What is the best Path of Exile 2 Witch build? The Witch makes her return in Path of Exile 2, but this time her summoner abilities have been simplified without lowering the classes’ skill ceiling. You’re now able to automatically summon most minions, so it’s a lot easier to keep the battlefield stocked up with your legion of monsters.
Controlling an army filled with minions is a difficult task in the original RPG game, but it’s easier to get up and running in Path of Exile 2. With the Path of Exile 2 release date finally here, we’ve got the best PoE 2 Witch class build, from skills and passives to spirit buffs and equipment. We’ve also got more tips over in our dedicated PoE 2 builds guide featuring two Witch setups.
Best Path of Exile 2 Witch build
The best PoE 2 Witch build is:
- Key skills: Skeletal Minions, Unearth/Detonate Dead, Enfeeble, Hexblast
- Key persistent Spirit buffs: Grim Feast, Barrier Invocation
- Key passives: Power of the Dead, Living Death, Necromantic Talisman, Lord of Horrors
- Ascendancy: Bloodmage
Best PoE 2 Witch skills
The best Witch skills harness the various skeletal minions at your disposal to deal most of your damage and distract foes while you wait to use Corpse Explosion on their bodies. Enfeeble and Hexblast is an alternate way to protect yourself while doing consistent damage.
In the early game, stick to Unearth and Skeletal Snipers and Frost Mages to deal most of your damage for you, casting Enfeeble to keep your enemies weakened. When you unlock Detonate Dead, switch out Unearth for it to clear hordes at a much faster pace. With Hexblast and the late-game Skeletal Brutes and Clerics, you’ll have a small army at your command to build up corpses to explode as you burn through the Cruel difficulty on the way to the endgame.
Best PoE 2 Witch persistent spirit buffs
Persistent spirit buffs are less essential for the Witch, since expending the spirit to use them them takes away from the number of minions at your disposal. That said, Grim Harvest is great at keeping you alive as it means you’re able to sustain your Energy Shield if you have corpses nearby. Grab some passives and armor that buff it and you shouldn’t have any survivability issues.
With Grim Harvest active, the Barrier Invocation becomes the best option, especially when enemies are debuffed by Enfeeble. Your Energy Shield will maintain while you proc skills socketed into equipment, making you a potent undead force.
Best PoE 2 Witch passives
For the best Witch build, we recommend hitting the minion-focused key passives near the start of the tree like Power of the Dead and Living Death before branching off toward Necromantic Talisman. Depending on the amulet you have, this passive will confer massive bonuses that greatly increase minion damage and keep them alive longer.
Finally, at the very top of the Witch’s passives, grab Lord of Horrors which reduces the reservation cost required, allowing you to summon more minions. Along the way, it isn’t a bad idea to grab some buffs to your Energy Shield like Essence Infusion.
Best PoE 2 Witch ascendancy
On paper, Bloodmage might seem counterproductive, as it allows your skills to sap both your life and mana. However, you don’t need to worry as Grim Harvest ensures your Energy Shield will help to keep you alive. Throw in the fact that Bloodmage skills grant life in return, and this build suddenly becomes considerably less risky. Take a look at our Path of Exile 2 Ascension guide to learn more about how this important game mechanic works.
Best PoE Witch equipment
To reinforce the best Witch build, be on the look out for weapons, armor, and accessories with item suffixes that boost your spirit value and minion skills. If survivability is an issue, any equipment that bolsters your energy shield and life should be enough to see you through difficult encounters, though the best suffix increases grants you life steal when your or your minions defeat an enemy.
While several of these suffixes are rare, opt for sceptres over wands and daggers for guaranteed buffs to your minions and spirit pool.
Path of Exile 2 Witch class overview
The Witch class spawns waves of undead minions to bombard anyone that stands in your way. Your army has the potential to spread infections to enemies, causing powerful debuffs and continuous damage that builds over time.
