







There is a life based option which I will discuss briefly as well.



Current passive tree level 74 http://www.pathofexile.com/passive-skill-tree/AAAAAgUABVsOSBEvEZYV1xZAFvMXLxpsHNwmPCepKPopTyoTLKcsvy0fL28vnTrYO-E8BTyOQ2NG10yzTdhQMFXWVmNXyVj1WfNaK13GXypgbWTnZp5tGXC7cU1-WX_GgKSCx4M4hX2GrohCiGuLjIx2jmSTJ5rPna6dxJ_foqOj8qcIpyu0DLUEtve2-rcxuJPAGsHFwfPDbdeG2RPbXt3z4XPi9-OE5CLquuvk6-7sGOw47SDvfPId96b56PrS



Level 92 Passive Tree http://www.pathofexile.com/passive-skill-tree/AAAAAgUBBVsOSA_EES8RlhXXFkAW8xcvGmwc3CY8J6ko-ilPKhMspiynLL8tHy9vL500CjdmOtg7fDvhPAU8jj1fQ2NG10yzTdhQMFJTVdZWY1fJWPVZ81orXcZd8l8qYG1k52aebRlwUnC7cNVxTX5Zf8aApIFvgseDOIV9hq6IQohri4yMdo5kj6aQ1pMnms-do52uncSePJ_foqOj8qcIpyu0DLUEtve2-rcxuJO4ysAawFHBxcHzw23XhtkT217d8-Fz4vfjhOQi6rrr5Ovu7BjsOO0g73zyHfem-ej60vyr



Pros & Cons

Pros:

- Builds up to massive crit chance and multiplier, further amplified by shock chance and the flame surge 50%+ damage mechanic

- Because of the shock chance from three dragons and the 50% increased damage mechanic, it scales faster than most totem builds the moment you can equip 3D (level 35).

- Sit back and watch your totems annihilate

- Mobile

- Immune to chaos damage

- Only requires 4L and the Three Dragons helm (aka, cheap!), and your choice of Infernal Mantle or another mid-range ES chest.



Cons:

- Like most totem builds, your totems are quite glassy until you get spell totem to 19 or 20

- Also like most CI totem builds, there is no leech or regen (unless you opt for Zealot Oath, which significantly reduces your damage output by three levels, five if you choose to get the extra 1% regen in templar)

- Can be mildly annoying without a quality AoE gem, or without both blast radius and amplify. But with any combination of the two (QAoE+ BR/AMP or BR + AMP), the range really picks up.

- If utilizing a 5L, your mana cost jumps from around 148 (without Elemental Proliferation) to 207 (with prolif). What this essentially means is that you'll be running this build without discipline until level 74-76 where you can grab the Deep Thoughts above the witch power charge. It isn`t huge, because with moderate gear you get around 4.6-4.8K ES.



As a sidenote, you can still run discipline without the extra mana + regen, but it means you'll suffer about a 2.5 second delay between being able to cast your totems. Without discipline running, you can quickly spawn two totems consecutively. Since you get 100% xp from level 66 maps up to level 73, and 98% xp during level 74, it's not a huge deal to get to 76.



Lastly, there is a two-point way to mitigate this if you want discipline sooner than later: pick up the 7 and 3% reduced cost nodes in templar until you hit 74-76, then swap them over to the mana/regen.



- Really cheap. Wait, that`s a pro. ;)



A quick overview of the life variant, with passive tree If you don`t like CI builds, you can do this life-based and utilize Lightning Coil along with Eldritch Battery for more self-tankiness, particularly against physical damage, and it allows you to screw up a bit more with the added regen. The extra mana pool from EB will let you run all three of clarity, discipline and Purity of Lightning to mitigate the -60% lit res from the coil.



The downside is you miss out on the 100% increased critical strike chance from Infernal Mantle. Presuming you would've used it in the CI version.



This is approximately what the life-based version would look like:



http://www.pathofexile.com/passive-skill-tree/AAAAAgUBAnEC4wQHBLMFWwdjB6UI9A5ID8QRlhRNFkAWbxbzFy8ZhRo4GmwfAiQ8JKomPCepKPopTyoTLJwspy0fL28vnTGINsU26Tt8PAU9X0SrRtdJUUmyTLNQMFJTVa5VxlXWVytZ81orWm1dxl3yYG1jQ2TnZp5r220ZcFJwu3DVc1N5A35Zf8aApIIQgh6Cm4LHgziFfYuMjmSPRo-mkFWdo52un9-io6PypwinXKeEtQS2-riTuMrAGsBRwFTB889l0NDYJNkT2t3bC9te3fPfsOFz42rjhOQi6-7tIO988B_z3fem-ej60vyr



Basic mechanics talk: what to ignite with, the 4L setup, and why. This build relies on taking advantage of the three dragons helm to really boost the clear speed, and a proliferation setup for at least the ignite until you can afford a 5L.



