Path of Exile 2 Classes, Ascendancies & Passives Glossary
Some of the names players search for in Path of Exile 2 are real PoE 2 things: the Deadeye and Mercenary classes, the Battle-Hardened passive, the Adrenaline buff, the Untouchable support gem. Others come from the first Path of Exile and only look like PoE 2 terms: Ghost Reaver, Overwhelming Malice, Zana, Divine Flesh. This page sorts them out, says which is which, and gives the numbers for the ones that exist.
State of the game on 2 November 2026: PoE 2 is in Early Access on patch 0.5.5 (Forbidden Rites, released 4 September 2026) and its hotfixes. The 0.5 expansion, Return of the Ancients, arrived on 29 May 2026. Version 1.0, with the Duelist class, is scheduled for 11 December 2026. Values below are from the game data for patch 0.5.5 and can change with 1.0.
| Term | In PoE 2? | What it is |
|---|---|---|
| Adrenaline | Yes | Buff: more damage and speed, extra physical damage reduction |
| Battle-Hardened | Yes | Notable passive with armour, evasion and crit protection |
| Deadeye | Yes | Ranger ascendancy |
| Mercenary | Yes | Crossbow class with three ascendancies |
| Untouchable | Yes | Evasion support gem for attacks |
| Divine Flesh | Data only | Keystone known from PoE 1 Timeless Jewels |
| Ghost Reaver | No | PoE 1 keystone |
| Overwhelming Malice | No | PoE 1 Cluster Jewel notable |
| Zana | No | PoE 1 mapping Master |
| Innocence | Decoration only | A god of the PoE setting |
Adrenaline
Adrenaline is a buff, not a passive and not a class feature. In the PoE 2 data its description reads: you deal increased damage and have increased attack, cast and movement speed and additional physical damage reduction. While it is active you get:
- 100% increased damage
- 25% increased attack speed, cast speed and movement speed
- 10% additional physical damage reduction
Those values come from the buff template in the game files. The data also holds a second variant, KaruiAdrenaline, in the same buff group, so more than one source can grant it and the exact numbers depend on what grants it. Adrenaline does not switch on by itself at low life, as some older guides claim: check the tooltip of the item or passive that grants it for the trigger and duration.
Adrenaline is often confused with Onslaught, a smaller speed buff that many skills and uniques grant. If a description says "Adrenaline", it means the full package above, including the damage bonus and the physical damage reduction.
Battle-Hardened
Battle-Hardened is a notable passive on the Path of Exile 2 passive tree, a hybrid defence node. It grants:
- 20% increased Armour and Evasion Rating
- Hits against you have 20% reduced Critical Damage Bonus
- +5 to Strength and Dexterity
Armour reduces the damage of hits, mostly physical, and works best against many small hits. Evasion gives a chance to avoid a hit completely. Reduced Critical Damage Bonus does not stop enemy crits, it shrinks the extra damage they add, which helps against rare monsters and bosses that crit often. The game ID of the node is duelist_mercenary_notable1, which places it in the Mercenary part of the tree; it suits armour-and-evasion builds in general.
The name is also used for a cosmetic: the Battle-hardened Warbear is a Bear shapeshift skin that was a Twitch Drop tied to The Game Awards. It has nothing to do with the passive.
Deadeye
Deadeye is an ascendancy of the Ranger, the bow class. Pathfinder is the Ranger's other ascendancy. Deadeye is built around projectiles, Marks and range.
| Node | Effect (patch 0.5.5) |
|---|---|
| Endless Munitions | Skills fire an additional projectile |
| Gathering Winds | Gain Tailwind on skill use; lose all Tailwind when hit |
| Far Shot | Projectiles deal 0% more hit damage in the first 3.5 metres, rising to 20% more after 7 metres |
| Point Blank | 20% more hit damage in the first 3.5 metres, falling to 0% after 7 metres |
| Avidity | 50% chance to gain an extra Frenzy Charge whenever you gain one |
| Bullseye | Applies 10 Critical Weakness to an enemy when you consume a Mark on it |
Far Shot and Point Blank are opposites, so a build picks one by how it plays. The ascendancy also grants two skills, Called Shots and Mirage Deadeye.
