exile 2 Early Access have the same names as those of their PoE1 counterparts. Fortunately, there are plenty of differences that make each subclass better than in the original game.

Having said that, the Pathfinder is the ascendancy class to choose if you want to play poison builds in PoE2. Contagious Contamination, for example, has a poison proliferation effect. More specifically, enemies killed by the Pathfinder’s most damaging poison will have the said ailment spread to other monsters within a 1.5-meter radius.

Now, poison can no longer stack in the same way as in Path of Exile 1. This means that every time poison is applied, it only replaces the one that is already on the affected target. However, with the Pathfinder’s “Overwhelming Toxicity” ascendancy node, doubling the number of poisons that can be inflicted upon the enemy is possible!

Aside from that, the Pathfinder specializes in creating destructive concoctions that explode on the enemies’ faces. This is granted by allocating “Bleeding Concoction” and “Fulminating Concoction” on the ascendancy passive tree. Not much is known about these notable ascendancy passives other than they deal damage to hostile targets.

One of the best new features in PoE2 is the new control scheme that allows you to manipulate your character’s movement by pressing the WASD keys on your keyboard. Although this is useful to continually put pressure as you attack, it does have a movement speed penalty that makes your character walk slowly when strafing.

Well, the Pathfinder has an ascendancy node called “Running Assault” that reduces the movement speed penalty by 30%. It might not be much, but it certainly adds up when you factor in other similar effects like Relentless Pursuit.

Deadeye

Among the Path of Exile 2 ascendancy classes, the Deadeye is what you can call a “pure range class” because of the nodes that are available to her. If you have played the original game, you will find that some notable passive skills for the Deadeye have the same name, with one even having a similar effect.

Endless Munitions, for example, still provides the Deadeye with the ability to fire an additional projectile. This enables her to clear maps more effectively without suffering from any downsides whatsoever.

Gathering Winds also returns to Path of Exile 2. It still provides the Deadeye with the Tailwind buff, which increases action speed by a considerable percentage. However, the major difference here is that all stacks of Tailwind are lost when she is hit. To address this, those who wish to play the Deadeye in Early Access must use Dodge Roll regularly to avoid the enemy’s attacks.

In case you do not know, GGG has implemented a fundamental change in how projectiles work in PoE’s sequel. Basically, projectiles suffer from an accuracy penalty, especially when hitting enemies from too far a distance. This was made as a way to prevent attacks from killing enemies off-screen.

Fortunately, being the pure range class in the game, the Deadeye has Eagle Eyes—a notable ascendancy passive that removes the accuracy penalty, ensuring that she can still slay monsters from long range.

It seems that the Deadeye is at her best when she’s utilized as a bonafide ranged attacker. If the enemy gets too close, using the Dodge Roll or Escape Shot is a must to avoid getting hit.

Sorceress Ascendancy Classes in PoE2

Stormweaver

If you already love playing the Sorceress for her ability to cast elemental spells, wait until you hear about her ascendancy class: the Stormweaver! She can unlock the Sorceress’ power to hit hard by relying on critical strikes and elemental ailments to achieve a high damage output.

The Tempest Caller grants the Stormweaver the ability to summon Elemental Storms on a critical strike. While the full details of this skill have not been revealed yet, it is safe to assume that this will enable her to decimate foes by harnessing the full power of the elements!

On the topic of elemental storms, the Stormweaver has a notable ascendancy passive called Shaper of Storms. Yes, it has the same name as that of the Elementalist node on PoE1, although it is a bit different in the sequel.

You see, Shaper of Storms now only allows the Stormweaver’s spells to contribute to Shock Chance. In other words, it no longer shocks enemies 100% of the time when they are hit.

The consolation is that all damage can inflict Shock when this node is allocated. This means that even if the monsters are hit by fire or cold skills, they will still suffer from the aforementioned lightning-based ailment regardless.

We still do not know if Shock works exactly the same as in the original. However, when you read the description of “Strike Twice,” it says that you can inflict two stacks of Shock on the same enemy.

With that in mind, if each stack of Shock makes affected monsters take 15% increased damage, for example, perhaps Strike Twice effectively doubles that to 30%.

Chronomancer

Do you want to play a character in PoE2 that has the power to manipulate time? Well, if that is the case, then there is the Chronomancer for you!

The Chronomancer is an entirely new ascendancy class in Path of Exile 2 that has the ability to use time to her advantage. She can literally stop time by using the aptly named “Time Freeze” skill. This is granted by taking the “Ultimate Command” ascendancy node.

