"Spellsword" Witch Build?

I've had my heart set on a "Spellsword" Witch for quite a while now. After a few mechanical discoveries (namely the inability to dual-wield a sword and wand), I've tried to lay down the groundwork for a possible build.

The build I'm bouncing around right now has a very ES-reliant Witch, with some tendrils in the Templar and Shadow trees. Chaos Inoculation and Zealot's Oath are the keystone skills, and I also take Troll's Blood (does it actually apply to Zealot's Oath?). Emphasis is on fire magic (though I'm also entertaining lightning).

Anyhow, this is my first draft:



Yes, I know. It is very inefficient. One of bits of advice I'm seeking is how to trim a point off it here and there. Though I think if I grab all the skill points throughout the story, I might have enough for all the nodes here and a few extra by Level 80 or so...

Equipment-wise, it'll be all ES-heavy gear and wielding a one-handed sword with a Spirit Shield (perhaps?). As far as Auras go, I plan to run at least Discipline, Clarity, and Purity (do elemental resists even apply to ES?). Possibly Haste, Vitality, and Grace if I can acquire them. I do have a Wrath, but I'm not sure how viable it'll be. All socketed with as many Reduced Mana gems as I can find. Spell-wise, I currently have a Fireball ready for transfer and I'm probably going to reroll and acquire a Firestorm for AOE. I currently have a Summon Spectre lying around, but I've been hearing that I need Zombies and Skeletons, or some Totems, to survive the higher difficulties.

So...thoughts? Is this build, or even this idea, remotely viable, or will it just get me killed repeatedly? Constructive criticism, please.

Critical hits don't seem to work as well with fire.
Also, I think you'll need more defense. Since you went CI, I went down to the Shadow tree and grabbed Nullification and some shield nodes. I also grabbed some shield nodes on the Templar side and the Witches tree.

You'll need lots of ES and resists for survivability.

This build will need a life leech item or a life leech gem as I took Ghost Reaver.
I removed Zealot's Oath.

Note all this is theory crafted from having read various builds.

So here is my theory-crafted build. Hope that helps.

im confused, what is the theme of this build? are you a caster or are you a fighter?

if your a caster, then getting a sword would be pointless, it doesnt provide any stats to spells, and as a melee attack it wont do anything other than tickle the enemy.

if your a fighter, then you have absolutly no points in improving your melee damage, thus you'll be very weak.

also if you get specters, your gonna want to get ranged specters while you take the brunt of the force, otherwise they end up being pointless because you dont improve their survivability by increasing their health

you really need to think this through because theres just so many holes in this idea that it would not make sense at all

@ iBugsy: Looks a lot more efficient than my build. Thanks.

@ DarknessDragon: Maybe 80% caster, 20% fighter? Or perhaps closer to 85-15. I played a Staff Witch on my current character until about Level 43 before switching over to Wand-and-Spell-Shield for the extra Block and ES. I had a blast for the first thirty-five or so levels using mostly my melee (how my melee ended up more effective than my spells for that long is a mystery...). However, I've been browsing around and seeing how gear-dependent any build rolling melee is, so I wanted to ask for advice how to make such a build viable. Mostly, I'm looking for primarily a Caster Witch that isn't afraid to occasionally jump into the fray. *insert rant about necromancers here*

So, I've got my Fire Witch on farming duty right now. I currently have Clarity, Grace, and Discipline for Auras. I only about about ~50 mana after all the Auras are active, but Clarity gives me enough mana regen that I still don't run out even when holding down my Fireball. Also currently on the lookout for a Purity and a Haste and a couple of Reduced Manas (probably two or three, the rate this is going). I got a few gems that look like they might sell for a bit, so I'm considering seeing if anyone would be willing to do a gem trade (just got to find a reputable dealer and somebody willing to part with a Reduced Mana for other gems). I finally realized that Wrath only applies the damage buff to my attack damage, so that's just sitting in my Stash for now. Also got a Viper Strike and am looking for a Flicker Strike in preparation for attempting this build (and also because the DEX requirements on Grace are ramping up fast enough that my green gem slot would be wasted otherwise, since I can't level it up further).