Every ascendancy, Deadeye included, has 8 ascendancy points to spend. They come from two trials. The Trial of the Sekhemas opens once you kill Balbala in the Traitor's Passage in Act 2 and take her Barya; the Trial of Chaos opens with the Inscribed Ultimatum that drops in the Chimeral Wetlands in Act 3. Each completed step of a trial grants 2 points, so the full 8 needs four completions at rising levels, the last ones in the endgame. Deadeye is a fixed ascendancy with set nodes, not a loose "archetype" for any bow build.
Divine Flesh
Divine Flesh is a keystone with three effects: all damage taken bypasses Energy Shield, 50% of elemental damage taken is taken as chaos damage, and +5% to maximum chaos resistance. In the first Path of Exile it appears when a Glorious Vanity Timeless Jewel with the Xibaqua conqueror converts a keystone. The same text sits in the PoE 2 game files, but no PoE 2 item grants it.
Do not plan a PoE 2 build around it. PoE 2 has only two Timeless Jewels with keystones, and Divine Flesh is not one of them:
| Jewel | Faction | Keystones |
|---|---|---|
| Heroic Tragedy | Kalguuran | Black Scythe Training, Circular Teachings, Knightly Tenets |
| Undying Hate | Abyss | Sacrifice of Flesh, Sacrifice of Loyalty, Sacrifice of Mind, Sacrifice of Blood, Sacrifice of Sight |
In PoE 1 terms the keystone means: ignore Energy Shield, rely on chaos resistance, and treat half of your elemental hits as chaos hits. It only pays off with high chaos resistance.
Ghost Reaver
Ghost Reaver is a keystone from the first Path of Exile, not a PoE 2 passive. In PoE 1 it reads: leech Energy Shield instead of Life; the maximum total Energy Shield recovery per second from leech is doubled; you cannot recharge Energy Shield. It sits on the top-right side of the PoE 1 tree, 12 steps from the Shadow and Witch starts.
The drawback matters: Ghost Reaver turns off natural Energy Shield recharge, so it only makes sense for builds that leech a lot. If you play PoE 2 and want sustain, look at leech on your skills and gems instead, for example through Support Gems.
Innocence
Innocence is a god in the Path of Exile setting: the deity of the Templars of Oriath, associated with purity, and the brother of Sin. In the first game he is a boss; Sin appears in the Chamber of Innocence after he falls. He is not a boss in Path of Exile 2.
In PoE 2 the name appears in the hideout. The hideout editor has an "Innocence" decoration category with 15 free objects, including an altar, a shrine, a statue, a tomb, a bench and candles. Nothing about it affects combat or progression.
Mercenary
The Mercenary is a class of Path of Exile 2 that uses crossbows. It was one of the six classes in Early Access from 6 December 2024. Starting attributes are 11 Strength, 11 Dexterity and 7 Intelligence, and the class is built around switching ammunition, elemental rounds (cold, fire, lightning) and fighting at both long and short range. It is a playable class, not a hireable NPC.
| Ascendancy | Notable nodes |
|---|---|
| Witchhunter | Pitiless Killer (Culling Strike), Witchbane (enemies get Maximum Concentration equal to 30% of their life), No Mercy (up to 40% more damage as their Concentration drops) |
| Gemling Legionnaire | +2% quality to all skills, Bolstering Implants (+2 to level of skills with a Strength requirement), Essence of Virtue (grants Virtuous Barrier) |
| Tactician | A Solid Plan (persistent buffs have 50% less reservation), Whoever Pays Best (banners gain 5 Glory per second, no banner limit), the Cannons node (+1 maximum totem, totems 30% more skill speed) |
Witchhunter and Gemling Legionnaire were available at launch; Tactician arrived with patch 0.2.0, Dawn of the Hunt, on 4 April 2025, together with the Supporting Fire skill. Battle-Hardened above sits in the Mercenary area of the tree.
