
Path of Exile Witch Build
Path of Exile Builds – Witch Edition
As in any hack and slash game, carefully building your character in Path of Exile is a crucial part of gameplay. Without a good character, you probably won't be able to progress through some of the harder bosses, monsters, quests, and maps in the Grinding Gear Games MMORPG. Let's talk about Path of Exile witch build!
You need to carefully think about what you want to pick on the passive skill tree, what to do with ascendancy, how to choose your equipment and which skill gems to use. This build guide will focus on some of the most popular and most enjoyable to play builds for the Witch character.
Keep in mind, that even though some of the witch builds were made in 2018, all of them are perfectly viable for current 2019 gameplay and are updated to the newest 3.5 version patch (which brought in a lot of new content), so you will be able to make the perfect witch a beginner player can enjoy.
Why even pick Witch?
So, if you are a new PoE player you may be asking yourself: “why should I even pick the Witch? Is she any better than the other classes?”.
The answer to that question is not that simple: currently, all of the classes are balanced and there is no better or worse class, so it all boils down to preference.
The Witch is a pure intellect (as opposed to agility and strength) based character and primarily a mage caster (or a summoner), although you can do a whole variety of different builds (and you should, it’s part of the fun!) which can even skip the energy shield fully.
However, if theorycrafting and trial and error are not something you feel like doing, we have prepared for you 5 witch builds which you should definitely try out if you are looking forward to having a powerful character to play with.
Check also our POE Orbs comparsion tool!
Each build has a complete guide, so you definitely won’t find yourself not knowing what to do.
Mjolner AOE Cyclone Arc/Ball Beginner Friendly Lightning Caster Occultist by Crackmonster
This build is best for people who are looking for a relaxing, easy gameplay (it is also beginner SSF friendly). This Witch build focuses on stacking AOE, basically making the mobs around you explode non-stop.
However, it lacks a bit in the single target department, so you should still handle bosses like the Uber Elder with care. What you are going to need first and foremost are the skill gems and items. In your hands, you will be using two Mjolners, which are lvl 70 one handed mace uniques (magic and rare qualities won’t do later on), with three connected sockets (three blue on the first one and two blue and one green on the second one) and preferably a nice mod.
Inside of those sockets, you will want to put Arc, Lightning Penetration Support and Controlled Destruction Support. On the second Mjolner, use Slower Projectiles Support, Lightning Penetration Support and Ball Lightning.
Moreover, look for any items which might increase the Area of Effect radius and damage – these will be crucial, as the build revolves around AOE.
A helmet of your choice with four connected sockets (3 blue 1 green) is also going to be essential, with Blasphemy Support, Enfeeble, Enlighten Support and Temporal Chains in it.
When picking your ascendancy classes, pick Occultist. Occultist provides powerful buffs to damage, useful reductions to damage from enemies, as well as curses and immunities.
However, the most important part about choosing Occultist is the chance for cursed enemies to explode – around which the whole build revolves. As for the bandit – go with Kraityn.
Keep in mind that the build is a rather aggressive one and not defensive, and you will need to pick a lot of life-related passive tree skills, as well as those which improve your movement speed (you want it at AT LEAST 178% with the Quicksilver Flask!).
You still might die sometimes when in a difficult situation, so this build is not recommended for hardcore characters, as you are close to dying most of the time playing it. By the end of it, you will have around 5-6k life, which should provide lots of defense, but mistress Atziri and her guards or Uber Lab could still end in your death if you are not careful.
Betrayal league could also be a problem. If you have low life, always stay cautious as dying makes it so slow to progress.
Critical Strike Ice Spear Occultist by ScareCrow197
This build is actually quite unique, as it is one of the few which utilize the Ice Spear skill while playing. It also utilizes the Occultist ascendancy class, so stay away from Assassin, Necromancer and Elementalist for this one.
Necro, especially, will not be really useful here.This build is also a great build to with if you are on tight budget and don’t have high level items, as the only core item here is Void Batteries, and maybe Voidwalker Murder Boots.
Other items can be safely changed without impacting the build too much, making the build very budget friendly.
On your armour of choice you need six linked sockets (you can use Tabula Rasa, for example). Utilize Ice Spear, Controlled Destruction Support, Greater Multiple Projectiles Support, Power Charge On Critical Support, Spell Echo Support and Added Cold Damage Support.
