Enki's Arc Witch Memorial Page

I just got into t1 maps, how much hp/es should i focus on to get for t10+ maps ty
Is Harald buff important? Or what aura can i remove so i can use flame golem? I dont have enough Buttons for all spels on Xbox

Sorry for the stupid question, but in Act 6 which gems do I replace the new ones with? I'm trying to find gear with red gem slots but all armor slots are taken by previous gems.

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Ferrari420 wrote:

Playing this build right now and I have to say it's the worst build I've ever played in this game, the clear speed is slow, the damage is abysmal (especially single target) and defensively it's the worst I've played.
Having regrets atm hopefully it picks up at some point from level 12 to now lvl 68 (in tier 1 maps) it hasn't changed it's still terrible.
IDK if I'm doing something wrong, I've played this game for years and played many different skills yet I've never had this problem.

Well firstable you dont even have a 5L which cost like 1 alch.

You dont even have all your links put together.

You gear is not really bad too, if you just buy 1 chaos piece for each slot ( so 10c total ) it would already be better.

You clearly did not read the guide in my opinion :)

Nice build!! But why Unleash instead of Control Destruction? Whats the benefit? Sorry if this is a stupid question i am noob :)

Figured I'd post my thoughts on the 3.6 version from the perspective of playing SSF as I near level 90. I know a lot of people use this build as a league starter and as a SSF build so hopefully I can give some suggestions to those on the same track or some insight for those on the fence. I've made some changes to the build to suit which I'll explain as well.

I'll preface this by saying the build is very good and is still a premiere league starter and SSF build in my eyes, and have zero regrets of using this build as my SSF starter. My favorite build by far.

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The Good:

- I've had 2 death since entering maps at 68 - one due to poor play, one due to a very rippy boss encounter than I didn't respect. Overall the build gives a very healthy buffer to misplays and (relatively) reckless play.
- Clear speed is excellent. No complaints.
- Lightning Spire Trap is a great addition for boss and focused damage. Definitely helps reduce the gear requirement of having good ST damage with Arc alone.
- Loving the zero-mana-aura setup. Zero issues with running out of "mana" as long as I've kept my ES around 45%~ of my life.
- No "unplayable" map affixes; simply alch and go.
- No required uniques or gear makes the build very approachable for SSF/league starters.
- ES seems much easier to acquire compared to Mana for the old pre-3.6 MoM build, which is a boon for SSF.

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The Bad:

- Leveling felt very rippy compared to pre-3.6. I feel this is partially because of how late MoM is taken now due to needing a healthy pool of ES first. I remember leveling last league and it was an absolute breeze compared to this league. I feel this is probably the weakest aspect of the build currently, but is fine by the time you enter maps.
- Daggers. Hard to craft early and limited rolls are useful from random rares. Much much easier to find a good sceptre/wand early than try to dual wield daggers I've found.
- Skill bloat. I feel like the build tries to do a lot and is very starved for skill gem slots. Storm brand was the first skill I dropped as I found it just wasn't worth the extra cast. I see CWDT+IC has been added to the build now why I agree with. Vaal Grace I don't see the value in personally when the alternative is effectively 50% more uptime on Vaal Arc, which is still crazy for the buff it gives and absolutely decimation incursions/delves/indoor maps.
Side note: I feel that "The Hungry Loop" setup with lightning spire will help a lot with this by freeing up 4 gem slots. Great addition.
- Whirling blades; this is more a Synthesis specific comment than anything. Memory maps are very favorable to flame dash/lightning warp/leap slam due to the decayed ground. I've personally dropped WB completely and am just using FD+faster casting now, along with the dark arts circle on the tree for 30% CD reduction. I feel the 4~ points of investment are worth saving effectively 2 skill gems. Mapping is very smooth with a 20/20 FD gem with these nodes.

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My suggestions:

The changes I made which I think are worth considering - these are aimed at people in SSF or those looking to modify the build slightly to help with certain hard points.

