Arc

ark makes me sad :(
It would be my favorite skill if the mana costs was not so high or the %50 dmg was changed :|

Not much ppl follow Arc - Lightning witch for farm. Coz Arc so dmg low average dmg compare with fire/ice and target only 3 while fireball/icespear/freezing pulse + greater multiple projectile >>>arc. Another reason is Chain support skill only increase 38% dmg for projectile not for ARC.

I'm 53 atm, and I've been using Arc since around level 20. I rather like the spell, but find that it has several problem.

Chain seemed like a good choice to pair it with, but I found otherwise. The extra chain and increased damage just does not make up for the 50% less manage. The mana increase is the final blow. The mana cost also means that even if chain didn't have the 2 previous problems, there's just no way I could pair it with anything else and keep my mana cost sufficiently reasonable to get good milage out of it.

As a result, I've been using my Arc gem in a wand with +1 to lightning gems supported by a penetration gem.

Arc has a rather extreme damage gap between the low and top end. I find that early on, the low end isn't really a problem. Later on, it really shows, especially when you get unlucky a few times in a row.

Edit: Here's my current build

http://www.pathofexile.com/passive-skill-tree/AAAAAgMBBUIWQBoyHRQfAilPLJwtHzbFOthBlkNjRKtG10w1TdhPfVFgVa5Y9V3GZk9mnm0ZcH1xTXYRfLt-r4BWgUmBb4IQgpuFfYuMjHaPRo-mms-dxJ48oqOnCK6zsji1BLcxwbTB89gk37Dhc-OC5CLk7Ow47SD60g==

What I severely dislike about the gem so far is that it struggles heavily against single target enemies. On the other hand, it shines when there are only TWO monsters on the screen because one of those monsters gets it hard.

As a result, you basically need good single target skill. I'm not sure what the best gem would be to use.

Couple of Builds:

Dual Totem Arc Witch


Arc Crit Shadow


It just seems to me that the best way to go with Arc right now is dual totem for the shock stacks and running in a group. It is not good for single player at all.

Im using dual arc totem right now (arc + totem + eleProlif + fasterCasting + LightPen), im 45 level right now and it works great solo, maybe at act 3 merc/maps it will work worse, cant tell yet
at lvl 84 my build gonna look something like this (took EB because arc is still kinda expensive)
edit: fixed link

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Catchafire2000 wrote:

It just seems to me that the best way to go with Arc right now is dual totem for the shock stacks and running in a group. It is not good for single player at all.

It's not good because that's only 50% of the build. Because there is no reason not to use traps while you use totems as well. You can kill mobs with just totems and just traps, but you can use both at the same time with no downsides whatsoever.

"

squiddy286 wrote:

Im using dual arc totem right now (arc + totem + eleProlif + fasterCasting + LightPen), im 45 level right now and it works great solo, maybe at act 3 merc/maps it will work worse, cant tell yet
at lvl 84 my build gonna look something like this (took EB because arc is still kinda expensive)
edit: fixed link

I would shoot for something like this first

"

Kadajko wrote:

"

Catchafire2000 wrote:

It just seems to me that the best way to go with Arc right now is dual totem for the shock stacks and running in a group. It is not good for single player at all.

It's not good because that's only 50% of the build. Because there is no reason not to use traps while you use totems as well. You can kill mobs with just totems and just traps, but you can use both at the same time with no downsides whatsoever.

I think bear traps and mines would work awesome with dual totems, but getting the extra dexterity is a challenge.

"

Catchafire2000 wrote:

I think bear traps and mines would work awesome with dual totems, but getting the extra dexterity is a challenge.

Why bear traps when you can use extra legit firepower? Lightning traps, Arc traps? You know, with multiple traps, that cover half the screen? They also benefit from all the spell/elemental/lightning damage that you have for your totems.

I might check out remote mines
http://www.pathofexile.com/forum/view-thread/427381/page/4/#p5124788