Path of Exile 2 Leveling Guide – Fastest Way To Level In PoE 2

Key Takeaways

How to level up fast in PoE 2:

• Ask a higher-level friend to powerlevel you in high-tier maps
• Complete the campaign alongside all optional quests that grant skill or ascendancy points
• Run T15/T16 maps and unique map rotations (like Untainted Paradise) repeatedly
• Constantly upgrade your gear with the currency you farm to be able to run maps faster
• Have XP increase gear equipped as long as it doesn’t affect your clearing speed
• Kill all monsters you encounter in your path without looking for stragglers

Introduction

Welcome to the best PoE 2 Leveling Guide, exile! Going through all the sections, you will learn the best ways to level up fast in Path of Exile 2, along with tips, tricks, and guides for each class to maximize efficiency & reach the highest level in the shortest time possible.

Path of Exile 2 is an open-world ARPG with slow progression, so a bunch of tips & tricks will help you level up quickly through the campaign and head into the endgame as soon as possible.

The story of Path of Exile 2 takes place in Oriath, years after the first game's events. With Kitava and the other gods defeated, humans are now fighting for power with each other. A seed of corruption has appeared once more, and it’s time to cleanse the coasts of Wraeclast of evil once again. While getting to max level, you will engage in brutal fights against other exiles, mercenaries, corrupted creatures, and many other activities.

Leveling up in PoE 2 will be a long and grindy process, but we got your back with this guide.

In the following sections, we will go over the best leveling tips, most efficient strategies, best maps, details for each class, optimized early game builds, and anything else that will enhance your leveling experience in Path of Exile 2.

What is the max level in Path of Exile 2?

The maximum level you can reach in PoE 2 is 100. The game has multiple progression systems and heavily emphasizes gear over levels, meaning that reaching character level 100 won’t be enough to complete every endgame activity. Follow our fast leveling guide to ensure you take advantage of all the details that can speed up your journey through the campaign and early maps.

How many levels are in Path of Exile 2?

In Path of Exile 2, there are two primary systems that players can level – character level and skill gem level.

• Maximum Character Level: 100
• Maximum Skill Gem Level: 20

Is the character level cap 100 in PoE 2?

Yes, the character level cap is 100. After reaching a certain point in the campaign, players will also gain access to ascendancies by completing Ascension Trials. This will drastically increase the character's power and speed up the leveling journey.

How long is the Path of Exile 2 Campaign?

The Path of Exile 2 campaign is 6 acts long, with each act taking between 2 to 3 hours. By the time you finish the campaign, you can expect to be around level 65, depending on if you’ve explored any side areas, how many mobs you have killed, or if you have just rushed through zones to finish it as quickly as possible.

How long does it take to level 100 in Path of Exile 2?

Leveling to 100 in Path of Exile 2 is one of the toughest challenges, with the entire process taking hundreds of hours. We look forward to helping you level up quickly and offering the best advice to increase your character’s power.

Every player wants to build a powerful character and have the gear to dominate the endgame content. Our PoE 2 powerleveling guide is designed to help you make the best decisions during your leveling journey.

Leveling in Softcore PoE is less punishing than Hardcore leveling. You can revive in your hideout or the last waypoint you visited each time you die, while hardcore players have to start over on a new character each time. This can be frustrating because you lose all the progress and loot on your character.

In the next section of our fast-leveling guide for PoE 2, we will discuss the best ways to reach level 65 and, also, the quickest methods to get from 65 to 100.

How to level up 1-65 fast in Path of Exile 2?

In PoE 2, the 1-65 leveling process is relatively streamlined, with players having to complete the campaign to access the endgame. By completing all side-quests, getting all your ascendancy points, and going through the acts, you can easily reach level 70. Below, we will leave a few tips & tricks to speed up the process:

• Try to stay around three levels below the zone level to maximize the experience gain
• Check the vendors for better gear each time you are in town
• Use strong skill gems that don’t require many links

How to level up 65-100 fast in Path of Exile 2?

Step 1: Put together a league starter build to have an easy time through maps
Step 2: Optimize your atlas tree to progress to T15 maps easily
Step 4: Invest in juicing your maps to increase mob density
Step 5: Improve your build by farming currency so you can speed farm maps
Step 6: Grind high-tier maps or join rotations

When it comes to leveling from 65 to 100 in Path of Exile 2, you can take multiple routes to reach your goal. Each player may have a favorite farming strategy, and many methods can help the player reach their desired level.

One of the best methods for leveling in Path of Exile 2's endgame is by mapping, while making use of various league mechanics, preferably ones with high mob density, such as Breach or Delirium. Delirium provides a large amount of additional monsters on the map, while Breaches spawn large amounts of monster when interacting with them.

