Fire Trap

Since my current build relies heavily on Fire Trap, I'm trying to figure out best ways to improve the skill.

The initial explosion is pretty straight forward. I'd like to clarify what would be the best ways to maximise the burning ground part of the skill. So far I'm only sure that Burning Damage passives or gear increase it, despite the tooltip not showing it. Completely ignoring the initial explosion here (since I'm pretty sure the below works with it), can I further increase the burning ground damage by:

1. Using curses (one or multiple) to lower resistances of monsters?

2. Using Fire Penetration support?


I'd greatly appreciate a clear answer!

@Vipermagi below: I'm amazed by how rapidly you answered, thank you!
Last edited by nermind on Mar 9, 2013, 2:14:26 PM
1. Yes; it is Fire damage.
2. Yes; ^dealt by the linked Skill.

It's Damage over Time, so the Vulnerability Curse also applies. Resist Curses are better, but you know. It's there :P
Last edited by Vipermagi on Mar 9, 2013, 2:10:14 PM
This skill, as well as bear trap, has an obnoxious timer every time you switch weapons or even leave a map. Is this intended?

Also, I couldn't really find a definitive answer so I'll just go ahead and ask to save myself the trouble of searching anymore.

Please correct me if this statement is incorrect:

Fire Trap's burning patch is 2 types of damage combined. A special "fire degeneration" that is only increased by leveling the skill and nothing else, and monsters are only under this debuff so long as they stand in the burning patch. While they are getting damaged by this fire degeneration, they are also receive burning DoT that is affected by burning damage from passives (assuming the trap crit'd and ignited a monster in the patch).

IGN: Athulua
Last edited by Xenest on Mar 10, 2013, 12:00:50 AM
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Xenest wrote:
This skill, as well as bear trap, has an obnoxious timer every time you switch weapons or even leave a map. Is this intended?

Also, I couldn't really find a definitive answer so I'll just go ahead and ask to save myself the trouble of searching anymore.

Please correct me if this statement is incorrect:

Fire Trap's burning patch is 2 types of damage combined. A special "fire degeneration" that is only increased by leveling the skill and nothing else, and monsters are only under this debuff so long as they stand in the burning patch. While they are getting damaged by this fire degeneration, they are also receive burning DoT that is affected by burning damage from passives (assuming the trap crit'd and ignited a monster in the patch).



The degen is a burning degen, there's only one effect. It's affected by burning passives like other burns. It stacks with other burns also. The base value is determined by the firetrap level, just like an ignite burn is determined by the hit that triggered the ignite burn, that's all there is really.

As for the timer yes it's annoying and it's intended. For the weapon swap you can fix that by moving Fire Trap to a non weapon slot. If it's not swapped it won't started from 0 even when you weapon swap. Entering the map, re-equipping the item or leveling the gem(which quickly unequip the item and re-equip it) will reset the charges and start the cd again. Same as every skill with a cd, more annoying with traps than with most other skills though.
If I have a 5L Searing Touch, what is the best combo of supports to use with Fire Trap? Also, is a ST 5L Fire Trap better or worse than using Fireball?
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Anithera wrote:
If I have a 5L Searing Touch, what is the best combo of supports to use with Fire Trap? Also, is a ST 5L Fire Trap better or worse than using Fireball?


Fire Trap scales better with the +2 gem levels so that's my pick. I use Fire Pene, Increased AOE, Chance to Ignite, Ele Prolif with fire trap in my 5L Searing Touch and it oneshots just about any group of mobs in merciless act 3 or low/mid level maps even without bothering to hit them with flammability.
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nermind wrote:
Since my current build relies heavily on Fire Trap, I'm trying to figure out best ways to improve the skill.[/i]


This is the wand I use on my level 76 hardcore trapper witch (4 traps 1 mine).



Certainly try to obtain the increased % burning nodes (the one in the 3 point cluster, rather than the one linked to the larger fire damage cluster) and %quality fire traps as they also increase the burning damage.

Finally the curse you want to be using is Temporal Chains. Not only is it great for end game content, but it allows you to control mobs of enemies and clump them together BUT ALSO that temp chains makes it so buffs and debuffs on cursed enemies expire 50% slower. This means enemies spend more time walking through your fire patches as well as the duration of the burning effect from fire status ailment.
I couldn't find any information about the topic so i'll just dump this here.

I'm in the middle of creating my 'super fire damage dot power' build when, for my disappointment, I found out that the fire trap critical strike mechanic works differently than I expected. I was hoping the fire trap to check individually a critical hit chance for every monster hit but this doesn't seem to be the case. Instead if you score a critical hit with a fire trap all the mobs struck by this same trap will be hit critically.

This kinda ruins my idea for fire trap + added lightning damage + elemental proliferation + increased critical strikes where only a couple critical hits in a group of monsters would guarantee you with a full pack of double / triple shocked monsters taking burning damage from two sources, the initial critical blast ignite and the ground burn.

The way it currently works feels a bit .. weird .. to me and I'd like to know if this behavior is intentional and if you've noticed it. I haven't checked this with other sources of damage if for example a single fireball piercing and hitting two different targets would always result in either both targets to be hit critically or normally.


Edit: chance to shock passives kinda make the skill work the way i want it to
Last edited by apeus on Mar 13, 2013, 11:34:39 PM
All skills in the game make the crit roll only once, and check crit chance against each mosnter using that same roll. This is how crits work in PoE and is not specific to fire trap in any way.
I have a couple of questions regarding fire trap, some only Mark might be able to answer.

It was mentioned earlier in this tread that the Vulnerability curse 40% increased DoT dmg did not work with the burning ground DoT because of a bug and that it was on Marks list to fix, has this been fixed? These was no mention of it again and can't remember if I ever saw it in any patch notes.

The increased duration support will affect both the time the trap lay on the ground and the amount of time the burning ground stay around, will the 12% Trap duration passive affect both as well or only the time the trap lay on the ground waiting to be triggered?
I know the Increased skill duration cluster affects both at least.

While speaking of the 12% duration node. Mark, why 12%? Why not say 10% or 15% like most of the other trap nodes? I think the trap cluster in the middle is kind of weak and actually something like 20% duration increase would be more appropriate.

That was all, thanks :)

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