Skeletal Sniper
Infernalist Build

Updated for Path of Exile 2 Early Access

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You're playing as a summoner, with the Infernalist ascendancy, as one usually does. The main damaging Minions are Skeletal Snipers; they deal Physical Damage. Their Command ability creates a Poison Cloud, which you can detonate with Flame Wall. The Explosion's damage is also of Physical type, but it's all converted to Fire. The same Flame Wall will summon your second-best minions - Raging Spirits. They also deal Physical Damage, mostly converted to Fire. This combination of ranged and melee allies, both of which deal roughly the same damage type, results in a very good clear speed and single-target damage. Other Minions that will supplement this playstyle are Infernal Hound, Skeletal Storm Mage, and Skeletal Cleric. It drives a high demand for Spirit.

The main defensive layer of this build is Energy Shield combined with Grim Feast. You cannot allocate Chaos Inoculation because of Beidat's Will and Beidat's Hand. These passives grant Spirit and Energy Shield. The Altered Flesh, which you have to allocate to access them, is especially good against Physical Damage, which is hard to mitigate otherwise. Hound is taking a portion of the damage you'd receive, but the ease with which it Ignites makes it a prime candidate for Fire Exposure, and, since your Minions deal considerable Physical Damage, it will also break Armour with Splinter.

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1. Gameplay

Your most-often used skill will be Flame Wall - cast it whenever you run out of Raging Spirits or to boost skeletons' damage. Other than that, there's not much else to do while mapping. Only when you stumble upon a Rare enemy that's a bit harder to kill, you shall cast Pain Offering, which is your most potent damage buff. Then, Command your Minions to use their abilities. Flammability should follow this sequence. If the boss is tough still, just make sure to always have the Pain Offering effigy on, that the enemy is Cursed, and that you have Raging Spirits floating about. Your passive skill is Grim Feast.

2. Build's PROS & CONS

3. Leveling tips

Skeletal Snipers are the first Minions you're allowed to summon. Immediately after acquiring Raging Spirits, put them on. Start supplementing your damage with Pain Offering and a Curse. By this point, you will get enough momentum to go through the acts quickly, given that you put your skill points into minion damage-related nodes. Spirit will be the most important resource, put on the low-level items that grant you Spirit, such as Enfolding Dawn, Alpha's Howl, Beacon of Azis, and Oaksworn.

[DPS] Skeletal Sniper setup
	Skeletal Sniper - the main damage-dealing ability used in this build, which works very well on all levels, including the campaign
	Rapid Attacks - a core Support Gem for the majority of Attack skills
	Feeding Frenzy - makes Supported Minions deal more damage, but also take increased damage
	Fire Attunement - makes your Snipers deal more Fire Damage with their Attacks

[DPS] Raging Spirits setup
	Raging Spirits - a short-lived Minion that is summoned automatically when you cast Flame Wall and Flammability Spells
	Immolate - makes your Raging Spirits deal more damage against Ignited enemies
	Elemental Focus - increases Elemental Damage, but makes the supported skill unable to inflict ailments
	Prolonged Duration - increases the duration of your Raging Spirits

[DPS] Flame Wall setup
	Flame Wall - ignites enemies, but also makes projectiles that fly through the Flame Wall to deal increased damage
	Fortress - makes the Flame Wall have a circular shape, but deals less damage with Hits
	Efficiency - reduces the Mana Cost of Flame Wall

[UTILITY] other gems
	Pain Offering - a temporary Aura skill that increases the damage of your Minions
	Elemental Weakness - recommended Curse for this build
	Skeletal Cleric - a utility/support Minion that heals your other Minions and makes them revive faster

4. Final Skill Tree, Ascendancy Points, and Pantheon

Final Skill Tree:

Click on the image to open the Passive Tree preview in a new window Or import the build into PoB: Path of Building 2 code

Ascendancy points:

Preferably in this order:

1. Altered Flesh
2. Beidat's Will
3. Loyal Hellhound
4. Beidat's Hand

5. Final Gems links

[DPS] Skeletal Sniper setup
	Skeletal Sniper - It will deal Physical Damage with its attacks, but the Command Skill (Poison Cloud Explosion) Converts it all to Fire Damage.
	Muster - More Damage for every type of Reviving Minion you have.
	Fire Attunement - More Fire Damage, but less Cold and Lightning Damage.
	Heft - 30% more Maximum Physical Damage.
	Feeding Frenzy - Minions take and deal more damage.
	Rapid Attacks - More Attack Speed.

