[Top 5] PoE Best Armor Sets for Witch That Are Powerful!
In Path of Exile, the most interesting and complex system is the itemization system. Where Unique items can be horrible or can be Build-enabling, or even Best in Slot (BiS), or even in the case of some, the most broken and OP thing there is. But don’t think that Rare Items are any worse, and in most cases, a perfect rare item will out-perform a unique item that isn’t BiS/BE.
The ultimate tier of items is what we call Mirror Items. Those are rare items that are so rare, so impossibly hard to create, that people can use their Mirror of Kalandra, plus an exorbitant fee, to literally make a copy of the item, something that fewer than 0,001% of the player base has access to.
And as such, the best builds in the game tend to take advantage of such powerful items to further progress their characters and demolish everything in their path. And here is a list of the best items per slot of the best 5 Witch builds!
5 – Ignite Explosive Arrow Ballista Elementalist
A fantastic league starter that can do all content with no issues but can also be scaled sky high with proper investment, and this one has ALL the investment!
Helmet
Blizzard Crown again, because the more flat damage you deal, the stronger is your ignite, since Elementalists do not care about the type of damage you deal, so having as much flat damage from all sources is great. It’s also a fantastic tool to proc Elemental Equilibrium, improving your Fire Exposure to over 50%! Aim for Faster Ignites and Enemies Nearby have -X% Fire Res, and if you’re high budget, go for Maven’ed versions of those mods.
Body Armour
Any basic armour with as much armour, evasion, life and Spell Suppression will work here. The goal is for 30+ SS.
Gloves
Same deal here, go for as much Life, spell suppress, stats, res, and try to get as much Accuracy as possible, since that’s a crucial stat that you’ll need as an EA character, despite not being hit-based. You’ll also use the item to get as much Fire DoT Multi and the much-needed Ignite Prolif from Eldritch Influences!
Boots
Same as before, Life, Spell Suppress, but you’ll also want as much Movement speed. Also, Eldritch Implicits for Action Speed and Ignites Deal damage faster is a big boost to DPS.
Weapon
Any +3 Bow works, and if you luck into a +2 arrow bow, you can use that, but the most important thing is to get as much attack speed as possible, as that’s crucial for EA.
Quiver
Lots of Fire DoT Multi, Global DoT Multi, Damage with Bow Skills, Elemental Damage with Attacks, Life, whatever other stat you’re missing.
Amulet
Ashes of the Stars, of course. It’s a massive boost to damage and to all of your auras, plus it’s an easy +1 all skills, as well as granting you a ton of Reservation Efficiency. A no-brainer and one of the best amulets in the game.
Belt
A Mageblood, of course. All top builds tend to use it unless you’re going for HH, but even then, why would you, when it’s so much easier and better to use MB?
Rings
Here you’ll want the newer items, called Polaric Devastation, from the Polaric Invitation, that grants Covers Enemies in Ash, effectively giving you 15% more damage.
Click here for more info: https://poe.ninja/challenge/builds/char/%EC%9A%B0%EB%A6%AC%EB%B0%A4/%EC%9D%B8%EC%97%B0_%EC%9A%B0%EB%A6%AC%EB%B0%A4_Sent?i=1&search=class%3DOccultist%2CNecromancer%2CElementalist%26skill%3D!Forbidden-Rite%2C!Summon-Skeletons%2CExplosive-Arrow
4 – Vaal Blade Vortex Occultist
Though it lost a lot of power, mostly for clearing, due to the removal of legacy Explody Chests, Blade Vortex is still a phenomenally strong skill that, once scaled to the high heavens can deal insane amounts of damage, both up close and from afar!
Helmet
Though this might seem counter-productive at first, having only 30% added damage effectiveness, the way Blade Vortex stacks works means it’s actually a 300% added due to having 10 stacks at 30%. So Blizzard Crown, since we’re converting 100% of Physical damage to Cold, is a no-brainer. You’ll want a Power Charge Warlord Influenced Blizzard Crown, though, so that can be quite expensive, but it’s honestly one of the cheaper parts of this build.
Body Armor
Here’s a big part of the budget, and the reason Blade Vortex even works. Crusader’s Explody Mod, when Maven’ed, can reach up to 30% of chance to explode mobs when they die, dealing 10% of their Max Life as Phys (remember, we convert that to Cold!). Though it isn’t all enemies, it can still somewhat proliferate with Herald of Ice and chain explode full packs. As for the base, you’ll definitely want a Sacrificial Garb, since it’s been buffed to grant +1 to all Vaal Skill gems a few patches ago.
