Just 6-L'ed a Chest, looking for input on what to do next!

Hello all,

I recently was lucky, patient, and had enough support from my friends (Here's looking at you Jemini, Nesi, Spark, and the others in the crew) to 6-L my chest, which has allowed me to entirely redesign my gear and spec, essentially overnight. Out is my old 4-L Searing Touch (in which I couldn't justify Power Charge on Critical, and thus no need for extra Power charges in my build), in comes a new build, focused on Power Charges (God I wish I got a 7th from questing now...), dual wands, and a much "Tank-ier" Witch.

Below I have links to my current build and gear, and a link to my long-term build goal.



My Current Build:


My Current Gear:


My Build Goal:

^^I'll get here with a few more regrets, and once I hit lvl 77, which should be tonight.^^


So... my questions are:

1. 6-linked fireballs... 5 are non-negotiable in my eyes: Fireball, LMP, Life Leech, Power Charge on Crit, and Fire Penetration. My 6th Gem is currently a 16% Increased Critical Damage (theory is, I'm focusing on crits w. Power Charges, so why not make those crits hit super hard). Is there any hole in that logic? Can anyone else recommend a better 6-L approach that keeps the gist of my build in order?

2. General gearing advice. I'm absurdly overcapped on resists... when I have 3 auras up (Purity, Clarity, Discipline), I'm at 78% resist all (other than Chaos, which is 100%). I can afford to drop a lot of resist gear and still stay capped.

I have:
--34% Cold and Lightning, and 49% Fire resist, from my passives.
--106% Cold, 125% Lightning, and 124% Fire resist, from my gear.
--25% resist all from my aura.
----You need: 138% of each to get 78% ele capped.
------I have: 27% too much Cold, 46% too much Lightning, and an absurd 60% too much Fire resist.

First gear to go, in my opinion:

Hidden in my Stash; been having a hard time justifying equipping it:

I know I need the "Can't be frozen" ring, and was thinking of trying to track down Milargo's Gloves? Does anyone have any other ideas? I'd love some direction... and hell, if you're on my server (Anarchy, America), and have gear you want to sell me, send a PM.


3. Do you see anywhere in my current fire build, or planned fire build, that could use some rethinking? Why?

Beyond that, thanks to all of you for maintaining a vibrant forum community, and to the people who have contributed to any of the POE build forum posts & sites out there... this skill tree is intimidating, but has been made manageable by people like you!

Thanks!
Bri


Guides and Posts I've found helpful along the way are below. Some of them I've started to follow, others I looked at, used some info from, and moved past... all of them are well-written, succinct, organized, detailed, and great reads for any aspiring fireball Witch:

MetalheadNorm's Guide - http://www.pathofexile.com/forum/view-thread/458054
Crackmonster's Guide - http://www.pathofexile.com/forum/view-thread/60422

I have never played a fire witch and I typically build HC characters but here is how I would tweak your final build

http://www.pathofexile.com/passive-skill-tree/AAAAAgMBBAcHYw_EEHsRLxFQFVAV1xZAGmwfAilPKwosnCy_LR82xTbYOtg7fDvhQ2NG10cGSRtMs03YUDBWY1crWPVapl3GXfJfKl9qYG1jQ2aebRlwUnDVcU2Bb4IegpuFfYauh2WIQohrjHaOZI_6mZqaz5wtnWOdrp3Enjyio6cIpyuvt7TFtQS297b6tzG4yrvWvjrAUcEAwcXB88Lsw23Xhtgk2t3bGtte2-fcx93z4vfjhOQi5Y7mgevk7BjsOOxV8WzyHfLh8-r1S_em

I think you have more mana regen than you will need long term and going CI you will want to take the second group of nodes by the shadow area. I dont know how many auras you plan on running but Inner force should at least be a consideration if you are running many (probably not if you plan to use that chest long term) and elemental adaptation is always a good one to get im just not sure if it is worth going to since you are not already headed to ancestral bond. The last couple things I would say is look at putting more points in the crit mult. nodes instead of the crit chance nodes. Once you get enough stats on your gear consider taking the points back out of the +30 str/dex nodes and putting them towards damage or survivability. I prefer zealots oath to ghost reaver but you may find that better suits your build. If your build is trying to use crits and ignite you should try the power charge on crit gem and the power charge nodes.

