Witch Leveling Build Guide

This Armageddon Brand Cremation Witch Leveling Build Guide teaches you the most efficient way to complete the Path of Exile Campaign; with All Skill Points and All Labs. Fire Witch is a classic and proven League Start Leveling Build; making it a great choice for leveling a new character, or when completing a fresh start speedrun.

Class Leveling Guides

This leveling guide is Class agnostic, however, Ascendancies offer a crucial early-game power spike. Use the tabs below for more information on which Ascendancy nodes to specialize in for a smoother leveling experience. Note that if you plan on respeccing in endgame you need a bunch of Gold or 5 Orbs of Regret per node.

• There are 2 Fire Witch Passive Tree Variants
• Attack Speed Rush:
  • Prioritises Shield Charge Attack Speed
  • Acquires Strength to equip Shield Charge without equipment
  • Allocates the Explosive Impact Fire Mastery at Level 22
• Elemental Overload First:
  • Prioritises Early Game Damage, gaining an additional 26% Increased Damage and Elemental Overload by Level 14
  • Requires a Heavy Belt, Amber Amulet or Practical Application to equip Shield Charge
  • Allocates the Explosive Impact Fire Mastery at Level 20

b-b-|-b-b|b-.-b|b-b|nne|r-.-b|b-r-|g-b-r|g-r|r-g

Witch Leveling Build Act Progression

Act 1

• Ranger Mule: Before playing your Witch, Create a Ranger, Defeat Hillock, and enter Lioneye's Watch
  • Check Tarkleigh for Links:
    • BBB for Rolling Magma / Armageddon Brand
    • BBG or BGR for Cremation
    • GR or GGR Shield for Shield Charge
    • Any items with Blue or Red sockets to assist with socketing gems
    • Optional: Buy a Coral Ring for 3 Wisdom from Nessa
  • Stash the Following Items:
    • Momentum
    • Small Life Flask x2, Small Mana Flask
    • And any newly bought Items and Currency
• Level 2: After Hillock 
  • Rolling Magma - Elemental Proliferation
• Level 4: After Hailrake
  • Rolling Magma - Elemental Proliferation
  • Holy Flame Totem
  • Flame Wall
  • Frostblink - Arcane Surge
  • Check the Vendor for 2x Goat's Horn if necessary
  • Check the Vendor for a GR or GGR Shield for Shield Charge if necessary
• Level 8: After Lower Prison & Completing Dweller
  • Rolling Magma - Elemental Proliferation - Combustion (If 3B)
  • Holy Flame Totem - (Combustion here if No 3B)
  • Flame Wall
  • Frostblink - Arcane Surge
  • Check the Vendor for 2x Goat's Horn if necessary
  • Check the Vendor for a GR or GGR Shield for Shield Charge if necessary
  • Check the Vendor for a Heavy Belt or Amber Amulet to equip Shield Charge. Otherwise allocate Practical Application on the Passive Tree.
• Level 10: After Brutus
  • Add Shield Charge - Momentum to the above setup

Act 2

• Level 16: After Fidelitas
  • Add Herald of Thunder
  • Add Summon Skitterbots
  • Optional: Purchase Arctic Armour to equip for Freeze Immunity in later Acts or to use in High Physical Damage Zones
• Level 18: After Weaver
  • Free Cruelty or Elemental Focus
    • Purchase the Other One
    • Depends on your upcoming Cremation Links
  • Purchase Wave of Conviction
  • Purchase Desecrate
  • Purchase Concentrated Effect
  • Optional: You can delay this step until you have enough Alterations, usually after Vaal Oversoul
• Bandits: Help Alira
• After The Way Forward - Travel back to Act 1 

Act 3

• Level 24: After Tolman
  • Free Flammability from Maramoa
• Solaris 2
  • Rare Jade Amulet
  • Important: Acquire the Fire Damage Craft in the Room beside Lady Dialla
  • Important: Craft Flat Fire Damage to Spells onto your Wand(s) with 4 to 8 Transmutes
  • Important: The Craft requires Level 24
• Level 28: After Gravicius
  • Free Cremation
  • Purchase Armageddon Brand --> Switch with Rolling Magma
• Example Setup at this Point (Colours and Link Dependent)
  • Armageddon Brand - Elemental Proliferation - Combustion
  • Cremation - Concentrated Effect - Cruelty or Elemental Focus -- Depending on Colours
  • Wave of Conviction, Flame Wall
  • Desecrate
  • Frostblink - Arcane Surge - Flammability
  • Shield Charge - Momentum
  • Herald of Thunder, Summon Skitterbots
• Optional: Complete Library
  • Optional: Purchase Faster Attacks -- Link with Shield Charge - Momentum
  • Optional: Purchase Haste -- To use during Zone Progression
  • Optional: Purchase Blood Rage

