The best Path of Exile 2 classes in our ranked tier list place the Mercenary at the top S-tier and the Warrior ranked last, despite the classes seeming similar on the face of it. POE2 has six classes at time of writing and the full release is planned to add six more, massively expanding the available roster.
Still, right now you have the Sorcerer, Warrior, Ranger, Witch, Monk and Mercenary to choose from, each of which has their own strengths and weaknesses, and to be honest Path of Exile 2 has done a very solid job of balancing them. There’s no class that we could say is bad, and all of them can be used to persevere though to the very end – though that’s not to say that they’re all equivalent. Let’s go through our tier list of the best classes in POE2, and explain which ones you should pick and why.
Best classes in Path of Exile 2 and ranked tier list
The best classes in Path of Exile 2 are listed below in order of strongest to weakest, from our experience.
- Mercenary (S-tier)
- Sorcerer (S-tier)
- Monk (S-tier)
- Ranger (A-tier)
- Witch (B-tier)
- Warrior (C-tier)
Early Path of Exile 2 bosses and quests
Again, there are no classes in POE2 that we’d consider to be actually bad, but there is a clear scope of difference between playing as the Mercenary and the Warrior. There’s very little in the power difference between the Merc, Sorc and Monk respectively, but we would say the Merc clinches it, in part because the Monk is a little trickier to use and get the most out of effectively, especially in the early levels, and the Sorcerer is a little too fragile at times.
Below we’ll go into all the existing POE2 classes in order of their strength as listed above, and explain what you’re getting when you pick each one.
Mercenary
- Tier: S
- Pros: Versatile, deadly at a distance, never without options
- Cons: Reload time on crossbow, lacks agility
- Attributes: Dexterity/Strength
- How easy to use: Medium
- Playstyle: Ranged attacks, explosives and a variety of elemental moves
- Essential equipment: Crossbow
The Mercenary is our pick for the best class in the game, for a few reasons. In a game that tends to reward range over melee combat, the Merc’s reliance on a crossbow means he was always going to be a solid option. Though he has a few AOE options, you get your money’s worth by using the elements cleverly – ice and electrical bolts fired from your crossbow at specific targets to great effect, inflicting status effects along the way.
The downside is the reloading and lack of agility compared to similar classes like the Ranger, as well as a lack of any real battlefield-wiping powers. Still, the Merc remains lethal, and has a decent health pool to allow for any strikes that hit.
Sorcerer
- Tier: S
- Pros: Ranged elemental power, AOEs, heavy damage
- Cons: Low health, poor at close range, very mana dependant
- Attributes: Intelligence
- How easy to use: Easy
- Playstyle: Back up and throw lightning and firestorms at the enemy
- Essential equipment: Staff
The Sorc is an elemental spellcaster who serves as the game’s real class cannon, throwing out elemental attacks at anything from a distance – fireballs, lightning bolts, ice storms – to the point where you barely need precision or thought. If there’s a section of the map that isn’t covered in swirling, crackling magic, then correct that.
The two major downsides of the Sorcerer are the dependence on mana, perhaps more than any other class, and their extremely low health. Again, Path of Exile 2 tends to be kinder to ranged classes and that’s one of the reasons the Sorc is so highly thought of, but if an enemy breaks through your ranged assault and gets in your face, you need to get away quickly.
Monk
- Tier: S
- Pros: Speed, agility, stun damage, melee viability
- Cons: Less health, complexity, difficult to get right in boss fights
- Attributes: Dexterity/Intelligence
- How easy to use: Hard
- Playstyle: Dash around hitting people to inflict status effects
- Essential equipment: Quarterstaff
The Monk is perhaps the strangest and most anomalous class, though one that can be incredibly effective if used right. Based around fast movement, evasion and melee combat, the Monk has you sprint at enemies and hit them with a variety of attacks that build stun or leave them with special conditions, while other attacks cause special effects for you and enemies alike when you land a killing blow or meet some other condition.
The Monk is complex though, built around precision, the right attack for the right moment, and using special abilities to where they’ll be most effective. Not only that, but you have to do that from the fray itself, rather than throwing spells from a distance. The Monk’s ability to dash with many abilities is invaluable here – get it right and you’ll be unstoppable. There’s a lot of builds and variations as to how you make a Monk, so maybe check up on how to respec in Path of Exile 2 for some more flexibility.
Ranger
- Tier: A
- Pros: Precision, ranged, elemental force
- Cons: Low health, no melee power, less AOE
- Attributes: Dexterity
- How easy to use: Easy/Medium
- Playstyle: Keep a distance while throwing out arrows and abilities to slow enemies
- Essential equipment: Bow
The Ranger is similar in nature to the Mercenary – keeping your distance and firing shots with selective elemental powers – but where the Mercenary is more for the mid-range and can survive at least a little up close, the Ranger is dependent on keeping far away from enemies, with some abilities based on quick retreats and creating distance, while others slow foes with ice.
More importantly, the Ranger’s precision is incredibly good, and what you lose in AOE effects, you gain in targeted impact. This makes the ranger pretty good against bosses by our experience, as long as you can keep that all-important evasion going.
Witch
- Tier: B
- Pros: Minions can be highly effective if used right
- Cons: Less direct firepower and control
- Attributes: Intelligence
- How easy to use: Medium/Hard
- Playstyle: Inflict negative conditions on foes while summoned minions tear them to pieces
- Essential equipment: Wands and Rods
The Witch is the class you pick if you want to outsource combat, summoning skeletons and undead to attack foes and reanimating the corpses of those they kill, while you remain at a distance and whittle away with spells and negative effects and conditions.
The problem is that the Witch’s minions aren’t quite as lethal as we’d like them to be. They do hurt foes and often draw aggression to keep enemies off you (a very useful feature), but you can’t really control them and their damage is never quite as high as we’d hope – not to mention that many of your abilities are dependent on fresh corpses, which aren’t always there.
Warrior
- Tier: C
- Pros: Tanky, high health, stun abilities
- Cons: Unremarkable damage and skill options
- Attributes: Strength
- How easy to use: Easy/Medium
- Playstyle: Enduring damage while using melee strikes on foes
- Essential equipment: “Sword and Board” Mace and shield, or two-handed weapons
The Warrior is… hard to recommend if you’re determined to make the most out of Path of Exile 2. A tank that isn’t quite tanky enough, this barbarian is designed to survive combat with shield blocks and high health, stunning foes with melee attacks and heavy swings.
He’s technically the class best suited to melee, but he’s still not good enough at it: this is a game that favours distance and mobility, and it’s not long before the Warrior can find himself getting overrun to the point where even his survivability can’t handle it (in part because you don’t have the firepower to thin out the opponents fast enough).
All upcoming classes in Path of Exile 2
There are six more class options that will be added in the full release of Path of Exile 2, as follows:
- Druid: Shapeshifter who switches between ranged spells and melee transformations
- Duelist: Sword-wielder with a focus on speed and evasion
- Huntress: Versatile spear-user with high mobility
- Marauder: Barbarian that focuses on melee damage
- Shadow: Rogue assassin that deals in high-damage strikes
- Templar: A paladin melee spellcaster that smites enemies
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