Path of Exile 2 has no Necromancer. In the 0.5 patch series the Witch’s ascendancies are Infernalist, Blood Mage and Lich, per PoE Vault’s class overview, so the build people mean by “necromancer” is the Witch minion army. How big that army gets is a Spirit budget: a permanent minion keeps part of your Spirit locked for as long as it lives, and every skeleton gem has its own price. The first two Skeletal Warriors cost nothing. Every one after that costs 60 Spirit at gem level 1 and 20 at gem level 20.
That makes this build a pricing exercise before it is a damage exercise. Below I price every minion, find the gem level where the discount runs out, work out which Spirit sources and nodes free the most, and price the three rosters in Maxroll’s Minion Army Infernalist guide. It sits under our PoE2 beginner’s guide and starting classes; for how Spirit works in general, see PoE2 Spirit explained and the reservation formula.
Verified against: patch 0.5.5 (4 September 2026), PoE2DB’s gem and passive pages, and the Maxroll guide updated on 5 October 2026. Path of Exile 2 1.0 is slated for 11 December 2026, so recheck the gem pages after it lands. I have not run this build myself: the prices are read from those pages, and the sums built on them are mine and marked as such.
Quick Start: A Minion Army in 8 Steps
- Keep the two free Skeletal Warriors from your Sceptre and do not pay Spirit for more. Maxroll’s guide repeats this in every roster.
- Spend the rest of your Spirit on whichever minion does your damage: a Skeletal Sniper early, Vaal Guard spectres from the end of Act 3.
- Fill gaps with zero-Spirit minions: Raise Zombie (limit 10, 20 seconds) and the Bone Constructs from Unearth (15 seconds).
- Get your minion gems to level 5 before you chase more Spirit. A Warrior’s price drops from 60 to 25 by then.
- Equip flat Spirit: any Sceptre (+100), then Enfolding Dawn (+100) if you can get it.
- Take Lord of Horrors before Profane Commander. On a 360-Spirit pool it frees about 39 Spirit; Profane Commander adds about 14.
- Buy one of each minion type to feed Muster, cheapest type first (ladder below).
- Take Beidat’s Will as your third Infernalist ascendancy point if your Life can afford the 25% reservation.
Is There a Necromancer in PoE2? What to Play Instead
No. The Witch has Infernalist, Blood Mage and Lich, and the only Spirit-granting ascendancy node I could verify is Infernalist’s Beidat’s Will. If you want a skeleton army, Infernalist is the pick; the Spirit maths below applies to any ascendancy, because the reservation belongs to your character, not to the ascendancy.
| Witch ascendancy | Fit for a minion army | What I could verify | Read next |
|---|---|---|---|
| Infernalist | Best | The Maxroll army guide is built on it; Beidat’s Will adds Spirit, Loyal Hellhound is the first point | Infernalist build guide |
| Lich | Possible | PoE Vault publishes a Lich minion leveling build; I did not check Lich’s nodes for Spirit | Lich build guide |
| Blood Mage | Unclear | Built around spending Life on spells; I did not find a current minion build on it | Blood Mage guide |
The takeaway: pick Infernalist for the army, and read our Witch ascendancy comparison if you are still undecided between the three.
How Spirit Caps Your Army
Spirit is a reserve for permanent effects, and a permanent minion keeps part of it locked while it is alive, according to PoE2DB’s Spirit page. Temporary summons cost mana only. That one split is the whole design: Raise Zombie, Unearth’s Bone Constructs and the skulls from Raging Spirits cost no Spirit to keep summoning, while Skeletal Warriors, Reavers, Snipers and spectres are rented by the minion for as long as the skill is active.
What leaves your pool is the gem’s price after efficiency: reserved = base × 100 ÷ (100 + efficiency), as PoE2 Ref writes it. The table prices every minion gem I checked at gem level 1 and gem level 20, before any efficiency.
| Minion gem | Spirit at gem level 1 | Spirit at gem level 20 | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Skeletal Warrior | 60 | 20 | First 2 minions reserve nothing |
| Skeletal Cleric | 60 | 20 | Heals minions, revives fallen skeletons |
| Skeletal Reaver | 90 | 30 | Front-line; can enrage on command |
| Skeletal Sniper | 90 | 30 | Command skill fires an explosive gas arrow |
| Skeletal Arsonist | 90 | 39 | Detonates other minions on command |
| Skeletal Storm Mage | 120 | 39 | Lightning strike on dead skeletons |
| Skeletal Brute | 165 | 48 | Heavy stun; most expensive skeleton |
| Vaal Guard spectre | 50 to 60 | 50 to 60 | Set by the monster; Maxroll lists melee 50, ranged 60, bomber 50 |
| Raging Spirits | 30 | 30 | Skill reserves 30; skulls last 5 s, limit 10 |
| Raise Zombie | 0 | 0 | Limit 10, zombies last 20 s, costs mana |
Every skeleton gem loses roughly two thirds of its price between gem level 1 and gem level 20 (Warrior and Cleric 60 to 20, Reaver and Sniper 90 to 30, Brute 165 to 48). Gem levels are a Spirit lever as well as a damage lever. One caveat: only the Warrior page states the free-pair rule, and I read the other prices as per minion because every skeleton gem carries the Multiple Reservation tag and PoE2 Ref lists them per minion. If an in-game tooltip disagrees, trust the tooltip.
