ARC Lightning Witch Build (Ideas for improvement are also very welcome)

my items


skill tree https://www.pathofexile.com/passive-skill-tree/AAAABAMCAAQHBLMI9AthEFgRDxM1Fm8XpBhWGF0aOBpsG_Ec3B8CJKonLyycLX0yNDWSNsU26TpYOtg64TsNPC087z7xQYdDyESrRZ1GUkouTeNTUlWuVcZWSFnzW6BfKmZUaHRo8mpDa3ptGXYRfA58S36vfseCEIKbg1-DzIPbhXuNGY8aj6aQVZZ0mjua4J2uogCmV6cIp1WnpayYr2y1hbc-vOrAZsG0xq7Iv9WL1abYJNi92V_aYt2M37DgEuFz42rkIuTs5Yvr5Ovu7DjtPO9Q7-vwH_JF-ej8TP4K_o8=?accountName=nyllet45&characterName=Storms_Fury_Awakens

replace faster casting with what ever benefits you, you already have spell echo that shud be enough.

you could change your belt into a better one, or like stygian vise then an abyss jewel with added lightning damage to spell/added lightning damage to staff or something like that if it exist.

get better boots and probably cast when damage is taken+immortal call


you can maybe improve damage but lose life by using inpulsa where you put curses or immortal call then u can use kaoms roots instead

also i dont think you need the storm call you can replace it with something that improves lightwarp i think that was swift affliction linked to less duration and lightning warp and the other one is i forgot what was that

If you are looking to make an Arc character in new league I'd look into using a 1-h weapon + shield over a staff. I've tried builds using staffs before and it is just not worth it. The shear quality of life you get from being able to use shield charge to move around faster is probably the single biggest improvement you could make to the build.

Staff builds restrict you to having to use lightning warp which is really painful for running maps with because of how the skill mechanics work.

If you do want to run lightning warp I would do it as a 4L with:

Lightning Warp
faster casting
swift affliction
Less duration

Even then the gems all need to be high quality and it still slower to get around map then using shield charge. The slow speed of lightning warp makes some boss fights a lot harder then they need to be because you have to be able to move quickly to avoid big telegraphed attacks and lightning warp won't cut it. Shield charge also allows you to use the "fortify" support which can help mitigate damage.

The second big decision you need to make is the skill tree, You have two choices you can make a crit scaling build or you can take Elemental Overload. In my opinion the crit build has higher damage ceiling but it requires more expensive gear and can be clunky because you need to generate power charges.

Elemental Overload makes good choice for first character of league in my opinion to get maximum benefit from it you want to be able to reliably proc it as often as you can. A common way to do this is to use orb of storms. Orb of storms hits many times and each time has a chance to crit which makes it popular for procing the EE buff.

As you approach each pack of monsters drop the orb of storms it takes some getting used to but once you get the hang of it this is an easy way to keep up elemental overload. It is a Good idea to link the orb of storms to "Arcane Surge" support gem as this is another buff you want to keep active on your character. If you have the spare sockets available you can also use orb of storms to apply curse via curse on hit.


I'd use a 4L like this:
-Orb of Storms
-Arcane Surge (keep at lowish level)
-Curse on hit
-your choice of curse (maybe conductivity after 3.2 patch)

As the person above me mentioned last set of gems you want to run is cast when dmg taken / immortal call setup. I like to run a 4L like this:

-Cast when Dmg taken (I keep this level 6-8 ish I like it to proc when I take about 20% hp woth of dmg)
-Immortal call (keep low)
-Increased duration
-Summon lighning golem (as high as can be supported by cast when dmg taken)

This is again a quality of life thing I hate having to manage resummon golem after it dies all the time this setup will basicaly ensure it stays around granting cast speed buff.

So to summarise if you want arc build that uses Staff I'd do something like

Weapon:
6L Arc

Boots/Gloves/Helmet
4L Lightning warp
4L Orb of Storms
4L CWDT Immortal Call

Chest (I'd use any 6L over a kaoms):

What I'd recomend you aim for:

Dagger or Sceptre:
3L (aura setup, blasphemy setup etc - whatever your build needs)

Shield:
3L*

Boots/helmet/gloves
4L orb of storms
4L CWDT
4L *

Chest:
6L Arc

The spare slots you can run whatever seconday skills you want - or even use kaoms roots if you must.
This league I got a pretty nice Shaper weapon this league which gave me a pseudo 5L I ended up running this with arc and a second skill in my 6L chest (lightning tendrils) which I found good for killing bosses I then ran some auras and a second curse (supproted by blasphemy in remaining 4L)



You don't neccesarily need to do this but look out on the market for similar weapons like this as always good to snap up if you can get them for cheap.

I hope that helps you out.