Best Witch Builds in Path of Exile 2 Early Access: Blood Mage & Infernalist Focus

PoE 2

The Witch class in Path of Exile 2 is all about powerful spellcasting, versatile elemental damage, and manipulating the forces of magic to devastate enemies. With two ascendancy options—Blood Mage and Infernalist—you can tailor your playstyle to either sacrifice life for chaotic power or master the art of elemental fire damage. In this guide, we’ll dive deep into the best builds for the Witch, focusing on these two ascendancies and offering detailed advice on weapons, gear, skills, gems, and the passive skill tree in PoE 2.

Read other PoE 2 Build guides:
Monk Builds
Warrior Builds
Sorceress Builds
Mercenary Builds
Ranger Builds

PoE 2 Witch Build 1. Blood Mage Build: Master Chaos and Life Sacrifice

If you love the idea of harnessing chaotic power at the cost of your own health, the Blood Mage ascendancy offers an exciting, high-risk, high-reward playstyle. This PoE 2 Witch build revolves around chaos damage, life leech, and sacrificing your health to fuel your devastating spells.

Weapon & Gear for Blood Mage Witch

Weapon: A Staff or Wand is ideal, with affixes that boost chaos damage, spell damage, and life leech. A Wand and Shield combination can offer more defense if you're looking for a more hybrid approach.

Helmet: Look for energy shield-based helmets that boost chaos damage, life, and resistances. You can also prioritize energy shield or life on the helmet depending on your survivability needs.

Chest: Choose a chest armor that enhances energy shield, chaos resistance, or maximum life. Since you’ll be sacrificing health, having extra life or energy shield is crucial for survival.

Gloves: Aim for spell damage or chaos damage affixes. Gloves that offer life leech are perfect for ensuring you recover health quickly as you cast spells.

Boots: Opt for movement speed, chaos resistance, and energy shield to help with mobility and sustain.

Primary Skill & Gem Setup for Blood Mage

The Blood Mage build focuses heavily on chaos damage, and you’ll be leveraging Bane with Despair and Void Manipulation for maximum damage output and curse application.

Main Skill: Bane (linked with Despair and Void Manipulation for chaos damage amplification).

oGems: Bane + Despair + Void Manipulation + Empower + Controlled Destruction + Increased Duration

Secondary Skill: Use Vaal Grace or Phase Run to dodge incoming damage and make your escape when necessary.

Passive Skill Tree for Blood Mage Witch

For the Blood Mage build, your passive tree will focus on boosting chaos damage, life leech, energy shield, and critical strike chance. The Blood Mage ascendancy allows you to sacrifice life for mana, so look for mana regeneration nodes and increased maximum life.

Key nodes to focus on: Chaos Damage, Life Leech, Spell Damage, and Energy Shield.

Take nodes that provide life regeneration, spell crit, and chaos resistance.

Ascendancy Class: Blood Mage

Blood Magic: Allows you to sacrifice life for mana, making casting chaos spells more efficient.

Blood Bond: Increases chaos damage and life leech, providing sustainability as you cast.

Blood Curse: Amplifies curse effects and increases chaos damage against cursed enemies.

Also Read: Top Warrior Builds in Path of Exile 2

PoE 2 Witch Build 2. Infernalist Build: Harness Fire for Explosive Damage

For players who prefer fire-based elemental damage and ignition mechanics, the Infernalist ascendancy is your perfect choice. This build focuses on high fire damage output and applies devastating burning effects to enemies, all while leveraging elemental synergy.

Weapon & Gear for Infernalist Witch

Weapon: A Staff with fire damage and spell damage affixes is your best bet. A Wand can also be used, but a Staff will generally offer more raw spell power for elemental builds.

Helmet: Look for helmets that boost fire damage, resistances, and energy shield or life.

Chest: Use a chest armor with a focus on energy shield, fire resistance, and life. You want to ensure you can take a few hits while dealing massive damage.

Gloves: Go for fire damage, spell damage, or energy shield affixes. You can also focus on critical strike chance if you want to scale your fire spells further.

Boots: Prioritize movement speed, fire resistance, and energy shield to ensure quick mobility and durability.

Primary Skill & Gem Setup for Infernalist

The Infernalist build is all about fire spells, and Fireball or Flame Surge are the go-to choices for dealing damage. These skills are excellent for AoE and single-target DPS.

Main Skill: Fireball or Flame Surge (both skills deal substantial fire damage).

oGems: Fireball + Added Fire Damage + Elemental Focus + Spell Echo + Fire Penetration + Combustion

Secondary Skill: Flame Dash is ideal for mobility, allowing you to quickly reposition during combat.

Passive Skill Tree for Infernalist Witch

Your passive tree will focus on scaling fire damage, elemental damage, and spell damage. As an Infernalist, you’ll want to prioritize nodes that amplify fire damage, fire penetration, and critical strike chance to increase your damage output.

Key nodes to focus on: Elemental Damage, Fire Damage, Spell Damage, Critical Strike Chance, and Fire Penetration.

Ascendancy Class: Infernalist

Infernal Fire: Increases fire damage and adds powerful ignition effects to your attacks and spells.

Fiery Fury: Provides substantial boosts to fire damage and empowers your flame-based abilities.

Embers of the Flame: Adds AoE fire damage and enhances fire spells for greater clearing potential.

Also Read: Best Sorceress Builds in Path of Exile 2

Whether you’re drawn to the Blood Mage for its chaotic, life-sacrificing playstyle or the Infernalist for its mastery of fire and elemental damage, the Witch class in Path of Exile 2 offers immense potential for devastating builds. By choosing the right ascendancy, gear, skill gems, and passive tree, you can dominate the battlefield with powerful, versatile spells.

Remember, every build will require fine-tuning depending on your playstyle, and the game’s early access means there may be balance changes along the way. Always stay updated with patch notes and adjust your builds accordingly for the best experience.

Now that you know the ins and outs of the Blood Mage and Infernalist builds, it's time to start experimenting and finding the right Witch build that suits your gameplay style!

Q&A: Where’s the Best Place to Buy PoE 2 Currency and Items?

Q: What’s the best place to buy PoE 2 currency and items?

A: If you're looking to buy PoE 2 currency, items, or boost your build with necessary gear, look no further than SSEGold. They are widely recognized for their reliable service and fast delivery. Whether you need Exalted Orbs, Chaos Orbs, or high-tier unique items, SSEGold offers a seamless experience with competitive prices.

Their platform is trusted by players worldwide, and their customer support ensures that you get your purchases quickly and safely. SSEGold also offers a wide range of services, including PoE 2 currency exchanges, item trades, and power-leveling, making them a top choice for any Path of Exile 2 player looking to enhance their gameplay.

Q: Is it safe to buy items and currency from SSEGOLD?

A: Absolutely! SSEGold has a solid reputation for delivering fast and secure transactions. They use safe methods for currency delivery and guarantee your purchases. With years of experience in the industry, you can rest assured that your PoE 2 needs are in good hands.

Table of contents