[1.1.0] ShinyGyarados' Dual Flame Totem Templar

That's a good point and completely overlooked using added chaos. I quickly re-did the Incinerate calculation now using the 30% reduced cast speed (or making Flame Totem 30% increased, makes zero difference) as well as the added chaos at 30% damage effectiveness. It brings Incinerate to 931 DPS which is a negligible difference with Flame Totem. However, that is now two gems to make the two skills the same apart from the mana disparity.

From there it really is in-game experience (which I prefer) that matters more than calculations. Having a significant portion of your damage as chaos may be more effective versus fire resistant mobs. However, low resistance or negative resistances due to fire penetration (one extra gem but both builds can run it) and elemental weakness/flammability (when not running a defensive curse or curse immune mobs) will likely favour Flame Totem more. More importantly, Flame Totem starts at full power whereas Incinerate with reduced cast time is going to take some time to get rolling.

Overall, my gut instinct says that Flame Totem will almost always be more effective than Incinerate (especially versus white mobs) as long as you can overcome the mana requirement.

You've convinced me. I'll level FT to 20 and then post back the screenshots of the dps comparison. I ran the numbers too, and at the outset, it does seem like FT may just be better. Now - to deal with the mana cost...

are there any auras which will help this builds damage, haste for example or any additional damage auras? will haste's cast speed increase also affect totems?

Also, will only added chaos damage work with the totems, nothing like added cold will work? what makes the chaos one work where others dont?

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KrakenBlood escreveu:

Also, will only added chaos damage work with the totems, nothing like added cold will work? what makes the chaos one work where others dont?

Added Fire only works with Physical Damage, you'll have to gear for dexterity to level added cold much, and I'm pretty sure added Chaos is just better than added lightning, though that one I'm not 100% on.

is there any way to incease the range of the fire projectiles on the totem from 100 to higher?

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TreeheadWoodfist escreveu:

You've convinced me. I'll level FT to 20 and then post back the screenshots of the dps comparison. I ran the numbers too, and at the outset, it does seem like FT may just be better. Now - to deal with the mana cost...

I'm curious about the numbers you get, thanks for doing this! As for mana cost, EB may be a potential candidate to pick up. I might go to EB if mana becomes an issues as I level FT even higher and as I get higher in level.

Hey there,

I've been having some fun with a Flame Totem Templar in Domination. I've played around with a couple of different specs and I thought I'd share some thoughts. I currently have a level 74 whom I can clear level 74 maps with solo.

1. It's going to be a bit slower in terms of clear speed. However, the trade-off for that is the relative safety you get standing behind your totems.

2. That said, all damage doesn't work. You still need a MINIMUM effective health pool of 2.5k (ES/Health) for end game maps. I rock about 3k effective health, and even that can be a little scary. (Leap Monsters, Rhoas, ranged mobs all suck) I currently use a small modification of this thread's spec for my guy and I've found it to be the best for overall damage and survivability. (I'll post it later)

3. It's very easy to have a small amount of MF (I run 106 IIR currently) without gimping your build. I also recommend having two different Flame Totems. One is your DPS, the other is your MF. So I have a 5L for DPS, with Flame Totem+GMP+Fire Pen+Faster Casting+Faster Projectiles. Then I have a 4L with Flame Totem+GMP+Culling+Rarity. I usually don't bother with my Culling Totem unless it's a Rare or Boss mob. You can keep this on your weapon switch so you don't get confused. You could swap Faster Proj for Added Chaos, but I prefer the Range to more DPS.

4. Incinerate works well, but I would recommend Flame Totem unless you have a Soul Mantle with four-plus links. The DPS is usually lower on Incinerate, hence you need extra links to match damage. The Mana cost can't be beat, but honestly, I kill things so quickly that I don't think the totem would spend much time in level 3.

5. Mana can be a problem. I took Eldrich Battery for awhile, but honestly, it's a lot of points to go all the way over to just get that Keystone, when you can get (pretty cheap) gear with mana/mana regen. You can also dip into the Scion tree a little earlier for the nice mana nodes in there if you're having issues.

6. Curses are your friend. I prefer Ele Weakness (For both Party and Solo) for a couple of reasons. I'll get to those in a minute. I don't recommend Hex Master or Whispers of Doom, as most things die so quickly that it's not worth it to use the second curse. If anything, get the Curse boots and pop them on when you hit a boss.

