In Path of Exile 2 (PoE 2), one of the core tenets of gameplay revolves around the Ascendancy system. This system allows you to specialize your character further, giving you unique bonuses, abilities, and playstyles that can shape your entire build. Among the many Ascendancies, the Hand of Wisdom and Action is one of the most unique and fascinating, combining movement speed, damage, and a distinct strategy that sets it apart from others.

This PoE 2 guide will provide you with all the essential information about the Hand of Wisdom and Action Ascendancy, from how to unlock it to its specific mechanics, synergies, and optimal ways to build a character around this powerful option. Learn how to more easily earn Path of Exile 2 Currency and other rewards from in-game quests by reading this article.

What is Hand of Wisdom and Action?

The Hand of Wisdom and Action is an Ascendancy for the Duelist class in PoE 2. This Ascendancy is centered around the concept of dynamic movement and fluid combat, rewarding players who focus on speed, mobility, and the careful balance between action and thought.

The theme of the Hand of Wisdom and Action Ascendancy revolves around being able to react swiftly in combat, adapting to the ever-changing battlefield. You'll be able to channel incredible speed, accuracy, and power as you move across the map, making it ideal for players who favor agility-based gameplay that keeps them constantly on their toes.

At its core, the Hand of Wisdom and Action Ascendancy offers a wide variety of passive skills, as well as active bonuses that make it highly versatile and efficient in mapping, bossing, and even PvP scenarios. This makes it an ideal choice for aggressive playstyles that prioritize damage uptime, mobility, and strategic positioning.

How to Unlock Hand of Wisdom and Action Ascendancy

To unlock the Hand of Wisdom and Action, you need to follow the standard Ascendancy progression available to Duelists in PoE 2. Here are the steps required to unlock this Ascendancy:

Choose the Duelist Class: When creating your character, select Duelist as your starting class. This is necessary to access the Hand of Wisdom and Action Ascendancy.

Complete the Labyrinth Trials: In PoE 2, you must complete the Labyrinth to access the Ascendancy points. To unlock the Hand of Wisdom and Action Ascendancy, you need to reach the Labyrinth for the Duelist.

Ascendancy Points: After completing the Labyrinth, you can spend Ascendancy points to choose the Hand of Wisdom and Action node. You'll need to invest in specific points within the Labyrinth system to fully unlock the powers of this Ascendancy.

Get the "Hand of Wisdom and Action": Once unlocked, you gain access to a variety of bonuses that revolve around movement, attacks, and dodge capabilities.

Key Mechanics of Hand of Wisdom and Action

The Hand of Wisdom and Action Ascendancy provides several unique mechanics that shape how your character operates during combat. Let's break down the major features of this powerful Ascendancy:

1. Speed and Mobility

A central feature of the Hand of Wisdom and Action is the emphasis on mobility. The Ascendancy significantly boosts your movement speed and attack speed as you dodge attacks and make quick strikes. As you build your character around this Ascendancy, you'll see major boosts in your ability to clear maps and evade incoming damage.

Movement Speed Buff: One of the most noticeable bonuses is the increased movement speed. This allows you to quickly traverse large areas, making mapping faster and more efficient.

Attack Speed Bonus: As a natural extension of your increased mobility, you'll gain significant bonuses to your attack speed. This allows you to unleash damage faster, especially in combination with high-damage attacks and skills that benefit from rapid application.

2. Action and Power Synergy

In line with the action-focused design of the Ascendancy, Hand of Wisdom and Action provides damage bonuses that scale with how quickly and efficiently you move in combat.

Attack and Movement Speed Synergy: The Ascendancy gives you the ability to deal higher damage when you maintain constant movement. As you keep moving across the battlefield, your damage output increases as you maintain high mobility.

Strategic Positioning: The mechanics of this Ascendancy favor smart positioning, as you need to keep moving to maintain the damage bonuses. This creates an environment where both offensive actions and defensive positioning are equally important for success.

3. Wisdom Through Dodging

Another feature that makes the Hand of Wisdom and Action Ascendancy so unique is its heavy focus on dodging. As a Duelist, you'll have more dodge abilities that not only make you harder to hit, but also offer offensive perks for successfully dodging.

Dodge Chance: As you move around and dodge incoming attacks, you'll gain a dodge bonus that can make your character nearly untouchable in certain situations.

Offensive Dodge Buffs: The Ascendancy also provides powerful offensive buffs after dodging attacks. These buffs can manifest as damage multipliers, increased attack speed, or bonus effects to your abilities.

Duality of Wisdom and Action: The name itself-Hand of Wisdom and Action-suggests a balance between thoughtful movement and reactive combat, where you need to dodge intelligently and strike hard.

4. Passive Skill Trees and Additional Bonuses

Like all Ascendancies in PoE 2, the Hand of Wisdom and Action comes with its own set of passive skills, which complement its overall design. These passive nodes can boost various aspects of your gameplay, such as:

Increased Attack Damage: Enhance your damage output by selecting nodes that increase the physical damage or critical chance.

Movement Speed Buffs: More movement speed means faster clearing, so some nodes focus on stacking additional bonuses to get you across the battlefield faster.

Dodge and Evasion Buffs: Invest in evasion and dodge chance to increase your overall survivability.

Building Your Hand of Wisdom and Action Character

Building an effective character around the Hand of Wisdom and Action Ascendancy revolves around focusing on speed, agility, and dodging. Here's how you can craft a strong build:

1. Focus on Movement Speed

To truly make the most of this Ascendancy, movement speed should be one of your primary goals. Invest in gear, flasks, and passive skill tree nodes that increase movement speed. The faster you move, the more powerful your damage output will become.

Boots with Movement Speed: Ensure your gear provides high movement speed bonuses, especially for your boots.

Flasks and Buffs: Use flasks and skill setups that enhance movement and attack speed. This will allow you to keep up the momentum needed to deal high damage.

2. Evasion and Dodge

To complement the Ascendancy's dodge mechanics, aim for high evasion and dodge chance. Evasion will make it easier to avoid damage, while dodge abilities will let you capitalize on attacking once you successfully avoid enemy strikes.

Dodge and Evasion Gear: Equip helmets, rings, and shields that enhance your evasion and dodge chances.

3. Damage Scaling and Attack Speed

Combine your movement speed with attack speed to maximize your DPS. Focus on dual-wielding or using fast-hitting weapons to take advantage of the attack speed bonuses from the Ascendancy.

Weapon Choices: Opt for fast attack speed weapons like daggers or claws, which synergize well with the Ascendancy's speed-focused nature.

4. Hybrid Build with Movement and Damage Buffs

A successful Hand of Wisdom and Action build often combines mobility and damage buffs. Hybrid builds that balance offensive and defensive capabilities are highly recommended. Consider using shield charge, whirling blades, or dash to keep up your movement while maintaining an offensive presence in combat.

Conclusion

The Hand of Wisdom and Action Ascendancy in PoE 2 offers a highly dynamic and mobile playstyle for those who enjoy fast-paced combat. If you want to become stronger quickly, you can help yourself through poe2 trade. By focusing on mobility, damage, and dodge mechanics, you'll be able to move through maps quickly, evade dangerous attacks, and deal massive damage. With the right build, gear, and positioning, Hand of Wisdom and Action can turn your Duelist into a swift and powerful force on the battlefield.