While it may seem tempting to jump straight into the best leveling strategies, both league mechanics work on a timer, so having a build that can clear them at a decent pace is mandatory. Other than gaining a great amount of XP per hour, you will also find large amounts of currency, alongside league-specific rewards when using these strategies.

Path of Exile 2 Early Access leveling

The leveling journey in the Path of Exile 2 Early Access differs from the final state of the game, as we don’t have all 6 acts available. Instead of acts 4 to 6, we will replay the first three acts on a higher difficulty, known as “Cruel”.

GGG implemented this choice due to two main factors: one being the fact that they wanted to focus on the development of endgame content, which is the most attractive part of the game. Secondly, the other reason was due to the sheer length of the campaign, in this way allowing players to progress through the 6 acts faster compared to the normal campaign.

Overall, this shouldn’t affect the leveling process too much, as the general breakpoints for the campaign (first 3 acts, respectively last 3 acts) will have the player end up at a similar level and progression as if the change wasn’t implemented.

Path of Exile 2 League leveling

In this section, we will look into League Character Leveling, briefly explaining how leveling works for League Characters and its similarities with PoE 1’s leagues.

In Path of Exile 2 leagues, players will start on a fresh character, without access to any gear or resources from Standard, and have to run the campaign once again to reach the endgame. This is an excellent opportunity for a fresh start in a new economy, with everyone being at the same level.

Despite starting fresh, each league you play will feel easier and faster as you learn map layouts, better understand the gameplay, have a more comprehensive knowledge of the crafting systems, how to optimize your character’s gear through the campaign, and a general understanding of the transition from the campaign to the endgame.

League vs Standard characters in PoE 2

Here is a list of all the differences between Standard and League characters:

• League characters can gain rewards from the Seasonal Pass to speed up the endgame
• Characters can progress through League Challenges to obtain cosmetics for free
• The League realm benefits from additional content and events

Fastest way to farm XP in Path of Exile 2

At first glance, leveling in Path of Exile 2 looks straightforward, but depending in the point of the game at which you are currently situated, the process can become complex and overwhelming. Due to this, we've created this section of our guide, helping you figure out what is the best method for leveling up fast based on the stage you are at, and the resources you have available.

Fastest Solo Leveling Method in Path of Exile 2

In the following list, you will find the best steps to follow for fast leveling as a solo player in PoE 2:

• Complete the six-act campaign
• Obtain all ascendancy skill points for your character
• Complete Maps repeatedly until you reach T16
• Juice maps with high mob density mechanics like Delirium or Breach
• Clear all the mobs in your path in each map
• Defeat league mechanic Pinnacle bosses to gain additional atlas points for their passive trees

Best activity/league mechanic to level in Path of Exile 2

There are many different league mechanics and map types that you can use to farm for XP. We recommend either running Untainted Paradise maps and any other XP increase type of Unique map, or pathing and targeting atlas areas with league mechanics to maximize your XP gains.

How to get additional XP?

If you want to gain additional XP, a standard method players use would be sacrificing a few gear slots for items that grant the “% Increased XP gained”. This will make your character weaker for each XP increase item that you use since the items are balanced mainly around this modifier.

If you have a strong enough build and you can still efficiently clear maps even with this gear, you can save up considerable amounts of time. Each percentage of increased experience gain will save you approximately 2 hours on your journey from level 1 to 100.

Path of Exile 2 Fast Leveling tips & tricks

There is no magic shortcut that can help you level up fast without grinding for XP in PoE 2 if you are playing solo, but there are some tips and tricks you can use to make the leveling process more efficient and maximize the XP gains along the way.

We have designed a list of PoE 2 fast leveling tips & tricks:

• Do all side quests that grant skill gems, flasks, gear or skill points as rewards while completing the campaign. This will slow down your progress for the moment, but speed the process up in the long run
• Kill every monster that you encounter
• Avoid rare mobs that are very tough to kill
• Playing in a party grants more experience. You get bonus XP for being in a group, and members can split up to complete multiple objectives at once
• Avoid dying. You will lose time respawning at the last checkpoint, or receive an XP penalty if you die at any point after completing the campaign
• Try to head straight to the next zone. Don’t spend time in the campaign clearing the entire map, instead focus on completing the quests and moving on to the next area
• Keep within 3 levels of the zone level. Being within this range grants you optimal XP, without suffering any penalties or the mobs being too difficult

Path of Exile 2 Map XP farming tricks

In order to maximize XP gains, players can use a variety of tricks during mapping to speed up the process considerably. These strategies may change from league to league, but adding high mob density league mechanics is the best way to gain XP inside of maps.