[DPS] Raging Spirits setup
	Raging Spirits - Summons Minions when you cast the Flame Wall. They deal partially converted to Fire Physical Damage.
	Muster
	Fire Attunement
	Prolonged Duration - More Skill Effect Duration.
	Feeding Frenzy
	Rapid Attacks

[UTILITY] Summon Infernal Hellhound setup
	Summon Infernal Hellhound - The dog is a Minion that will apply debuffs and absorb some of the damage you would receive.
	Fire Exposure - Inflicts Fire Exposure when Igniting the enemy. The hound Ignites nearby enemies.
	Potent Exposure - The effect of  Exposure is increased.
	Wildfire - Ignite Spreads to other enemies.
	Loyalty - 10% of Damage from Hits is taken from the Hound. It has 30% less maximum Life.
	Hulking Minions -20% more Maximum Life and Damage.

[UTILITY] Flame Wall setup
	Flame Wall - Added Fire Damage to all Projectiles passing through the wall. It doubles as a way of summoning Raging Spirits. Keep it at a low level.
	Fortress - Flame Wall is no longer a wall, but a circle, making it much easier for minions to attack through it.
	Rapid Casting - Much more Cast Speed.
	Mobility - Less Movement Speed Penalty while moving and casting.

[UTILITY] Pain Offering setup
	Pain Offering - A temporary buff for your Minions, which grants them much more Cast Speed, Attack Speed, and Damage. Use it often.
	Danse Macabre - You will have to sacrifice an additional Minion, but the effect of Pain Offering gets increased by 30%.
	Sacrificial Offering - 30% increased Buff Effect at the cost of 15% of your own Life on use.
	Prolonged Duration
	Meat Shield - The effigy has 50% more Maximum Life, making it harder to take down. If that's not a problem for you, replace it with Font of Blood for passive Life Regeneration.
	Font of Rage - The effigy will grant Rage for all your other Minions, which results in more Attack Damage.

[UTILITY] Elemental Weakness setup
	Elemental Weakness - You're dealing mainly Fire Damage with your Command Skeletal Sniper Skill, so Elemental Weakness is a natural choice.
	Heightened Curse - 25% increased Effect of the Curse.
	Efficiency - Curses usually cost a lot of Mana; use Inspiration to lower its cost.
	Ritualistic Curse - Increased Area of Effect and Curse Delay.
	Magnified Effect - Increased Area of Effect.

[UTILITY] Grim Feast setup
	Grim Feast - You can revive Minions with a press of a button.
	Clarity - You will need some additional Mana Regeneration from Clarity.

[UTILITY] Skeletal Storm Mage setup
	Skeletal Storm Mage - Their role is to Shock, usually with the Command Skill. Shock causes the enemy to take increased damage. You won't need a lot of these minions.
	Overcharge - More Effective Shock but with reduced duration.
	Shock - Increased Chance to Shock.
	Stormfire - Shock does not expire on Ignited enemies, which they always are, thanks to the Hellhound and Flame Wall.
	Lightning Penetration - Hits penetrate a big chunk of Lightning Resistance.
	Lightning Mastery - Increases the Gem Level of your Storm Mages.

[UTILITY] Skeletal Cleric setup
	Skeletal Cleric - Support Minion to Revive and Heal all other Minions.
	Cooldown Recovery - Lowers the Cooldown for the Reviving ability.
	Last Gasp - Minions stay alive for 4 seconds after they run out of Life.

[UTILITY] Skeletal Warrior setup
	Skeletal Cleric - Used for the Muster bonus and for utility.
	Cooldown Recovery - Lowers the Cooldown for the Reviving ability.
	Last Gasp - Minions stay alive for 4 seconds after they run out of Life.
	Sacrificial Lamb - Warriors will be prioritised by Offering Skills.
	Meat Shield

6. Gear Setup

The build's main defensive layer is Energy Shield, but you may want to look for Maximum Life on your items too, because it translates into Spirit and ES via Beidat's Will and Beidat's Hand passives. Still, half of it will be reserved, and its only role will be to protect you from Chaos Damage. Given a choice, always prioritise Maximum Energy Shield over Maximum Life. Spirit is very important; it dictates how many Minions you're allowed to have. Spirit can be found on Body Armour, Amulet, Jewels, and Weapon. Gem Level of Minion Skill, especially Snipers, will directly influence your damage, so keep an eye on it too. The main Sources of Gem level are your Weapon, Prism of Belief, Amulet, and Helmet. You can also look for Minion Damage/Minion Attack Speed, which is found on a Weapon and Jewels. Be sure your Resistances are capped.

(Weapon) Rare Sceptre - It's the most important gear piece. Rattling Sceptre has built-in Skeletal Warriors that you can link with Envenom, Corrosion, and whatnot, but other Sceptres are generally better. Prioritize Spirit and Gem Level for Minion Skills.

Min. requirements: increased Spirit Level of all Minion Skills Allies in your Presence deal increased Damage Optional affixes: Allies in your Presence deal additional Physical Damage Allies in your Presence have increased Attack Speed Allies in your Presence have increased Crit Chance or Damage

(Weapon) Trenchtimbre - The only martial weapon with Level of all Minion Skills, meaning you can use Sceptre in the off-hand.

