PoE Sanity

Tamed Bosses Could be JUICY AF in 0.5!

By GhazzyTVWatch videoDuration: PT55M37S

Summary

  • The Spirit Walker Class: A new Path of Exile 2 class focusing on a hybrid playstyle that combines personal attacks with powerful companions.
  • Relative Power Disparity: Analysis of showcase footage reveals that standard summons (like wolves) deal negligible damage compared to tamed unique bosses.
  • Top Tamed Boss Candidates: Zkowa the Head Crusher (Mighty Silverfist) is identified as the current best-in-slot tamed beast due to its 463% damage multiplier and high-impact slam attack.
  • Scaling Mechanics: Strategies for maximizing companion damage involve leveraging the “Katha’s Balance” node to transfer 60% of main-hand weapon damage to minions.
  • Weapon Selection: High base-damage two-handed weapons (Jade Talismans) or low-requirement chaos weapons (Spire of Iron) are preferred over the unique Silven Effigy scepter.
  • Ascendancy Synergy: The “Idolatry” node is considered essential for its massive reservation efficiency and increased damage, despite the opportunity cost of using idols over runes.

Introduction to Spirit Walker and Companions

The Spirit Walker is a specialized hybrid class in Path of Exile 2 that utilizes companions alongside traditional attacks. Early footage shows a significant power gap between different minion types. In demonstrations featuring twenty wolves, a multi-armed gorilla, and a “Mighty Silverfist” boss, the wolves hit for very low amounts while the boss minion delivers massive individual hits.

Current game data suggests that GGG is balancing these “Tame Beast” minions by adding specific multipliers, such as “Minions deal 100% more damage,” directly to the skill gems of unique bosses. This prevents the need to buff the base monsters in the world while ensuring the player version is viable.

Evaluating Tameable Bosses

Data-mined values standardized to level 90 reveal distinct tiers of potential tamed beasts:

  • Zkowa the Head Crusher (Mighty Silverfist): The map version of the jungle boss. It features a 463% damage multiplier—the highest found among searchable unique beasts. Its “React Slam” deals 200% more attack damage, making it capable of hits exceeding 200,000 damage in unoptimized showcases.
  • Morvak the Infernal: Offers higher base damage than the Head Crusher but converts physical damage to fire. It suffers from poor defensive stats, specifically a -30% cold resistance penalty, making it difficult to keep alive without heavy investment.
  • Scourge of the Skies: While a dangerous boss for players to fight, its internal damage values for a minion version are relatively low, making it a poor choice for a primary damage dealer.
  • The Black Crow: A viable secondary option with good leap attacks and “more damage” multipliers, though likely outperformed by the Head Crusher.

The AI and Cooldown Dilemma

A major concern with tamed bosses is the “Kitava’s Herald” issue: bosses have long lists of abilities, many of which are low-impact (like rolls or weak cleaves). For the Head Crusher, the goal is to trigger the high-damage slam as often as possible.

  1. Attack Speed Scaling: Increasing attack speed forces the minion to cycle through its low-damage cooldown abilities faster, returning to its high-damage primary attacks more frequently.
  2. Cooldown Recovery Rate (CDR): Through the “Selfless Remnants” mechanic and “Kattal’s Rejuvenation,” players can provide minions with up to 40% CDR (8 stacks of 5%). However, if a minion’s highest-damage skill has no cooldown but its “utility” moves (like rolls) do, building CDR might actually lower DPS by making the minion use its “bad” skills more often.

Gear and Ascendancy Scaling

Scaling the Spirit Walker requires balancing personal stats with minion bonuses:

  • Katha’s Balance: This node adds 60% of your main-hand weapon damage to your companions. This incentivizes using the highest base-damage weapon possible, regardless of the weapon’s local attack speed or crit chance.
  • Idolatry: This provides 10% increased minion damage per idol and significant reservation efficiency. Despite the loss of rune slots and potential resistance penalties, the reservation efficiency is likely mandatory for sustaining a full army of auras and companions.
  • Rage Mechanics: “Commanding Rage” converts player rage into minion damage and attack speed (1% per 1 rage). Achieving 60 rage translates to a 60% increased attack speed multiplier for minions.

Weapon Selection and “Giant’s Blood”

The choice of weapon defines the Spirit Walker build:

  • Jade Talisman: The premier choice for raw damage. As a two-handed weapon that counts as a Talisman, it can be used with a scepter via the “Lord of the Wilds” keystone. Its high physical damage range (101–151 base) is ideal for Katha’s Balance.
  • Spire of Iron: A strong budget or low-dexterity option. It provides chaos damage (which ignores most monster resistances) and significant life leech, solving the recovery issues inherent in the Ranger/Huntress area of the tree.
  • Silven Effigy (Unique Scepter): Generally considered “scuffed” for high-end builds. While it provides extra wolves, it lacks the raw minion attack speed and damage modifiers found on rare scepters. It also blocks the use of a Talisman if using “Lord of the Wilds.”
  • Giant’s Blood Strategy: Wielding heavy two-handed maces (like the Ironwood Great Hammer) in one hand by tripling strength requirements. This is theoretically the highest damage ceiling but is likely too investment-heavy regarding attribute requirements to be practical.

Target Farming Affixes

Unlike Path of Exile 1, tamed beasts cannot be traded. Players must find the boss in the wild and tame it themselves. Because map bosses like Zkowa appear in multiple map types (Riverside, Rupture), they are easier to “hunt” for specific rare monster affixes (auras, speed, or damage modifiers) which the tamed version retains.

Key References