S-TIER | BUILD SORCIÈRE BONESTORM SPELL TOTEM INFERNALIST (@Salty_Warrior) | SAISON 5

Build Video

Build Overview

This Low Life Bonestorm Spell Totem Infernalist build, created by Salty_Warrior for Season 5 (patch 0.5), completely reinvents the Bonestorm archetype. The core idea: instead of casting Bonestorm yourself, you delegate the spell to Spell Totem that handle it automatically. Your totems unleash a rain of projectiles while you keep your hands free for positioning and survival.

Why use totems? Because Bonestorm received heavy nerfs in patch 0.5: the spell is no longer self-sustaining, can no longer be cast while moving at full speed, and its cast rate has been slowed down. By delegating the spell to Spell Totem, you bypass all these issues at once — the totems cast Bonestorm without interruption, and the Ancestral Bond passive even removes the need to generate charges beforehand.

The second pillar of the build is the Low Life mechanic via the Infernalist ascendancy. Thanks to the Beidat’s Will notable, you reserve your life and Spirit (the game’s reservation resource) to fuel totem generation. Being on Low Life is no longer a drawback but an asset: you unlock Pain Attunement for critical strike scaling, and the unique Cowards Legacy turns this apparent weakness into a damage engine. The result: a build viable from the very start of the season (league-start) that scales with your investment, all the way to pinnacle bosses like Xesht.

Strengths / Weaknesses

Skill Gem Setup by Step

This build offers 1 progression step from leveling to the final endgame setup. Select a step to see the corresponding skill gem setup.

Set 1

Set 1

11 skills • 42 gemmes

Sceau de pouvoirSigil of Power

ConsécrationConsecrate

Mur de flammesFlame Wall

Totem incantateurSpell Totem

Bombe de givreFrost Bomb

Tempête de manaMana Tempest

Sensibilité aux élémentsElemental Weakness

BlasphèmeBlasphemy

Powered by VerisiumPowered by Verisium

Sceau de pouvoirSigil of Power

ConsécrationConsecrate

Recommended Equipment

This build’s equipment requires precise stats on specific slots. Here is the progression roadmap, from the transition staff to fully optimised pieces.

• Staff: the piece that evolves the most. Aim for +5 (or +6) levels to all spell skills, additional spell projectiles (Ulaman desecrate suffix), cast speed, and spell damage. A cheap transition staff works for a long time: spell damage + cast speed, then essence for the +5.
• Helmet: Energy Shield, life, and resistances — with a mandatory Spirit corruption to make totem reservation easier.
• Boots: resistances, life, movement speed, and most importantly a Spirit suffix (mystic alloy from the seasonal mechanic, up to 15 Spirit).
• Amulet: +levels to all spell skills and Spirit as top priorities, plus cast speed and crit stats. Anoint Storm’s Rebuke is recommended: broken armour converts into cold and lightning damage.
• Rings: Snakepit (ideally a Vaal Cultivated version that removes the chain penalty) for projectile fork, paired with a rare ring providing resistances, cast speed, and life.
• Gloves: life, extra chain from the ground, and chance for an additional projectile on fork (equivalent of Split Shot). Strong upgrade potential here (ES, sockets, projectile damage).
• Body Armour: a Conjurer Mantle base (implicit Spirit), with Soul modifiers applied via Medved’s Tending to maximise Spirit — the most important piece for your reservation budget.
• Key Uniques: Cowards Legacy (the Low Life enabler) and Snakepit (the fork that makes clear work).
• Flasks & Charms: Laviangas Spirits for fewer buttons to press, plus a freeze charm, a stun charm, and ideally a The Fall of the Axe (partial immunity to temp chains/chill + boost to totem placement speed).

