i'm a poe noob so i'm not really able to converse with an AI about it coherently

i was hoping someone else could give me tips

(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=5765945&forum_id=2в#49212216)

Rank what are considered the strongest class/ascendancy currently in PoE2? i want to make a new character and have it be really strong i am kind of predisposed to sorcerer are they strong?

ChatGPT said:

I can definitely look up the current strongest class and ascendancy rankings in Path of Exile 2. Just to clarify:

Are you looking for rankings based on solo play, group play, or both?

Do you prefer raw damage output, survivability, or a balance of both?

Since you're leaning towards Sorcerer, are you mainly interested in spellcasters, or would you consider other classes if they are significantly stronger?

Let me know and I'll get started on the research!

You said:

Solo and group play. I want a balance of damage output and survivability. Non caster actually i already used mostly sorceror skills via infernalist

ChatGPT said:

Got it! I'll look into the current rankings for the strongest classes and ascendancies in Path of Exile 2, considering both solo and group play. I'll focus on non-caster options that offer a balance of damage output and survivability.

I'll get back to you with the results soon!

Research completed in 7m · 25 sources

Strongest Classes and Ascendancies in PoE2

Top Non-Caster Ascendancies for Damage and Survivability in PoE2

Path of Exile 2’s early meta has been dominated by spellcasters (for example, the Sorceress’s Stormweaver ascendancy is currently regarded as the strongest overall

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). However, many attack-based classes and ascendancies provide a powerful mix of high DPS and resilience, making them top choices for players who want both offense and survivability. Below we break down the strongest non-caster options for both solo and group play, detailing why they excel, their typical skills, gear setups, and recent meta shifts affecting their rankings. (Note: “Non-caster” here refers to builds focused on weapon attacks or secondary mechanics, rather than pure spell-spamming.)

Warrior – Titan Ascendancy (Melee Tank-DPS)

Titan ascendancy skill tree and artwork (Warrior class).

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【14†L264-L270**】

Why it’s strong: The Titan is the premier choice for the Warrior class when you need to be almost unkillable without sacrificing too much damage. This ascendancy turns you into an “indestructible tank” with huge armor and life bonuses

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. In practice, Titan Warriors can soak up far more damage than other builds and keep on swinging. Key passive nodes like Stone Skin and Mysterious Lineage massively boost defenses, while Surprising Strength grants +40% damage against Heavy Stunned enemies

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. In other words, the longer Titan survives (which is a long time), the harder it hits. This combination of durability and scaling damage makes it a safe yet effective solo mapper or boss killer – you can facetank many threats and grind them down

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.

Typical skills & playstyle: Titan builds revolve around slam attacks and crowd control. The ascendancy grants Earthbreaker (chance for slam skills to cause AoE aftershocks) and Crushing Impacts (all hits count as Crushing Blows that stun)

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. This means skills like Ground Slam, Earthquake, or other heavy-hitting melee attacks are favored – they hit hard, trigger aftershock explosions, and quickly stack stuns on tougher enemies. A popular approach is to build around a two-handed mace or hammer (for high base damage and stun chance) and use Warcries or Totems to amplify slam damage. For instance, some Titan players use the Hammer of the Gods setup, leveraging Warcry buffs and a slow, powerful slam to perma-stun bosses. After recent updates, many Titan builds started running Herald of Ice (to shatter mobs on kill) combined with the unique Polcirkeln ring for better map-clear, since the old armor-break explosion combo was nerfed

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. Gear optimizations focus on maximizing life and armor: a high-armor chest (paired with Titan’s Stone Skin for +50% armor from chest) and mods like “increased stun duration” or “chance to double stun duration” on maces help fully capitalize on Titan’s stun damage bonus. Don’t neglect damage stats, though – % physical damage on weapons, critical strike boosts (if scaling crit slams), and added elemental damage (which can also shock or chill enemies thanks to heavy hits) all improve Titan’s clear speed.

Solo performance: Titan is an excellent solo choice for its sheer survivability. Hardcore players gravitate to it because it’s forgiving – you can survive mistakes that would one-shot a squishier build. Even though its raw DPS is lower than glass-cannon builds, Titan’s ability to stand in melee range indefinitely means it wins war of attrition against bosses. Mapping solo is comfortable albeit a bit slower; you might not zip through packs like a Ranger, but you also won’t die to a random damage spike. Titan’s aftershock AoE and occasional Herald of Ice shatters (or legacy armor explosions) give it decent pack clear. Overall, it’s a “slow and steady” solo experience – very safe, and with endgame gear it still dishes out respectable damage (e.g. heavy stun loops making enemies completely helpless while you smash them

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).

Group play: In groups, Titan can function as a pseudo-tank and crowd-controller. While PoE2 doesn’t have traditional MMO aggro mechanics, a Titan can effectively draw monster attention simply by being in melee and surviving hits that would kill others. This frees up softer party members to deal damage. Titan’s frequent AoE stuns are also a form of support: stunning a dangerous rare or boss reduces incoming damage for everyone. It won’t boost allies’ stats directly, but a Titan can carry defensive auras (like Determination or Grace) given its extra tankiness and 20 bonus inventory slots (handy for toting aura skill gems or gear)

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. One downside in group play is relatively lower damage output – Titans might struggle to keep up with the DPS of specialized builds. This is where a balanced party helps: the Titan soaks and stuns, while high-DPS allies melt foes. Warbringer, the Warrior’s alternate ascendancy, is also worth a mention here – it sacrifices some personal tankiness in exchange for more team utility via warcries and ancestral totems. Warbringer can spam warcries with no cooldown (Greatwolf’s Howl node) to debuff enemies’ armor and even explode corpses for AoE damage

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. In practice, a Warbringer build (e.g. a Corrupting Cry build) offers great clear speed and is very beginner-friendly

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, but its reliance on corpse explosions means it falls behind Titan in long boss fights (no adds = no corpses to explode)

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. Overall, Titan remains the preferred group role for stability, especially after recent patches that weakened Warbringer’s armor-shred explosiveness and left Titan’s core tankiness intact.

Meta & balance shifts: Early in PoE2, some players complained that armor was underperforming as a defense (relative to evasion or energy shield), which slightly hurt Titan’s appeal

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. In response, build guides adapted – as noted, adding cold damage shatter effects for clear, and focusing more on life stacking (e.g. using Mysterious Lineage for +15% max life) to complement armor. No major nerfs directly targeted Titan’s survivability, but a mid-league tweak reduced the effectiveness of Armor Break mechanics that some Warbringer/Titan builds used for mass explosions. This shifted Titans toward the heavy stun playstyle even more. As of the most recent update, Titan is considered a niche but viable choice, appearing less frequently in top meta lists (since many meta-chasers went to overtuned spell builds)

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. Nonetheless, it remains beloved by players who value staying alive – one experienced player (cArn_) even pushed a Titan “Hammer of the Gods” build to level 100, showcasing that Titan can still complete all endgame content post-nerfs

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.

Ranger – Deadeye Ascendancy (Ranged Critical Striker)

D

(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=5765945&forum_id=2в#49212269)

hopefully either crit lightning blood mage or fire caster infernalist

i might try minion build for leveling, seems like it could be chill

(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=5765945&forum_id=2в#49212335)

it could be a good resource to point out existing synergies though. for unique items and unusual interactions and mechanics

(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=5765945&forum_id=2в#49212313)