You are roaming through Grelwood, pockets full of random rares and maybe a bit of spare PoE 2 Currency, and you see this crooked little hut by the western riverbank. Looks harmless, right. You step in, there is this woman crouched on the floor, quiet, almost like a quest NPC you forgot about. You get close, she lets out this horrible scream and vanishes. No arena door slam, no warning, just gone. The real fight kicks off the moment you walk back outside and realise the whole clearing has turned into her playground.
Most people see “witch” and instantly think fire res, ruby flasks, the usual. That is how Areagne gets you. The fire hurts, sure, but the cold is what actually ruins your run. She throws out this wide Icy Breath cone that looks kind of light at first, but it stacks up fast. If your cold res is not capped or you are still running around without any freeze immunity, you are in trouble. You eat one bad cone, you get frozen in place, and then the follow-up hits land for free. On top of that, she drops Frost Sigils all over the ground. They pulse damage in waves and constantly nudge you out of your comfort spot. You cannot just plant your feet and channel; you are always adjusting, side-stepping, looking for a gap that never really stays safe for long.
Her fire kit looks more obvious but still slaps anyone who gets greedy. The expanding Fire Ring looks slow enough that you think you can squeeze in one more attack. That is usually when you get chunked. The outer ring spreads, gives you a beat to react, then the delayed blast lands and deletes a big chunk of your life if you are late. Best move is simple: treat that red circle like instant death and just get off it. What really stops cheesy kiting though is her short-range teleport. Ranged players love to sit just off-screen and chip away; Areagne does not let that happen for long. She will blink right on top of you, force you to reposition again, and suddenly you are dancing around cones, sigils and fire at the same time.
The saving grace is that the fight is outdoors, not in a cramped shack. You have space to strafe, kite, and reset angles. Before you even trigger her inside the hut, it is worth taking an extra minute to clear out the nearby werewolves. They are not hard, but they are exactly the kind of mobs that sneak in a stray hit when you are dodging AoEs. Once the area is clean, bow builds and mobile casters shine. Constant lateral movement works really well here; if you are circling her instead of backing straight away, she has a harder time lining up that Icy Breath. You end up in this pattern of short bursts of damage, quick sidesteps, then moving back through open ground rather than cornering yourself against trees or rocks.
So why bother engaging with this headache of a witch when you could just run past and keep pushing the act. The main reason is the Uncut Support Gem that can drop. Early to mid game, that thing is basically a mini lottery ticket. You can slot it in and level it for your own build, or sell it off if the trade board is active and you would rather stack up on poe2 gold buy instead. She also throws out handy consumables like Orbs of Augmentation, which help smooth out rough gear while you level. It all adds up. Treat her as a moving loot chest with teeth: if you respect the cold damage, keep moving, and give yourself an open arena, she feels like a rewarding check on your mechanics rather than a cheap one-shot waiting to send you back to town.