Created for Patch 3.20
The Best Crafty Guides by Odealo
Guide notes |
February 03, 2023 -Build created |
Build Overview | |||
Tags: [TOTEM] [CHAOS] [LIFE] [POISON] | |||
Budget: Defenses: |
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Boss DPS: AoE: |
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Patch 3.20 introduced 2 new very interesting Unique Items to the game. The first of them, called Wilma's Requital, is a quite niche Helmet very clearly dedicated for a Totem playstyle, as it grants Ancestral Bond Keystone. With that, you can't deal Damage directly by yourself, but you can Summon 1 additional Totem. It's a very powerful Keystone for nearly every Totem Build, but that's not all. What makes this Helmet truly Unique is the second modifier it grants: Cast Speed bonuses are applied to your Attacks as well. This makes it a very lucrative Helmet for an Attack Totem Character, which admittedly is not that popular lately.
To make the most out of it you should seek sources of both Attack and Cast Speed at once, however, due to technicalities, it will work only if it comes in the form of 2 separate bonuses. The best example of that is the Onslaught Buff, which grants a 20% Attack Speed bonus and a 20% Cast Speed bonus. With Wilma's Helmet equipped, it essentially grants a 40% Attack Speed increase!
Ancestral Protector is a quite popular Melee Totem, but usually, it's used only for the Buff it grants. When active, it grants up to 20% more Attack Speed. As you can guess, it makes a perfect combination with the aforementioned Helmet.
Since it's a Melee Totem, it needs a Melee Weapon. In this case, we decided to use another new Item, Echoforge Sword. It's the third piece of the Unique Sword series, but also much more niche than Starforge or Voidforge. It has a tremendously high amount of Chaos Damage but disables Physical and Elemental Damage completely which strictly narrows the Build possibilities - with its low base Critical Strike Chance it's best to use it for Poison Builds.
As a Pathfinder, your Flasks are much more effective, and you can easily sustain them at all times. You will also deal more Damage with Chaos-based Attacks and occasionally inflict greatly improved Poisons.
The Build is very tanky and mobile - you will have high amounts of Armour and Evasion, and a decent amount of maximum Life. Totem playstyle is also very safe by default - after Summoning them you are free to dodge and outmaneuver your enemies to your heart's content!
It is a quite cheap setup to start and has a lot of room for improvement. Most of the Uniques used here are highly recommended, but not required.
You can also check our other Path of Exile builds right over here Odealo's Crafty Guides - Full List
For the most part, Summoning your Totems is all you have to worry about. Use your very fast Leap Slam to quickly move through the Map or to dodge incoming Attacks. To apply Wither, you will need to either manually cast it, or use Balance of Terror to include it in your Despair Curse setup.
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PROS |
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CONS |
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The final version for this Build is not well-suited for leveling. You will need your end-game Items before you can fully transition into full-fledged Totem Build. The same goes for Poisons - without a 100% chance to apply it with each Hit, it's quite slow for leveling. We recommend going the Toxic Rain route and respec your Passives once you reach Act 8 or better yet - Maps. This will save you a lot of early-game troubles and allow you to enjoy your Build faster. You can check out our Guide for Ranger with DoT Bows to see more tips!
Suggested leveling Gem setups:
Toxic Rain setup | |
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Toxic Rain - toxic arrows fall on your enemies, creating pods when they land, dealing moderate amounts of Chaos Damage over Time. Pods can overlap causing massive Damage once ramped up. |
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Mirage Archer Support - hitting an enemy creates a Mirage Archer that copies your Skills with a slight Damage penalty. |
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Efficacy Support - improves the Damage and the Duration of your DoT Skills. |
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Void Manipulation Support - boosts your Chaos Damage but lowers the (non-existential in this case) Elemental Damage. |
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Vicious Projectiles Support - lowers your Attack Speed slightly but massively improves your Damage in return. |
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Faster Attacks Support - improves your Attack Speed which leads to smoother gameplay and slightly better DPS output. |
Aura setup | |
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Grace - grants a big amount of flat Evasion Rating, which will allow you to Evade most of the Attacks during the Campaign. |
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Clarity - grants a lot of Mana Regeneration so you don't need to use a Mana Flask. |
Utility setup | |
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Flame Dash - a Blink Skill that teleports you at a moderate distance and leaves a fiery path behind you. |
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Despair - lowers the Chaos Resistances of cursed Foes. |
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Steelskin - grants a temporary Buff that absorbs some of the incoming Damage and disables Bleeds on you. |
Bandits:
Kill all Bandits to get additional 2 Passive Tree Skill Points
If you use Toxic Rain for your leveling, you can take some closeby Notables that will vastly improve your leveling experience.
