| Ascendancy Classes |
Crucible | Crucible HC | SSF Crucible | SSF Crucible HC | Class |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ascendant | 4% | 2% | 2% | 2% | Scion |
| Assassin | 1% | 1% | 0.7% | 0.9% | Shadow |
| Berserker | 2% | 0.6% | 0.8% | 1% | Marauder |
| Champion | 5% | 16% | 6% | 11% | Duelist |
| Chieftain | 0.7% | 2% | 1% | 2% | Marauder |
| Deadeye | 17% | 3% | 12% | 2% | Ranger |
| Elementalist | 8% | 7% | 13% | 9% | Witch |
| Gladiator | 0.5% | 0.9% | 1% | 2% | Duelist |
| Guardian | 0.8% | 4% | 2% | 4% | Templar |
| Hierophant | 4% | 3% | 3% | 4% | Templar |
| Inquisitor | 4% | 3% | 2% | 3% | Templar |
| Juggernaut | 14% | 27% | 23% | 27% | Marauder |
| Necromancer | 6% | 8% | 6% | 5% | Witch |
| Occultist | 8% | 3% | 3% | 2% | Witch |
| Pathfinder | 11% | 10% | 13% | 11% | Ranger |
| Raider | 3% | 2% | 3% | 2% | Ranger |
| Saboteur | 3% | 1% | 1% | 1% | Shadow |
| Slayer | 3% | 3% | 5% | 6% | Duelist |
| Trickster | 4% | 4% | 3% | 4% | Shadow |
| Path of Exile Classes | Best Skills Ranked |
|---|---|
| Ascendant |
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| Assassin |
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| Berserker |
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| Champion |
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| Chieftain |
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| Deadeye |
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| Elementalist |
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| Gladiator |
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| Guardian |
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| Hierophant |
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| Inquisitor |
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| Juggernaut |
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| Necromancer |
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| Occultist |
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| Pathfinder |
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| Raider |
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| Saboteur |
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| Slayer |
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| Trickster |
|
Path of Exile has seven classes: Marauder, Duelist, Ranger, Shadow, Witch, Templar, and Scion.
Upon completing the Lord's Labyrinth for the first time, you can pick an Ascendancy class from one of the three available for your class. There are 19 Ascendancy classes, each with its own additional Ascendancy Skill Tree to master.
| Class | Sublcasses |
|---|---|
| Duelist | Slayer, Gladiator, Champion |
| Marauder | Juggernaut, Berserker, Chieftain |
| Ranger | Raider, Deadeye, Pathfinder |
| Scion | Ascendant |
| Shadow | Assassin, Trickster, Saboteur |
| Templar | Inquisitor, Hierophant, Guardian |
| Witch | Occultist, Elementalist, Necromancer |
Duelists can specialise into one of these three Ascendancy classes: Slayer, Gladiator, Champion.
The Duelist is Path of Exile's strength/dexterity hybrid class, making him unmatched at dealing and avoiding damage. He can effectively use a shield, but is equally comfortable slashing away with a powerful two-hander or fighting with weapons in both hands. His powerful arms can draw the strings of the heaviest and most lethal longbows. His highly honed reflexes give him a cat-like ability to dodge and parry incoming attacks, be they arrows or axe swings. The Duelist is a daunting foe, and his reputation as a ruthless killer is well deserved.
The Slayer is an Ascendancy class for Duelists. It is a offense oriented class based around attacks. He is a effective boss killer with Headsman and Bane of Legends and gains access to defensive bonuses involving life leech, including the ability to leech beyond his maximum health pool with Brutal Fervour. He also possesses bonuses towards area of effect and critical strike attack builds, as well as Masterful Form for maximizing frenzy and endurance charges.
| Name | Notable passive skills |
|---|---|
| Headsman | Gain 10% increased Movement Speed for 20 seconds when you Kill an Enemy Gain 10% increased Attack Speed for 20 seconds when you Kill a Rare or Unique Enemy Kill Enemies that have 20% or lower Life when Hit by your Skills |
| Overwhelm | Base Critical Strike Chance for Attacks with Weapons is 8% +10% to Critical Strike Multiplier per Nearby Enemy, up to +100% Nearby Enemies have -30% to Critical Strike Multiplier |
| Bane of Legends | 20% more Damage with Hits and Ailments against Unique Enemies 10% more Damage if you've Killed Recently Cannot take Reflected Physical Damage |
| Endless Hunger | 20% of Overkill Damage is Leeched as Life You are Unaffected by Bleeding while Leeching Cannot be Stunned while Leeching 20% increased Attack Speed while Leeching |
| Brutal Fervour | Life Leech effects are not removed when Unreserved Life is Filled 10% reduced Damage taken while Leeching 100% increased Maximum Recovery per Life Leech |
| Impact | 5% increased Area of Effect per Enemy killed recently, up to 50% +4 to Melee Strike Range 50% increased Global Accuracy Rating Deal up to 15% more Melee Damage to Enemies, based on proximity |
| Masterful Form | Your Maximum Endurance Charges is equal to your Maximum Frenzy Charges +1 to Maximum Frenzy Charges |
The Gladiator is an Ascendancy class for Duelists. It is an Ascendancy class with a mixture of speed, power, and protection, revolving around certain stats. It covers two primary niches, one which is focused around maximizing block effectiveness, and another which enhances bleed with auxillary effects. The class also covers dual wielding and Blood Stance and Sand Stance bonuses.
