Path of Exile 2: Witch Build Guide for Minion Mastery
There are so many spells, passives and ascendancy paths in PoE 2 but the Witch is for those who want a army of undead minions. Strong minion synergy propels this dark magic user through every Act, from the early campaign to high-tier Maps. This guide will highlight the strengths of Infernal Witch minion builds so the Witch can summon an overwhelming horde of skeletons, raging spirits and other terrifying minions. This guide will focus on a smooth transition from early game to end-game by introducing core skills, a recommended passive skill tree and some notable gear.
Minion Skills Overview and Key Features
Note that minion oriented skills usually have great crowd control, area of effect and single target pressure. The goal is to combine summons like Raging Spirits and Skeletal Arsonists to generate multiple streams of fire damage and constant battlefield presence. By linking these skills with support gems each minion summons a wave of offense while surviving longer thanks to shared buffs.
Players who follow this build will have access to spells that ignite enemies, reduce elemental resistances and offer undead minions high damage, faster attack speed or defensive layers. This build also relies on having enough Spirit to maintain multiple summons at the same time. Balancing items that grant extra Spirit with synergy from the skill tree ensures the Witch is in control of a big undead army. Here is a brief table of main minion skills and their benefits:
| Skill Name | Primary Role | Key Benefit | Typical Spirit Cost |
|---|---|---|---|
| Raging Spirits | Supplemental Fire Summons | Creates up to 10 flaming skulls | ~30 Spirit |
| Skeletal Arsonists | Main Ranged Offense | Hurls fiery projectiles + Ignite | ~30 Spirit |
| Skeletal Warriors | Close-Range Minions | Provides melee pressure + Tank | Varies (0 if from Scepter) |
| Hellhound (Asc.) | Defensive Companion | Redirects some incoming hits | 0 Spirit (Asc. skill) |
Minion synergy gets stronger with each additional support link, you can cover the whole map in flames and debuffs. This whole framework is about fueling minions with expansions to Spirit and then increasing their total damage output with curses, offerings and flame based support gems. The Witch can stand behind her undead legion and reapply Flame Wall and curses as needed.
Early Progression and Skill Gem Setup
Starting as a Witch can be a few hurdles but a minion focused approach overcomes them by pushing damage through multiple summoned allies. New spells come fast and you get a bunch of skeletal options plus direct damage spells like Contagion or Unearth. Early on it’s good to get a Rattling Scepter that grants free Skeletal Warriors since those don’t consume extra Spirit.
Many players find the synergy of Flame Wall with Raging Spirits or Skeletal Arsonists very powerful especially when combined with support gems that spread ignites. Placing flame effects in an area forces your ranged skeletons to fire projectiles through the wall and convert attacks into boosted fire damage. Raging Spirits pick off stragglers and explode under Minion Instability once they reach low health. Here is a table with a suggested skill gem setup for levels 1-25:
| Skill or Support Gem | Recommended Use | Reason for Inclusion |
|---|---|---|
| Skeletal Sniper/Arsonist | Early Ranged Summon | Safe ranged damage + Ignite synergy |
| Raging Spirits | Supplemental Fire Minions | Extra flaming skulls for additional DPS |
| Flame Wall | Cast in front of skeletons | Projectile damage bonus through the wall |
| Meat Shield (Support) | On Skeletal Warriors | Improves tankiness and aggression holding |
| Contagion + Unearth | Early Chaos + Corpse synergy | Alternative for clearing small packs |
Up to level 25 just align these skill gems with synergy based supports and you should be good to go. Investing in minion passives and any gear that gives extra Spirit will speed up the leveling process. Update your Rattling Scepter whenever a higher level one drops and try to find ones with extra Spirit or +1 to All Minion Skill Gems if possible.
Early minion synergy with consistent flame damage is the foundation for everything the Witch wants to do. Stacking “+ minion life”, “+ minion damage” and “increased Spirit” on gear or the passive tree is a methodical way to make your undead minions unstoppable. This early game setup transitions nicely into mid game and beyond.
