[2.4.2 - Theory Crafting] Scorching Ray - "Archon" Witch Build - Help appreciated

Hey there,

I started to think about a scorching Ray Build and I thing best is to go Witch / Elementalist.
Yet not sure about wich Weapon to use and alos if the gear is BIS, I thought best to begin a thread about it and maybe get some help.

So lets start:

THE TREE:


THE GEAR:
Spoiler


THE GEMS
Spoiler
Weapon 5/6 Link: Scorching Ray (DOH!)- Faster Casting - Incr.Burning - Contr.Destruction - EleFocus - Fire Pen
Auras: Discipline - Blasphemy / Temp.Chains / Enlighten / Vaal Discipline
Utility: OrbOfStorms - Incr AOE - COH - Flammability or Ele Weakness
Move: FlameDash - Faster Casting
Save: CWDT - ImortalCry
GOLEMS: Flame - Lightning - MinionLife - MinionRes


Bandits
Point - CastSpeed/Alira - Point

Jewels:

Energy from within - Izaros Turmoil as many as one can get

DISKUSSION:

Tree: ESReg over Leech so no GReaver, FireDMG and EleDMG, 70% Cast Interuption Avoidance, Reduced ManaCost over Red Mana Res due to chanelling, Double Curse, Double Golem (Elementalist!)

Gear: 2 Doryanis provide Huge EleDMG. Rest is good ES and Res Gear
Gems: OoS for the Elemental Overload Passive Keystone and to Curse. Note: we have also the Flask Witchfire Brew to curse, so 2 Curses should be applied constantly


So what you Folks think about this? Mayor mistakes?
Last edited by StorgutBorsit#7471 on Nov 18, 2016, 4:06:44 AM
Last bumped on Nov 21, 2016, 11:17:36 PM
What GGG told about SR:

"
When you channel Scorching Ray, you fire a deadly beam in front of you that passes through anyone who blocks its way. Enemies the beam touches catch fire, burning from damage over time. This burning only lasts a short time, but is refreshed while they're in the beam.

The burning damage on enemies grows while they're in the beam. The cast speed of the beam affects how frequently this damage builds up. The more intensely the beam burns, the more it strips away fire resistance, making it great for taking on powerful resistant enemies. The burning only lasts a short time, so the caster will need to pick their timing carefully to maintain the power of the beam.

Scorching Ray follows your cursor, so you can sweep it over a cluster of enemies to set them all alight. The faster the cast speed of the skill, the greater the rate at which it can turn. This results in it being great for taking out a large group of weak foes by spinning the beam over them before swinging back to focus the fire on any survivors.

Modifiers to spell damage also apply to Scorching Ray's damage. The skill can be supported by effects that modify damage over time, elemental damage, burning damage, duration, and cast speed. It can be used with Spell Totem, but not the Trap or Mine supports. It doesn't count as a projectile or an area effect skill.

The skill gem popup reads:
Unleash a beam of fire that burns enemies it touches. Remaining in the beam intensifies the burning, adding a portion of the beam's damage in stages. Enemies who leave the beam continue to burn for a duration. Increasing cast speed also increases the rate at which the beam can turn.
Last edited by StorgutBorsit#7471 on Nov 8, 2016, 12:41:55 PM
U need to know the mechanics of scorching ray at least a little bit before planning a build around it.

Links: Spell echo probably wont work, added fire doesnt work

Elementalist is pretty bad ascendancy for it - prolif doesnt work, conflux doesnt work since SR doesnt hit.

Emberwake/taming doesnt work - SR doesnt inflict ignites.

Think about Scorching ray as a righteous fire without aoe or as searing bond.
Last edited by xprimalfuryx#0878 on Nov 8, 2016, 12:03:06 PM
Hey, thanks for feedback.

Added Fire: yah thought so. Will test it out anyway. Spell Echo should do, cuz it lets SR build up the stacks faster. Else we use Faster Casting.

Ele: hmm, why SR dont hit? Where you get this info? GGG just stated that it is not a projectile ... But Prolif youre right.

And does SR not inflict ignites?
"
Enemies who leave the beam continue to burn for a duration.
This sounds to me like ignite?
This is all speculation of course based on my experience in poe with different mechanics. But i will give u an example why something wont work most likely with SR.

Spell echo -> this doesnt work with flameblast for example. Flameblast is a channeled skill. I belive the SR wont work with spell echo as well.

SR doesnt hit -> this skill cannot inflict on hit effects. This means no leech, no status aliments, no elemental penetration etc.

Ignite =/= burn -> ignite is status aliment which causes burning but u can get target burning without any ignite chance for example fire trap ground effect, righteous fire area etc. Ignite is also on hit effect.



If I had to guess I would scale scorching ray through lots of cast speed, elemental dmg, fire dmg, burning dmg, dmg over time. It may very well be a burn similar to righteous fire or burning ground but not an ignite. I also wonder how important fire pen will be since the spell strips away at their resistances. Cast speed will be extremely important though either way to channel the burn and strip away resistances quickly.

I would probably go with Scorching Ray+Elemental focus+controlled destruction+faster casting+added cold+cold to fire going avatar of fire picking up the burn dmg, scale a metric ton of cold, fire and elemental dmg.

With a tree like this:



Another choice is just going Scorching Ray+Elemental focus+controlled destruction+faster casting+increased burning+fire pen

It really depends how important fire pen is
Last edited by Raspbery#2433 on Nov 10, 2016, 7:54:48 AM
Raspberry: nice Input and the Tree looks good. Cant wait for more Details on the skill Gem and the final testing.
Again, fire penetration wont work for SR as i mentioned eariler. Same with added cold.

Most likely any conversion will not work either (avatar of fire, cold to fire). For example vortex has damage over time component but this dot cannot be converted to different element as well.

I expect SR will be the same.
Last edited by xprimalfuryx#0878 on Nov 10, 2016, 10:56:54 AM
Scorching Ray+Elemental focus+controlled destruction+faster casting+increased burning+increased duration



if SR is complete burn and no hit.


Vortex isn't a good example because it's a hit and a degen and people convert the cold dmg to fire for giant ignites, SR could be similar.
Last edited by Raspbery#2433 on Nov 10, 2016, 5:29:26 PM
The best 5L for Scorching Ray self-cast

SR - Faster Casting - Ele Focus - Controlled Destruction - Rapid Decay.

For the 6th gem, Increased Duration might be good if the burn duration is too short. Otherwise, Iron Will or Increase Burning Damage are great choices.

As it is not a hit, not an AoE either, there are several good classes for it.

- Occultist (taking Malediction and Vile Bastion)

- Trickster (Shade Form, Patient Reaper and Weave the Arcane or Swift Killer)

- Necro (taking the 1st 4 on the left side)

- Inquisitor (ignore Inevitable Judgment and take the other nodes, use a Sulfur flask)

- Hierophant: possibly the best choice for MoM build (and will be my choice for a SR totem build).

- Chieftain: decent, but somewhat overshadowed by the others (unless it's SR totem build).
Last edited by Taxi_Driver#0073 on Nov 10, 2016, 11:13:30 PM

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