[3.16] Dark Pact Totems | The smoothest spell totem skill around, now post-nerf updated

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Yloss wrote:
Can it be considered tanky enuff for endgame heisting ?

Edit: Chest price went up a lot .. sigh


I thought it was very tanky for ilvl83 Heist and Grand Heist. I was able to play him almost as quickly as my max dodge Toxic Rain Trickster. Hit Level 100 too, with a good amount of that being Heist content. Heist can still be lethal for any character, though. 'Laboratory' tileset seems to have some buggy or lethal combos, and any tileset can kill you if you if you lose focus or let enemies live for too long.

Yes it looks like the chest price went up :( I think its related to a completely different build. The chest I recommend has been very affordable for the entirety of this league, until now.

A +2 Tabula is a great start for this build, so you can get an idea if you like the playstyle or not. Then you can decide to invest towards the traditional style of Soul Mantle, which is strong in its own way, or wait and snipe a good Skin of the Loyal.
Last edited by BlueeGreg on Nov 1, 2020, 11:50:26 PM
Can someone please help me with this... If Dark Pact Totem's damage scales with chaos damage and totem life. Why are we using so many points in critical chance/Multipler? I fee that the builds needs to be tanker and that I can also kill Minotaur in 2 secs or less with only 16% chance to crit and 400% Crit Multipler but I don't think the crit is needed...


Any help is appreciated
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vwheels wrote:
Can someone please help me with this... If Dark Pact Totem's damage scales with chaos damage and totem life. Why are we using so many points in critical chance/Multipler? I fee that the builds needs to be tanker and that I can also kill Minotaur in 2 secs or less with only 16% chance to crit and 400% Crit Multipler but I don't think the crit is needed...


Any help is appreciated


Crit is not needed, it's just an additional DPS scaling that doesn't have diminishing returns with other things.

As a Chaos build (and MOM), we only have so many options for scaling DPS. We can't use Elemental Overload, which is your standard option when ignoring crit. We can't scale damage over time, or any kind of ailment effect. We don't use offensive auras because of MOM. We also don't want to go Low Life... because reasons :)

Crit is something that can really help push certain builds over the top, with some minimal investment. Such as a Diamond flask and a few passive points. You are correct in thinking that EHP is more important than Crit, and you can easily make this choice on your passive tree!
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BlueeGreg wrote:
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vwheels wrote:
Can someone please help me with this... If Dark Pact Totem's damage scales with chaos damage and totem life. Why are we using so many points in critical chance/Multipler? I fee that the builds needs to be tanker and that I can also kill Minotaur in 2 secs or less with only 16% chance to crit and 400% Crit Multipler but I don't think the crit is needed...


Any help is appreciated


Crit is not needed, it's just an additional DPS scaling that doesn't have diminishing returns with other things.

As a Chaos build (and MOM), we only have so many options for scaling DPS. We can't use Elemental Overload, which is your standard option when ignoring crit. We can't scale damage over time, or any kind of ailment effect. We don't use offensive auras because of MOM. We also don't want to go Low Life... because reasons :)

Crit is something that can really help push certain builds over the top, with some minimal investment. Such as a Diamond flask and a few passive points. You are correct in thinking that EHP is more important than Crit, and you can easily make this choice on your passive tree!


So here is my question.

I am playing this build right now on Xbox, I have about 19% Crit chance, 300% Multiplier, and not using any jewels right now with trash gear (Res not Capped yet) The damage is insane I Insta-Phase Sirius so I feel that the damage boost is not needed. So this made me thinking what if I ran Scion with Hierophant/Chieftain to make myself tanker and easier on capping Res, and Avoiding all Elemental Ailments.

So What are your suggestions? I want to be very tanky, and still be able to insta-kill everything.
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Ayron08 wrote:


So here is my question.

I am playing this build right now on Xbox, I have about 19% Crit chance, 300% Multiplier, and not using any jewels right now with trash gear (Res not Capped yet) The damage is insane I Insta-Phase Sirius so I feel that the damage boost is not needed. So this made me thinking what if I ran Scion with Hierophant/Chieftain to make myself tanker and easier on capping Res, and Avoiding all Elemental Ailments.

So What are your suggestions? I want to be very tanky, and still be able to insta-kill everything.


I looked at your Xbox character, Level 67 Scion. You'll need to grind out more levels and play the character more, to really know how the DPS and survivability feels. I do like the Phase Acro on the chest, nice touch!

As for Scion vs Hierophant, I'm not sure Scion is worth it. Scion does give you more passive points and maybe better pathing for Life. The best bonus that the Scion ascendancy gives is the Life leech via Chieftain. Unfortunately, you have to give up a lot of QOL that regular Hierophant provides. Which is tons of totem placement speed, generic more DPS, big amount of Life and Mana regen, slightly more Mana for better EHP, increased size of AOE, and a decent chunk of ES. And you don't have to wear pants.

That's a lot to give up for Life leech.
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BlueeGreg wrote:
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Ayron08 wrote:


So here is my question.

