PoE 2 0.3 Best Ascendancy Class Tier List (Rise Of The Abyssals)

Path of Exile 2 Patch 0.3.0 is a massive update adding many new mechanics and powerful synergies, especially around gem quality stacking, ascendancy buffs, endgame maps, and unique item skill levels. Take these changes into account, let's take a look at the best class to play in the PoE 2 0.3.0 and Rise Of The Abyssal league. 

Best PoE 2 0.3 Ascendancy Class Tier List (Rise Of The Abyssal)

To rank the ascendancy classes from best to worst after the Path of Exile 2 patch 0.3 (The Third Edict), there are lots of things to consider. For example, how strong and helpful their buffs are—whether the changes make them more powerful or easier to play. Next are the nerfs they received and how much those might hurt their performance. In addition, can this class work well in many different builds and how popular are they? Combining all these points helped create a balanced and fair PoE 2 0.3.0 class tier list.

1. Deadeye (Ranger)

Deadeye is truly shining in Path of Exile 2 Version 0.3, especially for bow users. The big change is the Eagle Eyes Notable, which no longer removes the distance penalty but now grants a flat 10% base critical strike chance. This is huge because it’s like stacking 20 critical weakness debuffs on enemies, making it much easier to hit 100% crit on bosses. The new Called Shots skill chains your projectiles to marked enemies and applies marks repeatedly, which keeps your damage high and consistent. Plus, you get a better chance to gain extra Frenzy Charges, which boost your attack speed and damage. 

2. Tactician (Mercenary)

Tactician got a lot of love in this new PoE 2 league, especially for players who like using totems and banners. One big buff is that you can now place unlimited banners, and those banners generate glory, which makes your character stronger over time. Your totems also get special buffs depending on which type you use, like increased damage or better crowd control. The new Strategic Embankments Notable Passive makes your totems grant powerful auras to allies, helping your whole team. On defense, you get deflection based on your armor, which reduces incoming damage, making you tougher. The only small nerfs are some changes to stun threshold and immobilization, but they don’t hurt your overall survivability or damage.

3. Warbringer (Warrior)

Warbringer is still a strong choice for players who enjoy summoning minions and using warcries. You can get an additional +1 to your maximum number of summoned totems, which means more minions fighting for you. The minions granted by your Ancestral Spirits now attack faster instead of just being more accurate, improving your damage output. There are also improvements to your ancestral summons, like bigger area effects and faster attack speeds. You can ignore warcry cooldowns, so you can use your buffs more often. Some defensive changes, like different block chance mechanics and damage reduction from blocked hits, make you tankier. 

4. Pathfinder (Ranger)

Pathfinder is all about flasks and elemental damage, and this update makes it even better. One of the best buffs is that 50% of your evasion rating now also gives elemental damage reduction, helping you survive elemental attacks better. Many of the flask-related skills have changed, introducing new mechanics like mini flask projectiles and different types of damage bursts, which add variety and power to your attacks. Some old effects like Poisonous Concoction have been renamed and reworked, but they still give you strong burst damage and utility. Pathfinder is more versatile and fun now, especially if you like fast movement, flasks, and elemental damage.

5. Chronomancer (Sorceress)

Chronomancer is a great choice for players who love casting spells and applying curses. The 0.3.0 patch introduced a new skill called Inevitable Agony, which curses enemies and stores damage to hit them again after a delay, adding a clever way to deal extra damage. Your cast speed and area of effect now scale up and down over time, which means you can time your spells to hit hard and wide when it matters most. Chronomancer is worth playing in the PoE 2 Rise Of The Abyssal league, especially for those who enjoy managing buffs and debuffs while blasting enemies with magic.

6. Invoker (Monk)

Invoker is a solid elemental caster that benefits from direct damage buffs and cooldown improvements in this patch. The Elemental Expression skill now deals more fire, cold, and lightning damage, making your attacks hit harder. The Meditate skill has a shorter cooldown and better energy shield recharge, which helps you stay alive longer in tough fights. These changes make Invoker a good choice if you want a caster with reliable damage and survivability without complicated mechanics.

