(Retired Thread) Wallach's Hierophant Freezing Pulse Totems

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Gulch wrote:

Definitely looking forward to playing it again in 3.8, it may be my league starter or I might take a speedier clearspeed glass cannon build up to maps for some quick and easy leveling gear for my Heiro.


You can start with the racing setup, OOS + wave of conviction + lightning spire and change OOS for FP totem after 2nd lab, or continue with it + even a 2l holy flame totem-multiple totems for the single target boost on bosses until maps. Skill tree progression is of course totally different, but tree is similar and free respec points you get from mandatory skills are enough/almost enough to fully respec into the desired tree. Because ye, starting as totem without the jewels and any gear can be really rough on bosses, especially that you take Ancestral Bond and cant use something like lightning spire trap to boost single target.

If you want to start with the racing setup I would recommend doing at least one practice run tho, because you kinda need to know what you are doing and you need a lot of links, so your gear is usually garbage.
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seciak wrote:
"
Gulch wrote:

Definitely looking forward to playing it again in 3.8, it may be my league starter or I might take a speedier clearspeed glass cannon build up to maps for some quick and easy leveling gear for my Heiro.


You can start with the racing setup, OOS + wave of conviction + lightning spire and change OOS for FP totem after 2nd lab, or continue with it + even a 2l holy flame totem-multiple totems for the single target boost on bosses until maps. Skill tree progression is of course totally different, but tree is similar and free respec points you get from mandatory skills are enough/almost enough to fully respec into the desired tree. Because ye, starting as totem without the jewels and any gear can be really rough on bosses, especially that you take Ancestral Bond and cant use something like lightning spire trap to boost single target.

If you want to start with the racing setup I would recommend doing at least one practice run tho, because you kinda need to know what you are doing and you need a lot of links, so your gear is usually garbage.


I was thinking more along the lines of a self cast Arc Ele. I've ran that build so many times I can do the skill tree with my eyes closed. I can usually get to Act 10 Kitava quick enough on day 1 and by then I'll have a decent stockpile of other gear to zerg up my Heiro.
Besides I like the Arc Ele play style too.

Either way, I am still leaning toward the Heiro as my league starter because it's a fast enough leveler (for me) on its own.
Last edited by Gulch#5697 on Aug 27, 2019, 10:40:23 AM
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lordfratos wrote:
this is it. ill start next league with this build. i hope you update it for 3.8 asap.


I'll definitely have this one updated for 3.8; I don't currently expect much to change for this build in Blight league, but I'm still going to wait until patch notes are released to make any guide changes. I'll be league starting with this as well though so there will be an update before the league starts (and then as usual probably further updates once we're in the league and we discover more about new items or whatnot).
Well if not much changes I’m definitely running this build again! Killed my first Uber elder this league with this build as well as killed shaper a few times even on a 5-link. Very strong very safe. Can’t recommend this build enough thanks very much!!
Anyone interested in a detailed "speed" leveling setup for this build for 3.8?

I'm going to be practicing and trying out different skill setups between now and the launch to see what I feel is the best way to level this character. I already planned on making myself a PoB with gear/gems/passives/jewels/notes but if anyone is interested I can post them in here (if OP is cool with it).
IGN: Dmillz
Nice build
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Dmillz wrote:
Anyone interested in a detailed "speed" leveling setup for this build for 3.8?

I'm going to be practicing and trying out different skill setups between now and the launch to see what I feel is the best way to level this character. I already planned on making myself a PoB with gear/gems/passives/jewels/notes but if anyone is interested I can post them in here (if OP is cool with it).


Would be nice if you post it here. I tried to start yesterday - totems: freezing pulse, divine ire and holy flame and both brands. Best is probably holy flame + OoS. Freezing needs jewels and some dex for added cold... Divine ire isnt bad. Brands u have to stop to cast and brand recall has long cooldown.
Maybe better is to start self cast something?
Still a work in progress! This is mostly early game focused. You will level much faster than going totems early on but Wallach's guide is fantastic once you make the switch. For reference I am currently level 39 @ 1hr 40 minutes (I am definitely not a racer!) and halfway through A5.

I haven't tested the mid-game (acts 5+) and transition to FP totems yet but I'm pretty confident the early game will plow through all the way until you want to switch. Wave of Conviction does huge single target and OOS clears packs extremely efficiently as you sprint past them. Right now I anticipate you'll want to have Cruel Lab done before switching (4 ascendancy points).

