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This is a tier list based on early observations of the metagame in the 0.3.0 update of Path of Exile 2 (POE 2). The classes are ranked by several criteria such as clear speed, combat utility, dps, and more to gauge which are the best classes in the game.
| All Class Guides | ||
|---|---|---|
| All Classes | List of Builds | Class Tier List |
List of Contents
| Note: The base class tier list was ranked according to the performance of the class during the early acts of the game, with minimal consideration for their ascendancy classes. If you want to see a tier list for endgame, jump to the ascendancy class tier list down below. |
| Jump to a Section! | ||
|---|---|---|
| Base Class Tier List | Ascendancy Tier List | |
| Tier List Criteria | ||
※ Click on the class icons to go to their overview
| Rank | Class |
|---|---|
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| Date | Change |
|---|---|
| August 31, 2025 | ↑ Witch: B to A tier ↓ Mercenary: S to A tier ↓↓ Sorcerer: A to C tier |
| April 7, 2025 | ↑ Warrior: Rank slightly increased ↑ Ranger: A to S tier ・Added Huntress as A-tier class |
| January 15, 2025 | ↓ Warrior: S to A tier |
| December 27, 2024 | ・Updated tier list based on new critieria |
| December 16, 2024 | ↓ Witch: A to B tier |
| Class | Rating | Tier |
|---|---|
Ranger |
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Damage: ★★★★★ Survivability: ★★★ Ease of Use: ★★★★ Time Investment: ★★★★ |
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The agile Ranger remains one of the top starting characters thanks to strong early damage from Lightning Arrow and Lightning Rod, along with easy access to Movement Speed and Skill Speed passive nodes.
Evasion-based classes like the Ranger have received a major buff. They now have a chance to evade all types of hits, in exchange for a slight reduction in overall Evade Chance. Additionally, the new Deflect mechanic lets them even reduce incoming damage from deflected hits by 40!
Ranger Class Guide and Ascendancies
| Class | Rating | Tier |
|---|---|
Witch |
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Damage: ★★★★ Survivability: ★★★★ Ease of Use: ★★ Time Investment: ★★★ |
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The Chaos DoT combo of Essence Drain and Contagion remains a strong starter combo, capable of quickly clearing packs during the campaign. Minion builds have also seen major improvements, especially with the introduction of the Ravenous Swarm persistent buff, making them more viable early on compared to previous patches.
However, gearing for spellcasters and minion builds is less intuitive than for attack-based characters, and poor gear choices can significantly impact overall performance.
Witch Class Guide and Ascendancies
| Class | Rating | Tier |
|---|---|
Huntress |
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Damage: ★★★★ Survivability: ★★★ Ease of Use: ★★★ Time Investment: ★★★★ |
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The Huntress and Spear builds were the dominant class and archetype from the previous patch and remains a solid choice for Elemental and Critical Attack builds. Even after the 0.3.0 changes, Lightning Spear and Twister combos remain highly effective throughout the campaign.
Unlike the other Dexterity class, the Huntress demands more finesse to fully capitalize on her combo potential.
Huntress Ascendancies and Class Guide
| Class | Rating | Tier |
|---|---|
Mercenary |
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Damage: ★★★★ Survivability: ★★★ Ease of Use: ★★★★ Time Investment: ★★ |
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Mercenary and Crossbow builds continue to perform well in patch 0.3.0. Explosive Shot with Grenades, and Ballista with Mortar Cannon builds are performing well at various stages of the campaign while the Galvanic Shard and Stormburst Rounds combo is also a good end-game build to consider.
However, Mercenaries can struggle defensively in later stages due to being caught between the two main defense layers. The updated Armor and Evasion mechanics are most effective when fully invested in a single type, so Mercenary builds must commit to either Armor or Evasion to unlock their full defensive potential.
Mercenary Class Guide and Ascendancies
| Class | Rating | Tier |
|---|---|
Warrior |
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Damage: ★★★ Survivability: ★★★★ Ease of Use: ★★★★ Time Investment: ★★★ |
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The Warrior remains a solid and enjoyable class to play. New skills, supports, and passive nodes enhance its versatility, allowing new set ups to shine. The classic Boneshatter also remains a viable option throughout the campaign.
