Summary
Now thatPath of Exile 2has been in early access for some time, people are beginning to fully understand how the game’s classes work, one of which is the Witch. The Witch inPath of Exile 2functions as a necromancer, able to summon the dead to fight for them, while also getting access to a number of elemental and chaos spells.
Whether a player embraces being a commander of the dead or prefers to cast spells and deal damage themselves, minions are an essential part of the Witch’s kit. This list looks at the best minions to summon, each of which will serve any player well from their first playthrough of the story, all the way into the endgame.
7Skeletal Brute
Brutish Muscle Without The Muscles
TheSkeletal Bruteis a large minion that can deal massive amounts of damage with huge melee hits. On top of this damage, Skeletal Brutes can easily stun enemies, and create a shockwave that deals huge damage in an area of effect around the minion. By default, the Skeletal Brute takes more spirit to summon than a majority of the other summons, meaning that, despite being a great tank and damage dealer, it is difficult to recommend over other minions due to the increased cost.
The best way to use the Skeletal Brute would be in a build with support from several ranged and magic minions, such as the Skeletal Cleric and Frost Mage. As cool as they are, the Brutes aren’t necessarily the best choice forend-game content, but they will serve a player well in earlier content.
6Skeletal Reaver
Axe Wielding Berserkers
TheSkeletal Reaveris a direct upgrade to the Skeletal Warrior summon that a majority of players will use earlier on, thanks to its ease of access in theearly game. While the Skeletal Warrior may be able to take more of a beating, the Skeletal Reaver is a much cheaper summon that is able to put out more consistent damage.
The Skeletal Reaver is also able to enrage, losing health each second but dealing greatly increased damage. To support this, running the Skeletal Reaver in combination with the Skeletal Cleric would allow for the Reaver to do increased damage with its rage ability while also healing consistently with the Cleric.
5Skeletal Frost Mage
A Frosty Friend
As a magic-wielding class, the Witch can choose to focus on casting spells as well as raising armies of the undead. TheSkeletal Frost Mageallows a player to get the best of both worlds, raising an army of mages to cast spells for them. The Frost Mage can fire an ice bomb, which deals decent area of effect damage while also building up chill on enemies, which slows them down.
The Frost Mage is best used as a supportive unit as opposed to the focal point of a build, as its ranged abilities arebest used when enemies are focused on more powerful meleeunits like the Skeletal Brute or Skeletal Reaver.
4Skeletal Cleric
Another support minion, theSkeletal Clericdoesn’t deal damage and is rather focused on healing other minions and reviving those that fall in combat. While they don’t take much spirit to summon, running a large number of Clerics would lead to a player struggling, so adding them into anexisting buildis the best way to utilize them, with a mixture of melee and ranged units for them to support.
While not a super powerful unit on their own, Skeletal Clerics can keep other, more powerful minions in the fight for longer, which can be key for higher-level content.
3Skeletal Arsonist
Explosive Chaos
TheSkeletal Arsonistis a minion that can be unlocked earlier in the game and can feel incredibly powerful in an initial playthrough of the game’s narrative. These units throw explosive bombs, dealing area-of-effect damage, and are also able to detonate a nearby minion to deal damage to enemies in the surrounding area.
Once again, the Arsonist is a unit best used in tandem with a number of others, requiring a healthy surplus of allies in order to utilize its ability. Combining an Arsonist and a Cleric to detonate and revive minions consecutively is a great way to use both of the units, however, can bedifficult to pull off when swarmed by enemies.
2Infernal Hound
A Furry Friend, With A Fiery Finish
The Infernal Hound is an ascendency-specific minion, available only to players who choose the Infernalist path after beating the trial of ascendency in act 2. This minion constantly ignites enemies in the surrounding area, dealing fire damage, as well as taking hits for the player, offering theplayer an increased sense of survivability.
Thanks to not requiring spirit to summon, the Infernal Hound is an easy include in any Infernalist build that is focused on minion-summoning gameplay. Combined with several ranged units and support minions, the Infernal Hound is very difficult for enemies to overcome and can be made even tankier through the Witch skill tree.
1Skeletal Sniper
Consistent Ranged Damage
The final minion on this list is theSkeletal Sniper, one of the first minions available to the Witch, and arguably one of the strongest. The Sniper can deal consistent ranged damage, as well as firing a gas arrow which leaves an area of flammable gas on the battlefield which can then be ignited.
These units are perfect for any build, sitting at long ranges and dealing constant damage. Combined with melee units to take the enemy’s focus, the Sniper can be deadly inall content in the game, and a player can run several of them thanks to a lower spirit requirement to summon.
