Path of Exile 2’s Patch 0.5 (Return of the Ancients) has been live for a bit now, and the early meta data is giving us a fascinating look at what everyone is playing. If you’ve spent any time in town or browsing the ladder, it won't surprise you to hear that mobility, elemental crowd control, and huge area pressure are completely dominating the endgame right now.



A massive driving force behind the current meta is the newly released Martial Artist Monk ascendancy. It is absolutely exploding in popularity, accounting for roughly 23% to 25% of the entire player base. Because everyone is rolling a Monk,skills that reward fast, aggressive playstyles or offer solid elemental synergy are seeing massive spikes in usage.



Let’s break down the most popular skills lighting up the charts right now, grouped by how they actually play out in the game.



Area Control & Spell Dominance

Twister: This is the absolute king of the patch right now. Sitting at a massive 14% usage rate in early character statistics, Twister is leading the charts by a wide margin. Players are loving it because it provides consistent, hands-off area pressure and makes managing massive packs of monsters incredibly easy. If you want seamless screen clear, this is what people are leaning into.



Storm Wave: Hovering around the 8% usage mark, Storm Wave has become a premier choice for clearing dense mapping layouts. Its massive elemental coverage allows players to shock and shatter their way through tight corridors without breaking a sweat.



Frost Bomb: While it might not always be the primary dynamic killer, Frost Bomb is being slotted into almost every elemental setup imaginable. Players are heavily relying on it to set up reliable burst damage and lock down dangerous rares or bosses before they can cause any trouble.



Melee & Mobility Excellence

Whirling Slash: Melee is in a fantastic spot this patch, mostly because players refuse to slow down. Whirling Slash has emerged as the premier choice for anyone wanting to balance high-speed movement with screen-wide clearing potential. It syncs up perfectly with the aggressive, fluid combat style of the new Martial Artist ascendancy, making it a staple for anyone running up into the thick of a fight.



Ranged & Cold-Scaling Precision

Ice-Tipped Arrows: On the ranged side of things, cold damage scaling is completely dominating the early ladder. Ice-Tipped Arrows has become a staple choice across multiple bow archetypes, giving players highly reliable damage scaling alongside the ultimate defensive layer: freezing enemies solid before they can ever reach you.



Empowered Barrage: Mapping is one thing, but single-target boss damage is another. Empowered Barrage is the clear favorite for ranged builds looking for precision scaling when it's time to burst down heavy campaign bosses or pinnacle endgame targets.



Ice Shot & Snipe: These two are frequently being paired right alongside Ice-Tipped Arrows. Together, they round out a highly popular, freeze-heavy bow meta that is absolutely crushing the early ladder configurations.



Herald of Ice: You can't talk about a cold meta without talking about Herald of Ice. It remains a massive favorite for its reservation utility, allowing players to chain shatter explosions across entire screens. It’s currently acting as the structural backbone for both pure bow builds and hybrid elemental setups alike.



Whether you're looking to reroll onto the Martial Artist train or just trying to find a solid skill to push deeper into the endgame, these are the clear winners of Patch 0.5. It'll be exciting to see if any sleeper builds rise up to challenge them as the meta continues to settle!