The addition of the Sprinting mechanic further elevates melee gameplay, making combat feel faster and more satisfying. However, as a primarily melee class, the Warrior is still vulnerable to dangerous situations like being in a bad position and getting swarmed.
Warrior Class Guide and Ascendancies
| Class | Rating | Tier |
|---|---|
Monk |
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Damage: ★★★ Survivability: ★★★ Ease of Use: ★★ Time Investment: ★★ |
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The Monk class seemed like a perfect fit for the new Hollow Palm Keystone, but it ultimately fell short in both damage output, range, and overall usability.
While Monk and Quarterstaff builds are still viable, their low survivability and underwhelming damage make melee playstyles harder to justify compared to other options. However, it can scale a lot of damage and defenses fast after ascending.
Monk Class Guide and Ascendancies
| Class | Rating | Tier |
|---|---|
Sorceress |
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Damage: ★★ Survivability: ★★ Ease of Use: ★★ Time Investment: ★★ |
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The Sorceress and Elemental Spells have undergone major changes, encouraging players to mix spells with Infusions for a devastating storm of elemental skills. However, the damage output for these combos have fallen short, especially considering the setup required.
Overall, the Sorcerer with Elemental Spells seems to currently deal the lowest damage among all archetypes and rely heavily on Infusions, which can be tedious to collect and manage during gameplay. This makes the Sorcer the worst performing class for the early game of patch 0.3.0.
If you persist on playing a Sorcerer this patch, the Fireball Skill with a variety of different set ups may work best.
Sorceress Class Guide and Ascendancies
| Jump to a Section! | ||
|---|---|---|
| Base Class Tier List | Ascendancy Tier List | |
| Tier List Criteria | ||
※ Click on the class icons to go to their overview
| Rank | Class |
|---|---|
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| Date | Change |
|---|---|
| Sep 4, 2025 | + Added Abyssal Lich at A - Deadeye: S → S - Lich: S → S - Bloodmage: A → A - Warbringer: B → B - Stormweaver: B → B - Witchhunter: C → C - Pathfinder: C → C - Chronomancer: D → D ↑ Invoker: B → A ↑ Infernalist: B → A ↑ Acolyte of Chayula: D → C ↓ Amazon: S → A ↓ Tactician: A → B ↓ Titan: A → B ↓ Gemling Legionnaire: B → C ↓ Ritualist: C → D ↓↓↓ Smith of Kitava: A → D |
| April 9, 2025 | ↑ Lich: A to S Tier ↑ Pathfinder: D to C Tier ↑ Ritualist: D to C Tier ↓ Titan: S to A Tier ↓ Gemling: A to B Tier |
| April 9, 2025 | ↑ Deadeye: A to S Tier ↑ Titan: A to S Tier ↓ Invoker: S to B Tier ↓ Stormweaver: S to B Tier ↓ Infernalist: S to B Tier ↓ Pathfinder: B to D Tier ↓ Acolyte of Chayula: B to D Tier ↓ Witch Hunter: A to C Tier ・Added Tactician to A Tier ・Added Lich to A Tier ・Added Ritualist to D Tier ・Added Amazon to S Tier ・Added D Tier for better categorization |
| January 15, 2025 | ・Promoted Stormweaver to S-tier ・Promoted Witchunter to A-tier ・Promoted Pathfinder to B-tier ・Promoted Acolyte of Chayula to B-tier ・Demoted Warbringer to B-tier ・Demoted Blood Mage to C-tier |
| January 15, 2025 | ・Promoted Stormweaver to S-tier ・Promoted Witchunter to A-tier ・Promoted Pathfinder to B-tier ・Promoted Acolyte of Chayula to B-tier ・Demoted Warbringer to B-tier ・Demoted Blood Mage to C-tier |
| December 27, 2024 | ・Updated the tier list based on new criteria and information |
| December 19, 2024 | ・Updated the tier list based on Endgame performance |
| Class | Rating | Tier |
|---|---|
Deadeye |
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Damage: ★★★★★ Survivability: ★★★★ Synergy: ★★★★★ Skill Nodes: ★★★★ |
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The Deadeye remains one of the most generically good Ascendancies due to the easy access to Skill Speed from Tailwind, +1 Projectiles, and not to mention the recent buffs to Evasion. It's other Ascenancy skills aren't bad either with paths to go for Mark, Critical, or Frenzy Charge synergies.
