Path of Exile 2 Witch Minion Leveling Guide

Time: 2024-12-27 by mmojugg Game: Path of Exile 2 Guide

Welcome to MMOJUGG's comprehensive guide to mastering the Witch Minion leveling build in Path of Exile 2. This guide is your roadmap from level 1 to the endgame, focusing on harnessing the power of minions to dominate Wraeclast. We'll cover every aspect of effectively leveling your minions to ensure your journey is both enjoyable and efficient.

Early Game Strategy: Levels 1-20

Skill selection and synergy:

Contagion + Essence Drain: Start with Contagion to spread damage over time (DoT) effects, which is great for both AOE clearing and single-target bossing. Essence Drain complements this by dealing direct damage and applying additional DoTs. Use Magnified Effect on Contagion to increase its area of effect, and pair Essence Drain with Swift Affliction for a damage multiplier, though it reduces the duration, and Persistence to extend the duration of the DoT.

Unearth: This skill summons bone minions from corpses, which can also spread your Contagion effect. Use Brutality for a 35% damage increase to both the Unearth spell and the minions. Battle Speed speeds up your minions' attacks, increasing their effectiveness early on.

Skeletal Snipers: Switch to these for ranged damage support. They're particularly useful in Act 1 and early Act 2. Equip a wand with Chaos Bolts for boss damage and a scepter with Rattling to summon Warriors.

Passive tree:

Start with the nodes that increase both spell and minion damage, found near the witch's starting area. Raw Destruction gives you an intelligence boost, which is crucial for equipping better gear as you level.

Depending on your comfort level with early-game difficulty, you can opt for Power of the Dead for a straightforward path, or delve into Chaos Damage and Entropy for increased DoT effectiveness, which may slow your mid-game progression but offer stronger leveling.

Mid-Game Transition: Levels 22-24

Ascendancy Option - Infernalist:

When you reach level 22-24, you'll unlock your first Ascendancy point. Choose Infernalist to gain a Hellhound, a pet that not only absorbs 20% of incoming damage, but also ignites enemies. This synergy with Skeletal Sharpshooters results in explosive poison clouds that increase AOE damage.

Skill Evolution:

Detonate Dead: Now becomes your primary AOE tool. It deals damage based on a percentage of the target's maximum health, making it incredibly powerful. Use Magnified Effect for a larger AOE and Fire Infusion for additional damage.

Bone Storm: For bossing, channel Bone Storm to apply a debuff that boosts your minions' next attack. This skill scales with all your minion damage nodes, providing significant burst damage.

Support Gems:

For Skeletal Snipers, Martial Tempo for attack speed and Last Gasp for extended minion uptime post-death.

On Bone Storm, Arcane Tempo increases cast speed, and Pain Offering can be used if you find gear with enough Spirit, targeting snipers for a damage boost.

Consider Rallying Cry for early game if you're struggling, replacing Pain Offering until you're more robust.

Late game and endgame: Beyond level 24

Minion scaling:

Switch to Skeletal Brutes for their superior health and damage output. They excel in both AOE and single-target scenarios. However, manage your Minion numbers to prevent them from blocking each other on tight maps.

Skeletal Arsonist: Add these for AOE damage with Feeding Frenzy for increased damage at the cost of durability and Scattershot for overlapping grenades.

Raging Spirits: Summoned by Flame Wall, these provide additional damage and synergy with Arsonists.

Advanced Support Gems:

For Beasts, Martial Tempo and Heavy Swing to increase their damage and stagger effect.

Keep Detonate Dead with Magnified Effect and now Echo for chain explosions.

Skeletal Cleric: Keep Pain Sacrifice up to provide attack speed and damage buffs to all minions.

Equipment recommendations:

Scepter: Look for minion skill levels and maximum Spirit. Ideal roles include extra physical damage and crit bonuses. The Omen Scepter for crit debuffs is a late game goal.

Helmet: +1 to Minion Skill Level is crucial for damage and survivability.

Chest: Spirit on equipment is rare but essential for summoning more minions.

Shield: Provides block chance, resistances and health, crucial for an ES (Energy Shield) and armour hybrid build.

For those looking to start strong, consider PoE 2 Witch Starter Leveling Set available on MMOJUGG, which includes gear tailored to this build, increasing your ability to scale minions effectively from the start.

Thanks for Reading

This Path of Exile 2 Witch Minion build is designed to get stronger with each level, using the game's mechanics to scale your minions into an unstoppable force. Remember, as you progress, it is important to adapt your build to the changes in the game and your playstyle. Stay tuned to MMOJUGG for more updates and a closer look at Path of Exile 2's evolving meta.