| Name | Notable passive skills |
|---|---|
| Gratuitous Violence | Bleeding Enemies you Kill Explode, dealing 10% of their Maximum Life as Physical Damage 20% more Physical Damage over Time |
| Blood in the Eyes | 25% chance to Blind with Hits against Bleeding Enemies Attacks Maim on Hit against Bleeding Enemies Enemies Maimed by you take 10% increased Physical Damage Attacks have 50% chance to cause Bleeding |
| Outmatch and Outlast | 25% chance to gain a Frenzy Charge on Kill with Main Hand 25% chance to gain an Endurance Charge on Kill with Off Hand 10% more Physical Damage while at maximum Frenzy Charges 10% reduced Physical Damage taken while at maximum Endurance Charges |
| Painforged | +8% Chance to Block Attack Damage if you were Damaged by a Hit Recently Your Counterattacks deal Double Damage Cannot be Stunned by Hits you Block |
| Violent Retaliation | 8% increased Physical Damage for each time you've Blocked in the past 10 seconds +1% Chance to Block Attack Damage for each time you've Blocked in the past 10 seconds 80% increased Physical Damage if you've Blocked Damage from a Unique Enemy in the past 10 seconds +4% to maximum Chance to Block Attack Damage |
| Versatile Combatant | Chance to Block Spell Damage is equal to Chance to Block Attack Damage Maximum Chance to Block Spell Damage is equal to Maximum Chance to Block Attack Damage |
| Arena Challenger | +10 to Maximum Challenger Charges 25% chance to gain a Challenger Charge when you Hit a Rare or Unique Enemy while in Blood Stance Gain a Challenger Charge when you Kill an Enemy while in Sand Stance 2% more Attack and Movement Speed per Challenger Charge |
The Champion is an Ascendancy class for Duelists. It is a mixture of defensive/offensive and support class who can act as a tank for his party by debuffing enemies through taunts and impale, buffing his allies with enhanced Banners, or Intimidate enemies to reduce their defenses. He bolsters his own defenses with Fortify, including the ability to permanently Fortify himself, or gains a burst of Adrenaline at low life for increased damage and defenses. The minor nodes grant increased armour and evasion rating across the board to further bolster his survivability.
| Name | Notable passive skills |
|---|---|
| Fortitude | Fortify |
| Unstoppable Hero | 20% increased Attack Speed while you have Fortify Cannot be Stunned while you have Fortify +500 to Armour and Evasion Rating while you have Fortify |
| Conqueror | 100% Chance on Hit to Taunt an Enemy 10% reduced Damage taken if you've Taunted an Enemy Recently Enemies Taunted by you deal 20% less Damage with Hits and Ailments against other targets |
| Worthy Foe | Enemies Taunted by you take 20% increased Damage Enemies Taunted by you cannot Evade Attacks |
| Inspirational | Banner Skills have no Reservation 30% increased effect of Non-Curse Auras from your Skills When you create a Banner, it gains 40% of the Stages of your placed Banner You and Allies affected by your placed Banners Regenerate 0.1% of Life per second for each Stage |
| First to Strike, Last to Fall | Your Hits permanently Intimidate Enemies that are on Full Life Gain Adrenaline for 20 seconds when you reach Low Life if you do not have Adrenaline Remove all Ailments and Burning when you gain Adrenaline Recover 25% of Life when you gain Adrenaline |
| Master of Metal | Impales you inflict last 1 additional Hit If you've Impaled an Enemy Recently, you and nearby Allies have +1000 to Armour You and nearby Allies deal 6 to 12 added Physical Damage for each Impale on Enemy |
Marauder can specialise into one of these three Ascendancy classes: Juggernaut , Berserker, Chieftain.
The Marauder (known as Marauder of Ngamakanui from Nessa's dialogue) is Path of Exile's pure strength class, which means that he's great at taking hits, and even better at dishing out punishment. His melee skills encompass a wide range of assault, from massive single target damage to devastating area of effect. This brute of a man bolsters his impressive physical arsenal with a variety of shouts and cries, skills that rally his allies and strike terror into the hearts of his enemies.
The Juggernaut is an Ascendancy class for Marauders. It is the premier tank class, possessing endurance charge generation and bonuses, healthy boosts to armour and damage mitigation, and protection against slows and stuns. The tree also offers some offensive bonuses like accuracy and stun bonuses.