7. You can still rock Minions and Traps with this build! I highly recommend picking up a Scepter of God bubble guy to help keep your totems and yourself up. Zombies can either act as a meat shield, or be your MF (or both!). Also, Freeze Trap! Freeze Trap+Ele Prolif+Cold Pen+Added Cold/Multi Trap. This can help you keep mobs in place, keep your totems alive, or keep yourself alive. Also why Ele Weakness is preferable to Flammability.

8. CoDT with Frost Wall is a very effective survival tool. I usually have a CoDT level 4 with Enduring Cry/Frost Wall/Increased Duration, and a CoDT level 6 with Immortal Call, Frost Wall, Increased Duration. Granite Flask is a dur item to have too.

9. Auras. I run a Level 4 Clarity, and I don't have any mana problems. If you want more DPS, the only Aura that will help is Haste. You can run Purity/Determination/Discipline for more defense. Honestly, I usually just run Clarity and that's all I need.

10. Bandits - Life, Cast Speed, Skill point. You can honestly skill point it all three times if you want though.

My spec - http://www.pathofexile.com/passive-skill-tree/AAAAAgUBBVuLjOFz7SBG113G3fNgbZ2AgzgUTaIAtoZ9UwSzAnHwH4FvnjxN2Ix2OtjsOBo4p4SQVcAaWfOsqnKp9zL460rEeGlY5fauKhPDEyynWiuj8mae-tIdFDbp42okqhmFj0anCLiTp5ReXdH96-56qprgRZ3YJDbFNtgqjZeF7FUfApwth2Wvt0kbLJzQ0M9lVcYWbyj6gsf56EGHtz7-CudjiPEYPL0nkzoIZ1fh-WUhw5DW2t3GrhDMK7aMRviT_od7IA==

This assumes a level 80 char with 2 bandits helped. You can trade out some of the totem damage nodes for more life until you get gear. You can also choose to get the two 5% mana reduction nodes. From here, do whatever you want. Aura nodes, life, spell damage or cast speed are all excellent choices.

Gear - Defensively you want Max Resists, Life, Armor/ES. Stun reduction is helpful as well. Offensively Spell Damage, Fire Damage, Cast Speed. Crit damage/burning damage is crap, since you do such low base damage anyway. LEVEL OF FIRE GEMS on a 5L staff is pretty awesome, if you have the other mods for it. I think Searing Touch is a bit overrated, but it's a good starter weapon.

Feel free to contact me in game or via the forums if you have any questions. Also, if you see something you disagree with, or have more insights, please say so! I'm always looking to improve this build, which I have a lot of fun with.

Thank you very much for all this insight.

What about the Arsonist cluster near Ironwood ? I usually play with my friends so I don't need that much defense, and sometimes I feel like my totems don't do that much damage.

6 points for 36% fire damage, is that cost efficient ?

Also, I didn't try GMP yet (I'm lvl 61) because I never found a green socket to link my totem correctly, but is it worth it for single target damage ? As I said, I usually play with my friends and we got a LA ranger so aoe is pretty much ok...


So, two questions really : What about the Arsonist cluster ? Is GMP really worth it for single target damage ? I'm gonna try it in-game but I'd love your advice on these points.

Thank you.

I used to take the Arsonist Cluster, but I felt a little squishy/felt it was too far away. So I dropped it and used those points for the Scion life wheel. I think if you are assured a full party at all times, you can drop some survivability for more damage. However, usually Cast Speed is > everything else. Not to mention you're right near a couple of 8% Spell Damage nodes, and a 12% spell damage node in the Witch tree. I would recommend getting the Witch Cast speed/Spell Damage nodes, 9% Cast Speed and 28% Spell Damage is going to be > 36% Fire damage for the same 6 points.

I play solo a lot, so I need the life.

GMP should be your first priority support-wise with this spec. Your tooltip DPS will look lower, but you get that DPS per "Stream" per totem. Plus you can shotgun. So say you have a 1k tooltip DPS with a GMP. That means that you get 1k DPS per fire stream. You get 5 Streams with GMP, hence one totem does 5k DPS if you can hit a mob with all 5 streams (Which is pretty easy actually).

If you don't run GMP, you get one stream for double the damage. In the above case, it would be 2k DPS on one stream. So basically you're getting 3k extra DPS with a GMP, per totem, as long as you're shotgunning the mobs.

I would rate importance of supports like this:

GMP>Fire Pen>Faster Proj>Faster Cast>Added Chaos. I cannot begin to tell you how much nicer it is to have that extra range thanks to Faster Proj on your Totem.

Thank you very much for the arsonist feedback.

Sorry about the noobish question... What do you mean by "shotgunning the mob" ?

About GMP, my question was regarding single target cases. Can you really hit a single mob with the 5 streams ?