[1.1.1c] [Womancraft's] Dual Totem Searing Bond/Ice Nova, EE Build. Cheap and highly effective.
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Warning:
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Lots of text, detail heavy.
Key things to know about Searing Bond:
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It is a DEGENERATION effect, it does NOT support on hit support Gems. It does NOT gain from SPELL DAMAGE, but does from ELEMENTAL. Searing Bond reacts to enemy Resistances, but does NOT benefit from Fire Penetration. AOE does NOT effect Searing Bond. It DOES gain from Fire Damage Nodes.
My Passive Tree at 61 (what and why):
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76 points spent at Level 61, still clearing through A3 Merci as this is a new character. Doing Vaal A2 Merci runs without a sweat being broken. http://www.pathofexile.com/passive-skill-tree/AAAAAgUBAnEEswVbEmkUIBRNFHEWbxccGJEZhRo4Gj4abCSqKPopLilPKhMspzbpRtdKxFBHVElVxlnzXcZgbWoecXlyqXhpfVOCm4LHgziLjI9GkFWYrZ2Ana6ezaIAo_KnCKcwp4SnlKgYrKq1BLaGuJPAGsMTz2XQ0NH90iHa3d3z4XPjauQi6hjr7uw47SDwH_Iv9q73Mvjr-eg=
Stacking Elemental Damage (NOT SPELL DAMAGE, it does NOT effect Searing Bond), Elemental Resists, Life and Totem Nodes, while grabbing the major Burning Nodes and leaving the Fire Nodes for end game. Totem nodes in MY opinion are essential as they are on the way to a ton of Life nodes and give your Searing Bond a LOT of damage instead of venturing into Fire Damage nodes around the Witch Tree. The Passive Tree for 101 points:
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http://www.pathofexile.com/passive-skill-tree/AAAAAgUBAnEDxgSzBVsGDgn2EmkUIBRNFHEWbxccGJEZhRo4Gj4abBznIPAkqicvKPopLilPKhMspy7_Nuk9_ETnRtdKxFBHUFBUSVXGWGNZ813GXz9gbWP9ah5qO3F5cql4aXrmfLh9U4KbgseDOIuMjM-PRpBVmK2dgJ2uns2iAKIPo_KnCKcwp4SnlKgYrKq2hriTvJ_AGsMTxtjPZdDQ0f3SIdR82t3d8-Fz42rjn-Qi52rqGOvu7DjtIO8O8B_xrPIv9kj2rvcy-Ov56A==
At this point there are SO many options that I am just showing you how durable you can be, while still having options to increase your damage output. Keep in mind this is how I plan to build my character, not how you have to build yours. At the top left are Reduced Reserve Mana Nodes if you really, really want to push for a 3rd Aura. Eventually I will be dropping Purity for Vitality, so I only plan to use 2 without the Reduced Reserved nodes. If you continue down from the Shaper node, just up and left of the Scion tree, there are Life, Mana, ES and Totem Nodes near by as options. Also keep in mind that YES, I am stacking the Marauder Resistance Nodes - Again this is because we want to keep this away from being GEAR dependent. Those nodes free up gear to stack Life or other stats. And hey, -Res maps you will be thanking me for the idea. Plus, respeccing with ALL the options near by is not difficult. The goal:
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First I want to make it clear that this is fully optimized to be as cheap as possible, not trying to get massive damage nodes and then depend on many, many exalts worth of gear to compensate. We want to full clear Merciless and start doing maps with 100%+ IIR, for extremely cheap and yet staying fully effective. And to depend solely on Searing Bond (with one other spell totem for EE). No Vaal Gem, but it is entirely optional and personal preference.
Reflect Mobs:
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What about them?
The concept:
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Elemental Equilibrium by putting out a Spell Totem Ice Nova which will raise the Cold Res and subtract Fire/Lightning Res from enemies, then put out your Searing Bond. Though the order doesn't matter since Searing Bond is a 'degeneration' effect, it will NOT trigger EE to work, only the Spell Totem Ice Nova will. By using the ring Deodre's Damning, which I will link in the Gear list, you can have a second curse put on an enemy. Stacking EE, Flammability and Vulnerability will reduce the enemy's Res by roughly 100% at level 60 and increase the pure damage of Searing Bond by 40% from Vuln curse. Not to mention Vulnerability has some of the best curse effects, ie; Energy Shield recharging slower.
Most of the time I deal so much damage, I either don't even need to curse or put down Ice Nova, so the damage increase as you can imagine with Flamm/Vuln and EE is AMAZING. Why EE works and does NOT negate damage from the group:
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You do NOT have to cast Spell Totem Ice Nova for one thing. The second thing is you can swap out Flammability Curse with Elemental Weakness if you should so choose. Third is that you can swap Ice Nova with something like Spark + LMP or GMP and faster casting etc if your group, or friends have Cold based characters (though this can be annoying if you don't have another 4L with the proper gem colours). Either way, the minus to two Res, and plus to one still works wonders with Elemental Spec Throw builds etc, so there should be no real complaints other than from PURE cold builds.
The Links and Gems:
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You want a Searing Touch Long Staff that is 3L-4L with Searing Bond, Item Rarity, Increased Burning Damage (NO QUALITY, Chance to Ignite 1. doesn't work 2. wouldn't help Elemental Equilibrium), and the 4th which is optional but helps is Totem/Minion Resistance. Your armour should be a 4L at the LEAST, though a 5L doesn't help too much. Spell Totem, Ice Nova, Faster Casting, Increased Area of Effect. We want Ice Nova casting as fast as it can and as big as it can without spending nodes to improve AOE since it is a drag on our Searing Bond damage and personal resistances/health nodes.
I am currently running Clarity and Purity for 100-120 stacked all Reses in Merciless. With Clarity and Purity I of course use Reduced Mana. I have not tested this out, but I am considering Cast When Damage Taken linked with Cold Snap, Ele Prolif and Increased Area, which can be left at a low level to keep CWDT at level 1 since the patch changed how strong CWDT can be. 25% chance to freeze with Cold Snap at level 1 hitting multiple enemies and Ele Proliferating can be highly effective if you are being hit lot or just once in a while being careless or desynching, etc. The reason I don't run that at the moment, or a CWDT with Molten Shell etc is because I literally do not need it at the moment. Weapon Swap is two Brightbeak Warhammers solely for Leap Slam linked with Faster Attacks. Flasks:
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1 Health potion. 1 Res potion at hand (generally I just equip for the area). Speed potion. Armour potion. Mana potion.
My Gear:
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ESSENTIAL Weapon:
Helmet: Armour: Gloves: Boots: Ring: ESSENTIAL Ring: Belt: Belt Alternative to increase Dex for the Faster Attacks Gem linked in my Weapon Swap: Amulet: Flasks: The Chaos Flask is there as it was situational for the Vaal runs I was doing. Also note that the ONLY essential items are the Weapon and the Unique Ring. I would almost consider Aurseize essential, but it depends on your character's needs. Weapon Swap: I just noticed I haven't linked Faster Attacks to Leap Slam, but that's just because I forgot. How I play:
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With Dual Totem it creates a link, so instead of a triangle you have a bendable L shaped beam. I want to be casting my dual curses and recasting totems for positioning / their destruction. At times I even Dual Searing Bond for more damage spread, since some packs do not need to be debuffed.
For example versus Vaal, I will drop Searing Bond first to position it so my Ice Nova Spell Totem casts a line through where he spawns (Ice Nova Spell Totem close to Vaal). I want to instantly be using Vuln/Flamm and then running at the line of enemies once they spawn, all the while my Searing Bond and Ice Nova Spell Totem are linked hitting Vaal til he goes away. Vaal will target the Ice Nova which is your aggro and needs to be resummoned, he will always melee smash his closest target which as I said should always be your Ice Nova Spell Totem. Against packs you can CC them with Ice Nova Spell Totem, then cast your Searing Bond where you see fit. In theory you could even use Decoy Totem, or other Totems for different kinds of Crowd Control. The versatility and Node placement just works so well with Totems. How I leveled:
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1-24 I used Ice Nova. Yes, that's right, the spell you will be linking later CARRIES you to 24. It is easily the best leveling gem I have encountered alongside Spectral Throw. At 24 of course you use Searing Bond.
Templar or Marauder:
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I choose Templar because it makes leveling easier and aesthetically I prefer him, though if you carry through with the way the tree leads you COULD technically start as a Marauder. Leveling may be slower, but you could always just use Spectral Throw.
Current stats at 61:
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2k Life, 300ES, 100-120 Res in Merci. 14% DR, 14% Evade. 5,000 Damage Searing Bond. +40% Damage to Searing Bond makes it roughly 7,000 Damage with -100% to enemy Res.
I will update as I level up, improve gear and receive feedback! Thank you all for taking a look, I hope this helps people rethink spending all their currency on a 5L-6L Searing Touch, which is pointless! Also, refer to my crappy gear, I mean really, look at it and see how viable it is with that stuff on. Then compare it to actually having uber gear, I truly believe this is my best Searing Bond build I have made to date (this is my first build post). If I missed any essential information or got something WRONG, please let me know! I love constructive criticism. Currently clearing 66-68 maps at 61, hit 62 and a few bars in no deaths. Second map was two boss + exile, no problems so far. Another update: Currently level 67, Vaal running for Chaos farming, also doing maps. Was doing Rare maps from 61, the only problems I've had are versus bosses in Corrupted Areas using totems - but it's just a patience game. My IGN for questions and comments, or discussion:
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TheyMisunderestimatedMe
Last edited by Womancraft on Apr 5, 2014, 2:08:59 AM
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Is there an advantage to use ice nova totems compared to multi-trap > ice nova?
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" Yes, vastly. With Dual Totem it creates a link, so instead of a triangle you have a bendable L shaped beam. The AOE possibilities (like additional nodes), and trap spread isn't worth it with how you should be placing your Searing Bond. Third, the Totem Nodes benefit Ice Nova on Spell Totem and they cast until destroyed, or the timer runs out. Traps don't have this effect; one cast is not effective vs packs. You want to be casting your dual curses and recasting totems for positioning / their destruction, not putting down 1 hit traps. And constant chill is great crowd control. For example versus Vaal, I will drop Searing Bond first to position it so my Ice Nova Spell Totem casts a line through where he spawns (Ice Nova Spell Totem close to Vaal). I want to instantly be using Vuln/Flamm and then running at the line of enemies once they spawn, all the while my Searing Bond and Ice Nova Spell Totem are linked hitting Vaal til he goes away. Vaal will target the Ice Nova which is your aggro and needs to be resummoned, he will always melee smash his closest target which as I said should always be your Ice Nova Spell Totem. Against packs you can CC them with Ice Nova Spell Totem, then cast your Searing Bond where you see fit. In theory you could even use Decoy Totem, or other Totems for different kinds of Crowd Control. The versatility and Node placement just works so well with Totems that you'd have to be a Shadow or Witch (imo) to run a trapper-hybrid properly. I'm actually going to use this as my explanation on my "How I play". Thanks for the great question! (: Last edited by Womancraft on Mar 31, 2014, 10:49:25 PM
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Hi, I made a Templar on Sunday and it immediately got me thinking. What I have in my mind right now looks very similar to yours. I won't talk about it too much, since it really revolves around how specific game mechanics work (or don't...). Initially I was trying to do it without searing touch (too costly? idk). Either way, I'm still debating on how best to maximize totem DPS (even at the cost of some survivability) with as few skill points as possible. That said, I have a few questions for you:
1. Are there any totems or totem combinations that you tried, which seemed good on paper/in your head, but failed in the long run? 2. What totems do you suspect would be really good, but haven't got a chance to try? | |
" No, I have only dabbled with Searing Bond so far, other than using Spell Totem with minions. Though I have made some Searing Bond builds either too high in dps and/or too low in survivability for the gear I was using. " Cold based spells, I really, really like Ice Nova as it reminds me of Diablo 2. Flame Totem. Though Searing Bond is great as it only takes up 1 gem slot to be used, instead of two when linking spells. |
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is there any way you could post a leveling guide i started asearing bond char its somewhat similiar to yours but yours seems better. i just kinda wanna kno which direction to head in in the passive tree at certain levels. thanks
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did u even look @the other searing bond guides? (its the most common build next to spectral throw imo at least in ambush)
i play searing bond templar too but the other version with eldritch battery/MoM/IR/EE avoiding the marauder area - why do u prefer an ice nova totem over lightning/nova trap which lets u keep ur triangle searing bond? why dont u take the +2 all max res node when its only 1 point for you? but u take all the weak resist nodes in marauder area. in general i feel like u invest too much in strength nodes with this path which dont help u at all. another variant uses searing bond+ lightning warp spell totem so the totem jumps into rooms at far range but dunno about that one because i feel like the totems just die too fast and its better to use 2x searing bond due to recast issues and larger area. | |
" 20 points http://www.pathofexile.com/passive-skill-tree/AAAAAgUBBLMFWxRNRtddxmBteuZ9U4KbgziLjJ2AogC2htR83fPhc-dq7SDwHw== 41 points http://www.pathofexile.com/passive-skill-tree/AAAAAgUBBLMFWxJpFE0WbxccGYUaOBpsJKopTzbpRtdVxl3GYG1xeXrmfVOCm4M4i4yPRpBVnYCdrqIApwinhLaGz2XQ0NR83fPhc-Nq5CLnauw47SDwHw== 61 points http://www.pathofexile.com/passive-skill-tree/AAAAAgUBBLMFWxJpFE0WbxccGYUaOBpsJKoo-ilPKhMspzbpRtdKxFXGWfNdxmBtcXlyqXhpeuZ9U4KbgseDOIuMj0aQVZitnYCdrqIAo_KnCKeErKq2hriTwBrDE89l0NDUfN3z4XPjauQi52rqGOvu7DjtIPAf9q73Mvjr-eg= And from there you can go into the Marauder tree as I've chosen, to compensate for gear. Hope this helps. |
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" Did you even take time to read my thread? This is not a build for people trying to make the best, most maximized via gear character. If it was, I'd stick with older builds and compensate where needed with the gear. Instead, this is a build that can clear Rare maps as of 61. Currently at 67, I am doing Vaal runs to farm Chaos and maps on occasion. I am a casual player who rerolls a lot and this build is for a more casual player base. I prefer Ice Nova because it's easy to manage, reminds me of Diablo 2 and I chose to stay away from any traps and go purely Totems. And I actually did take that +2 all res node, I just forgot to put it in the link of the build. It's just one of those nodes I forget when theory crafting. |
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yea i read it all.
sorry didnt want to "sound" aggressive but just felt like there should be a note in here, as its almost impossible (expensive) to spec from this searing bond build to other variants, and u have no late game experience for this build. GL anyways will follow here to see how it works out for you lvl 75+ |
