Path of Exile 2: Witch leveling guide
Path of Exile 2’s Witch leveling build is a pretty fun one to use and it doesn’t take a lot of effort either. It’s very similar to what you’d do for a typical minion leveling build since the Witch has the best base for it. They already use the proper weapons and most of the minion-build skills are found in Occult (Witch). For that reason, we’re going to recommend a Minion Infernalist build as a Witch.
A Minion Infernalist build as a Witch in Path of Exile 2 is arguably the best way to proceed. Even though Raging Spirit was reportedly nerfed, it still feels incredibly strong to us and has been carrying me through half of my playthrough without any foreseeable difficulty. Here’s what you need to know.
How does a Witch leveling build work in Path of Exile 2?
A Witch leveling build in Path of Exile 2 still uses primarily Witch (Occult) skills, but you also want some Skills from the Sorceress (Elemental) tree. Particularly, Fire Wall, so you can use the Fire Wall + Raging Spirits to go alongside Skeletal Arsonists. That’s going to count for a huge amount of your damage.
In the early game, you’ll take advantage of Enfeeble to weaken enemies, and later, pick Flammability, since it weakens Fire Resistance — something you’re definitely going to want to use. Moreover, in Act 2, you’ll be picking Infernalist, so you can have yet another minion — Infernal Hellhound.
While it’s entirely up to you what to pick and when, here’s more or less what your Skill setup will likely look like as a Path of Exile 2 Witch leveling build, once you get into the late game:
- Unearth
- Flammability
- Skeletal Arsonist
- Detonate Dead
- Flame Wall
- Raging Spirits
- Pain Offering
- Summon Infernal Hellhound
- Summon Skeletal Storm Mage
- Blink
- Grim Feast
Your Passive skill needs may also vary, but above, you’ll see a rough path to follow. This is the tree we’re using and it gives you a massive amount of Energy Shield and Minion buffs (Revival Speed, Maximum Life). In general, your stat order is Intelligence, Dexterity, then Strength.
Make sure you have enough Dex/Str to wear your equipment in the later parts of the game since that's going to be very important. You’re also never going to spend points on Skeletal Warriors. Instead, let your Sceptre do that when possible. Otherwise, you’re going to go from Snipers to Arsonists.
When looking for gear, you want Elemental Resistances, +Maximum Life, Spirit, and Reduced Reservation. You also want High Armor and Energy Shield. Your Sceptre (the most important weapon), should have Skeletal Warrior or Malice as the skill, and ideally, some of the below skill affixes.
- +All Minion Skills
- Allies in your presence deal/have increased (Damage Attack Speed, Additional Fire Damage, Additional Physical Damage).
- Increased Spirit
Path of Exile 2 Witch leveling build: How to get started (Through Executioner/End of Act 1)
The beginning of Path of Exile 2 as a Witch leveling build is pretty easy. It’s going to take a little bit to get started using Fire Wall + Raging Spirits, which is still an amazingly powerful combo in PoE 2. For now, you’re going to want to use Contagion and Skeletal Snipers. Unearth is going to be a potentially devastating skill as well — practice casting it over groups of corpses, to make sure you get as many minions as possible.
Another valuable skill for single-target damage is Essence Drain — you might get it on your weapon. Otherwise, you’ll need to burn a Skill Gem on it. You’re going to pick up Fire Wall early on in Act 1 as well.
It enhances your damage and adds extra damage to the enemy. However, when you combine it with Skeletal Snipers’ Poison Gas ability, it causes a devastating explosion. Once you get to the Executioner, one of the last Act 1 bosses of Path of Exile 2, you'll want to grab Bonestorm. When you can, also swap Archers for Skeletal Arsonists since you'll be using them for the rest of the game.
Another important thing you should pick up in PoE 2 after defeating The King in the Mists is Raging Spirit. This requires a Spirit Gem, which you should get as a result of defeating this boss. They also give you a +Spirit item, which you need badly. Hence, by the end of Act 1, your skillset should look something like this (including support gems):
- Unearth: Minion Instability
- Bonestorm: Brutality
- Enfeeble: Heightened Curse
- Skeletal Arsonist: Scattershot, Concentrated Effect
- Flame Wall: Fortress
- Raging Spirits: Martial Tempo
- Pain Offering:
What to do in Act 2 of Path of Exile 2 for a Witch leveling build
Act 2 of Path of Exile 2 doesn’t change very much for a Witch leveling build. It mostly involves improving the skill levels of your loadout, but there are some noteworthy changes. For example, Act 2 will see you swap out Enfeeble for Flammability - though I tend to keep Enfeeble somewhere on my controller, to add yet more damage, if I have the mana for it. You won’t be using Bonestorm anymore, either. At this point, it’s all about that Raging Spirits damage.