Leveling Skill Trees:
35 Points Passive Tree
We recommend this order:
1) Intuition 2) Herbalism 3) Inveterate 4) Thick Skin
Additional Passives just for leveling:
1) Aspect of the Eagle 2) Far Sight 3) Graceful Assault
65 Points Passive Tree
Allocate:
1) Revenge of the Hunted 2) Charisma 3) Wasting 4) Blood Siphon 5) Blood Drinker
Additional Passives just for leveling:
1) Hunter's Gambit 2) Entropy 3) Fangs of the Viper
Recommended leveling items:
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Adds 1 to 4 Physical Damage to Attacks +(10-30) to all Attributes (10-30)% increased Damage (10-30)% increased Rarity of Items found +(10-30)% to all Elemental Resistances |
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+(30-50) to Evasion Rating 10% increased Rarity of Items found +(30-40)% to all Elemental Resistances Reflects 4 Physical Damage to Melee Attackers Level Requirement reduced by 100 (Hidden) |
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Item has no level requirement and Energy Shield (Hidden) Item has 6 White Sockets and is fully linked (Hidden) |
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+1 to Level of Socketed Bow Gems (80-100)% increased Physical Damage 10% increased Attack Speed Gain 10 Mana per Enemy Killed +30 to Accuracy Rating |
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+(20-30) to maximum Mana +(30-60) to maximum Mana Regenerate (3-6) Mana per second -(8-4) to Total Mana Cost of Skills 8% of Damage taken Recouped as Mana |
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(15-25)% increased Stun and Block Recovery +(20-30) to all Attributes (6-8)% increased Quantity of Items found +20% to Fire Resistance 20% increased Flask Effect Duration -2 Physical Damage taken from Attack Hits |
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+(20-30) to Dexterity +(20-30) to Strength +100 to Accuracy Rating 30% increased Projectile Speed 10% increased Movement Speed 30% increased Projectile Damage |
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+5 to Dexterity +(10-20) to maximum Energy Shield (20-40)% increased Mana Regeneration Rate 20% increased Movement Speed Cannot be Frozen |
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50% increased Movement Speed Level Requirement reduced by 100 (Hidden) |
Final Skill Tree:
105 Points Final Passive Tree
120 Points Path of Building (PoB) link
Ascendancy points:
Preferably in this order:
Pantheon:
Major God: Brine King: You cannot be Stunned if you've been Stunned in the past 2 seconds, Cannot be Frozen, 50% reduced Effect of Chill on you
Minor God: Soul of Shakari: 50% less Duration of Poisons on You; You cannot be Poisoned while there are at least 3 Poisons on you
[DPS] Ancestral Protector setup | |
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Ancestral Protector - summons a Totem which uses your Weapon to Attack nearby enemies. It also grants a massive bonus to your Attack Speed while it is active. |
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Multiple Totems Support - increases your limit of Summoned Totems by 2, but reduces their individual Damage. Overall Clear Speed and Damage output are much better. |
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Multistrike Support - repeats attacks, making them hit harder with each repeat. |
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Unbound Ailments Support - increases the Duration and Damage of your Ailments. |
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Deadly Ailments Support - lowers the initial Hit Damage but significantly improves the DoT portion. |
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Void Manipulation Support - massively improves your Chaos Damage at the cost of your Elemental Damage. |
[UTILITY] Auras | |
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Determination - improves your Armour Rating while also providing a lot of flat amount of that stat. |
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Grace - similarly to the previous Aura, this one grants a bit more Evasion Rating but improves it at a lower rate. |
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Herald of Agony - grants a lot of chance to Poison with your Attacks while also boosting its Damage. Use the Divergent Quality version to get even more Poison Chance. |