When using three dragons, you need to use a cold skill to proc ignite.



*You can't proliferate ignite with fire trap using three dragons. The on-hit fire damage would actually proliferate shock stacks instead of burning damage.



So, the easiest way to proliferate the burn is a trap + multitrap + ice nova + proliferation 4L. With all power charges up (minimum 4-5), multitrap is the way to go. With lower crit chance or only 3 power charges, you may opt for chance to ignite instead of multitrap (for those unaware of how ignite & elemental status effects work, you ignite when you crit. Thus, when your crit chance is high enough, you can drop the CTI gem and use multitrap to increase your likelihood of landing the nova, thereby the ignite).





Because this is an AoE skill, you have two options to go with to prioritize your 4L Spell Totem + Flame Surge + Faster casting + XYZ. Either the AoE gem to reduce the amount of times you need to spawn your totems, or the proliferation gem to shock entire packs and clear the ones closest, faster. Once you go 5L, it's a non issue but it's an important consideration to make.



My advice? Go with AoE while levelling. A 5L Mantle is relatively cheap to acquire to add in proliferation later.



Why Infernal Mantle over higher ES Chest? At the end of it, it's personal choice, but I found the 100% increased critical strike chance to be well worth it, as well as that the fire dmg is 25% converted to chaos damage, which helps with elementally resistant mobs. But if you want more tankiness instead of damage output (and don't want to risk low mana damage taken), by all means use a regular rare ES chest.



Expensive lowlife option You guessed it, Shavs and Pain Attunement. You could use Solaris Lorica, but tbh the massive drop in ES just isn't worth it imo.



Levelling Follow the basic principles of most CI builds. Invest in life nodes til around 68-72, then switch into CI. Try to set up a 5L ES chest before you do, if possible. Level with your skill of choice, whether it's Spec Throw or Searing Bond. I recommend Searing Bond if only because, as you're levelling and once you switch into Ancestral Bond, you may find it difficult to kill certain mobs with the surge totem (Tentacles, Voidbearers, etc).



Basically, come out of Templar's top end, drop down into the life/regen area, and either cut across the ar/es nodes for more life or head up to the life nodes that will swing you to aura reservation. Once you get a certain amount of life nodes that you personally feel comfortable with, drop down and switch into Ancestral Bond. I did this immediately at level 31, the minimum level requirement for spell totem.



After that, swing down and get the scion regen node then cut across the ES wheel, grabbing the life/mana nodes along the way to make it easier for you to double-spam totems, head up near CI, stack more life, then grind your levels up completing areas of the tree that make sense to you. You can switch to CI comfortably using only quest-earned respec points, but you'll need to burn a couple regrets if you step out of this tree in any way for points that aren't life.



Once you switch to CI, it's all damage and more ES from there.





Bandits Kill (normal), kill (cruel), help Alira for power charge (merciless).



Gear



Gem Links for those who hate mousing over



Quick note: do not level any of your dex gems. Save yourself a passive point.



4L Spell Totem, Flame Surge, Faster Casting, AoE. 5L Elemental Proliferation. 6L Fire Penetration or Increased Critical Damage (swappable depending on mobs or your preference, I find crit mult is just as good if not better than fire penetration for most situations using Infernal Mantle. But if your fire damage is going to be 100% as opposed to 75 fire / 25 chaos, you'll probably prefer fire penetration.



Lightning Warp, Faster Casting, Reduced Duration (or, quicksilver flask + searing bond and increased burning damage if you're having problems dealing with mobs that kill your totems quickly).



Ice Nova, Trap, Multitrap, Elemental Proliferation.



Reduced Mana, Clarity, Discipline.



Ice Spear, Power Charge on Crit, Faster Casting, Lesser Multiple Projectiles.



CWDT, Enduring Cry, and your choice of increased duration or immortal call, and your chosen curse.



Flasks



Surgeons for all the granites, one emergency mana flask if you need to quick-pop two totems in a hurry. Roll a useful property on it, like dispel bleed + instant recovery like I have here.



Please note that I will not be updating this guide, but I will be checking it to answer questions. I built it up to 74 to test its viability for use in the next leagues. Now, I'm going to respec out of Ancestral Bond and try this with self-cast Flame Surge.



Video - basic 66 map clear with silly inattentive death https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vzjAsfQb8zk& I drafted up this build looking for an alternative and powerful totem option that utilizes the flame surge 50%+ damage to burning enemies mechanic along with the shock chance provided by the Three Dragons unique helm.There is a life based option which I will discuss briefly as well.Please note that I will not be updating this guide, but I will be checking it to answer questions. I built it up to 74 to test its viability for use in the next leagues. Now, I'm going to respec out of Ancestral Bond and try this with self-cast Flame Surge. Jul 27, 2011 - Sept 30, 2018. Last edited by Serleth on Jun 21, 2014, 4:18:16 AM