" The Winter-Arc Crit ": Simple, cheap, safe and high dps 30k+ ( 2.0 updated)

This is my build for starting maps

Any suggestions for it.

Here's my latest progression with the build. My previous installment was at level 57 and am now at 78. This write up will take you through the rest of merciless and into maps.

Skill Tree Progression

So from where I left off I continued to the left and acquired Celestial Punishment then two more points gets us to Celestial Judgement. Combined these two provide us with a lot of power, not just in increased damage but the chance to inflict elemental effects, extra damage if we do, and some additional penetration will all help with our freezing ability. You should be freezing things pretty frequently by now.

Next I picked up Sanctity for some more life and defensive perks. Damage output here was pretty good so my focus was more on survivability. Because of this my next points were put into Righteous Decree which increases our Mana pool by almost one third which is amazing. At this point you should be able to run Arctic Armour even if it's only at a low level and you should still be able to spam your other skills without any real worries, so long as you also have some reasonable mana regen on your gear. The 6% reduced mana cost is also a nice perk.

Next I picked up Storm Weaver for a massive damage boost, then over to the right side of the tree again to pick up Assassination for a big 70% boost to Crit chance. Really you could pick up any of these last four in any order you like and this may be dependent upon your gear or play style.

My resistances in the middle of Merciless were pretty low, around the mid 30s which I've never done previously but I was surviving just fine due to range and freezing constantly, plus my handy spell totem which has proven to be indispensable! Recognising this limitation though I also through another point into a Dex node so I could equip some better gear.

Finally I've gone back to the very start of the Witch tree and taken Deep Wisdom and Heart and Soul for all the benefits they provide.

That's basically all the main points I was planning to acquire and I currently have one unallocated point as I'm not sure where I'm going next. My options are:
1. Purity of Flesh for more life, chaos resist and a bit of strength,
2. More crit over near Assassination although I'm freezing frequently so this may not be the best use of points right now,
3. Extra spell and elemental damage to the right of Retribution,
4. Extra mana and life regen to the right of Sanctity

At this stage I'm probably planning to take my character to level 85 so I'll have another 8 points to allocate somewhere. I think survivability will probably trump damage at this point as I expect to be able to increase damage through better gear and skill gem improvements.

Here's the tree as I just described it:


Gameplay

Not much has changed here really. I'm finding that using the totem and attacking the same mobs or main enemy significantly increases the likelihood of freezing and then increases damage. This is a very effective synergy and definitely worth maintaining.

I've been using LT with increased Rarity to finish off Bosses for some better gear drop. I just changed out the added lightning gem for Culling Strike as that extra 10% of life makes things quicker and easier. It also ensures that I get the kill and apply the increased rarity, rather than my totem sneaking in the killing blow. In all honesty, the extra rarity may not be having a big impact and clearing speed is possibly better overall by my dps is pretty good so I'll persist with it.

Ii was rolling through content and doing pretty well with everything. Then I hit Solaris and got destroyed :( The biggest weakness in my build to date became glaringly obvious. To date I was basically surviving through my ES giving me enough time to take a few hits which was enough to deploy the totem, lightning warp out of the way, and start arc-freezing myself. Piety's miscreations however showed that my build was a glass cannon as once my ES was depleted I had virtually no armour or evasion and therefore ended up quickly dead.

Arctic Armour is a must here and even then, my current gear was pretty weak so it was a slow and careful (and deadly) grind through Solaris. Kole killed me a couple of times. Miscreations killed me a couple of times, and Piety killed me a couple of times. Basically there was no margin for error with my build and gear at this point so I pushed through (hey, once you're level penalty equals zero you can't go any lower) and killed Piety, then unlocked the Sceptre of God and did not step foot inside.

From here I farmed Vaal constantly and acquired some gear plus continually converted items to the 2C recipe. Even picked up an Ex in City of Sarn. At around level 67 I started maps and alternated with Vaal for some quick currency runs plus a fair few uniques inluding CoD and Carcass Jack.

It was only at level 77 that I had another go at Solaris and knocked over Piety, then made my way through the Sceptre and took down Dominus without dying. Neither fight was easy or quick though and although I can maintain AA and level 13 now losing that ES in a fight still hurts a lot. I'm moving more into maps now, particularly as I finally found Zana and I'm hoping better gear is not far away. Speaking of which:

Equipment

While I've upgraded some items, a number have remained unchanged in the last 20 levels. I could probably improve some stats if I was happy to sacrifice the increased Rarity but I'm persisting for now.



Fire Resist is at 40%, Cold at 75% and Lightning at 73% but I'm not finding this a real problem right now. That Topaz flask is excellent at being able to tackle Reflect rares and absorb some reduced damage in order to take them out, along with the Totem which can be recast when it gets reflected down.

I'm at 2,600 life and around 1K ES, both of which are lower than I'd like and suffering a lot from the Chest, gloves and boots I'm using. Still, I'm able to run lower maps (surviving OK and Zana's daily) so these will suffice till I find or buy better.

With Heralds up I'm 13K damage with LT, 9,600 with Arc, around 3K for totem Arc and the same with Lightning Warp.

Glad to see others liking this build and many thanks to the OP for giving us such a fun build!

