[3.5] Soul Mantle Dark Pact Totems - League Starter - All Content

I am currently leveling it in HC, not that far yet (just got the Ancestral Bond point). Is the concept while leveling from now on "just" to have 2 totems down and let them do the work? I have no thing to spam/damage with, besides the totems and flame dash? :)

Thanks for the great guide.

In the budget leveling section it says to "Prioritize Ancestral Bond". Does that mean to rush to that first before getting the other nodes like MoM, etc? I assume not since you are still casting Firestorm in act 3. But then I don't understand why you say to prioritize AB.

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dunsebility wrote:

I am currently leveling it in HC, not that far yet (just got the Ancestral Bond point). Is the concept while leveling from now on "just" to have 2 totems down and let them do the work? I have no thing to spam/damage with, besides the totems and flame dash? :)

You also have Flammability, but that's about it yeah.
It'll change when you get the Soul Mantle and Wither (which you probably won't need at first).

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0sync0 wrote:

Thanks for the great guide.

In the budget leveling section it says to "Prioritize Ancestral Bond". Does that mean to rush to that first before getting the other nodes like MoM, etc? I assume not since you are still casting Firestorm in act 3. But then I don't understand why you say to prioritize AB.

They keystone is a rather large damage/QoL increase, so you should aim to get it early.
I myself left out Elementalist and Quick Recovery until I got it, but in the end it doesn't really matter that much.

MoM should definitely be taken once you reach it, it's very powerful in the early levels.

I hear there are significant amounts of chaos damage in this league. Any thoughts on how to deal with that other than stacking chaos res? Getting enough res will be a challenge due to the uniques required for chest and ring slots.

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0sync0 wrote:

I hear there are significant amounts of chaos damage in this league. Any thoughts on how to deal with that other than stacking chaos res? Getting enough res will be a challenge due to the uniques required for chest and ring slots.

To be honest I still don't think chaos resist is worth getting outside of hardcore because it requires a bit of investment to notice.

There's no quick fix to it, so you'd have to either get expensive gear or give up other stats like damage or life.

If you're looking to protect yourself against Ancient Constructs, you're actually better off using a Rumi's than an Amethyst flask. The armour and block chance will help a LOT.

Hi, thx for the guide its really good so far (I just started mapping).
I dropped a corrupted dark pact with "64% more damage with hits and ailments if using your life" does it work with totem or should I get a 20% quality dark pact?

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ths750 wrote:

Hi, thx for the guide its really good so far (I just started mapping).
I dropped a corrupted dark pact with "64% more damage with hits and ailments if using your life" does it work with totem or should I get a 20% quality dark pact?

It works with totems as long as they are not targeting skeletons (It always has that mod btw, doesn't need to be corrupted).
Quality increases your AoE, you can check the FAQ for AoE thresholds, but in general a higher gem level is worth more than quality.

Hi there

I got lucky and got the prophecy for atziris reflection and was looking for a build that could use it and found this one. I saw that you're using 2x kikazarus but recommended the reflection. If I used the reflection what rings should I use instead of kikazarus or should I still use them?

I am leveling a templar for this build since i got a soul mantle dropped on my main guy.
Will i be fine using one kikazuru or will i better be off using a flask whit removed curse?
I am ssf so i might not find a second kikazuru for a while.

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cdude247 wrote:

Hi there

I got lucky and got the prophecy for atziris reflection and was looking for a build that could use it and found this one. I saw that you're using 2x kikazarus but recommended the reflection. If I used the reflection what rings should I use instead of kikazarus or should I still use them?

If there's any build that can use the Shield, it's this one lol.

The main advantage of reflection is that you get the remaining 20% curse reduction, which generally makes you a bit tankier. It also gives you more freedom when it comes to gearing, so you can wear MF gear, more uniques or better rares.

The drawback is that you lose a shield slot (which gives a lot of damage).
Kikazaru's are actually really nice rings and rares don't give a lot other than cast speed, life, mana and resists.
If I had the shield I'd probably go with Mark of the Shaper and a rare elder ring.

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lawoof wrote:

I am leveling a templar for this build since i got a soul mantle dropped on my main guy.
Will i be fine using one kikazuru or will i better be off using a flask whit removed curse?
I am ssf so i might not find a second kikazuru for a while.

You're better off with the flask. Curses with 60% effectiveness can hurt a lot.