What is the best Path of Exile 2 Warrior build? The Warrior may appear at first glance to be a fairly straightforward class in Path of Exile 2, but with a few new tricks up their sleeve this time around, they are surprisingly effective at both defense and offense. We take a look at the best build and skills for this heavy brawler.
We already have Path of Exile 2 builds for Sorceress, Mercenary, and Ranger, but those PoE 2 classes are generally ranged damage dealers, never quite getting their hands dirty. With the PoE 2 Warrior, however, you’ll be in the mix at all times – whether defending or maiming, however, is up to you.
Path of Exile 2 Warrior overview
The Warrior is a tanky, melee-focused class that moves a little slower than some of its counterparts but hits harder as a result. Warriors generally deal physical damage and can utilize two-handed weapons like mauls to deal high damage up close.
The Warrior class can also switch to a one-handed weapon and make use of a shield. When equipped with a shield, the Warrior has access to an active block ability which can be used to guard any front-facing damage for a short period.
Warriors can make expert use of the weapon set passive function, creating what is essentially two different builds whether you’re on the defensive or offensive. By utilizing the ability to switch between these instantaneously can make this class highly effective, and far more flexible than it may seem initially.
There are two Ascendancies for the Path of Exile 2 Warrior:
- The Titan: A defensive Ascendancy, the Titan focuses on crowd control and high defense.
- The Warbringer: An offensive Ascendancy, the Warbringer boasts high melee damage and the ability to detonate fallen enemies.
Path of Exile 2 Warrior skills
A lot of Warrior’s skills amount to hitting things very hard with a large object. There are a few skills we’ve seen so far that aid this slow class with short dashes, or AoE attacks to trim down large groups of enemies.
Here is every PoE 2 Warrior skill we’ve seen so far:
- Raise Shield – Raise your shield to block front-facing damage.
- Mace Strike – Strike your opponent with your held weapon.
- Earthquake – Strike the ground dealing AoE damage. An aftershock will appear shortly after the initial strike, dealing damage again.
- Leap Slam – Jump to the target and deal damage. Great for closing distance.
- Stampede – Charge forward with your weapon (or shield) dealing AoE damage at the end of your charge, and causing an additional explosion along the path you took to get there.
- Shockwave Totem – Place a totem on the ground that causes damage over time to surrounding enemies.
- Infernal Cry – Debuff nearby enemies. You deal more damage to enemies with the debuff, and if they are defeated with the debuff still active, will explode, dealing damage to any nearby foes.
- Rolling Slam – Slam the ground, dealing damage and stunning enemies caught in the AoE. Follow up with another slam, dealing further damage.
What is the best Path of Exile 2 Warrior build?
It’s important with the Warrior that you find a balance between your sustainability and your damage in fights. If you build towards a pure tank, then you’ll find that you lack damage in tough fights, while focusing solely on damage will see you come undone against bosses.
With the new weapon passive sets, you can create two separate builds – one for when you have a shield in hand and one for when you are two-handing a larger weapon. This allows you to soak up damage when the need arises, while giving you the ability to wail on your enemies when you have the chance.
How do I use the best Path of Exile 2 Warrior build?
Looking through the passive tree, you’ll see that there are three main types of node you can unlock. The smallest are generic increases to a stat – melee damage, for instance – and are the building block to the Warrior class. The slightly bigger nodes offer a more nuanced ability – extra damage against stunned enemies, for instance – these are more circumstantial, but if you run many abilities that stun enemies, they’re a no-brainer.
The biggest nodes are called Keystones, and they offer a powerful buff, but oftentimes come with a drawback. A particularly powerful Keystone for the Warrior is Giant’s Blood; this Keystone allows you to weird a two-handed weapon in one hand, but the attribute requirement for these weapons is doubled. Being able to wield a two-handed weapon and a shield at the same time is quite the feat, and will allow you to deal immense damage and stay safe at the same time. However, getting to those attribute requirements requires a lot of investment.
Now you have the best PoE 2 Warrior build under your belt, take a look at the Path of Exile 2 Twitch drops to get some free goodies. While you wait for the full release, check out our guide on the most exciting upcoming PC games, and the best PC games for something you can play right now.