Witch CI + Vaal Pact + Ghost Reaver build?

Hi, I'm fairly new to PoE and are open to any advice for a CI build as a cold spell caster.

The progress of the build is to first get all the life skills before the CI skill (properly including 40 life over mana from the bandit quest, due to the increased stunning resistance). Also beginning with the right side of the skill tree, followed by the left and finally CI.

I have been doing much research around trying to imagine the builds final result. I'm on hardcore (blodlines) and have 'almost' made it through act 2, thus very unexperienced with the passive skills. I'm also unaware if there's any additional life bonuses thought out act 3.


here's the build I have in question:





enjoy

That's not a bad start, but you need more ES on the tree (like Foresight and Arcane Focus). If you're new to PoE, going CI might be rough. Good ES items tend to be expensive, you need to watch out for enemies that can freeze you (a saphire flask will help, but it's far less annoying to use Dream Fragments), and Practical Application isn't really enough to protect you from stun unless you're dealing a lot of damage or regularly freezing enemies, which won't happen till late game. Eye of Chayula is most often used for stun prevention.

Have you considered Incinerate instead of an ice skill? You don't have to worry about reflect with it, so you save all those points it takes to get to Vaal Pact.

Glad to hear it works out and thanks for the guidance. I can see that it only takes up 5 points more to achieve 'Foresight' and AF - which is nice. Concerning the cold build I had the idea that a cold caster would have it a bit easier to survive on hardcore, being able to stun the opponents. Then ending up with mainly using Ice Spear and getting as much damage as possible with the last points.

I would also like to try a build with the amulet, but I guess it takes some time to get it, so that will maybe have to be further on, sometime after completing the storyline.

good luck