[1.1.x] Cursed General (Tri Totem Raging Spirit / Summoner)

Spell Totems have the following modifiers:
-50% Less Damage
-30% Less Cast Speed

3 Totems put out as much equivalent Ranging Spirits as a player standing still spamming the ability (1 totem = 35%, 2 = 70%, 3 = 105%).

The primary advantage is mobility, you can cast a totem and move on (such as avoiding AoE or rushing through trash). The totems at my level stay up nearly a minute, much longer than needed. On some fights I'll just keep running (such as fire storms coming after me) while the totems continue bringing death to the boss.

Next, is projection; you can cast a spell totem forward of your position or even through grates / over spaces. Your totem then casts RS on anything in its range. This allows you to project power.

Along with projection is focus fire. You can summon totems on top of things (like allies can not die totems or bosses) and they will focus fire it.

Then is collision. The totems act as a collidable object. You can use them to block entrances or prevent projectiles form hitting you (3 totems in a line will block a row of arches, then cast your Skeletons in front of the totems and profit).

Last is, well they are expendable. On some bosses I spam totems and the bosses keep them dead (not before they get off 2-3 spirits). Bosses end up dead and you don't.

- Please refer to this GGG Reddit Post with information on minion DPS numbers.
- Your primary and very consistent source of damage comes from your Raging Spirits.
- This damage has very high up time and quickly adjusts between AoE and ST.
- 3 Totems keep 24 Raging Spirits up for 23.0k DPS.
- 2 Totems (for Dual Totem or Tri with a Regen) put out 16.1k DPS.
- 1 Totem (for Dual Totem with a Regen) puts out 8.0k DPS.

- Secondary Damage (less reliable) comes from your other minions (Zombie, Skeleton, Spectre).
- Each of 8 Zombies put out 1,643 DPS for 13.1k DPS. They will have ~ 6k life.
- Skeletons (12) put out 781 DPS for a total of 9.4k DPS. They will have ~3k life and do 1k aoe damage when they die. You can typically maintain 2 per second this way.
- Spectres (2) have a wide DPS range (and no firm numbers) depending on the type you are using. I will not include their contribution in my discussion of DPS.
- All together, you get 23k DPS constant from Raging Spirits, and an additional 22k DPS variable from your other minions.

- Please note, auras that add damage are EXTREMELY effective with this build.
- Raging Spirits deal 0.7 effective attacks per second each (17).
- Zombies deal 0.75 effective attacks per second (4).
- Skeletons deal 1.1 effective attacks per second (13).
- You can see how adding 120 damage per hit (220 with minion damage nodes) to 34 hits per second can add 7-8k DPS.

Raging Spirit (4) and Spell Totem (31):
- Until Level 31 you will be the one spamming Raging Spirit. After that you'll let your totems handle this task.
- You need to be able to spam this, so until Spell Totem only add supports if you can still spam with the higher cost.
- We will support Raging Spirt / Spell Totem with (Minion Damage - 19)(Increased Duration - 24)(Faster Casting - 31)
- Eventually you will 5 link this on a chest (RBBB and a R/B)
- Discussion on Raging Spirit:
- Discussion on Spell Totem:

Summon Zombie (1):
- We will support this with (Minion Damage - 19)(Minion Life - 12)(Any other Support)
- As we will eventually be 4 linking this, Head/Gloves/Boots are good places to place it.
- Anything with + Level of Minions should go to your Zombies first.
- You won't be spamming this, so feel free to make it cost as much as you like.
- Discussion on Summon Zombie:

Summon Skeletons (10):
- We will be supporting this with (Minion Life -12)(Minion Speed - 24)
- We need to be able to always spam this, so only support it if you can support the spam.
- 3 Links is all that we need, so your 1h weapon or shield are good places for this.
- Discussion on Summon Skeletons:

Summon Spectre (19):
- We will support this with (Minion Damage - 19)(Minion Life - 12)
- As this will be sharing an item with another skill, we want a 4 link. Head/Gloves/Hands are a good place for this.
- Discussion on Summon Spectre:

Vaal Summon Skeletons (10):
- We will support this with (Minion Damage - 19)(Minion Life - 12)
- This will go into the same item as your Summon Spectre so that they can share the supports.
- Discussion on Vaal Summon Skeletons:

Clarity (10) and Discipline (31):
- We will support these with (Reduced Mana - 31)
- Discussion on Auras:

Rejuvenation Totem (19):
- This skill has no supports.
- Once you hit level 45 you can find a nice Unset Ring to place this in. Don't worry about the color as it takes very few Chromatic Orbs to change it.
- Until then, throw this into whatever gear it will fit in.
- It may not look like it, but this is a priority spell.
- Discussion on Rejuvenation Totem:

Cast on Stun (24):
- We will support this with (Enfeeble - 19)(Molten Shell - 10)(Flesh Offering - 24)
- As we will be using 3 spells linked to this, a 4 link from your Helm/Gloves/Boots will be needed.
- Discussion on Cast when Stunned:

Your primary gear focus is on anything that gives something to your minions.
Next, your focus is on any defense stats (getting resists to 75%, as much Armor / Energy Shield as possible).
That's it! Gearing is simple.

