[Retired Thread] Wallach's Hierophant Holy Flame Totems (Old)

"

im not in a POE guild but

Join a guild, if not for the company (and quick/free answers when you have any type of question), then simply join for the storage space. Seriously, guild storage sometimes makes all the difference, even if its just temporarily storing your crap so you can organize your own storage. Also throwing uniques that are not useful to you and you don't want to go the effort to sell into the guild storage is also very good, like if someone else needs it because they want to try out a new build or are making a fresh character. You can also request your guild master to store your more valuable stuff in the locked storage section too.

Thank You for the great build, Wallach! It's the first one I seriously tried out in PoE and I'm having loads of fun. Currently running up to T15 with only mediocre gear.

While trying to get behind some mechanics, I came about a question regarding physical dmg conversion to fire:

The max amount here is 100%. Holy Flame Totem itself already provides 50% and Avatar of Fire another 50%. Isn't any further increase a waste (Divine Fury, Item mod,...)?

Sorry for the noob question)

Hello Wallach! I tried to kill Apex Atziri (red door), but I died six times and failed to kill her during the second clone phase >_< I wanted to ask for some advice and see if I did something wrong.

I have full 75% resist for three elements, and +22% chaos resist.
3000 HP + 500 ES (This is probably why I died, but then again, I have at least +50 HP in all my gear except weapon and armor and the duo essence worm, armor is Tabula Rasa)
I have the MOM keystone as well as the other MOM from the ascendance.
As for my passive tree, I have everything in the skill build starting from the Templar corner into the witch corner, ending at Nimbleness. Admittedly, I used three points to gain Shamanistic Fury (the totem nodes right next to MOM) instead of getting the jewel slot near Nimbleness, but I doubt having that extra jewel would have saved me.

Currently my dps with Flame Totem is 45k with arcane surge and stuff, I run flammability and also use a single Wave of Conviction Totem. Damage is totally fine in my honest opinion (Fire penetration total: -35 from Fire penetrate on flame totem, -42 from flammability, -44%ish from wave of conviction, and if wave of conviction has ignited the combustion also has -18 fire resist; the total sum is 139 penetration). The problem was two fold, I was too squishy to take any hit from the queen, and the totems were also instantly dead the moment I call them, resulting in no damage. I have no idea what to do to fix this.

Also, I wanted to ask why is Totem in general revered as "All content" when they cannot do any depth related activity at all? Totems refuse to attack while within darkness, so delving without flashbangs is not an option, as the totems are unlikely to kill all the mobs before the flashbang expires.

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QQinfinity wrote:

Also, I wanted to ask why is Totem in general revered as "All content" when they cannot do any depth related activity at all? Totems refuse to attack while within darkness, so delving without flashbangs is not an option, as the totems are unlikely to kill all the mobs before the flashbang expires.

I mean, monsters that are in darkness are invulnerable so it doesn't really matter if totems fire or not. Nobody can kill monsters in darkness without flares.

They're not ideal for delving, but then a lot of builds aren't. They're fine for the kind of delve depths most people get to in a league though (300-500).

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Wallach wrote:

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QQinfinity wrote:

Also, I wanted to ask why is Totem in general revered as "All content" when they cannot do any depth related activity at all? Totems refuse to attack while within darkness, so delving without flashbangs is not an option, as the totems are unlikely to kill all the mobs before the flashbang expires.

I mean, monsters that are in darkness are invulnerable so it doesn't really matter if totems fire or not. Nobody can kill monsters in darkness without flares.

They're not ideal for delving, but then a lot of builds aren't. They're fine for the kind of delve depths most people get to in a league though (300-500).

I see! Thank you. That makes much more sense. Are there any suggestions for increasing survivability? This build really doesn't include much in health, and even with 40% take damage as mana (MOM + Guidance) an average 4k health seems a bit squishy for things like Uber Elder or 5 armies. I am already running COD steel skin.

(Since my post on dying to Atziri I tried to replace my gear with more HP and managed to reach 3.5k but I know thats probably still not enough for her, or any other bigger bosses. I dread to think what I'm going to do once I reach T16 and fight against a certain infamous speedy boss in a super cramped room)

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QQinfinity wrote:

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Wallach wrote:

"

QQinfinity wrote:

Also, I wanted to ask why is Totem in general revered as "All content" when they cannot do any depth related activity at all? Totems refuse to attack while within darkness, so delving without flashbangs is not an option, as the totems are unlikely to kill all the mobs before the flashbang expires.

I mean, monsters that are in darkness are invulnerable so it doesn't really matter if totems fire or not. Nobody can kill monsters in darkness without flares.

They're not ideal for delving, but then a lot of builds aren't. They're fine for the kind of delve depths most people get to in a league though (300-500).

I see! Thank you. That makes much more sense. Are there any suggestions for increasing survivability? This build really doesn't include much in health, and even with 40% take damage as mana (MOM + Guidance) an average 4k health seems a bit squishy for things like Uber Elder or 5 armies. I am already running COD steel skin.

(Since my post on dying to Atziri I tried to replace my gear with more HP and managed to reach 3.5k but I know thats probably still not enough for her, or any other bigger bosses. I dread to think what I'm going to do once I reach T16 and fight against a certain infamous speedy boss in a super cramped room)

Your account is currently set to private so I can't really see your character to know exactly what the issue is, but I don't really feel like either of my totem builds should have survivability issues if you're following guide recommendations. Raw HP value isn't really as relevant as actual effective health which this build should get a decent amount of (you should definitely be over 8k eHP by the time you're considering fighting Uber Elder).

