Lich Minion Leveling Guide

Build Introduction

PLEASE NOTE: This guide is a work in progress, and is being actively play tested by Ghazzy. Things are likely to change fast, and without warning. Please make sure to refresh the guide periodically to ensure you have the latest version.

This guide will walk you through levelling a Lich from Act 1 to early mapping. Whether it is your first character in a fresh league or a new character with some currency to spend, we’ve got you covered. Lich comes with unique and interesting scaling mechanics, so if you want to explore something new, this is the guide for you!

This guide is a collaborative work from GhazzyTV and Lollash. We will do our best to keep it as up-to-date as possible as the game continues its development and new content is added. If you have any questions regarding the guide, feel free to drop into the streams!

For gameplay footage, you can check out the video below. Do keep in mind that the video guide might be out of date so to make sure you have the latest updated version of the build keep reading the written guide here.

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Video Guide

We will include a video guide here once everything has been confirmed. For now, continue reading for the best information we have at the moment.

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Strengths and Weaknesses

Path of Building

Path of Building is a fantastic community-made tool that lets you see how any change you make to your character’s skill tree, gear, or skill gems will impact you. If you haven’t used POB before, you can find a useful beginner’s guide here. NOTE: POB has not been updated at this time. POB will be added ASAP

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Ascendancy

Towards the end of Act 2 you will encounter the Trial of the Sekhemas. By completing the trial, you will unlock your first two Ascendancy points. You will want to ascend as soon as you can gain access. At this point in the beta, you’ll have the option to ascend as an Lich, Infernalist, or Blood Mage. For this guide, we will be focusing on the Lich.

Lich

1. Necromantic Conduit (Provides some additional damage for you and your minions as long as you arent on low mana)
2. Soulless Form (Provides some additional defenses, and makes your mana regeneration be based on maximum life instead of mana)

You can find a full guide on the Trial of the Sekhemas here.

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General Advice for Leveling

Path of Exile II’s campaign is not meant to be taken lightly. The following tips are things to keep in mind throughout the campaign and are applicable to all characters. This will help you have the smoothest leveling experience possible:

• Pick up Magic and Rare items you find to sell or disenchant.
• Check Vendors often (every time you return to town or level).
• Collect socketed/superior items to salvage so you can add sockets/quality to gear. These will have names like “Superior Mail Vestments” or have a little white square next to their name.
• Explore each zone to find the special encounters, such as optional bosses or hidden treasure. These will be a strong source of uncut gems and permanent character statistics.
• If you havent found an upgrade for a particular slot for a while, considering spending some gold at the gambler to find a magic or rare item you can use or craft on.
• Don’t spam dodge roll. It takes a while to learn when to use it to avoid dangerous attacks but in most situations continuing to move normally and attacking will keep you alive more often.
• Dont rush. If you are feeling overwhelmed by enemies make sure you retreat the way you came as continuing to move forward will likely pull even more enemies.

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Gear Progression and Stat Priority

NOTE: For the first part of the game you will be using a wand and sceptre combo. You will swap to using a shield in Act 3. Keep an eye out for any wands with “+% to increased Spell/Chaos Damage” and “+ # Level of All Chaos/Spell Skills“.

Minion based character’s highest priority statistics are increases to Spirit and “+# to the level of Minion Skills“. As with almost all characters it is also important to pick up as much Maximum Life, Resistances and attributes (Strength, Dexterity or Intelligence) as possible.

Below you will find a breakdown of the most important affixes you can find for each gear slot. The affixes on items are more important than the base type. Due to attribute requirements you will find it easiest to equip Energy Shield bases.

