The Path of Exile 2 0.5 update brings significant changes to the endgame gameplay loop. Players will now have clear goals to work towards and challenges to complete. However, if you’re planning to try out the game for the first time during the PoE2 free weekend, then you want to pick an easy yet strong build to help you get through the campaign.
Alongside the endgame overhaul, the new update also made some balance changes to strike out the metas from past Leagues. This guide suggests four easy builds that you can play during the Path of Exile 2 free weekend to beat the campaign quickly and get as much time to enjoy the new endgame.
Note: This is not a build guide.
Best builds for Path of Exile 2 free weekend
1) Plant Druid
Plant skills were added in Path of Exile 2 alongside the 0.4 update, Last of the Druids, and quickly became popular due to a smooth leveling process. The primary skills in the build are Entangle and Thrashing Vines, which can lock down an area when used with the Bushwhack unique boots. Here’s the build overview:
- Entangle: Accelerated Growth – Branching Fissures – Physical Mastery – Considered Casting – Armour Break
- Thrashing Vines: Rageforged – Prolonged Duration – Heft – Concentrated Area – Armour Break
- Thunderstorm: Magnified Area – Efficiency – Prolonged Duration
- Sigil of Power: Prolonged Duration – Magnified Area
Use Entangle to build up Pin on enemies, and use Thrashing Vines to grow vines that deal a large amount of damage in the area. Then cast Thunderstorm to apply the Drenched Debuff and Overgrow Plant skills to
Overgrow and explode. You can later slot in Thunderstorm within Cast on Critical to trigger it automatically. As for the Sigil, it’s only available through a Chiming Staff, so feel free to use something else if you’re using a Wand instead.
2) Grenadier Mercenary
Spells are fun, but nothing beats blowing up enemies with an explosion, and the best way to do so is through a Grenadier Mercenary build in Path of Exile 2. While you can use any grenade skills, some work well with each other and improve damage with secondary effects. While the build is a little mechanical, you don’t need to watch out for every little thing; just a few timed grenades will do the trick.
- Gas Grenade: Cooldown Recovery – Magnified Area – Bursting Plague – Multishot
- Oil Grenade: Multishot – Prolonged Duration – Magnified Area – Cooldown Recovery
- Explosive Grenade: Multishot – Deliberation – Cooldown Recovery – Fire Attunement
Shoot Gas and Oil grenades first to create a poison cloud, slow down enemies, and lower their elemental resistance. Then fire an Explosive Grenade to trigger a massive explosion that also burns the Gas and Oil, dealing additional damage. The Tactician is a good Ascendancy to pick in the build, but the Gemling Legionnaire is receiving some buffs that are worth exploring.
Also Read: Every bonus Passive Skill Point source in the Path of Exile 2 campaign.
3) Djinn Sorceress
The Disciple of Varashta Ascendancy for the Sorceress was also introduced in Path of Exile 2 alongside the Druid, and lets you command up to three Djinns. For the campaign, I recommend going with the fire Djinn, Ruzhan. When you use a damage skill, he will appear to deal damage in an AoE. However, that’s not your only offensive option:
- Ruzhan’s Trap: Bidding
- Ruzhan’s Reckoning: Bidding – Hourglass
- Ruzhan’s Fury: Bidding
Ruzhan’s Trap drops sigils on the ground that burst into flame tornadoes, while Reckoning deals AoE damage. Fury fires burning projectiles at enemies, but has a little cast animation. You can improve these skills by picking up minion command nodes in the Passive Tree. Some skills have a cooldown, which you can lower, but you may want to have one damaging skill alongside to keep triggering the Blazing Sword. That said, you can always respec and try out different Djinns.
4) Spark Arc Sorceress
Don’t like minions? Then the good’ol Spark Arc combo might be the thing you’re looking for. Spark has been one of the best leveling skills for spellcasters. The attack is multidirectional, so you don’t need to worry about aiming, and the spell can use elemental infusions to deal more damage. Here’s a quick overview of the skill you need in the build:
- Spark: Rapid Casting – Projectile Acceleration – Prolonged Duration – Rising Tempest
- Frost Bomb: Rapid Casting – Cooldown Recovery – Short Fuse – Harmonic Remnants
- Flame Wall: Prolonged Duration – Rapid Casting – Magnified Area – Fortress
- Cast on Critical: Arc – Boundless Energy – Energy Retention – Spell Cascade
The goal is to use the Frost Bomb and Flame Wall before using Spark. Frost Bomb creates an infusion that imbues cold damage to Spark, while the projectiles from the skill passing through Flame Wall will gain fire damage. You can use Arc by self-casting, but once you get Cast on Critical, slot the skill inside, and it will fire automatically after you deal enough critical hits.
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Edited by Mayank Singh Rathour