Path of Building

Use https://poe-roadmap.com/build/25540 to get a list of the gems and when you can get them, I don't list them all in the below leveling guide. You don't need doubles of any gems so ignore those and just get one.

Levels 1 -> 16
Gems/Links
Frost Bomb + Onslaught + Added Lightning Damage. This should be in your BBG wand.
Freezing Pulse + Arcane Surge. Do not level Arcane Surge! This can go anywhere for now.

Skill Tree

- Starting out pick up literally everything Hillock drops, you need that vendor cash. Take any gem from Tarkleigh, then buy Freezing Pulse from Nessa.

- Go to Underground Passage for Waypoint then back to the Coast to do Hailrake for the Quicksilver Flask. Take Frostblink, Frost Bomb, and Arcane Surge as quest rewards. Buy Onslaught, Holy Flame Totem, and Orb of Storms from Nessa. Check for BBG 3L wands. Link Frost Bomb + Onslaught this will one shot most white mobs. Link Freezing Pulse + Arcane Surge.

- Run through to either the Ledge or Dweller of the Deep, whichever you find first. If it's the Ledge, get the WP then portal back to Underground and do Dweller. Kill all the really big packs with Frost Bomb but ignore the rares and blue packs under 5 monsters in size.

- Run to and kill Brutus, do the trial in the Lower Prison on the way. You should be around level 9-10. Drop Frost Bomb + Holy Flame Totem and spam Freezing Pulse. Take Added Lightning Damage as a quest reward and link it to Frost Bomb + Onslaught. Buy Spell Totem Support to start leveling it.

- Run through to the Cavern of Wrath and get the WP, take Flash Dash as quest reward, replace Frostblink (sell it). Go back and do the Fairgraves quest then kill Merveil. A1 done.

- Vendor Merveils drops in A2 (inventory should be full!). Check Yeena for 3L BBB wand if you don't have one. Head right and do Chamber of Sins, complete trial in here. Take Wave of Conviction, you should be lv15/16 by this point. Buy Herald of Thunder and Herald of Ice from Yeena. At lv16 swap Wave of Conviction in for Freezing Pulse and Orb of Storms for Frost Bomb (keep them to level).

- Make +1 Lightning Gems wand for Orb of Storms and +1 Lightning/Fire wand for Wave of Conviction if you haven't already. Orb of Storms +1 is higher priority.

Tips
1. Check Nessa every time you are in town for a 3L BBG wand. You want this for Frost Bomb -> Onslaught -> Added Lightning. You can also keep checking for a 3L BBB wand to prepare for lv16 and Wave of Conviction.

2. Check Tarkleigh for movement speed boots anytime you're back in town if you don't have any yet. Pick up and identify all blue and yellow boots.

3. Pick up and save up to 2 Topaz rings. Also save any alteration orbs and at least 2 transmute orbs ASAP for the +1 gems recipe.

4. You really need wisdom scrolls/alterations early to buy gems and wands. Anytime you are nearing a waypoint fill up that inventory with junk to sell to the vendors. Sell Whetstones/Armour Scraps for Wisdom Scrolls. Pick up all rings/amulets/belts/gems/flasks to vendor as they don't take up much space. Remember 3x the same flask = 1x higher version of that flask!

5. I suggest using 2x mana flasks for quite awhile early on as mana is an issue for single target. If you find a second quicksilver use it over the second mana flask.

Levels 16 -> 22ish
Main Gems/Links
Wave of Conviction + Arcane Surge + Controlled Destruction
Orb of Storms + Onslaught + Added Lightning Damage
Flame Dash/Holy Flame Totem/Herald of Thunder/Herald of Ice

- Kill Kraityn then Oak and get the Wetlands WP. Head to Western Forest, get WP and kill Weaver. Take Controlled Destruction and link it to Wave of Conviction + Arcane Surge. Drop Orb of Storms on big packs as you run through, Wave of Conviction if needed but OOS should clear packs itself once the Heralds start proccing. Holy Flame Totem only for big bosses.

- Help Alira and kill the guy for the passive point at the end of the road. Go to Vaal and kill him. Portal to town (or to character select) to skip the extremely long wait time for the door to A3 to open. A2 done.