Some of the easiest ways to increase your map XP gains are rolling your Waystones properly, and improving your atlas tree. Waystones can feature a variety of modifiers, such as "increased XP gained" or "increased Pack Size" which are crucical for maximizing XP/hour. Additionally, improving the atlas tree will grant better rewards, spawn more monsters, and even increase XP gains depending on the allocated nodes.

What does Path of Exile 2 fast leveling mean?

PoE 2 fast leveling is the process of getting your character to the maximum level as quickly as possible, by using the most efficient leveling methods & tehniques, such as choosing the right map layouts, league mechanics, slotting in XP increase gear, and taking advantage of all unique mechanics of the current league.

How to power level someone in Path of Exile 2?

• A high-level player turns on downscaling and invites the low-level player into their party.
• The new character follows the carry through the campaign.
• The low-level player should equip XP increase gear, cap their resists, and have at least 3.5k life before continuing.
• After finishing the campaign and unlocking maps, the high-level player opens a juiced T15/T16 map.
• The low level player follows the carry, with each run lasting approximately 6 minutes.
• You will have to run these activities repeatedly, requiring 40 hours+ of active gameplay to go from level 1 to level 100.

Can you powerlevel friends/alts in Path of Exile 2?

Yes, you can power-level friends or alts in Path of Exile 2. It is complex and tedious to level them through the campaign since you will have to use the downscaling feature so they are not subjected to large XP penalties due to the level difference. Still, after finishing the campaign, you can bring them along in your T16 maps, helping them go from 65 to 90 in less than an hour.

On what map tier should I level in Path of Exile 2?

You should aim to level in T16 maps, as they are not that tough to defeat, making sure you are efficiently gaining experience without having a too large XP penalty due to the level differences that will start at lvl 93.

Does Path of Exile 2 scale with level?

No, Path of Exile 2 does not scale with your character level. Instead, mobs and bosses will be at the same level as the zone or map level you are currently in. Spending too much time in a zone or at a certain map tier can reduce XP gains, as a penalty is applied when being more than 5 levels ahead or behind the zone level.

Completing all quests in the campaign

Completing all main quests in the PoE 2 campaign is essential to leveling, as it guides you through the zones and acts while gaining XP at a good pace. Similar to the first game, finishing the campaign is required in order to play the endgame, so completing the story is a must.

Joining Map Rotations

Joining map rotations of Unique maps that grant "increased XP gained" as a modifier is another great method for leveling. By joining a rotation, each player will have a map of that type ready to open, allowing you to complete multiple runs each time you encounter one of these maps.

Kill all monsters you encounter

Since mob kills are the only way to get XP in Path of Exile 2, killing all the mobs in your path is crucial to leveling up fast. At the same time, you should not walk around the map or area specifically looking for stragglers, as the XP granted by 3-4 monsters is not worth the time investment.

Get your ascendancy skill points

Unlocking your ascendancy and gaining all ascendancy points drastically increases the power level of your character, essentially reducing time spent killing mobs or travelling across the map. As soon as you can obtain your ascendancy and each time an opportunity to get extra ascendancy points arises, you should prioritize it over anything else.

Path of Exile 2: Solo leveling vs Group leveling

Our Path of Exile 2 Leveling guide showcases the most efficient ways to get to max lvl, so in this section we will cover the best approach when it comes to leveling in PoE 2 either solo or as a group.

The game facilitates teamwork, with multiple classes having support capabilities, but that does not mean that solo players won’t have advantages.

A great feature in Path of Exile is that higher-level players can join their friends and play with them without any restrictions, as long as the downscaling mechanic is activated. If players decide not to use the feature, the lower-level player will get an XP reduction debuff based on the level difference.

In the table below, we will compare both leveling methods and decide which one of the two is most efficient overall, and the balance between solo and group leveling in PoE 2:

Ascendancy Point Unlocks

Ascendancy Points are a powerful feature that you will encounter starting with Act 2 in the campaign. In this part, we will discuss the specifics of ascendancies and ascendancy points.

What are ascendancy points?

Ascendancy Points are a powerful feature in Path of Exile 2, which allows you to spec in passives from your ascendancy skill tree. These passives usually grant powerful and build-defining effects, which drastically increase the power level of your character.

How to get ascendancy points?

In Path of Exile 2 players can get ascendancy points starting with the 2nd act of the game, by completing Ascension Trials. This is where you will come across the Trial of the Sekhemas, which is the first challenge-type instance that will let you ascend on completion. Additionally, in Act 3 you will also come across the Trial of the Chaos God, which serves the same purpose, and you can complete either of the two to unlock ascendancies for your character.

