Templar lightning strike summoner build help

Hi all,

I'm new to the forums and to path of exile. I'm starting offin hardcore mode with my brother and I've been doing a lot of research to understand the mechanics of the game and doing my first build.

My goal is to have a templar that summons zombies and skeletons while fighting up close with a staff and shock damage. I also want to be able to use an aura and drop 1 to 2 curses on enemies.

Below is the build I came up with but I need to some opinions on ways to improve it. I plan on focusing on minion and health and es first so I can stay alive in hardcore.

http://www.pathofexile.com/passive-skill-tree/AAAAAgUBogCXAR8CtQTdBQQHpwhjCxEP4BLZCx0UfRiNGfAfbRnkItgkUDC3MZAzgziePIhAakOPRkVHBkkUTRVQfVPAVHFN71BbWQVbGF3bXtlfN0dDY8lnqWjjahNsFm8TcRpsjHaBby19-oC1hbaGnYDsit2MqH1akbiTKphmnl6lJKqmrFiufq9Ms5-0na4Es8G0aqydxDbFXcaCx5rPa6xG103Y-tJr20jnNum86uvu3fMI9Fj1KPrT-w==

Also I started thinking I would use lightning strike but realized I wouldn't have the strength for it.

This brings me to my next question. If I use the New Herald skill does that make some of the physical damage of my staff pointless? Also that skill said it doesn't shock. Does this mean my other passive that add shock won't work

Anyways any help would be appreciated.

General tips for new players:

-Keep it simple. The way you are going about things, you will end up with a build that has terrible clearspeed and dies to white mobs. Hybrid builds like what you are attemping generally fail because you spread yourself too thinly.

Figure out what the most efficient way to scale your primary ability is (that you can realistically achieve) and what defenses are most desirable for your setup. Use your other abilities to support that primary skills and build your tree from there.

-Read guides. Even if you don't follow them, it is the fastest way to learn the skill tree, and how to scale your skills and defenses properly. Using a skill tree calculator on other peoples builds is a good way of learning general stat benchmarks when putting together a build.

You will gain a lot of knowledge from testing things ingame as well. I would recommend not playing hardcore for this reason. I'm not saying that everyones experience is the same, but you won't learn the game very quickly if you have to reroll 5 times before reaching maps.

If you are interested in a summoner+melee hybrid, the closest you will get while still being efficient is Dominating Blow.

Good luck.