In Path of Exile 2, the Demon Form Witch is a powerful, engaging build combining high damage output and significant survivability. Through specific skills and passive tree investments, the Demon Form Witch can get significant bonuses to combat stats, survivability, and offensive power. If you're seeking a build that offers both power and versatility, Warlug's Demon Form Witch build is definitely one you shouldn't miss.
Keep in mind that this Witch build requires about 7 to 8 Divine orbs and can only be used once you reach level 84 in Path of Exile 2, making it an end-game build.
Gear Setup
The core of this build revolves around Demon Form and Barrier Invocation for spamming the Comet skill. The gear used in this build won't cost you too much. The only two unique items you need are Ghostwrithe Tattered Robe and Ming's Heart Amethyst Ring.
Ghostwrithe Tattered Robe
The Ghostwrithe Tattered Robe converts 60% of maximum life to energy shield, allowing you to cap all resistances, including chaos resistance. The aim of using this robe is to minimize life and mana, converting them into Infernal Flame so you can spam the Comet skill and maintain energy.
Placing the Soul Core of Citaqualotl also helps with capping all your resistances. Keep in mind that this robe will require some currency to craft. If you're unable to achieve the 60% of maximum life converted to energy shield, that's okay; you can stick with the 50% of maximum life converted to energy shield. Additionally, if you don't have access to resistance Soul Cores, you can also use those that offer damage reduction or damage taken recouped as life.
Ming's Heart Amethyst Ring
Ming's Heart Amethyst Ring reduces maximum life while providing extra chaos damage and chaos resistance.
Except for the two mentioned above, ensure the other pieces of gear in the build do not have mana or maximum life.
Apocalypse Mitts Expert Intricate Gloves
On this pair of gloves, you need to focus on resistances, energy shield bonuses, and Dexterity. Having a lot of energy shield is important for this build, and you need more Dexterity to reach 133 Dexterity. Additionally, make sure to place a Vision Rune on the gloves to gain a 10% increase in life and mana recovery from flasks.
Dire Spur Expert Feathered Sandals
On your boots, focus on high movement speed, increased energy shield, and increased stats on all resistances.
Brood Rosary Jade Amulet
You will need a Jade amulet that increases Dexterity so you can hit the 133 Dexterity threshold. You also need increased energy shield and spirit (at least 140 spirit). Another important bonus is damage taken recouped as life, which helps you stay alive when you are in a Demon form. Lastly, anointing the Hard to Kill passive skill on your amulet grants 40% increased flask life recovery rate and regenerates life per second.
Oblivion Loop Breach Ring
Prioritize on big bonuses to Dexterity, fire resistance, and all elemental resistances.
Beast Corona Expert Feathered Tiara
On this helmet, you will want to prioritize energy shield increases, resistances, and possibly rarity.
Havoc Snare Fine Belt
You need to get a fine belt with flasks gain charges per second and increased resistances. Another two important things to have on the belt are increased flask life recovery rate and reduced amount of flask charges used. The higher the number of the flask charges used is, the better.
Stat Requirements
To optimize this build, you must meet specific stat thresholds:
Strength: Aim to keep your strength as low as possible to minimize life.
Dexterity: At least 133 for Alchemist's Boon. This skill is important because it gives you recovery from flasks and grants increased flask charges per second.
Intelligence: Minimum of 177. As you level up, this number will naturally increase, but make sure you have 177 when you reach level 84.
Important Skills
Demon Form
Support Gems: Ingenuity and Second Wind
Being in Demon form provides you with increased cast speed and boosts all skill levels. However, this comes at the cost of losing life per second while dealing increased spell damage per demon flame.
One of the main reasons you want to maintain the lowest possible life is due to the life loss percentage. For instance, losing 0.5% of 326 total life is minimal, resulting in very little damage to you. Considering that your amulet allows you to have 24% damage taken recouped as life, along with a jewel that offers the same benefit, you actually recover 28% of the damage taken as life.
In demon form, this low life loss (0.5% of 326) is negligible. Therefore, it's crucial to keep your life total as low as possible to minimize self-damage.
Barrier Evocation
Support Gems: Capacitor, Comet, Spell Echo, Considered Casting
Barrier Evocation, paired with Comet, is your primary damage source. You will want to ensure Barrier Evocation is of high quality.