Minions only consume spirit in PoE 2, leaving your mana pool free for casting crowd control spells or focusing your damage on a single target. You can also gain additional minions with specific item buffs; equip those items to bolster your forces without spending a resource.
All PoE 2 Witch skills and summons
The composition of your undead army is selected in the Skill Gems menu, giving you access to various minions with their own set of strengths and weaknesses. Your total amount of Spirit determines how many summons you’re able to unleash, as well as the quality of the minions on offer.
With your army ready to fight alongside you, don’t just sit around and watch them crush your enemies. Using your mana, you’re able to cast helpful spells to aid your skeletal troops, spread corruption, or become a damage dealer yourself. By the time you reach the final Act 1 boss, Count Geonor, you should have no problems crushing him and his second form.
All PoE 2 Witch active skills
| Skill Name | Requirements | Effect |
| Skeletal Warrior | Level 1 Uncut Skill Gem 60 Spirit | Summons reviving Skeletal Warriors. |
| Skeletal Sniper | Level 1 Uncut Skill Gem 90 Spirit | Summons long-ranged Skeletal Snipers that fire a gas arrow on command. |
| Unearth | Level 1 Uncut Skill Gem | Raise spikes of bone in front of you, damaging enemies. Corpses in the area are reassembled into short-lived Bone Constructs that fight for you. |
| Contagion | Level 1 Uncut Skill Gem | Affects a single enemy with a debuff that deals Chaos damage over time. If that enemy dies, the Chaos damage and debuff spreads to nearby enemies and refreshes their duration. Reanimating or detonating a corpse will cause Contagion to spread. |
| Enfeeble | Level 3 Uncut Skill Gem Level 6 16 Intelligence | Curses all targets in an area after a short delay, making them deal less damage. |
| Skeletal Arsonist | Level 3 Uncut Skill Gem 50 Spirit Level 6 16 Intelligence | Summon a bomb-throwing Skeletal Arsonist that can detonate other minions on command. |
| Bone Cage | Level 3 Uncut Skill Gem Level 6 16 Intelligence | Raise a ring of bone spikes around you. The spikes are destroyed when enemies touch them, pinning them in place. |
| Essence Drain | Level 3 Uncut Skill Gem Level 6 16 Intelligence | Fires a projectile that applies powerful Chaos damage over time. |
| Raise Zombie | Level 5 Uncut Skill Gem Level 14 34 Intelligence | Consume a corpse or Power Charge to create a short-lived Zombie. |
| Skeletal Frost Mage | Level 5 Uncut Skill Gem 49 Spirit Level 14 34 Intelligence | Summon a reviving Skeletal Frost Mage that can be commanded to cast icy explosions. |
| Pain Offering | Level 5 Uncut Skill Gem Level 14 34 Intelligence | Impales a Skeleton on a bone spike to send nearby minions into a frenzy as long as the spike remains, causing them to use skills more often and deal more damage. |
| Bone Storm | Level 5 Uncut Skill Gem Level 14 34 Intelligence | Channel to conjure a swarm of bone spikes in the air, then release to fire them at enemies. They explode and impale with shrapnel, causing the next hit to deal extra damage. |
| Detonate Dead | Level 7 Uncut Skill Gem Level 22 52 Intelligence | Cause a corpse to violently explode, damaging surrounding enemies. |
| Vulnerability | Level 7 Uncut Skill Gem Level 22 52 Intelligence | Curse all targets in an area after a short delay, making hits against them ignore some armor. |
| Profane Ritual | Level 7 Uncut Skill Gem Level 22 52 Intelligence | Mark a corpse with a rune, dealing Chaos damage over time to nearby enemies. When the ritual is complete the corpse is consumed and you gain a Power Charge. |
| Skeletal Reaver | Level 9 Uncut Skill Gem 35 Spirit Level 31 72 Intelligence | Summon aggressive Skeletal Reavers that can enrage on command. |
