Path of Exile 2: Summoner Lich leveling guide (0.3.0 League starter)

Path of Exile 2’s Summoner Lich is going to be the dominant leveling minion build heading into patch 0.3.0, instead of the Infernalist this time around. It’s a very relaxed build, and doesn’t use anything especially complex; which I really appreciate. There are plenty of other classes that have maddening, complicated builds and rotations, but this genuinely isn’t going to be one of them.

If you want to just let your constantly growing army of the undead do your fighting for you, this is the build for you. Sadly, this Summoner Lich leveling build for Path of Exile 2 won’t be taking advantage of Raging Spirits+Flame Wall combo, because that got nerfed. We’ll miss you, Raging Spirits. Instead, we’re doing Chaos damage!

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Pros and Cons of a Summoner Lich Leveling build in Path of Exile 2

Frankly, this is my favorite way to play Path of Exile 2, though it’s my first time going as a Summoner Lich instead of Infernalist. The leveling build isn’t too hard to navigate, quite frankly.

We’re taking advantage of some pretty common Witch skills, so as long as you can cast Contagion Despair, and Essence Drain, as well as Pain Offering you’re going to be just fine. It may not be the most dominant build in the game, but it’s relaxed, and it’s fun.

Pros

• A relaxed, easy leveling build.
• Reliably clears maps with ease.
• Having a minion army means you’re very tanky; enemies have to get through them first!

Cons

• Your single-target damage is pretty weak until you get the Dark Effigy totem
• While not a complicated build, it’s not a one-button build (use of several Curse/Chaos skills)

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How to play a Summoner Lich leveling build in Path of Exile 2

Rotation

• Contagion -> Essence Drain -> Despair (if necessary) -> Dark Effigy
• Note: When fighting bosses, make sure you have Overabundance on Dark Effigy to get two totems out in the late game.

Early Game
Skill Gem	Recommended Support Gems
Skeletal Sniper/Arsonist	Martial Tempo, Scattershot, Last Gasp
Essence Drain	Chain, Swift Affliction, Considered Casting
Contagion	Arcane Tempo, Magnified Effect, Unleash
Pain Offering	Font of Rage, Expanse, Meat Shield
Despair	Heightened Curse, Decaying Hex
Dark Effigy	Ancestral Urgency, Withering Touch, Acceleration
Convalescence	Second Wind, Persistence
Mid-Game
Blasphemy	Despair (Curse), Ritualistic Curse
Endgame
Contagion	Magnified Effect, Unleash, Hinder
Essence Drain	Derange, Swift Affliction, Considered Casting, Deliberation, Chain
Dark Effigy	Arcane Tempo, Overabundance, Acceleration, Envenom, Execute
Despair	Focused Curse, Heightened Curse, Decaying Hex, Inspiration
Withering Presence	Warm Blooded
Convalescence	Ingenuity

Playing a Summoner Lich is pretty easy in Path of Exile 2 0.3.0. At the very start, we don’t really have much of a choice; use Unearth+MInion Instability, and pick up Skeleton Sniper ASAP. The most important part of the early game for us though is Essence Drain and Contagion. You Contagion a target then Essence Drain it, so when it dies, it spreads the pain around. Very easy stuff.

You don’t need Skeletal Sniper and Skeletal Arsonist. Choose the one you prefer and go with it; personally, I like Skeletal Arsonists more, but that’s likely a holdover from my Fire Wall days. When you can, unlock Skeletal Cleric of course, so they can keep your allies alive. When you can, add Despair to your rotation. It triggers after a short delay but is an AOE curse that lowers Chaos Resistance, making it ideal for your build.

Eventually, you’ll want to swap out for Skeletal Reavers, because they’re amazing at tanking damage for you, but you won’t worry about that until much later. The only thing you really struggle with is potentially single-target damage, and we’ll use the Dark Effigy totem for that. It’s a totem that blasts enemies that have Chaos DOTs on them with extra damage.

If you’re finding it difficult to keep your Energy Shield up, Convalescence is a skill worth having, as it will let you recharge your Energy Shield and buff you to prevent it from being interrupted. It’s incredibly useful for a Summoner Lich in Path of Exile 2.

However, my favorite part of this build kicks in towards the mid-game. When you can, add Blasphemy to your build. It turns your socketed Curse skills into Vile Auras, that apply to nearby enemies; slap Despair on this for maximum value.