Gloves
Definitely one of the cheapest pieces of gear, you can go for a temple mod or just craft the 25% (temple mod gives 35) Phys to Cold conversion. This combined with Eldritch Influence, can net you over 60% of Phys to Cold conversion, and we get the rest from the Passive Tree. The rest is just filling res and stats as you need them.
Boots
Don’t be alarmed by the seemingly difficult process, this is a supremely easy pair of boots to craft, entirely deterministic. It just costs from 15 to 20ex to do, and over 30 if you’re super unlucky. Basic Onslaught, Elusive, Tailwind Boots to zoom around.
Weapon
Now things are starting to get real interesting. One of the big issues, or perhaps benefits, is that Blade Vortex wants many Support Gems to be great. And what’s a simple, costly, way of fixing that? Getting a +4 Support Wand combining it with Squire for a 10-Link skill, of course! Here is where you’ll want to get as many ‘Socketed Gems Supported by X’, your go-to being Crit Damage, Crit Strikes, Cold Pen and definitely the 40% More Spell Damage. With an open slot for a +2 Level of Support Gems, for your Empower, means that your VBV can reach over level 28 with ease!
Shield
The Squire! One of the most busted items in PoE, and it’s because of the potential of 8 to 12-Link skills, by having socketed things in your main hand be linked to what’s in your shield!
Amulet
Ashes of the Stars. Maybe not the strongest (but a big contender), but definitely my favourite item in the game right now, Ashes makes it so all your active gems get up to 30% extra quality, give them +1 Level, as well as give you a whopping (up to) 20% Reservation Efficiency of Skills (which also works for life reservation!)
Belt
Yet another insanely broken item, what most people consider the strongest item in the game because it works for pretty much every build, Mageblood. If you hate clicking flasks, MB is your go-to. It makes it so 4 Magic Flasks are always active. While this might not seem like much, it means that you can buff those flasks to get over 90% increased Effect, guaranteeing you insane buffs, permanently. For some builds, it means you can simply forgo Elemental resistances since you can get over 135 Res from a single flask! The power is nigh limitless.
Rings
Now, these are where most of your currency went to. +1 Power Charge Rings with a ton of extra stats is just insanely pricey and hard to achieve. You’ll also want Frostbite on Hit, since this is the only logical place to get it, so good luck on your rerolls!
For more information, check here: https://poe.ninja/challenge/builds/char/AhalayMahalayX/AhalayMahalaySent?i=7&search=skill%3DVaal-Blade-Vortex
3 – Critical Summon Mage Skeletons Necromancer
Yet another fantastic league starter, this one however can take it much further in power than RF, reaching over 60 Million DPS, when properly geared, and makes great use of Mirror Tier items, in particular helmet and wand.
Helmet
You’ll want either a Bone Helmet or a Hubris (Damage vs tankyness) that is Shaper and Elder Influenced, after going through some insane crafting process. The more ‘basic’ variation of this is by Awakener Orbing Minion Damage Support from an Elder Base with a shaper Hypothermia, and hoping for +2 or +3 Minion Gems. The BiS would be getting Maven’ed versions of Hypothermia and Minion Damage together, while also getting +3 Minion gems, Spells have +3% Crit Chance, +1/+1 Zombie and Skelly, and whatever else you can get. But that’s Mirror Tier.
Body Armor
For this one, you’ll want Fleshcrafter. Though the links don’t matter much, getting a +1/+2 is great, as that boosts up your auras a ton. Definitely BiS, despite the not-so-great stats, it makes your minions even tankier, while also making them ignore elemental resistance, perfect for this new meta where monsters have tons of Ele Res.
Gloves
You’ll want as much ES as possible, and whatever other stat you’re lacking. Intelligence is always great, as that translates to ES.
Boots
Same deal as Gloves, but you’ll take your time to get a Loathing Essence spam going on, so you can reach over 55% Avoid Ailments, so this way, you can be completely elemental ailment immune, making your build all that more comfortable.
Weapon
This is where your other mirror might go into. Convoking Wand with +1 all/+1 minions, Temple mod with Minion Double Damage, Veiled Minion Damage, Minion Attack/Cast Speed, Trigger Socketed Spell on use, Zealotry Aura Effect… The more you pick those stats, the more expensive it will get.
Shield
Aegis Aurora. Nuff Said.
Amulet
Ashes of the Stars. Again, it’s insanely powerful, especially as you’re essentially an aura stacker. It also buffs your minions’ alt-quality gems and every aura you have, as well as utility spells.
