All Path of Exile 2 Ascendencies and how to get Ascendency Points

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Ascendency in POE 2 is a special subclass option that allows you to get special powers with Ascendency points

Path of Exile 2
(Image credit: Grinding Gear Games)
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The Path of Exile 2 Ascendencies are special subclass specialisations, and right now in Early Access there's a total of 12 to pick from - two for each class. Picking your POE2 Ascendency is a big deal - there's no way to undo your choice, and it can have a major impact on your build going forward.

With that in mind, we've listed every Path of Exile 2 class Ascendency option, what they have to offer, and explain a little bit about how Ascendencies work in POE2 accordingly, including how to get the special Ascendency points.

How to Ascend in Path of Exile 2 and get all Ascendency Points

Path of Exile 2 monk

(Image credit: Grinding Gear Games)
Make some strong builds in POE2

Path of Exile 2 Monk build
Path of Exile 2 Mercenary build
Path of Exile 2 Sorceress build

To unlock Ascendencies in Path of Exile 2, you need to progress to Act 2 and complete the Trial of Sehkemas. Once completed, you'll be able to interact with the altar at the end, which will grant you the choice of an Ascendency for your class and 2 Ascendency Points to spend, which is basically a subclass with its own internal skill tree.

To get all the Ascendency points available in POE 2 (currently 8 at time of writing), you need to beat the Trail of Sehkemas (Act 2) and the Trial of Chaos (Act 3) on both Normal and Cruel mode. Each victory grants you two ascendency points to put towards that specific character.

Every Ascendency in Path of Exile 2 and their abilities

Path of Exile 2 Classes

(Image credit: Grinding Gear Games)

Here you can find every Ascendency in Path of Exile 2 for every class in Early Access, as well as the abilities you can unlock with them.

