[2.0] Theorycrafting BM SWT

New to making builds in this game so i thought i could ask here for some feedback.
Just entered merciless using this build and so far its doing great given that my items are shit.
I also have a few questions about gems and crit, but ill come to that after presenting the build.

v.1 Shamans Dominion
https://www.pathofexile.com/fullscreen-passive-skill-tree/AAAAAwEBBAcEswagDjwQzBEtFCAUcRZvGjgaPh8CJKolvCkuKU8qEyynMZ4y0TWSNsU26TrhPAU8LT1fPfxEoUVHSsRKyEyzTq5SU1XGVw1XlFhjWOVZ81orXl1fP2SEZp5uqnIPcql2rHsgfIN8uIIHg1-DzIPbg_OD94x2jM-QVZeVmjuePJ_fogCj8qZXp5Ssqq2NrhKxNrXytzG3PsBmxPbGrsbYz37R_dWm2L3ZYdl820_fv-DD42rqGOvu7TzvDu988azyL_JF9kj2rvcy-JP46_m9-tL-Cv6

Without Shamans dominion, and instead getting the Sovereignty
https://www.pathofexile.com/fullscreen-passive-skill-tree/AAAAAwEBBAcEswagDjwQzBEtFCAUcRZvFy8aOBo-HwIkqiW8KS4pTyoTLKcxnjLRNZI26TrhPAU8LT1fPfxFR0rESshMs1JTVcZV1lcNV5RYY1jlWfNaK15dXz9khGTnZp5uqnIPcql2rHsgfIN8uICkggeDX4PMg9uD94x2jM-QVZeVmjuePJ_fogCj8qZXp5Ssqq2NtfK3Mbc-wGbE9sauxtjPftH91abYvdlh2XzbT9-_4MPjauoY6-7tPO8O73zxrPIv8kX2SPau9zL4k_jr-b360v4K_oc=

So obviously one question is if you think its worth getting the crit nodes(fairly easy access) when im not build towards crit.

I'm also curious which auras i ought to use. Hatred alone? Not sure its worth getting sovereignty, might be more worthwhile getting some more life/armor nodes

With such a strenght-oriented build, should i aim for iron will + added fire instead of fire pen + added fire in my swt-links?

Obviously im very open to new ideas since i have no fucking idea what im doing here.

thanks in advance

Hey there. I'm playing a Crit SWT witch in Warbands. It's a really solid spec but your tree was a little wonky in places.

1. It is not worth specing into crit unless you plan on getting a lot of it.
2. Energy shield nodes are not worth when you are playing a life based character
3. I would not recommend running auras on BM unless your going low life or using something with a low cost like clarity. It simply reduces your survivability too much.

I optimized your tree somewhat and picked up some mana nodes so you can sustain. Totems are pretty easy to run on mana since your not constantly casting them. I'd recommend running both Hatred and Herald of Ash for the extra phys damage.

For links I'd say on a 4L you want Shockwave Totem-Faster Casting-Inc Aoe-Added Fire. 5L should be Conc effect since you have a lot of AOE this shouldn't hurt you too much and for the 6th link I'd recommend trying to find an empower gem. Since I'm sure you've noticed that shockwave totem gains a lot of DPS when the gem levels up.

To scale the damage of the skill effectively you need spell damage, area damage, physical damage and more levels on your gem.

Here is the revised tree: http://poeurl.com/zsKqDHo It extends all the way to lvl 90 which is more then enough. Feel free to post any questions, I'm happy to answer them :)

First of all, i appreciate the feedback =)
1.ill definitely drop the critnodes.
2. The ES nodes are only there because its the easiest path from ancestral bond to the faster casting/aoe nodes and i dont feel i benefit from the extra frenzy charge or anything else in the vicinity.
3. Ill give this some thought. Somehow i still feel like BM is the way to go. While i do agree that i can get squishy when im running ash and hatred i have to put into consideration that on my live build i still havent focused very much on life just yet and i also want to see how what impact sovereignty has on my lifepool.

Curious about the totem-life nodes. Are they really necessary? So far I haven't encountered anything that would indicate i would need more life on them. (I'm also running Spire of Stone in the jewel slot if that makes a difference) But maybe things change when i get my hands on Empire's Grasp?

So Iron Will is out of the question? Running it right now and i have to say its quite the dps-increase, and im only getting more str.

I slightly changed my original tree into this: http://www.pathofexile.com/fullscreen-passive-skill-tree/AAAAAwEBBAcEswagDF8OPBDMES0UIBRxFm8XLxo4Gj4cpx8CJKolvCkuKU8qEyynMZ4y0TWSNuk64TwFPC09Xz38RUdKxErITLNSU1OlVcZV1lcNV5RYY1jlWfNaK15dXz9khGTnZp5uqnIPcql2rHsgfIN8uICkggeDX4PMg9uD94x2jM-QVZeVmjuePJ_fogCj8qZXp5Ssqq2NtfK3Mbc-wGbEWMT2xq7G2M9-0f3Vpti92WHZfNtP37_gw-Nq6hjr7u087w7vfPGs8kX2SPau9zL4k_jr-b360v4K_oc=
It's pretty similar to the original(no dominion-) build but i added some life regen here and there. I hope i don't come off as stubborn ;) even if i didn't change my spec that much i still got a lot out from your response!