Path of Exile 2: tips and tricks for beginners

By Anyka Pettigrew Published December 19, 2024

Upon jumping into Path of Exile 2 for the first time, there’s a lot to learn, and it may continue to be daunting for the first few hours of your gameplay. While initially getting delayed due to microtransactions, Early Access for Path of Exile 2 launched on December 6, and is a dark action RPG.

A decade after the success of Grinding Gear Games’ first title in the series, new and old fans can pick among six different classes, create complex builds, and fight difficult bosses. Here are some general tips and tricks to make your foray into Path of Exile 2 a little less daunting.

At the start of your journey in Path of Exile 2, you must decide between six different classes. Each has its own unique playstyle, skills, and builds, but the decision is permanent for your character, so choose wisely. Here’s the breakdown of each class:

Once Path of Exile 2 leaves Early Access, there will be six more classes implemented. They will be Huntress, Druid, Shadow, Templar, Marauder, and Duelist.

Ascendency Classes are like special subclasses or paths to take after you complete your first trial. Each class has two Ascendencies to further customize your build.

Mercenary

Sorceress

Ranger

Warrior

Witch

Monk

There are dozens, if not hundreds, of skills at your disposal in Path of Exile 2. They can range from active skills that you equip to your hot bar, and passive skills that come from the enormous skill tree. This skill tree may seem daunting at first, but we recommend you take it one step at a time. Don’t look too far ahead on the tree, as each branch you can take typically revolves around a few types of improvements. This means that you know what you’re getting into when you go into a branch that improves your minion damage, as an example.

Also, don’t worry too much about making a mistake and unlocking the wrong passive skill. You can respec and refund your skill points by talking to The Hooded One. This only becomes available in the main campaign after you defeat the Lachlann boss in the Mysterious Shade quest. Respecing will cost you some gold, but it’s worth it if you don’t like the path that you’re taking.

Speaking of taking different paths, we recommend that you try out as many different skills as you can. As you play through the game, you’ll come across many different skill gems. You can use these to unlock and upgrade skills. Don’t be afraid to try out new skills instead of just upgrading the ones you’re familiar with. You may find that certain types of skills work better alongside other types, leading you to swap out skill gems and look for new ones.

While you’re free to choose whichever skills and passives you’d like, doing research online for the best builds may help you decide which to unlock. Find the build that you think will serve you best, then start unlocking skills by following said build. Builds are beginner-friendly because it’s easy to get your butt kicked in this game.

If you’re choosing the wrong skills that don’t help your build, you may need to follow one online from an expert who has done their research. Start with a leveling build, and don’t just jump right into Hardcore mode as a beginner. The bosses are overwhelming enough on standard mode, so use your first character as a learning experience.

Exploring and fighting are the two main pillars of Path of Exile 2‘s gameplay. You can do this without following quests, but you’ll most likely encounter enemies and bosses through quests. While it’s not an open world, there are large open areas to explore that are expansive and easy to get lost in. Quest markers won’t be guiding you exactly where you need to go, so fill out your map and make sure you don’t miss a spot. You may stumble across a cave that leads to a side quest, or perhaps a boss you didn’t know about.

A quick tip about exploring the maps is to use the minimap often. And no, we don’t mean the small map in the top right-hand corner. Press Tab on your keyboard to open up a larger minimap, making it much easier to see your surroundings. There’s an overworld map, but it doesn’t show you the details of your current area as the enlarged minimap does.

Managing your inventory is one of the key ways you can succeed in this action RPG, although it’s a small aspect of it. You only have a little bit of space to configure your items like a Tetris puzzle to fit as much as possible. Although it seems unbearably small, remember that you can always take trips back to town to clear out your inventory. Once you make a portal by clicking the portal button on your hotbar, you can visit town, sell your items, and go back through the portal. It’ll stay open for as long as you need.

Another thing to know about your inventory is that you have two weapon loadouts. To swap between them, press the X key. There are two tabs in your inventory with the Roman numerals for one and two that allow you to change which weapons you’re holding. This allows you to hold even more weapons with unique skills that your character will swap on the fly when using the correlated skill.

Finally, one other important aspect of your inventory is your flasks. You start with a small vial of life and mana, but eventually, you’ll be able to purchase or find better vials. Don’t forget to replace your flasks with better ones since they can come with helpful modifiers and better rates of consumption.

You should know that selling items isn’t the only solution. You can always keep certain items in your stash, or you can dismantle them. The first NPC that allows you to do this is Una. Ask her to disenchant your items, and you’ll be able to break down certain items in exchange for orbs. There are a few different orb types, but they all in some way upgrade or modify your equipment.

But what’s better: selling or dismantling? At the start of the game, you may be desperate for gold, so don’t be afraid to sell some of your items. But honestly, it’s better to dismantle them for gems. Some items can’t even be dismantled, so disenchant anything you can, and the rest you can sell.

You’ll most often die in Path of Exile 2 in arduous boss fights, and the trick to winning them is unique to each boss. Like any tough enemy, the key to winning is dying. Don’t be discouraged after a few deaths, that means you’re learning. Once you get familiar with its attack patterns, you can learn from your mistakes and change your methods of attack.

And if you’ve died a dozen times over, perhaps it means you’re not at the right level for it. Check the world map by pressing the U key and it will tell you what level the locations and bosses are set to. Make sure you’re either at the same level or higher before tackling a boss. If you’re not prepared, leave to complete a different quest or grind levels by killing easier enemies.

You don’t just have to play Path of Exile 2 alone — you can play with friends. This includes both local and online co-op. Although local co-op is limited to just two players, you can create online parties of up to six players. Hit the J key to look at the social screen, then just type in your friend’s character name to send them an invite.

While in co-op, some of the rules of the world change. Enemies and bosses have more health, you share your loot, and you can’t join a friend in a new area that you haven’t explored before. This means that you can still progress the story and world together, but only at the same time.

Trading is also available between friends and strangers alike. You can trade items in Path of Exile 2 by right-clicking the character you’d like to trade with and selecting the Trade option. You and the other player will start the transaction if they accept the trade request. There will be two boxes — the top one is for the other player to place their items, and the bottom is for your items.

There is also an official trading page outside the game that allows you to post items you own that are up for sale. It allows other players to search for desired items and contact you if they want to trade for them. You can also check out the site for items you’d like as well.