This will allow you to gain power charges and sustain them without end just by attacking with skills. Moreover, the Occultist ascendancy makes it so the timer on the charges refreshes whenever you spend 200 mana.
So the gist of the build is this – blast the enemy with Ice Spear, the enemy gets knocked back due to projectile weakness, gets frozen due to cold damage and if he is not dead yet – the malediction from Occultist will finish him.
If you want to make your life even simpler, wear a Warlord’s Elder Ring, which will leech your mana and life from fallen enemies. No other changes necessary, your build is quite finished at that point.
If you want to further max out your character, there are a couple of details to prioritize. First of all, try to get maximum life and resistances.
You have plenty of damage but survivability could be a problem as this build is not tanky in itself. When it comes to the damage itself, prioritize flat damage and percent cold damage, as well as damage from spells and crit multiplier.
This will make clearing monsters far easier (making farming quicker and more efficient), still assure great single target damage, and you should have no problems with staying alive during boss fights.
Winter Orb Elementalist Best League Starter by xVINCEREx
Now this build does not utilize the most popular Ascendancy class for the Witch (the Occultist) but instead uses the Elementalist one.
This Elementalist guide also presents one of the most beginner-friendly builds and allows you to play the game completely solo – you are not going to need anyone in your party, making it a great starter build!
The build has no complicated mechanics, has a high DPS, a high clear speed, and can be made even on the tightest budget, but is still of the top tier of builds.
So how does this build exactly work? It’s super simple! In general, you channel Winter’s Orb, move through the hordes of monsters on the screen and shatter them to dust thanks to Herald of Ice and frost.
You’re going to love playing it! Try utilizing Assassin’s Mark for an increased mana regen, you are going to definitely need it (Clarity aura can also work). While fighting bosses, you are going to need a little bit more single target damage, so switch to an Orb of Storm with Frostbite for some additional DPS.
The learning curve in this build is really quite easy to understand and it does not require much to get started, allowing you to learn as you progress. Leveling should also be easy enough to do on your own, allowing you to reach level 100 fast.
Your main setup (on armor) can be achieved quite easily and will look like this: six linked sockets with Winter’s Orb, Efficacy, GMP, Ice Bite, Controlled Destruction and Concentrated Effect Support (you can skip the Conc. Effect if you only have 5 sockets).
The boss setup looks like this: Orb of Storms, Curse on Hit, Frostbite, and Increased Area of Effects (can be on a weapon).
The build does not really have any required, specific gear. What you may want to prioritize, though, is life, resistances, critical strike chance or multiplier and flat cold or lightning damage (jewels could be useful).
If you have a high budget and a lot of unique items, try using Starkonja, Loreweave, Divinarius, Atziri’s Step and Berek’s Grip. As far as flasks go – prioritize freeze immunity and bleeding immunity, you are going to need those. With all of that, your build should be completed.
Self Ignite Elementalist Build by AnxietyOverload
Now this build truly is something. In this build, you cast Ignite on yourself, which probably sounds pretty bad at first. However, it is not the damage from ignite that counts – you are going to gain different effects while you are ignited.
The core of this build is a level 68 amulet called Eye of Innocence. It gives you a huge damage increase while ignited, as well as life leech. It is also the source of self-ignition in this build. The life leech on the amulet makes it possible to not run Warlord's Mark and provides a very useful source of life regen.
Secondly, you will want to get a Ruby Ring called Mokou’s Embrace. It increases the chance to get ignited by another 25%, provides some nice resistances and increases your attack and cast speed when ignited.
While these two items are essential, they are really cheap to buy from other players on the trade chat (they sell for under 10 chaos orbs, so always check for the best prices) while providing such massive incinerate synergies.
If you have some spare currency in your stash, you can also try getting the Martyr of Innocence. It's a Highborn Staff with massive flat fire damage and a 100% increase to fire damage.
It is not an essential part of the build and should probably be replaced later on by a better staff, but it provides a huge DPS boost which will be very useful when grinding, so if you have the money – try to search for it on the trade chat.
When picking your passive skills, make sure to pick Mind Over Matter and get as many boosts to life as possible, you are going to need it.
The build reaches around 6k life and around 1,5k spare mana. That is not that much mana as it might look, so keep an Orb of Storms linked with Mana Leech setup to regenerate mana.
