Level 82 Crit Winter Orb Totem Hierophant^3.25

Notes

Tatiantel2 made this build in the past. I did my best to update it. If you are a totem enjoyer, join his community for best tips&tricks out there: https://www.twitch.tv/tatiantel2
Guide made for players that know something about the game. Newbies might have some issues/questions understanding some aspects, but I'm trying to explain as much as I can..

Build made by: Maniac(Discord maniac_.), based on Tatiantel2's old build.


On top of the screen you have "Basic" and "Suppress cap" configs.
In addition, in "Configuration" tab you have 4 different configs, one default and one with ramped damage, which is fully stacked cold mastery and 10 mines placed.
If you are going HC with my build, use only "Suppress cap" version and... good luck!



Update 1 of 3.26:
I updated some descriptions, options, gems etc.
PoB is still not updated, among the stuff waiting for update are:
- arcane surge providing 20% inc cast speed instead of 10%
- Winter Orb changes(effectiveness of added damage 60%->80%, 30% more base damage, some changes around projectile frequency and amount of stages resulting in slighty faster ramp
and slightly higher projectile frequency)
- patch notes mention there are more caster & cold damage changes on passive tree which are not finalised yet so we're waiting for those as well.

Once patch notes and PoB get update, expect around 35%-40% more damage than what you see now.




OFFENSIVE & BUILD IDEA:
This build utilizes area damage overlap(multiple area damaging effects hitting one enemy per cast), critical strikes, mines, skitterbots and other stuff. More explained below.
After reaching maps, we rush for freeze prolif source. Trust me, you will learn why.

Based on my calculations(which are most probably wrong, but mostly true), this build with some more investment into freeze duration is capable of freezing everything, even pinnacle bosses.
They cannot be fully slowed, but they will count as frozen, thus taking more damage thanks to cold mastery.

This build utilized 25% chance to invert enemy resistances. Not anymore! Sadly it was nerfed to 15% chance only.
Invertion allowed us to do some random huge hits on enemies which together with freeze prolif guaranteed everything being frozen.
Without it, that might not be a scenario, but I believe we will still have pretty consistent freezes across the game.
We will reach higher DPS without invertion and using curses and exposure, rather than using invertion, assassin's mark and no exposure.

Mana RF now grants 25% MORE cast speed! Sadly, we cannot utilize it on this build, as projectile frequency scales only with increases and reductions, not mores and lesses.
All it would do is reduce the time for winter orbs to reach max stacks by around 0,3-0,4s with no effect on dps.

There's new support gem called Focused Channeling. It will probably work on totems and it could be used on Winter Orb, but there are some issues.
Winter Orb totems choose a target and channel the spell. Once that target is dead, they stop channeling for half a second, choose new target and channel again.
Those stops will reset the bonus from Focused Channeling, meaning that support will be close to useless during mapping and will work only against tough rares and bosses.
While it's great 60% more damage bonus, it also ramps up for 3 seconds, meaning if totems channel for shorter than 3 seconds, they won't use their full potential.
And even if they channel for 3 seconds, they need to channel longer to make real use of that support.
Winter Orb already has to ramp up its stages(around 1,8s after placing a totem).
If I would use it, I could probably swap one of critical supports, but each support gem already does a big role in main link so it's a hard choice.

DEFENSIVES:
Basic version:
We utilize +% max resistances from masteries and tree, as well as high, but not capped, spell suppression.
All gear should have armour and evasion, so we are able to use armour mastery and roll suppression. However, armour can be flat crafted for mastery to work, but base needs dex requirement.

Suppress cap version:
We max out spell suppression, which costs us some +% max resistances and armour.
All gear should have dex requirement, meaning evasion bases. Pure evasion would probably require too much dexterity, so focus on hybrids.

Both versions:
We have some block from tempest shield and phys damage reduction from arctic armor.
In addition freezes we inflict(especially after getting freeze prolif) and taunt provided by mastery/decoys greately help with survability.

If you find Southbound gloves, feel free to use them. They grant you 100% increased freeze duration with a penalty being able to kill only frozen targets.
When I played 3.25(played only till red maps), I was able to freeze everything without issues all the way to red maps and met only 4 rares that refused to freeze. Had to
take gloves off for 1s and reequip them, so no issues at all. No idea about red maps tho, testing required.

CALCULATIONS:
For winter orb, cast speed increases the speed of projectiles being fired, which is nice to scale. However we also want to scale damage for freeze thresholds.
The amount of cast speed this build has is already a bit too much. 3.26 update: with arcane surge buffed 10%->20% cast speed, it is definitly too much now.

