[3.6] Milky's Scorching Ray Totems (updating process)

So here are the changes affecting the build. Some buffs and nerfs, shouldn´t change much overall. Will update the guide later on regarding those changes.

Supports which cause skills to create traps, totems or mines will no longer grant that skill the duration tag.

This means that Swift Affliction and Efficacy is no longer working for Righteous Fire Totems. It´s not that bad since Elder Boots exist and are mainly used nowadays anyway.

While starting the build off you won´t (usually) have a 5-6 link soulmantle early on. RF + Spelltotem + Burning Dmg + Ele Focus + AoE/Conc effect are the usual starting gems and all you need in Elder boots.

Before that, the setup is the same in Soulmantle and a 5link could use minion and totem resist support.

In the end it really only matters in a phase where you got a 6 link but no elder boots for excample--- the early and lategame power is not affected at all.

Chance to Ignite Support/Combustion Support
Has been renamed to Combustion Support.
Now lowers the fire resistance of enemies ignited by supported skills, inflicting -10% fire resistance at gem level 1, down to -19% at gem level 20.

slap it on a flamegolem and you have -19% fire res on the enemy. Flamegolems attack freqzently and the ignitechance on the gem is enough to have a reliable debuff. Small changes to gems/skilltree for that are possible.

Cold Snap

has bigger aoe, chilled ground and targets an area. Can work well to apply EE and chilled ground. Just not good to trigger Ele Overload.

Increases to cast speed now affect Orb of Storms strike rate.

We dont get much castspeed, but its still a slight buff for the EO uptime.

Phase Run
Cast time lowered to 0.25 seconds (from 0.5).

More useful. If you dont like shieldcharging (or other mobility skills) this is now more useful in a faster casting + phase run + flamedash setup.

Vaal Righteous Fire

Does currently not work on totems and there is no indication that it will in 3.3. You could use it yourself for a dmg boost for scorching ray or a bit extra singletarget dmg from your character tho.

Skilltree Changes

Nothing major. Burning dmg is lower, fire dmg is higher. In the end the same or slightly more dmg than before

+20% dmg for Breath of Flame and 9% dmg for Heart of Flame Cluster + 2% fire dmg for the starting node



Overall the build got buffed

Edit:

- Updated the Skillgem Section.
Kicked out the Blasphemy curse (socket starved), added the curse into the curse on hit setup of Orb of Storms.
Added Flame Golem + Combustion + Decoy totem as a 3link setup

- New Skilltree picture

As you wrote swift affliction does not work in 3.3 but efficay should, description is
that deals damage or has a duration, according to wikis rf-site it works with patch 3.0.2
for rf, righteous fire without totems never had a duration, so efficay should still work
with rf-totems in 3.3

without swift affliction:

pro: you dont need that much dex and can use another amulet without stats that gives you
dex, i got a bisco drop and needed a careful planning jewel to get enough dex to wear
it

con: experimenting with other gear than soulmantle (hierophant gives you 3 totems plus
searing bond) for more survivability and 2 free ring and 1 jewel slot gets very
difficult, you can craft at least 3 blue sockets with vorici, but crafting 4 blue
and 2 red on a non-int chest gets very difficult

"

Capleton2 wrote:

As you wrote swift affliction does not work in 3.3 but efficay should, description is
that deals damage or has a duration, according to wikis rf-site it works with patch 3.0.2
for rf, righteous fire without totems never had a duration, so efficay should still work
with rf-totems in 3.3

without swift affliction:

pro: you dont need that much dex and can use another amulet without stats that gives you
dex, i got a bisco drop and needed a careful planning jewel to get enough dex to wear
it

con: experimenting with other gear than soulmantle (hierophant gives you 3 totems plus
searing bond) for more survivability and 2 free ring and 1 jewel slot gets very
difficult, you can craft at least 3 blue sockets with vorici, but crafting 4 blue
and 2 red on a non-int chest gets very difficult

RF is not damage over time, its a burn. The spelltotem granted rf a duration tag which is now removed in 3.3.
Swift affliction and efficacy increase damage over time dmg and thus wont affect the rf totems anymore (maybe with arcane surge).

Soulmantle is just too good to not use.

extra link, 50% totemlife (rf dmg, tankier decoy or any totem) and overall dps with scorching ray due to the extra totem.