It’s going to take some practice, but learning when to use Skeletal Arsonist’s Detonate Dead ability is going to be key. Leave this skill at Level 7, for a solid combo of damage+mana cost. Frankly, if you’ve got the mana, you can just spam that, and then immediately cast Flame Wall twice to get 10 Raging Spirits back into play. Giving them Martial Tempo and Fire Infusion is going to be a powerful setup.
Also, take your time, and as soon as you feel strong enough, complete the Trial of the Sekehemas, and pick Infernalist Ascendancy. Pick up your Infernal Hellhound skill from that, to add one more friend to the party.
- Unearth: Minion Instability
- Flammability: Heightened Curse, Spell cascade
- Skeletal Arsonist: Scattershot, Concentrated Effect
- Flame Wall: Fortress, Arcane Surge
- Raging Spirits: Fire Infusion, Martial Tempo
- Pain Offering: Magnified Effect, Persistence
- Infernal Hellhound: Elemental Army, Meat Shield
- Skeletal Warrior (through Sceptre): Brutality, Last Gasp
What to do in Act 3 of Path of Exile 2 for a Witch leveling build
Your priority in Act 3 is to enhance the power of Raging Spirit, as a Path of Exile 2 Witch build user. If you’re lucky like me, and pick up some Lesser Jeweller’s Orbs early, immediately use the first one on Raging Spirit, to add Feeding Frenzy to it. This makes them hit harder but take more damage. Still, they don’t stick around long anyway so that’s irrelevant.
If you can get a second, slap that on Skeletal Arsonist. You can’t do a lot more at this point in the game, nor do you need to. You aren’t likely going to be strong in Spirit enough to grab Skeletal Storm Mages. If you can without sacrificing your other minions, go for it — but that takes serious +Spirit on your gear. Besides, you won't see Level 11 Uncut Gems until Cruel difficulty - though you can always purchase them on the Auction House.
- Unearth: Minion Instability, Infernal Legion
- Flammability: Heightened Curse, Spell cascade
- Skeletal Arsonist: Scattershot, Concentrated Effect, Martial Tempo
- Flame Wall: Fortress, Arcane Surge
- Raging Spirits: Fire Infusion, Feeding Frenzy, Fire Penetration
- Pain Offering: Magnified Effect, Persistence
- Infernal Hellhound: Elemental Army, Meat Shield
- Skeletal Warrior (through Sceptre): Splinter, Brutality, Maim
How to set up for Cruel difficulty in Path of Exile 2 as a Witch
While this build runs as many Skeletal Arsonists as you can possibly fit, you only want one Skeletal Storm Mage. They apply Shock, which increases the damage you deal to those targets. You might have to wait on more Spirit, though. Don’t remove more than one or two Arsonists from your build.
Around the end of Act 1 Cruel/Act 2, you want to start using the buff Grim Feast to keep your Energy Shield up, thanks to dead enemies. Throughout Cruel, you’ll also want to keep upgrading your skills with specific support gems.
This of course is contingent on you getting better and better quality Jeweller’s Orbs - they’re frightfully expensive on the Auction House too, so you’ll want to farm them instead. Below is the ideal endgame setup for a Path of Exile 2 Witch build, though it will take a lot of effort.
- Unearth: Minion Instability, Infernal Legion
- Detonate Dead: Unleash, Spell Echo, Brutality, Arcane Tempo, Considered Casting
- Flammability: Heightened Curse, Spell Cascade, Inspiration, Persistence, Focused Curse
- Skeletal Arsonist: Scattershot, Martial Tempo, Heft, Last Gasp, Fire Infusion
- Flame Wall: Fortress, Arcane Surge, Mobility, Energy Barrier
- Raging Spirits: Feeding Frenzy, Minion Instability, Elemental Focus, Immolate, Minion Mastery
- Pain Offering: Magnified Effect, Font of Rage, Font of Blood, Ablation, Font of Mana
- Infernal Hellhound: Meat Shield, Fire Exposure, Strip Away, Fiery Death, Fire Mastery
- Skeletal Storm Mage: Conduction, Stormfire, Overcharge, Lightning Penetration, Controlled Destruction
- Grim Feast: Clarity
- Blink: Second Wind, Ingenuity
Check out our other Path of Exile 2 guides and features
- How to unlock your Hideout in Path of Exile 2
- Path of Exile 2 Act 2 Campaign guide: All quests, locations, bosses, and secrets
- All Path of Exile 2 Ascendancies and their passives