Spark-N-Arc Build ( a 3 Totem Build) Updated for v1.0.0 (update starts p6 of thread)

@ Halebopp I swapped the Ele Penetration out for the Ele Prolif a little while back, it's in the new gloves I'm using. So my Arc has a 30% Chance to Shock ( 10% on Gem, 20% Skill Tree) and the Spark now gets the 20% Chance to Shock as well. So the Static Blows Node, and the Shock Chance Node below it, have made a noticeable difference.



For lvls 75-80, I'm planning on messing with my Spark Totem, replacing Pierce Gem with Fork, to see if the clear speed improves. I'm looking at trying Specters, I just need to grab the lvl'ed Gem from my lvl 80 Summoner. While these changes may improve my clear speed, I don't expect a dramatic change, until I start picking up more Crit Nodes. As I mentioned previously, my Crit Chance is only 5%, and the multiplier is only 150%...so as that begins to stack, my DPS should increase incrementally, and greatly improve my clear speed. Also, I will be heading for the Shock Node in the Shadows Start area. That will end up giving my Spark a 25% chance to shock and 35% for my Arc. But that node is at least 8 lvls away on the path I'm taking, putting me between 85 and 90 on character lvl...and after lvl 80, it becomes arduous and costly (Map MOD costs) to level up...so we will see what happens there...


Take Care Everyone and Have FUN!!!

I wasn't planning on making another update until lvl 80. However, I've made significant changes to my skill tree, and upgraded several pieces of equipment. So I thought I'd do a quick update.

Character lvl 77, current Passive skill tree build

Current Equipment;

Weapon Swap (for Gem Leveling)

I'm still testing out Spork, not sure yet if it's better than Spark with Pierce, but it seems to be killing fairly well. I've been spawning tons of magic monsters...so sometimes it's a little slow, especially when several rooms are completely filled with magic monsters and one or more summoner's are there. I can farm Piety, although I have to be careful because she can take me out, but not in one shot.

I'm now in a position to start taking Crit Nodes...so we'll see what happens...

some of her drops;

Still loving this build, and having TONS of FUN farming with her!!!

Take Care and Have FUN Everyone!!!

so im intresting , playing less last time , free bump ,

and whích spectre do u use atm? we can definitly make piety for a test run i need some frostwall got a sick idea :)

Haven't had much time to play the last couple of days...finally got a few runs this evening, working my way to lvl 80 (79 right now)...but I was totally tickled with this drop in the Catacombs...
(have to try this thing out with my Duelist)

Haven't tried a Specter yet...

edit was typo

I leveled up yesterday, so it's time for an update.

Character lvl 80

Auras Discipline, Haste, Clarity and Purity

ES 2920

Spork DPS 470

Arc DPS 262.7

Do not underestimate the power of Shock!! Spork has 20% chance from the tree, Arc has 30% chance, 20% Tree, 10% Built in. And 3 Arc Totems, because of the Shock factor, can resolve some monster issues very well ;-)

Str 128

Dex 190

Intel 386

Fire & Lightning Resistance 78

Cold Resistance 53 (I need to work on that)

Current Skill Tree Passive skill tree build

Equipment the wand is the only change



Weapon swap for alternate gem leveling



Alternate Gems in stash



So for the last 5 levels I've been using Spork, (vs Spark with Pierce instead of Fork) and it seems to do pretty well. I do not have the super high DPS of a (for lack of a better term) "traditional Sporker", but this build can definitely hold its own in Lunaris through Piety and on maps. I know everyone likes to hear about "Kill/Clear Speed", rest assured, I could choose to video my runs endlessly, and post all kinds of videos showing a very fast kill/clear speed...as a matter of fact, there are many times I have to pull on the reins and slow down so I don't miss currency items...I don't know how many times I've run back through to find a Chromatic, a jewelers, tri-color items or other higher currencys...so she does have speed. But, if an area is loaded with repeated magic mobs and boss monsters it does slow down quite a bit...Now, although my Totem with Spark (however it may be supported) is my main attack, it is worth mentioning that some encounters go much quicker with 2 Arc Totems and 1 Spark/Spork (supported) Totem, and in some cases 3 Arc Totems are the best choice.

So...what now?...well there have been some nice ideas posted in this thread, as well as other threads I watch...so I'll be playing around with some of those! The first one I'm giving a try will be changing Zombies to Specters. I'm going to swap around some of my support gems on my Spark, I've been leveling some and have some on different builds...pretty much just going to farm and try new things! As for Skill Tree plans...my next 5 points will most likely be spent in the Shadow area...I want that last 5% shock Node nestled in there, as well as the Coordination Node. After that I'm looking at Doom Cast and other such nodes, including Shock Duration Nodes...anyhow...as I've said before...I'm very pleased with how this character is turning out. She drops Unique Items at a reasonable rate...that is a relative term...as I'm happy as long as my builds CAN drop them from time to time...and considering that I'm soon going to have to further categorize my Unique Pages, right now they're split into weapons and armor, I'd say it's a pretty good drop rate. My IR is only 58%...but it's working as you can see from some of the items I've linked in this thread...so if I can improve it I will, but I'll not be too upset if I can't...as long as they keep dropping it's ALL good!!!

I think that pretty much covers it for now...I will be looking to upgrade my gloves, probably look for something with high ES with some resist...I'd like my ES to be over 3K and my resistance to be all maxed...we will see...and of course I will eventually try getting 6 sockets, and then linking them, in my other Soul Mantle...

Take Care Everyone, and have FUN!!!

