Path of Exile 2 Classes and Ascendancies: 8 Classes, 22 Ascendancies and What 1.0 Adds

Path of Exile 2 has 8 playable classes and 22 ascendancies in Early Access. Each class has 2 or 3 ascendancies. The Duelist becomes the 9th class when 1.0 launches on 11 December 2026.

The full game plans 12 classes with 3 ascendancies each, so 36 ascendancies in total. Marauder, Shadow and Templar complete the 12 and have no date yet.

• Live now: Warrior, Mercenary, Huntress, Monk, Sorceress, Druid, Ranger and Witch.
• Joins at 1.0: Duelist.
• Planned, no date: Marauder, Shadow and Templar.

A Lich can also unlock a 2nd version of the Lich, the Abyssal Lich. Grades for every class and ascendancy sit on the PoE 2 tier list.

Each class pairs 1 or 2 attributes with a signature weapon or skill style.

Class	Attributes	Weapon or skill focus	Ascendancies	Status
Warrior	Strength	Maces and heavy slams	Titan, Warbringer, Smith of Kitava	Live
Mercenary	Strength, Dexterity	Crossbows and ammo types	Gemling Legionnaire, Witchhunter, Tactician	Live
Huntress	Dexterity	Spears, up close or thrown	Amazon, Ritualist, Spirit Walker	Live
Monk	Dexterity, Intelligence	Quarterstaves and elemental strikes	Invoker, Acolyte of Chayula, Martial Artist	Live
Sorceress	Intelligence	Staves and elemental spells	Stormweaver, Chronomancer, Disciple of Varashta	Live
Druid	Strength, Intelligence	Shapeshifting and spells	Oracle, Shaman	Live
Ranger	Dexterity	Bows	Deadeye, Pathfinder	Live
Witch	Intelligence	Minions and occult spells	Infernalist, Blood Mage, Lich	Live
Duelist	Strength, Dexterity	Swords	Not named yet	1.0, 11 December
Marauder	Not announced	Not announced	Not announced	No date
Shadow	Not announced	Not announced	Not announced	No date
Templar	Not announced	Not announced	Not announced	No date

Marauder, Shadow and Templar have not been shown in play yet.

Every character picks 1 ascendancy of its class at the 1st trial clear. The 22 below are grouped by class, with the Abyssal Lich as a 23rd row for the Lich. "Arrived in" is the Early Access version that added it, and 0.1 is the launch on 6 December 2024.

Ascendancy	Class	What it does	Arrived in
Titan	Warrior	Heavy slams that stun enemies and set them up for bigger hits.	0.1
Warbringer	Warrior	Totems that call ancestral spirits, warcries that explode corpses, and jade armour.	0.1
Smith of Kitava	Warrior	Forges its own body armour with modifiers you pick.	0.2
Gemling Legionnaire	Mercenary	Gems set into the body: bonuses from skill gems and gem quality.	0.1
Witchhunter	Mercenary	Repels magic and disrupts spellcasters.	0.1
Tactician	Mercenary	Pins enemies in place and buffs the whole party.	0.2
Amazon	Huntress	Critical hits and elemental weapon infusions.	0.2
Ritualist	Huntress	Draws extra power from rings and amulets.	0.2
Spirit Walker	Huntress	Fights beside animal companions and can tame unique beasts.	0.5
Invoker	Monk	Cold and lightning critical hits, with evasion and energy shield.	0.1
Acolyte of Chayula	Monk	Chaos themed: trades Spirit for Darkness to soak hits and add damage.	0.1
Martial Artist	Monk	Unarmed melee builds, with room for extra runes.	0.5
Stormweaver	Sorceress	Elemental spells built on ailments, mana and critical hits.	0.1
Chronomancer	Sorceress	Bends time: freezes enemies and rewinds to an earlier spot.	0.1
Disciple of Varashta	Sorceress	Commands Djinns that fight for you or empower you.	0.4
Oracle	Druid	Reveals new paths on the passive tree.	0.4
Shaman	Druid	Rage and elemental storms.	0.4
Deadeye	Ranger	Extra projectiles for ranged attacks, plus movement speed.	0.1
Pathfinder	Ranger	Poison, flask fuelled concoctions and quick movement.	0.1
Infernalist	Witch	Fire, a hellhound companion and a Demon Form.	0.1
Blood Mage	Witch	Spells paid with life, with damage that grows with maximum life.	0.1
Lich	Witch	Chaos spells and curses, built on energy shield.	0.2
Abyssal Lich	Witch	A 2nd Lich tree with some nodes swapped, unlocked by a Lich.	0.3

