Path of Exile 2 Disciple of Varashta Ascendancy overview and passives

With less than a day before Path of Exile 2, Last of the Druids update, Grinding Gear Games revealed the final Ascendancy for the Sorceress. Disciple of Varashta is a Maraketh-themed Ascendancy that can command Djinns to do her bidding.

Alongside the Djinns, you get access to some strong defensive perks, which make this Ascendancy a lot more well-rounded. As for the gameplay, it’s shaping up to be a spell-casting/minion hybrid build and a potential League Starter in PoE 2.

Let’s explore more about what the new Sorceress Ascendancy in Path of Exile 2 has to offer.

Disciple of Varashta brings a lot more build flexibility for the Sorceress in Path of Exile 2

You can command three invincible Djinns with Disciple of Varashta (Image via GGG)

The Disciple of Varashta is a lot more complex than it seems. Each Djinn comes with an initial command ability and three more that you can assign using Ascendancy skill points. However, since you only get a total of eight and there are other Notables on the tree, you’ll likely need to make a choice on which Djinn you’ll want to invest in.

Here are all the Notables within the Disciple of Varashta Ascendancy in Path of Exile 2:

Branch 1 of the Disciple of Varashta Ascendancy in Path of Exile 2

All Ruzhan Commands in PoE 2 (Image via GGG)

The first branch from the left side of Ascendancy passive features Ruzhan, The Blazing Sword. The basic skill you get with this Djinn is the ability to slam a sword into the ground. It creates a wave of lava that deals Fire damage. For each attack skill you use within four seconds, the damage increases by 10%.

Here are the command skills for Ruzhan

Ruzhan’s Reckoning: On common, the Djinn will teleport among enemies and slam his sword into the ground. It’s a two-phase attack, as the initial teleport also deals damage.
Ruzhan’s Trap: Lodge Ruzhan’s sword into the ground to create an AoE that creates a fiery tornado when an enemy steps on it. Each cast creates 8 Runes and has a limit of 21. It’s hard to say how good the damage will be, but it does seem like a good AoE ability.
Ruzhan’s Fury: Summon flaming embers and fire them towards the enemies that explode on impact. It fires 20 projectiles and deals 60% more damage against immobilized enemies. If you’re planning to use it, make sure you can Pin, Freeze, Electrocute, or Heavy Stun enemies.

Also Read: Path of Exile 2 All Druid Skills (known so far)

Branch 4 of the Disciple of Varashta Ascendancy in Path of Exile 2

All Navira Commands in PoE 2 (Image via GGG)

This section of the Ascendancy features Navira, The Last Mirage. This one’s a Cold-based minion that focuses on support through Mana and Shield Regen. This Djinn also utilizes Chilled Ground, making it something that grants you a buff and applies various debuffs to enemies.

Here are the command skills for Navira

Navira’s Oasis: Use this skill to turn any Chilled Ground into an Oasis for 15 seconds (base duration). Standing on it will grant damage Taken as Life and Mana, alongside Flask charge recovery. It may be with using across waystones with Chilled Ground modifiers.
Navira’s Fracturing: With this skill, Fracture all Chilled Ground to deal a large amount of Cold Damage and potentially Freeze enemies. However, unless there are ways to create Chilled Ground by yourself, this skill will have limited use.
Navira’s Well: For the next six seconds, this skill increases the Energy Shield Recharge Rate by 49%. It’s like Convalescence, but with a shorter cooldown, so you’re saving 30 Spirit.

Remaining Notables for the Disciple of Varashta Ascendancy in Path of Exile 2

Attack and defensive Notables within the new Sorceress Ascendancy in PoE 2 (Image via GGG)

Branches 2 and 3

The Fourth Teach: Reduced the base Energy Shield Recharge by one second and grants a 40% increased ES Recharge Rare, while on Low ES.
Sacred Rituals: 60% of the Energy Shield added to existing armor to determine Physical damage Reduction.
Varashta’s Intuition: 100% of the Elemental damage is taken from Mana before Life.

These two branches of the new Sorceress Ascendancy in PoE 2 are all about defense and have the potential to make the Disciple of Varashta the most tanky character in the game. I was able to reach a one-second Energy Shield Recharge rate during Dawn of the Hunt League, and with The Fourth Teach, it may be even easier in patch 0.4.

However, if that wasn’t enough, with Varashta’s Intuition, enemy elemental attacks will consume Mana before life. Stacking Mana Regen is a lot easier than Life Regen in Path of Exile 2, and this Notable can effectively make you invincible.

And to add a cherry on top, if you choose Sacred Rituals instead, it will allow you to stack Energy Shield and convert it into armor. I’m not sure whether it will treat the ES as armor or remove that amount to take effect. If it’s the former, the Notable may be a popular pick.

Branches 5 and 6

Instruments of Power: You can equip a Focus while wielding a Staff, but the effects of the item are reduced by 50%.
Baryanic Leylines: Non-unique Time-Lost jewels have 40% increased radius.

Just like branches 2 and 3 focus on defense, branches 5 and 6 are for the damage dealers. Staff in Path of Exile 2 is a two-handed weapon, but the focus is an excellent source of additional Energy Shield and Spell damage. It'll be interesting to see how it interacts with a ‘+3 level of all Spell Skill’ modifier.

Baryanic Leylines are conditional, but strong. Time-Lost jewels in Path of Exile 2 can grant additional effects to the passives, and a larger area means more passives being affected. Finding the perfect roll on a jewel can be difficult, but once you do get it, it may surpass Instruments of Power in terms of DPS increase.

Branch 7 of the Disciple of Varashta Ascendancy in Path of Exile 2

All Kelari Commands in PoE 2 (Image via GGG)

The last Barya minion is Kelari, The Tainted Sands. It’s a Physical damage-based Djinn that deals a high amount of Critical damage and applies Critical Weakness debuff.

Here are the command skills for Kelari

Kelari’s Malediction: This skill grants you exploding minions. It’s the same as Detonate Dead, but instead of exploding the corpse on the spot, they become Bettles and follow you around until you command them to attack enemies.
Kelari’s Judgement: Channel this skill for half a second to form blades over the target that drops down to deal a large amount of damage and inflict multiple stacks of Critical Weakness on enemies.
Kelari’s Deception: This skill deals an AoE explosion and leaves a clone behind that explodes on using the skill again. The description says it deals escalating damage on each consecutive use, which opens up build possibilities around it.

One thing I noticed is that none of the Notables for Disciple of Varashta Ascendancy in Path of Exile 2 feature minion damage. It’s possible that all the Djinns scale from sources like Elemental and Physical damage. However, you may need to spec into minion nodes in the main passive tree.

Check out other related guides and features for PoE 2:

Edited by Mayank Singh Rathour