[1.3.x] Dual Flame Totems: Solo, Self-Found, Beginner-friendly. AA+EB!

I hit 60 just now, I have run a store while lvling and made good money doing so, Im alrady up to 1exa and 10 chaos with hundreds of alt shards and other misc stuff, and I bought some new gear.




Right now I am running lvl8 aa, clarity, and purity in merciless. 3k life, a little over 1k rated dmg on flame totem, with gmp so its actually x5. before running AA in merciless I was having some troubles taking a lot of damage from small fast hits, but with it I am doing fine. Damage is excellent.

Current build


The projectile speed really makes a difference as 2 totems can now easily clear the entire screen.

Cant wait to start stacking mf and mapping. Im already res capped with purity (a bit over on fire and lightning), so down the road with better gear I should have zero issues running with at least one andvarius (thats the mf/-ele res rings right?)

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thatdumbguy wrote:

What do you think of taking Practical Application in the witch tree to get through, dropping Agility (dex node) and the 2 int nodes you no longer need to travel through?

You'd gain:
20 str
55% chance to avoid stun while casting

You'd lose:
20 int
10 dex

Just curious.

I don't think that's a good choice. First, you need dexterity. As it is now, we barely have enough dex on passives and need to find dex on at least one item. Further reducing dex from passives will make gearing harder. Second, %55 chance to avoid interruption from stun while casting is kinda useless. Even if it was %100, I wouldn't consider it. If you're getting interrupted a lot in this build, you're probably doing something wrong.

Yep, like Shrandis said, 10 DEX and 20 INT are a better deal than 20 STR and the interruption protection. We're short on DEX for GMP as is (though it's much easier now with master crafting), so losing another 10 of the precious stuff is not ideal.

I was just staring a bit at the skill tree and wondered if we could zap Totemic Zeal and trade it for Heart of the Flame (and save one point), but even if Totemic Zeal's impact is only a dps tooltip error (I just wrote to Mark to ask about it again), I still think the 10 DEX, better totem life and resists are a better deal than more damage, especially since damage seems in such a good place now. When totems need to be re-cast, this is also a dps loss, especially if mobs start running around as a result. That would be a viable alternative, though.

I also feel that Light of Divinity is an interesting option when the build is "completed" at 84 and mana/mana regeneration don't need help.

Celestial Punishment was a really good idea, Shrandis. It almost too good. :) My 1.3 character in Bloodlines is approaching 70 now (still alive!), and leveling this build is even easier and smoother than in 1.1 and 1.2. Even though this is my 5th Flame Totem character, I'm still having a blast playing it.

@PabloCappone: Yes, the damage is fine! It was fine in 1.2 already when I ran 77 and 78 maps solo, and it was a breeze (as far as 77 and 78 maps can be called a breeze!), and damage is better now in 1.3. The problem with the tooltip dps in the character sheet for flame totems is that it's useless. It calculates casting speed incorrectly, it doesn't take Fire Penetration into account (if mobs go below 0% resist, they take more damage), it doesn't take Celestial Punishment into account, it doesn't consider Flammability and the burn damage, and it is shown only for one beam, not all five. Above all, the dps display does not take consider that Flame Totem pierces.

Guys i'm really new to the game, like i don't have the scion new to the game. I looked at a couple of build and this attracted me the most so this is my tree plan as a witch to play in the softcore league

http://poeurl.com/y8Os0PC

What do you guys think? Is the pathing good? What would you change?

The original path from Mivo is better.


Curious, do you guys level up your lightning warp gem? From what I can tell its like double mana for 28% reduced duration? Think its worth it?

@Oriam: I'd use the same build as the Scion one, with just the first points being different. You'd take the mana regeneration nodes and then Deep Wisdom, then follow the rest of the build (go to Ancestral Bond, then get EB). Don't take the first four points in the Scion area. Everything else is the same. :)

@Kuro: I feel it is worth it because you will get a near instant teleport eventually (with the support gems), which can be a real life safer. By the time LW gets to a high level, you'll drown in mana (mana regeneration at least).

When I get around to it, I'll make leveling trees for Witch and Templar, too, but it's essentially the same, just a slightly order. :)

Hey there, great build, trying it out in torment and having a real easy time!
Everything melts in my path, even with a 4link belly of the beast.

Been trying item rarity in place of faster casting to get me some items! The clear speed goes down but I really don't need it right now. Sure when I get to mapping i'll probably change it, just

Really curious why do u pick the sovereignity nodes on the skill tree? I am level 60 with 3000 mana, running 3 auras and also arctic armor and still casting endlessly. I see no use for them

I even thought dropping purity of elements for another aura (capped resists in merciless without it), though your totems benefit greatly from it.
What would you suggest? (currently running clarity-discipline-purity of elements)

Hey man i really like your build im using it in bloodlines at the moment. I had a few suggestions for your thread though. Theres a lot of text so it might be a good idea to seperate things with spoilers because it can be hard to find certain things. Make tldr versions of all the sections for example when talking about auras just have the auras and what their linked to. Linking your gear gives people an easier way to see what type of items to get and what your links are :D.

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Mivo wrote:

I was just staring a bit at the skill tree and wondered if we could zap Totemic Zeal and trade it for Heart of the Flame (and save one point), but even if Totemic Zeal's impact is only a dps tooltip error (I just wrote to Mark to ask about it again), I still think the 10 DEX, better totem life and resists are a better deal than more damage, especially since damage seems in such a good place now. When totems need to be re-cast, this is also a dps loss, especially if mobs start running around as a result. That would be a viable alternative, though.

I think %30 placement speed for totems helps a lot. We don't really need more dps when fighting easy packs, and totem uptime is more important than a bit more dps against crazy groups that exist to nuke your totems down. I'd rather have an easier time spamming totems against merveil and her shitload of summons rather than some extra fire damage. Also totem resists feel like a must-have.

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Mivo wrote:

Celestial Punishment was a really good idea, Shrandis. It almost too good. :) My 1.3 character in Bloodlines is approaching 70 now (still alive!), and leveling this build is even easier and smoother than in 1.1 and 1.2. Even though this is my 5th Flame Totem character, I'm still having a blast playing it.

Haha thanks :D Also I noticed that, thanks to flat ignite chance bonus from passives and totem's crazy rate of fire, stuff ignites pretty fast even without flammability. So celestial punishment still helps a lot even in curse immune maps.

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kuromahou wrote:

Curious, do you guys level up your lightning warp gem? From what I can tell its like double mana for 28% reduced duration? Think its worth it?

In my opinion, it's totally worth it. Mana is not an issue in this build. Faster warps will definitely save your life. Also it helps a lot when doing %50 regen maps since you kinda need to warp everywhere instead of walking :P

Ok i got it, i had a low level aa and started leveling it up. Now the sovereignity circle seems very good.

Also got my hands on a pair of aurseize, some nice rarity rings and ammy and I am farming endlessly (200% rarity with item rarity) until I get my hands on one (or even 2) andvarius and really take it to the next level.

This build can only get better as it goes on, really excited!