Gem Level 5 Is Where the Spirit Discount Mostly Ends
For Skeletal Warriors the price falls from 60 at gem level 1 to 25 at gem level 5, then only to 20 across the next fifteen levels, per the level table on PoE2DB’s Skeletal Warrior page. At a 100-Spirit pool that is the difference between 3 Warriors and 6; the next fifteen gem levels buy you one more.
| Gem level | Character level needed | Intelligence needed | Spirit per extra Warrior | Warriors at 100 Spirit | At 200 | At 300 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 0 | 4 | 60 | 3 | 5 | 7 |
| 3 | 6 | 14 | 33 | 5 | 8 | 11 |
| 5 | 14 | 28 | 25 | 6 | 10 | 14 |
| 10 | 36 | 65 | 22 | 6 | 11 | 15 |
| 20 | 90 | 157 | 20 | 7 | 12 | 17 |
The last four columns are my arithmetic: 2 free Warriors plus the pool divided by the price, rounded down, Warriors only. The cost of that last 5-Spirit saving is steep, because the Intelligence requirement climbs from 28 at gem level 5 to 157 at gem level 20. Whether you can run a given gem level is an attribute question first; our attribute breakpoints before you commit passive points covers it.
Warriors are the clean example because PoE2DB prints their whole table. Maxroll tells you not to buy extra Warriors and puts the Spirit into stronger minions, so treat this as the shape of the curve and not a roster. I have only seen the endpoints for the other skeleton gems, not their middle rows.
Where Your Spirit Comes From (and Which Sources Are Worth Chasing)
Three 100-Spirit sources give you 300 before a single affix: the campaign bosses, any Sceptre, and the Enfolding Dawn body armour. Flat Spirit is gear, which is why “Spirit, not gear” is the wrong way round. Damage gear is optional for headcount. Spirit gear is not, and Maxroll says plainly that extra Spirit on body armour or amulet “allows you to summon more Minions.”
| Source | Spirit | Requirement and notes |
|---|---|---|
| Campaign bosses | 100 total | Per Maxroll’s Spirit guide; you start at 0 |
| Any Sceptre | +100 | Implicit on every base, per PoE2DB; weapon sets can differ |
| Enfolding Dawn (unique body armour) | +100 | Level 1; also removes the inherent bonus from Intelligence |
| Alpha’s Howl (unique helmet) | +100 | Level 65, 91 Dexterity |
| Soul Mantle (unique body armour) | +75 | Level 36; Maxroll calls it a good defensive option |
| Pariah’s Embrace (unique body armour) | +50 | Level 26 |
| Solar Amulet base | +10 to 15 | Level 30 |
| Profane Commander (passive) | 4% increased | Also 30% increased Presence area |
| Beidat’s Will (Infernalist) | +1 per 25 max Life | Reserves 25% of your Life |
The prose version: past those 300, you pay with affixes. Rolled “+# to Spirit” and “% increased Spirit” on body armour, amulet and Sceptre cover the rest, and I did not verify their roll ranges. One trap from Maxroll’s Spirit guide: reservations adjust when you swap weapons, so if your two weapon sets grant different Spirit you may be unable to keep every minion up.
Efficiency Beats “Increased Spirit” on a Minion-Heavy Pool
Take Lord of Horrors before Profane Commander, unless you need the Presence radius. Lord of Horrors gives 12% increased Reservation Efficiency of Minion Skills; Profane Commander gives 4% increased Spirit and 30% increased Presence area, per PoE2DB’s passive pages. On a 360-Spirit pool spent entirely on minions, the efficiency node cuts the bill to 321 (360 × 100 ÷ 112), freeing about 39 Spirit. The other node adds about 14. That is my arithmetic from the formula above, and it assumes all your reservation is minion skills.
Bones of Ullr makes the same point harder. Those boots (level 16, 23 Intelligence) roll 20 to 30% increased Reservation Efficiency of skills that create Undead minions, and Maxroll tells you to prioritise reservation efficiency on them. If all 360 Spirit were skeleton skills, that roll would free 60 to 83. No source I found says whether several efficiency sources add or multiply, so I price each one alone.
