Best Path of Exile 2 Ascendancy classes

Find the best Ascendancy for your Path of Exile 2 class

Image credit:Rock Paper Shotgun/Grinding Gear Games

Looking for the best Ascendancy classes in Path of Exile 2? Choosing your character’s Ascendancy is just as important as choosing their base class . You should see Ascendancy as a class specialisation - a subclass, if you will. By unlocking an Ascendancy, you gain unique, powerful, and highly specialised abilities.

While Path of Exile 2 remains in Early Access, you can choose between two Ascendancies per class (12 in total). When you reach Act 2 of the campaign, you gain access to the first Ascendancy trial: the Trial of the Sekhemas . Complete this trial to obtain your first two Ascendancy points, which you may spend on your chosen Ascendancy’s skill tree. You’ll be able to gain more Ascendancy points in the Trial of Chaos when you reach Act 3.

Once you’ve chosen, you won’t be able to change your Ascendancy. It goes without saying that you should choose your Ascendancy carefully, as it will greatly affect your playstyle and build options. To help you make that decision, here’s an overview of the best Ascendancy classes in Path of Exile 2.

Best Ascendancy class in Path of Exile 2

In my opinion, the best Ascendancy class in Path of Exile 2 is the Infernalist , a Witch Ascendancy. The Infernalist deals phenomenal elemental damage, and although her powered-up state depletes her health, you can always back out, making her surprisingly easy to manage. The Stormweaver Sorceress Ascendancy and its shockingly high damage output are a very close second.

The edgy demon-summoning fire lady is the best Ascendancy. |Image credit:Grinding Gear Games

That said, since you can only choose the Ascendancies within your chosen base class, it’s useless to recommend the Infernalist Ascendancy to a Monk or a Ranger. We’ll therefore pick the best Path of Exile 2 Ascendancy for each of the six classes below.

Best Witch Ascendancy class

The best Witch Ascendancy is the Infernalist , which is mainly thanks to Demon Form. Transforming the Witch into a hellish entity, Demon Form is a high-risk, high-reward ability that boosts the Witch’s spell power immensely. Beware of the ever-increasing Life cost though - don’t stay in Demon Form too long! On top of that, the Infernalist can use Internal Flame to set herself on fire in return for more buffs, thereby converting some of the incoming damage to fire damage.

The Infernalist is also the best Ascendancy if you want to focus on minion gameplay, as you can summon an Infernal Hound minion to take a portion of your damage while igniting nearby enemies. It’s fairly easy to get a strong Witch build if you double-down on the fire and ignite damage.

That means the vampiric Blood Mage Ascendancy is the lesser option. While it uses a similarly risky approach to combat by placing a Life cost on spells, the rewards aren’t quite as impressive since they mainly offer everlasting Curse duration plus a critical rate/damage boost… And that’s it. No demonic-pyromaniac-hellhound powers. Having to constantly pick up Life Remnants or use leeching abilities just to stay alive, the benefits don’t outweigh the costs.

It’s best to steer your newborn Witch towards the Infernalist Ascendancy. |Image credit:Rock Paper Shotgun/Grinding Gear Games

Best Sorceress Ascendancy class

The best Sorceress Ascendancy is the Stormweaver , an incredibly popular choice among ranked players in Path of Exile 2’s endgame . As a master of the elements, Stormweaver deals elemental damage and especially lightning damage like it’s nothing, inflicting Shock on any opponent who dares to come near.

Besides the extra Shock damage and improved chance of applying Shock, the Stormweaver will summon an Elemental Storm upon landing a critical hit, which could be very often - provided you’ve got a high enough critical rate stat. You don’t even need to worry about mana regeneration and shield recovery that much, as both are automatically taken care of by the Arcane Surge and Heart of the Storm abilities respectively.

I feel a bit sorry for the other Sorceress Ascendancy, the Chronomaster, since it’s by no means a bad subclass, but it just doesn’t increase the Sorceress’s damage as much. The Chronomaster’s focus is on reducing cooldowns instead, which is useful, but something you can decently achieve with a proper Sorceress build .

Best Ranger Ascendancy class

The best Ranger Ascendancy is the Deadeye , a.k.a. the ultimate ranged DPS. Maintaining high accuracy even at a significant distance, the Deadeye must avoid getting hit in return for a massive attack speed, movement speed, and evasion boost. It’ll take some practice, of course, but if you do get hit, the Wind Ward ability will mitigate the damage.

Perhaps more importantly, the Deadeye makes it far easier to stack up on Frenzy Charges, which will then be consumed to boost your most powerful attacks. You should definitely use Sniper’s Mark in your Deadeye Ranger build , as this skill can place an additional mark through the Called Shots Ascendancy ability.

