The Infernalist is a newly introduced Witch ascendancy in Path of Exile 2, offering a dark, pact-driven fantasy that focuses on manipulating spells in ways unlike any other class. Unlike the Elementalist’s pure elemental devastation or the Necromancer’s mastery over minions, the Infernalist can transform spells into temporary allies or harness immense destructive force from unreserved mana. This opens up unique gameplay styles for endgame builds, with two primary mechanical pillars forming the foundation: Summoned Spells and Unreserved Mana via Diabolism. For players seeking powerful and creative strategies, understanding these mechanics is essential before diving into specific build concepts. If you want to optimize your gearing and progression, managing resources like PoE 2 Currency can be a key factor in reaching peak performance.

Summoned Spells: Certain spells such as Fireball or Arc can be converted into temporary minions. These “Summoned Spells” act autonomously for a limited duration, repeatedly casting their base ability. This effectively multiplies your spell output, turning the battlefield into a barrage of magical firepower. They are expected to scale with both spell damage and potentially minion-related stats, giving flexibility in how you build around them.

Unreserved Mana & Diabolism: The Infernalist thrives on a large pool of unreserved mana. Through Diabolism, bonuses such as added chaos damage to spells scale directly with this unreserved mana amount. This encourages avoiding traditional mana-reserving auras in favor of reserving life for key buffs, or simply relying on Diabolism’s inherent strength. The mechanic rewards builds that manage mana as a primary damage resource while also opening defensive synergies like Mind Over Matter.

Build Concept 1: Unreserved Mana Chaos Archon

This build maximizes Diabolism by stacking thousands of unreserved mana to gain massive added chaos damage. The playstyle centers on delivering this damage through fast-casting or high-impact spells, melting bosses and clearing maps with ease. Defensively, it leverages a large life pool, life-reserving auras, and possibly damage mitigation through mana-based mechanics.

• Diabolism Scaling: Core ascendancy nodes grant damage per set amount of unreserved mana.
• Mana Stacking: Gear and passives that increase flat mana and maximum mana are prioritized.
• Life Reservation: Use supports that reserve life instead of mana for auras like Haste or Zealotry.
• Spirit Utility: Large mana pools also mean more Spirit for instant-cast support skills.

Key Skills: Chaos-based spells like Blight or converted physical/elemental skills such as Bladefall or Ethereal Knives. Supports include Controlled Destruction, Void Manipulation, and Spell Echo. Auras like Malevolence (reserved on life), Discipline, and defensive choices such as Grace or Determination enhance survivability.

Build Concept 2: Conflagration Legion – Summoned Fireball

This build transforms Fireball into an army of autonomous turrets. Casting Fireball spawns a Summoned Fireball minion at the impact location, which then casts its own Fireballs for the duration. The strategy revolves around placement and coverage, surrounding enemies with relentless firepower.

• Summoned Spell Scaling: Damage scales from spell damage, gem level, and ascendancy bonuses to Summoned Spells.
• Projectile Multiplication: Modifiers like Additional Projectiles multiply both player and minion output.
• Ignite Hybrid: Fireball’s hit damage and ignite potential allow for burst or sustained damage options.
• Minion-like Buffs: Effects that enhance minion cast speed or damage may apply, depending on implementation.

Key Skills: Fireball supported by Greater Multiple Projectiles, Spell Echo, Combustion, Fire Penetration, and Controlled Destruction. Auras include Anger, Herald of Ash, and Determination. Utility options feature Flammability curse, a Golem for buffs, and a movement skill.

1. Unlock Summoned Spell capability.
2. Increase maximum number of Summoned Spells.
3. Boost duration and cast speed of Summoned Spells.
4. Add a capstone effect such as explosions on death or recursive summoning.

Pros:

• ✔ Excellent area clearing with massive projectile coverage.
• ✔ Safer playstyle by keeping distance.
• ✔ Consistent damage once minions are established.

Cons:

• ✖ Requires ramp-up time to reach full damage potential.
• ✖ Visual clutter can obscure enemy attacks.
• ✖ Struggles against highly mobile bosses.

Both builds highlight the Infernalist’s unique mechanics, offering radically different gameplay experiences—one as a chaos-fueled mana powerhouse, the other as a battlefield tactician commanding spell-born artillery. Whether you prefer overwhelming single-target damage or controlling the fight with summoned magic, mastering these mechanics will be key to success in Path of Exile 2. For players aiming to push their builds to the limit, securing the right gear and resources by choosing to buy PoE 2 Currency can make all the difference in achieving optimal performance.