The Witch in Path of Exile 2 continues to be one of the most powerful and versatile classes in the game. Whether you’re seeking devastating elemental destruction, necromantic hordes, or manipulative curses, the Witch offers builds to suit a variety of playstyles. In this comprehensive build guide, we’ll break down one of the most effective Witch archetypes currently available in the Path of Exile 2 beta: the Cold DoT Occultist. Featuring solid survivability, effortless crowd control, and phenomenal endgame scaling, this build is both beginner-friendly and potent into high-tier mapping and bosses.
TL;DR
The Cold DoT Occultist Witch Build focuses on applying chilling and freezing effects to enemies while dealing steady and scalable cold damage over time. With Vortex as a primary skill and a layering strategy involving Creeping Frost and curses, this build excels in control and consistency. It’s ideal for players who enjoy methodical combat with high survivability. Affordable to start and effective in endgame, this is one of the safest league starter choices for Witch players.
Why Choose the Witch?
In Path of Exile 2, the Witch excels in intelligence-based magic pathways, allowing access to powerful spellcasting, summoning, and curse-related mechanics. The Witch’s ascendancy classes—Elementalist, Necromancer, and Occultist—offer combinations that support a wide range of build possibilities.
For this guide, we focus on the Occultist ascendancy due to its synergy with chaos and cold damage over time (DoT), as well as powerful defenses through curses and energy shield amplification.
Build Overview: Cold DoT Occultist
Core Concept
This build uses a combination of cold skills that deal damage over time, specifically focusing on Vortex and Creeping Frost. These skills benefit from scaling modifiers such as Cold Damage, Damage over Time, and Area of Effect. Enemies are slowed, chilled, or frozen while suffering from multiple overlapping sources of cold DoT.
Strengths
- Exceptional crowd control with chills and freezes
- Highly scalable across game progression
- Layered defense using Energy Shield, Flask uptime, and curses
- Ease of play: Place-and-move style suits many mapping strategies
Weaknesses
- Lower burst damage compared to Crit or Minion builds
- Heavy reliance on timely Flask management
- May feel passive or slow for those who prefer high APM builds
Ascendancy and Passive Tree
Recommended Ascendancy: Occultist
The Occultist’s cold and chaos overlaps provide support for Cold DoT while offering defensive utility via curses and Energy Shield recovery. Key notables to prioritize are:
- Void Beacon – Reduces enemy cold resistance and removes regeneration
- Frigid Wake – Grants cold immunity and chills enemies on hit
- Malediction – Allows greater curse application and damage mitigation
- Profane Bloom – Chance for cursed enemies to explode, aiding clear speed
Noteworthy Passive Nodes
There are a few keystone and cluster nodes critical to this build’s performance:
- Cold Damage Over Time Multiplier – Found in templar/witch region
- Energy Shield and Recharge Rate – Enhances sustain against chip damage
- Doom Cast + Whispers of Doom – For double curse setups
Gem Setups and Priority Links
Main Damage Skills
Your main skill links for damage are:
Vortex (6-link)
- Vortex
- Controlled Destruction
- Elemental Focus
- Hypothermia
- Swift Affliction
- Cold Penetration
Creeping Frost (4-link)
- Creeping Frost
- Elemental Focus
- Hypothermia
- Efficacy
Auras and Defense
The aura setup provides both active mitigation and offense boost:
- Malevolence
- Discipline
- Clarity (low level, sustain only)
- Tempest Shield (for shock immunity)
Utility Skills
- Flame Dash for mobility
- Frostbite and Elemental Weakness for curse debuffs
- Bonechill linked to Frostbite for enhanced chill scaling
Gear and Stats Priorities
Early Game
- Life and Energy Shield combo gear
- Resistances capped as early as Act 5+
- Wands/sceptres with +Cold damage over time multiplier
- Movement speed boots (20% minimum)
Mid Game
- Crafted weapons with +1 to cold skill gems
- Cluster Jewels with Cold DoT mods
- Energy Shield recovery mods and Chaos Resistance
Endgame
- Helmet: Eldritch Influence with Vortex cooldown recovery
- Body Armour: Energy Shield base with +Curse limit
- Rings and Amulet: +Damage over Time, +Cold Skill Gems, Resistances
- Flasks: Quartz, Jade, and Basalt for layering defenses
Flask Setup
Managing Flask uptime is essential for surviving tougher maps and bosses:
- Quartz Flask – for dodge and phasing
- Basalt Flask – to soak physical damage
- Jade Flask – increased evasion rating
- Granite Flask – pairs well with Evasion for hybrid defense
- Silver Flask – for Onslaught uptime during boss fights
Be sure to use “Gain charges when hit by enemies” and “Immunity to Bleeding/Freeze/Shock” suffixes.
Leveling Path
Skills to Use While Leveling
Leveling as a Cold Witch is very smooth. At early levels, use Freezing Pulse and Frost Bomb. Once you unlock Vortex and Creeping Frost (around Act 3), transition into the full DoT setup.
Passive Progression
- Start by grabbing spell damage and cast speed nodes
- Push toward Energy Shield clusters early
- Add Cold DoT scaling around Act 4-5
Map Mods to Avoid
There are a few dangerous map affixes for this build you should try to reroll:
- “Cannot Regenerate Life or Energy Shield” – Cripples sustain
- “Players have reduced Curse Effect” – Reduces clear speed and mitigation
- “Monsters are Hexproof” – Removes curse-based defense and passive explosions
Final Thoughts
The Cold DoT Occultist Witch build in Path of Exile 2 offers an impressive mixture of consistency, scalability, and safety. With proper setup, it can handle nearly every type of content including mapping, bossing, and even hardcore play.