The other Ranger Ascendancy, Pathfinder, is all about poison affliction and Flasks. You could use the Mana Flask to trigger elemental explosions, but although it’s fun, it’s not particularly damaging. I’d say the reduced movement speed penalty and protection against slowed movement are the best characteristics of this highly mobile class, but it’s fairly weak compared to the deadly Deadeye.

You don’t want this sniper’s mark on your head. |Image credit:Grinding Gear Games

Best Monk Ascendancy class

The best Monk Ascendancy is the Invoker . One of its major advantages is the Invoker’s ability to turn evasion into physical damage reduction, which is very useful for a melee character. It’ll be easier to use persistent buffs too, as the Invoker can gain more Spirit based on his energy shield and evasion stats.

It won’t be hard to get a proper Monk build if you focus on elemental damage and ailments; as an Invoker, you can pick Cold or Lightning damage and then boost your damage output of that type. The Invoker is particularly rewarding if you also have a high critical stat, as the Elemental Expression ability deals additional elemental damage upon landing a melee critical hit.

Truthfully, it’s quite easy to appoint Invoker as the best Monk Ascendancy since the other option, Acolyte of Chayula, just isn’t very good. Yes, the extra Chaos Damage is great, but the mana leech ability isn’t reliable at all, since it only leeches with physical attacks. It’s hard to not constantly run out of mana with this Ascendancy.

Best Mercenary Ascendancy class

The best Mercenary Ascendancy is the Witch Hunter . As a highly mobile base class, choosing an Ascendancy capable of slowing the enemy’s cooldown recovery feels like a perfect fit. The same mechanic that lowers their cooldown can also boost the Mercenary’s damage, allowing you to easily gain the upper hand.

The Witch Hunter’s Culling Strike is very useful when you’re trying to clear the field of weaker enemies, as it has an insta-kill threshold, but Decimating Strike is even better since it can chop a large chunk of HP from any enemy at full Life.

Despite these amazing Witch Hunter abilities, picking the best Mercenary Ascendancy was very tough as the Gemling Legionnaire has some very unique qualities of his own. Not only is this the only Path of Exile 2 Ascendancy that can use two Support Gems of the same type, but he can use up the three additional Skill Gems and boost their quality. The reason why I prefer Witch Hunter is that I can’t see the benefits of the additional skills as much, especially before reaching endgame; it’s easier to double-down on the enemy’s cooldown increase instead of trying to create a better Mercenary build with what you already had.

The Witch Hunter’s strategy is simple; just be 10 times faster than the enemy. |Image credit:Grinding Gear Games

Best Warrior Ascendancy class

Thanks to its defensiveness, the best Warrior Ascendancy is the Warbringer . A pre-Ascendancy Warrior build feels quite flaky as this somewhat slow melee fighter will take a ton of damage. The Warbringer will mitigate some of that damage by using Totem Life instead, casting Jade Heritage, or improving the block ability.

That’s not to say that the Warbringer can’t deal good damage, as this Warrior Ascendancy makes it very easy to constantly break the enemy’s armour while uttering Warcries to buff your attacks. It’s a straightforward but effective playstyle: break armour, get a Warcry buff, and unleash a devastating skill.

The Titan Ascendancy is a close second though. The Titan can also buff himself while weakening the enemy (through stunning, in his case), but he doesn’t have the same survivability as the Warbringer, which makes him far less reliable.

And that concludes our guide on the best Path of Exile 2 Ascendancy classes. If you’re new to the game, you might want to look at our list of things to do first in Path of Exile 2 , and make sure you understand the character attributes . Don’t forget to use the Path of Exile 2 crafting system to get better gear, and use the gemcutting system to obtain new skills.

Path Of Exile 2

PC

Rock Paper Shotgun is better when you sign in

Sign in and join us on our journey to discover strange and compelling PC games.

All 75 Arc Raiders Blueprints and where to get them

These areas have the highest chance of giving you Blueprints

Image credit:Rock Paper Shotgun/Embark Studios

Looking for more Arc Raiders Blueprints? It’s a special day when you find a Blueprint, as they’re among the most valuable items in Arc Raiders. If you find a Blueprint that you haven’t already found, then you must make sure you hold onto it at all costs, because Blueprints are the key to one of the most important and powerful systems of meta-progression in the game.

This guide aims to be the very best guide on Blueprints you can find, starting with a primer on what exactly they are and how they work in Arc Raiders, before delving into exactly where to get Blueprints and the very best farming spots for you to take in your search.

We’ll also go over how to get Blueprints from other unlikely activities, such as destroying Surveyors and completing specific quests. And you’ll also find the full list of all 75 Blueprints in Arc Raiders on this page (including the newest Blueprints added with the Cold Snap update , such as the Deadline Blueprint and Firework Box Blueprint), giving you all the information you need to expand your own crafting repertoire.

