[1.2.0] Rampage/Beyond - Exiled Fiery Dragons (self-found / newbie friendly / hc tested)

27 Points (Initial Nodes)


60 Points (Getting to midgame)


Notes on 60 Points: Read regular guide on how/when to start using flame totems. So first get ancestral, then head down to get the base ammount of life from the scion wheel. In case youre playing softcore, head into witch and get dmg from next skill point alloc (from bellow) first.

BIG NOTE
Since theres two skill duration clusters super close, I suggest now (if you care to selfcast), to get em for 90% inc base duration, get templars endurance charge and charge from oak merci. And self cast quality inc dur Immortal Call. CWDT Could have enfeeble + frost wall linked, even another enduring if it works. If you care to selfcast, it should help tremendously against phys based attacks. Will test it when tree resets with Kaoms Ring, templar charge and non q lvl 19 inc duration immortal call.

82 Points



First get EB (if you know your enemies, you can even head to EB before getting scion wheel), otherwise at 73 points should get EB.
Then get dmg up.
And at 82 Points I feel basic outline is done. So 83 Points, then again not on Immortal Call from above.

After that Id do something like this.

103 Points


Only getting those ES nodes by templar and above scion tree if using Cloak of Defiance.

As always, hope that helps, and wish you all happy killing in new expansions. :)

If you have any questions, fire away.

HAVE FUN,
GoranH.

Thx Quasireel ;)

* Herald of ice doesnt do wonders, but thinking it reserves so little mana, should be used. At lvl 16 mine reserves %18 mana and adds 110ish dps per projectile.
- Esp. good if you don't have Cloak of Defiance or didn't go MoM Route.

* New talent tree includes too many good mana/mana regen nodes. So unless u are going MOM, dropping Dicipline for another 60% aura is an idea.

* The new item Apep's Rage, got one today and at first glance it looks awesome for the build. Flat bonus dmg to totems ftw.

* Carrying a support gem that REDUCES your totem range is very handy for Elreon's feed quests, or Vorici's kill target,leave others line of quests.

I decided to make this guide after having people rage-quit hardcore leagues, and players regardless of the league complaining you can't beat story (normal>cruel>merciless) without good gear. So here's a build that will help you do that and more with 0 funds, barebones and more important have fun doing it!

This is a post SotV (post 1.1.0) Templar Dual-Flame Totem build (EB/AA) with guidelines and advices on beating the game from Act 1 Normal till the end of merciless.

I now have after beating Merciless 3.7k HP, 800 Mana after reserve and 172 mana/s regen. If I take my mana regen ammy, I go to 220 mana regen, but drop my HP to 3.5k. Build relies on totems taking most of your dammage, having enough mana to spam them literary if needed, and AA to take on projectile based fast hitting attacks. And for general/hard hitting, you just need to position/reposition yourself away from the source of the dammage, and let totems deal with that.

Update: 4.6k HP at lvl 72

-Easy to build
-0 Uniques, expensive items needed
-3L is enough to beat merciless
-Fun to Play
-Insane dammage for ammount of currency invested
-Not gear dependant
-Totems take most of the hits, you stay back
-Totems aren't affected by curses and such
-Can MF easily
-Totems are immune to desync, they know where mobs are and they hit 'em hard
-Huge mana pool, mana regen
-When you start leveling AA, voidbearers, lizzards and tentacle miscreations are easy

-No leech mechanic, you rely on flasks. But being that totems aggro mobs and take almost all dmg...
-Lightning Thorns kill totems fast
-Attacks that can freeze totems
-Relies on you playing carefully and strategically, you can't yolo into a mob pack like with Aegis Aurora and stand still

This is in addition to the guide, adressed quite a few points I couldn't find the time atm to do here on this thread.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HesY8ZZexlM

Short summary of what I'm talking about

27 Points (Initial Nodes)


60 Points (Getting to midgame)


Notes on 60 Points: Read regular guide on how/when to start using flame totems. So first get ancestral, then head down to get the base ammount of life from the scion wheel. In case youre playing softcore, head into witch and get dmg from next skill point alloc (from bellow) first.