One source disagreement to know about. Maxroll’s Spirit guide names Easy Going next to Lord of Horrors as a minion Spirit reducer, but PoE2DB lists Easy Going as 25% increased Reservation Efficiency of Companion Skills. PoE2DB also tags Summon Infernal Hound as a Companion, so I read Easy Going as a Hound discount, not a skeleton one. I trust the node text over the older guide.
The Muster Ladder: Buy One of Each Type First
Muster gives supported minions 7% more damage for each different type of Reviving minion you have summoned, so the first copy of each type is the one worth paying for. A single Cleric at 20 Spirit adds 7% more damage to every supported minion; a fifth Vaal Guard at 50 adds one more body and no bonus. This table prices the ladder at gem level 20, cheapest type first.
| Add this type | Spirit for the first copy | Cumulative Spirit | Muster bonus (7% per type) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Skeletal Warriors (the free pair) | 0 | 0 | 7% |
| Skeletal Cleric | 20 | 20 | 14% |
| Skeletal Reaver | 30 | 50 | 21% |
| Skeletal Storm Mage | 39 | 89 | 28% |
| Skeletal Brute | 48 | 137 | 35% |
| Vaal Guard spectre | 50 | 187 | 42% |
The takeaway is that six types cost about 187 Spirit for a 42% bonus, if the 7% simply adds per type, which is how I read the gem text. Maxroll says it directly: the Reaver, Storm Mage and Brute are each added “to improve the damage bonus from Muster,” and the Cleric “increases the effect of Muster,” even though none of them is the damage dealer. The gem text for Raise Zombie and Raging Spirits does not use the word “Reviving,” so I would not count them as types.
What a Real Army Costs: Maxroll’s Rosters, Priced
The early Vaal Guard roster costs 369 to 389 Spirit raw, and the Reavers and Vaal Guard roster costs 479 to 667. Three 100-Spirit sources reach 300, so the gap has to come from rolled Spirit, efficiency and nodes. Maxroll’s mid-game gear notes talk about having 360+ Spirit, which lines up with my early-roster sum.
| Maxroll roster | Minions | Raw Spirit at gem level 20 |
|---|---|---|
| Early Vaal Guard | 2 Warriors (free), 1 to 2 Clerics, 1 Storm Mage, 1 Reaver, 1 Sniper, 5 Vaal Guards | 369 to 389 |
| Reavers and Vaal Guard (mid and late) | 2 Warriors (free), 1 to 2 Clerics, 1 Storm Mage, 4 to 8 Reavers, 0 to 1 Brute, 6 Vaal Guards | 479 to 667 |
| Gargantuan Wasp (min-max) | 2 Warriors (free), 1 to 2 Clerics, 1 Brute, 1 Sniper, 1 Storm Mage, Wasp spectres with the rest | Not priced: Wasp cost not listed |
These sums use gem level 20 prices, which you will not have in Act 3, so real early costs run higher. They also price each Vaal Guard at 50, the bomber’s cost in Maxroll’s list. The point of the ledger is the shape: the free sources run out around 300, and everything past it is an efficiency or rolled-Spirit decision.
Passive and Ascendancy Order for a Spirit-First Army
Follow Maxroll’s order, with one change if you are Spirit-starved: take Lord of Horrors ahead of Profane Commander. The graphic lists the minion and Spirit nodes in the order the guide gives them, with the stat text from PoE2DB. Open Mind is in Maxroll’s list for mana relief; I did not look up its numbers.
On the ascendancy side, Maxroll takes Loyal Hellhound first (with the Loyalty support for 10% less damage taken), Altered Flesh second and Beidat’s Will third. Beidat’s Will reserves 25% of your Life and gives +1 maximum Spirit per 25 maximum Life. By the node text, a character with 1,000 maximum Life gains 40 Spirit; I could not confirm whether the stat reads Life before or after the reservation. The guide’s own defence is Energy Shield plus the Mind over Matter keystone, so do not take Beidat’s Will on a Life-based character with no plan for the missing 25%.