Calculations you see are for guardian/pinnacle boss, without freeze ramp(cold mastery, up to 50% more damage) or mines.
Build utilizes throwing mines for damage multiplier. Switch "main skill" on the left to "MINES", then increase its number to increase number of mines.
Watch the amount of unreserved mana. You need 45 mana to place a decoy totem, then some more just to have flame dash available.
Luckily we're on constant 100+ mana regen per second.

This build shows you an early version of build, with some mandatory stuff for idea to work, but without uniques that might work great with it.
Everything obtainable SSF, mostly in the first week of the league(unless super bad RNG, last league I got that unique jewel below when I was entering t14+ maps on SSF).

PoB calculates Winter Orb damage wrong. You need to add "100% more dps" per additional projectile hitting enemy.
Based on research Tati did in the past, average of 4 projectiles were able to hit enemy constantly, meaning with +2 proj you hit constantly and with +4 proj will most probably miss.
For +2 proj, we use Rain of Splinters unique jewel or LMP. For +4 proj we use GMP. However using jewel gives us a free support gem slot, which is the best option.
Custom mods in config has "200% more dps" as we are hitting with 2 additional projectiles.

HOW TO GET:

Frenzy generation:
- eldritch implicit on chestplate "gain frenzy every 15s" + 100% charge duration mastery - saves gem slots(lazy)
- mines with charged mine support - saves passive points(prefered, optimal)

Freeze prolif(big survability when mapping):
- eldritch implicit on gloves
- large cluster notable "Blast-Freeze"(68+ ilvl)(prefered) <============ FOCUS ON THIS AFTER REACHING MAPS, EVEN 12 PASSIVE CLUSTER IS WORTH IT

Unnerve debuff(tick config when using it):
- eldritch implicit on gloves(prefered)
- small cluster notable "Doedre's Apathy"(68+ ilvl)(not recommended)

Rain of Splinters unique jewel:
- vaal every single crimson jewel you find, straight from league start, make sure your filter shows those <========== FOCUS ON THIS RIGHT FROM THE BEGINNING OF THE LEAGUE
- BEFORE THAT, USE LMP/GMP

Less mana issues:
- make sure wave of conviction is lvl 1, so it reserves low amount of mana
- make sure you use lvl 1 flame dash
- more sources of increased mana reservation efficiency(1 passive point should be enough)
- enlighten lvl 2+ on auras
- life mastery "skills cost life instead of 15% of mana cost" to make decoy totem cheapier

More physical damage mitigation:
- I have no fucking idea
- We use Arctic armour, as we are probably going to stand still a lot. We have decoy totem that takes most of hits for us, we stand still while throw mines and summon totems.
Also when we first get hit and adrenaline hits us IRL, we stand still, then flame dash while standing still, then start moving away from danger, so AA works pretty consistent.
Just make sure all your skills are set to "cast without move".

- Shield with +1 max totem:
1. League start with expedition, harvest and essence atlas tree(or whatever if playing trade league, but I don't know if people won't scam on prices of those shields or if there will be any supply for these)
2. Focus on Gwennen and blue harvest essence.
3. Once you hit lvl 90, gamble all shields on Gwennen(you get the highest ilvl once you are lvl 90 yourself), preferably evasion ones so they can roll suppression
    You are aiming for a shield with ANY influence
4. If it's not shaper influence, throw found shield into harvest, then use "randomise influence" craft until you get a shaper influence
5. Essence craft your shield for a suffix of choice(preferably chaos resistance or crit chance with spells) and stop once you have 3 suffixes on it, where one of them is suppress.
    If you're rich, exalt slam if it has 2 prefixes 2 suffixes to hopefully fill suffixes.
6. Craft "suffixes cannot be changed". Double check if shield has 3 suffixes.
7. Harvest craft "reforge including influence modifier". Suffixes cannot be changed and there's no space for a new one, so it is a guaranteed prefix.
    There's only 1 prefix from shaper influence shield, so this is a guaranteed craft.

ALTERNATIVE WAY AS OF 3.26:
1. Find a good shield base: ilvl 86 evasion shield.
2. Essence craft it for a suffix of choice, just like in step 5 above. Reroll(or annul) anything with 3 prefixes
    You are basicly more free to craft it, but make sure that there is a free prefix and there are either 3 suffixes or 2 suffixes and 3rd can be crafted
3. Once you are done, shaper's exalt slam it. Since it already has 3 suffixes, it can only add a prefix, which is also a guaranteed +1 max totem.