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Ideal gear stats for leveling a Summoner Lich in Path of Exile 2

Early Game
Gear Slot	Ideal Stats
Wand	Spell Damage, Chaos Damage
Sceptre	Spirit, +Level of Minion Skills
Helmet	Level of Minion Skills, Energy Shield, Life
Body	Armor, Energy Shield, Spirit, Elemental Resistances
Boots	Movement Speed, Life, Resistances
Amulet	Spirit, +Level of Minion Skills
Rings	The best resistances you can get
Mid-Game
Wand	Spell Damage, Chaos Damage, Level of Chaos Skills
Focus	Chaos Damage, Elemental REsistances, Level of Spell Skills
Helmet	Atziri's Disdain
Body	Spirit, Life, Cold Resistance
Boots	Movement Speed, Life, Resistances
Gloves	Doedre's Tenure (Or Rare gloves with Energy Shield)
Amulet	Cast Speed, Levels of Spell Skills, Spell Damage
Rings	Resistances, Chaos Damage, Cast Speed
Late-Game
Wand	Level of All Chaos Spells, Spell Damage, Chaos Damage, Cast Speed
Focus	Level of Spell Skills, Spell Damage, Cast Speed
Helmet	Atziri's Disdain (Corrupted if possible)
Body	Energy Shield, Maximum Energy Shield, Increased Energy Shield, Resistances
Boots	Movement Speed, Life, Resistances
Gloves	Doedre's Tenure
Amulet	Cast Speed, Levels of Spell Skills, Spell Damage
Rings	Spell Damage, Chaos Damage, Energy Shield

You can probably imagine that Spirit is easily one of our most important stats. The more Spirit you have, the more Auras and minions you can summon. You’re going to want Spirit on your gear, and to get every extra bit of Spirit in the game, so you can have Convalescence and Withering Presence, on top of a minion army.

However, it’s not really your most important stat on gear, because that is Any Relevant Skill Levels, as well as Spell Damage/Chaos Damage. These will increase your damage output, and and we want those curses to really obliterate waves of enemies quickly.

In the early game you’ll go with the tried-and-true Wand+Rattling Sceptre as a Summoning Lich in Path of Exile 2, but shift to Wand+Druidic Foci in the mid-game. At that point, you’ll want a chest piece with Spirit on it to make up for the lack on your Foci. If you can get a chest piece with Spirit earlier, more's the better.

There aren’t a ton of specific Uniques that are truly necessary until the endgame. Towards the mid-game, Atziri’s Disdain is important, and so is Doedre’s Tenure. In the late game, your chest is going to be your major source of Energy Shield, so pick a really good one. It ideally will also have high Spirit.

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Best Ascendancy nodes, Keystone Passives, and other notable nodes for Summoner Lich leveling build in Path of Exile 2

Unfortunately, the skill tree isn’t really known yet, so we cannot give you an exact route yet for a Summoner Lich leveling build in Path of Exile 2. The ideal way to go is to pick up Chaos-boosting/Minion-boosting nodes, as you make your way to Entropy, and Power of the Dead. There are supposed to be some +Spirit nodes being added somewhere in the tree, so once we have been hands-on, and have a route, we’ll update this accordingly.

We aren’t so focused on Mana Nodes, due to our choices as a Lich, as well. We will pick those up much later. However, do get at least Open Mind and Arcane Blossom to increase your mana regeneration rate.

You also want skills like Essence Infusion and Quick Response as you transition into the endgame, to make sure your Energy Shield recharge rate is as high as possible.

Noteworthy nodes

• Power of the Dead
• Gravedigger
• Relentless Fallen
• Lingering Horror
• Void
• Entropy
• Profane Commander
• Essence Infusion
• Quick Response

Once you’re a Lich, you do have a solid priority for your ascendancies. You want Soulless Form (Mana regen), Eternal Life (Life can’t lower while Energy Shielded), and then Rupture the Soul (Cursed enemies by you that die have a chance to explode). In the endgame, you’ll be picking up Eldritch Empowerment (Major DPS boost).

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Check out our other Path of Exile 2 guides and features

• Path of Exile 2 0.3 patch notes: Everything new in The Third Edict
• Path of Exile 2: 5 biggest changes in patch 0.3.0
• Path of Exile 2’s Support Gem rule change in 0.3 is a big buff to all builds
• Path of Exile 2 The Third Edict: 0.3 walks back all the Skill nerfs in 0.2, and then some