Slot	Affixes	Notes
Main Hand	1. + # to Level of All Minion Skills 2. + #% increased Spirit 3. Any bonus to Minion stats	Rattling Sceptre. Higher level sceptres should only be used if they have better affixes.
Off Hand	1. + #% increased Block Chance 2. + # to Maximum Life 3. + #% increased Energy Shield/+X to Maximum Energy Shield 4.+ #% to Resistances/+# to Attributes	Any shield with good affixes and an implicit block chance.
Helm	1. + # to Level of All Minion Skills 2. + # to Maximum Life 3. + #% increased Energy Shield/+X to Maximum Energy Shield 4. + #% to Resistances/+X to Attributes	Energy Shield bases will be the easiest to meet the requirements for, and will be important once you have Grim Feast, but while levelling any base with good affixes you can equip will work.
Body Armour	1. + # to Spirit 2. + # to maximum life 3. + #% increased Energy Shield/+X to maximum Energy Shield 4. + #% to Resistances/+X to Attributes	Energy Shield bases will be the easiest to meet the requirements for, and will be important once you have Grim Feast, but while levelling any base with good affixes you can equip will work.
Gloves	1. + # to Maximum Life 2. + #% increased Energy Shield/+X to Maximum Energy Shield 3. + #% to Resistances/+X to Attributes	Energy Shield bases will be the easiest to meet the requirements for, and will be important once you have Grim Feast, but while levelling any base with good affixes you can equip will work.
Boots	1. + #% increased Movement Speed 2. + # to Maximum Life 3. + #% increased Energy Shield/+X to Maximum Energy Shield 4. + #% to Resistances/+X to Attributes	Energy Shield bases will be the easiest to meet the requirements for, and will be important once you have Grim Feast. You should always prioritise higher Movement Speed boots to help with avoiding enemy attacks and abilities and moving through zones faster.
Rings	1. + # to Maximum Life 2. +# to Attributes 3. + #% to Resistances	Try to use resistance bases such as Ruby Ring or Amethyst Ring. Having at least one ring with lots of Intelligence or Strength will make equipping gear and levelling your gems much easier.
Amulet	1. + # to Level of all Minion Skills 2. + # to Spirit 3. + # to Maximum Life 4. + #% to Resistances/+X to Attributes	A Solar Amulet might let you have more minions, attribute amulets such as a Lapis Amulet or Stellar Amulet will make equipping gear and levelling gems easier.
Belt	1. + # Charm Slots 2. + # to Maximum Life 3. + #% to Resistances/+X to Attributes	Use the belt with the best affixes while levelling, base type does not really matter.

Flasks and Charms

While levelling, it is important that you continuously upgrade your life and mana flasks when you find more powerful flasks. Remember that you can use Orbs of Transmutation and Orbs of Augmentation on flasks to add a prefix or suffix. The most important affixes for your life flasks are “gains +# charges per second” and ” #% of recovery is instant”. Because this build has low mana usage, you will not want to use an instant recovery mana flask.

After equipping a belt you will gain access to one or more Charm Slots on your inventory screen. Charms are a useful defensive tool; after collecting enough charges from killing monsters, they will automatically trigger their effect when a condition is met. While levelling, we recommend you use a Thawing Charm which will unfreeze you and grant freeze immunity when you are frozen, or a Stone Charm which will grant stun immunity when you are stunned.

Jewels

Jewels rarely drop in general play but can often be found in the Trial of the Sekhemas, with guaranteed jewel drops from Royal Caches. You will path through a number of jewel sockets on your passive tree, and if you drop any jewels, they can add additional power to your character. Sapphires will typically have the best affixes for your build. Here are some you should look for:

Best	Good
Minions deal #% increased Damage	(2–4)% of Damage is taken from Mana before Life
Minions have #% increased Attack and Cast Speed	Gain #% of maximum Energy Shield as additional Stun Threshold
#% increased Minion Accuracy Rating	Offerings have (15–25)% increased Maximum Life
Minions have #% to all Elemental Resistances
(10–20)% increased maximum Energy Shield

Socketables

Runes are socketable items that can be found throughout the campaign. If you have any items with sockets, you can insert these runes to add an additional modifier to the item. You can acquire additional Artificer’s Orbs by salvaging items with sockets you loot. For this leveling strategy, you will mostly use these to add additional resistances to your gear.

Leveling Uniques

• Enfolding Dawn – This Body Armour gives +100 flat spirit and can be worn right from level 1. You may run into some mana issues and will be less tanky, but with careful use of your mana flask, it can provide a big boost to your damage output while levelling
• Wanderlust – An early 20% Movement Speed pair of boots that also gives slow immunity.
• Corpsewade – If you buy or find a low item level pair of Corpsewade boots, they can provide a large damage boost. Please note that the level of the Decompose skill granted by them is linked to the item level and will require a higher character level to wear if dropped later in the game. They also only provide 10% movement speed; you will likely want to replace them later in the game.

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Act I

A Quick Reminder: Take your time, explore each area looking for additional encounters and optional bosses. This will ensure you have a smooth as possible levelling experience.

Initially you will use Contagion, Chaos Bolt and Unearth until you get your first Level 3 Uncut Skill Gem from The Rust King in The Red Vale. Until you defeat The King in the Mists in Act 1 you will be using the combination of Essence Drain and Contagion, utilizing Skeletal Warrior from a Rattling Scepter to act as meat shields. When you get a spare Uncut Skill Gem you will get Flame Wall.

You will cast Contagion on an enemy, followed by casting Essence Drain. This will then propagate through all the nearby enemies when your initial target dies. You can also cast Unearth on corpses to summon temporary minions to boost your damage and clearing speed. If you have extra skill gems, you can add Skeletal Arsonist for a small damage increase.