For how each one grades in the 0.5.5 league, open the PoE 2 tier list.

Ascendancy points come from the Trials of Ascendancy: the Trial of the Sekhemas and the Trial of Chaos. Each clear at a higher level gives 2 points.

1. 1st clear, points 1 and 2. The campaign's 1st trial is the Trial of the Sekhemas in Act 2. This clear unlocks your ascendancy choice.
2. 2nd clear, points 3 and 4. The campaign's 2nd trial is the Trial of Chaos in Act 3.
3. 3rd clear, points 5 and 6. A harder endgame run of either trial, opened with a Djinn Barya or an Inscribed Ultimatum.
4. 4th clear, points 7 and 8. The hardest endgame run of either trial.

That makes 8 ascendancy points from 4 clears. Plan your ascendancy before the 1st clear, because that is where you choose it. The route to both campaign trials is in the PoE 2 campaign guide.

How to change your ascendancy

You can switch to another ascendancy of your class later. Redo a trial that gives the number of ascendancy points you already have. At the end of the trial, Balbala or the Trialmaster can reset all your ascendancy points. Then choose the new ascendancy at the Altar of Ascension beside them.

The Abyssal Lich is a 2nd version of the Lich ascendancy for the Witch. It keeps some Lich nodes and swaps others for new ones. It arrived in 0.3.

1. Ascend your Witch as a Lich.
2. Get a Kulemak's Invitation. It drops from Abyssal bosses.
3. Bring it to the Well of Souls and jump in.
4. Defeat the Vessel of Kulemak in the Black Cathedral, then use the urn marked "Embrace Abyssal Power?".

From then on, your character can swap between Lich and Abyssal Lich at that urn.

1.0 launches on 11 December 2026. It adds the Duelist and the final 2 acts of the campaign, Acts 5 and 6.

The Duelist

The Duelist is a Strength and Dexterity class built around swords. It becomes the 9th playable class at 1.0. Its ascendancies are not named yet. The ExileCon stream runs on 6 and 7 November (PST), with the keynote at 1 PM PST on 6 November. Everything known so far sits in the PoE 2 Duelist guide.

Not announced yet

• The names and kits of the Duelist's ascendancies.
• A 3rd ascendancy for the Ranger and the Druid.
• A date for the Marauder, the Shadow and the Templar.
• Where the trials sit in the 6-act campaign.
• The date of the 1.0 patch notes.

On launch day

The Duelist row above turns Live on 11 December. The tier list grades the Duelist on 18 December, 7 days after launch.

Start from the way you like to fight. Each row names the classes whose weapons or skills fit that style.

How you want to play	Classes to look at	Why
Melee weapons	Warrior, Monk, Huntress	Maces and slams, quarterstaves, and spears that hit up close.
Bows and crossbows	Ranger, Mercenary	Bows, and crossbows with several ammo types.
Elemental spells	Sorceress, Druid	Staves and elemental spells, and Druid spells in human form.
Minions	Witch	Minions and occult spells.
Shapeshifting	Druid	Animal forms up close, spells in human form.
Animal companions	Huntress	The Spirit Walker fights beside companions and tames unique beasts.

Ready-made builds for each class are in PoE 2 builds. Every PoE 2 guide and service sits on the Path of Exile 2 hub.