Belt
Mageblood. Of course.
Rings
As much ES, Int, Min Endurance charges, and whatever other stats you need. And if you’re strapped for jewel sockets, it’s a great place to get +3 Unset rings for auras or utility skills.
For more information: https://poe.ninja/challenge/builds/char/Veidx/Audavity?i=9&search=skill%3DVaal-Summon-Skeletons
2 – Cremation Necromancer
While not the most popular, not even by 10% of the Witch population, It’s certainly one of the strongest hitting skills in the game, and you can bring that damage to ludicrous levels, while also being near immortal, with nearly 90k armour, over 7k ES, 90% Res, Full Block… all that lovely business. What it lacks is the fact that it isn’t a zoomy build, but it can do literally all content quite comfortably.
Helmet
Hubris with as much ES, Mana Reservation Efficiency and +2 Aura Gems for your auras, in particular a Purity of Ice, to reach Level 23 on it, unlocking +5 Max Cold Res, which is crucial to reaching 90% All Res.
Body Armor
One of the big reasons why this build is so damn tanky, besides MB and Aegis. (of course). You essentially NEGATE 25% of Elemental Damage from Hits by going CI, since you’d instead take it as Chaos. But we’re CI, so that means absolutely nothing! It has a somewhat good ES base and it grants 20% Added Ele Damage as Chaos, and it’s a great place to get extra tankyness with 50% Crit immunity (you can finish that off from the skill tree!)
Gloves
This is a special kind of gloves, only capable of being made through Faceted Fossils. You keep using it until you get +1 to Dex Gems and +1 Strength Gems. Then you do so magic with Aisling and get +2 AoE or +2 Projectile Gems. And you craft a +1 of the other kind, which you didn’t get. This means that your Phantasmal Unearth (has to be Phantasmal) will get to Level 32!!!, and you’ll have over 80% Quality with Ashes! That means over 160% Corpse Life! And since Cremation damage scales based on corpse life and your monsters will be level 91!!!! It’s an insane amount of damage and one of the biggest DPS boosts the build has.
Boots
In contrast, this pair is very basic. You’ll want the usual, lots of ES, as high Movement Speed and Onslaught, Res, stats, whatever you’re missing.
Weapon
Any +1 or +2 Sceptre with as much Fire Damage possible, Double Damage if you can get it, as much Cast Speed as possible, and a massive quality of Life, almost mandatory, a Trigger Craft.
Shield
Aegis Aurora. Say no mas. Best shield in the game.
Amulet
Ashes. It’s the reason this build even works. With Phantasmal Cremation and Unearth, this amulet unlocks the true potential of both alt-quality gems. Cremation essentially gets 100% chance to explode nearby Corpses when they’re hitting their projectiles on the ground, and with Unearth, you keep creating corpses that get exploded over and over again, so you demolish anything and everything!
Belt
Mageblood. This is a particularly inspired use because, with Incandescent Heart, you only take 75% of Elemental Damage. Then that damage is reduced by further 90% resistance. So lets say you’d take 1000 Elemental damage. You’d first delete 250 of it. Now, you multiply that 750 by 0.1. That’s the damage you’d take, without MB. So 75 Damage. But here comes MB, with its buffed up Sapphire, Topaz and Ruby Flask, at 95% Effectiveness, lessening the damage you’d take by 38%. From a 1,000 hit, you instead takes less than 50 damage. It’s a fantastically synergistic thing that just makes me love PoE!
Rings
Though these are very pretty, you’ll want as much ES and fill in whatever stats you’re missing. Minus Mana Cost from Elreon is great, as well as being the go-to place to get Flammability On Hit rings.
For more information, click here: https://poe.ninja/challenge/builds/char/Razstein/UnearthlyRaz?i=0&search=class%3DOccultist%2CNecromancer%2CElementalist%26skill%3D!Forbidden-Rite%2C!Summon-Skeletons%2CPhantasmal-Cremation
1 – Forbidden Rite CoC Occultist
Perhaps I’m biased into putting it as #1, but FR CoC is simply godlike. Immortal, strong, quick clearing, perfect for bossing or mapping, can do simulacrums literally with my eyes closed (trust me, I’ve done it). It’s just perfect. Though my own build is completely different from the meta and what people consider the best, I still prefer my own version, as its much more comfortable at the cost of a couple of million damage (around 10 less million damage, but since I can get over 40M, I don’t care).