After defeating the King in the Mists in the Freythorn zone, you will get +30 spirit and your first Uncut Spirit Gem. At this point, you will select Withering Presence from the Witch’s Spirit Gem list.

Rotation and Skills

• Contagion -> Essence Drain -> Flame Wall -> Maintain Uptime on All Skills
• Unearth on corpses
• Skeletal Arsonist‘s Command skill can be used to detonate Raging Spirits if you manage to find a second Spirit Gem early

In the table below you will find a list of the skill gems and the support gems you will want to link to each of the skills.

Skill Gem (In Order of Priority)	Support Gem 1	Support Gem 2
Essence Drain	Swift Affliction	Chain
Contagion	Unleash	Magnified Effect
Withering Presence	Clarity	–
Raging Spirits	Fire Infusion	–
Flame Wall	Fortress	Arcane Tempo
Unearth	Brutality	Persistence
Skeletal Warrior (From Rattling Sceptre)	Meat Shield	Sacrificial Lamb
Skeletal Arsonist	Scattershot	–

Below you can see a step by step guide on how to assign your passive skill tree points. (Currently waiting on implementation of the new tree into our tree tool and POB. Should be available very soon)

Remember: If you ever find you cannot cut a specific support gem or level an active skill gem you should focus on assigning attribute travel nodes as a priority.

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Act II

In Act 2, you will want to keep an eye out for any extra Uncut Spirit Gems that may drop. You will then cut a Raging Spirits (remember to activate it). If you find yourself with extra Uncut Skill Gems, you can also add Pain Offering to your collection. Whenever you encounter a tanky Rare monster or Boss, you should cast Pain Offering, which will prioritize targeting your Skeletal Warriors due to Sacrificial Lamb.

In The Valley of the Titans, after collecting two parts of an amulet in some earlier zones, you will be offered a choice of two permanent rewards. You should choose “30% Increased Charm Charges gained“.

You will gain access to the Trial of the Sekhemas after defeating Balbala in the Traitors Passage and collecting their Djinn Barya. We recommend you ascend as soon as you are able, to get access to Necromantic Conduit for a significant damage boost. You can find a full guide to Trial of the Sekhemas here.

Rotation and Skills

• Contagion -> Essence Drain -> Flame Wall -> Maintain Uptime on All Skills
• Use Skeletal Arsonist‘s Command: Explosive Demise to detonate Raging Spirits for large packs
• Cast Pain Offering on tough encounters. Try to maintain uptime
• Cast Unearth on corpses

In the table below you will find a list of the skill gems and the support gems you will want to link to each of the skills.

Skill Gem (In Order of Priority)	Support Gem 1	Support Gem 2
Essence Drain	Swift Affliction	Chain
Contagion	Unleash	Magnified Effect
Withering Presence	Persistence
Raging Spirits	Fire Infusion	Withering Touch
Flame Wall	Inspiration	Arcane Tempo
Pain Offering	–	–
Unearth	Brutality	–
Skeletal Warrior (From Rattling Sceptre)	Meat Shield	Last Gasp
Skeletal Arsonist	Scattershot	–

Below you can see a step by step guide on how to assign your passive skill tree points. (Currently waiting on implementation of the new tree into our tree tool and POB. Should be available very soon)

Remember: If you ever find you cannot cut a specific support gem or level an active skill gem you should focus on assigning attribute travel nodes as a priority.

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Act III

NOTE: You will be preparing to swap to be fully Minion focused at the end of Act 3. Keep an eye out for any shields with strong defensive statistics during this Act.

There are a couple of important side objectives you won’t want to miss in Act 3. The first time you defeat the Orok Campfire event in the Sandswept Marsh, you will drop a guaranteed Lesser Jeweller’s Orb, which will let you add a third socket to one of your skill gems. You should use this on Skeletal Arsonist. In the Venom Crypts, after collecting the quest item and returning it to town, you will be offered a choice of three quest rewards. You should choose “25% Increased Mana Regeneration“.

Defeating Ignagduk in the Azak Bog will reward you with +30 Spirit and a Level 10 Uncut Spirit Gem. Use this on your Raging Spirits in preparation for swapping to full minions at the end of the Act.

If you have found some additional Spirit on gear you will want to add Skeletal Frost Mage to your roster. You will always want to have two Skeletal Arsonists for access to Command: Explosive Demise.

In Act 3 you will be granted access to the Trial of Chaos, the second Trial of Ascendancy, where you can earn two additional Ascendancy skill points. If you have found at least some gear with resistances, we recommend at least attempting the Quest Item trial you receive in the Chimeral Wetlands. If you are unsuccessful, you can circle back after gaining some levels or finding some better gear. If you’d like a full guide on the Trial of Chaos, then you can find that here.

