The Warrior in Path of Exile 2 is a Strength-based melee class that focuses on heavy, impactful swings, slow-paced but powerful combat, and technical precision. This class is ideal for players who enjoy a more methodical, Souls-like experience where patience and timing are key to success. Though Warrior can be tough to get the hang of in the early stages, once you understand the right build and approach, it becomes a rewarding and effective class to level.

Here's a comprehensive Warrior leveling guide for a smooth progression up to the max level, using a setup that enhances the Warrior's core strengths: stunning enemies, breaking their armor, clearing mobs, and melting bosses.

Warrior Leveling Skills in PoE 2

The Warrior's abilities are centered around crushing enemies with raw physical power while taking advantage of the enemy's weaknesses. Here's a simple, effective combination of skills for leveling:

Active Skills

Rolling Slam + Boneshatter Combo

Rolling Slam: This skill allows you to perform a powerful charge attack, slamming your weapon into the ground to hit enemies in a wide area.

Boneshatter: After hitting with Rolling Slam, immediately cancel into Boneshatter if you've primed at least one enemy for a stun. Boneshatter releases a shockwave that stuns enemies and can kill mobs outright. Combining Rolling Slam and Boneshatter clears packs of enemies fast, especially when paired with the Herald of Ash skill, which ignites enemies upon killing them, causing extra fire damage over time.

Perfect Strike

Perfect Strike: This skill allows you to focus all your power on a single, devastating strike. Hold the skill button until you see your weapon flash and then release it. Perfect Strike guarantees an Ignite effect on any enemy hit, making it incredibly effective for bosses and tougher enemies.

Leap Slam: Use this skill to quickly close the gap between you and enemies, building up the stagger bar to weaken bosses and strong enemies.

Armor Breaker: This skill is useful for reducing the enemy's physical defense, setting you up for higher damage from both your own attacks and the Ignite damage from Perfect Strike.

Passive Skill Setup

Your passive skill tree should focus on increasing your damage output while enhancing your ability to stun and break armor. Here are key areas to focus on:

Stun Build: Specialize in passives that increase your damage against stunned enemies, allowing you to capitalize on the fact that you'll be stunning enemies regularly with your abilities.

Armor Break: Invest in passives that lower the enemy's armor and physical defenses, making them more vulnerable to your attacks.

Mace-Specific Passives: Focus on passives that boost your damage when using two-handed maces. Some passives to look for include Increased Damage Against Heavy Stunned Enemies and Chance to Aftershock.

If you're struggling to stay alive, consider taking Polished Iron for increased armor or Made to Last, which grants 15% of prevented Physical Damage as Life. These can greatly improve your survivability in the later stages of the game.

Resolute Technique: If your Accuracy Rating is too low, take this passive to ensure your attacks will never miss, though this comes at the cost of losing critical hits. This can be particularly helpful if you are dual-wielding or using a shield and struggle with consistency.

Warrior Leveling Build: Strengths and Playstyle

The Warrior's leveling build should feel a lot like a slow but powerful melee class, with an emphasis on timing and patience. Here's a breakdown of the playstyle:

Melee Powerhouse: The Warrior hits hard, but you need to choose your moments wisely. Use Rolling Slam to build momentum and hit multiple enemies at once. After a few hits, transition into Boneshatter to stun and clear large groups of enemies.

Boss Melter: For tougher enemies or bosses, Perfect Strike and Armor Breaker should melt their health bars. Use Leap Slam to close the distance, stagger the boss, and then go all in with your perfect strikes.

Recommended Items for Warrior Leveling

For the most effective leveling experience, focus on gear that enhances your physical damage and survivability. Here are the key stats and modifiers to look for:

Increased Physical Damage: This will scale your damage and increase the effectiveness of your attacks.

Bonus Strength: Strength is your primary stat for boosting your damage and health, so prioritize items that increase Strength.

Bonus Armor: This will provide essential defensive stats to help you survive the heavier hits you'll face in the endgame.

Accuracy Rating/Dexterity: Boosting your Accuracy will ensure your attacks land consistently, especially important if you're struggling with hitting enemies.

Maximum Life: Increasing your health is crucial for surviving the tougher bosses and mobs.

Elemental Resistances: Resisting fire, cold, and lightning damage will keep you alive during dangerous encounters with elemental-infused enemies.

For the best damage output, two-handed weapons (particularly maces) are your go-to. Dual-wielding maces or using a shield can work, but your single attacks won't hit as hard compared to the raw power of a two-handed weapon.

Farming Gear in PoE 2

To get the best gear for your Warrior, you can farm in PoE 2 by resetting instances and targeting bosses. This allows you to farm specific items or sets that complement your build. You can also run maps and questlines to gather rare gear, but resetting instances will be a more direct method of obtaining the right upgrades.

Conclusion

The Warrior in Path of Exile 2 can be a bit of a slow burn, but with the right setup and skills, it becomes a satisfying class to level. Focus on stunning and controlling mobs with Rolling Slam and Boneshatter, and use Perfect Strike and Leap Slam to handle bosses and tougher enemies. Prioritize items that boost your physical damage, Strength, and resistance, and consider two-handed maces for the most powerful attacks. With patience and good planning, the Warrior can dominate in both single-target and large-group fights.If you've got some PoE 2 currency and PoE 2 items, you're in a good position to enhance your build and level up faster.

MMOexp POE 2 Team