Act 4

• Level 38: After Malachai
  • Free Immolate --> Add to Armageddon Brand 4Link
  • Optional: Free Summon Stone Golem from Oyun
  • Optional: Purchase Ignite Proliferation (1 Alchemy) --> Switch with Elemental Proliferation
  • Optional: Purchase Cast when Damage Taken (1 Alchemy) --> To link with Immortal Call

Act 5

• After completing The Key to Freedom
  • Free Ruby Flask

Act 6

• After Lily Roth
  • Purchase Faster Attacks
  • Optional: Purchase Haste -- To use instead of Anger during Zone Progression
  • Optional: Purchase Blood Rage
  • Optional: Purchase Immortal Call
• Example Setup at this Point (Colours and Link Dependent)
  • Armageddon Brand - Ignite Proliferation - Combustion - Immolate
  • Cremation - Concentrated Effect - Elemental Focus - Cruelty
  • Shield Charge - Momentum - Faster Attacks
  • Cast when Damage - Immortal Call | Desecrate
  • Frostblink - Arcane Surge - Flammability - Wave of Conviction
  • Haste or Anger | Summon Skitterbots or Arctic Armour
• Major Pantheon: Brine King
• Minor Pantheon: Ryslatha

Act 7

• After completing The Silver Locket
  • Granite Flask or Jade Flask

Act 8

• Run Arctic Armour for Freeze Immunity in zones with Cold Damage

Act 9

• After completing The Storm Blade
  • Free Rare Opal Sceptre

Act 10

• After completing Safe Passage
  • Silver Flask
• After completing Death and Rebirth
  • Free Rare Widowsilk Robe or Rare Blood Raiment

With experience, the Leveling Progression outlined above is all you need. However, if you're looking for additional guidance, then review the Important Leveling Tips listed below.

General Progression Tips

Weapon Progression

• Level 2 Driftwood Wand x2
  • This is your starting wand!
  • In most scenarios, it's not worth crafting whatsoever.

• Level 6 Goat's Horn x2
  • Consider using any Alchemy & Essence for more damage

• Level 10 Goat's Horn + Shield
  • Use during Zone Progression to travel quickly
  • Temporarily swap the Shield for a Goat's Horn on Bosses

• Act 3 Level 24 Craft Flat Fire Damage to Spells on your Wand(s)
  • Requires 4 to 8 Transmutes
  • Use your Wand & Shield while travelling through zones
  • Temporarily swap the Shield for any high damage Wand on Bosses

• Act 7 Craft T2 Flat Fire Damage to Spells on your Wand(s) (Optional)
  • Requires 2 to 4 Alchemy

• Act 6 to Act 10+ Rare High Damage Wand or Sceptre (Optional)
  • Any Magic or Rare Wand or Sceptre that improves your damage

Listed above is the ideal Fire Caster weapon progression. Fire Casters are strong enough to finish the run with Level 24 Crafts, especially so if you farm extra levels. That said, you can improve your damage in Part 2 of the Campaign by either: upgrading your T1 Flat Fire Damage to Spells craft to T2, or by equipping any Any Magic or Rare Wand or Sceptre that improves your damage.

What is Muling?

In Path of Exile, "Muling" or creating a "Mule", simply means creating a second character or more, to acquire resources that improve the main characters progression.

Typical Resources of interest are:

• Skill Gems or Support Gems
• Life or Mana Flasks
• Specific Items
• Linked Items
• & Currency

Why Mule?

There are two main benefits to muling:

• Gaining access to resources before they are normally available
• & Consistency

In this run the Ranger Mule provides the following benefits:

• Immediately acquiring Momentum Support to use at Level 10, instead of waiting until Act 3 or Act 6.
• Acquiring 3 Extra Scrolls of Wisdom or more, to help purchase and identify items.
• Acquiring 2 Extra Small Life Flasks to guarantee a Medium Life Flask, significantly improving survivability.
• Acquiring an Extra Small Mana Flask, improving Mana Sustain in Act 1.
• Providing a 2nd set of Loot from Hillock, potentially providing Linked Items, Movement Speed Boots, or Unidentified Magic or Rare Items to sell for Transmutation Shards.
• Providing a 2nd Vendor Check, potentially providing Linked Items or Movement Speed Boots.
• A Burning Arrow Gem to vendor with an Iron Ring, to create a Topaz Ring; improving survivability in High Lightning Damage zones such as Act 2 Chamber of Sins Level 2 or versus unique enemies such as Vaal Oversoul or Piety.

For a 1m10s to 1m30s investment, the benefit is clearly worth it.