Rotation and Skills

• Contagion -> Essence Drain -> Flame Wall -> Maintain Uptime on All Skills.
• Use Skeletal Arsonist‘s Command: Explosive Demise to detonate Raging Spirits for large packs.
• Cast Pain Offering and Despair on tough encounters. Try to maintain uptime.

Skill Gem (In Order of Priority)	Support Gem 1	Support Gem 2	Support Gem 3
Essence Drain	Swift Affliction	Chain	–
Contagion	Unleash	–	–
Raging Spirits	Fire Infusion	Withering Touch	–
Skeletal Arsonist Minion	Bidding	Commandment	Magnified Effect
Skeletal Frost Mage	Scattershot	Feeding Frenzy	Arcane Tempo
Despair	Focused Curse	–	–
Flame Wall	Inspiration	–	–
Withering Presence	Persistence	–	–
Pain Offering	–	–	–
Skeletal Warrior (From Rattling Sceptre)	Meat Shield	Sacrificial Lamb	–

Remember: If you ever find you cannot cut a specific support gem or level an active skill gem you should focus on assigning attribute travel nodes as a priority.

Before Respec:

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Acts I – III Cruel

Respec into Minion Focused Tree at the beginning of Act 1 Cruel

After defeating Doryani in Act 3, you will be sent back to the first zone of Act 1 and will play through the first three acts again in Cruel difficulty. At this point you are able to swap to a fully minion focused approach, swapping your wand out for the shield you found in Act 3.

Eventually there will be three new acts added to the game and we will update this section of the guide when they are added. The second time through the acts you will continue to look to upgrade your gear incrementally and continue to level your skill gems.

As soon as you can, you will want to swap out of Skeletal Frost Mages and instead use Skeletal Storm Mages. You will also swap from using Flame Wall to generate Raging Spirits and instead use Ember Fusillade. This will require you to change some support gems around, so make sure you check the skill priority table below.

In Act II Cruel you will start to find Level 13 Uncut Skill Gems and will be adding Skeletal Cleric to your skill list. You want to make sure that you have at least one Skeletal Cleric summoned, though you may be able to summon more, but never at the cost of losing more Skeletal Storm Mages.

After reaching the Halani Gates in Act 2 Cruel you can start dropping Level 3 Uncut Support Gems, which will change what support gems you use with your skills. Below you will find the supports we recommend for each of the skills you will be using from highest to lowest priority, left to right. Once again in The Valley of the Titans, you will be offered a choice of 2 rewards; you should again choose “30% Increased Charm Charges gained“.

In Act III Cruel you will again want to defeat the Orok Campfire encounter in the Sandswept March to pick up a guaranteed Lesser Jeweller’s Orb. You will use this to add a third socket to Skeletal Storm Mage if you haven’t already done so. After collecting a quest item in the Venom Crypts and returning it to town, you will again be offered a choice of three rewards. You should choose “+10% Chaos Resistance” this time.

Skill Gem (In Order of Priority)	Support Gem 1	Support Gem 2	Support Gem 3
Skeletal Storm Mage (Only summon 1)	Conduction	Stormfire	–
Skeletal Storm Mage (Main DPS Summon)	Feeding Frenzy	Arcane Tempo	Elemental Focus
Raging Spirits	Fire Infusion	Martial Tempo	Fire Mastery
Skeletal Arsonist	Bidding	Commandment	Magnified Effect
Skeletal Cleric	Ingenuity	Last Gasp	–
Despair	Focused Curse	Hex Bloom	–
Ember Fusillade	Unleash	Fast Forward	–
Withering Presence	Persistence	–	–
Pain Offering	–	Inspiration	–
Skeletal Warrior (From Rattling Sceptre)	Meat Shield	Sacrificial Lamb	–

Below you can see a step by step guide on how to assign your passive skill tree points. (Currently waiting on implementation of the new tree into our tree tool and POB. Should be available very soon)

Remember: If you ever find you cannot cut a specific support gem or level an active skill gem you should focus on assigning attribute travel nodes as a priority.

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Rotation

The way you play the game changes as you unlock new skills. You can check the Act-by-Act section of the guide for advice specific to that point in the game. Once you have everything unlocked, your general play will be casting Ember Fusillade to summon Raging Spirits while focusing on staying safe and avoiding enemy abilities. When you encounter a tough rare or boss, you will cast Pain Offering, then Despair on the target.

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Progressing into Endgame

This guide is mostly meant to get you to early maps. Progressing from there on out will require you to follow one of our Endgame guides. We recommend doing this around Level 80 when you’ve amassed a little bit of currency to enable transitioning.

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Changelog

April 5th, 2025: Guide created for Path of Exile II, Early Access