Minion Army Infernalist Leveling Guide

Act 1

• The first gem you find is Unearth it is used to deal AoE damage and to spawn more Minions from dead enemy corpses.
  Cut Minion Instability as your first support gem for this skill, you find this support gem by clicking the tab "All Gems".
  

• With your first Uncut Skill Gem cut Skeletal Sniper, it is used to deal damage to your enemies and to gain access to a minion command skill that allows you to send a Gas Arrow. (If you have enough Spirit you can enable the minion by clicking on the "+" sign in the skills menu)
  Cut Scattershot as your first support gem for this skill.
  

• The second Skill Gem you cut is Flame Wall it is used to buff ranged projectiles with fire damage and to deal more AoE damage to enemies. Flame Wall ignites enemies which causes the Gas Arrow command from Skeletal Snipers to explode for very high damage. Make sure you always use this against rares and bosses. Make sure to keep Flame Wall at level 5 to reduce the mana cost.
  Cut Fire Infusion for your Skeletal Snipers so they deal even more damage with the command skill and their auto attack.
  Make sure to update your support gems as they are in the skills display!
  

• The third Skill Gem you cut is Contagion it is used to debuff and deal chaos damage to your enemies and to spread a damage buff to your Unearth minions.
  

• Using a level 3 Uncut Skill Gem you get Essence Drain for improved single target damage.

Note: When you level up your Skeletal Sniper skill to level 3 you can summon one more since the Spirit cost has been reduced.

• Optional: Using a level 3 Uncut Skill Gem you can get Shield Charge for improved mobility. Do not level up this skill gem higher than level 3 to keep a low strength requirement.

• Make sure to update your support gems as they are in the skills display!
  

• After defeating The King in the Mists around level 10-13, you get an Uncut Spirit Gem. With this you must get Raging Spirits (you need to change from the Occult skill tab to the Elemental tab to find it).
  Raging Spirits are summoned by casting Flame Wall and Ember Fusillade which you need to cut if you have not done so yet. Support Ember Fusillade with Unleash.
  
  Make sure to keep 10 raging spirits up at all times during a boss fight.
  Move Martial Tempo and Fire Infusion into your Raging Spirits for increased damage.
  Cut Last Gasp for your Skeletal Snipers.
  Make sure to update your support gems as they are in the skills display!

Note: You need to activate the Raging Spirits buff for them to be summoned when you cast Flame Wall. To do this, go to the Skills Panel and right click the Raging Spirits icon.

• Using a level 5 Uncut Skill Gem cut Pain Offering to boost the damage of all your Minions by offering one of your skeletons on a bone spike.
  Make sure to update your support gems as they are in the skills display!

Act 2

• Using a level 7 Uncut Skill Gem get Flammability, this curse increases your damage against the cursed target. Make sure to never level this higher than level 10 to reduce the mana cost of the skill.

• If you have Enfolding Dawn, you now have the option to swap out your Skeletal Snipers with level 7 Skeletal Arsonists. If you do not yet have this unique then wait at least until you are able to summon 4-6 Skeletal Arsonists. The Skeletal Sniper command skill is just too powerful to give up if you do not have multiple extra Skeletal Arsonists.

You can find a higher level Uncut Spirit Gem from the Golden Tomb side quest in The Lost City area. Use it to level up your Raging Spirits so that they deal even more damage.

• Finish Trial of the Sekhemas when you feel confident enough to gain access to your Loyal Hellhound.
  Make sure to update your support gems as they are in the skills display!

Act 3

Note: Level 2 Supports begin to drop.

• The first Lesser Jeweller's Orb you find is used on Skeletal Sniper or Skeletal Arsonist. Cut Feeding Frenzy and place in the third slot.

• The second Lesser Jeweller's Orb you find is used on Raging Spirits, Cut Fire Penetration to place in the new third support gem slot.

• You use no new gems at level 9 Uncut Skill Gem.
  Upgrade your main damage minion first.

• Update your links with level 2 Uncut Support Gems.
  Make sure to update your support gems as they are in the skills display!