As far as fire being viable it is just as good as cold or shock if you build it right so play which ever one you have the most fun playing.

As far as investing in your staff if it can be 6l'd and you plan to use it for a long time I would say it is probably worth it. The caveat to this is dont dump all your currency into it at once. Pace yourself and reserve some currency for trades and other items or you will be sorry when you blow your wad on an item and get nothing in return along with being broke.

Good luck!

First off - thank you for taking your time to review my stuff and for your feedback!

Few interesting build changes for sure.

For one, you have me taking a ton of power charge nodes... which I don't use (or know how to use) at the moment, but just wiki'd and checked on the forums about.

Article I am referencing: http://pathofexile.gamepedia.com/Power_Charge

Is the only way to generate power charges by using the "power charge on critical (PCOC)" gem, or Power Siphon? If so, does everyone use that? I suppose I could swap out faster casting for PCOC, and that would make me more mana efficient (less casts / sec, bigger damage per hit).

Does anyone use power charges just as a passive buff to their damage for the 50% crit boost / charge, or does everyone acquire the charges and then "discharge" them for damage?


I just started using the increased crit damage gem because well, it's a 16%er, and it seemed a shame not to use. I have "increased crit rate" as well... and could jam that in there for the synergy I'm sure they provide one another.

I'm open to any other input anyone has, and will continue to be moving forward. The power charge debate itself is an interesting one, and one I'm just starting to scratch the surface of.

Thanks!
Bri

Other than the power charge on crit gem and power siphon the last method I can think of is using the victario's amulet unique that gives you a 10% chance to generate one.

Most builds build up charges for the large dps buffs that are provided by maintaining them. If you search up the discharger build floating around it is the only one I am aware of that specifically focuses on consuming them to do HUGE amounts of burst damage (typically fire).

If you dont like the play style of managing the charges it may not be worth trying but I have also found the charge nodes to be great places to connect across to skills I like on the tree so it tends to work out for me.

Increased crit damage is a good gem. In terms of support for a main skill I would say most people generally prioritize something like this:

faster cast > elemental penetration (fire in your case) > increased crit damage or increased crit chance(this decision is typically gear driven)

obviously there area million ways to support a main attack that work but I think the above leads to the largest gains in damage (maybe not always fun or originality) for the typical spell and build

You can also consider linking the power charges to a secondary skill and keep the crit gem on fireball. An example would be a second fireball on a 3-link that was something like fireball-power charge on crit-crit chance. Build all your charges up with this fireball then use your faster cast, crit dmg, etc fireball to burn monsters to the ground throwing in a power charge fireball every so often to maintain your charges.

I've been trying hard for a week or so to get my chest to 6 sockets, so I can start working on a solid main attack with something like:

Fireball, GMP, Fast Cast, Ele Penetration, Bigger Crits, (empty)... thinking of giving power charge on Crit a go, and seeing how that works. Not sure if I want that there, or mana leech?

Kind of debating taking faster casting out of the attack, which'll mean I won't need the mana leech... not sure if this screws DPS though, as fast cast seems to be the largest boost by far.

Def. want to give power charge on crit a go, though... and with the 3 extra nodes you've suggested, I would have an 18% (with 6 charges) additive chance to crit on my fireball, which beats the hell out of the crit chance gem, though it takes constant motion to maintain... all while providing nice shortcuts to good stuff (Deep Thoughts being a biggy).


Do end game players use a couple different attacks, one with mana / life leech to maintain stats, and the other for big damage?

Hello. As far as fire vs. ice is concerned, both elements have spells that are late game viable, so go with what you like more / is more fun for you. Fireball build is my favorite so my view is biased, but I would say since you have that chest go ahead and stick woth that spell. Focus first on getting 5links on a 6soc chest. By putting fireball into your chest, you will be able to drop the searing touch which for a fireball build is not that great of a staff. Once your shirt has sufficient sockets, I would highly suggest switching to dual wands.

