The Duelist is a swordsman coming to Path of Exile 2 with the 1.0 full release as the game’s first sword class. His core mechanic is Stances: the basic Ready Stance, which you can upgrade into Sand Stance or Blood Stance. At launch he will have two Ascendancies, Knight and Master-at-Arms. Everything below is based on what GGG had announced as of 9 November 2026; the full release is due on 11 December 2026. The Duelist isn’t in Early Access yet.
Who the Duelist is
Grinding Gear Games (GGG) announced the Duelist on 25 August 2026 at gamescom, together with the 1.0 release date. The studio then showed him in detail on 6 November 2026 at ExileCon 2026, where it also revealed the second new class, the Shadow.
According to GGG, the Duelist is a swordsman who learned to fight in the arenas of Oriath. He is the first class in Path of Exile 2 built around swords, and swords arrive with him as a new weapon type.
Stances: Ready, Sand and Blood Stance
Stances are a new mechanic in Path of Exile 2, and the Duelist is built on them. Here’s the idea:
- Ready Stance is your default stance. It empowers your sword skills.
- Sand Stance is what you get when you stun an enemy. It’s an upgraded version of Ready Stance.
- Blood Stance is what you get after a successful parry, when you block an incoming attack. It’s another upgrade of Ready Stance.
According to GGG, both upgraded stances keep empowering your sword skills. The game rewards you for stunning an enemy or parrying their attack, not just for swinging your sword. Exact numbers, such as how long stances last or how strong the bonuses are, hadn’t been published as of 9 November 2026.
| Stance | How you enter it | What it does according to GGG |
|---|---|---|
| Ready Stance | Default stance | Empowers sword skills |
| Sand Stance | Stun an enemy | Upgraded stance, empowers sword skills |
| Blood Stance | Parry an attack | Upgraded stance, empowers sword skills |
Familiar skills: Cyclone and Haemorrhage
The Duelist and his swords also bring two well-known skills to Path of Exile 2: Cyclone and Haemorrhage. Both appear among the skills shown on the official full release page. GGG hasn’t explained before launch exactly how they’ll work in PoE2 or which support gems suit them, so you won’t find any combos here.
Skills in Path of Exile 2 aren’t locked to a class. Skill gems give you active skills and support gems modify them, while your class is mainly a starting point. Our PoE2 beginner’s guide explains how it all fits together.
Duelist Ascendancies: Knight and Master-at-Arms
An Ascendancy is a class specialisation: a small tree of its own in the middle of the passive skill tree, with separate points. The Duelist will have two in 1.0:
- Knight has a companion called the Squire. You equip him with a weapon and armour, and he uses melee skill gems in combat. The Knight also brings War Banners.
- Master-at-Arms is, according to GGG, a man who devoted his life to his craft and mastered a thousand forms of combat. GGG hadn’t shared more as of 9 November 2026.
GGG’s goal is three Ascendancies per class, but the Duelist and the Shadow will both launch with only two. The passives of both Ascendancies aren’t known in detail yet, and builds for 1.0 don’t exist before launch, so there’s no recommendation on which one to pick.
When you can play the Duelist
The Duelist arrives with the 1.0 full release, which GGG has set for 11 December 2026 (Pacific time, PST). GGG hadn’t announced a launch hour as of 9 November 2026. From that day the game will be free-to-play, so you can play the Duelist for free. How to sign up for the full release and what else it brings is covered in our full release guide.
With the Duelist and the Shadow, there will be ten classes in the game. Marauder and Templar won’t be in 1.0. The other new class, built on daggers, traps and Stealth, is covered in our article on the Shadow class.
Torn between the Duelist and the Shadow? Join our Discord and talk it through with other PoE2 players: GamersTogether Discord.
FAQ
With the 1.0 full release, which GGG has announced for 11 December 2026 (PST). The Duelist isn’t in Early Access as of 9 November 2026.
Swords. According to GGG, the Duelist is the first sword class in Path of Exile 2.
The basic Ready Stance empowers sword skills. Stun an enemy to enter Sand Stance, or parry an attack to enter Blood Stance. Both upgraded stances keep empowering your sword skills.
Two in 1.0: the Knight, with his Squire companion and War Banners, and the Master-at-Arms.
Yes. According to GGG, Path of Exile 2 goes free-to-play with the 1.0 release on 11 December 2026.
Information verified on 9 November 2026. More guides are in our PoE2 guides hub.