Overview
This is a fully step-by-step Witch minion league-start guide that takes a fresh character from the Riverbank tutorial all the way through Act 4 and the cruel difficulty epilogue. The endgame ascendancy is left flexible — the author explicitly notes that the leveling shell ascends into Infernalist or Lich depending on the endgame build the player chooses. The path documented here uses Infernalist as the default because the gameplay loop centres on stacking minion damage and fire-based ignite mechanics.
The core single-target combo is Scattershot Sniper firing Gas Arrow into an ignited target. Ignite is applied via Flame Wall or simply by allowing fire-damage minions to hit the cloud. For clear, Ember Fusilade is used as a low-cost trigger spell — early on it triggers Raging Spirits, and later (once a Storm Rune is socketed into the wand) it triggers Living Lightning at the same time, giving you two simultaneous minion swarms from a single button.
Pros & Cons
Pros
- Genuinely zero-currency league start — uses gold-gamble +1 minion gear from the Act 1 vendor instead of unique items
- Detailed checkpoint-by-checkpoint routing including skip tricks (e.g. memorial-gate respawn to skip Lachlann bridge, log-out trick to reset Asala at the end of Act 2)
- Ascendancy is open-ended — same leveling shell works whether you pick Infernalist for more minion damage or Lich for utility
- Multiple minion options (SRS, Living Lightning, Wolfpack, Falgard, Spectres) so you can adapt to spirit availability
Cons
- Minions are squishy in several campaign zones (Rotten Druid arena, Jamanra phase 2 tornadoes) — expect rebuilds mid-fight
- The Gas Arrow + ignite combo is unreliable until you have consistent ignite uptime via Flame Wall
- Guide ends at the start of endgame; mapping and bossing setups are not covered
- Single-target spike is modest until Ember Fusilade is trigger-linked with both SRS and Living Lightning
Key Skills
- Scattershot Sniper + Gas Arrow — primary single target via gas-cloud ignite explosions
- Ember Fusilade (Multi-shot) — clear trigger; sustains Raging Spirits and (later) Living Lightning
- Raging Spirit — primary minion swarm; supported with Fire Attunement
- Living Lightning — secondary minion swarm, triggered by Ember Fusilade once the wand has a Storm Rune for extra lightning damage
- Elemental Weakness — endgame curse layer, replaces Aural Storm in Act 2 once Heightened Curse is available
- Frost Bomb / Flame Wall — exposure + ignite source for the gas-cloud combo
Gear & Anointments
The most important affixes are +1 (and later +2) minion levels on scepter, helmet, and amulet. The recommended approach is gold-gambling at the Act 1 vendor at the breakpoint character levels: scepter at level 2, helmet and amulet at level 5, and the +2 minion tier at levels 25 / 41. The wand wants cast speed and +level to spells (fire or all). A Storm Rune in the wand is critical at the end of Act 2 — it adds lightning damage so Ember Fusilade can trigger Living Lightning.
For anointments, the author recommends Splintering Force on the necklace in Act 4 using Envy, Paranoia, and Yield from Delirium oils gathered during the campaign.
Credits & Source
Build credited to WL. See the source video for the full gameplay footage and voice commentary: Witch minion leaguestart campaign step by step guide - Path of exile 2.