BIG NOTE
Since theres two skill duration clusters super close, I suggest now (if you care to selfcast), to get em for 90% inc base duration, get templars endurance charge and charge from oak merci. And self cast quality inc dur Immortal Call. CWDT Could have enfeeble + frost wall linked, even another enduring if it works. If you care to selfcast, it should help tremendously against phys based attacks. Will test it when tree resets with Kaoms Ring, templar charge and non q lvl 19 inc duration immortal call.

82 Points



First get EB (if you know your enemies, you can even head to EB before getting scion wheel), otherwise at 73 points should get EB.
Then get dmg up.
And at 82 Points I feel basic outline is done. So 83 Points, then again not on Immortal Call from above.

After that Id do something like this.

103 Points


Only getting those ES nodes by templar and above scion tree if using Cloak of Defiance.

As always, hope that helps, and wish you all happy killing in new expansions. :)

If you have any questions, fire away.

HAVE FUN,
GoranH.

Also if any of you would like alternative approaches as before such as getting MoM node etc. ask.

Flame Totem Setup

Flame Totems + LMP/GMP + Fire Penetration + Faster Casting

GMP is preffered when you get mana for it. As 5th link you can do IIR, added Chaos, Minion and Totem El. Res., Faster Projectiles, Blind, Knockback, Empower... also less useful are added lightning, added cold, iron will.

Mobility

Lightning Warp + Reduced Duration + Faster Casting

Aura's

Reduced Mana Gem + Clarity + Discipline + Purity of elements.
Artic Armour (always kept at bellow "base + running" mana cost speed)

Till you get EB and mana pool going, don't overdo on clarity lvl. Discipline only start using it at lvl 10+ and when you got enough mana/mana regen you feel like it's beneficiary. Purity of Elements, use that only when you feel you need it.

Cursing

Flammability / Elemental Weakness / Enfeeble

Optional

Molten Shell / Decoy Totem / Projectile Weakness / Temporal Chains

MF Setup

Flame Totem + Cull + IIR (must) to that you can add GMP/LMP

CWDT Setup

CWDT + Enduring Cry + Immortal Call (not yet sure on what lvl to have it)

To that you can add Enfeeble/Molten/Temporal.

Ex-Nemesis Guy (lvl 69 beat merciless)


Invasion Guy (lvl 66 beat merciless)

- Oak
- Skill Point
- Skill Point

EDIT: Info bellow was made on first days of invasion league, when some invaders were madly OP, so... since then there were few nerfs... so there's that.

Note: For all of these it's recommended to fight in open area, to give you space for maneuvrability, if it's a tight corridor and target doesn't have flickering ability, you can use projectile weakness to keep them at bay. Also you can open a TP in case you need to refill your flasks. On heavy encounters feel free to spam totem casts, as these bosses do some serious dmg.

Bolded (Tough) / Regular (Easy except X)

----------------------
Ch'aska, Maker of Rain... ummm I'd say reset instance unless normal difficulty or beginning cruel.

Also M'gaska, the Living Pyre as said by fellow player is very nasty at later levels.
----------------------

-Shivershell (Crab)
Just don't get near it, when in second (shellless phase), as he uses Vaal Detonate Dead when on low life.

-Ossecati, Boneshaper (Huge Skeleton)
Don't get near, he hits super hard. Otherwise, he's very easy.

-Cintiq, The Inescapable (Black Widow/Weaver Flickerer)
Enfeeble her, keep your totems up, and stay back. Very dangerous invader, use decoy totems and get out if neccesary. Late game, I suggest skipping unless experienced (+high chaos res).
(Encountered: Ledge Cruel)

-Perquil, The Lucky (Looks like Bandits in Riverways, has Spectral Throw with Lightning)
Enfeeble, keep running around him constantly, and cast totems. His stormcalls are devastating if standing still.
(Encountered: Ship Graveyard)

-Coniraya, Shadow of Malice (akin to Chaos RoA Ranger from Climb)
Enfeeble (yeah it's pretty much go to curse), don't stand on shocked ground at any time, and time his RoA hits between your totem summonings. Late game he hits like a truck, and if you happpen to be on shocked ground... be sure to have a huge life pool.
(Encountered: Cavern of Wrath)

-Nighteater (fire storm guy meet in southern forest)
He's easy, only bad thing about him is he has bear trap (bear trap + Firestorm is bad)... so be careful. Otherwise doesn't deserve a place here.
(Encountered: Entrance to Forest Encampment)

-Rima, Deep Temptress (uber Merveil's second form)
Now frezzes not only do insane dmg, also incapacitate totems. So I suggest Enfeeble or Temp Chains, depending on how heavy she hits you. Evade her Icestorms, Ice Traps etc. and spam totems, bring 2/3 mana flaks if you need, and run around because she targets you with icestorm/ice trap all the time. Don't be near when she dies. She seems bugged, can go from easy > super hard in a sec.

