All new Ascendancies in Path of Exile 2 Dawn of the Hunt (0.2.0)

Dawn of the Hunt, Path of Exile 2's upcoming update, not only adds a new class but also several new Ascendancies. The new Huntress gets two powerful Ascendancy options, and other classes see some love, too. That said, not everyone gets something new. You will still have to roll a new character if your class receives a new Ascendancy and you’ve already picked yours. While unfortunate, rolling a new character anyway might be for the best.

Considering the many updates and changes to Path of Exile 2 in Dawn of the Hunt, playing a class — new or old — and trying a new Ascendancy will be a valuable, enjoyable experience. Whether you want to rain down violence via arrow storm or become a powerful undead, here’s what you can look forward to with these new Ascendancies.

What are the new Ascendancies for Path of Exile 2’s Dawn of the Hunt update?

Ritualist (Huntress)
Amazon (Huntress)
Smith of Kitava (Warrior)
Tactician (Mercenary)
Lich (Witch)

The Huntress, Warrior, Mercenary, and Witch classes all receive new Ascendancies in Path of Exile 2 Dawn of the Hunt. Other classes will get them in future major updates. That will be more than enough to satisfy most gamers — besides the 100+ new Support Gems and tons of new balance/endgame updates.

Here’s what each of the new Ascendancies can do in this latest update.

Ritualist (Huntress)

The Ritualist makes the most out of their enemies' deaths (Image via Grinding Gear Games)

The first of two Ascendancies, the Ritualist in the Path of Exile 2 Dawn of the Hunt update, is interesting. They harness the more sinister side of Azmeri traditions by tapping into the power of animal sacrifice.

They can also gain greater power from their trinkets (rings/amulets) than others using a simple skill. What makes the class fun is As the Whispers Ask, which lets you sacrifice slain enemies to steal one of their Attributes for a short period.

Corrupted Lifeforce: Grants “Blood Boil” skill. Slain enemies with Blood Boils will explode, spreading corrupted blood to all enemies.
Unfurled Finger: +1 Ring Slot
Mystic Attunement: 25% increased bonuses gained from Equipped Rings and Amulets
As the Whispers Ask: Grants the skill “Ritual Sacrifice.”
As the Whispers Demand: Ritual sacrifice can be used on yourself to remove 20% of maximum Life to grant a random Monster Modifier. A maximum of one Modifier can be used this way. Ritual Sacrifice has an 8-second cooldown if used on yourself.

All Rituralist Ascendancy nodes

Amazon (Huntress)

Want to crit more and get more powerful elemental blasts? Try Amazon! (Image via Grinding Gear Games)

Perhaps the most skilled hunters of the Azmeri, Path of Exile 2’s Amazon, are the other Huntress Ascendancies added in the Dawn of the Hunt update. They excel at finding and exploiting weaknesses in the deadliest foes to bring them down swiftly.

They’re also masters of elemental damage, using any charge you can stock to cause explosions of elemental force. If you’re a fan of big explosions that deal a lot of damage and inflict critical strikes, this is the Ascendancy for you in Path of Exile 2.

Predatory Instinct: Reveal Weaknesses against Rare and Unique enemies. 50% more damage against enemies with an Open Weakness. You can see the weak spots represented on their life bars.
Elemental Infusion: Grants the skill “Elemental Infusion.” When you Consume a Power Charge Trigger, gain 2 Cold Infusion. When you Consume an Endurance Charge Trigger, gain 2 Fire Infusion. When you Consume a Frenzy Charge Trigger, gain 2 Lightning Infusion.
Critical Strike: 25% of the excess chance to hit with Attacks is converted to additional Critical Hit Chance.
Mystic Harvest: Life Leech recovers based on your Elemental damage as well as Physical damage.

All Amazon Ascendancy nodes

Smith of Kitava (Warrior)

If you agree to just use basic body armor, you can turn it into something special with time (Image via Grinding Gear Games)

Smith of Kitava is one of the more interesting Ascendancies in Path of Exile 2’s Dawn of the Hunt update. They’re true masters of the smithing arts, taught by their "father." These Ascendancy users take power from Kitava the Insatiable and funnel it into their weapons and armor.

If getting powerful armor frustrates you, this character can take their primary armor slot (chest) and grant it specific buffs through Ascendancy points — provided they’re equipped with a Normal (white) piece of gear. Between this, Living Weapon, and plenty of incredible fire damage, this could be one of Path of Exile 2’s most interesting Ascendancies.

Against the Anvil: Grants skill “Temper Weapon.” Makes your attacks explode on impact for devastating AOE blasts.
Living Weapon: Grants skill “Manifest Weapon.” Makes an animated copy of your weapon to fight alongside you.
Smith’s Masterwork: A free-to-allocate skill that can only use a Normal Body Armour. You instead select notable skills below this one to add a variety of buffs to your armor. Can grant a 50% reduced Critical Damage Bonus on hits against you, 100% increased Stun Threshold, and more.

All Smith of Kitava Ascendancy nodes

Tactician (Mercenary)

You can unleash devastation on your enemies as the Tactician (Image via Grinding Gear Games)

A former Blackguard Elite, the Mercenary Tactician takes their skills on the road to make a profit and decimate any enemies that stand before them. Out of all the other Ascendancies revealed, this one might have the largest range in terms of sheer AoE size in Path of Exile 2’s Dawn of the Hunt update.

This comes from Unleash Hell!, which rakes an entire area with arrow attacks. The Mercenary Tactician can easily pin down large groups of foes and then prevent them from acting on top of that. They function well in groups, especially due to the Whoever Pays Best and Watch How I Do It skills.

Suppressing Fire: Projectile Damage builds Pin.
Right Where We Want Them: Pinned enemies cannot perform actions.
Whoever Pays Best: Can place multiple Banners.
Watch How I Do It: Allies in your Presence gain added Attack Damage equal to 25% of your main hand Weapon’s Damage.
Unleash Hell!: Grants skill “Supporting Fire.” Carpet an entire area with deadly arrows.

All Tactician Ascendancy nodes

Lich (Witch)

Sometimes, great power comes at a high cost (Image via Grinding Gear Games)

Witch players can finally join the ranks of the undead in Path of Exile 2’s Dawn of the Hunt update, thanks to the Lich Ascendancy. If you don’t have enough Energy Shield, this class can sacrifice some health to increase it.

The Lich Witch feels like an Ascension class with high risk and high reward. Some of their abilities have a downside, such as Necromantic Conduit’s self-mana drain and Crystalline Phylactery, making you spend more mana if you have no Energy Shield.

The Lich class can devastate groups of enemies without much effort, thanks to Rupture the Soul. No one is safe from this cursed-based class, not even Hexproof enemies. This might be my personal favorite Ascendancy in Path of Exile 2.

Crystalline Phylactery: Can Socket one non-Unique Basic Jewel. 100% increased Effect of Socketed Jewels. 50% more Mana Cost if you have no Energy Shield.
Necromantic Conduit: You and Allies in your Presence have Unholy Might (grants extra damage as Chaos damage) while you are not on Low Mana. Lose 5% of Mana per Second.
Rupture the Soul: Cursed Enemies Killed by you or Allies in your Presence have a 33% chance to Explode, dealing a quarter of their maximum Life as Chaos Damage.
Dominion Over Flesh: You can apply an additional Curse. Your Curses can affect Hexproof Enemies.

All Lich Ascendancy nodes

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Edited by Dinesh Renthlei