  • Mercenary Ascendencies
    • Witchhunter
      • Weapon Master: 20 Passive Skill Points become Weapon Set Skill Points.
      • Pitiless Killer: Learn the Culling Strike skill.
      • Judge, Jury and Executioner: Learn the Decimating Strike skill.
      • Witchbane: Enemies have Maximum Concentration equal to 40% of their maximum life. Break enemy Concentration on Hit equal to 100% of Damage Dealt. Enemies regain 10% of Concentration every second if they haven't lost Concentration in the past 5 seconds.
      • No Mercy: Deal up to 30% more damage to Enemies based on their missing Concentration.
      • Obsessive Rituals: Learn the Sorcery Ward skill. 50% less Armor and Evasion Rating.
      • Ceremonial Ablution: 50% increased effect of Sorcery Ward. Sorcery Ward recovers 50% faster.
      • Zealous Inspiration: 10% chance for enemies you kill to explode, dealing 100% of their maximum life as Physical Damage. Chance is doubled against Undead and Demons. 
    • Gemling Legionaire
      • Crystalline Potential: +10% to Quality of all Skills
      • Implanted Gems: +1 to Level of all Skills
      • Advanced Thaumaturgy: 30% less Cost of Skills. Skill Gems have 30% more Attribute Requirements.
      • Integrated Efficiency: Grants 3 Additional Skill Slots.
      • Gem Studded: You can use two copies of the same Support Gem in different Skills.
      • Thaumaturgical Infusion: +1% to Maximum Cold Resistance per 4 Blue Support Gems socketed. +1% to Maximum Fire Resistance per 4 Red Support Gems socketed. +1% to Maximum Lightning Resistance per 4 Green Support Gems socketed
      • Adaptive Capability: Attribute Requirements of Gems can be satisfied by your highest Attribute
      • Enhanced Effectiveness: Inherent bonuses from Intelligence, Strength, and Dexterity are doubled.
  • Sorceress Ascendencies
    • Stormweaver
      • Scouring Winds: Exposure you inflict lowers the affected Resistance by an additional 20%.
      • Tempest Caller: Learn the skill Elemental Storm. Trigger Elemental Storm on critical hit with spells.
      • Rain Dancer: Elemental Storm has 150% more Cooldown Recovery Rate.
      • Heavy Snows: Targets can be affected by two of your Chills at the same time. Your Chills can reduce Action Speed by up to a maximum of 35%. 25% less Magnitude of Chill you inflict.
      • Shaper of Winter: All Damage from hits contributes to Chill Magnitude.
      • Strike Twice: Targets can be affected by two of your Shocks at the same time. 50% less Shock duration.
      • Shaper of Storms: All damage from hits contributes to Shock chance.
      • Constant Gale: You have Arcane Surge (10% more cast speed and 20% more mana regeneration rate).
      • Force of Will: 1% increased effect of Arcane Surge per 15 maximum mana.
      • Heart of the Storm: 40% of elemental damage taken recouped as energy shield.
    • Chronomancer
      • Now and Again: Skills have a 33% chance to not consume a Cooldown when used.
      • Unbound Encore: Learn the skill Time Snap.
      • Ultimate Command: Learn the skill Time Freeze.
      • Footprints in the Sand: Learn the skill Temporal Rift.
      • Quicksand Hourglass: Every 12 Seconds gain 50% more cast speed for 4 Seconds.
      • Apex of the Moment: Enemies in your presence are slowed by 20%.
      • Circular Heartbeat: 30% of Damage taken recouped as Life.
      • The Rapid River: Recoup effects instead occur over 4 seconds.
  • Monk Ascendencies
    • Invoker
      • Lead Me Through Grace: Gain 1 Spirit for every 6 energy shield on equipped body armor. Gain 1 Spirit for every 15 Evasion on equipped body armor. Cannot gain spirit from equipment.
      • … And Protect me from Harm: Evasion Rating also grants Physical Damage reduction. 40% less Evasion Rating.
      • Faith is a Choice: Learn the skill: Meditate.
      • I am the Blizzard: Gain 10% of damage as Extra Cold Damage. On Freezing enemies create chilled ground.
      • I am the Thunder: Gain 10% of damage as extra lightning damage. 25% chance on Shocking enemies to create shocked ground.
      • … And I shall Rage: Learn the skill: Unbound Avatar.
      • The Soul Springs Eternal: Meta Skills gain 35% more energy.
      • Sunder My Enemies: Critical Hits ignore non-negative enemy monster elemental resistances.
      • … And Scatter Them to the Winds: Learn the skill: Elemental Expression. Trigger Elemental Expression on melee critical hits.
    • Acolyte of Chayula
      • Ravenous Doubts: Mana leech is instant.
      • Consuming Questions: You cannot recharge energy shield.Mana leech effects also recover energy shield.
      • Chayula's Gift: +10% to maximum chaos resistance. Chaos resistance is doubled.
      • Reality bending: 23% chance to gain 25% of damage with hits as extra chaos damage. 13% chance to gain 50% of damage with hits as extra chaos damage. 7% chance to gain 100% of damage with hits as extra chaos damage.
      • Waking Dream: Learn the skill: Into the Breach.
      • Lucid Dreaming: Effect and Duration of Flames of Chayula on you is doubled.
      • Embrace the Darkness: Remove all spirit. Base maximum darkness is 100. For each life or energy shield lost to damage, reserve 1 darkness instead if possible. Darkness reservation lasts for 10 seconds. +5 to maximum darkness per level.
      • Grasp of the Void: Gain 1% of damage as extra chaos damage per 20 unreserved darkness.
      • Inner Silence: 50% reduced darkness reservation duration.
  • Ranger Ascendencies
    • Deadeye
      • Avidity: 30% chance that if you would gain frenzy charges, you instead gain up to your maximum number of frenzy charges.
      • Thrilling Chase: Benefits from consuming frenzy chargers for your skills have 50% chance to be doubled.
      • Eagle Eyes: You have no accuracy penalty at distance.
      • Point Blank: Projectiles deal 20% more hits damage to targets in the first 3.5 meters of their movement, scaling down with distance travelled to reach 0% after 7 meters.