While this class is mostly used for the most common build of the league so far, Lightning Arrow, it can perform well with any other skill thats suits well to the bottom-right side of the tree, such as Projetile, Elemental, and Attack Skills.
Deadeye Ascendancy Overview and Skills
| Class | Rating | Tier |
|---|---|
Lich |
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Damage: ★★★★ Survivability:★★★★★ Synergy: ★★ Skill Nodes: ★★★★ |
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The Lich remains to be one the most consistent-performing Ascendancies due to it's powerful defensive layers and it's synergies with the Chaos damage-over-time spells such as the Essence Drain and Contagion combo.
While it's defensive set ups are not as straightforward as other classes, it has a really solid kit that can withstand even the heaviest of hits with good amounts of investment on Energy Shield and Mana.
Lich Ascendancy Overview and Skills
| Class | Rating | Tier |
|---|---|
Invoker |
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Damage: ★★★★ Survivability:★★★★ Synergy: ★★★ Skill Nodes: ★★★★ |
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The Invoker rises as arguably the best melee classes due to the strength of and synergies it has with Energy and Evasion. As common with the best ascendancies, the Invoker's Ascendancy Skills provide good offense, defense, and utility.
While the new Hollow Palm Keystone underperformed in performance, quarterstaff skills with a normal quarterstaff, or other elemental Attacks with other weapons perform well with this Ascendancy.
Invoker Ascendancy Overview and Skills
| Class | Rating | Tier |
|---|---|
Blood Mage |
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Damage: ★★★★ Survivability:★★★★ Synergy: ★★★ Skill Nodes: ★★★★ |
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With the recent change to Blood Mage's Sanguimancy being free, this Ascenancy Class just got access to two more Ascendancy Points in one of the most powerful Ascendancy Trees in the game. The Blood Mage's Ascendancy Skills are pack with powerful Crit synergies for damage, and incredible Life recovery and damage negation.
The Blood Mage Ascendancy will be a good shell for any crit-based, or a life-stacking spellcaster build.
Blood Mage Ascendancy Overview and Skills
| Class | Rating | Tier |
|---|---|
Amazon |
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Damage: ★★★★★ Survivability: ★★ Synergy: ★★★ Skill Nodes: ★★★★ |
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The Amazon is the best Ascendancy for scaling with Critical Strikes while using Attacks. This allows the Amazon to be one of the hardest hitting attack-based Ascenancies in the game.
However, it lacks the necessary defensive layers to be as competitive to other classes. Fortunately, the recent addition with the Deflect mechanic can greatly increases the Amazon's chance to survive strong hits with well crafted gear and shield.
Amazon Ascendancy Overview and Skills
| Class | Rating | Tier |
|---|---|
Infernalist |
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Damage:★★★ Survivability: ★★★★ Synergy: ★★★ Skill Nodes: ★★★★ |
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The Infernalist is the most comfortable minion-build due to the damage reduction you get from the Loyal Hellhound and the extra Spirit you can get from Beidat's Will. It now also excels with spells with the buffs to Demon Form taking the stats from your weapons to accounts.
Infernalist Ascendancy Overview and Skills
| Class | Rating | Tier |
|---|---|
Abyssal Lich |
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Damage:★★★★ Survivability: ★★★★ Synergy: ★★★ Skill Nodes: ★★★ |
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The Abyssal Lich is a new secret Ascendancy that shares a similar tree structure with the Lich. It retains the same defensive nodes but introduces new Ascendancy Skills that replace several offensive options with very unique new effects.
The Umbral Well node converts you summonable Skeletal minions into passive effects instead, while the Steward of Kulemak consumes Power Charges to repeat the spells you cast.
With the strong defensive nodes of the Lich and more general offensive nodes, the Abyssal Lich can potentially be a very powerful and fun Ascendancy to blast the endgame.
