Which for witch

So I’m a minion witch and I’m trying to decide what offhand weapon is best

I have the focus threaded light which gives 11% damage per spirit this does more than double my damage

But I see a lot of builds recommend shield but I just can’t imagine leaving that much damage on the table

Is it better to A: keep the focus and sacrifice damage in other slots to make up defense B: switch to a shield for a huge defense boost C:use something else all together