| Name | Notable passive skills |
|---|---|
| Unstoppable | Action Speed cannot be modified to below base value Movement Speed cannot be modified to below base value 10% increased Movement Speed Cannot be Stunned |
| Unbreakable | Armour received from Body Armour is doubled 5% reduced Damage taken Regenerate 2% of Life per second 1.5% of Total Physical Damage prevented from Hits in the past 10 seconds is Regenerated as Life per second |
| Unyielding | 8% increased Damage per Endurance Charge 25% chance to gain an Endurance Charge when you Stun an Enemy 10% increased Stun Duration on Enemies per Endurance Charge 6% increased Area of Effect per Endurance Charge |
| Undeniable | +500 to Accuracy Rating 1% increased Attack Speed per 150 Accuracy Rating Gain Accuracy Rating equal to twice your Strength |
| Unflinching | 30% chance to gain an Endurance Charge when you are Hit +1 to Maximum Endurance Charges 25% chance that if you would gain Endurance Charges, you instead gain up to maximum Endurance Charges Gain 1 Endurance Charge every second if you've been Hit Recently |
| Unrelenting | 8% reduced Elemental Damage taken while at Maximum Endurance Charges 1% additional Physical Damage Reduction per Endurance Charge +4% to Chaos Resistance per Endurance Charge |
The Berserker is an Ascendancy class for Marauders. It is an offense oriented class that gears towards being in the heat of combat, with skills that offer unparalleled power at a downside. Berserkers can be built around Rage and make it even more powerful at the cost of life degen with Rite of Ruin, trade consistent critical strike chance for faster attacks with Blitz, or gain straight-up more damage for vulnerability with Aspect of Carnage. The class also offers bonuses to leech and warcries.
| Name | Notable passive skills |
|---|---|
| War Bringer | Warcries grant 10 Rage per 5 Power if you have less than 25 Rage Warcries Sacrifice 10 Rage if you have at least 25 Rage Exerted Attacks deal 50% more Damage if a Warcry Sacrificed Rage Recently |
| Rite of Ruin | Inherent effects from having Rage are Tripled Cannot be Stunned while you have at least 25 Rage Lose 0.1% of Life per second per Rage while you are not losing Rage |
| Defy Pain | Gain Defiance for 10 seconds on losing Life to an Enemy Hit, no more than once every 0.3 seconds 25% increased Armour per Defiance 50% increased Maximum total Life Recovery per second from Leech while you have Defiance At 10 Defiance, take Reflected Physical Damage equal to maximum Life, then lose all Defiance |
| Flawless Savagery | 50% increased Critical Strike Chance +25% to Critical Strike Multiplier Adds 20 to 30 Physical Damage if you've dealt a Critical Strike Recently |
| Crave the Slaughter | Gain 1 Rage on Hit with Attacks, no more than once every 0.3 seconds +10 to Maximum Rage |
| Aspect of Carnage | 10% increased Damage taken 40% more Damage |
| Blitz | Gain a Blitz Charge on Critical Strike 2% more Attack Speed per Blitz Charge 8% reduced Critical Strike Chance per Blitz Charge +20 to Maximum Blitz Charges |
The Chieftain is an Ascendancy class for Marauders. It is focused around fire damage and totems. The class offers a wide variety of effects revolving around fire damage, with damage bonuses via damage conversion, penetration, and covering enemies with Ash. They can enhance their totems to weaken nearby enemies or leech life for them. The class also boasts a variety of sources of life regeneration and life leech, as well as endurance charge generation, making the Chieftain surprisingly tough to kill in the heat of combat.
| Name | Notable passive skills |
|---|---|
| Arohongui, Moon's Presence | Enemies near your Totems deal 8% less Damage Enemies near your Totems take 16% increased Physical and Fire Damage Totems are Immune to Fire Damage 25% increased Area of Effect while you have a Totem |
| Ngamahu, Flame's Advance | 50% of Physical Damage Converted to Fire Damage Every 10 seconds, gain 100% of Physical Damage as Extra Fire Damage for 4 seconds |
| Hinekora, Death's Fury | 1% of Fire Damage Leeched as Life 10% increased Strength Cover Rare or Unique Enemies in Ash for 10 Seconds on Hit |
| Tasalio, Cleansing Water | 15% of Physical Damage from Hits taken as Fire Damage Unaffected by Ignite +100% to Fire Resistance 50% increased Life Recovery Rate if you've taken Fire Damage from an Enemy Hit Recently |
| Tukohama, War's Herald | 2% of Damage dealt by your Totems is Leeched to you as Life Ancestor Totems have 100% increased Activation range 100% increased Effect of Buffs your Ancestor Totems grant while Active |
| Tawhoa, Forest's Strength | Trigger Level 20 Tawhoa's Chosen when you Attack with a Non-Vaal Slam Skill near an Enemy |
| Ramako, Sun's Light | Damage Penetrates 15% Fire Resistance 25% chance to Ignite +25% to Fire Damage over Time Multiplier |
| Valako, Storm's Embrace | +1 to Maximum Endurance Charges Regenerate 0.5% of Life per second per Endurance Charge 15% more Damage if you've lost an Endurance Charge in the past 8 seconds Gain 1 Endurance Charge every second if you've used a Warcry Recently |
Rangers can specialise into one of these three Ascendancy classes: Raider, Deadeye, Pathfinder.
The Ranger is Path of Exile's pure dexterity class, which befits her slim and graceful appearance. She is agile and fast, darting in and out of combat to deliver vicious critical strikes that often fell her enemies in a single blow. Her natural quickness grants her a profound ability to avoid damage through a high Evasion, and she tends to garb herself in light leathers and cloth. She has tremendous proficiency with ranged weapons, but she is as lethal as any man on the battlefield with a sword.
