Dear exiles, today I will share a detailed Path of Exile 2: Dawn of the Hunt leveling guide that covers fast progression strategies and a breakdown of all available classes. This guide is tailored to help you hit the ground running, whether you're racing to maps or optimizing your second build.
Leveling Fast in Dawn of the Hunt
Core Strategies for Speed Leveling
1. Rush the Campaign: Completing the campaign efficiently gets you to level 45–50. Use movement skills and skip optional content unless it offers major XP or gear.
2. Follow Delwyn's Wisps: These lead to rare monsters that drop high-value loot and XP. Prioritize them when they appear.
3. Upgrade Gear Constantly: Focus on movement speed boots, high DPS weapons, and resistances. Vendor gear upgrades are often better than drops early on.
4. Use Efficient Skills: Choose skills with high clear speed and low mana cost. Prioritize AoE and instant-cast abilities.
5. Optimize Flasks: Movement and life flasks are essential. Upgrade them regularly and roll useful mods like "of Adrenaline" for speed.
6. Disenchant & Salvage: Break down old gear for crafting currency like Regal Shards and Artificer's Orbs to improve your current setup.
Class-by-Class Leveling Overview
Path of Exile 2 features 12 base classes, with 7 available in the Dawn of the Hunt league, each offering unique mechanics and Ascendancies. Here's how to level each one efficiently:
Warrior (Strength)
Playstyle: Tanky melee with two-handed maces and slam skills.
Best Leveling Skills: Earthshatter, Ground Slam, Warcry combos.
Ascendancies: Warbringer (Warcry synergy), Titan (slam and stun focus).
Tips: Use AoE slams to clear packs. Stack armor and life early. Warcries boost damage and survivability.
Sorceress (Intelligence)
Playstyle: Elemental spellcaster with fire, cold, and lightning spells.
Best Leveling Skills: Fireball, Arc, Frost Nova.
Ascendancies: Stormweaver (lightning focus), Chronomancer (cooldown and cast speed).
Tips: Prioritize cast speed and mana regen. Use cold spells for crowd control and lightning for burst.
Ranger (Dexterity)
Playstyle: Long-range archer with high mobility and crowd control.
Best Leveling Skills: Split Arrow, Rain of Arrows, Frost Shot.
Ascendancies: Deadeye (projectile scaling), Pathfinder (flask synergy).
Tips: Stack movement speed and evasion. Use Frost Shot to slow enemies and kite effectively.
Witch (Intelligence)
Playstyle: Necromancer-style summoner or dark caster.
Best Leveling Skills: Raise Skeletons, Bone Nova, Curse setups.
Ascendancies: Infernalist (fire DoT), Blood Mage (life-based casting), Lich (chaos and minion synergy).
Tips: Let minions tank while you curse and cast from range. Focus on minion life and damage nodes.
Monk (Dexterity/Intelligence)
Playstyle: Agile melee fighter with combo-based attacks.
Best Leveling Skills: Flurry Strike, Dash Kick, Momentum-based finishers.
Ascendancies: Invoker (combo scaling), Acolyte of Chayula (chaos and evasion).
Tips: Keep up momentum stacks. Use mobility to weave in and out of combat. Prioritize attack speed and evasion.
Mercenary (Strength/Dexterity)
Playstyle: Crossbow user with ammo-switching mechanics.
Best Leveling Skills: Elemental Shot, Explosive Bolt, Chain Shot.
Ascendancies: Witchhunter (DoT and debuffs), Gemling Legionnaire (skill gem synergy), Tactician (tactical ammo use).
Tips: Use elemental ammo types to adapt to enemy resistances. Keep distance and kite with high burst damage.
Huntress Class (Dexterity)
Playstyle: Agile hybrid combatant with high mobility, AoE burst, and elemental versatility
Spear Versatility: You can throw spears from range or stab in close quarters. Many skills scale with movement or combo chains.
Mobility Focus: Skills like Disengage and Whirling Slash let you reposition constantly.
Charm Effects: Some passives and skills apply debuffs or "charms" to enemies, enhancing damage or utility.
Ascendancy Options: Amazon (Elemental damage, crit scaling, and potion synergy), Ritualist (Dark rituals, corpse manipulation, and corrupted power)
Tips: Start with Twister or Fangs of Frost for early AoE and control. Prioritize movement speed and evasion on gear. Craft elemental damage on spears using early orbs. Use Disengage to kite and reposition constantly. Amazon is the smoother leveling path, while Ritualist shines later with gear and setup.
General Leveling Tips
1. Use Movement Skills: Dash, Leap Slam, or Blink Arrow drastically reduce downtime.
2. Prioritize Resistances: Especially before boss fights and new acts.
3. Craft Early, Craft Often: Use Orbs of Transmutation and Augmentation to roll better gear.
4. Join Trade Early: Buy leveling uniques like Goldrim, Wanderlust, or Lifesprig if available.
5. Plan Your Passive Tree: Don't overextend—focus on life, damage, and movement early.
Endgame Transition
Once you hit level 60 and finish the campaign:
1. Switch to your final build if you were using a leveling setup.
2. Farm early maps with high mob density, like Strand or Dunes.
3. Use Harbinger Scarabs and Wisps to boost currency drops and XP.
4. Optimize your Atlas Tree for your preferred farming method.