What to Run at Your Spirit Total
Match the army to your pool, not to an endgame screenshot. This table is my reading of the price list above, not a Maxroll threshold, and it uses gem level 20 prices for the larger rows.
| Your Spirit pool | Run this | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Under 100 | The free Warrior pair, Raise Zombie, Unearth, Raging Spirits (30) once you own it | Everything here costs 30 or less |
| 100 to 199 | One command minion (Sniper: 90 at gem level 1, 30 at level 20) or Raging Spirits | Level the Sniper gem before adding anything |
| 200 to 359 | Sniper + Cleric + Reaver (30 + 20 + 30 at gem level 20) + Raging Spirits (30) | Starts the Muster ladder cheaply |
| 360 and up | Maxroll’s early Vaal Guard roster (369 to 389 raw) | First pool that covers five Vaal Guards |
Spirit Advice by Player Type
| Player type | Priority | Why |
|---|---|---|
| New player | Sniper + Volcano first, Raging Spirits after the Act 1 boss; ignore extra Warriors | Maxroll’s Act 1 plan; spreading Spirit thin early starves your damage minion |
| Casual leveler | Sceptre, then Enfolding Dawn: 300 Spirit with the campaign’s 100 | All three are fixed +100 sources, no rolls to chase |
| Optimiser | Muster ladder, then efficiency (Lord of Horrors, Bones of Ullr), then Beidat’s Will | Efficiency scales with the army you already own |
| Hardcore player | Skip the full army | Maxroll lists “Not HC recommended” as a con, and Beidat’s Will costs 25% of your Life |
When NOT to Build the Army
Skip it if you dislike visual clutter or button-heavy play, because those are the cons Maxroll lists for it. Skip the Vaal Guard version on a weak PC: Maxroll warns that this spectre “can cause performance issues” and offers Skeletal Sniper or Arsonist rosters instead. And do not commit to permanent minions under 100 Spirit; the free Warriors, zombies and Unearth carry you until the pool grows.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is there a Necromancer ascendancy in Path of Exile 2?
No. The Witch has Infernalist, Blood Mage and Lich as of patch 0.5.5. Infernalist is the one built around a minion army, so it is the closest thing, and the Spirit rules apply to all three.
How many Skeletal Warriors can I summon in PoE2?
Two for free, then one more per Warrior price in spare Spirit: at 100 spare Spirit and gem level 5, that is 6 in total. I would not buy the extras, though; Maxroll says to stop at the free pair and spend the Spirit on a stronger minion.
Do zombies cost Spirit in PoE2?
No. Raise Zombie costs mana, caps at 10 zombies and they last 20 seconds. That makes them free filler, not an army, because they vanish and must be re-raised.
Should I get Spirit gear or minion gem levels first?
Gem levels, up to about 5. A Warrior’s price falls 35 Spirit by then and only 5 more over the next fifteen levels. After that, flat Spirit, then efficiency.
What changes when 1.0 launches?
Possibly the prices. 1.0 is slated for 11 December 2026 per PoE Vault, and every figure here is from patch 0.5.5. Check the gem pages on PoE2DB for the reservation row before you commit a build.
Sources
- Maxroll.gg. Minion Army Infernalist Build Guide (last updated 5 October 2026, patch 0.5.5) — rosters, node order, ascendancy order, Spirit marker. Maxroll (linked above)
- Maxroll.gg. Spirit Guide — permanent vs temporary minions, 100 campaign Spirit, weapon-swap behaviour. Maxroll
- PoE2DB. Skeletal Warrior — gem level table and free-pair rule. Path of Exile 2 database (linked above)
- PoE2DB. Spirit — definition, weapon sets, unique items with Spirit. Path of Exile 2 database (linked above)
- PoE2 Ref. Spirit reservation calculator — reservation formula, per-minion prices. PoE2 Ref (linked above)
- PoE Vault. Classes and Ascendancy Overview — Witch ascendancies; 1.0 launch headline. PoE Vault (linked above)
- PoE2DB. Bones of Ullr and Muster — unique boots and support gem text. Path of Exile 2 database (linked above)
- PoE2DB. Sceptres — +100 Spirit implicit. Path of Exile 2 database; Amulets — Solar Amulet base
- PoE2DB. Skill gem pages: Skeletal Reaver, Skeletal Cleric, Skeletal Sniper, Skeletal Arsonist, Skeletal Storm Mage, Skeletal Brute, Raging Spirits, Raise Zombie, Unearth. Path of Exile 2 database
- PoE2DB. Passive skill pages: Lord of Horrors, Profane Commander, Easy Going, Beidat’s Will, Emboldening Lead, Growing Swarm, Restless Dead, Crystalline Flesh, Relentless Fallen, Right Hand of Darkness, Splintering Force. Path of Exile 2 database
- GG Season. Path of Exile 2 patch notes tracker — 0.5.5 release date. GG Season
I've been playing video games for over 20 years, spanning everything from early PC titles to modern open-world games. I started Switchblade Gaming to publish the kind of accurate, well-researched guides I always wanted to find — built on primary sources, tested in-game, and kept up to date after patches. I currently focus on Minecraft and Pokémon GO.