The Raider is an Ascendancy class for Rangers. It is class focused on speed and evasion that's centered around frenzy charges, Onslaught, or Phasing. The nearest notables provide practically permanent uptime on these effects, while the notables gated behind them further enhance the bonuses they give. Avatar of the Chase gives Onslaught huge bonuses to attack speed, movement speed, and evade chance, Avatar of the Slaughter gives frenzy charges a bigger variety of bonuses, and Avatar of the Veil provides significant defensive bonuses and elemental exposure to Phasing.
| Name | Notable passive skills |
|---|---|
| Way of the Poacher | 20% chance to gain a Frenzy Charge on Kill 20% chance to gain a Frenzy Charge when you Hit a Rare or Unique Enemy +1 to Maximum Frenzy Charges |
| Avatar of the Slaughter | 10% increased Attack Damage per Frenzy Charge 4% increased Movement Speed per Frenzy Charge 4% increased Attack Speed per Frenzy Charge 10% increased Evasion Rating per Frenzy Charge |
| Rapid Assault | Onslaught |
| Avatar of the Chase | 35% more chance to Evade Melee Attacks during Onslaught 35% more chance to Evade Projectile Attacks during Onslaught 100% increased Onslaught Effect |
| Quartz Infusion | 15% chance to Dodge Attack Hits 15% chance to Dodge Spell Hits Phasing |
| Avatar of the Veil | Nearby Enemies have Fire, Cold and Lightning Exposure while you have Phasing, applying -20% to those Resistances Nearby Enemies have 20% less Accuracy Rating while you have Phasing 50% chance to Avoid Elemental Ailments while Phasing |
The Deadeye is an Ascendancy class for Rangers. It is a offense-oriented class focused around projectile skills and modifying them to enhance their power. While bow builds have obvious synergies with the Deadeye, wand and projectile spell builds can also easily benefit from the utility the class provides. Ricochet and Endless Munitions gives the class convenient access to chain and additional projectiles, Occupying Force modifies Mirage Archer Support to give more damage potential, and Far Shot enhances long-range combat and makes Barrage shots effective at long range. They can also gain Tailwind to hasten themselves and their allies. They also have access to bonuses related to Marks and bleed damage for crit builds.
| Name | Notable passive skills |
|---|---|
| Focal Point | 75% increased Effect of your Marks 25% less Damage taken from other Enemies near your Marked Enemy Marks you inflict are not removed from Dying Enemies |
| Ricochet | Skills Chain +1 times Projectiles have 30% chance to be able to Chain when colliding with terrain |
| Endless Munitions | Skills fire 2 additional Projectiles |
| Far Shot | Far Shot Projectile Barrages have no spread |
| Rupturing | Critical Strikes which inflict Bleeding also inflict Rupture |
| Gathering Winds | Gain 1 Gale Force when you use a Skill 15% increased Effect of Tailwind on you per Gale Force action speed -% [-8] |
| Occupying Force | Mirage Archers are not attached to you +2 to maximum number of Summoned Mirage Archers Cannot Summon Mirage Archers while near your Mirage Archers |
| Wind Ward | 3% less Damage taken per Gale Force Lose all Gale Force when Hit |
Pathfinder is an Ascendancy class for Rangers. It is focal point is her flasks, which she uses with increased effectiveness. Many of the Pathfinder's skills can conserve or gain extra flask charges, give flasks additional offensive or defensive effects while they're active, or protect them from harmful ailments. Her remaining skills enhance elemental damage, chaos damage, or poison. The Pathfinder is a flexible class that benefits both spell and attack builds effectively, particularly ones that use damage conversion.
| Name | Notable passive skills |
|---|---|
| Nature's Adrenaline | 20% increased Attack Speed during any Flask Effect 15% increased Movement Speed during any Flask Effect |
| Master Surgeon | Gain a Flask Charge when you deal a Critical Strike Removes Bleeding when you use a Flask Removes Corrupted Blood when you use a Flask Recover 6% of Life when you use a Flask |
| Nature's Boon | 6% reduced Elemental Damage taken Flasks gain 3 Charges every 3 seconds 20% chance for Flasks you use to not consume Charges |
| Master Alchemist | 20% chance to Freeze, Shock and Ignite during any Flask Effect Removes Elemental Ailments when you use a Flask |
| Veteran Bowyer | Damage Penetrates 10% Elemental Resistances Gain 15% of Physical Damage as Extra Damage of a random Element Enemies you Kill that are affected by Elemental Ailments grant 100% increased Flask Charges |
| Nature's Reprisal | 15% more Chaos Damage with Attack Skills Chaos Skills have 30% increased Area of Effect 40% of Physical Damage Converted to Chaos Damage |
| Master Toxicist | Poisons you inflict during any Flask Effect have 20% chance to deal 100% more Damage When you kill a Poisoned Enemy during any Flask Effect, nearby Enemies are Poisoned |
Scions can specialise into this Ascendancy class: Ascendant.
The daughter of corrupt nobles, the Scion was exiled to Wraeclast for killing her husband on their wedding night. She is aligned with all three core attributes - strength, dexterity and intelligence, which places her in the center of the passive skill tree. This unique position allows her to develop into almost any type of character build, while lacking the dedicated specialisation that the other six classes offer.
