Overlooked Path of Exile 2 Ascendancy can now play two vastly different builds in one

Witchhunter in Path of Exile 2 has been in a bad shape for a while, and with patch 0.3, one would expect Grinding Gear to address the issue. While the developers did include changes for the Ascendancy, it’s not what everyone had in mind. There’s only one change in the passive tree: the number of Weapon Set Skill Points we get as a Witchhunter.

The Weapon Master Ascendancy passive now grants 100 Passive Skill Points, to become Weapon Set Skill Points. Previously, it was 20, making this a major change for weapon swappers.

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Path of Exile 2 buffs Witchhunter Ascendancy in the most unusual way

Witchhunter Ascendancy change allows you to have multiple builds (Image via Grinding Gear Games)

When we think of a buff, it’s usually an increase in damage numbers or something similar, but granting more Weapon Set Skill Points was not what fans expected. It allows the Witchhunter to essentially have two different builds ready and swappable by simply pressing a button.

Besides those from Weapon Master, you can acquire 24 more points throughout the campaign, allowing you to assign 124 points across the two different weapon sets. Paired with no delay between weapon set swap revealed during recent GGG Live, Witchhunters have much more build flexibility.

Additionally, with update 0.3, there will be a new option to assign your equipped weapons to both sets instead of needing to use different items in each.

A few restrictions prevent players from breaking the game. For example, you can’t allocate a Weapon Set Skill Points to Ketstones and Jewel Sockets. However, will this make Witchhunter the meta for Rise of the Abyssal League? It's unlikely, but it does open up new build possibilities.

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How does Weapon Set Skill Points work?

Weapon sets have a clear distinction (Image via Grinding Gear Games)

Weapon Set Skill Points are the same as your Passive Skill Points. Think of them as a secondary loadout, where you use the same points to assign different passives from the tree. The process can completely change the stats for each weapon and gameplay style without requiring a respec.

Check the top-right corner of your Passive Tree under your total Skill Points. It will show you how many Weapon Set Skill Points you can assign. Press the arrow on Weapon Set I to assign passives for your first weapon. When you do, a notification on the screen will let you know you're assigning points for the first weapon.

The process is the same for the second weapon, and to make a distinction, passives from both weapon sets will have a different color. Check out our comprehensive guide on unlocking and using Weapon Set Passives in Path of Exile 2.

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Check out other related guides and articles:

• Path of Exile 2: 5 biggest changes in patch 0.3, The Third Edict
• Path of Exile 2 The Third Edict: 0.3 walks back all the Skill nerfs in 0.2, and then some
• Path of Exile 2's Support Gem rule change in 0.3 is a big buff to all builds
• Path of Exile 2 The Third Edict: Biggest expected features that didn't make the cut