Spell Totem

I have a bit of a gripe with the way Molten Shell functions on a totem.

It just spams the skill as quickly as it can instead of riding it out preventing potential detonation.

I don't know if some little logic checks can be injected to allow molten shell to detonate properly, or if its something they even want to let happen, but it would be nice if I could basically plant an exploding taunt in the middle of my enemies.

Hi..

And what about:

Spell Totem + Summon Skeletons = constantly summon skeletons.. again and again.. non stop..

May be it must summon only for max number ?


Thanks..

Spell totems seem to be incredibly OP in general, but as a first step to toning them down, why not make it so that totems drop at the character's feet, instead of being able to place them anywhere?

Part of the reason they are so ridiculous in both PvE and PvP is because they can be easily placed so that they attack things that arent even on the player's screen.


In other words, right now there is essentially no risk to placing totems, and there is a very high reward. The worst that happens is you waste mana, but at 250% mana multiplier and 40% damage penalty, it takes about 4 casts for the totem to make up for the equivalent of what it would have cost you to do the damage yourself.

No risk with high rewards makes very little sense for a game like this.


And then on top of that, there is a passive that allows for 2 totems... double damage output. If there's going to be a passive that allows for 2 totems, at least make it a double edged sword. Only allow for one kind of totem to be up at a time, or make it a keystone and have it reduce totem damage by 20%.

Perhaps they cant crit, or they cant stun, or they cant inflict elemental status elements. They need SOMETHING that stops them from being better than regular old casting in every way.

And when you only cast them at your feet, all the mobs follow you, so the totems never die and get more casts.
Though at the very least, Totems cost you a support slot.
That could be filled with FC, thus raising the damage output, or anything else the totem doesn't have;
Given that slots are the most limiting, you have to have 2 totems to really rely on them as your main source of damage.
Maybe they cast too fast, especially compared to ranged totems, but I wouldn't quite call them OP.

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UnDeaD_CyBorG wrote:

And when you only cast them at your feet, all the mobs follow you, so the totems never die and get more casts.

This logic makes very little sense to me. If what you were saying is true everyone would just cast totems at their feet. Regardless, what I proposed is a balance check that counters one of the more unreasonable aspects of totems in both PvE and PvP

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Though at the very least, Totems cost you a support slot.
That could be filled with FC, thus raising the damage output, or anything else the totem doesn't have;
Given that slots are the most limiting, you have to have 2 totems to really rely on them as your main source of damage.
Maybe they cast too fast, especially compared to ranged totems, but I wouldn't quite call them OP.

That doesnt mean much when you take into consideration the fact that you dont need to rely on totems as your only source of damage to use them effectively. There's no downside to adding a spell totem to any caster's aresenal, and any build that would end up kiting to any extent will get that much more dps out of a totem that casts while they do so.

Well, as a caster, your armor is your only 6L.
So you can essentially have a spell with two supports on the totem.
Yes, it raises Dps, and grants additional targets, but so do minions;
With just one passive point spend, which isn't even off the path for most, a witch can run around with 4 decent minions that act as meatshields and block attackers.
I don't see totems as any different; They are part of the preparation before any mob group, they take up slots, and they have a significant mana cost; 250% is a lot, after all.
As most people run with two or three Auras, that might be your entire pool at times; why would there need to be a downside to casting a totem? I can quite see that as a valid and encouraged strategy, given how many different kinds of totems there are; if two thirds of people have one, I wouldn't be surprised, nor worried.

I no longer have the means to test this myself before OB, and am considering a crit-based dual ice nova totem build for my first or second toon after the wipe..

How do spell totems interract with charges? Particularly those gained by Voll's Protector: will the totems gain charges for themselves, for me, or not at all? Do I need Conduit to extend the benefit of my power charges to the spell totem? If the totems gain charges for themselves, would Conduit extend their benefit to me? For that matter, can Conduit be used to grant the benefit of charges beyond max charges? (Assume 2 party members with 6 power charges eachand Conduit, if the totems do not gain charges themselves or do not benefit from Conduit)

Thank you in advance :)

Awesome, thanks for the fast reply. That makes things much easier :)

I assume also, Totems don't benefit from you having charges either (regardless of Conduit). They wouldn't get faster casting if you were running Blood Rage, etc.. Correct?

Though they can apparently get endurance charges.
Using Enduring cry on a totem.... hmmm....