Path of Exile 2 brings new Ascendancy classes into the game. But for those who like to lead a horde of undead, there is now a problem.
What is the problem? In Path of Exile 2, there are the so-called Ascendancy classes. These are class specializations that guide your character in a certain direction. In the predecessor, there were always three specializations per class. However, at the start of Early Access, only 6 of the 12 Ascendancy classes are available in Path of Exile 2.
The Witch, who is played by many players as a Necromancer with an undead army, has a problem with the new class specializations. While there was a specialization centered around undead minions in the predecessor, this is missing in the new version. Instead, only the Infernalist remains, which provides a bit of fire to the minions.
Here you can see the current gameplay trailer for Path of Exile 2:
Minion fan is in despair
How does the probably large German Necromancer fan react? Maurice Weber, with over 137,000 followers on Twitch, is probably the biggest German Necromancer fan. Now that it is known that there will be no class specialization solely for minions, he is in despair on X.com.
There he writes: “Path of Exile 2 shows its subclasses for Early Access and the WORST FEARS are coming true: Infernalist for the Witch is… only somewhat mediocre necromantic. Catastrophe! What are we supposed to do now, dear Necromancer colleagues?”
What does the Infernalist offer for minions? In response to Maurice Weber’s desperate inquiry, more Necromancer fans have come forward. They agree that the Infernalist is not a perfect minion build, but there are still useful aspects for Necromancers.
The Path of Exile content creator and Twitch streamer @saltydayn claims to have 17,000 hours of playtime in Path of Exile (via Twitch). He has specific tips for everyone who enjoys fighting with an undead army. On X.com, he writes:
Summoner Playstyle in Poe 2 is just a bit more active, Infernalist is indeed the right choice;
- Hellhound minion is really strong + 20 % DR
- Pyromantic Pact resolves Mana issues
- Highest Spirit gain of all classes via Beidat’s Will
This is crazy great for minions in PoE 2
Saltydayn on X.com
The build suggested by SaltyDayn uses the “Infernal Hound” ability, a minion that ignites all nearby enemies and tanks 20 % of incoming damage for the player. The build receives additional Spirit through the “Beidat’s Will” ability, the more life the character has.
Spirit is used to spawn more minions. The more Spirit the character has, the larger the army. Additionally, there is the skill “Pyromantic Pact”. This replaces your Mana with an ever-burning flame that consumes instead of Mana.
Instead of consuming Mana, the flame fills up. When it reaches its maximum, you take fire damage and the flame resets to 0. To let the flame decrease again without taking damage, you must stop consuming Mana.
How does Maurice Weber respond to the suggestions? Maurice Weber has contacted MeinMMO to respond to the suggestions from the community. He writes: “We have no choice. We must make the best of this necromancer-less world. Together! Together we must find the best possible minion build. Somehow! I hope I can count on you, my dear… uh, loyal viewers and community advisors!”
He also invites all interested players to his stream on Twitch. Daily streams are planned for the release weekend. On Friday, it kicks off right at the start of Early Access at 8:00 PM. On Saturday and Sunday, the stream starts at 1:00 PM. Content-wise, Maurice aims to build the best possible minion build and counts on your support.
Even though the class specialization of the Infernalist does not directly buff or significantly strengthen your army, the included buffs are quite useful and can solve the weaknesses and problems of the build. If you are still looking for the right specialization for your classes, you can find an overview with all the available ones for Early Access here: Path of Exile 2: These are the 12 Ascendancy classes available to play in Early Access