WHY DO YOU USE:

Mines:
After summoning a totem and casting a curse, you stand still. Might as well use that time to throw mines which greately increase your dps(worth about the same as an additional support gem, which is big)
Also with this setup, mines grant us multiplicative damage and frenzy charge generation, so that's even better.

Decoy totem:
Great defensive layer for totem players which cannot be tracked by PoB nor calculated by a living being. Monsters throw everything they have on totem instead of you, so as long as it lives, you can stand still.
Issue is we lost flat armour passive point for totems and from determination, which might make decoy totems die faster(especially if not annointing Ironwood notable point)
Also linked with multiple totems support, it grants 10% more dmg from Hierophant ascendancy and won't take up WO totems slots.

Skitterbots:
Apply both chill and shock. While shock being obvious damage multiplier, linked with bonechill, chill also applies damage multiplier. And applies chill before our totems start hitting. Both offensive and defensive.

Arctic armor/tempest shield:
Defensive auras that we can use because we have free mana to reserve. If you want more damage instead of survability(not recommended), use zealotry or herald of ice.

+1 max totem shield:
Grants us at least 35% more damage. 4 damaging totems instead of 3, which is 33% dmg increase and also 5% more because of additional totem(Hierophant ascendancy).

Vitality:
Reservation mastery +1% max res if mana and life are reserved. Make sure vitality is on lvl 1 and ofc linked to arrogance support, so it reserves minimal amount of life.

Freeze prolif:
Huge defensive layer. I fell in love in cold damage once I saw how it works. Try it yourself, you will understand.

Rain of Splinters unique jewel:
We don't use Lesser Multiple Projectiles Support/Greater Multiple Projectiles Support, but instead we use Rain of Splinters for +2 projectiles.
That saves us a gem slot. I saw lots of players on poe.ninja using +4 proj instead of +2, but IIRC average of 4 projectiles are able to hit consistenly.
So you can either use Rain of Splinters, get constant 3 proj hits and have a support gem slot free or use GMP, have 4 proj hit and have jewel slot free.
If you don't have that jewel yet, use LMP/GMP instead.

Pantheons:
Use Lunaris. Avoiding chained projectiles is a good defensive layer, as projectiles can easily chain off your totems right into you, which makes maps with chain rippy.
Gruthul for some bonus phys mitigation.
Eventually Shakari for chaos & poison mitigation.

Bandits:
Kill all for one extra point still seems the best one.
You can help Alira for extra resistances instead.
Eventually help Oak for 10 more life than life mastery and probably 3 minutes faster campaign and 100 more mouse clicks lifetime lol(gotta run away from Oak so he won't regen with enduring cry).

Annoint:
Either Vigour for extra endurance charge(make sure to craft another ring with +1 minimum) or winter's embrace for freeze duration without need of wasting 5 points.
For this version I prefer winter's embrace, as the build is pretty close to be able to freeze shaper and benefit from cold mastery on him(and possibly other bosses as well)


Gameplay loop:
1. Throw decoy totem
2. Throw some WO totems
3. Use your curses
4. Throw mines, a lot of them
5. If you don't have 3 frenzy charges, detonate mines, otherwise keep them on the ground
6. Place your second decoy totem or keep going forward
    Keep track of your decoy totem health bar, be ready to throw another one if first one is about to die


Stuff to look out for on maps:
- enemy action speed cannot drop below base value - no brainer avoid or be extra careful, your freeze nor chill will simply not work
- enemies cannot be taunted - removes defensive layer granted by decoy totems
- enemy projectiles chain additional times - they will chain from your totems into you, you will be hit much more often, try placing a line of totems in front of you so chains will hit the next totem in a line instead of you


Alternative gems:
- malevorence or herald of ice instead of defensive auras if you want more damage(not recommended, we have weak survi against phys damage already)
- LMP/GMP until you find Rain of Splinters
- Power Charge on Critical Support instead of Increased Critical Strikes Support if we need more damage to reach pinnacle boss freezing point


FURTHER BUILD UPGRADES

Suppress cap version:
- get medium range Thread of Hope and put it top right to catch both winter's embrace and whispers of doom, then change tree
  to allocate top right life cluster(Written in Blood) and suppression cluster(Instinct), giving up suppressionon the bottom
  (respec everything all the way to Constitution), then change annoint for Vigour and make sure to have +1 minimum endurance charge craft on ring