In this guide:

• What are Blueprints in Arc Raiders?
• Full Blueprint list: All crafting recipes
• Where to find Blueprints in Arc Raiders Blueprints obtained from quests Blueprints obtained from Trials Best Blueprint farming locations

What are Blueprints in Arc Raiders?

Blueprints in Arc Raiders are special items which, if you manage to extract with them, you can expend to permanently unlock a new crafting recipe in your Workshop. If you manage to extract from a raid with an Anvil Blueprint, for example, you can unlock the ability to craft your very own Anvil Pistol, as many times as you like (as long as you have the crafting materials).

To use a Blueprint, simply open your Inventory while in the lobby, then right-click on the Blueprint and click “Learn And Consume” . This will permanently unlock the recipe for that item in your Workshop. As of the Stella Montis update, there are allegedly 75 different Blueprints to unlock - although only 68 are confirmed to be in the game so far. You can see all the Blueprints you’ve found and unlocked by going to the Workshop menu, and hitting “R” to bring up the Blueprint screen.

It’s possible to find duplicates of past Blueprints you’ve already unlocked. If you find these, then you can either sell them, or - if you like to play with friends - you can take it into a match and gift it to your friend so they can unlock that recipe for themselves. Another option is to keep hold of them until the time comes to donate them to the Expedition.

Full Blueprint list: All crafting recipes

Below is the full list of all the Blueprints that are currently available to find in Arc Raiders, and the crafting recipe required for each item:

Note: The missing Blueprints in this list likely have not actually been added to the game at the time of writing, because none of the playerbase has managed to find any of them. As they are added to the game, I will update this page with the most relevant information so you know exactly how to get all 75 Arc Raiders Blueprints.

Where to find Blueprints in Arc Raiders

Below is a list of all containers, modifiers, and events which maximise your chances of finding Blueprints:

• Certain quests reward you with specific Blueprints .
• Completing Trials has a high chance of offering Blueprints as rewards.
• Surveyors have a decent chance of dropping Blueprints on death.
• High loot value areas tend to have a greater chance of spawning Blueprints.
• Night Raids and Storms may increase rare Blueprint spawn chances in containers.
• Containers with higher numbers of items may have a higher tendency to spawn Blueprints. As a result, Blue Gate (which has many “large” containers containing multiple items) may give you a higher chance of spawning Blueprints.
• Raider containers (Raider Caches, Weapon Boxes, Medical Bags, Grenade Tubes) have increased Blueprint drop rates. As a result, the Uncovered Caches event gives you a high chance of finding Blueprints.
• Security Lockers have a higher than average chance of containing Blueprints.
• Certain Blueprints only seem to spawn under specific circumstances: Tempest Blueprint only spawns during Night Raid events. Vulcano Blueprint only spawns during Hidden Bunker events. Jupiter and Equaliser Blueprints only spawn during Harvester events.

Raider Caches, Weapon Boxes, and other raider-oriented container types have a good chance of offering Blueprints. |Image credit:Rock Paper Shotgun/Embark Studios

Blueprints have a very low chance of spawning in any container in Arc Raiders, around 1-2% on average. However, there is a higher chance of finding Blueprints in particular container types. Specifically, you can find more Blueprints in Raider containers and security lockers.

Beyond this, if you’re looking for Blueprints you should focus on regions of the map which are marked as having particularly high-value loot. Areas such as the Control Tower in Dam Battlegrounds, the Arrival and Departure Buildings in Spaceport, and Pilgrim’s Peak in Blue Gate all have a better-than-average chance of spawning Blueprints somewhere amongst all their containers. Night Raids and Electromagnetic Storm events also increase the drop chances of certain Blueprints .

In addition to these containers, you can often loot Blueprints from destroyed Surveyors - the largest of the rolling ball ARC. Surveyors are more commonly found on the later maps - Spaceport and Blue Gate - and if one spawns in your match, you’ll likely see it by the blue laser beam that it casts into the sky while “surveying”.

Surveyors are quite well-armoured and will very speedily run away from you once it notices you, but if you can take one down then make sure you loot all its parts for a chance of obtaining certain unusual Blueprints.

Blueprints obtained from quests

One way in which you can get Blueprints is by completing certain quests for the vendors in Speranza. Some quests will reward you with a specific item Blueprint upon completion, so as long as you work through all the quests in Arc Raiders, you are guaranteed those Blueprints.

Here is the full list of all Blueprints you can get from quest rewards:

• Trigger Nade Blueprint: Rewarded after completing “Sparks Fly”.
• Lure Grenade Blueprint: Rewarded after completing “Greasing Her Palms”.
• Burletta Blueprint: Rewarded after completing “Industrial Espionage”.
• Hullcracker Blueprint (and Launcher Ammo Blueprint): Rewarded after completing “The Major’s Footlocker”.

