A Cold Crit Witch Guide 2.0 (RE-DONE!) Check it out!

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Ravenel wrote:

Would this build be more safer than a summoner one?

I only just started playing so I don't have the funds or the gear yet.

Summoning is safer, but it is really annoying imo. Hard to see whats going on with summons. Cold witches are more useful if you play online. Your choice, if you choose summoning go fire instead, ice/lightning are not too great with summons.

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shibloble wrote:

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Nephalim wrote:

http://www.pathofexile.com/passive-skill-tree/AAAAAgMBAv4FQgVbB2MOSBBpES8RUBGWFr8XVBpsHhofAiKBKU8snDCXNsU5ijvhQZZCw0bXVkpXK13GXfJgbWZPbRlwUnDVdYp9U3_GgUmCEIKbh9uIQouMjDaOPI5kj0aVBJ2AnaOdrp6hoqOnCKcrrrOvm7I4tDi2-rvWwFHBxcHzw23SGdQF1U_W0dgk3QXd895334TfsOFz4vfjhOQi5Rnmgetj7BjtIPId8-r3pvv1_Ks=

Build is pretty good.

Projectile damage most likely WILL be lower then elemental/spell, simply due to the gear you will be using, you will have a higher base spell damage/elemental damage.

Two things, first and most importantly, what about your ES/health? You don't have enough ES for CI, and no health. Unless you have amazing gear you may need to add more def.

Other thing (this is my own opinion), why go out of your way for that bloodthirst node (top left of tree)? I feel that that bloodthirst node is a "trap", going there is not worth it, those points you spend going there will
a)Be more beneficial elsewhere (such as taking 2 crit nodes and 2 ES nodes), rather then HAVING to put all four into bloodthirst.
b)Damage your pathing, if you want to take the middle of the tree (or take inner force(really nice)) from the left side (of witch tree), you need to invest ANOTHER node, not counting what you have.

I have not really reached the final stages of the game so im not sure if its based around group play or solo play on endgame maps however i have almost always done the former. At the moment and with fairly mediocre gear i dont feel like my survivability an issue (Level 69 group dock runs).

The upper left bloodthirst is basically a 4 point investment for 55% crit chance , 10% crit damage and 10 int. I could alternatively switch out for 2 fitness, 8% ES and 10 str which is a very decent trade off should i need that survivability. I was definitely going for all out damage/crit chance with this build.

I could also trade out 3% move speed, 8% projectile dmg * 2 for 2 (8%ES/8%EV) nodes + fitness. Theres also that large ES group right under the witch starting point but i always felt it was a costly investment to have to pick up 2* 10 int nodes to access 5 * 8%ES nodes and i rarely see people investing into it.

I am totally undecided for CI but i was leaning against it with the ob nerf (note i never played cb).

Finally, actually think cast speed would be rather nice, especially the nimbleness (6%) node though some here seem to dislike going that path. Its not about the dps, its about casting faster so you have more chances to crit. It would be like casting 1.1 times per second at 50% crit vs casting 1 times per second t 50% crit, wouldnt the first be critting effectively at 55%? Im not really sure what end game crit chance for second form ice spear would be.

thanks. im using this

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shibloble wrote:

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Lachis wrote:

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shibloble wrote:

This guys got it :D

Yeah you go do that while I continue to get cast speed and continue to do more damage than you because I know that cast speed is amazing with cold witches and there is enough mana regen in the game to support it.

Not at early levels when it MATTERS the MOST. At level 15 I was like "I wish I could use LESS mana and do the SAME damage."

You're doing more damage and only using mana at a slightly faster rate. If you can't keep up with the mana use then you're building your witch wrong.
Cast speed actually gives you more returns after a certain point anyway, take the unique gloves Doedre's Tenure. That 40-50% spell damage will just be part of the other 500 or so + spell damage % you have but the difference is you're casting 20% less often. You actually end up doing less DPS.

The best part of freezing pulse is it's insane speed, abuse it by keeping it as fast as you can.
I'm with Lachis on this.

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shibloble wrote:

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Ravenel wrote:

Would this build be more safer than a summoner one?

I only just started playing so I don't have the funds or the gear yet.

Summoning is safer, but it is really annoying imo. Hard to see whats going on with summons. Cold witches are more useful if you play online. Your choice, if you choose summoning go fire instead, ice/lightning are not too great with summons.

