[3.6] Milky's Scorching Ray Totems (updating process)

So we got a first look at the 2 most used classes on this build. Berserker definetly dropped out of favor with the rage mechanic (reducing the regen for a buff that doesnt benefit us).

chieftain however got way better. But before i make any conclusions (besides that chieftain will be better than berserker), lets wait for the other class reworks.

The Chieftains totem path is the same and was the main selling point for the class.

Hinekoras covered in ash is a big dmg multiplier. Similar to Elemental Overload it can be up most of the time in bossfights.
However the node before that, Ngamahu, is troublesome. The fire conversion has bad synergy with Elemental Equilibrium and shield charge/leap slam. For bosses it doesnt matter (since orb of storm is up most of the time), but for mapping it can be annoying.

Tawhoa and Ramako are now good defensive nodes. Grabbing 1-2 endurance charges can be worth it. Any point in charges (assuming 2 points needed and the 0.2% regen per charge picked) basically grants 2% phys reduction, 0.3% liferegen and 5% fire dmg. Pretty solid.

100% fire res (doesnt increase the max!) makes gearing easier. Less fire res needed means you can stack some chaos res easier or go for more offensive items that lack resists. 10% phys dmg as fire is great and 1-3% regen on top of the 2% regen of the minior nodes and other sources (tawhoa, skilltree, items) make substaining life on a non leeching build pretty good.

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The totem path and Ramako+tawhoa look very solid to me for this build. Hinekoras covered in ash is strong, but for 2 big ascendancy points it's on the weaker side for me. I would rather pick the defensive route and compensate the covered in ash loss with more offensive gear.

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i am looking forward to the other classes. Maybe the scion, J U G G, hierophant, elementalist or others offer something new and exciting for the build as well.

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This will most likely (99%) be my leaguestarter. I wanna slay Uber Elder on this build to make it officially Uber Elder viable ;) Besides that i missed out on using some elder/shaper items on the build.

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I will update the guide once every ascendancy is released and more information are available. However i will create a new 3.2 section which sums up all interesting changes/additions that affect the build in some way.

I will repost this spoiler everytime i add something new. My mainpost is full (50000 maximum letters).

Going the defensive route seems like a much better option. Covered in ash is a great damage (de)buff, but it only procs on 10% of hits. That seems like its a bit of a tall task for any RF to pull off (totem or selfcast). Thankfully it lasts a long time (10sec), but it takes around 6 to 7 hits for there to be a 50% chance to have the enemy covered in ash. Its a huge dps boost when it procs, but im really put off by the combination of a low proc chance and requiring hits.

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ADM0N wrote:

Going the defensive route seems like a much better option. Covered in ash is a great damage (de)buff, but it only procs on 10% of hits. That seems like its a bit of a tall task for any RF to pull off (totem or selfcast). Thankfully it lasts a long time (10sec), but it takes around 6 to 7 hits for there to be a 50% chance to have the enemy covered in ash. Its a huge dps boost when it procs, but im really put off by the combination of a low proc chance and requiring hits.

excactly. I really hope we will see a class with 100% reduced curse effect on the char :x

I start cleaning the guide. Cannot even write 2 sentences and it tells me that the maximum of 50000 letters are reached :x

edit: moved a few things to the 2nd section and added a few gemlinks in the gem section.

Will probably start editing the guide over the next days in a seperate post and keep the current one until everything important is released

so the Hierophant got revealed and it's a strong choice for the build.

I could see me using this clas with a mix of rf totem, searing bond, decoy totem and scorching ray totem with different prioritys on the 'maintotem'.

I hate scorching ray totems for clearing, but it is pretty strong for singletarget.
Using rf totems to clear and 1 rf totem + 1 searing bond + 2-3 (decoy can take a slot) for singletarget.

up t15 maps the regular playstyle could stay the same while swapping SR in the chest could be a option for endgame bosses.

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Lets take a look at the nodes:

Pursuit of Faith and Ritual of Awakening are no brainers. two extra totems with no downside, 90% totem placementspeed (wow) and ~5% life and 2.5% manaregen are pretty insane. The lifregen also helps the rf totem uptime and the manaregen can support Mind over Matter (different passive tree).

100% inc totem duration even enables less duration support, but its not a strong support gem for the more multiplier.

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conviction of power offers easier Elemental overload proccs, 5% reduced elemental dmg taken and pretty reliable endurance charge generation.

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Divine Guidance and sanctuary of thought barely changed. Has a little bit extra mana with something that reserves mana.

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thr arcane surge route is prettx useless for the build

Arcane surge can be linked to Orb of Storms anyway if we really want it, spellleech/dmg does nothing for the majority of skills we use. The only good thing is immunity to elemental ailments, while we gain freeze immunity (the most dangerous one) with hrimnor's resolve anyway.

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Picking Conviction of Power, Ritual of Awakening and Divine Guidance while building around MoM seems the way to go on this class.

The 4th node is debatable. I tend to the utility of Conviction of power which can free some gemsockets. No enduring cry needed, no crit support for oos (or on top) and just some phys and ele dmg reduction while just playing.

