Cobra Commander SSF lvl 82 tips for survival.

Pardon my english
Casual players, deciding to give this beta a try. Took a while to pass the poorly explained complexity, but found the best class for me, the witch.

Built changed a bit along the way, but found my fun with my Gilded Cobra minions (armor pierce, bleed, fast) with Cerebus Bat support, and some skeltons.

Yes, i know about frozen mandibules. But i do not follow any build or spoilers. This is a self-learned SSF run.

Now. As i am lvl 82. My gear almost hasn't changed for the last 20 levels.
I am running tier 10 to 13 maps, and damage is not a problem. My Cobras can kill anything rather quickly. My minions survive easily also, i invested in their survivability.

My isssue, and the one stoping me from increasing map difficulty, is wtf-dying and the experience hit.

Basically, i am having fun, and then, bam, i dumb die. Exemple. Abysse spawns 3 super-speed beamer rares, and i evade in an invisible wall. Or a one shot mechanic. It's rare, but you know, 2-3 quick dead from a crazy mechanic, and there goes all my exp of the last hour. Bah.

So before calling it quits for hitting a wall, i am wondering how you guys invest in defense.

- Just a huge energy shield? Just size, or recharge too?
- Energy Shield and armor?
- Left hand shield for block, or Focus (i use focus, adds about 1200 energy shielf with nods)

Or am i just experiencing the normal POE2 exeprience: have fun and then wtf-lose everything in a death you barely understand?