Tri Totem:

By time you are level 50, you will have more than enough currency to grab this nice piece of gear. It is not necessary, but it puts the TRI in Tri Totem.
When looking at this, keep in mind that it includes the spell totem, so a 4 link functions as a 5 link. You'll want to start with a 4 link (any colors) for ~ 5-8c. You'll then use your chromatic orbs that you've saved up to make this 3 blue and 1 red (or 2 blue 2 red).

It also puts the Cursed in Cursed General. Essentially, you'll get a random curse every time a totem dies (even from summoning a 4th totem, which kills 1 totem). To negate this, at least one of your flasks should have the Warding flag on them (removes all curses / makes you immune to curses for the duration). You'll start a fight, cast 3 totems, hit your flask and watch everything die!


Flasks:

Swap Weapon/Shield and Quality Gems:



My gear at 63 as a point of reference:

Level 19-20 (around the time you are doing your first set of quests in Act 2 Normal)
23 Points - Witch Start
- You can now equip a Rejuvenation Totem. You'll only get this as a drop; so if you don't have it yet I recommend you pick it up for ~10 Orbs of Alteration.
- This becomes your primary totem until you pick up a Spell Totem / Dual Totem

Level 27 (about the time you enter Act III on Normal):
30 Points - Minion Instability
- With this Keystone, you can now use your Skeletons as 'Bombers'. Casting them on bosses that insta gib them will cause that boss to 'kill itself' on the explosions of your dead.

Level 33-35 (around the time you kill Piety on Normal):
39 Points - Dual Totem
- At this point you can now equip Dual Totems along with the Spell Totem (Level 31). You do get the spell totem as a quest reward (around level 40), however they can typically be had for ~10 Orbs of Alteration. Picking it up for the Dominus fight is recommended.

Level 43 (about the time you finish the side quests on Act 2 in Cruel)
52 Points - Auras and Minions
- Here you add to your ability to support a second aura (so you can do Clarity and Discipline) in anticipation of swapping to Chaos Inoculation later.
- You also expand your Army and add some much needed minion regen/leach.

Level 51-52 (around the time you kill Piety on Cruel)
64 Points - Chaos Inoculation / Zealot's Oath
- Here you make the transition to Chaos Inoculation / Zealot's Oath.
- You'll want to have 2 points available and pick both of these at the same time (after killing Piety you get a book with 2 skill points, a perfect time to transition).
- You'll also want to make sure that your gear can support this. Your ES should be ~ 2x your life at this point. If you need to, delay these keystones until you are ready.
- Getting these two key stones is important to living through Merciless.
- This is also a great time to decide to pick up Soul Mantle (level 49) and at least one Flask of Warding (removes curses). You can expect to pay ~10c for the Soul Mantle. If you've followed my loot guidance, you'll likely have enough by this level. Take a look at the Exile Stats for currency exchange rates. A few stacks of Alteration and Chromatic Orbs should offset the 2-3c you've likely already found.
- Try for a 3-4 link mantle to start (Damage, Duration, Cast Speed. As this is an INT based item, getting 3 blue and 1 red will only take a few Chromatic Orbs; so you can mostly ignore the colors of the mantle you purchase.

Level 60 (Starting Act III on Merciless)
78 Points - Minion Master
- You'll grab Faith and Steel first for the defense; and then spend the rest of your time fleshing out all your minion nodes.
- At this point, you are really enjoying life as all the 'key players' are out.

Level 67 (Dominus on Merciless)
85 Points - Starting Maps
- This puts us at 'End Game' where we grab a few more items to shore up our defense before killing Dominus and moving into Maps.
- Elemental Adaptation to get our resists above the 75% cap.
- Then Infused Shield and Arcane Focus for the Energy Shield
- Keep in mind, most of our defense comes from playing the game right (player skill using all the minions and such along with a regen totem for Energy Shield). You should have enough 'buffer' to survive one or two mistakes. This is not a tanking build.

Level 75 (Build Complete)
93 Points - Final Build
- At this point you are done. Level 75 and call it a day.
- Your last points are pushing for Leadership followed by Influence to support your Auras.

Fantasy
120 Points - Fantasy Build
- Body and Soul should be your playing forever target at 99 Points.
- Then your remaining 8% Energy Shield and Aura Effect Nodes at 102 points.
- Next your Unnatural Calm at 104 Points.
- The rest is your 6% Energy Shield / 8% Armor Nodes; your 6% Energy Shield Nodes; and your 10% reduced cooldown nodes.
- At the end Cast Speed is all you'll have left.

