Path of Exile 2 Witch Guide

Welcome to our Path of Exile 2 Witch guide, heroes. Are you ready to plunge into the world of undead and resurrected ones? This class is all about dark magic and rising the dead ones to the world of living again. It executes the role of a DPS, allowing you to cast powerful spells from afar while summoning minions to aid you in battle.

You can skip the leveling and gearing routine with our ready-to-play Witch Build available at SkyCoach. Our PROs will help you with all the aspects of getting prepared for the endgame content. Save time and enjoy our deal at the best market price you can find.

Read our other PoE 2 guides:

• Warrior Guide
• Ranger Guide
• Monk Guide
• Sorceress Guide
• Mercenary Guide
• Best Builds

 

 

PoE 2 Witch Overview

We have prepared this brief Path of Exile 2 Witch overview to provide you with a basic understanding of what this class is capable of. Read it before rushing into the game and creating a fresh character.

Witch is a returning favorite in Path of Exile 2, revamped to focus on chaos damage and summoning. If you are someone who enjoys unleashing devastating spells or commanding an undead army, this class is for you.

This class uses Spirit, a new resource for summoning minions and casting necromantic spells, alongside the traditional Mana pool. As the intelligence-based class, she thrives on spellcasting and battlefield control. From commanding skeletal warriors to spreading devastating chaos damage over time, Witch excels in both mob clearing and boss encounters.

Notably, Witch no longer specializes in elemental magic, as this role has been shifted to the new Sorceress class. Instead, Witch fully embraces her necromantic roots, offering simplified summoning mechanics and more focus on chaos-based gameplay.

You can learn more about the class in action by watching the official Path of Exile 2 Witch trailer.

Witch Pros and Cons

Each class has a list of strong and weak points to consider when playing it. In this part of the guide, we will go over all Witch pros and cons you need to know about in advance.

Beginning with Witch Pros, they include the following:

1. Master of Summons: Raise hordes of minions to tank, deal damage, or heal in battle.
2. Devastating Chaos Damage: Excel at dealing damage over time with skills like Contagion and Essence Drain.
3. Strong AoE Potential: Clear large packs of enemies with abilities like Blasphemy and Hexblast.
4. High Customization: Minions, curses, or pure damage – you can tailor your build to your playstyle.
5. Great Utility: Abilities like Bone Cage and Bone Offering allow for both offensive and defensive versatility.

When it comes to Witch Cons, remember these points:

1. Fragile Early Game: Low health and energy shield can make it squishy without proper planning.
2. Resource Management: Juggling Spirit and Mana adds a layer of complexity.
3. Requires Strategic Play: Effective Witch gameplay depends on positioning, Spirit management, and skill combos.
4. Dependent on Gear: To reach her full potential, Witch benefits greatly from intelligence-based items and currency investment.

The developers are constantly working on the in-game balance. This ensures you can pick any class since its strengths and weaknesses will level each other.

Witch Weapons

Sceptres are your primary Path of Exile 2 Witch weapons you will use for casting and summoning undead ones. We highly recommend running this weapon type for extra Spirit and the ability to summon more powerful units. However, your choice is not limited to Sceptres only. Here is a full list of possible weapons you can discover:

Sceptres

• Signature Weapon: Offers Spirit bonuses and skills that enhance summoning capabilities.
• Ideal for Summoners: Boost minion damage and Spirit regeneration.

Wands

• Perfect for Spellcasters: Increase cast speed, mana, and chaos damage output.
• Dual Wielding: Equip two wands for maximum offensive stats.

Daggers

• Focus on Chaos: Great for builds prioritizing chaos damage and critical strikes.

We have created the following table and described all the available Sceptres we know about so far:

You will run a Sceptre in most cases because of the bonuses it provides. We highly recommend using this weapon type instead of the two others we have described above. This fully unlocks your class’s potential when it comes to necromancy and makes you a decent caster when needed. BLOG20

Witch Skill Gems

A variety of available Witch skill gems in Path of Exile 2 is what allows you to experiment with your playstyle. Depending on what your build is and what minions you rely on more, the choice will vary accordingly. They are unique for this class, and we have prepared a full list of them to get acquainted with:

The biggest part of your Path of Exile 2 Witch skills is concentrated on summoning skeletal creatures to fight by your side. This makes you more of a necromancer rather than a caster. Yet you still execute the role of a ranged DPS. You will always be supported by Skeletal Clerics to heal, Skeletal Brutes to tank, or Skeletal Reavers to engage in melee battle.

 

Best Meta Gems for Witch

You can also use the following best Witch meta gems in Path of Exile 2 to make your skills even stronger. They will ease your rotations and add more devastating effects to your basic abilities. Top picks for this class include:

• Cast on Minion Death – This skill gains Energy each time one of your minions dies. Once fully charged, it automatically casts any spells you have socketed. It does not work with spells that summon new minions.
• Cast on Crit – Triggers your socketed spells when you land critical hits, as long as it is fully charged. Builds Energy each time you critically hit an enemy.
• Cast While Channeling – Automates spellcasting, reducing button presses during combat.

Your primary option here is Cast on Minion Death since it is directly linked to most of your other PoE 2 Witch spells. Cast on Crit is a bit less popular, yet you can benefit from it if your critical chance is high enough. As a caster, you still gain a lot of value out of Cast While Channeling.

Speaking of the primary Path of Exile 2 Witch stats, Intelligence is your only option. Others are less important for you as a caster. No matter what build you are running, prioritize this attribute among others.

Best Witch Rotation

Witch is an interesting mix of a necromancer and ranged DPS. You have an army of undead ones to cover your back and create extra pressure on your enemies. They also soak a ton of damage for you, allowing you to stay at range and keep dealing damage. Here is the best Witch rotation to run in PoE 2 if you are looking for something basic:

1. Skeletal Warrior – Start by summoning a squad of Skeletal Warriors for frontline melee damage and tank hits.
2. Skeletal Sniper – Add ranged support by summoning Skeletal Snipers to pick off enemies from a distance.
3. Despair – Cast this curse on enemies to lower their Chaos resistance, amplifying the effectiveness of your DoT skills.
4. Contagion – Inflict a Chaos DoT debuff that spreads to nearby enemies when the target dies.
5. Essence Drain – Fire a projectile to apply an additional Chaos DoT effect to stronger enemies or clusters.
6. Bone Cage – Surround yourself with defensive bone spikes for protection and area damage.
7. Raise Zombie – Raise Zombies from nearby corpses for additional tanky minions to absorb enemy focus.
8. Withering Presence – Activate this skill to passively Wither enemies nearby, increasing their Chaos damage taken over time.

This rotation is simple but effective, relying on summons to maintain pressure while you focus on spreading Chaos damage and staying mobile.

Here is an advanced Witch rotation to try out:

1. Skeletal Brute – Summon hard-hitting skeletons to stun priority targets and deal heavy damage.
2. Skeletal Storm Mage – Call lightning-wielding skeletons to devastate groups of enemies with storms.
3. Profane Ritual – Mark a corpse to deal Chaos damage over time to nearby enemies and generate Power Charges for later use.
4. Blasphemy – Activate this to turn your socketed Curses, like Despair or Enfeeble, into a persistent Aura for continuous enemy debuffing.
5. Bonestorm – Channel this to create a vortex of bone spikes, dealing massive AoE damage and using Power Charges for larger explosions.
6. Dark Effigy – Raise a totem that bombards enemies affected by your Chaos damage-over-time effects, providing additional pressure.
7. Grim Feast – Activate this skill to bolster your Energy Shield by consuming corpses, keeping your defenses strong.
8. Pain Offering – Sacrifice a Skeleton to empower your other minions, increasing their attack speed and frenzy levels.
9. Hexblast – Finish off cursed enemies with this high-damage explosion for significant burst damage.

This advanced rotation balances offensive power with defensive support, leveraging your summons and Chaos spells for efficient enemy clearing and survivability. It is ideal for tackling endgame bosses and high-level encounters. BLOG20

Witch Ascendancies

You have two different Path of Exile 2 Witch Ascendancies to build your gameplay around. Each one of them offers a unique playstyle and allows you to experiment with new mechanics:

Blood Mage

• Uses life as a resource for powerful abilities.
• Signature Skills: Sanguimancy, Gore Spike, Crimson Power.

Infernalist

• Builds and manages heat, as well as summons an infernal hound.
• Signature Skills: Pyromantic Pact, Demonic Possession, Loyal Hellhound.

As we learn more about each Ascendancy class for Witch, this part of the guide will be updated. Until then, feel free to try the one you like more to see how it fits you.

Witch Leveling

Note: This section of the guide is under development.

Path of Exile 2 Witch leveling is all about summoning your undead minions to aid you in battle. They will assist you in farming and protecting you. The further you progress through levels, the stronger companions you will be able to resurrect. Here is what you need to keep in mind when leveling as Witch:

• Key Early Skills: Start with Chaos Bolt for consistent damage, Skeletal Warriors for tanking, and Contagion to spread Chaos damage across groups. Add Raise Zombie for tankier minions to protect you further.
• Passive Tree Priorities: Focus on Intelligence and Spirit nodes to boost damage and summoning capabilities. Prioritize Chaos damage, Minion health and damage, and Energy Shield nodes to stay alive and increase your effectiveness.
• Gear Tips: Look for Sceptres with Chaos or Spirit boosts, Energy Shield armor, and resistances for survivability. Keep your flasks updated with Mana and Life options, and craft or trade for upgrades when needed.
• Advanced Skills: As you progress, use Essence Drain and Blasphemy with Despair for stronger Chaos damage. Unlock skills like Bone Offering to shield minions and Skeletal Sniper or Skeletal Storm Mage to add ranged and AoE damage to your army.
• Spirit Management: Use Spirit carefully – summon only what is necessary, and upgrade your sceptre to expand your pool. Combine summons and spells strategically to avoid running out of resources.
• Boss Fights: Let minions tank while you stay mobile. Apply curses like Despair early, use Profane Ritual for extra Chaos damage, and manage Spirit to maintain summons and spells.

Upon reaching the PoE 2 Witch gameplay lvl 100 stage, you will have all your skills unlocked. Gear up properly, and you will be ready to tackle the most challenging boss fights.

Distributing your Path of Exile 2 Witch passives properly is also an important step to become stronger when reaching the level cap. Otherwise, your build will not match the passives you have chosen.

Witch Best Builds

Note: This section of the guide is under development.

While our team is still working to share Path of Exile 2 Witch best builds, we have a few suggestions for you to try out. These are only speculations since we have just entered the Early Access stage of the game, but they can work well enough so far:

Check our article once in a while to see what builds we will share in the future. Save it in your browser bookmarks not to miss out on any important updates.

Witch Tips and Tricks

You can master the class much faster and gain the upper hand in any fight with these PoE 2 Witch tips we have prepared for you:

• Manage Spirit Efficiently: Spirit fuels your summoning and key spells. Keep enough in reserve to summon essential minions or cast clutch abilities like Contagion when needed.
• Use Minions Strategically: Let minions like Skeletal Clerics heal, Zombies tank, and Storm Mages deal AoE damage while you stay safe and focus on casting.
• Maximize Curses: Skills like Despair and Enfeeble amplify your damage and reduce enemy threat. Apply curses to give your minions the edge in any fight.
• Adapt Your Build: Switch up your skills for the content – Chaos damage for bosses with Essence Drain, or minion-heavy setups like Reavers for clearing packs.
• Gear for Spirit and Chaos: Focus on gear that boosts Spirit regeneration, Chaos damage, and minion life. Sceptres are your best weapons for summoning power.

Follow these tips to unlock the class’s full potential and see what it is capable of at any stage of the game.

Conclusion

This wraps up our Path of Exile 2 Witch guide, travelers. That is everything you need to crush Wraeclast when playing this class. With devastating chaos spells, an unstoppable undead army, and tons of customization, you have everything you need to dominate. Gear up, fine-tune your build, and let your Witch’s magic reshape the battlefield!

F.A.Q.