-Kamaq, Soilmaker (devourer)
Don't get into melee range 'cause he hits super hard. Other than that, enfeeble and keep totems up.

-Haviri, Vaal Metalsmith (warrior akin to those in Vaal Apex)
Very dangerous. Tri totems, storm call, ice... Ignore his totems, spam your fire totems near him, try and hide behind something if in closed area, if open.. run around. Keep enf on at all times, or flammability, I used flammability. And just re-summon totems. Suggest skipping unless experienced.

- Thornrunner (Chaos snake with protective bubble)
Not dangerous, unless merciless difficulty. There chaos res is sketchy. Very fast, and being that it has protective bubble it's hard to dammage her. I fought her in mud flats, open area. Anyhow, point is... try to pin her down, use Temp chains if you have, if not flammability. Very important to have a remove bleeding flask with you.

So from the get go you have two choices, use Ice Nova or Fire Trap. It's a matter of preference, I prefer fire trap. So if that's the case, make a shadow. Kill Hillock and talk to Tarkleigh to get it. Same if Ice Nova, just you can go with templar on that one.

Now it's my personal recommendation (regardless of build) that at this point you get two Coral Rings, Chain belt and a Coral amulet. You can buy those with scrolls of wisdoms(3 per item). If you don't have enough, you can always make a new char, kill hillock and stash 3 wisdoms from char and 1-2 from hillock drops.



You can throw a Trasmutation orb on it as you go along. It'll add some random stats, might add more life/strength, which is always good.

Also get a shield, preferably ES (energy shield), that goes too for rest of the gear, you want to have some ES. During the first difficulty (normal) you want ES or EVA gear (or hybrids of 'em), because EVA/ES is very good at low levels. As soon as you find Leather belts, start using them.

Headpiece : You want Life + Resist.
Chest Piece : Armor + ES easiest for links (if 5L). Life + Resist
Main Hand: Wand/Sceptre. You're aiming for max spell dmg primary, Mana regen, Resist.
Off-hand: ES Shield preferably (when having EB), type is not as important as it having Life + Res, other stats are mana regen/spell dmg.
Belt: Life + Resist, Leather Belt.
Boots: Resist, Movement Speed, Life, Dexterity
Gloves: Resist, Life, Dexterity
Rings: Life, Resist, Dexterity Mana Regen
Amulet: Life, Cast Speed, Spell Dammage, Dexterity, Resist, Mana Regen
Flasks: Mainly HP flasks. Suggested 2 Insta-Heal flasks, 1 Long heal, and rest is 1 Quicksilver (preferably with remove curse) and one granite with Iron skin for more armor, or topaz/sapphire/ruby depending on situations.

Have 5 flasks at all time.
3 HP/Mana flaks of the same type vendored give you higher tier flask of the same type. This is very important. Also try to roll a "Dispell frozen" flask, cause freezes is about the only deadly thing at start (Tidal Island/Merveil)
Important Flask Levels: Greater (lvl 18), Giant (lvl 34), Hallowed (lvl 53) at those levels I recommend you change your flasks set.

Items that grant + 1 Level to gems, or +1/2 level to fire gems are extremelly useful in the beginning.

Later on ALWAYS have at least one insta heal flask(preferably 2), secondary "dispell frozen" and lastly "remove bleeding". Also 1 Quicksilver, not to run faster... more like gtfo as soon as possible from dangerous situations. Quartz might be useful later on when/if you get stuck, but in general gameplay, 3 HP flasks, 1 Quicksilver, 1 Mana is the right setup, with Resist flasks being on switch.