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Vitality - gives you a lot of Life Regeneration which is your main way of Life Recovery. Adjust its Gem Level to your Unreserved Mana. |
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Enlighten Support - reduces the Mana Reservation required for each Aura. |
[UTILITY] Aura reserving Life | |
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Precision - this Aura gives you a lot of Accuracy Rating. Try to keep it at a low level to reduce the Reservation, while also achieving a 100% chance to Hit. |
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Arrogance Support - Reserves your Life instead of Mana. Since it's a flat cost, it will reserve only a small percentage of your total Life. |
[UTILITY] Divine Blessing setup | |
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Malevolence - significantly improves your Damage over Time. |
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Divine Blessing Support - instead of permanently Reserving your Mana, you can cast this Aura as a temporary Buff with the upfront cost paid by your Energy Shield. |
[UTILITY] Vaal Aura setup | |
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Vaal Haste - you will gain doubled benefits thanks to your Helmet. Unfortunately, the base version is still too weak to justify its usage. |
[UTILITY] Curse setup | |
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Temporal Chains - slow your enemies and prolongs the duration of Poison on them. Ideally, it should be applied via Curse on Hit on your Gloves. |
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Despair - lowers the Chaos Resistances of your foes, thus improving your Damage. Use the Anomalous Quality to improve your Damage even more. |
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Enhance - improves the Quality of supported Gems. |
[UTILITY] Wither setup | |
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Wither - applies a very potent Debuff on your enemies that increases the Chaos Damage they take. Use the Divergent Quality to apply more stacks when self-casting. |
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Infused Channeling Support - channeling Wither will also boost all Chaos Damage you deal for a few Seconds. |
[UTILITY] Leap Slam setup | |
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Leap Slam - a jump to the targeted location. Scales very well with your insane Attack Speed. |
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Faster Attacks Support - speeds up usage of your Leap Slam. |
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Faster Casting Support - if you have a socket to spare, you can boost its Attack Speed even more thanks to the Wilma's Requital. |
[UTILITY] Molten Shell | |
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Molten Shell - this Buff grants a protective barrier that absorbs part of the incoming Damage based on your Armour Rating. |
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You have a lot of options to choose from. There are a few Uniques that are simply hard to pass, but most of them are fully optional. Unique Jewels are especially important to cap your Spell Suppression - it's quite hard to do so otherwise. A Quartz Flask paired with Spell suppression on your Rare Gloves and Boots can be used as a substitute for Forbidden Jewel Combo, but it makes capping your Resistances significantly more problematic. Balance of Terror makes your Witer application almost automatic, but it's not required, as you also gain Infusion Buff by doing it manually. The Build greatly benefits from additional Levels, as it will give you access to more Points to spend on Cluster Jewels which are very effective at pure Damage Increase. On your Rare Gear, you mostly want to focus on defensive aspects, such as maximum Life, Resistances, or Life Regeneration, but some Damage can be found there as well. Melee Splash obtained via Amulet's Anoint paired with 4 Totems is more than enough for general clearing, but you can always try to get additional Strikes with your Passive Tree or Gloves if you find it lacking. As a Pathfinder, it's quite important to get well-rolled Flasks to get the full benefit from your Ascendency.