I am playing this build right now on Xbox, I have about 19% Crit chance, 300% Multiplier, and not using any jewels right now with trash gear (Res not Capped yet) The damage is insane I Insta-Phase Sirius so I feel that the damage boost is not needed. So this made me thinking what if I ran Scion with Hierophant/Chieftain to make myself tanker and easier on capping Res, and Avoiding all Elemental Ailments.

So What are your suggestions? I want to be very tanky, and still be able to insta-kill everything.


I looked at your Xbox character, Level 67 Scion. You'll need to grind out more levels and play the character more, to really know how the DPS and survivability feels. I do like the Phase Acro on the chest, nice touch!

As for Scion vs Hierophant, I'm not sure Scion is worth it. Scion does give you more passive points and maybe better pathing for Life. The best bonus that the Scion ascendancy gives is the Life leech via Chieftain. Unfortunately, you have to give up a lot of QOL that regular Hierophant provides. Which is tons of totem placement speed, generic more DPS, big amount of Life and Mana regen, slightly more Mana for better EHP, increased size of AOE, and a decent chunk of ES. And you don't have to wear pants.

That's a lot to give up for Life leech.


The Scion is my 2nd Character with this build. I have a level 90'ish Heirophant (check characters: Name Dancing_Animated_Guardian). Right now I am lvl 66 and killing T16 bosses like nothing. Fought the Poison Conqu. last night T16 A8 lvl 83, As soon as he was able to be hit, he was dead (less than 1 sec)...

Right now my problems are:

1) Clear - Slow and clunky
2) Avoiding All Element Ailments, Bleed, and etc. (Dislike using flasks over and over on Xbox)
3) Surviving in dense area.

Any thoughts?


I am also thinking about going Scion (Heirophant/Gaurdian) for the block chance. there are also many node near the path that give block with shield. Also trying to figure out if Empower 4 is worth getting over other gems in build.

Sorry about all the questions. Just trying to learn and also help others ya know?
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Ayron08 wrote:


The Scion is my 2nd Character with this build. I have a level 90'ish Heirophant (check characters: Name Dancing_Animated_Guardian). Right now I am lvl 66 and killing T16 bosses like nothing. Fought the Poison Conqu. last night T16 A8 lvl 83, As soon as he was able to be hit, he was dead (less than 1 sec)...

Right now my problems are:

1) Clear - Slow and clunky
2) Avoiding All Element Ailments, Bleed, and etc. (Dislike using flasks over and over on Xbox)
3) Surviving in dense area.

Any thoughts?


I am also thinking about going Scion (Heirophant/Gaurdian) for the block chance. there are also many node near the path that give block with shield. Also trying to figure out if Empower 4 is worth getting over other gems in build.

Sorry about all the questions. Just trying to learn and also help others ya know?


You mean Scion's Gladiator, for scaling block chance? Yes that should be viable, but it won't be easy. I also don't have experience with stacking block in a build, etc.

Crafting "Avoid Elemental Ailments" on your helmet AND gloves (or having the Shaper mod on your boots) will make you immune from those things, as long as you have pathed to "Arcane Swiftness" on the passive tree. I 100% recommend going for this immunity, it just feels so good and you never have to think about it afterward, or worry about flask for freeze etc.

Bleed isn't something you need to worry too much about, but certainly keep a bleed flask at the ready. The worst bleeds in the game are like a type of 'reflect damage', and those get applied to your totems instead of you. Basic bleeds can be applied to you if you get hit by certain mobs, but basic bleeds aren't that threatening and your life/mana regen should be higher than most basic bleed degens. A jewel with "Corrupted Blood immunity" should cover most worst-case scenarios, and Sirus.

The one flask you do want to be mashing all the time is your Quicksilver, since this will translate into better clear speed. Clear speed is limited by Totem Placement Speed, Movement Speed, Cast Speed, general DPS, and how aggressively you move and position your character. For clear speed to feel good, you really need to be charging forward, immediately after dropping totems in that new direction. You also don't need to wait for every mob around you to be dead, before moving in a new direction. Your totems will usually kill EVERYTHING, as long as your oldest totems don't get de-summoned, and you haven't moved so far off-screen.

"Surviving in a dense area". I stopped running cramped and juiced maps like T16 Necropolis. The risk of death became too high, and the tight doorways just make for getting shotgunned or ganked. A dense, cramped map requires a really slow playstyle to keep it safe, and I don't have the patience for that. Even one of my favorite maps, Waste Pool and Toxic Sewer, I would avoid running because I could not run them as fast as I wanted to. Surprisingly Heist content feels really good, since it isn't as cramped as it visually appears, and the way enemy waves spawn in is very predictable.

Oh and you really want "Sleepless Sentries" on a Medium Cluster jewel, since this gives 'free' Onslaught. I see you've been stacking Placement Speed on your jewels, which makes a ton of sense. But darn, no-flask Onslaught is just so good!
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BlueeGreg wrote:
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Ayron08 wrote:


The Scion is my 2nd Character with this build. I have a level 90'ish Heirophant (check characters: Name Dancing_Animated_Guardian). Right now I am lvl 66 and killing T16 bosses like nothing. Fought the Poison Conqu. last night T16 A8 lvl 83, As soon as he was able to be hit, he was dead (less than 1 sec)...

