People keep asking why a "fire" ascendancy is carrying the laziest, safest minion playstyle in Path of Exile 2, and once you try it you kinda get it. The Infernalist Witch doesn't need to stand in the thick of things, and she definitely doesn't need to spam a main damage skill. You set the board, your army does the work, and you just keep the machine running. If you're gearing up along the way, having a bit of PoE 2 Currency on hand makes the early friction a lot easier to smooth out, because minion builds really do feel item-sensitive when your links and stats aren't there yet.

From early skeletons to real map clear

In the first stretch of the campaign, you'll usually live on plain Skeleton Warriors or Skeletal Snipers. They're not flashy, but they keep you moving. The big shift happens later, when you can swap into the summons that actually scale hard in maps. Skeletal Reavers start feeling like a proper frontline, and Arsonists give you that "screen is on fire" clear without you having to aim anything. Your own buttons become more like a support kit: keep Pain Offering rolling, drop Flammability or Vulnerability when it matters, and reposition. That's the loop. You're not trying to top the damage chart yourself. You're trying to make sure your minions never stop hitting.

Spirit, Beidat's Will, and the minion cap problem

PoE 2 ties a lot of minion capacity to Spirit, so most summoners hit a wall where they want "just one more" body and can't afford it. Infernalist has a cheeky answer: Beidat's Will. Trading a chunk of your max life into extra Spirit sounds scary on paper, but it's the reason the build feels so different. More Spirit means more minions, and more minions means fewer problems. Then the ascendancy layers on defenses that don't look like minion tools until you're getting punched in the face: shifting incoming damage toward fire, and scaling Energy Shield off life so your effective pool doesn't fall apart the second you invest into Spirit.

Infernal Hound and managing the flame meter

The Infernal Hound is the quiet MVP. It's always there, it takes a slice of damage meant for you, and it buys you time when you mess up a dodge. The other thing you learn fast is Infernal Flame. You're not playing a normal mana game, so you can't just mindlessly cast forever. Build the flame up, keep it under control, and you get real payoff: more fire damage and better ignite odds across your army. Flame Wall is an easy way to add pressure and spin up temporary Raging Spirits, and Detonate Dead lets you turn leftover corpses into a panic button that also clears packs.

Why this summoner feels so good to stick with

If you like the necromancer fantasy but don't want a fragile, frantic caster, this is the closest thing to that "commander" vibe in PoE 2 right now. You hang back, watch for threats, and make small decisions that swing fights—curse timing, Offering uptime, when to push forward and when to let the horde do it. And when you're ready to tighten the build for endgame upgrades, it's pretty common to look at trade options like poe2 divine orb buy so your minions hit the next breakpoint without you spending hours stalled on one weak slot.