In thisPath of Exile 2article, we will be taking a look at how to put togetherthe Witch of the Fire Bone buildfor you to use to get into the late-game or end-game of the game.Path of Exilehas become notorious for the sheer amount of skills and build possibilities available in the game, and the sequel follows suit with an extensive skill tree and a multitude of skill gems. This guide is here to help you get through all that and lay out a path for you to follow as you reach the end of the campaign and prepare you for your Cruel playthroughs or endgame.
Introduction
The Witch of the Fire Boneis a spell-casting build that will allow us to shred our foes using the bones of fallen enemies.
This build is a well-rounded build that has both decent offensive and defensive capabilities and is great if you are looking for something that you can easily put together while you are leveling up.
Starter Class
For this build, we will be starting withthe Witch Class, which is one of the seven available for now at the time, and on the expansive skill tree, the Witch will start on the northern side.
This side of the skill tree consists mainly of passives related to spell damage, spell casting, and minions, which we will be taking advantage of to maximize our effectiveness with this build.
Passive Skill Tree
For this build, we will be focusing on making our spells more powerful early on by going for the more offensive route among the two main paths available.
We will be taking the nodes that increase our spell damage throughthe Raw Destructionnode. Afterwards, we will be taking the three nodes which increase our cast speed withthe Practiced Signsnode.
After these nodes, we will be going up two paths—initially going for boththe Jagged Shards, which increases our physical damage dealt using our bone spells, and all five nodes of the middle branch includingthe Critical Overloadnode.
These nodes will increase our spell damage along with the critical hit chance when using our spells, withthe Critical Overloadskill node increasing our damage even further after a critical hit.
Following this, we will take a node in the central north axis and then go for the branch of passive skills that will increase our spell damage.
This is the branch withthe Potent Incantationspassive skill node, and taking all four of these nodeswill give us a 60% increase in spell damage.
Afterwards, we will work our way west fromthe Jagged Shardsbranch and continue along the northwestern axial branch of the passive skill tree, taking only the attribute nodes.
We will be choosing at least three Strength attributes for our passive nodes, as this will allow us options to use more of the Strength-based support gems with our spells as well as increasing our max health.
As we progress along the axial branch, we will be taking a short detour by veering south to go for a small branch that will increase the cast speed of our spells.
This four-noded branch includesthe Erraticismpassive node at the end, and this node will increase our spell casting speed by 16% if our spells critically hit, with a 10% reduction in critical chance. While the reduction might feel like a huge trade-off, it can be alleviated by investing in other nodes.
Once we’re done with this branch, we will continue outwards along the axis where we get a gem slot, and then we will invest in the physical damage branch opposite.
This skill group has eight nodes in total, and putting our points in all of them will give us increases in physical damage, increase the chance we’ll inflict bleed with our spells, and also increase the critical chance with our bone spells.
After this branch, we will be going for a similar group of passive skill nodes and go for the group withthe Cut to the Bonenode.
This node and the corresponding nodes of the branch give us the ability to break armor using our bone spells while also increasing the physical damage and bleeding chance, contributing to our overall damage output.
These passive skill nodes form the core of this build and should be prioritized when putting this build together for your playthrough. After these nodes, this build has the potential to scale well into the endgame by investing in critical chance and critical damage nodes, allowing us to deal massive amounts of damage with our spells.
Regarding theAscendancyfor this build, we will be takingthe Infernalist class for the Witch, and we will be takingthe Pyromantic Pactnode.
This will change our mana to the Internal Flame, and instead of consuming mana upon casting spells, we will be accumulatingInternal Flame.
When we have high Internal Flame built up, which is more than 65% of the total value, we will start taking damage.
This changes the playstyle of the Witch a little bit, but it comes with rewards for the risk, asthe Seething Bodynode will allow us to gain 50% of our damage as fire damage when we are high on Internal Flame and on fire, boosting our damage output significantly.
Active Skills Setup
For our skills, we will be prioritizing using spells that deal mainly physical damage, and these are our bone spells.
The first spell that is available to the Witch and our main mapping tool is theUnearthskill.
This skill will send out spikes of bones that deal physical damage in a cone area in front and is great for dealing with groups of enemies.