What about Dominion's dual totem build?

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Ravenel wrote:

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shibloble wrote:

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Ravenel wrote:

Would this build be more safer than a summoner one?

I only just started playing so I don't have the funds or the gear yet.

Summoning is safer, but it is really annoying imo. Hard to see whats going on with summons. Cold witches are more useful if you play online. Your choice, if you choose summoning go fire instead, ice/lightning are not too great with summons.

What about Dominion's dual totem build?

Can't be sure on that.

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TJDowning wrote:

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shibloble wrote:

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Lachis wrote:

Yeah you go do that while I continue to get cast speed and continue to do more damage than you because I know that cast speed is amazing with cold witches and there is enough mana regen in the game to support it.

Not at early levels when it MATTERS the MOST. At level 15 I was like "I wish I could use LESS mana and do the SAME damage."

You're doing more damage and only using mana at a slightly faster rate. If you can't keep up with the mana use then you're building your witch wrong.
Cast speed actually gives you more returns after a certain point anyway, take the unique gloves Doedre's Tenure. That 40-50% spell damage will just be part of the other 500 or so + spell damage % you have but the difference is you're casting 20% less often. You actually end up doing less DPS.

The best part of freezing pulse is it's insane speed, abuse it by keeping it as fast as you can.
I'm with Lachis on this.

If you haven't noticed, but this guide is for people just starting up. In most cases they won't have access to items for the mana/mana regen. While I agree that at higher levels/better geared witches work better with cast speed on FP, it is more costly. On a side note, people also use ice spear and such, crit benefits both ice spear and FP, not just FP like cast speed does.

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shibloble wrote:

If you haven't noticed, but this guide is for people just starting up. In most cases they won't have access to items. While I agree that at higher levels/better geared witches work better with cast speed on FP, it is more costly. On a side note, people also use ice spear and such, crit benefits both ice spear and FP, not just FP like cast speed does.

I know it is but you're giving people IMO bad advice by saying that cast speed is just increasing mana cost for no extra damage.
It's only more costly if you're unable to keep the mana regen up which by the time you're mid 30s-40s you shouldn't have a huge issue doing. The increased cast speed works well on ice spear as well, it allows you to lock down something from distance even easier because you're throwing spears out faster thus critting and freezing more often.

Whilst I agree that taking the passive point is probably better than the cast speed, cast speed shouldn't be ignored at all because it plays a huge role in cold witches.

Also I was only using Doedre's Tenure as an obvious example, because it's an item which really can affect your DPS in both good and bad ways.

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TJDowning wrote:

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shibloble wrote:

If you haven't noticed, but this guide is for people just starting up. In most cases they won't have access to items. While I agree that at higher levels/better geared witches work better with cast speed on FP, it is more costly. On a side note, people also use ice spear and such, crit benefits both ice spear and FP, not just FP like cast speed does.

I know it is but you're giving people IMO bad advice by saying that cast speed is just increasing mana cost for no extra damage.
It's only more costly if you're unable to keep the mana regen up which by the time you're mid 30s-40s you shouldn't have a huge issue doing. The increased cast speed works well on ice spear as well, it allows you to lock down something from distance even easier because you're throwing spears out faster thus critting and freezing more often.

Whilst I agree that taking the passive point is probably better than the cast speed, cast speed shouldn't be ignored at all because it plays a huge role in cold witches.

Also I was only using Doedre's Tenure as an obvious example, because it's an item which really can affect your DPS in both good and bad ways.

Not saying that cast speed is bad on items, but I assumed that Lachis was only talking about passives and the bandit quest reward. The worth of the cast speed is very low compared to the worth of a passive node. There are quite a few threads about this topic already, and in most cases cast speed on the tree/reward is not worth it.

Items on the other hand are a completely different story.

However, it is up to the player whether or not they want to take cast speed. Pro's and Con's to both.

I love this build. Doesn't over-obsess about getting every single crit node on the tree, instead getting some resists and lots and lots of ES bonuses. The placement of the crits you get is just about perfect, to get more crit elsewhere you sacrifice too much es. I will be using CI of course as I prefer a shield that recharges to full in a few seconds of running away vs chugging hp pots all day.