Often referred to as a spiritual successor of the critically-acclaimed Diablo series, Path of Exile has proven to gamers everywhere that it merits its own place in the Action-RPG genre. Path of Exile features complex procedurally generated maps that provide players with near-limitless replayability. And with the latest expansion, Lake of Kalandra, players can now enjoy more end-game content, plus a brutal Archnemesis League.

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But, players who want to enjoy the game to the fullest will want to know what mistakes to avoid during their playthrough. And one such error is not following a build guide, especially during solo League runs. Fortunately, Path of Exile has plenty of powerful solo classes that'll make any League a no-brainer.

Updated September 16, 2022 by Daniel Dilena: It's no surprise that Action-RPGs continue to gain popularity in an industry filled (and often saturated) with FPS and BR-style titles. And that's because FPS and BR games are often chaotic and stressful for most players since they're pushed to play specific "meta builds" if they want to come out on top. In sharp contrast, ARPGs like Tribes of Midgard give players plenty of options when choosing a weapon.

At the same time, Path of Exile continues to expand on its vast universe by adding new content like capturing beasts that can aid players in more challenging game areas. And with the release of more content, players require more builds to tackle end-game bosses and instances, especially solo players. That's why we've included more builds for this Path Of Exile best class list so players can adapt to current and future end-game content.

Ice Shot Mage

Ice Shot Mage Path of Exile

Pros:

  • Great Clear Speed
  • Cheap Beginner Build

Cons:

  • Weak Against Any Elemental Resistant Enemy
  • Expensive End-game Gear

Players that enjoy clearing hordes of enemies with a click of a button will enjoy using POE class since it's built around skills that can clear enemies in single bursts. Moreover, since players will primarily focus on Ice-type attacks (Ice Shot and Frost Bomb), they'll be able to inflict the Slow status effect on enemies. Players should also use the Lunaris for Major Pantheon (boost movement speed and increase dodge chance by 5%) and Garukhan for Minor Pantheon (more movement speed and 5% evasion increase).

As for Bosses, players should use Barrage since it's the best Boss-melter skill in the game. The biggest issue with this build is that players will find it challenging to min-max their stats toward the end game, mainly because the build relies on multiple stats (Elemental Damage, Critical Chance/Damage, and Mana). Nonetheless, the Ice Shot Mage is worthy of being counted among some of the best Path of Exile class builds.

Storm Brand Templar

Storm Inquisitor Path of Exile

Pros:

  • League Starter Friendly
  • Easy to Gear

Cons:

  • Must Avoid Elemental Reflect
  • Weak Without the Proper Gems

Most solo builds focus on having strong attacks rather than a strong defense, but in the case of the Strom Inquisitor, players will be able to dish out decent damage while having a strong defense. And since the Brand class excels at resisting most damage-type, players can focus on maxing out their Life, Mana, and Crit stats. But, of course, it never hurts to obtain gear that offers an extra layer of resistance, especially once a player has enough Sulphite on them.

Most importantly, players will not need to worry about learning an excessive number of keybinds to make this solo build work, unlike other builds that may require players to perform specific actions that involve dozens of keybinds. The only downside of this solo build is that it won't do too well on maps with the Elemental Reflect Modification since they can potentially one-shot the character.

Impale Slayer

Impale Slayer Path of Exile

Pros:

  • Viable for End Game
  • High Damage

Cons:

  • Melee-focused
  • Low HP and Defense

The Cyclone skill is among the best mob clearing abilities in Path of Exile since players can activate it and move with it, creating a mobile damaging aura. And since players will build this class with the Impale debuff, they'll be able to damage enemies a second time for 10% of their overall damage. But, for this build to work, players will need to use the Major Pantheon of Soul of Lunaris since it makes players immune to being one-shot by enemies.

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But, of course, the biggest challenge with this solo class build is that while Cyclone is on cooldown, players will need to resort to melee attacks. And as any hardcore Path of Exile knows, any melee class build is squishy, meaning players must learn how to dodge and manage their consumables.

Poison Blade Assassin

Poison Blade Vortex Assassin Path of Exile

Pros:

  • Strong Single Target Damage
  • High Regeneration

Cons:

  • No Crowd Control
  • Relies on Poison

The main focus of this solo class build is stacking as many Poison debuffs as possible on enemy units. And since there's no limit on the number of Poison stacks an enemy can have, then players can expect to dish out an absurd amount of damage in a short time. That's why this is one of the best Path of Exile class builds for melting bosses since the single-target damage potential is unmatched.

On top of that, players can invest in their Dodge and Evasion, making them harder to hit while still keeping their damage up. But, of course, all the single-target damage comes at the cost of not being able to clear large groups of mobs as quickly as other solo classes. So, players will need to learn how to lure mobs away from groups to avoid being overwhelmed.

Mage Skeleton Necromancer

Image of a Mage Skeleton Necromancer from Path of Exile.