      • Far Shot: Projectiles deal 0% more hits damage to targets in the first 3.5 meters of their movement, scaling up with distance travelled to reach 20% after 7 meters.
      • Endless Munitions: Skills fire an additional projectile.
      • Called Shots: You can apply an additional Mark.
      • Gathering Winds: Gain Tailwind on Skill use (stacking buff that increases movement speed, skill speed and evasion rating). Lose all Tailwind when hit.
      • Wind Ward: 3% less damage taken per Tailwind.
    • Pathfinder
      • Connected Chemistry: 50% more flask charges gained.
      • Enduring Elixirs: Life Flask effects are not removed when unreserved life is filled. Life Flask effects do not queue.
      • Contagious Contamination: The most damaging poison on enemes you kill is spread to other enemies within 1.5 meters.
      • Overwhelming Toxicity: Double the number of poisons you can inflict on enemies. 35% less poison duration.
      • Brew Concoction: Consume charges from your mana flask to deal an elemental explosion to foes (you choose the element).
      • Traveller's Wisdom: Grants 5 passive skill points.
      • Running Assault: 30% less movement speed penalty when using skills while moving.
      • Relentless Pursuit: Your speed is unaffected by Slows.
  • Witch Ascendencies
    • Blood Mage
      • Sanguimancy: Learn the skill Life Remnants. Skills gain a base life cost equal to base mana cost.
      • Vitality Siphon: 10% of spell damage is leeched as life.
      • Open Sores: Your curses have infinite duration.
      • Blood Barbs: Gain 10% of damage as extra physical damage. Elemental damage also contributes to bleeding magnitude.
      • Gore Spike: 1% increased critical damage bonus per 40 life.
      • Sunder the Flesh: Base critical hit chance for spells is 15%.
      • Grasping Wounds: 25% of life loss from hits is prevented, then that much life is lost over 4 seconds instead.
      • Crimson Power: Gain energy shield from equipped body armor as extra maximum life.
    • Infernalist
      • Altered Flesh: 20% of cold damage taken as fire damage. 20% of lightning damage taken as fire damage. 20% of physical damage taken as chaos damage.
      • Beidat's Gaze: Reserves 25% of life. +1 to maximum mana per 6 maximum life.
      • Beidat's Will: Reserves 25% of life. +1 to maximum spirit per 25 maximum life.
      • Beidat's Hand: Reserves 25% of life. +1 to maximum energy shield per 8 maximum life.
      • Demonic Possession: Learn the skill Demon Form (shapeshift into a demon and boost spell damage at the cost of constant life loss).
      • Mastered Darkness: Maximum 10 Demonflame.
      • Pyromantic Pact: Maximum mana is replaced by maximum Infernal Flame. Gain Flame instead of spending mana for spell costs. Take maximum life and energy shield as fire damage when Flame reaches maximum. Lose all Flame on reaching maximum Flame. 10% of Flame lost per second if none was gained in the past 2 seconds.
      • Bringer of Flame: While not on low Infernal Flame, all damage from you and allies in your presence contributes to ignite chance and magnitude.
      • Seething Body: While on high Infernal Flame, you and allies in your presence gain 20% of damage as fire damage.
      • Loyal Hellhound: Learn the skill Summon Infernal Hound. 20% of the damage you take is taken from the Hellhound's life first.
      • Grinning Immolation: Become Ignited when you deal a critical hit, taking 15% of your life and energy shield as fire damage per second. 30% more critical damage bonus.
  • Warrior Ascendencies
    • Titan
      • Stone Skin: 50% more Armor from equipped Body Armor
      • Earthbreaker: 20% chance for Slam Skills you use yourself to cause Aftershocks (small bursts of AOE damage afterwards)
      • Ancestral Empowerment: Every second Slam Skill you use yourself is Ancestrally Boosted (20% more damage and area of effect)
      • Colossal Capacity: Carry a chest which adds 20 inventory slots
      • Hulking Form: 50% increased effect of small passive skills
      • Crushing Impacts: Your hits are crushing blows (cause heavy stun on enemies primed for stun)
      • Surprising Strength: 40% more damage against heavy stunned enemies
      • Mysterious Lineage: 15% more maximum life
    • Warbringer
      • Anvil's Weight: Break Armor equal to 10% of hit damage dealt
      • Imploding Impacts: You can break enemy armor to below 0
      • Jade Heritage: Learn the skill: Encase in Jade. Gain a stack of Jade every second.
      • Answered Call: Learn the Skill: Ancestral Spirits. Trigger this skill when you summon a Totem.
      • Wooden Wall: 20% of damage from hits is taken from your nearest Totem's life before yours.
      • Renly's Training: Gain 40% base chance to block from equipped shield instead of the shield's value.
      • Turtle Charm: 35% less block chance. Can block damage from all hits while shield is not raised.
      • Warcaller's Bellow: Corpses in your presence explode when you Warcry, dealing 25% of their life as physical damage.
      • Greatwolf's Howl: Ignore Warcry cooldowns.

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Joel Franey
Joel Franey
Guides Writer

Joel Franey is a writer, journalist, podcaster and raconteur with a Masters from Sussex University, none of which has actually equipped him for anything in real life. As a result he chooses to spend most of his time playing video games, reading old books and ingesting chemically-risky levels of caffeine. He is a firm believer that the vast majority of games would be improved by adding a grappling hook, and if they already have one, they should probably add another just to be safe. You can find old work of his at USgamer, Gfinity, Eurogamer and more besides.

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