Incinerate

So you think added chaos is better than fire penetration or even added cold? You know if you use double curses you might use elemental weakness which makes your fire, lightning and cold damages deal extra since 50% reduction from weakness compared to 0 since chaos isnt weakness.
Is gmp way better than lmp for this spell?


Oh and btw i still wanted to make sure if the totems benefit from our auras like haste?

Should we really be comparing this spell to FP? To be honest I don't think most projectile spells compare all that favorably to Freezing Pulse right now, it is probably a little OP. I do think incinerate has the potential to take the greatest advantage of the "added damage" support gems, so if nothing else that makes it unique.

"

NagiSoi wrote:

So you think added chaos is better than fire penetration or even added cold? You know if you use double curses you might use elemental weakness which makes your fire, lightning and cold damages deal extra since 50% reduction from weakness compared to 0 since chaos isnt weakness.
Is gmp way better than lmp for this spell?


Oh and btw i still wanted to make sure if the totems benefit from our auras like haste?

Totems do benefit, since they derive from your stats.

Also, all of the "added" damage gems are superior to everything else. This is the same for flame totem.

Even though you only get a small % of the damage, the attacks are so fast, they add up.

Added lightning damage has near the damage of the Incinerate spell itself, with +lightning/+spell/+elemental damage you can reach levels higher than Incinerates base damage.

Added Chaos damage is about on par with the actual fire damage of incinerate. Which is like doubling its damage.

Added Cold is the lowest, and least effective, as a green slot, and with lightning/chaos, LMP or GMP will be superior.

***UNLESS***
You are using a Static Blows and/or Frostbite build. LMP and GMP reduce the top end damage of "added damage" gems, meaning it becomes harder to reach the minimum damage threshold to apply status effects.

If you are not using static blows(which is way more damage than a "shotgun" LMP could ever dream of, then LMP/GMP will be your best damage.

Even if your only dealing 30 lightning damage, hitting 2-3 times each tick is good. However, it is completely possible that 40 lightning damage is the threshold needed to apply shocks.(oddly enough I did experimenting and found that 40 damage was what i needed for merciless level mobs).

I have also found that shocked mobs die as fast or faster than the LMP shotgun method, and you don't need to be right in there face to do it.

I am currently creating a bi/tri-elmental build to try and push the added lightning damage high enough to create shocks while in a group in merciless while using LMP.(this also applies to rares when you are solo). If it can be done, it will be the defining build for people who wish to use incinerate as a primary source of damage, as there would be no other way to increase its damage beyond added lightning shock + LMP/GMP.

As it is not a facetank build, I am currently using +cold damage aswell, and using frostbite + frost nova totem + added lightning to freeze lock mobs in place, while I then mow them down with Incinerate.

I was looking forward to this patch since I first heard of it. I had pretty high hopes that it'd be a pretty epic spell and that my 5L searing touch was well worth the cost. It wasn't quite what I expected, but I wasn't going to give up yet.

Here is my current build: click me! I know incinerate cannot crit; the crit chance and damage nodes are for other skills.

Here is my current gear and gem set up:


I'll record and upload a video and edit it into this post later tonight (maybe tomorrow, depending on how my internet feels about uploading lol). If you want to see the spec in a specific scenario, send me a PM or something.



My thoughts so far are that it's a pretty fun skill to use, but the gear requirement is massive. You pretty much need a 5L because you need Life Leech, Mana Leech, Greater/Lesser Multiple Projectiles, and Faster Projectiles. Without Faster Projectiles (or quality on the gem), the skill lacks the range it needs. Even then, you need Fire Penetration for those pesky fire resist mobs that also have curse immunity. Because of the low projectile speed, Eye of Chayula is a must; even with all the leech this skill gives you, you'll die if you are stunned and cannot keep up your incinerate skill. It can be argued that being stunned can kill you for a lot of builds, this skill has such small range (without increased projectile speed) that it is even more vulnerable to dying from being stunned.

About the gem itself: why is the quality bonus kinda weak? Why doesn't it get as much projectile speed increase as Freezing Pulse? The whole spec/skill seems like an inefficient version of Freezing Pulse. The damage at step 4 is more than enough; with my life leech gem I hit the leech rate maximum (without quality). Step 1 damage is kind of lacking. It'd be ideal to keep step 4 damage the same, but bring the other damage steps up.

I'll be explaining a little more in my video about skill choices, flask choices (and usage), and how I play this spec.

Let me know what you guys think.

"

bassdoken wrote:

snip

Thanks for the insight bassdoken, I'm very much looking forward to seeing your build in action. I have a Very similar shadow fire caster that was based on crits/burn etc with FB but is only level 56 currently. I just today decided to remake my old BM templar fire caster and when I get them both up to around mid 60's will enjoy comparing them. I had the same thoughts some time ago and had my searing touch and crit spec all sorted out and started and then here we are, not in use :) I now wonder if wands/scepters might be better in the end as they can have the much higher spell/fire damage but lesser mana cost without the +2 gem level. I'm sure the +2 gem is still higher dps overall but might push the mana cost pretty crazy if one hits 6L and depending on the supports used. I enjoy the skill but as I've mentioned earlier in this thread I would have been much pleased if it had synergy with burn.

I don't see incinerate benefit from "+added whatever damage" supports,
the 20% damage effectiveness pretty much negates that.

Also I'm not a great fan of LMP/GMP with this skill so I just use the
following setup atm (with two totems):

Summon skeletons is a must, no need to invest any points into minions
just level up the gem.

Casting speed from tree/gear/support seems very important, the more
the better so the spell can reach its final stage much faster.

Fire penetration seems better than any damage support even if its not
noticable on the dps screen, mobs tend to die a lot quicker especially
if you curse with elemental weakness or flammability too.
(Resistances can go negative.)

"

Draftbeer wrote:

I don't see incinerate benefit from "+added whatever damage" supports,
the 20% damage effectiveness pretty much negates that.

Also I'm not a great fan of LMP/GMP with this skill so I just use the
following setup atm (with two totems):

Spoiler

Summon skeletons is a must, no need to invest any points into minions
just level up the gem.

Casting speed from tree/gear/support seems very important, the more
the better so the spell can reach its final stage much faster.

Fire penetration seems better than any damage support even if its not
noticable on the dps screen, mobs tend to die a lot quicker especially
if you curse with elemental weakness or flammability too.
(Resistances can go negative.)

Fire penetration might be good but as the other stated the added elements give 80% stacking bonuses so it gets bigger specially if you have static blows, the other lightning stack on shadow and quality lightning.


As someone else stated is it really better to have no lmp but have some more elements and have a chance at stacking instead of shotgunning?

^
I'm not convinced that the amount of lightning damage in stage 4
can actually trigger shock stacks, at least not with full party and
on endgame maps. Chance to shock is one thing but the lightning damage
must be >= 1% of the mob's maximum hp to trigger something.

multiply added lightning's damage by 1.1664 to find out.

^
Maybe but after (not sure before or after) you multiply
reduce it by 80%. Since it's 20% effectiveness.

One way or another it's still a very little lightning damage
but with a fast fire rate.