The Third Edict update introduced many class balancing changes, so the meta has significantly shifted since the latest patch. Several top-performing Ascendancies have fallen from the leaderboard, while others have secured good positions at the top. This PoE 2 Ascendancy Tier List will show the best and worst classes after the Third Edict Update. Looking to jump into the adventure? Buy PoE 2 Currency and get ready to take on Wraeclast.
Path of Exile 2 Ascendancy Class Tier List
- S Tier: Deadeye, Blood Mage, and Infernalist
- A Tier: Lich, Witchhunter, Tactician, and Amazon
- B Tier: Stormweaver, Pathfinder, Smith of Kitava, and Warbringer
- C Tier: Chronomancer, Acolyte of Chayula, Invoker, and Titan
- D Tier: Gemling Legionnaire and Ritualist
S Tier
- Deadeye: The Deadeye landed on top of the list after the improvements to the Projectiles system and the addition of the Avidity passive skill. This spec now has one of the highest single-target damage with Ascendancy, with excellent mob-clearing abilities, which makes Deadeye a good League Starter and end-game class.
- Blood Mage: While it has a slightly more difficult League Starter, this Ascendancy will instantly skyrocket to the top once you gain access to more infusion-based spells. The mana cast improvements also made keystones like Black Flame and Life Overflow, making this spec even more significant.
- Infernalist: This is the current strongest minion Ascendancy in Path of Exile 2. It boasts excellent fire infusion generation and substantial late-game critical strike scaling. It’s a great League Starter and End-Game spec.
A Tier
- Lich: The Lich Ascendancy is the most durable among the minion classes. They possess excellent mob-clearing capabilities and significant damage scaling. The only reason it doesn’t rank higher than A is that Infernalist can deal significantly more damage than Lich.
- Witchhunter: This Ascendancy became a top choice for League Starters and End-Game players because of the 100 Weapon Set passives and the improvements on the Weapon Swapping mechanics. It’s a strength spec with significant damage from its various Curses and Poisons. However, it does require a bit more investment to compete with the S-Tier Ascendancies in terms of damage.
- Tactician: Tacticians are arguably the fastest characters in the Path of Exile. They have multiple banners, buffs, and utilities that can greatly empower totems and minions. The only thing that bars them from going higher in this list is their dependence on glory generation and the uptimes of their banners.
- Amazon: Amazon is a great class, but it falls short of S-Tier because Deadeye can do everything better. The Critical Strike nerf has significantly dampened the effectiveness of this class, so you’ll have to make up for it with accuracy stat buffs.
B Tier
- Stormweaver: This Ascendancy received many buffs and QoL improvements after the update, but it still suffers from the need to have high infusion generation. While it can deal greater damage than before, it suffers from the lack of infusion generation after several core abilities, like Snap, no longer generate this resource.
- Pathfinder: Pathfinders are still an okay spec to go for because they still produce reliable DPS numbers. It’s mainly reliant on the use of Poison attacks, flask usage, and Chaos DoTs, but its total damage output is lackluster compared to higher-tiered Ascendancies.
- Smith of Kitava: This Ascendancy is arguably the best starter spec, especially for newer players. It has great survivability and considerable damage for easy mob clearing in the campaign. However, it falls off significantly in terms of DPS as you reach end-game.
- Warbringer: Warbringer saw its total kit skyrocket after new improvements to its core skills. However, it needs significant gear investment to compete with Tacticians, so it ranks lower than A-Tier.
C Tier
- Chronomancer: Chronos found a niche in their Curse scaling and detonation mechanics. However, the upfront damage is not just competing well with other S-Tier classes, so players might feel it’s a bit slower. Its total DPS is still considerable enough, especially in late-game stages.
- Acolyte of Chayula: Acolytes are too reliant on specific gems like Volatility to do damage consistently. While it’s still an okay spec to run, other classes can do more with less effort.
- Invoker: Invoker falls off because it’s a bit difficult or complex for newer players to play. It’s an okay spec to use for Hardcore or end-game content, but it has too many mana and cooldown issues. Several nerfs or changes to specific spells, such as Frost Bomb, have made some notable performers perform worse in this update.
- Titan: Titan will always be a good League Starter because of Hulking Form. However, it lacks significant damage scaling into end-game content and has very few ranged abilities, which makes it quite challenging to use in the late game.
D Tier
- Gemling Legionnaire: Gemlings have suffered from the latest nerfs and charge generation changes. Gem-studded notable used to be a great passive, but the recent changes to embedding high-tier gems into armor have made the spec quite flawed.
- Ritualist: To make it short, it’s a bad league starter because it heavily relies on good gear. However, it can still perform exceptionally well in the end-game if equipped with excellent items.
📌Note: Players should remember that the game is still in Early Access, and the meta is highly volatile. Minor changes can have significant impacts on multiple Ascendcies, so that this tier list can change at any time.
