[3.0] [HC] Chill and Breathe: An Arctic Breath Totem Build [VIDEO]

Much obliged for the info, and count me in! I'mma roll me a freeze your pants off Templar in Essence come tomorrow!
Anyone tried working this out in AoW? I was looking around for some new ideas and the video on this one looks interesting.
My testing of it in Standard (I'm doing a variant build in Essence that, if it works, I'll definitely be posting about) shows it working out just fine. We didn't get any serious mechanical changes in Essence and Arctic Breathe got a buff, though I haven't run every new map yet so I'm sure learning some of the new bosses will take a little time. I imagine that, since the Essence enemies all are in a circle around the enemy with the Essence, the build will work out very well.

A six link of Arctic Breathe - GMP - Faster Casting - Iron Will - Controlled Destruction - Spell Totem, all at 20/20 except Iron Will (17/20) was breaking the 10,000 DPS barrier to give you a high end estimate. This build worked fine in a 5 link in a league dishing out half that tooltip damage, for reference.
My Builds:

https://www.pathofexile.com/forum/view-thread/1739942 - Flee the Fire! Fireball / Flameblast Sire of Shards Chieftain
https://www.pathofexile.com/forum/view-thread/1572176 - Chill and Breathe: An Arctic Breath Totem Build
Cool deal, Thanks for the info Eustacio
No problem. I just did a couple minor updates (updated gear to show Standard gear, which is almost identical to League gear aside from the 6 Link and gem setup), btw.
My Builds:

https://www.pathofexile.com/forum/view-thread/1739942 - Flee the Fire! Fireball / Flameblast Sire of Shards Chieftain
https://www.pathofexile.com/forum/view-thread/1572176 - Chill and Breathe: An Arctic Breath Totem Build
Exactly what I was looking for, totem + frost spell.

Currently level 55 in HC Essence.
Started with flame totem then swapped to arctic+spell totem at 28. Was ok but not the best. Searing bond helps.
Then with 4L sire of shards at 49, it's amazing :)
Soloed Cruel Dominus with ease.

Having fun, thanks!
Awesome! I'm floundering a bit myself now at lvl 20. Trying to work out some of the best Quality of Life skills and gear to use until i can get all the correct components together at later levels. Looking forward to it :p
Glad to hear it. I've been leveling with Frostbolt lately. Auto-pierce and good base damage makes for a nice skill to use prior to transitioning into the build proper.

Lightning Tendrils is also a decent leveling skill, though it isn't to everyone's taste.
My Builds:

https://www.pathofexile.com/forum/view-thread/1739942 - Flee the Fire! Fireball / Flameblast Sire of Shards Chieftain
https://www.pathofexile.com/forum/view-thread/1572176 - Chill and Breathe: An Arctic Breath Totem Build
I was torn a bit when considering the ascendancy tree. It appears the Hiero has changed from when you evaluated it last. Some of the nodes specifically call out that it applies to totems and the Sanctuary of Thought has had attributes drastically changed. I'm still 100% on board with you on Ritual of Awakening node not being worth it.

Overall this has been a fantastic build. I'm up to L70 and it has performed very well to this point. Thanks for sharing Eustacio!

Last edited by fiveball on Sep 10, 2016, 1:40:23 AM
Glad you're enjoying it, fiveball! I decided to re-evaluate Hierophant since it has changed a little bit. I still don't think it's as good as Inquisitor, but taking it is more justifiable now.

Hierophant Analysis for 2.4

Two Point Ascendancy: Illuminated Devotion
This one doesn't apply a ton to us still. We aren't casting any real attacks out of our helmet or boots, so the 20% penetration and life leech is wasted. If we put our curse in our Gloves, that gives us 20% increased Area of Effect, but that's about it.

Two Point Ascendancy: Conviction of Power
This one isn't great. We have a 15% chance to gain a Power Charge if our totems kill an enemy. Eh, that's okay, but not mind-blowing. I'm much more interested in gaining the Endurance Charge, but since that happens on gaining a Power Charge, our chances are very slim of gaining one. We gain it on 15% x 25% which turns out to a 3.75% chance to gain an Endurance Charge when we kill an enemy. That's not worth it.

Two Point Ascendancy: Divine Guidance - Prerequisite to Sancutary of Thought
This one is interesting. On one hand, it gives us a flat 150 mana. Taking damage from our mana, however, isn't incredible for us. We just don't have much mana, so that's not going to come into play a ton I suspect. I could be wrong on this.

Four Point Ascendancy: Sanctuary of Thought
This is tied for my favorite node in the Ascendacy for the build. 50% reduced mana cost? Yes please. 50% reduced mana cost while on full Energy Shield? Well, that's pretty rare if we go with Eldritch Battery, but it makes the first cast free. The extra energy shield is nice because, if we go Eldritch Battery, that means we get a bit of extra Energy Shield to cast with.

Two Point Ascendancy: Pursuit of Faith - Prerequisite to Ritual of Awakening
This is my other favorite node on the wheel. That's just plain a flat buff to your damage via cast speed and raw damage. And it's a very, very nice damage buff.

Four Point Ascendancy: Ritual of Awakening
See my FAQ on this. The short version is that this node, for this build, is a trap that you should avoid like the plague.



Overall, I think it has improved. I don't think it's better than Inquisitor for this build yet (the built in penetration for Inquisitor, I feel, puts it over Hierophant), but I can see justification for running the Hierophant Ascendancy now. Pursuit of Faith is an excellent damage buff for us, and I can see making Sanctuary of Thought work well. That's a solid six of your eight points. I'd probably use the last two points from Uber Lab on a couple of the little pathing nodes rather than taking another big node. Just stay away from Ritual of Awakening and it should be an acceptable Ascendancy now.
My Builds:

https://www.pathofexile.com/forum/view-thread/1739942 - Flee the Fire! Fireball / Flameblast Sire of Shards Chieftain
https://www.pathofexile.com/forum/view-thread/1572176 - Chill and Breathe: An Arctic Breath Totem Build
Last edited by Eustacio on Sep 10, 2016, 11:58:07 AM

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