The skill will also summon bone constructs as it passes through the corpses, adding to the damage output while also letting the constructs shield you from damage, acting as both an offensive and defensive tool.
The second spell,Contagion, while not being a physical damage spell, helps us greatly when clearing out mobs.
Although the spell targets only a single target initially, dealing chaos damage over time, it will spread to nearby enemies once the target is dead, contaminating the whole mob and expediting the elimination process.
The third spell is our defensive spell and is calledBone Cage.
This spell will allow us to surround ourselves with a cage of bones that will entrap and immobilize any enemy that touches them by pinning them in place while also dealing damage.
This is a great spell to use for preventing yourself from getting surrounded by mobs and is great at pinning and dealing additional damage against bosses.
Another defensive spell that we will be using with this build is theEnfeeblespell.
This is a curse that will weaken any enemy that is caught within the sigil after a short delay upon casting. This is especially great when fighting bosses because it will reduce the damage they deal, lessening the chance of you being one-shotted.
The next skill is our main high-damaging tool against bosses, and this is theBonestormspell.
This is a channeling spell that allows us to conjure multiple bone projectiles that blow up on impact, and a fully channeledBonestormcan take away chunks of the boss’s health and cause massive stun buildup on impact. Most bosses will quickly go down after taking a couple of hits from fully channeledBonestormstrikes, making this a very good tool for us to rely on for boss fights.
Our next spell is an offensive debuff spell that will increase our damage dealt withBonestormeven further by taking away the enemy’s armor.
Vulnerabilityis another curse spell, and this spell will strip away the armor of any enemy caught with the curse glyph, making them more susceptible to damage.
Lastly, we will be using a spell that targets the corpses of our enemies, and this is theProfane Ritual.
Performing the ritual on a corpse creates a glyph that will deal chaos damage over time to any enemies within, and at the end of the ritual, the spell will provide us with aPower Charge. This Power Charge can be used to amplify our Bonestorm, adding to the already high damage of the skill.
Spirit Gems
For our Spirit Gems, we will be using theConvalescencespirit gem.
This will enable the use of the skill to immediately begin recovering our shield without interruption, adding another recoverability option in addition to health and mana, helping with our survivability.
Another spirit gem that greatly helps with this build is theArctic Armorgem.
This skill gives us an icy barrier that will deal cold damage to any melee attackers, giving us an additional layer of icy protection and lessening the chance of us being taken out quickly.
Support Gems
For our support gems, we will be focusing on amplifying both our offensive and defensive options to fully round out the build and lessen the risk from burning out from our Internal Flame.
With our Unearth skill, we will be slotting in theControlled DestructionandLaceratesupport gems.
Controlled Destructionwill increase the damage of the skill by 25% but will take away the ability of the spell to critically hit.
Although this may feel like a huge trade-off, since the spell is not our main high-damage skill, the flat increase in damage is more helpful in clearing mobs.
The Lacerate support gem will also allow us to bleed our enemies using the Unearth skill, which will be amplified by our passive skill nodes.
Regarding the Contagion skill, we will use theProfanityandSwitch Afflictionsupport gems.
The Profanitysupport gem will make it so that the skill will consume a corpse if possible while increasing the chaos damage dealt by the skill.
The Switch Afflictionsupport gem will shorten the duration of the damage over time while also increasing the damage dealt, making it so that you will deal more damage in a shorter duration.
For our Bone Cage skill, we will be using theExpansesupport gem and theLockdownsupport gem.
The Expansesupport gem will increase the area of effect of our cage by 50% at the cost of an additional 8 seconds cooldown time. This is useful, as we will mainly be using the Bone Cage defensively and we will not need to repeatedly use the skill.
The Lockdownsupport gem will increase the pin buildup of our skill, making it easier to crowd control using Bone Cage.
With our Enfeeble curse skill, we will be using theHeightened Cursesupport gem and theImpending Doomsupport gem.
Heightened Cursewill increase the magnitude of the weakness inflicted by our curse, increasing the damage reduction.
The Impending Doomsupport gem will allow us to deal additional damage with the curse because it will cause the glyph to explode, dealing chaos damage equal to 15% of your current mana.
