[3.0]PewPewPews Official Cheap Firestorm Build - Perfect for Newcomers/SSF

Did this for dark shrine as well. Was a lot of fun. Thanks for posting the build.

So 2.1 has been good for this build.

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Many spells have had their base damage increased at higher levels, to bring their power in line with attacks and to reward the risks of spellcasting. The following spells have had their damage increased by around 20% higher at level 20: Arc, Ball Lightning, Ethereal Knives, Fire Trap, Firestorm, Flame Surge, Flameblast, Freezing Pulse, Glacial Cascade, Lightning Tendrils, Lightning Warp, Magma Orb and Storm Call.

(Seriously GGG, wtf are you thinking. Did you even TRY firestorm? That shit is going to be broken now.)

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Zombies now attack faster. They also now have an area of effect slam skill and 30% greater stun threshold.

I'm just going to leave this here: This is huge. For a build that already performed great, increasing both it's offence and (slightly its)defence, will make this really a strong build.

I'll be making some adjustments in the gems, tree and everything. I'll try to have the changes up before 2.1 launches - and of course edit them as 2.1 keeps going on.

Question about the early stat points. Does the 30% spell damage from the first part of the witch tree really have more affect than the 9% cast speed you're giving up? I would've thought that with the way you're layering firestorms on top of each other that the cast speed would be better.

Oh, and one more question. How does this build hold up without Three Dragons? I'm thinking about trying to run it as an MF build, but I'll want to get some iir on my helm. Is the damage okay for clearing lower end maps without the shock?

I personally don't think those 3% cast speed nodes are worth it, especially compared to the 10% spell damage. Cast speed is important, but not damage wise - it's all about how fast you can move afterwards. More cast speed means more mobility. The extra damage is trivial, since we often won't get to the part where we pile on enough firestorms on top of each other to really get max dps from it(the mobs are already dead, or we have to dodge something).

And... well before 2.1, I wouldn't recommend swapping out the Three dragons, since it also removes our cursing ability. But with Blasphemy coming, it should be fine. You will lose some damage, but everything up to tier 8/9 should be still cake. Just swap out Herald of Thunder with Blasphemy + Warlords mark, and you'll be fine!

Hey, I just whipped up a quick witch tree for 2.1. You reckon this would do alright in HC? Its more or less the same as your other one but with a bit more life.

That's seven points for 20% life total. While there aren't any other life sources nearby, I would advice against going with those points - it's a waste of some good penetration and inc damage. But if you really value the extra life, it should still work just fine. For four points, you can also pick up Profane Chemistry, 12% life and the potion effectiveness is quite nice(and often overlooked by many).

This guide will scale just fine into 2.1. Basically, nothing needs to be changed, but there are a few things that might make the build even better.

I am thinking about adopting dual cursing. Warlords still through the HoT, and another with Blasphemy. This means we have to drop anger though, but I'm positive an offensive curse can help us out loads. For those playing HC, getting a defensive curse in our Blasphemy will also work amazing(Temp chains would be best since we do rely on movement).

I'll test out these things first before I update the first post. Depending on the AoE of Blasphemy I might throw a thing or two around :)

But as for now, this guide is perfectly fine for 2.1, so enjoy!

Alright thanks for the reply, moved the 7 point into the 4 you pointed out (Lost 8% life but the flask recovery and good play will be enough to suffice the loss i feel) and put a few into Skittering Runes as i feel running Blasphemy+Temp chains will be very nice in HC as you said.

Again, thanks for the guide.

Thoughts on leveling this with a templar instead of witch? half of my characters have been witches...

Hello Appels_Zijn_Gezond !

I just want to shout out a big thanks to you for this build mate. I'm lvl 3X and so far I'm having a real good time. I'm using skully totem for now.