Do not use GMP with fireball. The extra mana cost and damage penalty are not worth it in this case. Also, it is a very good idea to spec into using power charges, as they enhance any spell casting build. If they are on your way, picking up frenzy charges is a good idea as well for you. As CI, you can use blood rage w/ no penalty. Each frenzy charge gives you 5% increased cast speed (freeing up the need to use faster casting gem).

Lastly, since eye of chayula is not available in your league, you must journey to the unwavering stance node. You will not be able to faceroll high level maps without that node.

"

MetalheadNorm wrote:

Hello. As far as fire vs. ice is concerned, both elements have spells that are late game viable, so go with what you like more / is more fun for you. Fireball build is my favorite so my view is biased, but I would say since you have that chest go ahead and stick woth that spell. Focus first on getting 5links on a 6soc chest. By putting fireball into your chest, you will be able to drop the searing touch which for a fireball build is not that great of a staff. Once your shirt has sufficient sockets, I would highly suggest switching to dual wands.

Do not use GMP with fireball. The extra mana cost and damage penalty are not worth it in this case. Also, it is a very good idea to spec into using power charges, as they enhance any spell casting build. If they are on your way, picking up frenzy charges is a good idea as well for you. As CI, you can use blood rage w/ no penalty. Each frenzy charge gives you 5% increased cast speed (freeing up the need to use faster casting gem).

Lastly, since eye of chayula is not available in your league, you must journey to the unwavering stance node. You will not be able to faceroll high level maps without that node.

This is a lot to digest, and kind of blows up my plans on a lot of fronts. I'll try to keep my replies organized below, please forgive me for the absurd amount of questions I'll be asking.

"

MetalheadNorm wrote:

Focus first on getting 5links on a 6soc chest.

Why 5L, and not 6L on a 6 Soc? Just the cost issue? I do plan on going dual wands, but I had planned on trying to get a 6L chest first.

"

MetalheadNorm wrote:

Do not use GMP with fireball. The extra mana cost and damage penalty are not worth it in this case.

Do you use LMP, or no bonus projectiles at all? I've looked at the Ele Prolif builds, and the "run in, shoot and start a burn, and run away" seems repetitive and slow to me...

"

MetalheadNorm wrote:

Also, it is a very good idea to spec into using power charges, as they enhance any spell casting build. If they are on your way, picking up frenzy charges is a good idea as well for you. As CI, you can use blood rage w/ no penalty. Each frenzy charge gives you 5% increased cast speed (freeing up the need to use faster casting gem).

I'm likely respec'ing into Power Charges in the next day or two, it looks like a great passive buff to maintain during a map, and pairs very well with how I like to play - "go" all the time, no burns, no DOTs, just straight up fireballs with little to no breaks in action.

I know nothing about Frenzy charges, so, I'll do some homework there before I reply.

"

MetalheadNorm wrote:

Lastly, since eye of chayula is not available in your league, you must journey to the unwavering stance node. You will not be able to faceroll high level maps without that node.

I didn't know that Eye isn't available in my league... where do I look that stuff up? And, would you be willing to share your gear / passive skill build to show what you did to get down to that node without destroying any survivability?


Thanks again for the feedback!
Bri

Yes, LMP is pretty mandatory for a fireball build. Using it effectively increases your damage by 2.5 if you shotgun the enemies. Of course you should strive for 6l, but 5l is much more realistic for a new player. In a 5l chest i would recommend Fireball - LMP - life leech - PC on crit and for the 5th either fire pen or crit damage.

"

MetalheadNorm wrote:

Fireball - LMP - life leech - PC on crit and for the 5th either fire pen or crit damage.

Seems logical to me. And if I can get those Frenzy Charges going, that's the cast speed I'd otherwise lose for the fast casting gems, sans the mana requirement.

Would you mind horribly sharing your build so I can see how you work getting Frenzy AND Power charges, and getting to the dead bottom for the "NO Stun" skill?

Your two best options would be to either a. hug the right edge of the tree after grabbing ghost reaver taking it down for iron reflex and finally unwavering stance OR b. Cut through the middle of the tree from between witch & shadow take the path with the 2 crit chamce and 2 crit multi nodes and make a run for US on the bottom. I dont have an exact build because I havent played on these new leagues where US is needed, but either of those two options is what i would do. Fortunately, you can make up some of your losses by being able to use a caster-oriented amulet instead of eye.