PoE2 Smith of Kitava: Dawn of the Hunt Reveal

Yesterday, March 28, 2025, Grinding Gear Games lit up the Path of Exile 2 community with the Dawn of the Hunt (Patch 0.2.0) reveal, dropping April 4. While the Amazon and Ritualist have their charm, the Warrior's third ascendancy—Smith of Kitava—steals the show for us seasoned exiles craving something offbeat. Titan and Warbringer set a high bar with their brute-force glory, but this fiery smith brings a quirky edge that's got potential written all over it. MMOJUGG's here to break it down—let's forge into it!  

This ascendancy channels Kitava's insatiable hunger into weapon mastery and fiery flair. It's not the Titan's raw, unyielding power—think more experimental, with a mix of defensive tricks and oddball mechanics. Unlike Titan's “smash everything” vibe, Smith of Kitava feels like a tinkerer's playground. With 100+ new unique items hitting in Dawn of the Hunt, here's what's cooking in this fiery forge.  

The Smith's nodes split into freebies, defensive staples, and some wild cards—here's the rundown:  

Free Starter: 20% Increased Melee Damage: You get this just for picking the class. Small, but a nice nudge for melee fans—nothing to write home about yet.  

Smith Masterwork (Variable Cost): Ditch your body armor's six affixes for a base-tier pick (armor, evasion, or ES) with an implicit. Trade-offs are steep—losing six mods hurts—but you pick from six red-framed nodes (cost TBD, likely 1 point each):  

Physical Taken as Fire: Decent for fire-themed mitigation, though weaker than Cloak of Flame's 5% max fire res.  

5% Life Regen: Solid early sustain, less thrilling late-game.  

Reduced Crit Damage Taken: Niche but handy against burst.  

Resistances: Fills gaps if you're starved elsewhere.  

Two more TBD—hoping for punchier options.

At 2–4 points, it's a defensive lean; 6+ could be bonkers if free, but that's a pipe dream—too strong for GGG's balance hammer.

Coldstalker + Forceflame (4-pointer): Chieftain-style resistance stacking—fire res doubles into cold/lightning (2% fire = 2% fire + 1% cold + 1% lightning), and max fire res applies to all three. Stack 9% max fire res (Flowing Metal, Infernal Glass Belt, jewels), and you're tanky as hell. Every Smith build's grabbing this—it's brain-dead strong.  

Manifest Weapon (4-pointer): Spawns a weapon copy as a minion, scaling with your weapon and character level. Likely a 6-linkable summon—huge if untargetable, shaky if it's squishy. Melee-only or ranged/spell-friendly? TBD, but a free 6-link's got chaos potential with the correct unique.  

Temper Weapon (2-pointer): Hammer an anvil for a buff—sounds cool, but the animation's a slog. Like Ritualist's Sacrifice, it's a mid-combat pause button. If it's not instant in 0.2.0, it's a pass—clunky's not cute.  

Heat of the Forge (4-pointer): Grants a fire spell on hit. No ignite or shock is needed—just smack something, and it triggers. Spells that multi-hit (think rapid-fire casts) could juice this up. Energy-based (not free casts—GGG's not that generous), but the rate's the kicker. If it's decent, this could be a meta-defining one-button fireworks show.

Titan's a juggernaut—stack strength, smash faces, laugh at puny mobs. It's peak Warrior: reliable, overwhelming, and a league-start darling. Smith of Kitava trades some of that muscle for flavor. Coldstalker/Forceflame mirrors Titan's tankiness, but Masterwork's body armor gamble and Temper's anvil fiddling add quirks Titan sidesteps. Heat of the Forge and Manifest Weapon tease build diversity—fire spell spam or minion shenanigans—that Titan's straightforward brawn doesn't touch. Titan's king for now, but Smith's got room to surprise.  

This ascendancy's a slow burn. Coldstalker/Forceflame is a no-brainer—stack fire res and cruise defensively. Heat of the Forge could pop off if energy gain's generous—pair it with a multi-hitting spell or attack and watch the screen blaze. Manifest Weapon's a wildcard—immortal minion with a 6-linked unique spear? Yes, please. Masterwork's a tougher sell—six affixes is a brutal loss unless those red nodes get juicier in the patch. Temper Weapon's DOA without an animation fix.  

It's not Titan's plug-and-play power, but that's the appeal—Smith of Kitava's a canvas for off-meta tinkerers. With Dawn of the Hunt's loot shakeup, expect some mad lads to forge something filthy—especially if a unique weapon amps up Manifest or Heat.  

Patch 0.2.0's full notes and numbers will settle the score—energy rates for Heat, minion survivability, and Masterwork costs. For now, it's a quirky gem begging for creativity. Titan might reign supreme out the gate, but Smith's got the bones for a sleeper hit—especially for exiles who love a challenge over a face-roll.  

That's the Smith of Kitav,a fresh from yesterday's Dawn of the Hunt reveal! It's a funky twist on the Warrior—less Titan's raw dominance, more room for wild ideas. MMOJUGG's buzzing to see where it lands in Patch 0.2.0—stick around for the ride!