Abyssal Lich Ascendancy Overview and Skills
| Class | Rating | Tier |
|---|---|
Tactician |
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Damage:★★★★ Survivability: ★★★★ Synergy: ★★ Skill Nodes: ★★★ |
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The Tactician got a more support for totems and ballistas that greatly benefits them due to the current performance of the Mortar Cannon Skill. Having an Ascendancy Skill that increases the Mortar Cannon Limit is a huge advantage over other Ascendancies for Ballista builds.
While very niche, the Tactician serves as a good Ascendancy for anyone planning on playing a support build when playing with a party.
Tactician Ascendancy Overview and Skills
| Class | Rating | Tier |
|---|---|
Warbringer |
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Damage:★★★ Survivability: ★★★★★ Synergy: ★★ Skill Nodes: ★★★ |
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The Warbringer got a significant buff to it's Warcry node making it a powerful Ascendancy for the new Warcry-based bonus effects on the new Mace Skills. This Ascendancy remains a famous choice for Hardcore players due to the addition of the Encase in Jade Skill in addition to the already tanky Warrior archetype.
Warbringer Ascendancy Overview and Skills
| Class | Rating | Tier |
|---|---|
Titan |
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Damage: ★★★ Survivability:★★★★ Synergy: ★★★ Skill Nodes: ★★★ |
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The Titan Ascendancy is another solid offensive alternative to the Warrior Mace archetype that plans to use Aftershocks. While some of the archetype's tools received some undesired changes, the Titan remains a good choice for a certain type of Mace builds.
Titan Ascendancy Overview and Skills
| Class | Rating | Tier |
|---|---|
Stormweaver |
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Damage: ★★★ Survivability: ★★★ Synergy: ★★★★ Skill Nodes: ★★★ |
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While spellcasting had a rough starting as players adjust to the new changes to the Elemental Skills, the Stormweaver proved to be still be a decent Ascendancy to choose for Elemental Spells. While this Ascendancy may be a husk of what it once was, it's still the most simple spell-casting Ascendancy any new player can get into.
Stormweaver Ascendancy Overview
| Class | Rating | Tier |
|---|---|
Witchhunter |
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Damage:★★★ Survivability: ★★ Synergy: ★★★★★ Skill Nodes: ★★ |
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The Witchhunter received an interesting addition it's Ascendancy Skills that makes it so that you can spec almost all of your Passive Tree into Weapon Set Passives. This opens up to countless possibilities in creative build ideas that would take a while to discover.
The rest of the Witchhunter's kit, however, isn't entirely impressive. The explosion from Zealous Inquisition is satisfying and the Concentration nodes are a good damage boost, but not amazing in their own rights.
Witchhunter Ascendancy Overview and Skills
| Class | Rating | Tier |
|---|---|
Pathfinder |
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Damage: ★★ Survivability: ★★★ Synergy: ★★ Skill Nodes: ★★ |
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With the changes made to the Concoction skills, the Pathfinder finds itself in a situation that doesn't excel at anything. While it has the tools to be the best Ascendancy class for Poison builds, the Poison archetype doesn't have the proper damage either to support that.
However, Running Assault and Relentless Pursuit can be a good combo for blasting maps by being able to attack while having almost no Movement Speed penalty.
Pathfinder Ascendancy Overview and Skills
| Class | Rating | Tier |
|---|---|
Acolyte of Chayula |
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Damage:★★★ Survivability: ★★ Synergy: ★★ Skill Nodes: ★★ |
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The Acolyte of Chayula received some changes in the 0.3 patch designed to increase the acolyte's usability. However, the Ascendancy Skills it has seems to be too “gimmicky” by being too situational, unintuitive, and ultimately underwhelming.
In the right conditions, the Acolyte can still be a solid class for any attack-based build with the right set up and gear.
Acolyte of Chayula Ascendancy and Skills
| Class | Rating | Tier |
|---|---|
Gemling Legionnaire |
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Damage:★★ Survivability: ★★ Synergy: ★★★★ Skill Nodes: ★★ |
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The Gemling has a very generalized set of Ascendancy Skills and got a few changes due to the Skill and Support Gem system changes. In the end, while it's Ascendancy Skills give good damage boosts and quality of life, it doesn't help with scaling your damage and defenses well into the end game.
