Couple of questions about how to make a viable build.

I'm starting with PoE again when the patch launches friday and I'd like to figure out a build of my own.
I realize that the chance of me figuring out a better build than the hardcore players who write guides on the forums is pretty small. But I don't need an uber build that can blow everything up while running around naked. I want to try my own thing.

Now, I know that the best way to see if a planned build works is to play it and see, however I'd like to plan it out as best as I can before I waste hours of my life leveling something that is just doomed to fail.

So how do I recognize if my build is doomed or not?
How much +life% do I need? (SC)
How much +accuracy to make crit work?
How much +crit chance?
How much +elemental damage?
What about armor and energy shield?


Obviously the more the better, but if someone could slap a number on a minimum requirement for something to work that'd be great. I realize this is probably not an easy question, but might as well ask.

what sort of build are we talking about here? crit ele attacker it seems? bows? daggers?

I want to give elemental hit some love... with a wand. ^^

Around 150-160% inc life is ok for a ranged build, that ends up as some 4,5 to 5k life.
2k accuracy is enough, maybe as low as 1500.
With wands you go for the crit cap, no reason not to with that huge base.
No need to chase elemental damage, wand passives work on all damage types.
If you're going for a life build to keep it cheaper you don't really need any ES, and as a SC ranged build stacking armor probably isn't worth the trouble, just blast things fast.

Going Occultist would be pretty good, you get power charge generation and an extra curse so you can easily go triple.

ya, like 150% minimum is probably ok. I shoot for 180%+ by say lvl92 ish, somewhere around there, but I tend to be excessive.

Armour is just too hard to stack in the north. Honestly the ranger has some nice projectile damage, the shadow has proj and crit. One of the strongest ways you could protect yourself as a life based wander is to get a lightning coil, acrobatics, phase acrobatics, get the life + evasion in the ranger and shadow. Rats Nest is a nice ev hat for attack crit, thats what Id do personally, stick hard right from witch to ranger. Theres the new phys reduction flasks so maybe just budget evasion acro with the flask, ev life can be a bit rippy tbh but its sc and youre ranged so you should be ok. Just the evasion % you get from dex and the hybrid life nodes should be enough to scale a decent amount.


Id use ele hit as the single target and prob take kinetic as my aoe. I think the murder mits unique gloves thunderfist have "supported by added lighting damage"? Along with some flat lightning. I think theyre fairly cheap now, would be a way to get a nice 5 link single target along side hopefully a 5L aoe in the chest.

Allright, thanks for the quick answers!