[2.0] Flame Totem MF Templar (Boss Solo/Culler)

Hello and welcome to my first build guide!

(Updated for 2.0!)



Summary

This build is intended as a tool to gather up currency for other more powerful builds. Don't expect to be clearing high level maps fast. It works as a culler, for either maps (if you're fast) or bosses. I use this build mostly for solo farming Dominus. And that is where I would recommend it be used.



Things that changed in 2.0

The build is squishier, or rather, everything does more damage. I recommend using self cast enduring cry and either Cast When Damage Taken - Immortal Call, or learning and practicing the rhythm of also doing manual Immortal call for greater protection against Physical damage.

The build also does less damage, or rather, everything has more health. You may want to take the fire damage above witch at the top of the tree sooner, but I'm not sure what to drop for it. This will take testing on my part but I don't have the regret orbs to do it right now.

Overall the build was nerfed, but still functions. Culling for a group has become more appealing than solo farming.



Leveling/Passive Tree

I recommend leveling using a combination of Flame Totem and Fire Storm. Drop a totem, curse with Ele weakness or Flammability, and drop a Fire Storm. That should kill everything other than rares and bosses. Support both Flame Totem and Fire Storm with added cold damage and added lightning damage and you should do more than enough damage.

Get a Lifesprig unique wand, its only worth maybe 1 alchemy orb. Otherwise vendor craft a +1 fire gems sceptre for leveling. You vendor a blue sceptre, a ruby ring, and an orb of alteration, to get a +1 fire gems mod. Augment it and hope for something good. Either of those options will carry you through normal difficulty if not most of cruel.

You will only take Ancestral Bond once you really start using magic find gear. Which ought to be at level 60+. This allows you to always be placing totems ahead of yourself to stay safe since your defences will not be the best with MF gear on.

Jewels! You want the following stats on your jewels, really in any combination:
- % life
- % fire damage
- % projectile damage
- % totem life/damage/etc
- % projectile speed
- % resists (to make up for low resists on MF gear)

20 Point Tree


40 Point Tree


60 Point Tree


My Tree (Lvl 85)


Lvl 100 Tree




The focus of the tree is pretty split. I go for Life, Totem survivability, Damage, and Resists. The tree is probably the least important part of this build so always feel free to make changes depending on what you find to be your greatest areas of weakness. For instance, don't be afraid to take one of the 30 dex nodes if you have to. And don't be afraid to go to witch earlier if you want to.



Bandits




Gear





With the gear, its all about the MF Stats and resistances. You're relatively fragile, but with gear like this you'll do just fine farming Dominus. Leveling up in maps is the hard part, and you may want to find better defensive gear if you want to progress in level further than I have.

If you can't afford a Demigod's Bounty, use a Crest of Perandus or a purely defensive life and resist belt. I only got the Demi's after a lot of farming with this build so don't worry about getting all the gear from the start.

If you don't want to use two Andvarius' you can probably self find decent gold rings with a rarity roll or two and some resists, if this is the case you can probably afford to wear Greed's Embrace at all times, but this decision is up to you.

I use the Searing Touch for damage, it's +2 fire gems and other stats really make up for the lack of damage from the tree, enabling solo play, clearing trash mobs, and getting through the Dominus fight. I switch in the Greed's Embrace while Dominus is entering his second form as there is very little elemental damage to worry about at that point. The 6l is for map clearing for higher defenses and you dont need a 6l, a 5l is fine. Also I weaponswap (X key) to the Heartbreaker and Stormsail when Dominus hits cull range, which kills my dps totem and I then drop the MF totem to get the kill. Optimally I would also have a Divination Distillate, and run a high level arctic armor to drain my mana so I could add the flask to my cull, but I have other things i'm saving up for first.



Gems/Skills

Helm: Lightning Warp - Faster casting - Reduced duration - Portal
Farming Dominus solo you need mobility to get to him faster. And you will use a lot of portals, especially if you are culling for a group.

Boots: Reduced Mana - Purity of Elements - Clarity | Arctic Armour
You need the resists from the Purity, and clarity is for your DPS Totem, it costs a lot of mana and you want to be able to get both out or refreshed as fast as you can. Arctic Armour is just an extra layer of defense, but is not at all mandatory. I often forget it or opt not to use it to avoid the reduced mana regen.

Gloves: Cast when damage taken - Temporal chains - Greater Multiple Projectiles - Arctic Breath/Item Rarity
Great defensive option for bringing enemies to a near stand still. I have rarity in there instead of arctic breath to avoid having the arctic breath get the cull instead of my MF totem. It has happened. But definetly put in arctic breath while mapping.


Searing Touch: Flame Totem - Greater Multiple Projectiles - Fire Penetration - Faster Casting - Added Chaos - Faster Projectiles
This is your DPS totem if you get a 6l, put flamability where your arctic armour gem is and just dont run arctic armour. This will be espescially true come 2.0

Chest: Flame Totem - Item Rarity - Item Quantity - Greater Multiple Projectiles - Faster Projectiles - Faster Casting
This is your MF totem, it will stay up when you swap to Heartbreaker and get the cull. Faster Projectiles and Faster Casting can be swapped in importance, this order is just my own preference.

Heartbreaker: Enduring cry - Spell echo - Anything
Keep endurance charges up for better defenses and so Immortal call can be cast. Level some other gem in the third slot, I'm leveling an Item Quantity.

Wheel of the Stormsail: Cast when damage taken - increased duration - Immortal call
This will only go off for a significant amount of time if you have been casting enduring cry manually, and allows for a great increase in survivability.



Feel free to let me know what you think, ask questions, point out any mistakes, or make suggestions.

nice guide

Thanks! I hope to make more for my other characters when I find the time, but I'm also waiting until The Awakening. I made this first one because a friend requested it. I hope it helped you. :D

This builds looks exactly what i was looking for!
It seems pretty well done and it actually affords itself :)
Could you please do early level tree or maybe a better explanation on what to allocate points to first please?

any update after patch?:(

Update?

Updated for 2.0!

If I use Soul Mantle while lvling, shall i have 3 totems?!

Yes having Soul Mantle and ancestral bond allows you to have a total a 3 totems.