- Do Crematorium quest, take Frostbite as reward and do the trial. Do the rest of A3 however you want!

22 -> Cruel Lab
From this point on you have all your gems and all you have to do is the main story line. If you're new and need more details Wallach's leveling guide has them for the acts.

- Do Library quest (or Lilly's quest in A6) and take Lightning Spire Trap if you feel your single target is lacking. Personally I'm waiting for the A6 quest.
- I would skip running the labs (do the trials in the zones you pass through though) until you're ready to switch to totems.
- Once you get a 4L BBBB put Wave of Conviction in it and add Physical to Lightning as your 4th gem. Replace your +1 wand with a good DPS wand. Added damage is very strong early on.
- Use the PoB for my recommended skill trees. Keep Elemental Overload until you swap to FP totems then switch to the Frost Bomb setup Wallach recommends.
- Make sure to take the First Snow jewel from the A5 quest.
- Take Pursuit of Faith -> Ritual Awakening for Ascendancies before swapping to FP totems.
- Don't take MoM until you switch to totems.

Vendor Recipes
+1 Lightning Gems wand = 1x Blue Wand + 1x Alteration Orb + 1x Topaz Ring. Switch the Topaz for a Ruby for +1 Fire Gems and Sapphire for +1 Cold Gems.

3x same flask = 1x next level of same flask (3x small life = 1 medium life)

Example Video
IGN: Dmillz
Last edited by Dmillz#6641 on Sep 1, 2019, 2:52:00 PM
"
Dmillz wrote:
Still a work in progress! This is mostly early game focused. You will level much faster than going totems early on but Wallach's guide is fantastic once you make the switch. For reference I am currently level 39 @ 1hr 40 minutes (I am definitely not a racer!) and halfway through A5.

I haven't tested the mid-game (acts 5+) and transition to FP totems yet but I'm pretty confident the early game will plow through all the way until you want to switch. Wave of Conviction does huge single target and OOS clears packs extremely efficiently as you sprint past them. Right now I anticipate you'll want to have Cruel Lab done before switching (4 ascendancy points).

Path of Building

Use https://poe-roadmap.com/build/25540 to get a list of the gems and when you can get them, I don't list them all in the below leveling guide. You don't need doubles of any gems so ignore those and just get one.

Levels 1 -> 16
Gems/Links
Frost Bomb + Onslaught + Added Lightning Damage. This should be in your BBG wand.
Freezing Pulse + Arcane Surge. Do not level Arcane Surge! This can go anywhere for now.

Skill Tree

- Starting out pick up literally everything Hillock drops, you need that vendor cash. Take any gem from Tarkleigh, then buy Freezing Pulse from Nessa.

- Go to Underground Passage for Waypoint then back to the Coast to do Hailrake for the Quicksilver Flask. Take Frostblink, Frost Bomb, and Arcane Surge as quest rewards. Buy Onslaught, Holy Flame Totem, and Orb of Storms from Nessa. Check for BBG 3L wands. Link Frost Bomb + Onslaught this will one shot most white mobs. Link Freezing Pulse + Arcane Surge.

- Run through to either the Ledge or Dweller of the Deep, whichever you find first. If it's the Ledge, get the WP then portal back to Underground and do Dweller. Kill all the really big packs with Frost Bomb but ignore the rares and blue packs under 5 monsters in size.

- Run to and kill Brutus, do the trial in the Lower Prison on the way. You should be around level 9-10. Drop Frost Bomb + Holy Flame Totem and spam Freezing Pulse. Take Added Lightning Damage as a quest reward and link it to Frost Bomb + Onslaught. Buy Spell Totem Support to start leveling it.

- Run through to the Cavern of Wrath and get the WP, take Flash Dash as quest reward, replace Frostblink (sell it). Go back and do the Fairgraves quest then kill Merveil. A1 done.

- Vendor Merveils drops in A2 (inventory should be full!). Check Yeena for 3L BBB wand if you don't have one. Head right and do Chamber of Sins, complete trial in here. Take Wave of Conviction, you should be lv15/16 by this point. Buy Herald of Thunder and Herald of Ice from Yeena. At lv16 swap Wave of Conviction in for Freezing Pulse and Orb of Storms for Frost Bomb (keep them to level).

- Make +1 Lightning Gems wand for Orb of Storms and +1 Lightning/Fire wand for Wave of Conviction if you haven't already. Orb of Storms +1 is higher priority.

