Witch Minions, totally unplayable

I wonder if GGG actually playtested summoner Witch. They did show case it in a preview video, so they should have expected people are going to play it.
I guess there should be a path for this build to be viable, that we're not seeing. They can't be that incompetent, right?

I Agree, my favourite thing about POE was how unique the Minion system felt,
Now it feels boring dull and I just know I don't want to play witch or minions anymore at mid act 2.

I tried rerolling for a little bit. Merc and Sorc. But really all I ended up doing was kiting mobs in circles. I mean, right at the start you have that worm boss that I needed to clear the starter zone for currency and/or something other than white items. Is there really any class that just zips through like you would mid league in POE1?

Apparently melee is complete hard mode, but haven't tried it yet.

Its beta. I'm going to continue to chew out the minions. I'm sort of gaining traction. I have complete, utter, total garbage gear. I don't even have a belt. One rare and a dex unique helm. I figure I'm going to clear a few zones on repeat for a little bit. Maybe farm a boss for evening. Try to get some gear.

Piling in here, probably redundant but I feel the more voices the better. Minions feel insanely weak, I know they were probably trying to play it safe as minions are a delicate balance, but they feel near useless. I can pick up a spell that I have zero investment in and it is doing more damage than all my minions as a minion invested build. The best minion I've found is summon raging spirits and using flame wall to summon them quickly, but even that feels just okay and frequently find myself getting overwhelmed any time a horde comes as they are single target.

Posting my two cents here. Minions in act 1 feel terrible, its only when you get later into act 2 do they start to do more damage. You will need to invest into gear that increases your spirit amount to get more minions.

Currently running skeletal arsonists with Scattershot, Fire infusion, and Fire Pen

For tankier mobs/boss fights you will need Flammability and Incinerate for Fire Exposure.

It seems you will need to invest heavier into minions to make them viable. Currently the infernalist isn't exactly the best class for minions/summoners so we'll have to wait and see what other classes will be out that better fit the role.

I wanna add my two cents as well,
I am lvl 36, and in act 3. I got no troubles killing rares/bosses or mobs.
I run 1x Skeletal arsonists as well with Scattershot, and 5x Skeletan Reavers, and all I do is cursing mobs with Vulnerability.

I got 9 deaths so far, and they have all been in act 1.

I first tried warrior till level 12. Now I play witch minion build following Kripparians build. In no way are minions weak. Mine are absolutely melting everything and I literally progressed twice as fast than I did with warrior. Perhaps minions won't be as good against bosses but nothing can be great at everything.. follow krips minion fire build and I don't see how you will think they are still weak.

Count me in. Also playing as minions witch and it is SO hard! I have to use other skills and spells to fight bosses. And it takes so long it seems almost like it is rougelike game.

I'm at level 11 and passed Asinia only with help of contagion spell... on 20-30 attempt, I lost count.

I like witch a lot, but if it will be that hard to play, I think I will change to another class.

For me, witch doesn't look and plays as I wanted her to be.

As a Merc Minion Build, my early was even more brutal than a Witch but Flame Wall + Gaz Arrows (from Skeletal Snipers) carried me. The support gems that make Minion stay alive for 4s after death is vital for Boss as they never get OS when they revive AND the death timer trigger when they "virtually" die and don't reset when they actually do. Meaning that the downtime when all minions are dead isn't 7s but 3s (with could be reduced with the correct node that I don't have yet because my start is SO far from the Witch start :P).

More tips:

-Scepter that summon Skeletal Warrior are trash. They don't do damage in my setup and reset the dead timer for nothing. Aura Scepter can be usefull at least (I use Malice currently -> +Crit. Chance).

-You cannot play minions like you would in PoE1. Using their Commands & Synergies is essential.

-I don't know if it's a bug or just a toolbox mistake but any + flat dmg to attack appear in the minion damages toolbox.

-Amulet can give you +X level to all Minion skills and Body Armors can give you Spirits.

Anyway, it's just the first half of Act 1 that is really painful. After that with a good setup, you should do damage. If not, you just didn't build correctly.

I am level 53 now. I am not having damage issues but surviving. I am working on adding block chance. Early game was pain but around act 2-3 it started getting easier with archer/flame wall.

I am only gearing plus level to minions and plus to spirit. I first did a lot of nodes with minion damage. Until mid act 3 then switched. No idea what to build but it is playable...