7. Ritualist (Huntress)

Ritualist focuses on life recovery and summoning allies, and this patch improves its healing capabilities. The Wildwood Persistence notable now grants a larger bonus to life recovery rate based on how much life you’re missing, which means you heal faster when you’re hurt. Also, the Ritual Sacrifice skill is now granted by a notable passive, which can be a powerful tool to boost your minions or yourself. These changes help Ritualist players stay in the fight longer and support their summons more effectively, making it a solid, dependable choice.

8. Infernalist (Witch)

Infernalist is all about fire and igniting enemies, and PoE 2 The Third Edict patch enhances its fiery power. Your Loyal Hellhound now ignites enemies in a larger area, increasing your damage over time. The Pyromantic Pact grants more Infernal Flame, though it decays faster, so you have to keep attacking to maintain it. Demon Form has been changed: it no longer disables your weapons or boosts spell skill levels but instead gives steady spell damage and cast speed bonuses while active. These changes make Infernalist a bit more balanced but still strong for players who love burning their foes.

9. Smith of Kitava (Warrior)

Smith of Kitava mixes armor, minions, and life regeneration. This patch gave you more elemental damage reduction from your armor, which is a nice defensive buff. Your minions got a buff to attack speed, replacing accuracy bonuses. However, life regeneration from body armor was reduced, and fire resistance nodes got nerfed, so your survivability might need some investment. Some passive skills were changed to provide less powerful bonuses, so Smith players will need to adapt, but can still build solid tanky or minion-focused characters.

10. Blood Mage (Witch)

Blood Mage has interesting new mechanics, like a free notable passive that helps you spawn life remnants on every hit, not just on critical strikes. This makes your life recovery more consistent. You also get better critical damage scaling based on your life. However, some nerfs hurt your flask recovery and curse abilities, making you less sustainable in long fights. The changes encourage a mix of aggressive play and resource management, but it might take some learning to master these new features.

11. Gemling Legionnaire (Mercenary)

Gemling Legionnaire’s changes focus on generating power, frenzy, or endurance charges depending on your socketed gems, which can greatly enhance your combat abilities. You also get new benefits depending on your gem colors, like reduced skill costs or movement penalties. However, the loss of extra support gem usage and less attribute cost reduction means you might have to be more careful with your gem setup. This ascendancy rewards creative gem builds and careful planning.

12. Stormweaver (Sorceress)

Stormweaver is a totem-focused caster that got shorter cooldowns on its main skill, Elemental Storm, letting you use it more often. Totem limits were increased, allowing more totems on the field. The mechanics around elemental infusions and mana damage mitigation were reworked, giving you new ways to manage damage and buffs. However, some exposure effects were removed, which reduces your ability to lower enemy resistances. 

13. Amazon (Huntress)

Amazon’s changes are a mixed bag. The Elemental Surge Notable now grants more surges when consuming charges, which can boost your damage bursts. But the Critical Strike Notable passive skill lost a big chunk of its bonus, going from 25% to 15% additional crit chance, which cuts into your core damage potential. This means Amazon will have to find new ways to boost crit or rely on other skills. It’s still a solid choice, but not as powerful as before.

14. Acolyte of Chayula (Monk)

This ascendancy went through many renames and reworks, changing how its skills and passives work. Some passives now grant leech based on chaos damage, others change your curse behavior, and some grant new skills like Void Illusion. These changes make the class more complex and situational, requiring players to learn new mechanics and play styles. While there are buffs in some areas, the overall flow feels less straightforward, so it might be harder to use efficiently.

15. Lich (Witch)

Lich got some powerful buffs, like your curses now having infinite duration and spells dealing more damage when sacrificing energy shield. However, this comes at a cost: you have to sacrifice a portion of your energy shield each time you cast, which can be risky. Some useful defensive benefits were removed, making the class more fragile if you don’t manage your resources well. Lich offers strong damage potential but demands careful play to avoid dying.