Hardcore Frost Witch Guide (Last Updated May 8th)

Does "Increased defences from equipped shield" applies to the energy shield status provided by the equiped shield? If so, why not upgrade the "shield mastery', next to the "body and soul" on the templar's side.

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alfra wrote:

Does "Increased defences from equipped shield" applies to the energy shield status provided by the equiped shield? If so, why not upgrade the "shield mastery', next to the "body and soul" on the templar's side.

I asked the same question, and didn't get a difinite answer (was no, but unsure), so I wanted to use my leftover respec points to test this theory, but I died this Saturday at lvl 42.

In a couple of weeks, when I rebuild my Frost Witch, I'll answer you :P

I'm pretty sure that "increased defences from equipped shield" boosts any of the basic shield stats you use. So armour, evasion and energy shield would be boosted. Now, I haven't tested this but it seems logical to me. Those are the three defence stats that you can get on the shield, and there is no logical reason to assume that one of them would be excluded, or that it would only work on armour.

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rz2yoj wrote:

Revised the merciless section a bit. After going through merciless multiple times I've found it to be easier if Ghost Reaver is picked up earlier (Act 1 or 2).

Hey rz2yoj, have you considered running mana leech instead of reduced mana on freezing pulse?

I have found that when I spam FP, even with Greater Multiple Projectiles, my mana stays topped because of the sheer amount of mana leeched (3% in my case).

As soon as I get a 5-Link I'll get Ghost Reaver. For now though, I can't possibly run Life Leech. -_-

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Nauseating wrote:

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hoiland wrote:

Wait...you are level 53, in Merciless Act 1 and only have 600 ES?!

Sweet Jesus man!!! You are going to get 1 - shotted.


I am 47 with 2,000 ES and so-so gear.

Other than that, you are correct, CS is a great spell if used correctly :)

Ok so I tried this build, my first HC char. So I got to act3 and got 2 shot by one of those teleporting mobs (a rare). Now I died at lvl 34, but I still don't understand how you can have 2.000 ES. Where do you find this great ES gear, I suppose you already have a lot of good geared stashed farmed with some other char? I had pretty good gear tbh and I don't come close to those numbers. I had about 390hp and 400es and I died like nothing, how do you manage to survive and where does this miracle gear come from?

And this was how far in the skill tree I got before I died.

Spoiler

http://www.pathofexile.com/passive-skill-tree/AAAAAgMAAW8C4wdjB6URUBHbHwIsnDN2NsU74TyOSbJWSlcrV8ltGYIQhEiLepI4lQSeoacIpyuvm7iTu9bB89gk2t3fsOL35oHr7vF2

Thanks

Been away from the game for a bit. Level 50 now with 2300 Energy Shield after buffs.

Here is the gear I am wearing:


Always looking for high ES gear, always. Takes awhile and have spent some good amount of currency on it. However, it isn't the best and I have lots of areas to improve. As soon as I hit 53, my ES will jump even more. Get to use the below shield:


I am actively always looking for new gear and always run with trade chat on while playing. It takes time, luck, and have a good eye for deals.

Oh, and always run with Discipline.

My build:

After I finish out Inner Force, I don't really know what I am going to do yet. Either build up some cold damage, head to the Shadow side for the ES nodes/ES recharge, or something else. Will figure it out as I go.

Finished up the remaining sections of the guide (added merciless act 3 and end-game).

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Daxtreme wrote:

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rz2yoj wrote:

Revised the merciless section a bit. After going through merciless multiple times I've found it to be easier if Ghost Reaver is picked up earlier (Act 1 or 2).

Hey rz2yoj, have you considered running mana leech instead of reduced mana on freezing pulse?

I have found that when I spam FP, even with Greater Multiple Projectiles, my mana stays topped because of the sheer amount of mana leeched (3% in my case).

As soon as I get a 5-Link I'll get Ghost Reaver. For now though, I can't possibly run Life Leech. -_-

Actually... not really. :P My characters have always stayed topped off in mana just because of the sheer amount of regen I naturally end up with, but that could be useful for some. At the very least it may make chromatic'ing that 5-link easier if you consider it and Reduced Mana to be interchangeable. I'll add a word about that to the guide.

Hey guys, quick question.
Should I be going for a split between ES and Spell Damage or should I just go with pure ES on my shield?
I've got these two off-hands right now and I'm not sure which one to use:

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Espadrilles wrote:

Hey guys, quick question.
Should I be going for a split between ES and Spell Damage or should I just go with pure ES on my shield?
I've got these two off-hands right now and I'm not sure which one to use:

Honestly...it depends on your damage / defense.

If you are low on ES and feel squishy, go for the higher ES.

If you feel really good about your defense, go for the spell damage.


What are is your damage / ES at currently?


Personally, on HC, I am always choosing defense first.

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hoiland wrote:

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Espadrilles wrote:

Hey guys, quick question.
Should I be going for a split between ES and Spell Damage or should I just go with pure ES on my shield?
I've got these two off-hands right now and I'm not sure which one to use:

Honestly...it depends on your damage / defense.

If you are low on ES and feel squishy, go for the higher ES.

If you feel really good about your defense, go for the spell damage.


What are is your damage / ES at currently?


Personally, on HC, I am always choosing defense first.

I'm level 64 with about 3.6k ES right now (using the first shield), and 4k with the second
My Freezing Pulse does 670 dps (x3 I guess) with the spell damage, and 570 with the second

I'm not playing hardcore, but it still is pretty frustrating to die in merciless :I
Maybe I should just splurge a bit and get a high spell damage and ES shield @___@

So ive made my witch around this build and now i sit at level 77. I was wondering why you decided to venture to the left to take body and soul instead of taking a second nullification to the right of arcing blows. I fail to see the importance of 60% armour when we don't have any armour on our gear. Is this just to boost granite flask effectiveness?