Gameplay Tips

• Totem breakpoint: keep your Spell Totem at level 23 minimum to unlock the 3-totem cap, while keeping mana cost as low as possible. Adjust the gem level based on your +level bonuses to optimise the damage-to-mana ratio.
• Corrupting Bonestorm: since you are no longer casting the spell yourself, corrupt a 20% quality Bonestorm to gain +1 level — a huge free damage boost.
• Mana Tempest level 30: this is the key breakpoint for getting 4 splits. Beyond that, you mainly gain extra lightning damage conversion.
• Automatic power charges: use Powered by Verisium to generate infusions, then Flame Wall consumes those infusions to grant you power charges. Your totems count as you: they benefit from the power charges effect on Bonestorm without consuming them — a massive free AoE and damage bonus.
• Pre-boss setup: place Elemental Weakness and Frost Bomb before the boss spawns, so it enters the fight already debuffed and takes massive damage as soon as it exits its invulnerability phase.
• Leveling: start with ED Contagion Contagion at the very start, rush Ancestral Bond on the tree, then switch over to Spell Totem Bonestorm. Without Snakepit early in the season, use Multi-shot in the meantime.

Infernalist over Deadeye: why the switch?

Previous versions of this build ran Deadeye (Ranger). The strategy back then relied on Endless Munitions for the extra projectile and on charge generation (Combat Frenzy, sniper mark) to summon totems continuously. But with the changes made to Bonestorm in 0.5, it becomes impossible to generate enough charges reliably.

The solution: the Ancestral Bond keystone, which simply removes the need for charges altogether. The Witch tree is perfectly positioned to reach it quickly, while staying within range of the most impactful nodes: additional projectiles for spells, Cut to the Bone, critical strike scaling via Grinning Immolation and Pain Attunement. But the decisive argument remains Beidat’s Will: the ability to reserve life and Spirit, the fuel behind all totem generation.

The Spell Totem + Bonestorm combo in detail

The heart of the build is Spell Totem casting Bonestorm. Totem level 23 is the minimum breakpoint to reach the 3-totem cap — a threshold that must be maintained while keeping mana cost as low as possible. Since you are no longer casting Bonestorm yourself, corrupting a 20% quality gem to gain one level is an easy and cost-effective damage boost.

On the support side, the combination is mandatory: Execute I (massive damage multiplier), notable Ricochet (the support that makes everything work, both in clear and single target), Urgent Totems I (faster placement, one of the best stats in the build) and Efficiency so you never run out of mana. Finally, Flame Wall adds projectile damage to every projectile fired by Bonestorm, and with a Lightning Infusion it directly scales your lightning damage.

Mastering Spirit and Low Life

This build lives and dies by Spirit. The entire mechanic revolves around reserving your life and Spirit through the ascendancy to generate as many totems as possible. Beidat’s Will allows you to reserve life, and Cowards Legacy puts you into Low Life — which activates Pain Attunement and turns your apparent weakness into a clear advantage.

You will therefore be looking for Spirit on almost every slot: corruption on the helmet, mystic alloy on the boots, Soul modifiers on a Conjurer Mantle base for the chest, and an implicit on the amulet. On the tree, the node « Meta skills have 20% increased reservation efficiency » is crucial: it brings the cost of Spell Totem from roughly 75 down to 63 Spirit, saving you from having to find even more Spirit elsewhere.

Passive Tree and Ascendancy Points

At level 96, the tree focuses on Energy Shield, critical, and mana efficiency. A curse cluster (curse magnitude, area, hinder) strengthens your Blasphemy to keep you safe at range, while Whispers of Doom allows two simultaneous curses: Temporal Chains on Blasphemy for clear, and Elemental Weakness for single target. You also pick up Infusion of Power (power charges via Flame Wall) and, while waiting for an anoint or a Megalomaniac, Cut to the Bone — a massive source of damage, especially when paired with Storm’s Rebuke.

For the Infernalist ascendancy: Grinning Immolation, Beidat’s Will, Altered Flesh, and Beidat’s Hand (for flat Energy Shield). Avoid Pyromantic Pact, which disables Mana Tempest — one of your biggest damage scalars. For jewels, aim for maximum Energy Shield, critical stats, ailment magnitude, and a +2/+3 prism Bonestorm. On the Megalomaniac, the best combinations are Cut to the Bone, Trick Shot, Split Shot, or Storm’s Rebuke.

Skill Tree