1. Don't worry about daggers. Far too limiting to rely on these early when you are passing up plenty of good scepters/wands, especially on league start/SSF.
2. As a fresh league starter or SSF character, use a shield while leveling and mapping until you feel you are tanky enough to drop it. I was able to take MoM much sooner due to having a good ES shield, and the extra layer of defence the block provided was very noticeable. The ES from the shield is very note worthy with the EB setup.
2a. Using a shield allows us to run CWDT/Tempest Shield/Blind which I am very much a fan of. Helps with intervention betrayals as well when you get pounced on out of nowhere.
2b. My shield for reference; found this farming blood aqueducts, still using 22 levels later.
3. Storm brand; good for levelling, drop it for maps onwards.
4. Run another Wrath/Discipline in your weapon swap to level with you. This allows you to Vaal the first level 20 Auras you get to potentially get lvl 21. You don't need quality on these. If you brick them to 19 you have a backup gem ready to go.
5. Decoy totem. An absolute blessing - strongly recommend. Dropping decoy allows us free setup time to drop all 3 lightning spire traps under a boss, pop vaal arc and go to town, all without the boss even looking at us. I use this frequently with Incursion room bosses, betrayal encounters, map bosses, dangerous beasts, etc.
6. Run Vaal Arc over Vaal Grace, for the reasons mentioned earlier. Also gives Vaal the "Duration" gem type which can be buffed by any "+x to level of socketed duration gems" you may have.
7. I've opted to run a Basalt Flask over the Quartz Flask for more physical reduction, given that the build runs no armour/evasion and phys hits seem to be a weak point.
8. Personal preference but I will probably run 2 Lightning Golems once I gem my final ascendancy (bad RNG on trials so far). The buffs they give stack and it saves running another gem as you can cast 2 golems from 1 skill slot. I've used the extra slot for Minon and Totem Elemental Resistance linked to my decoy totem & golem for the time being.
9. Shadowstitch is great for this build and is relatively reliable to try and farm. Sacrificial Garb drops pretty often from Atziri, and then a 25% chance to get a guaranteed 6L from a level 3 corruption altar is sweet. The benefits of the chest are crazy good for sustain, recovering 3-5% of life and energy shield on kill. Far more likely to see one of these than Inpulsa's in SSF too.

Sorry for the super long post but hopefully some of the points help those just entering maps/still leveling, or help those decide who are on the fence about this build still. Once it hits maps it is just as smooth as ever. Great work as always Enki.

Edit: my full gear section at time of posting for those curious. Rings and neck are garbage but rest is fine.

i was just wondering if your 3.5 build is just as viable with essence worm with wrath and clear mind.

I don't seem to have enough energy shield atm and was wondering if the old build without es as mana can still sustain with decoy totem without the lightning spire trap gem setup

A lot of the points asherak made are really good and are on point as i am nearing level 90 myself. I was really considering decoy totem for boss fights as it does in fact guarantee most of the lightning spire damage lands on the boss, it's something I ignored and should have considered earlier on for smoother game play when mapping. Dropping storm brand later on for a cwdt/immortal call is also better for survival.

Some issues of mine I felt is that for the build are clear speed and diadem being quite the rare item to reduce further skill points which are heavily needed. Taking the dark arts wheel, which helps clear speed by a lot is another costly 5 points which are precious points you could instead add to life (which is quite a big sacrifice you have to make if you choose clear speed over life in terms of survivability from random one shots, especially early on). Also with chain being nerfed to arc, it's noticeable that you might have to cast an extra time or two to fully clear huge mobs. Overall it still is a great starting build and i'm thankful that enki still updates this guide for many others struggling to find a fun build.

There've been several people inquiring about an ES variant to this build. I've put one together. Special thanks to Enki and ocombe; read various forum posts and took input from both of you into creating this.

Note: This is not a full guide, and unless I see interest from the community, I have no intention on expanding from this post. I would nonetheless appreciate any input into the build, since I intend to try it once I gather up enough currency to expedite the leveling process.

How long to keep Arcane Surge at Lv1?

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Memoriesdota2 wrote:

I was really considering decoy totem for boss fights as it does in fact guarantee most of the lightning spire damage lands on the boss, it's something I ignored and should have considered earlier on for smoother game play when mapping.

Totally, it's well worth it. Just guarantees all of your lightning spire damage and trivializes a lot of boss encounters.

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Taking the dark arts wheel, which helps clear speed by a lot is another costly 5 points which are precious points you could instead add to life (which is quite a big sacrifice you have to make if you choose clear speed over life in terms of survivability from random one shots, especially early on).

It is a big sacrifice, one that I pulled from my life nodes to make. Haven't died to any one shots yet at least, but I intend that once I get a Hungry Loop unique and can move lightning spire to that, I will re-add either whirling blades or shield charge to the freed up gem slots and reassign those skill points back to Enki's tree. For now it's just there as I value 2 gem slots over 5 skill points.