Tips
1. Check Nessa every time you are in town for a 3L BBG wand. You want this for Frost Bomb -> Onslaught -> Added Lightning. You can also keep checking for a 3L BBB wand to prepare for lv16 and Wave of Conviction.

2. Check Tarkleigh for movement speed boots anytime you're back in town if you don't have any yet. Pick up and identify all blue and yellow boots.

3. Pick up and save up to 2 Topaz rings. Also save any alteration orbs and at least 2 transmute orbs ASAP for the +1 gems recipe.

4. You really need wisdom scrolls/alterations early to buy gems and wands. Anytime you are nearing a waypoint fill up that inventory with junk to sell to the vendors. Sell Whetstones/Armour Scraps for Wisdom Scrolls. Pick up all rings/amulets/belts/gems/flasks to vendor as they don't take up much space. Remember 3x the same flask = 1x higher version of that flask!

5. I suggest using 2x mana flasks for quite awhile early on as mana is an issue for single target. If you find a second quicksilver use it over the second mana flask.

Levels 16 -> 22ish
Main Gems/Links
Wave of Conviction + Arcane Surge + Controlled Destruction
Orb of Storms + Onslaught + Added Lightning Damage
Flame Dash/Holy Flame Totem/Herald of Thunder/Herald of Ice

- Kill Kraityn then Oak and get the Wetlands WP. Head to Western Forest, get WP and kill Weaver. Take Controlled Destruction and link it to Wave of Conviction + Arcane Surge. Drop Orb of Storms on big packs as you run through, Wave of Conviction if needed but OOS should clear packs itself once the Heralds start proccing. Holy Flame Totem only for big bosses.

- Help Alira and kill the guy for the passive point at the end of the road. Go to Vaal and kill him. Portal to town (or to character select) to skip the extremely long wait time for the door to A3 to open. A2 done.

- Do Crematorium quest, take Frostbite as reward and do the trial. Do the rest of A3 however you want!

22 -> Cruel Lab
From this point on you have all your gems and all you have to do is the main story line. If you're new and need more details Wallach's leveling guide has them for the acts.

- Do Library quest (or Lilly's quest in A6) and take Lightning Spire Trap if you feel your single target is lacking. Personally I'm waiting for the A6 quest.
- I would skip running the labs (do the trials in the zones you pass through though) until you're ready to switch to totems.
- Once you get a 4L BBBB put Wave of Conviction in it and add Physical to Lightning as your 4th gem. Replace your +1 wand with a good DPS wand. Added damage is very strong early on.
- Use the PoB for my recommended skill trees. Keep Elemental Overload until you swap to FP totems then switch to the Frost Bomb setup Wallach recommends.
- Make sure to take the First Snow jewel from the A5 quest.
- Take Pursuit of Faith -> Ritual Awakening for Ascendancies before swapping to FP totems.
- Don't take MoM until you switch to totems.

Vendor Recipes
+1 Lightning Gems wand = 1x Blue Wand + 1x Alteration Orb + 1x Topaz Ring. Switch the Topaz for a Ruby for +1 Fire Gems and Sapphire for +1 Cold Gems.

3x same flask = 1x next level of same flask (3x small life = 1 medium life)


Doing good time with this setup, congartz. I'm kinda lazy and wanted to see how I'll do with ancestral bond as soon as possible. FP totems are kinda shit in boss fights until you get your second lab and two first snows but I just finished a no preparation whatsoever run to blood aqueduct and got there in 4.5h which kinda surprised me. That's not too bad and definitely an option too. But i'm curious about your OoS setup and think will try it to compare.
Yeah, I would say if leveling speed is a concern, the optimal time to consider switching to Ancestral Bond is around when you finish the second labyrinth. It's fine to switch earlier in my experience, but it's faster to maintain some self-casting (even if that is just Freezing Pulse too) until you get access to the additional 70% totem placement speed and double totem drops from the 3rd and 4th ascendancy points. If you're going to live search items while you level in a trade league, I think the biggest factor is getting a second First Snow jewel. If you can get it before you get the free one from Act 5, even better since you can get that first jewel socket very early (though you'll only really have a chance to get it from those who reach A5 faster than you if you are there right at league start).
Last edited by Wallach#2877 on Aug 31, 2019, 7:48:06 PM

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