Skeletal Sniper Infernalist Build Guide
The Skeletal Sniper Infernalist mainly uses Skeletal Snipers for both AoE and single target damage. AoE damage in maps is improved further by casting Detonate Dead on enemy corpses.
Cast Flame Wall to Summon Raging Spirits to add even more single target damage and clear speed. Debuff enemies with Flammability and buff your minions with Pain Offering.
This build's primary defensive layer is a very large pool of Energy Shield which is doubled when mapping by the defensive aura Grim Feast. Combine this with a shield in your off-hand that provides a high block chance and you can survive the most dangerous encounters.
All of this combined, allows you to challenge the to most difficult maps and bosses. If you want an active Minion playstyle then this is the build for you.
You do not need specific resistances and attributes on any item, just get the required total resistances and attributes amongst all gear combined. You need to cap your Resistances at 75% unless otherwise specified in the guide!
Note: This gear is basically as good as it can get and is in no way a requirement to have for the build. It is to show what modifiers you want to strive for on your items.
Path of Exile 2 is currently in early access, this means rapid development including frequent changes to builds as there are balance fixes and we learn more. Pin this page to be notified of any updates.
This guide assumes you are at least level 68 and have completed Act 3 Cruel, to learn more about the leveling process check out our Witch Leveling Guide.
Skills
Primary Clear early on
- Detonate Dead is used to explode enemy corpses in maps improving clear speed. As soon as your Skeletal Snipers have killed an enemy, cast Detonate Dead to deal damage to all enemies near that corpse. This causes a chain reaction since more enemies die to the explosions creating even more corpses.
Note: Use a low level (7-10) Detonate Dead skill gem. The mana cost increases a lot each level and it is not worth using a higher level gem for this skill.
Primary Clear later on
- Eye of Winter replaces Detonate Dead later on when your Skeletal Snipers and Raging Spirits deal more damage and you no longer need to use Detonate Dead to improve the clear speed. Eye of Winter applies Critical Weakness debuff on enemies for increase Critical Strike Chance.
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Minions
- Skeletal Snipers are used as the main damage dealers against enemies. Scattershot is used to support this Minion to increase the amount of arrows being shot by 2, which in turn increases the clear speed. Add quality to this gem to reduce the Spirit reservation required.
Note: You gem swap Scattershot with Chaos Mastery and Fork with Physical Mastery for improved single target damage against bosses.
Early on the Skeletal Sniper command skill can be used to cast Gas Arrows for single target burst damage, but with each increased Minion skill level the mana cost increases a lot which makes it less viable to use later when you have more skill levels.
- Raging Spirits are used to deal damage against enemies and are summoned when casting Flame Wall and Detonate Dead.
- Skeletal Storm Mages are used to debuff rares and bosses with the Shock elemental Ailment. This increases the damage enemies take with 20-35% depending on if you have them supported by Overcharge. With Stormfire the enemy is permanently Shocked as long as there is an active ignite on them. You only need one or two of this support Minion.
- Summon Infernal Hound is your best friend that protects you and reduces the damage you take from hits by 20%. The Infernal Hound also applies ignite to nearby enemies which is why it is supported by Fire Exposure to apply the exposure to all nearby enemies.
- Skeletal Cleric heals all your other Minions and resurrects your other Skeletons. You only need one or two of these support Skeletons, use the rest of your Spirit on Skeletal Snipers or Clarity.
- Optional if you have Skeletal Warrior on your Sceptre. They are mainly used to tank, apply debuffs and cull enemies at low life.
Debuffs & Utillity
- Flammability primary function is to reduce enemies Fire resistance which causes them to take more damage from your minions. The 6th support gem is Focused Curse, but for mapping or when clearing breaches Hex Bloom is far superior.
- Pain Offering is used to impale one of your Minions, which in turn buffs all your other Minions with more damage, increased attack and cast speed. The Pain Offering itself is a Minion that can be killed, which interrupts the buff.
- Flame Wall is used to summon Raging Spirits and increase the damage of all projectiles that travel through the flames.
Persistent Buffs
- Grim Feast allows you to double your Maximum Energy Shield pool.
- Optionally supported by Clarity for increased Mana regeneration. Do not link this if it means you lose an extra Skeletal Sniper.
Skill Rotation
- Cast Flame Wall to summon Raging Spirits and cast Pain Offering to buff your Minions for a massive damage increase. Then cast Flammability to debuff your enemies.
- In maps you cast Detonate Dead as soon as an enemy has died to explode their corpses for improved clear speed.
- If your Minions get stuck you can setup your second weapon set to have ZERO summoned Minions in the Skills tab. By doing this all your Minions despawn when you swap to your second weapon set. Then you can quickly swap back to your main weapon set which causes all your previous living Minions to respawn right next to you. A similar function to how the spell Convocation worked in PoE1. However if you have an active auto-resurrection pending the rest of your Minions cannot instantly respawn and you have to wait for them all to spawn when the auto-resurrection finishes.