It's crucial to note that the Comet and Barrier Evocation gems must be at level 19 for optimal performance. While the build can function when these two gems are at lower levels, you'll need to cast Hypothermia or Frostbite to generate enough energy for spamming Barrier Evocation. However, once both gems reach level 19, you can effectively spam them without needing to cast Hypothermia or Frostbite again, except for the initial buildup at the start of your run.
How to Cause Self-Damage
When you hit Barrier Evocation, you gain one energy for every five energy shield lost to damage taken. To take damage intentionally, you can utilize the Pyromantic Pact skill of the Infernalist Ascendancy. This skill replaces your mana with Infernal Flame, meaning when this flame is fully charged, it ignites you, causing self-damage. For example, as you build this up, your character will be on fire, losing shield and generating energy for Barrier Evocation, enabling you to spam meteors.
Your potion refills your energy shield, allowing for continuous spamming in Demon form. The high energy shield regeneration means you can keep casting without worry.
The energy gained from self-damage fills the Infernal Flame meter, enabling continuous casting. If the Barrier Evocation and Comet gems are below level 19, you won't generate enough energy to fill this meter, which is why keeping mana low is crucial.
If your Barrier Evocation and Comet don't have level 19, you can place a meta gem, such as Maelstrom Glisten sapphire, which allows meta skills to gain increased energy. However, adding more of such gems won't help the build, as you need as much flask charges and flask recovery as possible, which are vital for sustaining your energy shield.
Lastly, you need to upgrade the quality of Comet for increased crit damage, enhancing your overall damage output.
Alchemist's Boon
Support Gem: Herbalism
You will need a level 14 Alchemist's Boon for the most percentage recovery from flasks, and the recharges per second. You will also want to increase the quality of this skill. The reason for only using a low-level Alchemist's Boon is that a higher level would require more Dexterity points, which you currently lack. While you can consider increasing this as you gain more levels, level 14 is ideal for now.
Hypothermia
Support Gem: Heightened Curse
Since you're dealing Comet with cold damage, this spell is essential. A level 14 Hypothermia is optimal, and there's no need to level it further.
Passive Tree
Ascendancy Choices
Pyromantic Pact, Demon Form, Altered Flesh, and Grinning Immolation.
With Altered Flesh, 20% of your cold and lightning damage is converted to fire damage, and 20% of your physical damage is converted to chaos damage. This conversion is crucial for capping your resistances, especially chaos resistance.
Your fire resistance needs to be at least 80%; this is the threshold you should aim for. Ideally, you want your fire resistance to be as high as possible since you're dealing fire damage to yourselves through Infernal Flame.
Grinning Immolation allows you to deal a critical hit to enemies when you are ignited, inflicting 15% of your life and energy shield as fire damage per second. If you find that sustaining your shield and life is challenging, you can choose to remove this.
Last but not least, you should avoid adding more mana or life elsewhere on the passive skill tree.
Key Passive Skill Nodes
• Dampening Shield
• Melding
• Illuminated Crown
• Heavy Buffer
• Patient Barrier
• Ingenuity
• Triggered Spell Damage
• Energise
• Dynamism
• Eternal Youth
• Flask Charges Gained
• Savouring
• Flask Charges Used
• Hale Traveller
• Life Fask Charge Ceneration
• Potent Concoctions
• Lasting Concoctions
• Life Flasks
• Life Flask Charges
• Oasis
• Flask Recovery
• Soul Bloom
• Energy Shield Recharge
• Gale Glimmer Ruby
• Angry Ruby of the Phoenix
• Hallowed
• Heavy Buffer
• Maelstrom Glimmer Emerald
• Maelstrom Shard Emerald
• Brood Volley Emerald
• Dire Pole Emerald
• Maelstrom Glisten Sapphire
• Waters of life
More Tips
You could place an Iron Rune on the Dire Spur Expert Feathered Sandals to boost your energy shield if you prefer. But it's essential to have at least one Vision Rune in your gloves and one in your helmet. If you have a two-socket helmet, you can place both Vision Runes there and leave one glove socket open.
Make sure to add quality to every piece of your gear. For example, you can use catalysts to add quality to the amulet for enhanced life. You can add quality to improve fire resistance on the Oblivion Loop Breach Ring and on the Ming's Heart Amethyst Ring for reduced life.
Keep in mind that you won't be using a weapon or off-hand equipment, as you'll be in Demon form for the entire duration.
That is the end-game Demon Form Witch build in Path of Exile 2. If you found this guide helpful, make sure to subscribe to Warlug's channel for more content related to PoE 2.
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