Divinity 2 Totemancer - totem summoning and support build - Divinity: Orignal Sin 2
Introduction
I wanted to try out something a bit different - a totem build. I decided not to use incarnate and to maximise totem use. This resulted in more of a role playing build rather than maximum DPS. I would say the totem build is a decent success, however, it shines only when there are other party members as you are not able to deal huge amounts of damage and will mostly concentrate on positioning, buffing and adding statuses
Attributes and Equipment
Your main attributes in which to invest are Memory, Wits and Constitution. The order is the priority. The reason for this is that your aim is to start the fight as soon as possible and survive in the heat of battle. Of course you will need equipment but you should invest only in points which allow you to wear better equipment which increases summoning skill. So it can either be strength, intelligence or finesse.
Tip: I would suggest going for Lucky Charm equipment also. As this builds priority is not dealing damage you can spare some of the slots for increased loot
Talents
The talents will be sorted by priority:
Mnemonic – temporary talent until you will have more Memory.
The Pawn – allows you to be more nimble and position yourself better to buff allies, summon totems, etc.
Far Out Man – you will be able to use your buffs, ailment statuses and totems further away.
All skilled up – as you will be doing a lot of buffs and positioning, this talent gives you a great bonus
Torturer - if your party for example has heavy poison/fire damage dealing companions this can help greatly.
Spider Kiss – you will gain this talent from Dorotya: https://www.gamestegy.com/post/divinity-orignal-sin-2/351/dorotya-a-web-of-desire-quest, choose the Dragon option which will give you more Wit.
Combat Abilities
Your main skill is Summoning, however, you will play a major support role due this, I would suggest invest sparingly at summoning at the start (2 points should be enough). First you should invest 1-2 points to these abilities: Scoundrel, Aerotheruge, Pyrokinetic, Hydrosophist, Polymorph and Geomancer. After this you can continue investing more to Summoning. The skills which I recommend using will be explained below.
Skills
Early game
Elemental totem – your main damage dealing skill, you can change the damage which you deal based on the surface which you summon it. This makes you extremely versatile
Adrenaline – a must skill which gives you 2 more action points.
Rain – if you have a companion which uses Hydrosophist skills to deal damage, you can help him, by creating water surfaces at the start of the fight
Ignition – if you have Fire dealing companions you can easily lower enemy fire resistances by -15% for one action point
Searing Daggers – can create fire surfaces, if you companions use Elemental Affinity talent and deal burning damage to enemies.
Frost Armour – at the start of the fight you can increase survivability of your companion if you know he will be target for many attacks
Peace of Mind – a major skill, which buffs companion damage output it is a must.
Haste – gives 1 additional action point for 2 turns. Great skill which benefits yor damage dealing companions.
Tentacle Lash – if an enemy is without armor and has a melee or ranged weapon this nullifies most of his attacks
Chicken Claw – great skill to immobilize enemy for two turns, you can get close to them thanks to The Pawn skill
Uncanny evasion – can help a party member in dire situation to avoid almost all attacks
Teleportation – great skill which helps your mages, use it to cluster enemies in one group
Mid Game level 9 – 15
Dominate Mind – Charm an enemy which you can utilize to help you or safely damage him.
Evasive Aura – same as Uncanny evasion but works for whole party, use it at start of the fight
Venomous Aura – gives poison damage to allies and your totems
Nether Swap – based on situation can have similar effect as Teleport
Late Game level 16+
Fire Brand – buff allies for more fire damage
Flay skin – greatly lowers enemy resistance. You can then kill the target fast
Additional skills based on preferred game style
First Aid – help knocked down characters
Impalement – slow enemies and force them to move
Fortify – great skill if you will get Geomancer
Contamination – if you used rain and need poison surfaces
Sum up
As I mentioned this build does not deal heavy damage, but if you prefer some role-playing and an interesting approach, this can spice things up. I personally have used dwarf, but an Elf probably works the best due to "Flesh Sacrifice" skill.
Moreover, this build greatly works with Lucky Charm as it is not too dependent on items which increase your damage heavily.
Discussion