Ancestral Bond Question

This may seem like a silly question but according to the tool tip for Ancestral Bond (AB) if I choose AB I can no longer deal damage with any of my skills. So if I choose AB I will only be able to drop two totems for damage dealing, how is this a good skill? I know it is because I've read so much about it on the forums but being a noob I'm having a hard time seeing it being powerful let alone OP. Do the totems deal that much damage?

If I get this skill then what skills will I be able to do? Auras and buffs along with debuffs I guess but spells like fireball and Ice nova will no longer be any good correct.

I guess what I'm really asking is how do I use this skill to its max potential, i.e. what other skills should I be looking at to go along with this passive skill? I plan on trying to build a Searing Burn Templar (again because I've read it is a good build) and am following the guide (Tanky-Tank I think) so any help, ideals or insight into how best to use this skill will be greatly appreciated.

Thanks ahead of time for the help.

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Hooknose wrote:

This may seem like a silly question but according to the tool tip for Ancestral Bond (AB) if I choose AB I can no longer deal damage with any of my skills.

Thats true you cant deal damage your self but your minions, or traps and mines still can, as well as your totems.

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Hooknose wrote:

So if I choose AB I will only be able to drop two totems for damage dealing, how is this a good skill? I know it is because I've read so much about it on the forums but being a noob I'm having a hard time seeing it being powerful let alone OP. Do the totems deal that much damage?

Are you playing a specific build because its broken or overpowered? or to have fun with it and advance in the game? Anyway, in many situations you can double your dps with totems (not tooltip dps, but since you can have 2 instead of 1 ... yeah i thing you got it)

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Hooknose wrote:

If I get this skill then what skills will I be able to do? Auras and buffs along with debuffs I guess but spells like fireball and Ice nova will no longer be any good correct.

Depending on the skill you will be using, some curse that amplifies the effects of the skill, some aura tha will offer your some extra kind of defence or/and durability for your character, some movement skill etc.

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Hooknose wrote:

I guess what I'm really asking is how do I use this skill to its max potential, i.e. what other skills should I be looking at to go along with this passive skill? I plan on trying to build a Searing Burn Templar (again because I've read it is a good build) and am following the guide (Tanky-Tank I think) so any help, ideals or insight into how best to use this skill will be greatly appreciated.

Since the build is not your idea, you should look up the build and study it more closely to see how its done. Feel free to ask the person who wrote about the build some questions that might help you understand the build better, people are actually willing to help here in the forums (well not all of them, but some are)

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Hooknose wrote:

Thanks ahead of time for the help.

You are welcome, have fun and stay safe :)

Ancestral Bond stops you from dealing any damage (skill-based or otherwise) but ignores any damage for which you are not the source. This mostly means Minions, Mines, Traps and Totems. Curses and Auras are also fine. Tempest Shield does not do damage though.

Spells like Fireball or Ice Nova can be attached to a mine or a trap to work on an AB character. Projectiles are better suited to mines, while something like Ice Nova would be better as a trap so it doesn't have to be centered on the character.

Some of the advantage for a normal dual totem char (ie, an attack spell based one) comes from the fact that once your two totems are summoned, you are not needed to spam your spell nor are you the primary target of the mobs - you are far more free to wander around doing what you want, whether its place traps/mines/curses, pick up loot, flee, chat, etc. For solo play, my experience is it's a little slower than other builds due to the need to re-summon each battle, and totem dps being a little lower than direct dps, but it is a LOT safer. The trade-off for the second totem is losing your direct spell dps in return for doubling your totem dps/defensive distraction, but once you start using a trap as a method of direct dps this is virtually negated.

Searing Bond is a little different to other totems in that where the player stands actually matters, and AB doesn't double dps like usual, just the number of targets, but otherwise the same basic principles apply.

Is your default attack considered a skill?

I am level 16 and ither I miss a lot or my default attack don't hurt cause of AB.

Just to check, because I love my totems but it's quite disturbin not being able to use my weapons in the most basic way

If you can live with the disadvantage, you can actually get up to having 3 totems :-p