QQinfinity, survivability comes with passives and equipment. I'm at 93 now, with 4,2k Life, 3k Mana and 0,7 ES and this with okayish gear. The build feels solid now and if i die, i know what i did wrong.

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Your account is currently set to private so I can't really see your character to know exactly what the issue is, but I don't really feel like either of my totem builds should have survivability issues if you're following guide recommendations. Raw HP value isn't really as relevant as actual effective health which this build should get a decent amount of (you should definitely be over 8k eHP by the time you're considering fighting Uber Elder).

Sorry bout that, mostly because I'm playing on a different server, the TW server. So, here is the total list of my gear.

Main Hand Dagger, Skean-
30% crit multiplier
-----
+19 int
+21% fire spell damage
Add 21~46 fire damage (to weapon)
Add 33~62 fire damage (to spell)
+43% spell crit chance
20% to inflict poison on hit
[Sockets: 3B, two linked, flame dash and quick cast, one socket left empty]


Off hand Bone spirit Shield
+19% spell damage
-----
+1 level to socketed fire gem
+61 HP
+16% all elemental resist
+18% fire resist
+29% lightning resist (crafted mod)
[Sockets: 3B, Lightning Golem + Crit Chance support + Spell Echo support]
(Tried to look for a shield with +1 totem, but there are none on the market, the ones on the market are 3 exalt and others do not have the mods I wanted the most: HP, Chaos Resist. Currently considering switching to minion life and culling strike)


Hat, Crusader Helmet
108 armor and 28 ES
------
+23 armor
+11 max ES
+96 HP
+12.3 health regen/per sec
+24 MP
+45% cold resist
+10% fire and chaos resist (crafted mod)
[Sockets: 3R+1B, Steelskin + COD + Duration Increase + Vaal Discipline]
(Steelskin and COD are lv19 and Lv17 as recommended by guide)

Gloves, Fingerless Silk Gloves
+15% spell damage, +54 ES
------
+49 dex
+11 max ES
+97 HP
+27% fire resist
+23% lightning resist
(yet to be crafted)
[Sockets: 2R+2B, Wave of Conviction + Spell Totem + Knockback support + Combustion]

Shoes, Sorcerer Boots
+44 ES
-----
+10 max ES
+18 HP
+17% fire resist
+28% cold resist
+20% movement speed
+41 HP (crafted mod)
[Sockets: 3B+1R, Flammability + Increased Duration + Spell Cascade + Arcane Surge]
(Oldest equipment that I am currently trying to replace. Arcane Surge is lv12, requiring 99 mana spent to trigger, but currently flammability costs 103)


Armor, Tabula Rasa
[Sockets: Holy Flame Totem, Infused Channeling, Fire Penetration, Elemental Focus, Efficacy, Added Fire Damage]


Belt, Heavy Belt
+31 str
-----
+62 HP
+12.2 health regen/per sec
+43% lightning resist
+31% chaos resist
(yet to be crafted)

Two Rings: Essence Worms, with Herald of Ash and Zealotry respectively

Amulet, Agate Amulet
+17 str and int
-----
+9% armor
+43% fire resist
+48% cold resist
+31% chaos resist
+49 HP (crafted mod)

(sorry, there was a second half of my total statistic but draft decided to go out of sync, might have to wait to post again)

Total stats & resist:
3470 HP
516 ES
2071 MP
(So, if its 40% of MP taken as health, its going to be 828? Adding all three together has eHP 4814, I think)

128.7 health regen
232.8 health regen (with all totems)
441 health regen (with all totems and hallowed ground)

136.2 mana regen
234.1 mana regen (with all totems)

118% fire resist
109% cold resist
83% lightning resist
32% chaos resist

Flask: 2 Hallowed Hybrid Flask, 1 Diamond Flask, 1 Silver Flask, 1 Wise Oak

1st hallowed hybrid flask: Instant recovery, remove bleeding
2nd hallowed hybrid flask: Less recover but 135% recovery speed and heals half of the value when close to death, remove freezing
Diamond Flask: +20 max charge, remove ignite
Silver Flask: +15 max charge, remove shock
Wise Oak is just Wise Oak

Passive screenshot:


Currently LV81 just starting to reach into shadow section of the passive tree.
Three jewel slots: Splinter, Clear Mind, rare jewel with 9% cast speed and 4% reduced mana cost

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Generally speaking, aside from "git gud" I honestly don't see ways to improve drastically. Died from Atziri many times during clone phase, as totems die before they deal any damage, and I die while trying to place more totems and dodging around flame blasts big and small. I also had a lot of trouble during the precursory triple boss fight, one of the guys (y'ara'az I think its called) kept rushing my face and ignoring my totems, died twice because of that.

Currently trudging through T8 maps, and basically every map with any mod is fine, but maps with narrow paths are frustrating. Syndicate Lab (Immortal Syndicate from Jun's quests) and Timeless Monolith (Legion league) kept lagging on me and has caused 50% of my total deaths.

Wave of conviction is only used for penetration purposes, such as when going up against anything that is immune to curses, or has high resistance due to map mods.

DPS of the flame totems are said to be 45k with arcane surge when looking at the skill panel. Have not yet looked at the skill panel while all my flasks are active.

Definitely trying to replace Vaal Discipline, but not quite sure what to replace it with, and I have recently ran out of chromatic orbs so both Phase Run and Vaal Haste are going to temporarily be out of the picture.