Right now my problems are:

1) Clear - Slow and clunky
2) Avoiding All Element Ailments, Bleed, and etc. (Dislike using flasks over and over on Xbox)
3) Surviving in dense area.

Any thoughts?


I am also thinking about going Scion (Heirophant/Gaurdian) for the block chance. there are also many node near the path that give block with shield. Also trying to figure out if Empower 4 is worth getting over other gems in build.

Sorry about all the questions. Just trying to learn and also help others ya know?


You mean Scion's Gladiator, for scaling block chance? Yes that should be viable, but it won't be easy. I also don't have experience with stacking block in a build, etc.

Crafting "Avoid Elemental Ailments" on your helmet AND gloves (or having the Shaper mod on your boots) will make you immune from those things, as long as you have pathed to "Arcane Swiftness" on the passive tree. I 100% recommend going for this immunity, it just feels so good and you never have to think about it afterward, or worry about flask for freeze etc.

Bleed isn't something you need to worry too much about, but certainly keep a bleed flask at the ready. The worst bleeds in the game are like a type of 'reflect damage', and those get applied to your totems instead of you. Basic bleeds can be applied to you if you get hit by certain mobs, but basic bleeds aren't that threatening and your life/mana regen should be higher than most basic bleed degens. A jewel with "Corrupted Blood immunity" should cover most worst-case scenarios, and Sirus.

The one flask you do want to be mashing all the time is your Quicksilver, since this will translate into better clear speed. Clear speed is limited by Totem Placement Speed, Movement Speed, Cast Speed, general DPS, and how aggressively you move and position your character. For clear speed to feel good, you really need to be charging forward, immediately after dropping totems in that new direction. You also don't need to wait for every mob around you to be dead, before moving in a new direction. Your totems will usually kill EVERYTHING, as long as your oldest totems don't get de-summoned, and you haven't moved so far off-screen.

"Surviving in a dense area". I stopped running cramped and juiced maps like T16 Necropolis. The risk of death became too high, and the tight doorways just make for getting shotgunned or ganked. A dense, cramped map requires a really slow playstyle to keep it safe, and I don't have the patience for that. Even one of my favorite maps, Waste Pool and Toxic Sewer, I would avoid running because I could not run them as fast as I wanted to. Surprisingly Heist content feels really good, since it isn't as cramped as it visually appears, and the way enemy waves spawn in is very predictable.

Oh and you really want "Sleepless Sentries" on a Medium Cluster jewel, since this gives 'free' Onslaught. I see you've been stacking Placement Speed on your jewels, which makes a ton of sense. But darn, no-flask Onslaught is just so good!


Today while at work I took a few hours taking your build, Mathils and my own to mash them all together to get the best tree for the build.

I was able to find out some interesting things. Like running Chieftain will give my current build 600+ Lige Regen, 400+ Life Leech and that the Gladiator would only give me 22% block making me able to block a total of 45% from 23% as Chieftain.

I also am running Haste/ lvl1 clarity so I have phasing and 8% Damage taken from mana. I still am having problems with the clear. I am used to a Golemancer Necromancer Build so running through packs and letting minions kill behind me is the same as dropping a totem behind me while running through a pack.

I am finding that I am moving so fast or the totems needing to double-tap mobs so when I kill the boss in less than a sec (faster than Mathils) but the normal mobs are taking longer to clear. Makes me fee something is wrong.

Maybe I can send you my PoB with both trees as well as from Xbox Game Clips and you can take a look?

Would love to get this figured out.
Ayron08, I've imported your build into POB (current Level 80 Scion). I don't understand how you can say you have the damage to kill bosses really fast, but that trash takes too long to die? I'm not seeing a lot of DPS here so I'm also confused how bosses can be dying so quickly. With the damage I see, I would expect bosses to take forever.

Yes, definitely link me or share some Xbox gameplay clips of your character in action. I'm curious what you are experiencing!

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BlueeGreg wrote:
Ayron08, I've imported your build into POB (current Level 80 Scion). I don't understand how you can say you have the damage to kill bosses really fast, but that trash takes too long to die? I'm not seeing a lot of DPS here so I'm also confused how bosses can be dying so quickly. With the damage I see, I would expect bosses to take forever.

Yes, definitely link me or share some Xbox gameplay clips of your character in action. I'm curious what you are experiencing!



This link will take you to all my Xbox game captures.

https://gameclips.io/Ayron08

Right now I have about 10+ videos of me killing multiple bosses Sirius, Conquerors, Uber Lab and more. I do not play videos games on weekends, so on Monday I will take some more videos of my map clearing and etc.

Glad you were able to see my build so far in PoB. I have my final trees that I can show you Monday.

Let me know what you think please.

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