Patch 0.4 had everyone shouting about Mercenary buffs and Sorceress nerfs, but the real story for me has been Witch into Lich. I rolled fresh, pushed up into the mid-90s, and it's been the first time in ages where endgame feels like I'm getting away with something. The minion behavior tweaks are the big culprit, and if you're trying to skip the slow gearing phase, I've even seen folks talk about PoE 2 Currency for sale so they can jump straight into a proper setup without living in low-tier maps for a week.
What Actually Changed
It's not just "more damage" on a tooltip. You feel it in motion. Minions don't clump like confused shopping carts anymore, and they swap targets faster when packs split. That one detail changes everything. I used to spend half a map dragging my army out of bad ground effects, or watching them swing at the wrong rare while the real threat free-casts behind me. Now they spread, they bite, and you can keep moving. Your clear time drops because you're not babysitting every pull, and boss fights calm down because your damage is on the target instead of on the scenery.
Gear That Makes It Click
If you can get Echoes of the Abyss, it's silly. The chaos conversion on crit turns chunky bosses into a health bar that just… leaves. If you can't, don't sweat it. A plain +1 minion amulet still carries. I'd rather spend early currency on basics that always pay off: life, res, and anything that keeps your minions alive while you learn the rhythm. People love chasing shiny uniques first, but the build's "broken" feeling mostly comes from how it plays, not one jackpot drop.
Gems and Play Pattern
Keep it simple and let the links do the work. Chest is Summon Skeletons on a 6-link with Minion Damage, Melee Splash, Multistrike, and Feeding Frenzy to keep them mean and moving. Helmet is Raise Spectre with Minion Life and Deathmark, and yeah, utility spectres beat fragile "DPS" ones in real content. Boots get Convocation and Desecrate because they're your reset button. The loop is easy: move in, drop your setup, Convocation on top of the boss, then step out of the mess while your army does the ugly part.
Progression and the "Don't Die" Factor
On the Lich tree, take Unyielding Command early. That life multiplier is the difference between surviving a random slam and watching your whole screen evaporate. I'm not pretending it's zero investment, but it doesn't need mirror-tier nonsense either; it just needs smart spending and a bit of patience. If you're the sort of player who'd rather trade time for convenience, services like U4GM get brought up a lot for currency and items, and it's easy to see why when you're staring down the price of a key chest upgrade.
Welcome to U4GM—where PoE 2 players swap real builds and real results. Patch 0.4's Lich Witch minion swarm is the chill new meta: smarter AI, tankier armies, and boss melts without sweaty micro. If you're gearing up fast, grab what you need at https://www.u4gm.com/path-of-exile-2/currency and get back to mapping—then push your Skeletons, Spectres, and Absolution setup into T16s and pinnacles with confidence, no drama, just wins.