| Despair | Level 9 Uncut Skill Gem Level 31 72 Intelligence | Curses all targets in an area after a short delay, lowering Chaos resistance. |
| Dark Effigy | Level 9 Uncut Skill Gem Level 31 72 Intelligence | Raise a Totem that bombards enemies afflicted by Chaos damage over time debuffs. |
| Skeletal Storm Mage | Level 11 Uncut Skill Gem 42 Spirit Level 41 95 Intelligence | Summon a reviving Skeletal Storm Mage that can call down lightning storms on dead Skeletons on command. |
| Bone Offering | Level 11 Uncut Skill Gem Level 41 95 Intelligence | Impales a Skeleton on a bone spike to shield your minions while the spike remains. The shield absorbs all damage minions take from the next hit then explodes. |
| Hexblast | Level 11 Uncut Skill Gem Level 41 95 Intelligence | Detonate curses on enemies to cause explosions of Chaos damage but removing the curse. |
| Skeletal Brute | Level 13 Uncut Skill Gem 51 Spirit Level 52 119 Intelligence | Summons a hard-hitting reviving brute that can stun enemies. |
| Skeletal Cleric | Level 13 Uncut Skill Gem 21 Spirit Level 52 119 Intelligence | Summons reviving Skeletal Clerics that heal other minions and revive fallen Skeletons. |
| Soul Offering | Level 13 Uncut Skill Gem Level 52 119 Intelligence | Impales a Skeleton on a bone spike, granting you a powerful damage buff but not your minions. |
All PoE 2 Witch persistent Spirit buffs
| Skill Name | Requirements | Effect |
| Grim Feast | Level 4 Uncut Spirit Gem Level 10 25 Intelligence Reservation: 30 Spirit | Feed on corpses to bolster your Energy Shield. Enemies and minions that die in your presence have a chance to drop Grim Remnants that restore your Energy Shield. |
| Withering Presence | Level 4 Uncut Spirit Gem Level 10 25 Intelligence Reservation: 30 Spirit | While active, periodically debuffs enemies in your presence. |
| Barrier Invocation | Level 8 Uncut Spirit Gem Level 26 61 Intelligence | This invocation gains Energy when your Energy Shield is damaged. Using the invocation with maximum energy triggers socketed spells. |
| Cast on Minion Death | Level 8 Uncut Spirit Gem Level 26 61 Intelligence Reservation: 60 Spirit | While active, gains Energy when a minion is killed and triggers socketed spells upon reaching maximum energy. |
| Blasphemy | Level 8 Uncut Spirit Gem Level 26 61 Intelligence | Combines all socketed Curse skills into an Aura, applying their effects to nearby enemies. |
| Cast on Critical | Level 14 Uncut Spirit Gem Level 58 133 Intelligence Reservation: 100 Spirit | Gains Energy when you critically hit enemies and triggers socketed Spells on reaching maximum energy. |
| Sacrifice | Level 14 Uncut Spirit Gem Level 58 133 Intelligence Reservation: 60 Spirit | While active, your undead reviving minions can be used in place of corpses for your skills. Minions revive more slowly. |
All PoE 2 Witch ascendancies
Here are the Path of Exile 2 Witch ascendancies:
- Bloodmage – All your abilities now cost health as well as Mana, but any enemies kill drop life remnants, making it easy to claim that lost health back. The Bloodmage gains 1% critical damage per 20 health points, so you want to stack up on your HP to deal with some serious damage.
- Infernalist – Gain access to a Hell Hound pet, capable of dealing fire damage, and it will take damage on behalf of your character. Replace your Mana with Infernal Flame, allowing you to cast new spells and deal fire damage to every enemy, providing you have over 30% Infernal Flame. Finally, you can also change into a demon, turning you into a glass cannon.
And that’s all you need to know about the Path of Exile 2 Witch. We’ve also got the best builds for the Mercenary and Ranger if you want to check out some other Path of Exile 2 classes. We also have a guide on Path of Exile 2 support gems to push your build even further.
Original contributions by Christian Vaz and Nat Smith.