Mid-Game Expansions and Gear Considerations
Mid game often means finding ways to empower your horde and stacking defensive layers. Players might grab items like Folding Dawn Pilgrim Vestments (for +100 Spirit), Okor Sigil Crest Shield (for +50 Spirit), or Bones of Poer (for 20% reservation on undead minions). Along with that, grab additional passives in the skill tree that give “+ minion movement speed” or “+ minion resist” to keep your legion alive against higher damage encounters.
It’s also good to grab a few specialized items or passives that address resistances. Fire based minions face elemental or physical hits in higher Acts so making sure your skeletons don’t die in one hit is top priority. Meanwhile expansions to your own defenses like block chance or increased maximum Energy Shield keep the Witch safe from random bursts of damage in Maps. Here’s a short list of mid game checks:
- Ascension Points: Allocate points into Infernalis for a free Hellhound and fire damage synergy.
- Gear with Extra Spirit: Use unique shields, chest pieces or amulets to push your Spirit pool.
- Minion Support Gems: Add Brutality or Overpower to Skeletal Warriors, or Emulate + Infernal Legion for Arsonists.
- Offerings: Use Pain Offering or Bone Offering for team buffs and extra survivability.
- Flame Ability (Curse): Lower fire resistance of bosses to stack even more burn damage.
Campaign Boost
Full campaign completion
Lots of loot
All the bosses killed
Trial of Sekhemas Boost
Chance to get weapon or gear
Crafting materials and orbs
All elementals killed
Power Leveling
Reach level 100
Safety Guarantee
Start endgame faster
Basic Content Unlock Bundle
Full campaing unlock
High content access
Quick result
Keep track of these key points and damage will be high and defenses will be strong. Brutality and Overpower will push your melee minions into formidable threats, Pain Offering and Bone Offering will raise the whole team’s performance. As the Witch enters higher Acts and mid tier Maps, focusing on minion upgrades will keep progress steady.
Ascendancy Path and End-Game Strategies
In the end game the Witch uses Infernalis Ascendancy and advanced passives to manage multiple specialized summons. Points in Altered Flesh gives partial elemental damage taken as fire so resistance needs are simplified. Betet’s Hand or Betet’s Will further modifies life reservations to give extra Energy Shield or Spirit in exchange for a portion of the Witch’s life pool.
Reaching the last Ascendancy points usually involves more curses, stronger offerings or deeper minion synergy. The goal is to survive Tier 15+ Maps by relying on a solid block chance, large Energy Shield pool and a legion of unstoppable skeletons. The minion based Witch will continue to scale as long as gear and passives reflect an ongoing commitment to Spirit, minion life, minion damage and elemental or chaos resistances. Here is a table with recommended final Ascendancy points and their benefits:
| Ascendancy Perk | Major Effect | Recommended Order |
|---|---|---|
| Loyal Hellhound | +1 Summon with 20% damage taken redirect to Hellhound | First 2 Asc. points |
| Altered Flesh | 20% cold/lightning damage taken as fire, etc. | 3rd + 4th Asc. points |
| Betet’s Hand | Reserves 25% life but grants +1 ES per 8 life | 3rd (Defensive Option) |
| Betet’s Will | Reserves 25% life but grants +1 Spirit per 25 life | 3rd (Offensive Option) |
Betet’s Hand is the preferred choice for players who want a safer approach as it pushes Energy Shield to extreme highs. Betet’s Will takes a more aggressive approach, gives more total minions with more Spirit. Once the Witch has all 4 Ascendancy points the synergy of half-reserved life, large minion pools and huge Energy Shield makes the Witch fearless towards end game content.
Adding spells like Grim Feast solidifies the Witch’s defenses as each minion death will drop a Grim Remnant that stacks Energy Shield above the maximum. Boss fights become less intimidating as the Witch is surrounded by a wave of Arsonists, Warriors, Raging Spirits and a stable Hellhound that shares incoming damage. Piling on curses like Flame Ability or more exposure will keep higher tier enemies in reach and the undead horde will win. With all this in mind the Infernal Witch is at the top of PoE 2 necromancy. This build works from Act 1 to end game and in any league or mode.
