Looking for the best version of the Witch in Path of Exile 2? As the Witch, you will raise skeletal creatures to subdue all enemies in Path of Exile 2. The Witch is the only class in the game that starts with a miniature army at her disposal, and this army will grow larger and more powerful with each level.
Maximizing the Witch’s potential is therefore a fine exercise aimed at buffing your minions as much as possible while ensuring that they are tough enough to do their job as flesh (or rather bone) shields. In this guide we will explain the best version of Witch in early access Path of Exile 2, spreading out the most useful skills and support gems to unleash hell.
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The best version of the Witch in Path of Exile 2
The best version of the Witch in Path of Exile 2 will be whatever we call it Minion Infernalist build. Her skill set highlights the Witch’s power to create a wide range of summons and then take Infernalist Ascension to make those summons explode with fire magic.
The only drawbacks of this version are its fragility and high reliability on Spirit. However, the Witch is a generally sharp class that needs Spirit more than anyone else in the game, so this shouldn’t be a huge surprise. Be sure to equip gear that maximizes your Energy Shield and Spirit (a good Scepter is necessary; see our Spirit guide for more on this), and look for armor that increases Intelligence or offers stat modifiers for your minions.
Minion Infernalist version: Top skills
There are a few Witch skills that can work with the Minion Infernalist build, as long as you can get some fire magic and some summons in it. The following ten are my personal pillars:
Dig
Unearth is a favorite game that I always reach for for my first uncut gem of a skill. This allows you to deal area damage in the form of exploding bone blasts, and you can also create creatures from corpses that look like cold bone scorpions.
Skeleton sniper
You have many options for summoning skeletons, but in the early game it’s best to choose Skeleton Snipers. Of course, they are less immediate and personal compared to Skeleton Warriors and cost more Spirit, which means you will likely only have one at a time. However, skeleton snipers deal a lot of damage, especially with gas arrows.
Skeletal arsonist
Once you get halfway through the game, you can start replacing Skeleton Snipers with Skeleton Arsonists, which are cordial, bony guys that throw Molotovs. They are great for dealing area damage to minions, while your Skeleton Snipers are better at single-targeting.
A victim of pain
This Vlad the Impaler-like ability summons a bone spike that gives all nearby minions a 40% increased attack and casting speed buff. This sickly totem is a minion itself, so it can be targeted and destroyed, but when it’s up it’s a great way to buff yourself up.
Bone Storm
Bonestorm allows you to create a storm of bone spikes in the air and then fire them at enemies. It’s a reliable area-of-effect projectile ability, and Bone Storm’s shards burrow into the bodies of your enemies, meaning your minions deal extra damage right after you fire them.
Detonate the corpse
Detonate Dead works perfectly with the scorpion creatures summoned by Unearth. You can also apply it on any skeleton, and it’s especially fun for Skeleton Firestarters to make sure that even if their Molotov misses, their self-destruct will eventually deal damage.
Wall of Flame
Wall of Flame may be a popular ability in Sorceress builds in the early game, but the Witch will benefit greatly from it as well, especially considering she has Infernalist as one of her Advantage classes. In addition to serving as a fiery buffer between you and your enemies, the Flame Wall can also ignite Gas Arrows fired by your Skeleton Snipers.
Angry ghosts
You have the Wall of Flames, now fill it up with Furious Spirits, which become available once you get Uncut Spirit Gems at around level 10. While this option is dynamic, any fire spell you cast will summon miniature flaming skulls that will attack nearby enemies. This means that the Wall of Flames gets even better and the ranks of your minion army continue to grow!
Sensitivity
Vulnerability curses all nearby targets and causes hits on them to ignore some of their armor. This has good synergy with Pain Offering – set up a bone spike to make your minions hit harder, then apply Vulnerability to make their attacks tear your opponent apart.
Summon the Hellhound
Finally, we have Summon Hellhound, which is a skill you’ll gain once you gain Advantage and dive into the passive skill tree focusing on the Infernalist’s fire attack. Your dog will set nearby enemies on fire and take some of the hits intended for you – the perfect final minion for the rampaging Infernalist!
Build Minion Infernalist: The best support gems
To support this build, you’ll want to equip support gems, which complement minions’ attacks and improve the effects of your magic. Try the following solutions:
The pace of the fight
The pace of the fight will be needed for your skeleton snipers so that they can shoot faster. Honestly, this is a good support gem for any skeleton minion and works well with Last Gasp.
Last breath
Now that your bone snipers are firing faster, augment their durability with Last Gasp. The trade-off is that they do less damage, but since we supplemented their DPS with Martial Tempo, it all works out fine in the end.
Feeding frenzy
Once you’ve filled your ranks with Skeleton Igniters, equip the Feeding Frenzy to augment the effectiveness of their bombs, dealing 30% more damage. They will also take 20% more damage, but that doesn’t matter because you can always blow them up with Detonate Dead.
Secret time
Use Arcane Tempo to supplement your own spells – especially Bone Storm, which should be cast as quickly as possible to turn the space in front of your Witch into a bullet hell.
Durability
Durability is basic – it makes any skill with a duration last a little longer. Use it with the Offering of Pain to keep your bone spike past its typical expiration date.
Ablation
Ablation is another possible support gem for Sacrifice of Pain, although it is riskier than Persistence. Sacrifices some of your health to augment the effect of the buff. Use it if you are confident that your creatures will be able to protect you while the bony spike is up.
Magnified effect
The magnified effect increases each area skill. This is an excellent choice to complement Detonate Dead as there is nothing better than getting the most out of your skeletons by increasing their blast radius!
Fire Infusion
You’re an Infernalist, so you need to have Fire Imbue, which will power up your attacks to deal more fire damage at the expense of icy and lightning damage. This gem can be a good fit for many skills, but try it with Detonate Dead for an even more explosive self-destruct sequence for your skeletons.
Fortress
The stronghold takes all the spells they generate in a line and turns it into a circle. Circular targeting is generally a bit easier in Path of Exile 2, where enemies close in on you in tight corridors, which works especially well with the Wall of Flame.
Sacrifice
Use Sacrifice on the flaming skulls generated by Raging Spirits to deal additional fire damage to already ignited enemies. It’s a great way to replenish your little buddies, Ghost Rider style.
Now that you know the best way to augment your skeletal strength, go out and show your enemies what a real Witch is capable of. For more information on the mechanics that power Grinding Gear Games’ epic ARPG, check out our guides to the passive skill tree, attributes, and crafting. We also took a look at the best character class for beginners, as well as a list of what to do first if you’re just getting started with early Path of Exile 2. And if you want to learn how to take your class to the next level, check out our guide to ascension through the Trial of Sekhems.