I can use vaal rf right? or is there a down side to it?

from reddit posted by mark_GGG

The Vaal Skill and Non-Vaal Skill are two seperate skills. If you support them both with a totem support, then you will have two different skills, each of which summons a totem to use that skill. Which skill the totem uses is always determined by which skill you summon the totem with. They don't mix and match.

If you use the Vaal Skill, you'll get a totem which uses the Vaal Skill (until it runs out of souls and can't do anything). If you use the non-vaal version, you'll get a totem of that. It's no different to any other case of two skills affected by the same support.

"

SpecifyingMadness wrote:

I can use vaal rf right? or is there a down side to it?

from reddit posted by mark_GGG

The Vaal Skill and Non-Vaal Skill are two seperate skills. If you support them both with a totem support, then you will have two different skills, each of which summons a totem to use that skill. Which skill the totem uses is always determined by which skill you summon the totem with. They don't mix and match.

If you use the Vaal Skill, you'll get a totem which uses the Vaal Skill (until it runs out of souls and can't do anything). If you use the non-vaal version, you'll get a totem of that. It's no different to any other case of two skills affected by the same support.

vaal rf does currently not work with totems, tested it a few days ago and there is no indication that it changes (if it does, great).

We could use vaal righteous fire with our character for the spelldmg buff for scorching ray in some not so dangerous situations (as well as some dmg with it)

Everything you posted is right, vaal righteous fire is currently just an exception thats not supportable by spelltotems

Vaal Lightning Trap: Shocked ground increased damage taken 15% -> 20%

Is a good option if you have the room. Pretty good if you decide to skip searing bond later on.

The mainguide should be fully updated as well as the uber lab part.

I dont expect many playing the build anyway this patch since there is so much interesting stuff changing ;)

---

Bit offtopic for my personal incursion adventure.

Going for the highly ethical SSF HC adventure this league (to play many different builds since i will rip most chars anyway :P)

Thought a lot about my leaguestarter and still have no clue.

For a trapper i want some shaper gloves or es gear to start a ci trapper, so thats something for the 2nd or 3rd char.

maybe ignite fireball + flamesurge shenanigans, thats something i would wanna play a bit.

then the standard sunder starter without sunder :P So using some reworked gems like doublestrike, groundslam or lacerate. Attack builds tend to be pretty gear independant at the start, so that might be the best choice so far.

totem builds are out of question for me atm, probably rolling rf totems midleague but thats it.

Then i dont really care about bows/wands right now. maybe Rain of Arrows but first i wanna see if its the 3.3 spectral shield throw or not ;)

you wrote:

RF is not damage over time, its a burn. The spelltotem granted rf a duration tag which is now removed in 3.3.
Swift affliction and efficacy increase damage over time dmg and thus wont affect the rf totems anymore (maybe with arcane surge).

You're right for swift affliction with the duration tag removed, but i think efficay still
works, description says supports any skill that deals damage OR has a duration, not and has
a duration.
According to wiki rf is fire degeneration damage (damage over time) so damage over time
should still have an effect on rf-totems, even without the tag, rf-totems deal damage so
i think efficay (not affliction) still works. If increased damage over time generally
has no effect on rf-totems anymore all gear and jewels have to be reworked.

Efficacy support: As of patch 3.0.2 Efficacy support now works with Righteous Fire without needing a duration tag.

didn't know that, you're right. Doesnt change the fact that there is no use for this support on rft :p

RF totem build was first build, with what i managed beat Atziri. Therefore i feel nostalgic for my Chieftain build in standard and try to keep it playable despite the changes in game.

Now that Swift Affliction has dropped out, i have big empty hole in 6L Soul mantle. Tried to run Increased AoE and Concentrated simultaneously. Not so good result for running maps. So what gems work with RF totem? Burning damage, Efficacy and Elemental Focus combined with Increased AoE or Concentrated and 5L filled. Right now using Item Rarity as sixth. With what i can replace it to get any effect? Empower?

Just use RF totems in Elder-Boots (supported with lvl 20 or better 22 spelltotem) as a pseudo 5 link and a 6link scorching ray in the soulmantle. RF for clear and SR for singletarget