Path of Exile 2 early access features a meaty campaign and an elaborate endgame that will have you playing for hundreds of hours. But before you get into any of that, you must choose your class.
In PoE 2 early access, you can choose between six distinct classes, each boasting different playstyles and offering unique gameplay experiences.
PoE 2 early access classes
Four of these six PoE 2 early access classes are brand new, whereas the rest carry over from the original Path of Exile.
This ONE Esports guide explains all Path of Exile 2 early access classes so you can easily decide which class to choose to begin your PoE 2 journey.
Everything you need to know about Path of Exile 2 early access classes
The six PoE 2 early access classes are Monk, Mercenary, Ranger, Sorcerer, Warrior, and Witch.
Below you can find a detailed explanation of the abilities and playstyles of the aforementioned PoE 2 classes.
Monk
The Monk is a highly versatile class that mixes fast-paced melee attacks with flashy elemental projectiles. It can deal Ice, Lightning, and Wind damage.
The Monk can use elemental abilities to empower its melee attacks (and vice versa) to deal a ton of damage.
For instance, one of its combo skills, Tempest Bell, can unleash a giant resonating bell, which you can strike with your Quarterstaff to deal AOE damage. Freezing or electrocuting the bell will add elemental effect to all outgoing AOE damage.
The Monk has 21 active skills, which you can mix and match to create complex synergies between its melee attacks and elemental abilities.
Mercenary
The Mercenary is a ranged class that uses a crossbow to deal piercing damage. It’s the most unique class in PoE 2 and functions almost like a shooter, thanks to a wide variety of ammo rounds that turn into a shotgun, sniper, or assault rifle.
If you’re a fan of looter shooters like Destiny or Borderlands, Mercenary is the closest you can come to replicating that experience in PoE 2.
In addition to more traditional rounds, the Mercenary has access to elemental ones. It excels in combining different ammo types to maximize its damage output.
For instance, you can use an ability called Glacial Bolt to spread the enemies and then swap to Fragmentation rounds to blast the ice and deal massive AOE damage.
The Mercenary has access to grenades as well, which you can use to apply debuffs to enemies. For instance, you can use a gas grenade to create a poison cloud and then swap to an explosive round to detonate the cloud and deal massive damage.
There are 22 active Crossbow skills, so you have plenty of options to mix and match different ammo types to deal massive amounts of ranged damage.
Ranger
The Ranger is extremely agile and excels in dealing physical and elemental bow damage from a distance. Unlike PoE 1, the Ranger can shoot while moving in PoE 2.
The Ranger’s repertoire includes ice skills that can slow and freeze enemies, poison attacks that slow adversaries, detonate, and deal damage to them over time, and lightning abilities that bounce around in the area and electrocute everything in the vicinity.
There are 21 active bow abilities in Path of Exile 2, which you can use to build a devastating Ranger build that swiftly moves around the battlefield and rain down elemental arrows.
Sorceress
The Sorceress is the ranged, elemental-focused Intelligence class specializing in unleashing fireballs, causing icy explosions, and covering the arena in lightning storms.
You can choose between 25 active elemental abilities, each providing unique ways to hone your Sorcerer build.
While you can stick to one element, PoE 2 encourages mixing different elements for devastating synergies.
For instance, casting a Wall of Fire will not just ignite enemies but boost any projectile that passes through it. You can then cast Lightning Sparks through it to boost your fire damage.
PoE 2 also features a dual specialization system, similar to other MMORPGs like Elder Scrolls Online, which allows you to equip a main-hand weapon and an off-hand weapon.
As such, you may want to equip certain Fire and Lightning staff to boost the damage of both elements’ abilities.
Warrior
The Warrior is a Strength-based melee class that specializes in dealing slow but hard-hitting Mace attacks while maximizing armor and defense from a shield.
You can remove the shield to execute heavy two-handed attacks that deal crippling amounts of damage.
Skill-wise, Warrior may resemble Diablo 4’s Barbarian, but in terms of action and mobility, it has more in common with a traditional melee class of a Soulsborne title.
Like the Barbarian, Warrior can use ripple-inducing slam attacks to stun enemies and deal massive AOE damage. Warcries can boost the next attack.
There are also fire attacks and shield skills that you can use to further enhance your combat maneuvers.
The Warrior has 20 active Mace skills, so there are plenty of options for synergies.
Witch
The Witch is another long-range class that specializes in summoning hordes of undead minions to deal indirect damage and casting Chaos or Bone spells to deal direct damage.
If you have never played the original Path of Exile, think of the Witch as the Necromancer equivalent of Diablo 4, with a few subtle differences.
With the Witch, you have an army of undead at your disposal at any time. You can use Spirits to choose which minions you want in your horde.
These range from weak Skeletal Warriors who are good at distracting enemies to Skeletal Arsonists who can inflict heavy damage.
While your minions take over the battlefield, you can cast Chaos spells to inflict diseases and Bone skills to impale enemies.
There are also Curse skills, which you can use to weaken enemies, allowing them to take more damage from your minions.
There are 25 active Occult skills to choose from, so you will have plenty of options to build the most dread-inducing Witch build in the game.
That wraps up our guide to all Path of Exile 2 early access classes you can choose from.
READ MORE: How long to beat Path of Exile 2 campaign?
