The Ultimate Guide to the Best Witch Builds in Path of Exile
In the vast and intricate world of Path of Exile (PoE), the Witch is one of the most versatile and powerful classes, offering a wide range of playstyles to suit every player’s preference. Whether you’re a seasoned veteran or a new player, crafting the best Witch build can be a game-changer, allowing you to dominate the battlefield and conquer even the most challenging content. In this guide, we’ll delve into the top Witch builds that are currently dominating the meta, providing you with the insights you need to create a formidable character.
Understanding the Witch Class
Before we dive into the builds, it’s essential to understand what makes the Witch such a compelling class. The Witch is a pure intelligence-based class, excelling in dealing elemental damage, summoning minions, and manipulating the battlefield with curses. Her ascendancy classes—Occultist, Elementalist, and Necromancer—offer unique playstyles that cater to different strategies:
Occultist: Focuses on chaos damage, curses, and energy shield (ES) sustainability.
Elementalist: Excels at dealing massive elemental damage, particularly fire, cold, and lightning.
Necromancer: Masters the art of summoning and controlling minions to do your bidding.
Each ascendancy class provides a solid foundation for various builds, making the Witch a versatile and dynamic choice.
1. Occultist – The Chaos Damage Specialist
The Occultist is a fan favorite among Witch players, especially those who enjoy dealing chaos damage. This ascendancy class is known for its ability to apply debilitating curses and sustain energy shield through Energy Shield Leech (ES Leech). One of the most popular builds for the Occultist is the Essence Drain/Contagion build.
Why it’s great:
High Single-Target and AoE Damage: Essence Drain and Contagion work synergistically to clear entire screens of enemies while melting bosses.
Sustainability: With ES Leech and Mind Over Matter, this build can sustain itself even in the toughest encounters.
Flexibility: It can be played both on a budget and with high-end gear, making it accessible to players of all levels.
Key Skills and Items:
Skills: Essence Drain, Contagion, Desecrate, and Flesh Offering for mobility.
Key Items: The Devouring Dark (for ES Leech), Carcass Jack (for damage and survivability), and The Perfect Fossils (for crafting).
2. Elementalist – The Elemental Powerhouse
For players who love dealing elemental damage, the Elementalist ascendancy is the way to go. This class is all about scaling fire, cold, or lightning damage to extreme levels, making it one of the best Witch builds for mapping and bossing.
Why it’s great:
Elemental Purity: The Elementalist’s ability to deal massive elemental damage makes it a top choice for clearing maps quickly.
Versatility: Whether you prefer fire, cold, or lightning, there’s an Elementalist build that suits your playstyle.
High DPS: With the right gear and scaling, Elementalist builds can achieve some of the highest DPS in the game.
Popular Builds:
Freeze Pulse Totem: A classic cold-based build that freezes enemies in their tracks.
Righteous Fire: A high-damage fire build that’s perfect for boss killing.
Ball Lightning: A lightning-based build that excels at clearing maps with its area coverage.
Key Items:
The Scourge (for cold builds), Infernal Mantle (for fire builds), and The Eternity Shroud (for elemental damage).
3. Necromancer – The Minion Master
If you enjoy the idea of commanding an army of undead minions to fight for you, the Necromancer ascendancy is the perfect choice. This build is all about summoning and controlling minions to overwhelm your enemies.
Why it’s great:
Tanky and Sustainable: With a horde of minions to absorb damage, you