The Ascendant is the Ascendancy class for Scions. It offers more flexibility than any other class by allowing the player to take passives based on other Ascendancy classes. These passives offer similar benefits representing the class's overall tree, but with mitigated effects. Only one Ascendancy class passive can be taken from each base class.
| Name | Notable passive skills |
|---|---|
| Path of the Ranger | Can Allocate Passives from the Ranger's starting point |
| Path of the Witch | Can Allocate Passives from the Witch's starting point |
| Path of the Marauder | Can Allocate Passives from the Marauder's starting point |
| Path of the Duelist | Can Allocate Passives from the Duelist's starting point |
| Path of the Shadow | Can Allocate Passives from the Shadow's starting point |
| Path of the Templar | Can Allocate Passives from the Templar's starting point |
Shadows can specialise into one of these three Ascendancy classes: Assassin, Trickster, Saboteur.
The Shadow is Path of Exile's dexterity/intelligence hybrid class. He prefers to use fast-hitting weapons such as daggers or claws to dart in and out of battle, while laying traps or mines and controlling the flow of combat. He makes surgical use of offensive spells while dodging attacks, always outmaneuvering his opponents.
The Shadow is one of the more difficult classes to play due to his fragility, but he more than makes up for it if handled with skill. His hit-and-run style of combat makes the most of his natural evasion and energy shield, and rewards strategic coordination of attacks, spells, and traps.
The Assassin is an Ascendancy class for Shadows. It is a offense-oriented class centered around critical strikes. The class offers skills that enhance their power charges and bonus to critical strike effectiveness and utility under certain conditions. He has access to poison themed skills like Noxious Strike, as well as allowing poisons to synergize off of critical strikes to higher levels via Toxic Delivery. Furthermore with Mistwalker the Assassin has the ability to gain the Elusive buff on critical strikes and additional benefits while being affected by it.
| Name | Notable passive skills |
|---|---|
| Unstable Infusion | 20% chance to gain a Power Charge on Non-Critical Strike 10% chance to gain a Power Charge on Critical Strike +1 to Maximum Power Charges |
| Deadly Infusion | +5% to Critical Strike Multiplier per Power Charge +1.5% Critical Strike Chance while at maximum Power Charges |
| Ambush and Assassinate | +40% to Critical Strike Multiplier against Enemies that are on Full Life 100% more Critical Strike Chance against Enemies that are on Full Life Critical Strikes have Culling Strike 15% more Damage with Hits and Ailments against Enemies that are on Low Life 100% more Critical Strike Chance against Enemies that are on Low Life |
| Opportunistic | Damage from your Critical Strikes cannot be Reflected 20% reduced Damage taken while there are at least two Rare or Unique Enemies nearby 25% more Damage while there is at most one Rare or Unique Enemy nearby |
| Toxic Delivery | Poison you inflict with Critical Strikes deals 25% more Damage +0.5% to Critical Strike Chance per Poison affecting Enemy, up to +2.0% |
| Noxious Strike | 5% increased Poison Duration for each Poison you have inflicted Recently, up to a maximum of 100% Recover 0.5% of Life per Poison affecting Enemies you Kill 40% chance to Poison on Hit |
| Mistwalker | 50% increased Elusive Effect You take no Extra Damage from Critical Strikes while Elusive Gain Elusive on Critical Strike |
The Trickster is an Ascendancy class for Shadows. It is a versatile hybrid class that mixes high speed, maneuverability, and slippery defenses. He is well-suited for damage over time builds with his strong recovery from Patient Reaper and further damage over time specialization like poison via Prolonged Pain. The Trickster also gains added layers of defense to his evasion and energy shield from Ghost Dance and Escape Artist, rewarding playstyles that focus on taking hits periodically. Furthermore he is able to generate and enhance power and frenzy charges either from killing enemies or channelling an ability with Swift Killer. He can also choose to specialize in strong mana-based bonuses from Weave the Arcane or a chance to gain large amounts of extra chaos damage via Harness the Void.
