PoE 2 Duelist - Overview, Skills and Ascendancies

The Duelist is a new Class coming to Path of Exile 2 in patch 1.0, which is set for release on December 11 2026.

This is the second hybrid Strength/Dexterity Class, originating at the bottom-middle of the Passive Skill Tree at the same location as the Mercenary.

Starting Attributes

• Strength: 11
• Intelligence: 7
• Dexterity: 11

The starting location on the Passive Skill Tree enables the Duelist to specialise into nodes that boost Armour, Evasion, Melee, Projectile and more, allowing for a lot of freedom in buildcrafting.

Swords

The iconic weapon class for the Duelist is the Sword. One-handed Swords are available for dual-wielding or use alongside a Shield or Sceptre, or alternatively you may choose to use a two-handed Sword instead for a higher damage option.

The theme of the Sword weapon class in Path of Exile 2 is one of stance-switching and combat flow. You can move from Skill to Skill, weaving different stances together to perform chaining, synergistic combos.

Every Class in Path of Exile 2 is designed with a weapon type and tailored Skill Gems, and the Duelist is no different, offering an array of Sword-specific Skill options. Remember that any Class can use any weapon and/or Skill Gems in Path of Exile 2, so the Sword is simply a recommendation for use on the Duelist.

Bloodied Blade

This skill performs two slashing strikes that cause an explosion when hitting a Parried enemy. However, you can also channel Bloodied Blade to enter Ready Stance, unlocking more powerful versions of other Skills used thereafter.

Perforate

Perforate hits several times in succession, with a larger hit at the end. Using this Skill in Ready Stance skips the early smaller hits to progress straight to the final strike, whilst both Blood Stance and Sand Stance will perform extra interactions, create a Blood Nova or additional Sand Disks.

Blade Conduit

Call down a lightning bolt to strike the area around you, Shocking nearby enemies and charging up any Buried Blades.

Cyclone (Blood Stance)

Two different versions of the Sword Skill Cyclone were showed, with one being red and the other being yellow. The red version is the Blood Stance portion of the Skill, dealing more Damage.

Cyclone (Sand Stance)

The second of the two Cyclone Skills seen in the trailer is the Sand Stance version, firing off Sand Disks with increased Area of Effect for better clearing ability.

We have only seen a teaser image for two of the upcoming Duelist ascendancies:

If you're looking for more details on the Duelist, or if you want to learn Path of Exile 2 before its full 1.0 launch, check out some of our articles here:

• Dreamcore's First Impressions on the Duelist
• PoE 2 1.0 Release Date
• Beginner Guides
• Mechanics Guides
• Endgame Guides
• Build Guides