Dual totem builds

I have summon skeletons on the first totem. I'm thinking about putting some kind of fire spell on the second totem. Two questions:

1. Is fire a decent choice? Or should I go cold, lightning, or something else?
2. Do +fire dmg passive nods affect a spell totem linked with a fire gem?

(I'm looking at going full summoner + dual totem + auras + curses build.)

I'm a low level newb so this is mostly theory crafting.

In reverse order.

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Zedda wrote:

(I'm looking at going full summoner + dual totem + auras + curses build.)

Awesome choice, pretty much what I'm planning.

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Zedda wrote:

2. Do +fire dmg passive nods affect a spell totem linked with a fire gem?

Yes. (afaik)

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Zedda wrote:

1. Is fire a decent choice? Or should I go cold, lightning, or something else?

If you go Fire, Firestorm is my favourite because you can nuke the edges of the screen and cover a large part of the battle front. (I'm currently using this, mainly out of habit) Though I have no idea if it makes a good totem.

The main reason not to use fire is mobs resistant to it since MI, which is generally necessary, will be doing fire damage also.

Pros:
You can put Fire Penetration, Chance to Ignite, etc. on an item with the Fire spell and Minion gems. They will apply to MI explosion and the spell. But, there's not really enough spaces for everything. Spell Totem + Skeletons + [Fire Spell] + Fire Penetration + Chance to Ignite + Minion Life + Minion Damage + (heard this is good ->) Minion Speed
If you could get an L6 staff with +1/2 to Fire gems this would have more merit, but then you lose out on shield buffs. (can you get +Fire gems on staffs anyway?)
Using the Flammability curse will help both damage wise. (quite cool if you also use the Solaris Temple fireball throwing monsters)

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AnnanFay wrote:

Yes. (afaik)

Can someone confirm this?

I think I will go the fire route. Yeah it means I've only got one type of elemental dmg, but at least I still have physical dmg from minions right? Or will that be less effective than MI and an elemental totem?

AnnanFay, do you mind sharing your eventual passive tree target?

Note: I plan on eventually taking Chaos Inoculation, once I have enough energy shield nodes and high-end energy shield items. Will this hurt my chances of the aura route? (CI means no Eldrich Battery)

Also, are traps worth adding to this build plan?

Do +elemental dmg nodes help with a spell totem linked to fire spells?

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Zedda wrote:

2. Do +fire dmg passive nods affect a spell totem linked with a fire gem?

Yes, spells cast by your totems count as spells cast by you. So they gain all relevant bonuses from passive nodes and items.

https://www.pathofexile.com/passive-skill-tree/AAAAAgMBVysHY3NTa9t9GOyK5oERULvWO-FtGeL3pyvB86Kjf8Yc3JMnv5fJPfIetAw4G-QRkc_BxewYw21GcZUggsfT-6h9WpFqrCj66-64kxHbM3aSOKcIJ6mPRtDQm6FI5_fXzLyFYKrETbkQl0QEna4abKasiECQM1v0KrrkIilPhX0WQGaewBpZ81orLKej8qyqJ-3z3frS98Hpcyy_hEg3Ziympus8jgFvV8k0CjeD6rqLek-_Q1Qd2dgkNsU22PFs7FWXhSqNHwKcLYdlr7dJG6yYFLA6MDlSvDdObVgH

All 111 passive skill points used. This isn't really viable, is it? Also with all these used, it looks like I won't be reaching the traps area (near shadows starting point).

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Zedda wrote:

I think I will go the fire route. Yeah it means I've only got one type of elemental dmg, but at least I still have physical dmg from minions right? Or will that be less effective than MI and an elemental totem?

AnnanFay, do you mind sharing your eventual passive tree target?

Note: I plan on eventually taking Chaos Inoculation, once I have enough energy shield nodes and high-end energy shield items. Will this hurt my chances of the aura route? (CI means no Eldrich Battery)

Also, are traps worth adding to this build plan?

Yes, you will still have Physical damage. And damage granted by any auras and specters. Not sure what is most effective, ask me again in a few months.

Yes, taking Eldritch Battery is the most effective way to get lots of auras. It's still possible to take many auras without it, though I'm not sure how many.

I have been thinking of adding traps, will be doing some research next few days.

Hmm, well I'm only level 44 atm so this will definitely change. Currently the build is a bit too packed and very different to yours because I'm not taking CI. Lots of life, Eldritch Battery for Auras (4-5 planned, because of socket restrictions), 2 Curses, 2 Totems, All minions, Elemental Equilibrium and Static Blows. Not sure if I'll have enough time to cast everything -_-

Level ~95
http://www.pathofexile.com/passive-skill-tree/AAAAAgMAVysHY-aBc1MRUGvbu9Z9GDvh7IptGcHzgh6io_F22wt_xhzcJ6lJOpMnWm2_l7QMJDzJPUZxp1zyHpUgSVEo-oLH6-7T-7iTqH2nCAx9WpHa3Y9G2QsQf2qsHRTQ0CqYxp760pitm6HPZf3P-oBmnjbp99dI52e9VcbAGqmVcU0kquNqrJjMvFnzkFVRYJrPGYUUsBCXhWBaK6yqGjJDYxpsOjBEBKrELKcn7YBWtzGmrDlSTbmj8sT2891PfVj1iEC8NxNbncSQM05tZOdYB1XW

Looks like we're doing very different builds. You're picking a lot of life nodes, whereas I'm not picking any as I plan on using CI eventually.

But that helps quite a lot. There are some interesting nodes I missed that your planned build covers.

Alright, I'm at level 60 with 1 point to spare. My current build looks like this:

https://www.pathofexile.com/passive-skill-tree/AAAAAgMBVysHY3NTa9t9GOyK5oERULvWO-Hi96crbRnB8_F2oqN_xn5ZJ6nBxewYw20c3Dgbkc-TJ7-XyT3yHrQMRnGVIILHKPrT-6h9WpFqrOvuuJMR2zN2kjinCNkLKpj6gI9G0NCboUjn99fMvIVgqsRNuZ2uGmymrIhAkDPkIilPhX0WQGaewBpxTZrPQ2O3MVj1ncQ=

Any ideas?

Bump. Level 61, 2 points to spare.

For the dual totem build, I'm wondering which of these will benefit a fireball + spell totem:

On items:
% increased spell dmg on items (I'm guessing yes)

From passive tree:
% increased spell dmg (I'm guessing yes)
% increased fire dmg (I'm guessing yes)
% increased critical strike chance (I'm guessing no)
% increased critical strike multiplier (I'm guessing no)
% increased critical strike chance for spells (I'm guessing yes)
% increased critical strike multiplier for spells (I'm guessing yes)
% increased global critical strike chance while wielding a staff (I'm guessing yes)

Hammer blows (Knocks back enemies if you get a critical strike with a staff)
-do you have to physically hit an enemy with a staff, or can you simply be wielding a staff and cast a fireball?
-if the latter works, will this work with a fireball + spell totem?