For our high-damage offensive skill, the Bonestorm, we will be using theBrutalityandBurgeonsupport gems.
Brutality increases the physical damage of the skill by 25%, and Burgeon can increase the damage output of the channeling skill by up to 40% depending on the time spent channeling.
These two gems really help increase the damage output of the already high-damage skill, making it the best tool to use when going up against bosses.
With our Vulnerability skill, we will be using theDecaying Hexsupport gem and theClaritysupport gem.
The Decaying Hexgem will allow us to inflict damage with our Vulnerability curse in addition to breaking the armor, andthe Claritysupport gem will allow us to replenish our mana when laying down the curse.
For our Profane Ritual, we will be using theMagnified EffectandProfusionsupport gems.
The Magnified Effect support gem will increase the size of the curse by 30%, and the Profusion support gem will give us a 50% chance to gain an additional Power Charge, which we will be using with the Bonestorm skill.
Regarding our spirit skills, we will be using thePersistencegem andEnergy Barrierfor our Convalescence skill.
These will increase the duration of the buff, and the Energy Barrier will make it so that if you get stunned while using the skill, it will add to the recharging of the energy barrier, making it a solid defensive ability.
For our Arctic Armor, we will be using theCold Infusionand theGlaciationsupport gems to increase the ice damage we deal and the freeze buildup whenever we deal ice damage with our Arctic Armor charges shattering.
Gears and Equipment
For this build, we will be using theSceptreandFocusgears in our weapon slots, and this build will benefit highly from using theRattling Sceptre.
This Sceptre type will allow us to summon two skeletons for free without the need for spirit, as well as provide 100 additional spirit reserve, allowing us to summon more skeletal minions.
While we will not be relying on our minions, they do provide decent distraction, tanking some of the damage and giving you more time to set up your skills.
This build does not require any unique gear to function and work well, but it will benefit from gear having bonus Intelligence attributes and increased maximum mana, increasing the pool where your Internal Flame can build up.
Leveling Guide
The build can level reliably by usingUnearthand letting your constructs and skeletal minions do the dirty work. Combined with yourContagionand curses, you can easily deal with mobs of enemies.
As you level up, it is beneficial to have some Strength attribute nodes since this will allow us to equip more Strength-based support gems in addition to increasing the maximum life.
Having more maximum life will definitely help because having high Internal Flame will deal damage to ourselves, but sometimes we will want to take advantage of the higher damage provided by theSeething Bodypassive node—especially when fighting against bosses to take them down quickly.
Mapping and Bossing
This build is efficient at both mapping and bossing, and its performance is greatly enhanced by utilizing the different types of curses available to you.
When fighting bosses, the main aim is to repeatedly attack the boss with yourBonestorm, but you will not be able to channel the spell to its full strength every time.
Path of Exile 2 Frigid Cold Monk Build
In this article, we’ll be taking a look at how to put together The Frigid Cold Monk Build for getting into the endgame
It will help with your survivability toEnfeeblethe boss to reduce their damage, and theVulnerabilitycurse will prime the boss for your Bonestorm to deal even more damage.
Remembering the boss’s attack patterns and dodging appropriately will also help, as you will not be able to tank through the damage with this build—especially since your health will also be draining as you repeatedly use your spells.
Endgame Scaling and Optimization
Endgame scaling is enhanced throughCluster Jewelsthat increaseMovement Speed,Cast Speed,Critical Damage, andCritical Chance.
The build has great options to scale by investing in either pure spell damage and critical chance or a more defensive route by investing inEnergy ShieldandMananodes as well—after getting the core nodes on the passive skill tree.
This build has the ability to perform well inSSFandHardcore, thanks to its well-rounded offensive and defensive nature, but you will need to be relatively familiar with the game.
It will be on the harder side, and you may struggle if you are planning to use this build for your very first character and playthrough.
You do need to be careful and efficient with your dodges and positioning, as the build has fewer hit points compared to other builds—since our mana pool is changed to Internal Flame, and the flames have the ability to burn you from the inside out.
So, this wraps up my article for theWitch of the Fire Bonebuild guide forPath of Exile 2. I hope you found this guide helpful, and if you have any suggestions or tips, feel free to leave them in the comment section.