Transmutation Orbs - Turns White items into Blue items
* You get these by selling unidentified items and are common drops.
* Selling 1 Transmutation Orb gives you 4 wisdom scrolls.
* Only loot Blue items if they may be upgrades, or if you need more wisdom scrolls (4 link Red/Blue as an example).
* Consider only looting blue rings/amulets/belts/flasks to save space.
* At some point, you'll likely stop looting blue all together.

Quality Items - Increases quality of items
* Selling a combined quality of 40% for an item type (Armour, Weapon, Flask, Map, Gem) gives you an item that can be used to increase the quality of that item type.
* Selling a single Quality 20% item does the same thing.
* Loot all Quality Flasks and Gems to convert to Glassblower and Gemcutter Prisms.
* Loot Quality Weapons and Armors as needed to keep a stock of Armourer's Scraps and Blacksmith's Whetstones (if you are lucky on boxes, you'll likely skip looting most quality items).
* Unless you know what you are doing, only apply these to White Items

Gems - Skill Gems
* Loot all Gems, especially passive Gems
* Consider placing Gems in the sockets of your loot if you need the extra few slots
* Check the market on passive gems and any quality gem before converting to other currency.

Looting:
- Loot all Yellow and Orange Items
- Loot all items that link the 3 colors together (R, G, B) and sell for Chromatic Orbs
- Loot all 5 Link, 6 Link, and 6 Socket Items (Sell the 6 Socket, Trade the 5L and 6L Items)

Identify:
* Identify all items that you pick up
- Keep Yellow Items if they look powerful, otherwise vendor them for currency.
- Bank all Orange Items and do a bit of research later to see if they are worth something.

Stashing:
- Stash all currency items, keep 1/2 stack of Portal and Wisdom Scrolls on you.
- Using the CTRL Button, every now and then transfer all Currency Items into your inventory and then back to your stash. This will stack them back up (for all the fragments).

Hoarding:
* As you level up, lean towards keeping your currency rather than applying it to an item.

Chaos Orbs
* Keep level 60 and higher Rare items (especially Rings/Amulets) to make full rare sets to sell the vendor in exchange for Chaos Orbs.
* You can trade 16-20 Alts for a Chaos.

Is my Yellow/Orange any good?
* Slots / Links - If your item has the max linked slots then yes, it is good and you want to keep it to sell later or use. 1H/Shield = 3, Boots/Helm/Gloves = 4, Body/2H = 6
* Resists - If it has + to all resistances, and/or dual/tri resistance; and added all up they are more than 80, then yes it is good. You'll want to keep your own reserve of these items as you tune your gear (so if you drop resistance on an item you can swap in some other).
* Themed - Does it look like it was made for a class? Picture a bow with a bunch of +elemental damage mods or a shield with a bunch of blocking and defense. If it is all mixed then it is less likely to be 'that piece' someone is looking for.
* Max Modifiers - check the Item Affix page and look at all the modifiers. An example is a weapon that has 169% physical damage. People want this; especially if it has the max links and all the other mods are related to damage.

3/25/14 - Revised Gear Section
3/25/14 - Added Merciless Piety Kill
3/24/14 - Updated the DPS Section
3/24/14 - Updated the Skills Used Section
3/24/14 - Updated the Passive Skill Tree and Leveling section
3/24/14 - Quick update to introduce my current build at 80 points (Version 2.0 In Progress); Also added some information for reactive defense / offense.
3/23/14 - Added a Video (Cruel Dominus Kill)
3/22/14 - Initial Post

Zombies:

They are now in a +2 helm with dmg/life/fire linked. With all the minion nodes, they rarely die on anything but massive boss fights.

Skeletons:

I've changed them to Life / Speed. With the added speed and life, they really can get to their target better and better defend.
On bosses that instant gib lots of things, these skeletons have enough life and move fast enough to actually get in melee range so when they explode, they do nice damage.
I also find myself casting them much less on trash as they can keep up.

Spectre now shares Vaal Skeletons!

Still linked with Damage/Life.
The Vaal Skeletons are just, awesome. Picture a massive boss fight with 30 of these, 24 raging spirits, 8 Zombies and 12 Skeletons (oh, and 2 spectre). And then I get hit and proc Flesh Offering. This is what the Cursed General is about!

Reactive (Cast on Stun)

This is rather standard stuff, minus the Flesh Offering.
Your minions taking you getting hit personally is really gratifying.

Rejuvenating Totem

Moved this to its own slot as it needs no linking.
Now that I am CI, having this becomes really nice. It essentially acts likes a flask for your Energy Shield.
Before CI, it negated most life damage (such as poison clouds) and get the army through fire and such. It is a key part of the build now.

Of Course, Tri Totem / Raging Spirits:

Nothing has changed here, still looking forward to saving up for a 5L

Discipline and Clarity:

Got my power figured out enough to get my second Aura (along with the nodes).

The other stuff: