Funeral Pyre Build - Minions, Firestorm, Pyre Ring, Carnage, More Carnage :)

Hi Guys,

this is actually my first build in an ARPG – ever!!! And I am currently at level 87 and able to clear level 72-75 maps!

This is my current passive skill tree:
https://www.pathofexile.com/passive-skill-tree/AAAAAgMAA-4EBwVCBkkNfBBYEVAWbxpsGyUczhzcHb4fAh_HJKoo-ipTKo0qmCtQK3gsnDI0MtEzhzW5NsU22DbpOlg8LT0PPV9Bh0GWRKtFR0kbS65NuVJTVa5VxlcrV8lakVxrXypilWqsa9ttGX0YghCCx4PbhEiFYIdliECPppAzkyeXlZf0na6mrKcIpyuofarErJivt7JwtAy3PriTvYK_l8NtxPbGrsk9zLzQ9dP72CTYvdkL2t3fit-w42rpAuq66-Tr7uxV7IrxbPIe99f56PqA_gr-sw==

However, I still consider this to be a pretty noobish build. It has absolutely no bells and whistles, such as power, frenzy, or endurance charges, no keystones and I still have a hard time figuring out the math of various things, such as dps, mana consumption, and so on...

As a result I would love to get some input from u veterans out there. If you see some obvious improvements that I've missed, I would love to get some feedback on that.

I also posted this build to inspire other builds. I hope that some of the things in this build can actually be used to create more "competitive" builds. Please let me know, if this has somehow inspired u!


Concept:

This build is centered around 3 things that are absolutely essential to make it ”feel” right:

1. Minions. Tons of them. I use Zombies and Spectres. Skeletons are good for leveling (they are great for zoning out enemies and creating kill zones) and Raging skulls would probably work really well, although I haven't tried them (mainly because everybody had them and because I want to be IN the fight!)
2. Firestorm. Tons of AoE and used to inflict damage AND set stuff on fire. That last bit is important due to the
3. Pyre ring. This is the little baby that makes monsters explode. It is very satisfying. In fact, just like popping a very ripe zit. THAT is how satisfying this is. Plus: It wreaks havoc in mobs. :D And it looks cool... at least... MINE does ;)

Here's my gear:


and the flasks I use:



Pros:

1. Versatile: You've got physical damage from minions and elemental from firestorm. Minions are good against bosses, firestorm good against mobs.
2. Tons of fun: Mobs that pop like zits and ordering around mindless minions is coool.
3. The minions keep monsters away from you so you can use the firestorm offensively.

Cons:

1. That witch is soooo slow... This build is very good in open areas where monsters stream in from all sides, such as spider maps and dungeons, but not very good for farming place like the ledge, because your minions will always trail behind you and this build works best if you direct your minions ahead of you with the firestorm. Plus: U really look like a noob when partying. The only thing I see are the smoking corpses left behind by my co-players :(
2. Frigging expensive!!! (At least I think so!?)

Finally, here's my magic find gear, which I can use to clear 66-68 maps:


If u have any questions regarding this build - if there was anything left unsaid in this post... let me know!

Greetings, Mjølner

I don't think builds that try two use to different main spells work very well. Trying to use both firestorm and minions results in being mediocre on both ends. You don't have neither enough passive points nor enough sockets to support them both properly.

FIRESTORM:
Firestorm is probably the only aoe spell that favours NOT taking aoe nodes. The reason: You have a fixed number of fireballs raining down. The bigger the area, the higher the risk that some of them will miss a target. A smaller area is better (less misses and higher chance of multiple hits per target).
As such you should neither take aoe in the tree and most important do not waste a socket for incr.aoe. Take fire penetration instead.

Chance to ignite is also a bad idea with firestorm as the burning damage depends on the initial damage. For firestorm that damage is very low (the damage ONE fireball deals). As the ignition of different fireballs don't stack the burning is negligible damage wise. So that is your second wasted socket.

Taking just three crit nodes in the tree is pointless. For a crit build you'ld have to spec a lot more crit in the tree to make a noticeable difference in dps (to make the investment worthwhile). Plus with firestorm it makes no sense if it is intended to ignite more often (see above -> very low burning damage)

MINIONS:
Due to spending points to support firestorm you aren't able to invest in reduced mana reserved nodes. Therfore you can't run important offensive auras for your minions (Hatred for example).

No flesh offering? You should, but you can't due to being short on sockets because of trying to run a full supported firestorm. The other reason is of course your use of the pyre ring which leaves no bodies to be used of flesh/bone offering (or to be raised as zombies).

Minon speed with spectres? What spectres are you using? Usually spectres are used for ranged attacks (evangelists for example). As such minion speed ain't needed as they don't have to run to the mob to engage in fighting.


GEAR:
Only 159 life on gear. That's like running a low life build without the benefits of low life.
As a result it looks like you overcompensate on ES nodes to at least boost that part. That might give you sufficient overall effective life but you still suffer all the shortcomings of a low life pool (status ailments, chaos damage).
A life/ES hybrid needs a sound life pool. You don't stack a huge ES pool on a small life pool with a hybrid build. If you do you better go low life (wear shavronnes or lorica or stack chaos resistance) by running auras on life. That way you and your minions will benefit. The way you built it (small life + bigger ES) you just have all the downsides of a LL build without any benefits.

You are using pyre (giving away a very much needed gear slot) just because it triggers a graphical effect? It is like an mtx only worse as it blocks a gear slot.
Not only do you loose a gear slot, you also waste a socket for chance to ignite on firestorm (and some crit nodes on hte tree). That's a steep price for a mere optical effect.
If you want the bodies gone use flesh offering or detonate dead. That way you at least support your minions/do some damage.
BTW how do you raise zombies if the bodies are destroyed?

Pledge of hands is one of the best weapons a spellcaster can use .... except for summoners. It hurts seeing it being used that way. With a pure firestorm build it could be a bis item. Using it with this hybrid build just wastes a lot of its potential.

Flasks: Use Divine life flasks instead of Eternal if you want seething. They offer higher life restoration:




All this may sound a bit harsh. I apologize for that. Believe me, i have no problem if you want to play that kind of build because you like auto exploding bodies or whatever. If you like it, don't change it and keep on playing.
But as you posted it as a build it implies a certain recommendation to other players. As such i have to object as i think it is not a good template for others to try.

Dear Badabing.

That was not harsh at all, but exactly what I was looking for. Succinct and to the point. It clears up a lot of doubts I have about this build and gives me a lot of new info to work with when trying new builds. It also confirms that this build is, in fact, a noob build with a lot of short-comings. A pet project, that taught me the very basics of PoE and all the pitfalls and challenges of creating new builds...

And, yeah! Sorry for using pledge of hands in that way. And the hurt it caused u. ;)

I have a couple of questions, tho: don't the exploding enemies do damage? That's the whole reason for using the pyre ring! That's also what I notice when I take the ring off (in order to raise minions, which is a hassle, I know...) and then back on! I notice a distinct difference in damage output. Part of the fun is that the exploding enemies sometimes set of a chain reaction of quick successive explosions.

What's an mtx?

Anyway: thx for taking the time to give me a great reply and I will definitely use this in future builds. :D Whether or not I keep my witch as is or respec her into pure minion or firestorm, time will tell. It's kinda like ur first surfboard - even though its old and full of dings, u hang it over the fireplace and think of all the hurt it caused u... and all the stuff it taught u.

Pyre just destroys the bodies. The explosion doesn't deal any damage.
The only slight damage boost comes from the increased burning damage. But it is really small as the initial burning damage caused by firestorm is very low.

Mtx is an effect/skin you can buy at the shop.

Oh man. What a bummer. :(

In that case the whole build falls apart and u are absolutely right in not endorsing it for the community.

And I'm a little stumped that an optical/sound effect can create the illusion of more damage to such a degree...

I actually thought that destroying the corpses would produce som kind of scaled-down "detonate dead" effect. (In that case, would it have said "deals xxx amounts of damage" or some such thing in the description?)

That was such a noob mistake to make. Bullocks. Well, anyway: I'm glad I posted this so I could find out and get the reality check I needed. (That sure is an intricate game, though. Getting sloppy with the facts can really hit u in the face, man...)

I'll hit the think tank on this one. There's a lot of expensive gear and a lot of passive points invested in this.

Anyway, thx for the feedback, dude.

Mjølner out.