Use your favourite features in-game with our Desktop AppUnlike in other ARPGs, in Path of Exile 2, players can use any Skill on any Class, provided they have the correct type of Weapon equipped.
This means that describing Weapon types and the Skills associated with them will help players more easily decide what to start when first playing PoE 2 to find their preferred playstyle. If you're looking to play your first build in Path of Exile 2 and want to have an idea of which Class and playstyle to pick, this guide should help you.
Quarterstaff builds use fast-moving, mobile melee attacks to dash between packs of enemies, shattering them with ice or blasting them with lightning-infused abilities.
Some Quarterstaff Skills require players to first build up combo with other Skills in order to use more powerful abilities such as 
Tempest Bell, which drops a massive magical Bell on enemies, dealing additional damage in an area. The Bell can also be hit, releasing damaging shockwaves.
Some Quarterstaff Skills also utilise hand-to-hand combat, such as 
Shattering Palm, which dashes to an enemy and strikes them with an attack that coats all nearby enemies in ice, which can then be shattered with follow up attacks.
Tempest Bell
Flicker Strike
Ice StrikeShattering Palm
Whirling Assault
Elemental Skills feature your classic Sorcerer playstyle that utilise Wands, Foci and Staves to unleash elemental destruction in a large area of effect.
Spark launches a spray of Projectiles that bounce around the ground until they hit enemies. 
Comet calls down a mass of ice from the sky, dealing huge area damage, shattering enemies caught in the impact. 
Firestorm rains down a barrage of fiery bolts from the sky.
Elemental skills also interact: any Spark Projectiles that travel through a Flame Wall will deal additional Fire Damage. Elemental Infusions can also be used to add additional effects to Elemental Skills. For example, Comet can consume Fire Infusions to cause it to deal both Cold and Fire damage
SparkComet
Fireball
Ice Nova
Occult Skills form the daker side of spellcasting that utilises Chaos and Bone Magic as well as skeletal summons.
Essence Drain applies Chaos damage to the enemy it hits and can be combined with 
Contagion which causes enemies that die to spread the damage to nearby enemies. Bone Storm can be channeled to conjure a swarm of bone spears in the air, which can then be released to explode onto enemies. Occultist builds can also opt to be Summoners, using Spirit to create 
Skeletal Snipers, Arsonists, Mages and Clerics which can be commanded to use their abilities to take down enemies.
Essence Drain and Contagion
Bonestorm and 
Bone CageSkeletal Sniper
Primal builds allow players to utilise Talismans to transform into animal forms, such as a quick moving frost Werewolf, a Bear that can slam the ground, opening up fiery fissures in the earth, or even a Lightning-breathing Wyvern.
Primal Skills also allow players to use nature magic, with skills like 
Volcano, which can be slammed to cause more violent eruptions. 
Entangle summons a fissure of roots that damages enemies in its path, and 
Thunderstorm can be used to water your plant Skills to Overgrow them and increase their effect.
The Primal tree is the perfect representation for players who to enjoy the battlemage fantasy, but allows them to specialise into being a pure spellcaster or shapeshifter.
Entangle and Thunderstorm
Rampage 
Walking Calamity and 
Lunar Blessing 
Oil Barrage 
Mace builds focus on slow, but heavy melee attacks that smash the ground, dealing damage in large areas while using Warcries to Empower follow up attacks.
Mace builds also include Shield-Skills that can create walls of earth around them that can then be shattered with other Skills. Melee Slam Skills such as 
Sunder, slam the ground, cracking the earth and causing shockwaves from any enemies hit, while 
Forge Hammer launches a fiery hammer into the ground which can then be re-triggered with Warcries.
Rolling Slam
Earthshatter 
Shield Wall
Perfect Strike
Infernal Cry
Crossbow builds use specialised ammunition to affect how their weapon behaves.
Galvanic Shards loads the Crossbow with electrically-charged bolts that fragment into lightning beams, whereas 
Permafrost Bolts fires off icy bolts that fragment in flight, dealing cold damage to any enemies hit. 
Fragmentation Rounds can be used to shatter frozen enemies, blasting them into chunks of ice.
Crossbows can also utilise Grenade skills which deal huge damage in a large area. 
Explosive Grenade fires a bouncing grenade that detonates when its fuse expires, dealing heavy fire damage in an area, while 
Flash Grenade will Blind and Stun any enemies that get too close.
Explosive Grenade Permafrost Bolts
Cluster Grenade
Glacial Bolt It’s hard to compare Crossbows in PoE 2 to other ARPGs because it is an extremely unique playstyle, but the closest might be
Spear Skills combine melee and ranged combat, giving players the ability to fight up close or throw their elemental-infused weapon into packs of enemies.
Whirling Slash creates a damaging whirlwind around the player, which can then be consumed by 
Twister to fire out a spray of dozens of tornadoes that can pick up ground effects to add additional elemental damage.
Lightning Spear causes your Spear to burst into many projectiles on impact, hitting nearby enemies in a large area of effect, while 
Glacial Lance throws a spear that leaves a trail of ice behind it, chilling enemies in its wake.
Tame Beast is another Skill in the Spear section that allows players to capture defeated enemies to allow them to fight by their side and gain the benefits of any auras and buffs that that monster was affected by
Whirling Slash and 
TornadoLightning SpearTame Beast
Bow builds specialise in ranged attacks and are able to clear large packs of enemies at a distance.
Lightning Arrow chains throughout packs of enemies and can be combined with 
Lightning Rod to implant arrows into the ground which conduct the lightning created by Lightning Arrows.
Spiral Volley causes the character to spin while firing a barrage of arrows in a circle at all nearby enemies. 
Ice Shot fires a chilling arrow that bursts into ice shards when it hits enemies and 
Snipe can be channeled to consume Freezes on enemies, dealing massive damage to single targets.
This is your classic, go-to ranger build that should feel extremely familiar for players who enjoy this playstyle
Lightning Arrow and Lightning Rod
Gas ArrowIce Shot and SnipeIf you're brand new to Path of Exile 2, check out our complete beginner's guide here:
Path of Exile 2 Beginner's Guide
If you're looking for a build to play, try one of the builds made by the trusted creators here on Mobalytics