Pros:

  • Great first league build
  • Solo-Bosser

Cons:

  • Takes time to master
  • Heavily relies on Cluster Jewel

The Mage Skeleton Necromancer is heavily based on summoning an undead skeleton army, which means players will need to have plenty of Mana Flasks to summon enough Skeletons. Moreover, any skill that summons minions has a high casting time, so players will need to prepare before jumping into a battle, especially against bosses.

Players will rely solely on minion damage, which scales as the character levels up and becomes stronger. Apart from putting points into Mana, players will also need to put into Life and Recovery of Life. Finally, players will need to get their hands on Corrupted Gear so they can easily defeat high-tier mobs and bosses.

Tectonic Slam Chieftain

Image of a Tectonic Slam Chieftain from Path of Exile.

Pros:

  • Powerful AOE damage output
  • High HP and Defense

Cons:

  • Boss fighting can take longer than usual
  • Low single target damage

This solo class build has one of Path of Exile's best AOE damage outputs. That's because Tectonic Slam, an AOE skill, creates fissures across a large area, which can easily destroy lower-tier mobs. But as a result, the Tectonic Slam Chieftain build lacks single target damage, which may make a boss fight a little tricky but doable.

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If a player pairs Tectonic Slam with Endurance Charges, they'll get explosive results that can reach over 300 million damage. Moreover, players who enjoy AOE-style gameplay will also enjoy the Scion class, one of the most underrated classes in the game.

Elemental Hit Slayer

Image of a Elemental Hit Slayer from Path of Exile.

Pros:

  • Unmatchable single target damage
  • Best farming build

Cons:

  • Glass cannon
  • Slow start

The Elementalist is among the best single damage classes in the Path of Exile, especially if the player uses the Elemental Hit Slayer build. One of the reasons it's a great solo build is that it uses Elemental Hit, a skill that randomly uses an element (Fire, Cold, and Lightning) to deal a massive amount of damage.

What's more, if a player equips a Unique Jewel that forces Elemental Hit to only use Fire-type damage, then it can reliably dish out a high amount of damage. This is especially effective if paired with the Keystone: Avatar of Fire.

Impervious Herald Of Agony Juggernaut

Image of an Impervious Herald of Agony Juggernaut from Path of Exile.

Pros:

  • Best solo build for Hardcore League
  • Easy to use

Cons:

  • Slower than other builds
  • Low DPS

Players who enjoy using the classic Templar class (especially if they know all the tips and tricks of using one) will find that the Impervious Herald of Agony Juggernaut has a very similar playstyle. But, in order to use this build, players will first need to understand what the Herald of Agony does.

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When activated, this poison-type herald gem will poison any mobs near the player, and for each stack of Virulence, there's a chance to summon the Agony Crawler minion, which uses ranged and area attacks. And, since the main class of the build is Juggernaut, players won't have to worry too much about being killed.

Oro’s Flicker Strike Raider

Image of a Oro’s Flicker Strike Raider from Path of Exile.

Pros:

  • Great for farming Chaos Orbs
  • Tanky

Cons:

  • Sluggish attacks
  • Item dependent

Chaos Orbs are perhaps one of the most important currencies in Path of Exile, since they allow a player to re-roll modifiers on a piece of rare equipment. And Oro's Flicker Strike Raider build will ensure that players always have plenty of Chaos Orbs, since Flicker Strike teleports players from one enemy to another, making quick work of them.

The only downside of this build is that it uses the unique two-weapon Oro's Sacrifice, which deals incredible amounts of Fire Damage and yields a Frenzy Charge. This weapon is the bread and butter of the build.

Lacerate Gladiator

Image of a Lacerate Gladiator from Path of Exile.

Pros:

  • Decent AOE and single target damage
  • Long-ranged melee attacks

Cons:

  • Lacks damage in the early game
  • Requires well-timed attacks

Players who want to inflict endless Bleeding status effects on mobs and bosses will enjoy using the Lacerate Gladiator build. This build mainly uses the skill Lacerate, which has a 25% chance of inflicting Bleeding. To further exploit the Bleeding status, players can use the spell stance Blood and Sand, which increases melee damage on Bleeding mobs or bosses.

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If a player struggles to survive with this build, they can try using a Marauder, since they offer more survivability at the cost of damage. But, if they do go down this path, it would be good for them to learn a couple of pro tips on using the Marauder.

Detonate Dead Necromancer

Image of a Detonate Dead Necromancer from Path of Exile.

Pros:

  • Relies mostly on gems
  • Clears most content

Cons:

  • Very squishy in the early game
  • Not beginner-friendly

Undoubtedly, the Necromancer Ascendancy Class is one of the best in Path of Exile, since players can come up with wild builds that are still quite powerful. As the name suggests, the Detonate Dead Necromancer build uses minions as walking time bombs.

The build uses Volatile Dead (turns minions into a volatile orb) and Detonate Dead (explodes reanimated corpse). Moreover, this build doesn't require Corruption Gear, but rather gems related to the Undead. Plus, nothing is more satisfying than eliminating an entire horde of mobs with a single button.

Path of Exile is available now for PC, Mac, Xbox One, and PS4.

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