The Ultimate Path of Exile Ascendancy Guide
Sep-20-2025 PST
This guide will walk you through the fundamentals of Ascendancy in Path of Exile, explaining how to unlock it, what each Ascendancy offers, and the most popular and powerful builds for every class.
What Is Ascendancy in Path of Exile?
Ascendancy is a mechanic in Path of Exile that allows your character to select a subclass, known as an Ascendancy, when they reach the Labyrinth in the game. Each of the game's seven core classes (Marauder, Ranger, Witch, Duelist, Templar, Shadow, and Scion) has a set of Ascendancy options that significantly alter how you approach gameplay.
Ascendancy points are earned by completing the Labyrinth, which is a dungeon filled with traps and challenges. You gain these points as you progress through the Labyrinth's stages and can then invest them into your Ascendancy tree. You can also use your Path of exile currency to get points.
Each Ascendancy provides powerful passives and bonuses, enabling specialized builds that make your character more effective in combat, defense, or utility.
How to Unlock Ascendancy
To unlock Ascendancy, you need to progress through The Labyrinth. The Labyrinth is divided into four stages:
Normal Labyrinth (Act 3)
Cruel Labyrinth (Act 4)
Merciless Labyrinth (Act 5)
Eternal Labyrinth (Act 10)
After completing each Labyrinth, you receive an Ascendancy Point that allows you to unlock one of the available Ascendancy subclasses for your class. You can choose from a variety of Ascendancy options, but each class only has specific options available to it, meaning your choice should align with the build you are trying to create.
It's important to note that the Labyrinth has increasing difficulty as you progress through the stages, so you'll need to be well-prepared for each trial.
The Seven Core Classes and Their Ascendancies
Each of the seven core classes in Path of Exile has a unique set of Ascendancies. These classes provide the framework for most builds, and the Ascendancy allows you to further customize and enhance your character's abilities. Let's break down the different classes and their Ascendancy options.
1. Marauder
The Marauder is a powerful melee tank, and his Ascendancies revolve around physical damage, survivability, and tanking.
Juggernaut: Focuses on defense, providing massive boosts to armor, health, and endurance charges. Juggernauts are hard to kill, especially in the late game, and they excel in tanking damage.
Chieftain: Ideal for fire-based builds, this Ascendancy provides excellent synergy with totems and fire damage, as well as strong life regeneration and fire resistance.
Berserker: The Berserker is all about offense, gaining a significant damage boost at the cost of survivability. Berserkers can dish out massive amounts of damage but are more fragile than the other two options.
2. Ranger
Rangers specialize in ranged combat, especially bows and elemental damage. Their Ascendancies enhance their agility, speed, and damage output.
Deadeye: This Ascendancy focuses on projectile damage, making it the go-to option for bow users. Deadeyes can increase projectile speed, damage, and critical strike chance, allowing for devastating ranged attacks.
Raider: Raider provides a strong combination of movement speed, evasion, and attack speed. This Ascendancy is perfect for those who enjoy fast-paced, agile builds that rely on hit-and-run tactics.
Pathfinder: If you're looking for a class that focuses on poison, flask, or elemental damage, Pathfinder is an excellent choice. They have great synergy with flasks, providing more sustain and healing through flask usage.
3. Witch
The Witch is a spellcaster who can manipulate both elemental and dark forces. Her Ascendancies revolve around enhancing her spellcasting abilities and minions.
Elementalist: Elementalist Ascendancy is focused on elemental damage, increasing the effectiveness of elemental spells like fire, lightning, and cold. Elementalists also have an ability to summon powerful elemental allies.
Occultist: Occultist focuses on chaos and cold damage, with strong defensive capabilities. Occultists excel in reducing enemy resistance and applying curses, making them great at weakening foes.
Necromancer: As the name suggests, Necromancer is all about minions. If you want to raise an army of the undead and control them with powerful spells, this is the Ascendancy to choose. Necromancers can greatly enhance the strength and survivability of their minions.
4. Duelist
The Duelist is a hybrid class that combines both melee combat and ranged combat. Their Ascendancies give them a variety of options, from tanking to dealing high damage.
Slayer: Slayer is a high-damage Ascendancy with strong life leech and a focus on physical and melee damage. Slayers excel in sustained combat and can clear content rapidly.
Gladiator: Gladiator offers a balanced approach to both offense and defense. They specialize in using weapons and shields, with a strong focus on blocking and dealing physical damage.
Champion: Champions are tanks who excel at supporting allies and buffing their own damage. With strong auras, taunts, and defense, Champions can be the backbone of any party.
5. Templar
The Templar is a class that mixes spellcasting and melee combat. His Ascendancies provide a balance between offense and defense, focusing on elemental damage and survivability.
Inquisitor: Inquisitors specialize in critical strikes and elemental damage. They can bypass enemy resistances and deal massive damage with their spells.
Hierophant: The Hierophant is focused on enhancing energy shields, mana, and totemic abilities. This Ascendancy is ideal for totem-based or energy shield-heavy builds.
Guardian: Guardians are support tanks who focus on buffing their allies and providing defensive support. They also have strong life and energy shield capabilities.
6. Shadow
The Shadow is a nimble character who excels in traps, stealth, and critical strikes. His Ascendancies offer unique options for players who prefer a more sneaky or quick-play style.
Assassin: Assassin focuses on critical strike chance and multiplier, making it perfect for those who want to deal high damage with minimal hits. They also have strong poison and chaos damage options.
Trickster: Tricksters are all about speed and evasion, with a focus on energy shield, mana, and life regeneration. They're perfect for hybrid builds that want both offense and defense.
Saboteur: Saboteur is the go-to Ascendancy for trap and mine-based builds. Saboteurs can manipulate traps and mines with great precision, dealing massive amounts of damage to enemies caught in their traps.
7. Scion
The Scion is a unique class in PoE, as she has access to multiple Ascendancies. You unlock her after completing the story for one of the core classes. Scion is known for her versatility.
Ascendant: The Ascendant can choose any of the above Ascendancies from the other classes, allowing for a highly customizable playstyle. This gives players the freedom to build almost any combination of abilities and playstyles.
Popular and Powerful Ascendancy Builds
When choosing an Ascendancy, it's important to consider both your personal playstyle and the strength of certain builds within the current meta. Some Ascendancies are more powerful in certain patches or leagues than others, but all offer strong potential if used correctly.
Here are some popular builds for each Ascendancy:
Juggernaut: Endurance Charge Tank - Juggernauts excel in tanky builds with high endurance charges, making them great for face-tanking bosses and surviving through heavy damage.
Deadeye: Bow Crit Build - The Deadeye's projectile-based abilities make them ideal for crit-heavy, bow-based builds.
Elementalist: Elemental Hit or Ignite Builds - Elementalists can excel at elemental damage and ignite-based strategies.
Slayer: Cyclone or Melee Build - Slayers thrive with melee damage that leeches health, making them perfect for high-damage builds like Cyclone.
Assassin: Poison Blade Vortex or Crit-based Build - Assassins are exceptional for poison-based or crit-heavy builds that capitalize on high damage output. You can buy POE orbs to get them.
Conclusion
Ascendancy in Path of Exile is one of the most unique and flexible mechanics in the game, offering players the chance to customize their characters' abilities to a significant degree. Whether you're a tank, a spellcaster, a ranged attacker, or a master of minions, there is an Ascendancy that can help you reach your full potential in the game.
Choose carefully, experiment with builds, and most importantly, enjoy the journey through the Labyrinth to unlock the powerful potential of your Ascendancy!