Stat priorities on items:
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+(300-500) to Accuracy Rating (200-250)% increased Energy Shield Increases and Reductions to Cast Speed apply to Attack Speed (20-30)% increased Elemental Damage with Attack Skills Ancestral Bond |
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Helmet enchantments: Ancestral Protector Totem grants 18% increased Attack Speed while Active |
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Adds (600-650) to (750-800) Chaos Damage (-16-16)% increased Attack Speed +(-200-200) to maximum Life Your Chaos Damage can Shock (-40-40)% increased Area of Effect for Attacks Deal no Physical or Elemental Damage |
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Min. requirements: 500+ Total Physical and Chaos DPS Optional affixes: increased Damage with Poison Damage over Time Multiplier for Poison inflicted with this Weapon Chaos Damage over Time Multiplier |
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Socketed Gems are Supported by Level 29 Added Chaos Damage Skills gain a Base Life Cost equal to 100% of Base Mana Cost +(20-30) to Intelligence (210-250)% increased Energy Shield 10% increased maximum Life |
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Socketed Gems are Supported by Level 10 Chance to Poison (130-150)% increased Evasion and Energy Shield +40 to maximum Energy Shield +(15-25)% to all Elemental Resistances (75-100)% increased Damage with Poison if you have at least 300 Dexterity (15-25)% increased Poison Duration if you have at least 150 Intelligence |
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+(80-100) to maximum Life 30% increased Movement Speed 100% increased Effect of Buffs your Ancestor Totems grant while Active Buffs from Active Ancestor Totems Linger for 4 seconds Maximum 1 Buff from an Active Ancestor Totem at a time |
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Min. requirements: +70 to maximum Life +60% to Elemental Resistances 5% increased Action Speed (Searing Exarch Implicit) Optional affixes: Attributes Spell Suppression Chance Life Regeneration Poisons you inflict deal Damage faster Totem Placement Speed |
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+(20-30) to Intelligence +(60-80) to maximum Life +(60-80) to maximum Mana Curse Enemies with Temporal Chains on Hit Non-Aura Curses you inflict are not removed from Dying Enemies Enemies near corpses affected by your Curses are Blinded Enemies Killed near corpses affected by your Curses explode, dealing 3% of their Life as Physical Damage |
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Min. requirements: +70 to maximum Life +50% to Elemental Resistances Curse Enemies with Temporal Chains on Hit (Corrupted Implicit) Optional affixes: Attack or Cast Speed Strike Skills target additional nearby Enemy Spell Suppression Chance Attributes |
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Min. requirements: +100 to Maximum Life +80% to Elemental Resistances Optional affixes: % Increased Maximum Life Attributes Chaos Damage |
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Min. requirements: +30 to maximum Life Optional affixes: Attributes Resistances increased Damage over Time while wielding a Two-Handed Weapon |
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Min. requirements: +50% to Elemental Resistances +60 to Maximum Life Optional affixes: Attributes Damage over Time Multiplier Chaos Damage over Time Multiplier |
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Recommended Anointments: Tribal Fury |
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+(10-16) to all Attributes (5-10)% increased Experience Gain of Gems (10-20)% increased Reservation Efficiency of Skills +1 to Level of all Skill Gems +(20-30)% to Quality of all Skill Gems |
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+(10-20) to all Attributes Adds (15-20) to (21-30) Chaos Damage +(17-23)% to Chaos Resistance Herald of Agony has (40-60)% increased Buff Effect (40-60)% increased Chaos Damage while affected by Herald of Agony |
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Min. requirements: +80% to Elemental Resistances +60 to Maximum Life Optional affixes: Attributes +1 to Minimum Frenzy Charges chance to gain a Frenzy Charge on Kill |
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Recommended affixes: increased maximum Life Mana Reservation Efficiency Attack/Cast Speed Resistances Poison Damage/Duration |
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Recommended affixes: 1 Added Passive Skill is Unholy Grace 1 Added Passive Skill is Unwaveringly Evil 1 Added Passive Skill is Wicked Pall |
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Recommended affixes: 1 Added Passive Skill is Ancestral Guidance 1 Added Passive Skill is Sleepless Sentries |
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Recommended affixes: 1 Added Passive Skill is Circling Oblivion 1 Added Passive Skill is Flow of Life |
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(4-6)% increased maximum Energy Shield (4-6)% increased maximum Life (4-6)% increased maximum Mana <Two or Three random aura modifiers> Recommended Aura mods: +(18-22)% to Damage over Time Multiplier while affected by Malevolence +(12-15)% chance to Suppress Spell Damage while affected by Grace |
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Gain 5% of Cold Damage as Extra Chaos Damage Passives granting Cold Resistance or all Elemental Resistances in Radius also grant Chance to Suppress Spell Damage at 50% of its value Passives granting Cold Resistance or all Elemental Resistances in Radius also grant an equal chance to gain a Frenzy Charge on Kill |
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+(10-15)% to all Elemental Resistances Inflict Withered for 2 seconds on Hit if you've cast Despair in the past 10 seconds |
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Allocates <Random Ascendancy Notable> if you have the matching modifiers on Forbidden Flesh/Flame | |
Suggested Flasks:
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If you have any other build requests please leave that in the comments below. We are always open to suggestions and constructive feedback.
Pictures used in this article are the intellectual property of Grinding Gear Games.