Quick question about summon totems and passives.

So, if I use a summon skill (Skeletons, for example) on a spell totem, will they benefit from my Minion nodes on the passive tree? I know this seems like a really obvious question, but I wasn't sure if minions that are cast by the totem (and not myself) would benefit from my own passives. I know they are boosted by totem nodes that directly boost the totem that is casting the summon skill, just wanted to clarify if I should bother grabbing Minion nodes if I'm going with a dual totem summon build, or if just getting totem nodes is better.

Thanks in advance. Never played a summoner before, and never a totem character, but I have all of the gems for it, so I figured I'd give it a shot.

Yes.

They're technically still your minions and benefit from minion passives.

Thanks. Just wanted to clarify.

Minions summoned by totems/mines/traps do not, however, benefit from totem/mine/trap damage on gear or passives, just like your minions don't benefit from passives that affect your character's damage. The totem is creating your minion, which then benefits from minion bonuses.

So wait, then....do passives such as "Increased Totem Damage" not effect my minions summoned by it? I know that minions summoned by totems deal 50% less damage, and are modified by the totem gem's other modifiers, so I assumed that passives that boosted totems would work on skills and summons cast by them. Is this incorrect? If I'm going with a dual totem summoner build, should I be investing in minion nodes instead of totem nodes?

EDIT: Also, the Totemic Zeal passive, does it make my totems summon faster if they have a summon gem linked, or does it just mean that I myself summon the totem faster?

"

kazegenso wrote:

So wait, then....do passives such as "Increased Totem Damage" not effect my minions summoned by it? I know that minions summoned by totems deal 50% less damage, and are modified by the totem gem's other modifiers, so I assumed that passives that boosted totems would work on skills and summons cast by them. Is this incorrect? If I'm going with a dual totem summoner build, should I be investing in minion nodes instead of totem nodes?

Your totem/trap/mine summons the minion, but the minion is still a minion, not a totem/mine/trap. It gets minion bonuses, not totem/mine/trap bonuses.

I dunno about the 50% less damage modifier working or not. I think it applies, but it hasn't been what people have been talking about lately and I don't use totem-summoned minions for damage so I can't remember. I think it works like any other support gem (like LMP, for example, gives "30% less damage"), but again I've not read up on that part recently.

You can find several developer posts clarifying this on the forums if you search around for recent topics. A lot of people have experienced a lot of confusion about this subject lately.

So, in other words, I'd want Totem Health and Totem Cast Speed nodes, and maybe Totem Duration, but Totem Damage and such are pointless. Better off getting Minion Damage nodes, etc.

"

kazegenso wrote:

So, in other words, I'd want Totem Health and Totem Cast Speed nodes, and maybe Totem Duration, but Totem Damage and such are pointless. Better off getting Minion Damage nodes, etc.

Bump. Can someone confirm this before I invest more points into this character? I'd like to know what I'm doing before I waste the points and have to respec/reroll.

"

kazegenso wrote:

"

kazegenso wrote:

So, in other words, I'd want Totem Health and Totem Cast Speed nodes, and maybe Totem Duration, but Totem Damage and such are pointless. Better off getting Minion Damage nodes, etc.

Bump. Can someone confirm this before I invest more points into this character? I'd like to know what I'm doing before I waste the points and have to respec/reroll.

Yeah, that's the gist of it, passives that increase totem/trap/mine damage apply to you, they have nothing to do with minions. Maybe a bit counterintuitive, considering bonuses and penalties from totem/trap/mine supports do apply, but that's the way minions work, it's not a bug but intended mechanics. Passives from the tree apply directly to the skills you cast, and summoning a minion doesn't do damage by itself, however, effects from supports apply to all possible levels of skill effect.

Anyway, if such passives would apply, then generic fire damage passives would affect raging spirit, which they can't.

Thanks, that clarifies things.

Off topic, why is it that generic fire damage nodes don't boost Raging Spirit, but Elemental Damage nodes do? o.O"