Allocating Unbound Encore gives the Chronomancer access to “Time Snap”—a special skill that resets all active cooldowns when used. When utilized in conjunction with Time Freeze, the Chronomancer could wipe out her foes with ease; all without taking damage!

On the other hand, in the off-chance that the Chronomancer gets damaged due to a recent attack, she can execute a Temporal Rift, which allows her to restore the HP and mana she lost previously. This can be quite a lifesaver, especially when fighting against the big bad bosses.

Because of the utility that her special skills provide, it is safe to assume that the Chronomancer has the potential to become one of the best ascendancy classes in Path of Exile 2.

Monk Ascendancy Classes in PoE2

Invoker

The Monk is a hybrid class in Path of Exile 2 that is capable of harnessing the power of the elements or playing with the darkness depending on the ascendancy class you will select.

If you like to deal huge amounts of elemental damage while utilizing the Monk’s sick martial arts moves, then the Invoker is quite an appealing choice. With a high enough crit chance, the Invoker can take full advantage of the “and Scatter Them to the Winds” notable passive. This ascendancy node allows the Invoker to unleash waves of elemental energy on a melee critical strike.

With the power of cold and lightning at his disposal, the Invoker can gain extra damage by taking either the “I am the Blizzard…” or “I am the Thunder…” notables. Besides that, the aforementioned ascendancy nodes create Chilled or Shocked Ground if the Invoker is able to freeze or shock enemies, respectively.

Being a hybrid class that has a good mix of DEX and INT, the Monk is not only agile but also has considerable amounts of energy shield for defense. Faith is a Choice improves on that by granting the Invoker a new skill called Meditate.

When used, Meditate doubles the amount of energy shield the Invoker has. If this node is taken, it makes sense to wear equipment and take passive skills that boost energy shield in some capacity.

To realize the Invoker’s full potential, he can activate Unbound Avatar for 10 seconds. This skill grants this PoE2 ascendancy class with a huge boost in elemental damage. However, the Invoker must accumulate Unbound Fury, which is a temporary resource that can be gained only by stacking elemental ailments on enemies.

Acolyte of Chayula

If you need an ascendancy class in Path of Exile 2 that is strong in both offensive and defensive aspects of chaos damage, the Acolyte of Chayula is tough to beat. The Acolyte of Chayula utilizes Spirit in a different way by completely replacing it with Darkness.

When “Embrace the Darkness” is allocated, all Spirit is removed and is replaced with a damage-mitigating resource. The Acolyte of Chayula starts out with 100 points of Darkness and gains five additional points per level.

Every time he takes damage that would otherwise reduce life or energy shield, it reserves Darkness instead. This reservation lasts for 10 seconds, which should give the Acolyte more than enough time to recover from his wounds.

Darkness is utilized for offense when the “Grasp of the Void” ascendancy node is taken. This lets the Acolyte of Chayula hit like a truck as he gains 1% of damage as extra chaos damage per 20 unreserved Darkness.

Chaos resistance, at least in PoE1, is a bit difficult to cap due to gear constraints. The Acolyte of Chayula has a much easier time with this thanks to Chayula’s Gift. This node not only doubles the chaos resistance of this ascendancy class, but it adds 10% to maximum chaos resistance as well.

If mana becomes a huge issue, the Acolyte of Chayula can take advantage of Ravenous Doubts. This makes mana leech more effective by making the recovery instant.

True to his name, the Acolyte of Chayula can gain access to the Breachlord’s Domain. This allows him to take “Flames of Chayula” which not only recovers his life and mana, but grants him a damage buff for a limited time as well.

Witch Ascendancy Classes in PoE2

Infernalist

Do you want to gain the power to transform into a fearsome demon that even high-level monsters are afraid of? The Infernalist’s Demonic Possession does that and more! While in Demon Form, the Infernalist is able to cast devastating spells in a fraction of the time!

Despite all that power, the Demon Form comes with a heavy price. Every second that the Infernalist is in this state, she takes increasingly more damage over time. Striking a delicate balance between her normal state and her Demon Form is a must to make Demonic Possession worthwhile.

Pyromantic Pact is an interesting ascendancy node that replaces the Infernalist’s mana into the Infernal Flame. Instead of losing mana, she gains Infernal Flame which effectively enables her to cast more spells.

Although she receives fire damage when maximum Infernal Flame is reached, this can be mitigated by investing in fire resistance on gear or passive skills.

Infernal Flame is not bad at all. In fact, it can be utilized to do good by taking the “Bringer of Flame” notable passive. This enables the Infernalist to deal ignite damage when she’s above the 30% Infernal Flame threshold.