| Name | Notable passive skills |
|---|---|
| Swift Killer | +1 to Maximum Frenzy Charges and Maximum Power Charges 15% chance to gain a Frenzy Charge and a Power Charge on Kill 5% increased Damage per Frenzy Charge 5% increased Damage per Power Charge Gain a Power or Frenzy Charge each second while Channelling |
| Patient Reaper | 70% increased Recovery Rate of Life, Mana and Energy Shield if you've Killed an Enemy affected by your Damage Over Time Recently Recover 3% of Life on Kill Recover 3% of Mana on Kill Recover 3% of Energy Shield on Kill |
| Ghost Dance | When Hit, lose a Ghost Shroud and Recover Energy Shield equal to 5% of your Evasion Rating 3% reduced Damage taken per Ghost Shroud Every 2 seconds, gain a Ghost Shroud, up to a maximum of 3 |
| Escape Artist | Cannot be Stunned while you have Ghost Shrouds 5% increased Attack and Cast Speed per Ghost Shroud +5 to Evasion Rating per 1 Maximum Energy Shield on Helmet +1 to maximum Energy Shield per 6 Evasion Rating on Body Armour |
| Prolonged Pain | 10% reduced Damage taken from Damage Over Time 20% more Damage over Time 20% increased Skill Effect Duration |
| Weave the Arcane | 30% increased maximum Mana 30% chance to Recover 10% of Mana when you use a Skill Movement Skills Cost no Mana 20% increased Attack and Cast Speed if you've used a Movement Skill Recently |
| Harness the Void | 27% chance to gain 25% of Non-Chaos Damage with Hits as Extra Chaos Damage 13% chance to gain 50% of Non-Chaos Damage with Hits as Extra Chaos Damage 7% chance to gain 100% of Non-Chaos Damage with Hits as Extra Chaos Damage |
The Saboteur is an Ascendancy class for Shadows. It specializes in traps and mines. With Bomb Specialist and Demolitions Specialist he gains large bonuses towards mines, whereas Perfect Crime and Chain Reaction further enhances traps. The class has access to a blinding aura and further benefits against blinded enemies via Born in the Shadows, as well as life regeneration and reduced mana cost for traps and mines with Pyromaniac. Last but not least Explosives Expert allows for large damage bonuses versus enemies which are affected by multiple elemental ailments.
| Name | Notable passive skills |
|---|---|
| Pyromaniac | Regenerate 2% of Life per Second for each Trap Triggered Recently, up to 10% per second Regenerate 2% of Life per second for each Mine Detonated Recently, up to 10% per second Immune to Ignite and Shock |
| Born in the Shadows | Cannot be Blinded Blind Enemies on Hit 10% reduced Damage taken from Blinded Enemies Nearby Enemies are Blinded |
| Explosives Expert | Damage Penetrates 10% Elemental Resistances against Chilled Enemies +40% to Critical Strike Multiplier against Burning Enemies 80% increased Critical Strike Chance against Shocked Enemies |
| Bomb Specialist | 25% increased Mine Throwing Speed if you Detonated Mines Recently You gain 5% increased Area of Effect for each Mine Mines have 25% increased Detonation Speed |
| Perfect Crime | You gain 10% increased Damage for each Trap 25% Chance for Traps to Trigger an additional time 25% reduced Cost of Skills that throw Traps |
| Demolitions Specialist | 150% increased Effect of Auras from Mines Mines Hinder Enemies near them for 2 seconds when they Land, reducing Movement Speed by 40% |
| Chain Reaction | 50% increased Cooldown Recovery Rate for throwing Traps When your Traps Trigger, your nearby Traps also Trigger Skills used by Traps have 50% increased Area of Effect |
Templars can specialise into one of these three Ascendancy classes: Inquisitor, Hierophant, Guardian.
The Templar is a strength/intelligence hybrid character class.
The Inquisitor is an Ascendancy class for Templars. It generalized on enhancing elemental damage in very different ways. He can, among other things, specialize in critical strikes with Righteous Providence and Inevitable Judgement, consecrated ground with Sanctuary and Pious Path to make them more dangerous against enemies, give huge defensive bonuses to themselves and allies, and increases its uptime even outside of it, and Instruments of Virtue and Instruments of Zeal to gain powerful bonuses for utilizing both attack and spell skills.
| Name | Notable passive skills |
|---|---|
| Righteous Providence | +50 to Strength and Intelligence 1% increased Critical Strike Chance per point of Strength or Intelligence, whichever is lower |
| Inevitable Judgement | Critical Strikes ignore Enemy Monster Elemental Resistances Non-Critical Strikes Penetrate 10% of Enemy Elemental Resistances |
| Augury of Penitence | Nearby Enemies take 16% increased Elemental Damage Nearby Enemies deal 8% less Elemental Damage |
| Sanctuary | You have Consecrated Ground around you while stationary Consecrated Ground you create applies 15% increased Damage taken to Enemies |
| Pious Path | Effects of Consecrated Ground you create Linger for 4 seconds Consecrated Ground you create causes Life Regeneration to also Recover Energy Shield for you and Allies |
| Instruments of Zeal | +4 to Maximum Fanatic Charges Gain 1 Fanatic Charge every second if you've Attacked in the past second Gain Fanaticism for 4 seconds on reaching Maximum Fanatic Charges Lose all Fanatic Charges on reaching Maximum Fanatic Charges |
| Instruments of Virtue | 10% more Attack Damage for each Non-Instant Spell you've Cast in the past 8 seconds, up to a maximum of 30% Battlemage |
The Hierophant is an Ascendancy class for Templars. It offers a mixture of non-conventional sources of damage, defenses, and overall utility aimed towards spell users, particularly spell casting totems and brands. They can utilize a large mana pool effectively by converting it to offensive and defensive bonuses while also conserving and regenerating it. They can also utilize Arcane Surge with large bonuses to spellcasters attached to it, as well as stacking endurance and power charges. They also generally use the Mana before Life defensive technique.