• You use no new gems at level 11 Uncut Skill Gem.
  Make sure to update your support gems as they are in the skills display!

Note: When you reach the end of Act 3 in the "Utzaal" area you have the option to replace your Skeletal Arsonist with Spectres. Use the Bind Spectre gem to get Vaal Guard (Bombers). Make sure you bind the one that casts bombs, there are three different type of monsters with the exact same name "Vaal Guard". One of them is melee (60 Spirit cost), one is ranged (60 Spirit cost), one casts bombs (50 Spirit cost). Use the same supports for Bind Spectre as you do for Skeletal Arsonist.
Be warned this Spectre can cause performance issues but it is very powerful, if your computer is unable to handle these Spectres keep using Skeletal Arsonist instead.

Cruel

• Using a level 13 Uncut Skill Gem cut Skeletal Cleric, they heal all your other Minions and revive your other Skeletons. You only need one or two of this support Minion.
  Cut Ingenuity as the first support gem for this skill.

• Update your links with level 3 Uncut Support Gems when possible.
  Cut Fire Exposure as your first level 3 support for your Summon Infernal Hound.
• Make sure to update your support gems as they are in the skills display with the rest of the level 3 supports!

For the attribute nodes, take enough Strength and Dexterity to meet gear and support gem requirements, then use the rest on Intelligence. You can respec your attributes for gold if the requirements on your gear suddenly changes instead of waiting to level up.

• By far the best way to get passable gear in the campaign is to check the Vendor in Town each time you level up! As vendors change their offerings based on your level this is an excellent way to find extra upgrades.
• Most of the damage you take during the campaign outside of Boss/Rare encounters is Physical Damage. Armour reduces the damage you take from Physical Damage, so look out for hybrid Armour & Energy Shield or pure Energy Shield rolls on your gear. Chaos resistance helps to deal with Physical mitigation when you have your second Ascendancy Altered Flesh.
• Prioritize +#% to Fire, Cold and Lightning Resistance as well as +# to Maximum Life on your gear.

• A great source is checking vendors occasionally for promising bases to craft on with Orbs of Transmutation, Orbs of Augmentation, Regal Orbs, Exalted Orbs, Chaos Orbs and Essences.
• Use a Shield over a wand or a Focus!
  A Shield provides passive block chance against attack and spell damage which is a very strong defensive layer.

• Looks for Sceptres with the following modifiers:
  Grants skill: Skeletal Warrior.
  • 1-4 Level of all Minion Skills (The by far best modifier)
  • % Increased Spirit
  • Allies in your presence deal #% Increased Damage
  • Allies in your presence have #% Increased Attack Speed
  • Allies in your presence deal # to # Additional Attack Lightning/Fire/Cold/Physical Damage

• If you find a very good Sceptre with multiple of the above mods, but without the Skeletal Warrior skill you should still use it.

• Use resistance runes on your equipment!
• Use a Primate Talisman or a Serpent Talisman for your Sceptre.
• Make sure to check out where you can find all permanent character stat bonuses here!
• If you are still struggling check out our Survival Guide for additional useful information!

How do I get more damage?

Make sure to use a good Sceptre with correct stats to support your Minions damage!

Get more Spirit on your Body Armour and Amulet to summon more Skeletal Arsonists.
Use an amulet and helmet with +1 Minion Skill levels.

I don't have enough attributes to use all support gems, which ones should I not use meanwhile?

Why is my single target damage low in the areas of Act 1?

What bonuses should I choose from relics in Act 2 and venom drought in Act 3?

How do I get extra sockets for Skeletal Warriors and Infernal Hound?

• Congratulations on finishing the Minion Army Infernalist Leveling Guide! You beat the campaign and want to know how to further upgrade this build?
• The Endgame build guide for Skeletal Arsonists or Bind Spectres can be found here!
• The Endgame build guide for Skeletal Storm Mages can be found here!

Credits

Written by: Helm Breaker
Content Reviewed by: Tenkiei
Language Reviewed by: Tenkiei