Overwhelming Malice
Overwhelming Malice is a notable on Cluster Jewels in the first Path of Exile, not in PoE 2. It reads: 10% chance to gain Unholy Might for 4 seconds on Critical Strike. It can roll on Large Cluster Jewels (12% increased Chaos Damage enchantment) and Medium Cluster Jewels (15% increased Critical Strike Chance enchantment).
The PoE 2 connection is Unholy Might. In PoE 2 it is a buff that grants 30% of all damage as extra chaos damage, which differs from the PoE 1 text (100% of physical damage converted to chaos and 25% chance to apply Withered on hit). In PoE 2 you get it from the Lich ascendancy node Necromantic Conduit and from the Kurgal's Leash minion support. If a guide says "Overwhelming Malice" for PoE 2, it is mixing the games.
Untouchable
Untouchable is a PoE 2 support gem, not a status you reach. It supports Attack skills you use yourself and gives increased Evasion Rating while you use the supported skill, scaling with the skill's attack time.
| Stat | Value |
|---|---|
| Effect | 25% increased Evasion Rating per quarter second of attack time |
| Cost multiplier | 120% |
| Support requirement | +5 Dexterity |
| Restriction | Cannot support Channelling skills |
The scaling rewards slow attacks: a skill with a one-second attack time gives roughly 100% increased Evasion Rating while you use it, a fast skill gives little. "Untouchable" is also used loosely for a character that is hard to hit, which needs layers of defence rather than one gem. See Support Gems for other supports.
Zana
Zana, Master Cartographer, is a mapping Master from the first Path of Exile. She retired as a Master in version 3.17, and Commander Kirac took over the Atlas guide role. She does not appear in Path of Exile 2, and PoE 2 has no Zana-style map missions. Shaper and Elder influence on maps is also a PoE 1 system.
PoE 2 endgame works differently. The 0.5 expansion, Return of the Ancients (29 May 2026), restructured the Atlas: you choose more of your own route, ships let you reach islands, and Ancient Strongholds unlock new Atlas progression when completed.
Common mistakes
- Reading a PoE 1 passive guide for a PoE 2 build. Check the name on PoE2DB or in the game before spending points.
- Expecting all ascendancy points from the campaign. The last of the 8 points come from endgame trial runs.
- Treating a cosmetic or hideout decoration (Battle-hardened Warbear, Innocence) as a gameplay feature.
Guides and services
For class choice, the best classes guide and the guide on how to get all 8 ascension points cover what this page only names. For a Mercenary start there is a grenade Mercenary leveling guide, and for the Ranger a Lightning Arrow Deadeye build. Onlyfarms also offers PoE 2 leveling and build services.
Related terms
- Support Gems Glossary
- Martial and Weapon Skills Glossary
- Currency, Crafting and Unique Items Glossary
- Minion Skills Glossary
- RPG Progression and Loot Glossary
FAQ
How many ascendancy points can I get in Path of Exile 2?
Eight in total, 2 per completed trial step. They come from the Trial of the Sekhemas, which opens in Act 2, and the Trial of Chaos, which opens in Act 3; the last points need endgame-level trials.
Is Ghost Reaver in Path of Exile 2?
No. It is a Path of Exile 1 keystone with no PoE 2 version. Guides that mention it were written for the first game.
Which ascendancies does the Mercenary have?
Three: Witchhunter, Gemling Legionnaire and Tactician. The first two were there at the December 2024 launch, Tactician came with patch 0.2.0 in April 2025.
Is Divine Flesh usable in PoE 2?
No. Its text sits in the game files, but it is a PoE 1 Timeless Jewel keystone. The two PoE 2 Timeless Jewels, Heroic Tragedy and Undying Hate, grant different keystones.
Is Zana in Path of Exile 2?
No. Zana is a retired PoE 1 Master. PoE 2 uses its own Atlas, reworked in patch 0.5.
