Path of Exile 2 Huntress Overview: Skills, Ascendancies and others

We’ve been waiting, and the long-promised new character is finally here. The Huntress — a brand-new class in Path of Exile 2 — joins the ranks of the existing ones. With the latest patch, we also got new skill gems and artifacts, opening up far more build variety, not only for the Huntress but for other characters as well.

The Huntress is a unique class with a special hybrid mechanic that blends both melee and ranged combat. This versatility brings a new gameplay style and a breath of fresh air with exciting new mechanics. Since the character has just been released, there isn’t much known yet. In this blog, I’ll share what we’ve learned so far and how the class is shaping up.

PoE 2 Huntress Class Overview

The Huntress is a Dexterity-based class, and her passive skill path starts in the same corner as the Ranger. Nearby nodes include bonuses to evasion, cold damage, critical strike chance, spell suppression, attack speed, and more. All of this strongly suggests that the Huntress is clearly designed as a damage dealer.

Naturally, the Huntress’s weapon of choice is the spear. Spears didn’t exist in the game before, so this introduces an entirely new and exciting mechanic that many are eager to try out. Just like in real life, spears can be used both for melee and ranged combat.

At first glance, the Huntress doesn’t seem to have high survivability, which makes close-quarters combat a risky endeavor. However, since this mechanic was introduced, it likely means there’s potential to make it work with the right approach.

Huntress Skill Gems

My favorite part is definitely the skills. Let’s dive in and see what the developers have in store for us. As promised, we’re getting a total of 20 new skills — but of course, you’re not limited to just those. There’s plenty of room for experimentation and creativity with different combinations.

• Disengage
• Whirling Slash
• Twister
• Explosive Spear
• Spearfield
• Lightning Spear
• Fangs of Frost
• Rake
• Barrage
• Rapid Assault
• Storm Lance
• Sniper's Mark
• Blood Hunt
• Glacial Lance
• Primal Strikes
• Thunderous Leap
• Bloodhound's Mark
• Tame Beast
• Whirlwind Lance
• Elemental Sundering

Here are a couple of skill descriptions as an example:

Whirling Slash – Swings your weapon in a circle, creating a whirlwind. The longer you channel it, the larger the whirlwind becomes. When you exit the whirlwind, it explodes, dealing damage.

Spearfield – Calls down a rain of spears in a targeted area, slowing enemies caught in the zone.

Ascendancies

So far, the Huntress has two known Ascendancies — Amazon and Ritualist.

Amazon – This subclass focuses on critical strike damage and uses elemental-infused spear throws along with powerful projectile explosions. It's a great fit for players who enjoy fast-paced, high-burst ranged combat. With strong synergy with flask effects, this playstyle enables aggressive builds that combine speed and devastating damage output.

Amazon Ascendancy Paths:

• Elemental Infusion: converts charges into elemental projectile explosions.
• Predatory Instinct: reveals enemy weak points, increasing damage against bosses.
• Mystic Harvest: leech Life and Mana from elemental attacks.
• Critical Scaling: converts excess Accuracy into Critical Strike Chance.

Ritualist – A dark caster-style Huntress who draws power from blood magic, sacrifice, and corrupted energy. Specializes in bleed, decay, and corpse-based synergy. This subclass offers a grim and sinister playstyle focused on damage over time and turning the corpses of enemies into tools of destruction.

Ritualist Ascendancy Paths:

• Corrupted Lifeforce: enemies explode into blood boils on death.
• As the Whispers Ask: absorb modifiers from Rare monsters.
• Mystic Attunement: boosts ring and amulet scaling.
• Unfurled Finger: grants an additional ring slot.

Both Ascendancies look incredibly interesting and unique. I’m tempted to try them both, but I’m especially intrigued by the Ritualist, so I’ll definitely be testing that one first.

Pros and Cons of the Huntress Class in Path of Exile 2

Like any class in the game, the Huntress comes with her own strengths and weaknesses. Let’s break them down to help you decide if she’s the right long-term choice for you — or if you might want to explore another class that better fits your playstyle.

For a more detailed comparison, check out the article Path of Exile 2 Classes: How To Choose Class for Beginning, where I cover the pros, cons, and playstyle of each class.

Here are all the pros and cons of the class I’ve found so far. So if this kind of gameplay appeals to you, then the Huntress is definitely your class!

New Class: Huntress

The Huntress is a new class with a “dash-in, strike, and retreat” style of gameplay. She combines both melee and ranged abilities, adapting to the situation and benefiting from the strengths of both combat types. This new mechanic introduces fresh gameplay possibilities and emphasizes the strategic use of movement skills in combat.

Very soon, I’ll be sharing a full Huntress build, which will be added to the PoE 2 Builds List: Leveling and Endgame Build collection.

I’ll be able to share more details about the class — and even showcase a build for the Huntress — a bit later. That’s all for now, stay tuned for more blog posts and upcoming guides!