As for the Ascendancy – pick Elementalist with Pendulum of Destruction, Mastermind of Discord, Shaper of Desolation, and Beacon of Ruin. Kill all of the bandits. You can pick anything that you want from the Pantheon.
The main damage skill used in this build is the Armageddon Brand, which deals massive fire damage. You want to link it with Hypothermia, which buffs damage done to chilled enemies, and you always chill enemies after you pick Beacon of Ruin. On top of that, add Faster Casting, Immolate, and Controlled Destruction.
For the sixth socket use Increased Area of Effect for mapping and Concentrated Effect for bosses. With a setup like this, you should have no problems dealing with T15 Red Elder, Shaper, Uber Atziri, and all guardians.
You should even be able to fight Uber Elder with a full build and six links in your gear, and no map should be a problem for you.
Arc Witch by Enki91
If you are looking for a simple, beginner-friendly build which scales well into the endgame, you might be interested in this one.
The Arc Witch build is a classic, balanced build which is cheap to make and makes the game play smoothly.
It is also powerful enough to solo all of the most difficult encounters in the game, and, most importantly, it is immune to reflect damage, which is very often something with which most builds are struggling.
However, keep in mind that this build is also an aggressive one, which means that even though you get a lot of different resistances and a good deal of life, you can still get killed if you try to tank or if you do not maintain your playstyle well enough (remember, you are not a melee build!).
That being said, since Arc Witch relies on lightning damage, it has quite a large spread between the minimal and maximal damage. Moreover, you are going to invest quite a bit in this build if you want it to be boss-capable.
As you might have guessed, the staple skill in this build is Arc Lightning. This skill chains from monster to monster, and even bounces off of destroyable objects.
As the gem levels up, it spreads further and further, and can even spread out of your sight. Moreover, you are going to be shocking your enemies, which increases the damage they take. Try to find Vaal Orbs and maximize the percentage on your skill gem!
You will also have to take into account picking Mind over Matter in your passive skill tree. Without MoM, your survivability will be much weaker, as the skill almost doubles your potential life.
For that, however, you need a large and reliable mana pool, which is gained in this build through regeneration and leech as the standard one is too short. It will be definitely worth it though!
Through ascendancy, pick Elementalist. Follow up with Paragon of Calamity, Shaper of Desolation, Beacon of Ruin, and Liege of the Primordial. In the Pantheon, choose Soul of Solaris (major), Soul of Gruthkul (minor), and Soul of Shakari (minor). Finally, your gem setup should include the Arc, Spell Echo Support, Controlled Destruction Support, Lightning Penetration Support, Added Lightning Damage Support, and Hypothermia Support.
As a second skill set, use Storm Brand, Arcane Surge Support, Increased Duration Support, and Mana Leech Support (this is your main way of regenerating mana). To help reach high survivability, use Immortal Call, Cast When Damage Taken Support, Cold Snap, and Increased Duration Support.
Remember about quick movement, for which you can use either a Leap Slam with Faster Attacks Support, Fortify Support, and Flame Dash, or you can use Whirling Blades instead of the Leap Slam.
So many builds, but which one to choose?
As you can see, there is a lot to choose from when building a Witch character, and that is only a single class! Hundreds upon hundreds of builds and the same goes for the Marauder, the Ranger, the Duelist, the Templar, the Shadow, and the Scion!
Each of the presented builds features a different way of dealing with enemies you encounter on your journey. You can now try and pick one that suits you the best – whether you want to deal a huge amount of AOE damage and deal with hordes of mobs faster, or whether you would rather have massive single target physical damage so you can take any boss with ease, this witch builds list is surely going to come in handy.
Of course, the builds posted here are not all of the builds that are possible, as it is nearly impossible to list them all. There are plenty of guides available, so feel free to check all the rest if nothing here suits you.
Just for the witch class, there are builds revolving around skills which summon and raise zombies, skeletons, golems, spectres, and even auras or skills such as Blade Vortex, Blade Flurry and Molten Strike. With such a flexible skill tree, you can try anything and we highly recommend you do, as experimenting is half of the fun in Path Of Exile.
You can even make a hybrid build with different skills used at once! You never know when you stumble upon something amazing while trying out new stuff, and you can find plenty of tips on the forum.
You should also watch each video guide for the builds you try, as those are immensely helpful. Finally, make sure to check out the other guides on our site and contact us with any points you might want to add - we are open to discussion!
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