The best Path of Exile 2 classes, ranked and level list

On December 7, 2024By Littum

The best Path of Exile 2 classes in our ranked ranks list places the Mercenary at the top S-tier and the Warrior ranked last, despite the classes looking similar at first glance. POE2 has six classes at the time of writing, and the full release is planned to add six more, massively expanding the available list.

Still, right now you have Sorcerer, Warrior, Ranger, Witch, Monk, and Mercenary to choose from, each with their own strengths and weaknesses, and to be honest, Path of Exile 2 has done a very solid job of balancing them. There is no class that we can say is bad, and all of them can be used to last until the end – although that is not to say that they are all the same. Let’s go through our list of the best classes in POE2 and explain which ones you should choose and why.

Best classes in Path of Exile 2 and ranked list

Path of Exile 2 Classes — (Image credit: Grinding Gear Games)

The best classes in Path of Exile 2 are listed below in order of strongest to weakest, based on our experience.

mercenary (S-tier)
wizard (S-tier)
Monk (S-tier)
Rank (A tier)
Witch (B level)
Warrior (C-tier)

Early Path of Exile 2 bosses and quests

Again, there are no classes in POE2 that we would consider actually bad, but there is a clear difference between playing as a mercenary and a warrior. There is very little power difference between the Merc, Sorc, and Monk respectively, but we’d say the Merc takes it, partly because the Monk is a bit harder to use and get the most out of effectively, especially in the early levels, and the Wizard is sometimes a little too fragile.

Below we will go into all the existing POE2 classes in order of their strength as listed above and explain what you get when you choose each one.

mercenary

Path of Exile 2 Classes

(Image credit: Grinding Gear Games)

Level: p
- Advantages: Versatile, deadly from a distance, never out of options
- Disadvantages: Recharge time on crossbow, lacks agility
Attributes: Dexterity/Strength
How easy to use: Medium
Playstyle: Ranged attacks, explosives, and a variety of elemental moves
Important 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, Merc’s reliance on a crossbow means he’d always be a solid option. While he has a few AOE options, you get your money’s worth by using the elements smartly – ice and electric bolts fired from your crossbow at specific targets with high impact, inflicting status effects along the way.

The downside is the recharge and lack of agility compared to similar classes like the Ranger, as well as a lack of any real battlefield drying powers. Still, the Merc remains lethal and has a decent health pool that allows for any strike that hits.

wizard

Path of Exile 2 Classes

(Image credit: Grinding Gear Games)

Level: p
- Advantages: Ranged elemental power, AOEs, heavy damage
- Disadvantages: Low health, bad at close range, very mana dependent
Attributes: Intelligence
How easy to use: Easy
Playstyle: Smoke up and throw lightning and firestorms at the enemy
Important equipment: Staff

The Sorc is an elemental caster that serves as the game’s real class cannon, throwing out elemental attacks at anything from a distance – fireballs, lightning, ice storms – to the point where you barely need precision or thought. If there’s a section of the map that isn’t covered by swirling, crackling magic, fix it.

The two major drawbacks of Sorcerers are the reliance on mana, perhaps more than any other class, and their extremely low health. Again, Path of Exile 2 tends to be friendlier to ranged classes, which is one of the reasons Sorc is so highly thought of, but if an enemy breaks through your ranged attack and gets in your face, you quickly away.

Monk

Path of Exile 2 Classes

(Image credit: Grinding Gear Games)

Level: p
- Advantages: Speed, agility, stun damage, melee viability
- Disadvantages: Less health, complexity, hard to get right in boss fights
Attributes: Dexterity/Intelligence
How easy to use: Hard
Playstyle: Walk around and hit people to apply status effects
Important equipment: Neighborhood staff

The Monk is perhaps the strangest and most anomalous class, although it can be incredibly effective if used correctly. Based on fast movement, evasion and melee combat, the Monk has you sprinting towards enemies and hitting them with a variety of attacks that stun or leave them with special conditions, while other attacks cause special effects to you and enemies when you land a killing blow or meet another condition.

The monk is complex though, built around precision, the right attack at the right moment and using special abilities where they will be most effective. Not only that, but you have to do it from the fight itself, instead of casting spells from a distance. The monk’s ability to jump with many abilities is invaluable here – get it right and you’ll be unstoppable. There are many builds and variations on how to make a monk, so maybe check out how to respect it in Path of Exile 2 for more flexibility.

Rank

Path of Exile 2 Classes

(Image credit: Grinding Gear Games)

Level: ONE
- Advantages: Precision, distance, elemental power
- Disadvantages: Low health, no melee power, less AOE
Attributes: Dexterity
How easy to use: Easy/medium
Play Style: Keep your distance while throwing arrows and abilities to slow down enemies
Important equipment: Bow

The Ranger is similar in nature to the Mercenary – keep your distance and fire shots with selective elemental powers – but where the Mercenary is more mid-range and can survive at least somewhat close, the Ranger relies on staying far away from enemies, with some abilities based on quick retreats and creating distance, while others slow enemies with ice.

More importantly, the Ranger’s accuracy is incredibly good, and what you lose in AOE effects, you gain in targeted impact. This makes the ranger pretty good against bosses in our experience, as long as you can keep the all-important evasion going.

Witch

Path of Exile 2 Classes

(Image credit: Grinding Gear Games)

Level: B
- Advantages: Minions can be extremely effective if used correctly
- Disadvantages: Less direct firepower and control
Attributes: Intelligence
How easy to use: Medium/Hard
Playstyle: Inflict negative conditions on enemies while summoned minions tear them apart
Important equipment: Spell and spell

The Witch is the class of choice if you want to outsource combat, summoning skeletons and undead to attack enemies and reanimate the corpses of those they kill, while staying at a distance and chipping away at spells and negative effects and conditions.

The problem is, the witch’s minions aren’t quite as deadly as we’d like them to be. They damage enemies and often attract aggression to keep enemies away from you (a very useful feature), but you can’t really control them and their damage is never quite as high as we’d hoped – not to mention that many of your abilities are dependent on fresh corpses, which aren’t always there.

Warrior

Path of Exile 2 Classes

(Image credit: Grinding Gear Games)

Level: C
- Advantages: Tanky, high health, stun abilities
- Disadvantages: Imperceptible damage and skill options
Attributes: Strength
How easy to use: Easy/medium
Play style: Sustain damage while using melee on enemies
Important equipment: “Sword and Board” Mace and shield, or two-handed weapon

The Warrior is… hard to recommend if you’re determined to get the most out of Path of Exile 2. A tank that isn’t quite tanky enough, this barbarian is designed to survive fights with shield blocks and high health, awesome enemies with melee and powerful swings.

He’s technically the class best suited for melee, but he’s still not good enough for it: this is a game that favors distance and mobility, and it won’t be long before the Warrior can find that be overrun to the point where even his survivability can’t handle it (partially because you don’t have the firepower to thin out the opponents fast enough).

All upcoming classes in Path of Exile 2

Path of Exile 2 Classes

(Image credit: Grinding Gear Games)

There are six additional class options that will be added in the full release of Path of Exile 2 as follows:

Druid: Shapeshifter that switches between ranged spells and melee transformations
Duelist: Sword swinger with a focus on speed and evasion
Huntress: Versatile spear user with high mobility
Marauders: Barbarian that focuses on melee damage
Shade: Rogue assassin who deals in high damage
Templar: A paladin melee caster that hits enemies