Adds (13–15) to (22–25) Physical Damage (20–30)% increased Attack Speed +(1–3) to Level of all Minion Skills Increases and Reductions to Minion Attack Speed also affect you

(Off-hand) Oaksworn - It's very cheap and has 50 Spirit, so it's good, but not as good as Trenchtimbre + Rare Sceptre in most cases.

Grants Skill: Raise Shield (40-60)% increased Block chance (80-120)% increased Armour and Energy Shield +50 to Spirit +(17-23)% to Chaos Resistance

(Helmet) Rare Helmet - Seek high Maximum ES, Level of all Minions Skills, and Resistances.

Min. requirements: Maximum Energy Shield Level of all Minion Skills Optional affixes: Elemental and Chaos Resistance Intelligence

(Gloves) Rare Gloves - Not much to look for on Gloves, just the basic Energy Shield, Resistances, and maybe Dexterity.

Min. requirements: Maximum Energy Shield Attributes Optional affixes: Elemental and Chaos Resistance Maximum Life

(Boots) Rare Boots - Here, try to get high Movement Speed with Resistances and Maximum Energy Shield

Min. requirements: increased Movement Speed Maximum Energy Shield Elemental and Chaos Resistance Optional affixes: Attributes

(Boots) Bones of Ullr - Tons of increased Reservation Efficiency for Skeletons.

(5–15)% increased Movement Speed (40–60)% increased Energy Shield +(20–40) to maximum Life +(20–40) to maximum Mana (20–30)% increased Reservation Efficiency of Skills which create Undead Minions

(Amulet) Fireflower - Boosts the Gem level of, among other skills, Skeletal Snipers. Rare Amulets can roll only up to 3 additional levels, while this - 6 with a lucky Corruption and proper Quality. Just keep in mind the downsides and low Spirit.

+(10-15) to Spirit (10-20)% increased Rarity of item found (30-40)% increased Mana Regeneration Rate Take 100 Fire Damage when you Ignite an Enemy +(1-4) to Level of all Fire Skills

(Amulet) Rare Amulet - Focus on the Gem Level of all Minion Skills and additional Spirit. Then, go for Attributes, Resistances, and Maximum Energy Shield. Solar Amulet is the best base.

Min. requirements: Spirit Level of all Minion Skills Optional affixes: Attributes Maximum Energy Shield Elemental and Chaos Resistance

(Ring) Rare Ring - Rings are the primary source of Resistances and Attributes, but mainly the former. Because of that Ventor's Gamble may be your first choice if that's sorted out - there's Spirit there which normally cannot be rolled on Rares.

Min. requirements: Elemental and Chaos Resistance Attributes Optional affixes: Maximum Life Maximum Mana

(Ring) Ventor's Gamble - These Rings have Spirit on them, which is a highly sought-after resource. Just don't sabotage your Resistances.

(6-15)% increased Rarity of Items found +(0-80) to maximum Life +(0-20) to Spirit (-40-40)% increased Rarity of Items found +(-40-40)% to Fire Resistance +(-40-40)% to Cold Resistance +(-40-40)% to Lightning Resistance

(Belt) Rare Belt - A Belt is the best place to get Strength, which is needed for Gems and Weapons. After that - Resistances and Maximum Life or Maximum Mana.

Min. requirements: Strength Elemental and Chaos Resistance Optional affixes: Maximum Life Maximum Mana Life Flask modifiers Charm Slots

(Body Armour) Rare Body Armour - On a Body Armour you can find Spirit, so definitely prioritize that. Other than that, go for the ES and Resistances.

Min. requirements: Maximum Energy Shield Elemental and Chaos Resistance Spirit Optional affixes: Attributes

(Body Armour) Morior Invictus - An armour like this with "+10 to Spirit per Socketed Rune or Soul Core" and some other useful modifier may be great. Rare Armours can roll up to 60 Spirit, which is still more, but this one may be less expensive.

(200–300)% increased Armour, Evasion and Energy Shield [2 Random Socket Modifiers] [Has 4 Rune Sockets]

(Jewel) Rare Sapphire Jewels - Sapphire Jewels can get you more Maximum ES, minion damage, and minion Attack Speed.

Optional affixes: increased Maximum Energy Shield Minions deal increased Damage Minions have increased Attack Speed Minion Critical Hit Chance or Damage

(Jewel) Grand Spectrum (Emerald) - Any boost to Spirit is welcome; Emerald Grand Spectrum will be fitting.

2% increased Spirit per socketed Grand Spectrum

(Jewel) Prism of Belief - If you have a Prism of Belief that increases the Level of Skeletal Snipers, put it on.

+(1-3) to Level of all <Random skill> Skills

If you have any other build requests please leave that in the comments below. We are always open to suggestions and constructive feedback.

Pictures used in this article are the intellectual property of Grinding Gear Games.