| Name | Notable passive skills |
|---|---|
| Divine Guidance | 30% increased maximum Mana 10% of Damage is taken from Mana before Life Transfiguration of Mind |
| Sanctuary of Thought | Gain 20% of Maximum Mana as Extra Maximum Energy Shield 10% less Mana Reservation of Skills 50% less Mana Cost of Skills 1% increased Area of Effect per 50 Unreserved Maximum Mana, up to 100% |
| Pursuit of Faith | +1 to maximum number of Summoned Totems 100% increased Totem Duration 100% increased Totem Placement speed |
| Ritual of Awakening | You and your Totems Regenerate 1% of Life per second for each Summoned Totem Regenerate 0.5% of Mana per second for each Summoned Totem 5% more Damage per Summoned Totem |
| Conviction of Power | +1 to Maximum Power Charges and Maximum Endurance Charges +4 to Minimum Endurance Charges +4 to Minimum Power Charges |
| Illuminated Devotion | 30% increased Area of Effect while you have Arcane Surge 0.5% of Spell Damage Leeched as Life while you have Arcane Surge Non-Damaging Ailments have 50% reduced Effect on you while you have Arcane Surge |
| Arcane Blessing | Gain Arcane Surge when you or your Totems Hit an Enemy with a Spell 50% increased Effect of Arcane Surge on you |
| Sign of Purpose | Brand Recall has 100% increased Cooldown Recovery Rate Brands have 100% more Activation Frequency if 75% of Attached Duration expired |
The Guardian is an Ascendancy class for Templars. It is a powerful option for a tank/support or minion based Templar, possessing passives with an emphasis on enhancing and protecting his allies. Guardians can specialize in Auras, granting up to 4 additional unique and powerful defensive auras to their party or allies, as well as charge generation and sharing and periodical, powerful defensive skills. Furthermore he can speed up his allies with Onslaught and give his allies the ability to intimidate and unnerve enemies on hit to reduce their defenses.
| Name | Notable passive skills |
|---|---|
| Time of Need | 80% reduced Effect of Curses on you Every 4 seconds, Regenerate 30% of Life over one second |
| Radiant Faith | Grants maximum Energy Shield equal to 10% of your Reserved Mana to you and nearby Allies Grants Armour equal to 160% of your Reserved Life to you and nearby Allies |
| Bastion of Hope | If you've Blocked in the past 10 seconds, you and nearby Allies cannot be Stunned +50% Chance to Block Attack Damage for 2 seconds every 5 seconds If you've Attacked Recently, you and nearby Allies have +10% Chance to Block Attack Damage If you've Cast a Spell Recently, you and nearby Allies have +10% Chance to Block Spell Damage |
| Harmony of Purpose | Nearby Enemies cannot gain Power, Frenzy or Endurance Charges You and nearby Party Members Share Power, Frenzy and Endurance Charges with each other 20% chance to gain a Power, Frenzy or Endurance Charge on Hit |
| Unwavering Faith | Auras from your Skills grant +1% Physical Damage Reduction to you and Allies Auras from your Skills grant 0.2% of Life Regenerated per second to you and Allies |
| Radiant Crusade | While there is at least one nearby Ally, you and nearby Allies deal 10% more Damage While there are at least five nearby Allies, you and nearby Allies have Onslaught +20% to all Elemental Resistances |
| Unwavering Crusade | Nearby Allies have 20% increased Attack, Cast and Movement Speed Nearby Allies have 30% increased Area of Effect Nearby Allies Intimidate Enemies for 4 seconds on Hit Nearby Allies Unnerve Enemies for 4 seconds on Hit |
Witches can specialise into one of these three Ascendancy classes: Occultist, Elementalist, Necromancer.
The Witch is Path of Exile's pure intelligence class, making her an unmatched master of the elemental and dark arts. She wields the power of raw magic to decimate her foes from a distance. Her tremendous will surrounds her with a shimmering barrier against physical and magical attacks, a barrier that must first be pierced before the Witch herself is vulnerable. In addition to pure damage-based magic, the Witch can also cripple and kill her enemies with curses and diseases. She is a leery friend, and a dangerous enemy.
The Occultist is an Ascendancy class for Witches. It is a Witch class that specializes in cold and chaos damage over time (DoT) effects as well as curses, with a minor affinity for both energy shield and power charges. The class is capable of reliably generating said Power Charges without needing to trigger on-kill effects, using Forbidden Power. Malediction and Profane Bloom are a great boon to builds that utilize curses in any form, though to bring out their full potential you would ideally combine them with other sources of non-chaos damage. Withering Presence and Frigid Wake, the two specialized damage over time nodes behind Void Beacon, amplify the power of chaos and cold damage over time respectively.