EDIT; as leveling becomes excruciatingly slow at this point for solo players, I'll probably try out that Soul Taker Axe I found with my Duelist...but I will keep plugging away with this build and bring you updates. And to answer the question of viability of this build...IMO, this Witch Build is viable weather you use Spork or support Spark without Fork, although Spork may be the better choice...not sure yet, I'm waiting for the actual End Build to make that determination...anyhow Take Care All!!!

Bitty Bump...

I'm at lvl 84 now, I'm shooting for 85 before 3x release. If I can find some more decent map runs I should be able to manage that in a day or two...if not then I'll grind Lunaris for 1% exp. per run...either way I should make 85 before the release. So the update is coming soon!!

Take Care and HAVE FUN EVERYONE!!!

Sweet, I dropped a 16%Q Spark Gem. Thought I'd post it before I start to lvl it, when it hits lvl 20 I'll GCP it x4 to make it perfect. Cant wait to see how much the projectile speed increases my DPS.

Have Fun Everyone!!!

Ok, so I did some major grinding and am now lvl 85, so now it's time for an update.

I tried out using a Spector, and since I only have one Minion Node, I was not having high expectations. And I was not disappointed; With only one Spector (Unrighteous Fire) it generally only lasted 3-5 encounters before it was toast itself. Not entirely a lost cause as my Summoner can benefit from what I did see. So my entourage consists of Zombies and Skellies. I was going to take Minion Instability, but I've read the Pre-Patch 1.0.0 Release Notes and I may have a few things to re-evaluate with this build, we shall see. She has become progressively faster at clearing areas. Runs on high level maps in full party went well for the most part. Died once because I missed my mouse wheel button (Arc Totem) and left clicked (move only), walked directly into the middle of a huge mob...and promptly died...it was actually funny, if you would have been able to see the look on my face...She can Kill Piety without being killed...but you can get killed as well, although not as easily (but I kind of expected that...lvl gap and all) I do think that Fork does work much better than Pierce. Although I'll still lvl the Pierce Gem to play with.

Now to give an Idea of how she does in parties; some people like her some do not. More specifically; One run people kept asking who was using Culling, (I have one on my weapon swap side leveling up but was not using it). After the map I mentioned that I shock Stack and with Conductivity I shock over 50%. Everyone understood what that meant as the reply was "That explains a lot" followed by everyone promptly leaving the party. On another run I was asked upon entry if I was Culling, I replied "No, but I shock Stack...over 50%" and his reply was "Cool" and I ran a few runs with that party. Basically when you Shock them at that rate it can drop everything in an instant when everything hits just right (i.e. everything crits) This even happens with Blue Mobs, although not as often.

Character lvl 85

Auras remain unchanged all auras supported by lvl 19 Reduced Mana Gems
Clarity lvl 10, 11.5 Mana/sec, 155 flat rate Mana reserved
Discipline lvl 19, 202 ES, 136 flat rate Mana reserved
Purity lvl 19, 27% Resist All, 3% to Max Resist, 26% Mana reserved (300 in my case)
Haste lvl 19, 13% Cast/Attack speed, 5% move speed, mana reserve same as Purity

ES 2996 (Skill Tree Changes)

Spork DPS 587.7
Mana cost 160
Cast time 0.4 sec

Arc DPS 338.2
Mana Cost 213
Cast time 0.64

Str 128

Dex 200 (Skill Tree Changes)

Intel 386

Fire & Lightning Resist 78

Cold Resist 54

Current Skill Tree Passive skill tree build

Current Equipment found a new wand the rest is unchanged.



Now lets address MF; I average one unique per day, some days none some days 2, but most days I do see one drop. I have IIR 58% and IIQ 0% (that's right zero). I'll let my drops for the last week speak for themselves. The Soul Taker (almost a month ago) Dropped in Catacombs, the Lioneye's Bow Lunaris lvl 3 Blue Mob.

Uniques dropped in the last week



In case anyone missed it in an earlier post, my Duelist loves it BTW.

Unique dropped about 1 month ago



So anyhow, I'm wondering how the new Tree will impact my build, as well as the Aura cost changes...for now I'm not planning farther until we get the final release. I'm very pleased with how this Build worked out and can't wait to see how she is after the release. I hope everyone has enjoyed following it, I've had a lot of fun building it and sharing it. And I will report back here once I've tinkered around in the new world that is coming! To those that have given suggestions, I thank you ALL! Even if a suggestion (as well as some of my ideas) didn't work out as well as I would have liked or expected, the information was useful for some of my other builds.

Again thank you for your interest and assistance!

Have Fun EVERYONE!!!


edit; for typo's and added Mana Cost info on Totems and expanded on Aura info.

Added "3 Totem Build" to the title as I noticed a thread with someone asking about one.

I just wanted to let those following this thread know that I do plan on continuing with this build after the 1.0.0 Release.

I've read over the patch notes, and, my biggest concerns are with Aura Mana Reserve increasing. I plan on respecing some of my lower lvl Witches and running this build, as close as I can, before I mess with my lvl 85 Witch. Hopefully the additional Reduced Mana Reserved Nodes, referred to in the Patch Notes, will be a little closer to the Witch start area than any of the current Beta Nodes are.

I added some more detailed information in my update post dated 10/17/13. I did this mostly so that I could have more of a, "Numeric" sense, of what the actual changes look like once my lvl 85 Witch is all spec'd.

Anyhow...this should be interesting.

Thank you for all the interest and input this build has generated.
Take Care!
and Have FUN Everyone!