Hardcore hint: Don't be embarassed to reset an instance. Like you walk in, nasty invader hits you, exile comes in and area mini-boss is around the corner... I'll pass thank you, especially in the leveling stages. In merciless, ending of cruel some invaders can be very hard, so go past them or reset and instance. That's speaking from pre 1.1.1 patch when some them were rebalanced... when I was beating Invasion some of those guys were insta-rip. One of those at least, and two were very hard.

About corrupted areas. Avoid them until you learn meaning of mods behind them and bosses you'll encounter in that area. "Area contains 2 Unique Bosses / Skills chains 2 times" for someone that means nothing, for me that means... no thank you (especially in leveling stages).

Leap slamming enemies/Rhoas/Shield Charging Soldier can both stun you and hit you for a lot, be careful, don't stand still.

Also, ALWAYS have at least 1 Town Portal scroll with yourself.

That's 27 Passives used. As you can see it gives you elemental dmg, and just crapton of life, can't put it any other way.

Can also pick that 1% Life Regen, entirely up to you. ;)


FIRST REAL SKILL
Again I leave choice to you. But my suggestions are either Firestorm, Storm Call or Flameblast. Personally I suggest you get Decoy Totem from "Breaking some Eggs" quest. Then get Flameblast after you kill Brutus "The Cage Brute" quest.

Now real fun start! You'll see just how good flameblast is. It has some downsides, but it's offseted with sweet dmg.

Note 1.1.1 Flameblast nerf: It's still good enough for leveling. ;)

LOW LEVEL STRATEGY

Throw a decoy totem > Flameblast. :D :D :D Heal if necessary, also flameblast is really easy on mana.

In Act 2 "Intruders in Black" you can pick up "Flamability" or "Molten Shell", IMO there's not need for molten shell, but if you feel like it. Flamability makes everything extra toasty!

Also at Vaal try to have at least 800hp and stay out of reach when his Vaal Smash lands... by going at his sides or behind him.

ACT 3 Normal, you should get your secondary attack skill, which is Searing Bond in "Lost in Love" quest.



Along the way, stack resistances. I'd say in act 3 most important is FIRE / LIGHTNING resistance. Exception is Piety's Ice form, that can be deadly. When facing piety, cold/light is most important.

Crematorium is fire dmg. Sewers have chaos bombers.

Also don't forget to pick up "Fire Penetration" from Sever the Right Hand quest in Act 3.

At Dominus first beware the GMP fireball guy, then Tentacle miscreation mini-boss (projectile based), lastly at dominus second form, open a tp near him so you can go in-out to refill flasks. I suggest 1k health for this fight.

When all is done....



CONGRATULATIONS, you've beaten normal!

Act 1


Act 2


Act 3



If you have beaten Cruel difficulty (in Invasion especially) at this point, it'd be appreciated if you could spare a minute to tell me about your experience with build and this guide. Even if you haven't or unfortunatelly rip'd still, if there's anything to be improved it's welcome. :)

Act 1:



Act 2



Act 3

When you kill cruel Hillock you get your main skill... funking Flamming totem. :)


Now Searing bond might do more dmg than your flame totems, and your totems will be somewhat squishy, but that's just 'cause it is lvl 1 gem. Also if you can get quality Flame Totem cheaply, do. As quality increases it's health by quite a lot.

Now these are your first links. I actually beat merciless in invasion with just a 3L (no faster casting). 5L will probably be "Added Chaos dmg", for 6L, will test when I get a tabula.



In that order of usefulness.

ALSO IMPORTANT: Go to different areas (lower lvl) and play around with flame totems to figure out how they work in open areas, on different mobs, tight corridors etc.

I don't suggest you switch to dual totems (Ancestral Bond) until you have Flame Totem + LMP combo. Better yet if you can link Flame + LMP + Fire Pen. Tooltip dps might seem low, actually it's kinda 3x that 'cause LMP, plus x2 since Dual Totem. ;)
You may also keep Flameblast + Flame Totem as much as you feel like it, just dont' overdo it. :)

Use Flammability for more dmg, or Projectile Weakness for tankier totems. Temp Chains for fast moving enemies, and Elemental Weakness when in parties.

- Get Clarity from "Caged Brute"

When in party considering using El. Weakness as curse, as it's almost as good... but better for party in general if there are light/cold users.