Skill Leveling Priority
Passives
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For the attribute nodes take enough Intelligence and Dexterity to meet gear, skill gem and support gem requirements, then use the rest on Strength for more life. You can respec your attributes for gold if the requirements on your gear suddenly changes instead of waiting to level up.
There are many valuable nodes on the passive tree; but the most important stats to acquire are:
- Minions have #% reduced Reservation.
- #% Increased Maximum Energy Shield
- Minions deal #% Increased damage.
- Minions have #% Increased Critical Damage Bonus
- Minions have #% Increased Critical Hit Chance
- Minions Revive #% Faster.
- Minions have +#% to all Elemental Resistances.
- #% Faster start of Energy Shield Recharge.
- #% Increased Energy Shield Recharge Rate.
- #% Increased Minion Accuracy Rating
It's worth noting that nodes such as Illuminated Crown and Ancient Aegis, encourage equipping a Helmet and Body Armour with high Energy Shield. Check the Gearing section for more information.
Ascendancy
Learn how to complete the Trial of the Sekhemas and Trial of Chaos to earn your first 2 Ascensions with our Ascension Guide!
- 1st Ascension : Loyal Hellhound.
- For an extra Minion and reduced damage taken by 20%.
- 2nd Ascension: Altered Flesh.
- This helps deal with Phyiscal damage if you have Chaos Resistance. When you start stacking Maximum Fire resistances you take less Cold and Lightning damge.
- 3rd Ascension: Beidat's Will
- For more maximum Spirit at the cost of 25% life reservation.
- 4th Ascension: Beidat's Hand or two Life.
- The default choice is Beidat's Hand.
- However, if you have less than 1800 life and Low Chaos resistance, take two Life nodes instead.
Gearing
Offensive Scaling
- The by far best modifier to scale this build is Level of all Minion skills
- +# to Spirit and Increased Spirit
- Minions and Allies have #% Increased Damage
- Minions and Allies have #% Increased Crit Damage and Crit Chance.
- Minions and Allies have #% Increased Attack Speed
- Minions and Allies have +# to Accuracy Rating
Defensive Scaling
- Sufficient +#% to Fire, Cold, Lightning and Chaos Resistance to cap your Resistances.
- Sources of +#% to Maximum Fire Resistances to scale your elemental defenses into the endgame.
- #% Increased Energy Shield.
- +# To Maximum Energy Shield.
- +# to Maximum Life.
- A shield with a high % Block Chance. Oaksworn is a solid option before you acquire a very good Rare Shield.
- If you are still struggling check out our Survival Guide for additional useful information!
Here's how you should gear your Skeletal Sniper Infernalist. Sorted mostly in order of importance.
Note: A useful Essence when crafting many of the defensive items below is Essence of Enhancement and Greater Essence of Enhancement.
Weapon
Boots
Gloves
Body Armour
Helmets
Amulets
Rings
Belts
Jewels
Shield
Other Modifiers to Consider
- Specific reduced duration or effect of ailments, such as Reduced Poison or Ignite Duration on your Body Armour are desirable.
- Mana and Mana Regeneration Rate is useful since Flammability, Flame Wall and Detonate Dead are very mana hungry.
- Rarity is desirable to improve loot drops while mapping.
Runes, Soul Cores & Sockets
- During early item progression, most gear is socketed with Resist Runes (Desert Rune, Glacial Rune or Storm Rune).
- Once elemental and Chaos resists have been capped and resistance runes are no longer necessary, players can opt to increase their Maximum Energy Shield with Iron Rune or consider socketing Soul Cores. The Soul Core of Puhuarte for +1% To Maximum Fire resistance is of particular interest.
General Note: During the early stages of a character, it’s worth it to equip items on the proper Energy Shield bases without Life. This means prioritizing 75% Elemental Resistance or more and as much Chaos Resistance as possible.
Atlas Passives
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- Generally aim for mechanics that spawn lots of monsters, such as Breach or Ritual.
- Skeletal Sniper and Raging Spirits combined with Flammability and Pain Offering have strong single target damage so farming Boss Maps or Essences are also welcome. With a massive Energy Shield pool you can survive most attacks.
Learn about the endgame activities available to you in Path of Exile 2 with our guide!
FAQ
I’m dying more than I would like, what can I do?
Make sure your Elemental Resists are at 76% and around 60%+ Chaos resistance. Furthermore, make sure you have the appropriate bases equipped to gain as much Energy Shield as possible.
How do I solve Mana issues?
Have you considered dropping block altogether for a Focus Energy Shield base instead?
What rewards did you take from Servi for completing the Slithering Dead quest?
What rewards did you choose from the Ancient Vows quest?
How do I get extra sockets for Skeletal Warriors and Infernal Hound?
Video
Summary
- Skeletal Snipers and Raging Spirits are used for single target damage while AoE clear is carried by Detonate Dead early on.
- Flammability is used to scale all fire damage.
- Summon Infernal Hound applies Fire Exposure.
- Skeletal Warrior applies Culling Strike, Maim and Blind.
- Grim Feast is used to provide an extremely strong defensive layer setup by doubling your Energy Shield in maps.