Path of Exile 2 Beginner's guide, tips and tricks
Prepare for an adventure in the stark lands of Wraeclast.
The release of Path of Exile 2 Early Access comes with lots of content and new players may need to learn a few tips and tricks before venturing into a dangerous Wraeclast.
The vast world of Path of Exile 2 hides many dangers and a green adventurer shouldn't approach it lightly. Occultists are performing unspoken rituals within the forests while a cruel count brings terror to the everyday life of small villages.
In this article, you will find crucial Path of Exile 2 tips and tricks for beginners and can check the other guides we've prepared.
On this page:
Path of Exile 2 guides
To assist you in the arduous task of surviving in Wraeclast, we've put all Path of Exile 2 guides on the list below:
Builds and Classes:
- Best Class Tier list
- All Classes and Ascendancy Classes explained
- Best Sorceress build
- Best Warrior build
Bosses:
Quest Walkthroughs:
Explainers:
Path of Exile 2 tips and tricks
Even though Path of Exile 2 brings plenty of familiar elements from the Action RPG genre, there are great tips and tricks that new players can take advantage of to progress in the game without too much trouble.
Dodge rolling is as important as attacking
In Path of Exile 2, one of the strongest tools you have at your disposal is the rolling command. It is available right from the beginning for every character and doesn't require a specific piece of equipment for you to perform this action. Although simple, rolling is extremely useful since you become invulnerable during the animation. Learning to roll out of attacks in the exact time prevents you from wasting time running instead of attacking.
Respect your enemies
Regardless of whether you are a tanky Warrior or the dodge roll master, you still shouldn't underestimate an enemy in Path of Exile 2. Especially when talking about bosses, it may take only a few hits for you to get killed. It's important to learn their move sets, the animation of each attack or other visual/audio cues to learn how to respond to their attacks. Impatience will only take you back to the nearest checkpoint.
It's worth to explore
The maps of Path of Exile 2 are considerably large, but try to always explore it completely when you visit for the first time. You not only find items to collect but naturally level up by killing all the enemies you end up facing. And most maps even have minibosses for you to fight who can drop gems. However, doing the same a second time is not ideal, unless you feel underleveled.
Use your portal! It is free!
Alongside dodge rolling, opening a portal back to a base is one of the strongest mechanics in the game. You can use the portal wherever you are and, once opened, it becomes a sort of 'quicksave'. When you enter a map from one of the entries, the disposition of enemies and exits change, regardless of whether you have explored the area before or not. Even the layout that you have mapped during your first visit disappears from your map. By using the portal you opened to go back to your previous location, you prevent the map from changing.
Portals also allow you to sell items and free space in your inventory and refill your Health and Mana flasks before an important fight.
You need to gear up
As in most RPG games, leveling up a character is your primary method to become stronger and prepare for future encounters. In Path of Exile 2, each area was designed to have enemies of a certain level in order to follow the player's progression. However, your victory is not ensured only by the stats and passive skills you have acquired as you level up. It's important to always update your equipment. A good way to keep your gear in check is by looking for pieces of the same level as your character. One or two levels below also work, but avoid fighting a Level 15 boss wearing a Level 8 chest piece.
Gold rules the world even amid chaos
Money moves the world and earning some coins is not an easy thing to do if you get picky in Path of Exile 2. From pieces of equipment to recovering passive skill points to fix your build, you will need lots of gold in the game. Although enemies drop some coins, the main source of gold in the game are the items you sell to NPCs. Weapons and pieces of equipment drop from most enemies and it's your responsibility to grab these items, take your portal and sell them.
Dying is part of the fun
Encounters in Path of Exile 2 are meant to be difficult. Bosses cause lots of damage once your shield is depleted, and there are some deadly mechanics to be aware of. So, once you start progressing in the game, keep in mind that dying is part of the process and that the goal is to get a little bit further into a fight, a new mechanic or a new phase with every try. And beside the arena of every boss fight in the game, there is a checkpoint, making failing less punitive.
Have fun investigating what is happening to Wraeclast and making your way to the endgame of Path of Exile 2.