Players, Path of Exile 2 Patch 0.5.0 Return of the Ancients is just around the corner, and there’s been a lot of discussion about the new Ascendancy classes it will bring. However, IGGM will now be exploring Witch, whose two Ascendancy classes, Infernalist and Blood Mage, demonstrate a high degree of synergy with Spell Totem playstyle.
While Druid’s Ascendancy classes, Oracle and Shaman, are also competitive, Witch has a clear advantage in terms of smoothness during the early game, damage ceiling in the mid-to-late game, and versatility in its survival mechanics.
Current Game Bugs
There are currently two bugs in PoE 2 that may affect the assessment of build strength. Players are advised not to include these in any early game builds.
The first is the unlimited damage bug, which allows players to infinitely amplify Life cost by stacking Chiming Staff: The Burden of Shadows, thus gaining unlimited damage. IGGM expects this bug to be fixed in Patch 0.5.0. The second bug is the unusual mechanism where Arc deals 200% more damage after being infused with lightning, and Totem doesn’t consume infusion on each hit, resulting in Arc Totem almost always dealing triple damage.
Interestingly, even so, Arc is only slightly stronger than Spark, a phenomenon that reflects the peculiarities of Path of Exile 2’s balanced design.
Infernalist: A Strong Choice for Early Game Development
Infernalist’s core advantage comes entirely from its Demon Form.
Investing only the first two ascendancy nodes grants 30% more Spell Damage and 25% increased Cast Speed at level 10 Demon Form, while only incurring 185 Life loss per second. However, this can be easily offset in the early game by investing some PoE2 currency for basic regeneration.
Furthermore, the unique Dodge provided by Demon Form has a longer range than a regular Dodge, greatly improving overall leveling and map traversal efficiency.
Building upon this, players can actively suppress their health to low levels using Altered Flesh and Beidat’s Will nodes, further enhanced by Coward’s Legacy Mail Belt, making the character considered low-health at 75%. This simultaneously triggers the 30% increased Critical Strike Damage from Pain Attunement, the 10% Movement Speed from runs, and the 30% increased damage from Execute III Support Gem.
However, these powerful unique items are often in short supply in the early stages of a league, resulting in extremely high market prices. If you lack start-up capital during the early game, IGGM.com offers the most reliable solution for players. Here, you can buy cheap PoE 2 currency at the most competitive prices online, instantly acquiring the core unique items needed for early game progression, allowing your Demon Form to demonstrate devastating dominance from the very beginning.
Regarding Archmage, since Totem completely removes all mana costs through Ancestral Bond, the additional mana cost that Archmage would normally provide is completely absent.
At the same time, the negative effect of Eldritch Battery doubling mana costs is also negated. Players can purely enjoy the massive additional Lightning Damage provided by Archmage without any cost.
In terms of equipment, Archmage aura can be directly obtained through amulets with Eternal Rage affix without consuming Spirit.
The existence of this amulet has been officially confirmed, but the 100-spirit version is rarer and may require more PoE 2 currency, so IGGM does not recommend including it in your progression plans.
More noteworthy is Grinning Immolation node, which typically causes the character to suffer a large amount of Fire Damage per second, but Totem is an independent entity, not you.
Therefore, when Totem crits, the character does not suffer reflected damage, and Totem itself does not die, effectively gaining approximately 35% more Critical Strike Damage for free. This benefit is extremely significant when the character’s Critical Strike Damage already exceeds 1000%.
Blood Mage: High Survivability and High Output in the Endgame
The value of Blood Mage in Spell Totem builds also stems from Ancestral Bond’s removal of all costs. This means that the negative mechanic of Blood Mage, which originally required Life to cast, is completely ineffective for Totem; players only retain the positive benefit of this Ascendancy.
Specifically, both Life Remnants and Mana Remnants, auras that consume 30 Spirit points, can be triggered by Totem. Remnants generated from critical hits by Totem can be picked up by the character, thus solving the most troublesome sustainability problem for Totem builds.
By combining Life Remnants with Sanguimancy node, Life can exceed the cap by 50%, and similarly, Mana Remnants can exceed Mana cap by 50%. This allows players to simultaneously stack Life and Mana, enjoying the defensive foundation from Life stacking while also activating Archmage without loss.
Regarding key nodes, Sunder the Flesh node provides a 15% base Critical Hit Chance, resulting in approximately 42% more damage.
Crimson Power converts 100% of the chest armor’s Energy Shield into additional Maximum Life. Furthermore, if Eldritch Battery is used simultaneously, the shield value of the same high-shield chest armor can also be converted into additional Mana, achieving a significant double boost to both Life and Mana.
With the added solid defense provided by Grasping Wounds, Blood Mage’s overall effective Life is significantly increased.
Compared to Infernalist, Blood Mage lacks the mobility of Demon Form and the 10% movement speed from the low-life rune, but through a mix of Life and Mana stacking, it achieves a higher damage ceiling and survivability ceiling.
Its disadvantage lies in the lack of inherent Spirit retention during the early game, requiring reliance on Sceptre to compensate. Therefore, it’s more suitable as a mid-to-late game transition rather than a starting choice for early game progression.
In summary, two Witch Ascendancy classes that IGGM presents you, Infernalist and Blood Mage, are both highly promising: one suitable for early game progression in PoE 2 Patch 0.5.0, and the other for mid-to-late game transition. Choosing the right ascendancy will help you achieve more with less effort in the early stages of the league! Good luck!