Gemling Legionnaire Ascendancy and Skills
| Class | Rating | Tier |
|---|---|
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Damage: ★★ Survivability: ★★★ Synergy: ★★ Skill Nodes: ★★ |
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The Smith of Kitava heavily suffered from the nerfs to Maximum Fire Resistance. The change that Armor received that allows it to negate damage to Elemental Hits does not compensate for the changes and doesn't not work on damage-over-time effects either.
With those changes, the Smith of Kitava is left with lackluster effects that you can't scale to be useful at all. However, with all the Body Armor-related nodes, this class remains to be a good starter class for a good defense at the start of a league.
Smith of Kitava Ascendancy Overview and Skills
| Class | Rating | Tier |
|---|---|
Ritualist |
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Damage: ★★ Survivability: ★★ Synergy: ★ Skill Nodes: ★ |
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The Ritualist debuted as one of the potential favorites in the game due to it having an extra ring slot with extra effects one all your rings and amulet. However, it never got be worth it due to the downsides and the other lackluster Ascendancy Skills.
Ritualist Ascendancy Overview and Skills
| Class | Rating | Tier |
|---|---|
Chronomancer |
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Damage: ★★ Survivability:★★★ Synergy: ★ Skill Nodes: ★★ |
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The Chronomancer is a good defensive Ascendancy for the Sorcerer as it has tools to slow down enemies and recover the damage you take. It suffers, however, from having little to no offensive tools that can make the Ascendancy scale in damage or stand out.
Chronomancer Ascendancy and Skills
| Jump to a Section! | ||
|---|---|---|
| Base Class Tier List | Ascendancy Tier List | |
| Tier List Criteria | ||
| Damage | Considers the class' potential damage output and DPS, and their ability to clearly defeat bosses and clear maps. |
|---|---|
| Survivability | Considers the class' ability to survive and tank damage while fighting enemies and exploring maps. |
| Ease of Use | Considers how simple or complex a class is mechanically and in terms of how easy it is to pick up as new players (i.e., has less of a learning curve). |
| Time Investment | Considers the time, resources, and build specificity it takes to make the class viable for different content in the game. |
| Ascendancy Tier | Considers the rankings of the base class' ascendancies. |
| Damage | Considers the class' potential damage output and DPS, and their ability to clearly defeat bosses and clear maps. |
|---|---|
| Survivability | Considers the class' ability to survive and tank damage while fighting enemies and exploring maps. |
| Synergy | Considers how well each ascendancy can maximize or improve the performance of their respective base class and diversify builds. |
| Skill Nodes | Considers the amount of useful or game changing notable and small skills nodes present within the ascendancy's skill tree. |
| Beginners | Warrior |
|---|---|
| Fast Leveling | Mercenary |
| Mobility | Monk |
| Area Damage | Mercenary/Sorceress |
| Endgame Capability | Monk |
| Damage over Time | Ranger |
| Minion Class | Witch |
| Tank Class | Warrior |
Overall, each class in the game has their own unique feel and playstyle that fits a multitude of players. Players that enjoy playing shooter games that wants to hop into Path of Exile 2 will enjoy the Mercenary and its crossbow and ammo gameplay while players that love hyper mobile classes will enjoy classes like the Monk that can blitz through multiple units in a short span of time.
So while there are multiple classes in the game, we highly recommend sticking to the class that you'll find the most fun rather than which class may seem like the strongest class among the roster.

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I'm sorry but this is complete BS. I'm playing a monk, my friend is playing a warrior, we are both in endgame, me being lvl 92 and he is 88 or so, and let me tell you, warrior neither has better damage or defensive capabilities compared to an high ES monk using Chaos Inoculation. Whoever wrote this obviously didn't play the game further than lvl 40 or so. Early game, like first 14 levels or so, monk does struggle, but that completely disappears after the 20s.
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Hello, thank you for using our page as a reference! Yes, although all classes have the option to use all weapons and skills, there are still clear and remarkable differences such as early passives, stat allocations, and easy access to their pre-determined weapons. Furthermore, what really sets these classes from each other is their Ascendancy skills and passives that are unique only to them.