On the first completion of either Trial, you will get to pick between the ascendancies available for your class and recieve two ascendancy passive points. Afterwards, as you progress through the campaign and endgame, you will unlock three additional difficulties for the Trial, with each one granting two more ascendancy points on completion.

How many ascendancy points can you get?

You will be able to gain a total of 8 ascendancy points. Each difficulty of the Trial grants two points on completion, and there are 4 total difficulties available for you to challenge.

Ascendancies in PoE 2

Ascendancies in PoE 2 are class specializations that give your character bonuses towards a specific playstyle. These usually have unique passives that you can only encounter on these skill trees, which are extremely powerful and can have entire builds revolve around the concept. Each class will have access to three different ascendancies, each promoting a different playstyle, allowing every class to have a wide variety of builds.

What can you do at/after level 100 in PoE 2?

PoE 2 is a very complex game with many activities in the endgame, so even after reaching level 100 there are many activities you can engage with. In this section, we will briefly cover the most popular post-leveling activities.

Path of Exile 2 Pinnacle Bosses

One of the main activities of Path of Exile 2's endgame are Pinnacle bosses. These are tough encounters that place you in an arena against a powerful monster with unique and devastating attacks. In most cases, dodging spells and slowly whittling down the HP bar of the boss is the only way to come victorious.

While Pinnacle bosses provide a challenge for most players, unless you are using an optimized build, the rewards are definetly worth it. Generally, Pinnacle bosses can drop Uniques exclusive to their loot pool, and certain bosses also grant atlas passive points for specific league mechanics.

Min-maxing your build

Another essential part of the game is min-maxing your build. In Path of Exile 2, players aim to craft almost perfect items that can be paired with build-defining uniques to create extremely powerful characters.

Optimizing your build to the fullest can take hundreds, even thousands of hours, so aiming to constantly improve your character is one of the best long-term goals in Path of Exile 2.

Endgame maps

Juicing and farming maps on the highest tiers is one of the main activities of the game. This content caters to many players, allowing you to build maps to your liking using Tablets and by pathing to certain areas on the Atlas, with every player being able to find a strategy to farm which they enjoy due to creativity and sheer number of league mechanics.

Path of Exile 2 Leveling - Frequently Asked Questions

How do you level up in Path of Exile 2?

The main activities to level up in PoE 2 are completing the six-act campaign to access the endgame, after which you can start farming maps, which are the main content of the game.

How long is the PoE 2 Campaign?

The PoE 2 campaign is six chapters long and can take up to 40 hours to complete. Experienced players who know the zone layouts and how to optimize their character through the campaign can expect to finish it in 15 to 25 hours in a league start scenario, depending on item RNG and chosen class.

Does Path of Exile 2 difficulty scale with level?

Path of Exile 2’s difficulty does not scale with your character’s level. Mobs scale based on the area level, completely independent from the player.

On what map tiers should I level in PoE 2?

It is best to level on T16 maps, as they offer a great balance between difficulty and high-level mobs. Thus, players will suffer minimal XP penalties no matter what level they are.

How many levels are in PoE 2?

There is a total of 100 levels in Path of Exile 2.

What is the maximum character level in Path of Exile 2?

The maximum character level in PoE 2 is 100.

What is the max Ascendancy Points you can obtain in PoE 2?

In Path of Exile 2 you can get a maximum of 8 ascendancy passive points on your characters. There are four difficulties for the Ascension Trials, with each one granting the player two skill points on completion.

How to get to max level in Path of Exile 2?

The best way to get to the maximum level in PoE 2 is by completing the campaign and farming T16 maps with high mob density mechanics as much as possible.

How long does it take to level 100 in Path of Exile 2?

Leveling your character from level 1 to 100 in Path of Exile 2 will take 200+ hours, depending on the number of deaths and your build's strength.

Final Thoughts

We designed our PoE 2 Leveling Guide to help you make the best decisions in the game's early stages to reach the endgame as fast as possible. Our fast leveling tips & tricks will help you progress quickly through the early levels and help you build a powerful character.

Related Guides

Now that you have learned about the best leveling methods in Path of Exile 2, how about you check out our related guides for this ARPG?

• Path of Exile 2 Best Classes Guide
• Path of Exile 2 Gearing Guide
• Path of Exile 2 Beginner Guide
• Path of Exile 2 Trading Guide
• Path of Exile 2 Crafting Guide
• Path of Exile 2 Money Making Guide

We update our articles with each and every patch in the game, so keep an eye out on our guides.

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