Alas, that’s only 4 Blueprints out of a total of 75 to unlock, so for the vast majority you will need to find them yourself during a raid. If you’re intent on farming Blueprints, then it’s best to equip yourself with cheap gear in case you lose it, but don’t use a free loadout because then you won’t get a safe pocket to stash any new Blueprint you find. No pain in Arc Raiders is sharper than failing to extract with a new Blueprint you’ve been after for a dozen hours already.

One of the best ways to get Blueprints is by hitting three stars on all five Trials every week. |Image credit:Rock Paper Shotgun/Embark Studios

Blueprints obtained from Trials

One of the very best ways to get Blueprints is as rewards for completing Trials in Arc Raiders. Trials are unlocked from Level 15 onwards, and allow you to earn rewards by focusing on certain tasks over the course of several raids. For example, one Trial might task you with dealing damage to Hornets, while another might challenge you to loot Supply Drops.

Trials refresh on a weekly basis, with a new week bringing five new Trials. Each Trial can offer up to three rewards after passing certain score milestones, and it’s possible to receive very high level loot from these reward crates - including Blueprints. So if you want to unlock as many Blueprints as possible, you should make a point of completing as many Trials as possible each week.

Best Blueprint farming locations

The very best way to get Blueprints is to frequent specific areas of the maps which combine high-tier loot pools with the right types of containers to search. Here are my recommendations for where to find Blueprints on every map, so you can always keep the search going for new crafting recipes to unlock.

Image credit:Rock Paper Shotgun/Embark Studios

Dam Battlegrounds

The best places to farm Blueprints on Dam Battlegrounds are the Control Tower, Power Generation Complex, Ruby Residence, and Pale Apartments . The first two regions, despite only being marked on the map as mid-tier loot, contain a phenomenal number of containers to loot. The Control Tower can also contain a couple of high-tier Security Lockers - though of course, you’ll need to have unlocked the Security Breach skill at the end of the Survival tree.

There’s also a lot of reporting amongst the playerbase that the Residential areas in the top-left of the map - Pale Apartments and Ruby Residence - give you a comparatively strong chance of finding Blueprints. Considering their size, there’s a high density of containers to loot in both locations, and they also have the benefit of being fairly out of the way. So you’re more likely to have all the containers to yourself.

Buried City

The best Blueprint farming locations on Buried City are the Santa Maria Houses, Grandioso Apartments, Town Hall, and the various buildings of the New District . Grandioso Apartments has a lower number of containers than the rest, but a high chance of spawning weapon cases - which have good Blueprint drop rates. The others are high-tier loot areas, with plenty of lootable containers - including Security Lockers.

Spaceport

The best places to find Blueprints on Spaceport are the Arrival and Departure Buildings, as well as Control Tower A6 and the Launch Towers . All these areas are labelled as high-value loot regions, and many of them are also very handily connected to one another by the Spaceport wall, which you can use to quickly run from one area to the next. At the tops of most of these buildings you’ll find at least one Security Locker, so this is an excellent farming route for players looking to find Blueprints.

The downside to looting Blueprints on Spaceport is that all these areas are hotly contested, particularly in Duos and Squads. You’ll need to be very focused and fast in order to complete the full farming route.

Image credit:Rock Paper Shotgun/Embark Studios

Blue Gate

Blue Gate tends to have a good chance of dropping Blueprints, potentially because it generally has a high number of containers which can hold lots of items; so there’s a higher chance of a Blueprint spawning in each container. In my experience, the best Blueprint farming spots on Blue Gate are Pilgrim’s Peak, Raider’s Refuge, the Ancient Fort, and the Underground Complex beneath the Warehouse .

All of these areas contain a wealth of containers to loot. Raider’s Refuge has less to loot, but the majority of the containers in and around the Refuge are raider containers, which have a high chance of containing Blueprints - particularly during major events.

Stella Montis

On the whole, Stella Montis seems to have a very low drop rate for Blueprints (though a high chance of dropping other high-tier loot). If you do want to try farming Blueprints on this map, the best places to find Blueprints in Stella Montis are Medical Research, Assembly Workshop, and the Business Center . These areas have the highest density of containers to loot on the map.

In addition to this, the Western Tunnel has a few different Security Lockers to loot, so while there’s very little to loot elsewhere in this area of the map, it’s worth hitting those Security Lockers if you spawn there at the start of a match.

That wraps up this primer on how to get all the Blueprints in Arc Raiders as quickly as possible. With the Expedition system constantly resetting a large number of players’ Blueprints, it’s more important than ever to have the most up-to-date information on where to find all these Blueprints.

While you’re here, be sure to check out our Arc Raiders best guns tier list , as well as our primers on the best skills to unlock and all the different Field Depot locations on every map.

ARC Raiders

PS5 , Xbox Series X/S , PC

Rock Paper Shotgun is better when you sign in

Sign in and join us on our journey to discover strange and compelling PC games.