S-TIER | BUILD MERCENAIRE MINION CULL WARPER (@PhazePlays) | SAISON 5

Build Video

Build Overview

PhazePlays’ Minion Cull Warper is a summoner build unlike any other. Rather than relying on the raw power of its minions, it turns the Culling Strike mechanic into a weapon of mass destruction: by stacking a Culling Strike threshold of around 410%, your character and your minions instantly kill any normal or magic monster on contact. Rares die at half life. All of this while teleporting through maps thanks to Lightning Warp, for one of the fastest farming paces in Path of Exile 2 in Season 5.

The core of the build relies on the Repulsion + Blasphemy combination. This curse aura continuously strikes enemies in a wide radius and triggers explosions that automatically summon Living Lightning minions and Verisium Manifestations. These minions in turn re-trigger the explosions, creating a fully automated loop — a true autobomber. The Zealous Inquisition explosions, inherited from the Witchhunter ascendancy, chain together for spectacular clear speed.

On the defensive side, the build relies on Sorcery Ward (a passive shield that absorbs damage from hits) and around 50% evasion. Survival in mapping is ensured by the sustain from Soul Drain, Life Drain and life on kill, ideal for chaining teleports. Be careful though: Sorcery Ward only protects against direct hits, making the character more vulnerable to damage over time (DoT). This build farms all of the game’s content, up to 200% Delirium maps souped up with tablets.

Strengths / Weaknesses

Skill Gem Setup by Step

This build offers 1 progression step from leveling to the final build. Select a step to see the corresponding skill gem setup.

Default

Default

11 skills • 60 gemmes

BlasphèmeBlasphemy

Téléportation foudroyanteSet 1Lightning Warp

Adjonction spectraleBind Spectre

Wardbound MinionsSet 2Wardbound Minions

Bombe de givreSet 2Frost Bomb

Mur de flammesSet 2Flame Wall

Sensibilité aux élémentsSet 1Elemental Weakness

Verisium ManifestationsVerisium Manifestations

Remnants of KalguurRemnants of Kalguur

Pureté de la glacePurity of Ice

Égide magiqueSorcery Ward

Recommended Equipment

• Helmet — Myris Uxor: the cornerstone of the build. It provides a massive amount of constant Culling Strike threshold. Aim for a corrupted version with at least 115% threshold.
• Gloves — Horror’s Flight: these new gloves drop from Tangazu, the ultimate Delirium boss. Each stack of Fear Incarnate grants 10% Culling Strike threshold, up to 20 stacks — that’s 200% threshold in mapping. Look for the version with the Raven Touched mod.
• Jewel — Split Personality: essential, in the Sorceress variant (slightly better but more expensive) or Templar.
• Jewel — Heart of the Well: can roll up to 25% threshold as well as other valuable mods.
• Mana flask — Lavianga’s Spirits: excellent as long as mana costs remain low; replace as needed.
• Option — Palm of the Dreamer: for even more clear speed, its Chaos explosions are very powerful — but the item is extremely expensive.
• Amulet: +3 minion levels and increased evasion; spirit is a big bonus.
• Body armour — Morior Invictus: this unique body armour, rich in sockets, is the primary slot for boosting Sorcery Ward. Maximize evasion (and spirit if possible).
• Boots and focus: they provide the runic ward that fuels Verisium Manifestations and Skyfall.
• Ring: it is essential to have lightning damage to attacks so that Repulsion properly summons Living Lightning.
• Sceptre: a Warding Rune of the Bodyguard provides reliable Onslaught to minions in mapping.
• Belt: a minion melee splash belt is useful (splash for Raging Spirits, Living Lightning and Skyfall); a breach +2 minion levels belt remains an expensive but optional alternative.
• Pinnacle boss: consider replacing the Myris Uxor with a +2 minion levels helmet with high evasion.

Gameplay Tips

• Watch for blue orbs: while mapping, scan the screen. A blue orb signals a target to Lightning Warp to and instantly kill, along with all nearby enemies.
• Handling rares: cast Frost Bomb then Elemental Weakness, followed by an Ember Fusillade to spawn raging spirits on the rare. Keep it within your curse radius until it gets culled at half life.
• Bossing: maintain Elemental Weakness and exposure, cast Ember Fusillade occasionally. Pre-cast Skyfall just before engaging, as a damage cooldown.
• Ember Fusillade: projectiles must hit something to spawn spirits — aim at enemies or a nearby wall.
• Spectres: Powered Zealots are found in the third interlude at Etravine. Make sure to grab the variant that casts Spark.
• Known bug: upon leveling up, Repulsion (via Blasphemy) stops working. Disable then re-enable Blasphemy to restart it.

The Culling Strike, Heart of the Build

The heart of this build is the Culling Strike. It instantly kills any enemy whose life drops below a certain percentage when you hit it with Lightning Warp or Repulsion. At a 186% threshold, normal monsters are culled at full life; at 400%, magic monsters are too. The goal is to stay around a 410% threshold to make Lightning Warp mapping as smooth as possible: at that level, rares are culled around half life and uniques around 25%. Culling on uniques is less reliable, but the mechanic is incredibly powerful: it completely bypasses enemy defenses, including Delirium damage reduction.

Lightning Warp: Mapping Mobility

Lightning Warp is the bread and butter of mapping. Any enemy marked with a blue orb is a valid target to warp to, with a massive area of effect. The spell also sends out a huge pulse of lightning that culls everything nearby. One of the two Living Lightning supports ensures minions are always by your side after a warp, and leaves a wide area of shocked ground on the floor that boosts your minions’ damage. Lightning Warp has no notable range limit: it is spammable and recovers more mana than it costs.

Repulsion and Blasphemy: The Autobomber

Repulsion is a new curse that we combine with Blasphemy with heavy area of effect scaling. Everything you or your minions hit within the curse radius triggers a Repulsion explosion. This explosion does several things: it summons Living Lightning minions that dash around triggering even more explosions (the automated loop feeds itself), it culls any enemy below the threshold, and it summons Verisium Manifestations — temporary ranged minions that add damage and help restart Repulsion. One crucial point: you need lightning damage on attacks on a ring for Repulsion to properly summon the Living Lightning.

The Witchhunter Ascendancy

For the ascendancy, we go with Witchhunter. First, Pitiless Killer is the heart of the build: it grants a powerful global Culling Strike. Next, Zealous Inquisition provides very wide mapping explosions thanks to area of effect scaling — even stronger during mechanics like Abyss or Breach, where the chance to explode is doubled. Finally, we pick up Obsessive Rituals and Ceremonial Ablution for the Sorcery Ward, a major defensive boost. Sorcery Ward is a passive shield that absorbs all hit damage until depleted, then regularly recharges when you stop being hit. Reminder: it does not work against damage over time.

The Powered Zealots Spectres and Skyfall

The spectres used are Powered Zealots: they make up the bulk of single-target damage while also providing good mapping coverage. You can find them in the third interlude at Etravine — make sure to pick the variant that casts Spark. Skyfall, on the other hand, works like a damage cooldown: paired with Spell Cascade, it creates nine temporary melee minions that follow you. Its cast time is fairly long, but it is perfect to pre-cast just before rushing a boss. Skyfall is generally only castable during downtime, since Repulsion keeps the runic power low; and Glory decay makes it unusable after 15 seconds without action, so don’t wait too long to cast it.

Skill Tree