The Infernalist is not all about burning enemies to a crisp, though. With Loyal Hound, she can summon a minion that takes a considerable chunk of damage for her, making the Infernalist survive longer in Wraeclast.

Bloodmage

Likely meant as the ascendancy class to use for life-stacking builds in Path of Exile 2, the Bloodmage can utilize life in unique and creative ways. Gore Spike is an incredibly useful node, especially if you think about raising your critical strike damage through the roof!

The Bloodmage can get more life by wearing some well-crafted body armor. By taking the Crimson Power notable, she gains extra maximum life based on the amount of energy shield the armor has. Keep in mind that the inherent defensive layers on the body armor are turned off as a result of Crimson Power, but that is probably a risk that most PoE2 players are willing to take.

At first glance, Sanguimancy could be looked at as a negative. However, that is actually not true! Sure, the Bloodmage’s spells now have a life cost equal to the amount of mana required. But, Sanguimancy gives her the ability to create Life Orbs on kill to compensate for this.

If that is not enough, the Bloodmage has access to Vitality Siphon. This notable ascendancy passive skill allows her to leech life off of her enemies based on 10% of her total spell damage.

Among the ascendancy classes PoE, the Bloodmage shatters the typical notions of a mage class by offering a more robust spellcaster who does not go down without a fight.

Mercenary Ascendancy Classes in PoE2

Witchhunter

In PoE 2, who are you going to call when it comes to exterminating hordes of demons and the undead? Well, you better have the Witchhunter’s number because this ascendancy class is meant for this job!

Maps that are riddled with those types of monsters will be cleared immediately thanks to Zealous Inquisition. This grants the Witchhunter the ability to make monsters explode on kill, dealing 100% of their maximum life as physical damage to nearby enemies. Although this only occurs some of the time, the chance that it procs is doubled when fighting undead monsters and demons.

Now, Culling Strike in PoE 2 allows you to kill enemies instantly if they have reached 10% of their maximum life (or below). However, “Judge, Jury, and Executioner” works like a “reverse” Culling Strike, if you will. This is because it deals up to 30% damage on the first hit instead of the last one. This is a game-changer for those who make a living out of killing bosses, though how often it works still remains to be seen.

The Witchbane has the potential to become one of the best ascendancy nodes in Path of Exile 2. Why? Because it prevents enemies from dealing damage when they have lost “Concentration.”

To explain the mechanic, Witchbane makes enemies have a Concentration equal to 40% of their max life. Every time they are hit, they lose some of this new resource. Therefore, putting constant pressure on them by unleashing a barrage of skills will certainly make the Witchhunter take full advantage of this node.

Gemling Legionnaire

The last entry on this Path of Exile 2 ascendancy guide is quite unique because its power grows the more gems you use.

You see, GGG made a fundamental change in the sequel where gem sockets and links are no longer necessary. This alleviates the need for certain PoE Currency, such as Orb of Fusing, Jeweler’s Orb, and Chromatic Orb.

As a result of the tweak, you now only have access to nine skill gem slots by default. This number can be increased if you take the Gemling Legionnaire’s “Integrated Efficiency” notable. The three additional skill slots that you get are huge, especially when you factor in Thaumaturgical Infusion.

What does Thaumaturgical Infusion do, you ask? This ascendancy node provides +1% to maximum cold/fire/lightning resistance for every three pieces of socketed blue, red, and green support gems, respectively. There is probably a unique item that will be introduced to the game at some point that will enhance this effect even further. Only time will tell!

Although we still do not know yet what gem quality does in the sequel to Path of Exile 1, Crystalline Potential could be a good node to take in the future. That is because it grants +12% quality to all skill gems, which has an almost similar effect to Ashes of the Stars in the original game.

Final Thoughts

Ascendancy classes in Path of Exile 2 add a whole lot of depth to the game. With 12 out of the 36 already revealed, which are you going to choose when you play PoE2 Early Access on December 6?

The Witchhunter’s “Judge, Jury, Executioner” could possibly be a game changer if there is a way to proc it more consistently somehow.

For those who want a tanky spellcaster, the Bloodmage is a strong contender. Despite having additional life costs when casting spells, the ability to gain life from so many sources can easily address the negative.

Chronomancer also has the makings of an overpowered ascendancy class. The fact that she can manipulate time by making it stop completely could solidify her rise to the top of the rankings. However, GGG may implement mitigating measures to prevent this ascendancy class from getting out of hand.

Do you want more PoE 2 news? If so, please bookmark our page and visit our website for more stuff related to Path of Exile 2. In the meantime, you can check out our PoE builds to get a feel for the upcoming sequel!