[3.5][HCSSF] Storm Brand Hierophant | Tanky, mobile, beginner friendly, and fun

Hey, somewhat of a new player here.
Really enjoying this build, brands are really fun.
What should my single target lightning spire trap setup be? I never played traps and google didnt really help.
Edit: Oh and also, what about flasks? I never played a MoM character either, should I use a mana/hybrid flask?

I'll create a flask section in a bit, thank you for reminding me!

To answer your questions: Lightning Spire Trap-Controlled Destruction-Lightning Penetration-Elemental Focus would probably do great. I haven't played it too much, so I'm not 100% sure that it's optimal, but it should be great.

On flasks, I tend to run with 1 life, 1 mana, 1 survivability flask (generally granite or basalt), 1-2 quicksilvers. It's also very much worth getting the suffix "of Staunching" (bleed removal) on a flask, as well as "of Heat" for freeze removal.

I am up to level 15 and loving the build so far.

One newbie question, what does the 'numberL' element mean in the gem section, e.g.

Main Offense spell

4L: Storm Brand - Controlled Destruction - Elemental Focus - Lightning Penetration

L stands for links! Basically, it just means that you want to connect all the sockets. There's one section that nowadays has 2L and 1L, which means you only need to connect two of the sockets.

That makes sense, thanks Lily.

Suggestion for you to try out. The new weapon crafting mod "Cast spell on skill usage" has a 5 second cooldown, and is PERFECT for things like golems, molten shell, and tempest shield. Also lets you put those 3 gems in your weapon, freeing up a support gem slot on something else.

That's a very good point. I tried it out for my Brand Recall and didn't like it, but I didn't even consider putting my three support spells in there. Good tip!

Added content specific advice

Updated FAQ and content specific advice.

Added leveling passive trees.