Sanctuary of Thought is great for a huge eHP pool. The manacost reduction does barely anything and the less mana reservation literally grants like 50-100 free mana.

Its a strong node with many hybrid nodes (life/es or life/mana) and itemization in the direction. Refilling ES can be a hassle without proper recharge speed, regen or leech for es besides Vaal discipline.

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tl:dr a very good choice for the build with some big adjustments to the passive tree, gems and jewels. I will definetly theorycraft around it.

So i planned a bit for a hierophant route.

This is not final and is just a template. There might be other classes stealing the spotlight for this build, items which change anything etc.

http://www.pathofexile.com/passive-skill-tree/AAAABAUCALiTHNyPGp2u8B-iAASzvScYPBhWWivDE1jlTwTwVfndakMI9Lzq-tIdFJ_f73yvbJuhQ8jyRf4K_o864aZX2L01kk3jWAd4LxhqfOVVxjpYXyp0VYPbES2PRhJpcXkXHCcvkFUaOGZU4XOaO4KbJKo26RZv42ofGM0WUfuFezsN7-so-oLH-eh8DqdVW6ArtoxGEMz4k0kb7FUqjfFsl4U22DT3LpQhsNH9Xl2nlF8EkSsDdVZIZp6a4EWdU1Lr7klPvKqXLUGHtz5kM4aCBFFoWjoWKyZYbQOaEQ_312jyLJynCNgk7Dh8gzwtg1-DzKyYC2HGrjrYmK2FMgAAAAA=http://www.pathofexile.com/passive-skill-tree/AAAABAUCALiTHNyPGp2u8B-iAASzvScYPBhWWivDE1jlTwTwVfndakMI9Lzq-tIdFJ_f73yvbJuhQ8jyRf4K_o864aZX2L01kk3jWAd4LxhqfOVVxjpYXyp0VYPbES2PRhJpcXkXHCcvkFUaOGZU4XOaO4KbJKo26RZv42ofGM0WUfuFezsN7-so-oLH-eh8DqdVW6ArtoxGEMz4k0kb7FUqjfFsl4U22DT3LpQhsNH9Xl2nlF8EkSsDdVZIZp6a4EWdU1Lr7klPvKqXLUGHtz5kM4aCBFFoWjoWKyZYbQOaEQ_312jyLJynCNgk7Dh8gzwtg1-DzKyYC2HGrjrYmK2FMgAAAAA=

The main difference is: No traveling down to Bloodmagic. MoM just fits well in the hierophant and tukohamas fortress wouldn't be needed with 4-5 totems (1 base, 2 hiero, 1 soulmantle + searing bond).
This will require some totem resistance on the jewels.

ancestral bond isnt specced because it would require us to use traps for EE (1 socket, clunky). Could be specced for endgame bosses for an extra scorching ray totem.

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Gems:

Spelltotem (mantle) + RF + AoE/Conc + burning dmg + elemental focus + Swift affliction + Efficacy


Spelltotem + Scorching Ray + burning dmg + Elemental Focus. Pseudo links like spelltotem on boots, essence crafts etc can boost that further.

Note: For Endgame Bosses Scorching Ray and RF can be swapped and the aoe gem for controlled destruction. RF ist better for clearing and SR for bossdmg (t16+).

Searing Bond + Burn + Ele Focus + Swift Affliction.


Orb of Storms + Curse on Hit + Flammability + XXX

NOTE: XXX can be a 2nd curse, critchance, blind, clarity, Culling Strike or something else


Shield Charge/leap + faster atks + fortify


Decoy Totem + XXX

NOTE: 3 link is flexible overall. Decoy is too good to pass.

Can use Blasphemy + tempchains or enfeeble.

Stonegolem (another taunt and regen), Vaal lightning trap, cwdt setup and some other stuff.

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Some shaper/elder items can add additional links or remove the need of some gems.

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Gear:

Would go for the usual stuff.

Soulmantle, Kikazarus, Hrimnors Resolve or a good shaper/elder helmet as the important items.

The rest can be rare items with a few uniques that have potential here and there.

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I don't wanna go too deep into the class yet, but this are my initial thoughts.

After all the potential useful classes are released (all witch, templar, marauder and scion stuff) i will work out what will be the potentially best route for the specc

Can't wait to see your numbers Milky. Its looking like Hierophant would be an excellent league starter choice for this build and cant wait to see what other ascendencies do.

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Brian9824 wrote:

Can't wait to see your numbers Milky. Its looking like Hierophant would be an excellent league starter choice for this build and cant wait to see what other ascendencies do.

Hierophant is definetly better than the chieftain. Can even level smoother via spells that have some early game power (firestorm, scorching ray etc) until the transition.

But maybe another class works even better, doubt it... but maybe.

There isnt that much of number crushing. Can even be done right now (just dont use the extra totem node on the hierophant in PoB). RFT + SB + 3x SRT dmg combined, done :x.

Don't think it's really necassary to make comparisons atm with other classes, but i will definetly throw something together in PoB and update the guide once everything important is released

As someone who wants to play with totems, thanks for this. You've put a lot of effort and explanation into this, and it's all very exciting to see from someone who has experience with their build. I look forward to what you crank out for this upcoming league!