Early Links, Shield Charge & Socket Colour Planning

To review, you are searching for the follow links during the early game:

• BBB for Rolling Magma / Armageddon Brand
• BBG or BGR for Cremation
• GR or GGR Shield for Shield Charge
• Any items with Blue or Red sockets to assist with socketing gems

The ideal scenario is to acquire all necessary Linked Items during Act 1; in preparation of the Act 3 Armageddon Brand Cremation Setup, whilst also achieving the Level 10 Setup:

• Rolling Magma - Elemental Proliferation - Combustion (If 3B)
• Holy Flame Totem - (Combustion here if No 3B)
• Flame Wall
• Frostblink - Arcane Surge
• Shield Charge - Momentum

However, Vendor Checks and Item Drop RNG isn't always so forgiving. In below average scenarios: killing extra monsters, Chroming 3 Links and checking the Vendor in Act 2 and beyond may be required. To assist with link prioritisation, you can remove the 1 Link gems & organise the remaining Links into the table below:

The table should impart the following conclusions:

• Acquiring a BBB for your main clear is of utmost importance
• Acquiring a GR Shield to Shield Charge with at Level 10 is necessary to travel quickly
• Cremation links can be delayed until Level 28

Rolling Magma Double Bounce

Before progressing further Rolling Magma's Bounce mechanic needs to be understood.

Simply stated:

• Rolling Magma Bounces multiple times per cast.
• Rolling Magma only deals damage when the projectile hits the ground (AKA the Bounce).

In practice, this means aiming slightly in front of the target, to potentially hit an enemy twice with a single Rolling Magma.

The Level 24 Fire Crafts Breakpoint

Continuing onward, at Level 24 it's imperative to craft Flat Fire Damage to Spells on your Wand(s). Doing so significantly boosts your damage.

Important: Note the 4 Transmute cost for the T1 Flat Fire craft. This means during campaign progression, you should loot and vendor as many Magic & Rare items as necessary.

Act-by-Act Progression Tips

Act 1

• In the Submerged Passageway, place a Portal at the Bridge, to more quickly enter Flooded Depths Later.

Act 2

• In the Broken Bridge, search for and defeat the 3 Exiles beside the waypoint. Keep an eye out for item upgrades, jewellery, and gear to vendor.
• There are many Breaches in Act 2. The Breach in Riverways is often found on the way and can be a great source of extra experience and items while progressing.

Act 3

• Solaris 2
  • Important: Acquire the Fire Damage Craft in the Room beside Lady Dialla
• In Docks you can find a Unique enemy that drops a guaranteed Essence. They only drop Essences the first time you click them; so consider resetting the zone until you spawn an Essence you desire.

Act 4

• Get Level 32 before entering Kaom's Stronghold to avoid severe XP Penalties.

Act 5

• The Chamber of Innocence has many guaranteed Magic Monster packs. It's strongly recommended to go out of your way to farm them.
• Before entering the Reliquary to complete the Passive Skill Point quest, place a portal outside of the Cathedral Rooftop entrance, to progress faster.

Act 6

• In the Beacon, while progressing the fuel pylons, consider placing a Safety Portal as the enemies that spawn can occasionally be very dangerous.

Act 7

• After defeating Gruest, and progressing forward to the Causeway; consider placing a portal near the Dread Thicket entrance if you see it, to progress faster.
• Dread Thicket
  • Acquire the T2 Fire Damage Craft near Dreadstone.

Act 8

• Upon returning to the Harbour Bridge to complete the act, reset the zone by Ctrl + Clicking the entrance for more experience along the way.

Act 9

• Consider farming Blood Aqueduct for more experience and gear before progressing to maps.
• Consider rolling a Bleed Removal Flask and using Grace in the Belly of the Beast.

Act 10

• Upon entering the Ravaged Square, place a portal near the entrance, before travelling to the Ravaged Square waypoint. Then take the waypoint back to town, and go through your portal and head south, in search of The Control Blocks to defeat Vilenta.

The video below goes over all the leveling steps while also showing gameplay and playstyle tips.

Does this run acquire all Passive Skill Points & Complete all Labs?

Yes

Can I use Wave of Conviction instead of Cremation for Single Target?

Is there an alternate skill instead of Rolling Magma until Level 28?

What Ascendancy do you recommend for Speed Leveling?

• Complete the PoE Campaign with an Armageddon Brand Cremation Witch Leveling Build in under 3 Hours
• Step-by-Step Leveling Progression through the Acts including Gem Swaps
• Tips and Tricks to help gear up as you level
• SSF Fresh Start League Start Viable

Credits

Written by: havoc616
Reviewed by: Crouching_Tuna
Language Reviewed by: Tenkiei