"

ragnakraken wrote:

This is my build for starting maps

Spoiler

https://poebuilder.com/character/AAAAAgMAVa5Eq4-mghDfsCycdhEQWDI05OwfAgQHVcaD26yYOlgRD92M2V_gEo0Zfq_Q9UGWBUKus-kC34q9glcr_rNtGWpDwFQI9EwtFLDbC4IeZ71Pr_TppJF-M13yjDYTnmHiVUuJ03DVpwjYJDbFna4abOQi1abtPIKbmjvhc_AfogAEs8Bm7DjAGho4kFUnL3GF1XXMt9q5sUJG1xzcbAsNjSL0LUdQQkPIW6CnVXwOaPJPBH7HG_Hli18q6-RwUg==

Any suggestions for it.

My only query is about Static Blows. If you're using Pyre then you'll have a chance to Shock but otherwise this is a waste of three points you'd be better off putting into something else. Remember, our lightning damage now Freezes, it no longer Shocks.

Also by taking the lower path to the right of the tree to hit Trickery you've use one more point than you needed to. By going the upper path from EB to Cold Hearted you would have taken only 5 points, not 6. True, you only get Int points going that path and Dex is sorely missing in this build, but you could put that extra point into a 30 Dex node and you'd have achieved 10 more Dex than you currently have. You do get the extra 10 Strength too but you should already have plenty of Strength from the Templar side of the tree.

More importantly, taking the upper path put you within easy reach of Written in Blood for a possible 20% boost to life, plus sets you up for an easy 100% increased Spell Crit chance through Doom Cast. It will now cost you two extra points to backtrack up to that area.

If you've already allocated those points just save the next 5 and you can make the connection, then refund your 6 and immediately reallocate them.

Overall though your plan should be OK to start mapping although my only concern at this point would be your gear and how your life pool is.

Kinda made some adaptions to this build

My Skilltree:

http://poeurl.com/zdlAygj


My Current Gear

Reached lvl 85 and still enjoying the build :)

I'm interested in improving my gear/gem-setup and skilltree.
I think survivability is the main issue, DPS is good!

Gear:

Skill tree


What do you think I should focus on improving?
What flasks should I use?

I'd be willing to spend 4-7 exalted in upgrading.

I dunno what i should upgrade next..... :D

Why use pyre and the three dragons if you can shock with arc and freeze with herald of ice?

"

gtrans wrote:

Why use pyre and the three dragons if you can shock with arc and freeze with herald of ice?

Because Three Dragons changes how the elements work.

Our Lightning damage now causes freezing - great for stopping enemies getting to us and for destroying corpses.

Our Cold damage now ignites enemies causing them to burn - damage over time.

Pyre converts our cold damage to fire and Fire damage (using the Three Dragons) now causes shock to enemies which will also slow their movements but if I recall correctly will also result in them taking additional damage from subsequent strikes.

So by using Pyre we're gaining an increased damage modifier of sorts although in exchange we're sacrificing some flexibility with ring stats that we might be needing due to the restrictions with our helm. For this build it can be a bonus but also a restriction so as per the OPs information, it's not essential to the build and a lot of people contributing to the thread have indicated they're doing quite fine without it.

hey follow poe player here, first character i made arc crit. i absolutely love lighting sorcs there my fav :> buuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuut i do have a question i played a CI arc crit i have items for CI, but when the new patch came out i got all these skill points to place i was considering maybe trying this out it looks cool. i do have a 700+ es 6 link but could it be viable to do CI with this build im thinking i can but would it sacrifice a lot of suitability or what your input would be appreciated.

xoxoxox <3

also would Elemental Equilibrium be viable? im trying to figure out what kinda damage we are doing here all fire or some fire some ice some lightening?

ALSO! XD this is my tree i basically took out any life nods you had and swapped them for energy shield or reduced mana. maybe run clarity and discipline? I need your thoughts i need to pick your brain please help me i love CI and i love you <3 XD XD

http://www.pathofexile.com/passive-skill-tree/AAAAAgMA37DfioIQ6QKPpv6zS65Eq1crGyVVrr2C2VssnG0ZBUIRLRBYIvRBlnyDdhFsC66z0PXN-uTsDY1Ms7iTMjQc3FAwBAenCOvuLUfbXuvkg9udrtrdKPpQQhEPXypVxuWLGmyCx1fJjDZ-r0wtG_HkIvfB-egNfOUZE56NGRSwfsfVpkGH6rq0OKSR4BKCHu08tz779X4z2V_06YhCmjuIWpeX3YxPr8HF4XOCm6BCRXxnvewYLL_tIOw4XsCP-nC7hq62hicv0NDr9RXXfEuWdJBVRwZknVZjGjjb5_IdwBpfanGFzLfVdbFC2rlG1wx9EH_Gng==

Hi,

I have lvl 72 witch and had a good crit-arc and crit-storm call build, but with new patches, the passive skill three has been reseted so I chose to do the "Winter-arc witch".

Here is my three

My problem is I die couple of time per instance, map, etc. I don't know what I did wrong..

I'm using Three Dragons, Icetomb, Peradus blazon and some other so-so stuff. I only have 4L arc (life leech, spell echo, increased crit strikes).
I'm using auras too (Herals of ice, Herald of thunder, Clarity, all linked to Reduced mana) and Artic armour.

Here is my offense stats

And my defense stats (Merciless)

I'm not using "Cast on damage taken" setup because I can't for now.

EDIT : Thanks for the reply, here is my gear

What did I do wrong ?

Essentialy, I followed the passive three (I picked "Vaal Pact before some other nodes) and I didn't pick the +30 dex node, so I agree with you.

Thanks a lot for your help