Helmet
Most people here go for a Crown of the Inward Eyes, as it’s a fantastic combo with Global Defences mod from Grasping Mails, but as I didn’t go for that, I instead decided to craft a Warlord/Hunter Hubris, with +1 Power Charge and Nearby Enemies have less Chaos Res. I could go for a better one, and I’m considering upgrading it, with a Maven version. The Forbidden Rite Enchant is more than mandatory, however.
Body Armor
For my chest-piece, since I didn’t want to spend over 80exalted for a fractured Global Defences Mod, I decided to do things a bit differently from the Meta. Out of every FR CoC Build that I could find, none would be Ailment Immune (without Purity of Elements) and definitely never Spell Suppressed. Since I had a Mageblood, I decided to go for a Recombinator (RIP, my beautiful friends) and transfer a fractured SS onto a Vaal Regalia. Then, I proceeded to craft it with Dense Fossils until I hit double T1 ES. I ended up crafting the Avoid Ailment and Stun, because I didn’t want to risk losing the T1s, and as such, I simply ex-slammed the Int. Int = ES = More damage from FR.
Gloves
In a similar vein, I transferred fractured Spell Suppression onto a Sorcerer’s Gloves and kept rolling with Dense Fossils until I got a Triple T1 (by accident!). I then did a few suffixes crafting with Eldritch Orbs until I hit an okay veiled suffix (I get Soul Gain Prevention all the time with Vaal Discipline, so this is in actuality, an 75~80% Increased damage. I also needed a res, so that was great!
Boots
Same process. Recombobed fractured Spell Suppression into a pair of Sorcerer’s Boots, but instead of spamming with Dense fossils, I spammed with Deaf. Essence of Loathing, to get 35% Avoid Ailment. This locked me into 2 Suffixes already, so I tried to get as much ES as possible while still leaving room for movement speed. After a few dozen attempts, I got double T1 ES, with an open prefix. I Crafted regular MS with Onslaught and Yolo Exalted T1 Lightning Res (which, again, I needed a bit of).
Weapon
For this one, I basically saw someone using it and tried doing it. It’s still not perfect, but I’m glad about it. It’s a synth base with 10% Spell Double Damage. So I spammed Essences of Woes on that dagger, waiting until I got +1 all chaos gems, as FR scales supremely well with levels. I got it with nothing else of worth on the suffixes, but perfectly craftable, with an open Pre (+1 and Spell dmg are prefixes), and I needed a free Prefix for Vagan Mod, so I could ignore Accuracy entirely. I then cleaned my suffixes, did some crafting, used non-speed to speed harvest a few times, and got T1 AS. Then I Aisling’ed it and managed to hit Str/Int with Crit Chance, which was perfect and what I needed. I finished it off with an Aug Crit, and hit a horrible T6 Crit Multi, but it was what I wanted to spend and no more. I crafted the Vagan and was happy with my 120+ex dagger that cost me at the time less than 30 to make.
Shield
Aegis Aurora. Of course.
Amulet
I’m an Ashes fan. If I can use Ashes, I will. It’s pretty freaking strong in my build because I’m an aura stacker and as such, the more value I get from them, the better.
Belt
Mageblood, of course. It’s the sole reason I made the build in the first place. I got my first MB and wanted to go all in with my currency on it!
Rings
Well, those were hard, and by far the most cost I had. One was a lucky snipe I got from the market, which then I improved with some smart crafting to get Despair on Hit with that juicy -21 Mana cost, as well as much ES as possible. For the other, however… I must’ve spent over 150 exalts doing it, and burnt a lot of bases. But I wanted a temple Mod ES and a Power Charge Ring on a Synth Base. And after much suffering, I did. After the prefixes were done, It was a matter of Aisling and veiling orb it to get what I wanted, and I rounded off with a pricy 20ex Aug Speed for the T1 Attack Speed (crucial for CoC).
For more information: https://poe.ninja/pob/CM6
- Path of Exile: 10 Important Things to Know
- Path of Exile Reveals New Features and Official Start Date for Path of Exile: Scourge
- Path Of Exile: 3 Smart Designs Keep Indie MMO Ahead
- Path of Exile Class Guide - What To Pick
- [Top 10] Path of Exile Best Solo Builds
- [Top 10] Path of Exile Best AoE Builds
- [Top 10] Path of Exile Best Witch Builds
- [Top 10] Path of Exile Best Ranger Builds
- [Top 5] Path of Exile Best Class Builds (PoE Best Class for Max Damage)
- [Top 10] Path of Exile Best Builds That Wreck Hard
- Top 11 Games Like Path of Exile (Games Better Than PoE In Their Own Way)