| Name | Notable passive skills |
|---|---|
| Profane Bloom | Cursed Enemies you or your Minions Kill have a 40% chance to Explode, dealing a quarter of their maximum Life as Chaos Damage Your Hexes can affect Hexproof Enemies |
| Malediction | You can apply an additional Curse 15% increased Effect of your Curses Enemies you Curse have Malediction |
| Vile Bastion | Regenerate 2% of Energy Shield per second for each Enemy you or your Minions have Killed Recently, up to 10% per second Cannot Be Stunned while you have Energy Shield Regenerate 40 Energy Shield per second |
| Void Beacon | Nearby Enemies have -20% to Chaos Resistance Nearby Enemies have 100% reduced Life Regeneration rate Nearby Enemies have -20% to Cold Resistance |
| Forbidden Power | +1 to Maximum Power Charges 6% increased Area of Effect per Power Charge 6% increased Damage per Power Charge Gain a Power Charge after Spending a total of 200 Mana |
| Withering Presence | 15% more Chaos Damage +60% to Chaos Resistance Every second, inflict Withered on nearby Enemies for 15 seconds Nearby Hindered Enemies deal 15% reduced Damage over Time |
| Frigid Wake | 15% more Cold Damage Cannot be Chilled Cannot be Frozen Every 4 seconds, Freeze nearby Chilled Non-Unique Enemies for 0.6 seconds Every 4 seconds, 33% chance to Freeze nearby Chilled Unique Enemies for 0.6 seconds Nearby Chilled Enemies deal 10% reduced Damage with Hits |
The Elementalist is an Ascendancy class for Witches. It deals in all things elemental. They can enhance the power of elemental ailments to be more powerful, even against bosses, and make them compatible with other damage types. They also have access to Mastermind of Discord to make elemental Exposure more powerful, Heart of Destruction to gain powerful conditional offensive bonuses, and Bastion of Elements to ward off against elemental damage. Finally, Elementalists have access to golem-related skills, which not only enhance their survivability, but also give bigger enhancements to your own character the more golems you have active.
| Name | Notable passive skills |
|---|---|
| Liege of the Primordial | Summoned Golems are Resummoned 4 seconds after being Killed +1 to maximum number of Summoned Golems 100% increased Effect of Buffs granted by your Golems |
| Mastermind of Discord | Exposure you inflict applies an extra -25% to the affected Resistance Regenerate 1% of Mana per second if you've inflicted Exposure Recently |
| Heart of Destruction | Gain Convergence when you Hit a Unique Enemy, no more than once every 8 seconds 60% increased Area of Effect while you don't have Convergence |
| Bastion of Elements | Triggers Level 20 Primal Aegis when Allocated Primal Aegis can take 75 Elemental Damage per Allocated Notable Passive Skill Other Aegis Skills are Disabled Cannot take Reflected Elemental Damage |
| Elemancer | +1 to maximum number of Summoned Golems Summoned Golems are Immune to Elemental Damage 25% increased Effect of Buffs granted by your Golems per Summoned Golem |
| Shaper of Flames | All Damage with Hits can Ignite Your Hits always Ignite 25% more Damage with Ignites you inflict with Hits for which the highest Damage Type is Fire |
| Shaper of Storms | Your Hits always Shock All Damage with Hits can Shock 25% more Effect of Lightning Ailments you inflict with Hits if the highest Damage Type is Lightning Shocks from your Hits always increase Damage taken by at least 15% |
| Shaper of Winter | All Damage with Hits can Chill 50% more Effect of Cold Ailments you inflict with Hits for which the highest Damage Type is Cold Chills from your Hits always reduce Action Speed by at least 15% Your Chills can reduce Action Speed by up to a maximum of 40% |
The Necromancer is an Ascendancy class for the Witch. It is an Ascendancy class themed around the dead and the undead. They are an excellent choice for minion-based builds, having access to minion-enhancing skills, as well as bonuses related to auras and Offering skills. They also have skills based around corpses, gaining powerful bonuses from spawning and consuming corpses, which makes them pair well with corpse-based skills like Unearth and Detonate Dead.
| Name | Notable passive skills |
|---|---|
| Mindless Aggression | Minions deal 30% increased Damage Minions have 10% increased Attack Speed Minions have 10% increased Cast Speed Minions have 10% increased Movement Speed |
| Unnatural Strength | +2 to Level of all Minion Skill Gems |
| Bone Barrier | Grants Level 20 Bone Armour Skill 1% additional Physical Damage Reduction per Minion, up to 10% 2% increased Recovery Rate of Life and Energy Shield per Minion, up to 20% Minions have 20% more Maximum Life |
| Mistress of Sacrifice | 40% increased Skill Effect Duration Your Offering Skills also affect you Your Offerings have 50% reduced Effect on you |
| Essence Glutton | Regenerate 4% of Mana over 2 seconds when you Consume a corpse Regenerate 8% of Energy Shield over 2 seconds when you Consume a corpse For each nearby corpse, you and nearby Allies Regenerate 5 Mana per second, up to 50 per second For each nearby corpse, you and nearby Allies Regenerate 0.2% of Energy Shield per second, up to 2.0% per second |
| Commander of Darkness | Auras from your Skills grant 3% increased Attack and Cast Speed to you and Allies You and nearby Allies have +30% to Elemental Resistances You and nearby Allies deal 30% increased Damage |
| Plaguebringer | With at least one nearby corpse, nearby Enemies deal 10% reduced Damage With at least one nearby corpse, you and nearby Allies deal 10% more Damage If you've Consumed a corpse Recently, you and your Minions have 30% increased Area of Effect |
| Corpse Pact | Corpses you Spawn have 50% increased Maximum Life Enemies near corpses you Spawned Recently are Chilled and Shocked 2% increased Attack and Cast Speed for each corpse Consumed Recently, up to a maximum of 200% |