The Ultimate Complete Guide to Totemic

No waffle. Every single step you need to know.

Totemic is all about totems, music, ceremonies, and powering up through magical rituals. This guide walks you through every mechanic in order, from your first totem to the final boss, Baykok.

Let’s get straight into it.

Prefer a video Explanation? Click here -

1. Getting Started: Making Your First Totem

The core of Totemic is the totem pole, and they’re incredibly easy to make.

You’ll need:

• A Totem Whittling Knife
• Any type of wood (oak, birch, spruce—anything)

How to build a totem pole

1. Place wood logs up to 6 blocks high.
2. Hold the whittling knife → Sneak + Right Click the bottom log to turn it into a Totem Base.
3. On the log above, shift-right-click to carve it into a totem effect.

Totem Effects & What They Do

Each carved animal grants a passive buff while you stand near the totem:

Stacking effects

• You can use multiple different carvings for multiple buffs.
• You can also repeat the same carving to increase the strength of the buff.
• For example: a totem pole full of wolf carvings = Strength III or even IV.

2. Totemic Ceremonies — Your First Steps Into Magic

To begin doing rituals, you need music.

Make These Items First

You need three basic instruments:

1. Totemist Drum ×2
2. Flute
3. Jingle Dress (worn in leggings slot)

The flute and drums produce melody when right-clicked, and the jingle dress passively adds music when you jump.

You’ll also want a Totemic Staff, which cancels rituals if you mess up.

3. Your First Ceremony: The Rite of Spring

This is essential. Without it, you cannot progress.

Why it's important

• Breeds nearby animals
• Transforms saplings into Red Cedar Saplings

(Red cedar is required for later items)

Selector Order:

Flute → Drum

How to Perform It

1. Shift-right-click the flute.
2. Shift-right-click the drum.
3. Begin spamming music:
• Right-click flutes & drums
• Jump for jingle dress bonus

A bar appears on screen:

• Top bar = melody progress
• Bottom bar = time limit

If the top bar fills first → Success

If not → Gray smoke (failed ceremony)

When successful, nearby saplings convert into Red Cedar Saplings. Grow them for red cedar wood.

4. Wind Chimes & The Buffalo Dance

Next, make Wind Chimes using the red cedar you just unlocked.

Wind Chimes

• Passively generate melody during ceremonies
• Up to 3 can be active
• Work best when placed under leaves

The Buffalo Dance

Turns cows into buffalo.

Selector Order:

Drum → Wind Chime

Place cows in a small pen near the totem, perform the ritual, and boom — buffalo.

Buffalo are extremely important because their drops unlock the next tier of Totemic.

Drops (when grown):

• Buffalo Tooth
• Buffalo Hide

Babies take 20 minutes to grow unless…

5. Hymn of Maturity (Optional but Useful)

This ritual speeds up baby growth and egg hatching.

Selector Order:

Flute → Wind Chime

Cuts buffalo growth time by about half.

6. Serenade for Syphs — Upgrading to Pan’s Flute

You MUST do this before trying harder ceremonies.

What it does

• Upgrades your flute into Pan’s Flute
• Pan’s Flute holds FAR more melody
• Animals/villagers follow you when you play it

Selector Order:

Flute → Rattle

Make a Rattle using:

• Any wood
• Buffalo tooth (from adult buffalo)

You can hold the rattle in main hand, Pan’s Flute in off-hand, and play both together.

This significantly boosts your ceremony performance.

7. Eagle Dance — Turning Parrots Into Eagles

You’ll now unlock eagles.

Selector Order:

Rattle → Wind Chime

This ceremony is tricky, even with Pan’s Flute.

Make sure you're fast equipping your flute after the selectors.

Once the parrot converts, it becomes a Bald Eagle.

Keep it trapped safely — you need it for its drops.

Drops:

• Eagle Feather
• Eagle Bone

These let you craft the Eagle Bone Whistle for advanced rituals.

8. Summoning the Final Boss: Baykok

This is the climax of the Totemic mod.

Selector Order for Baccoc Ceremony:

Wind Chime → Eagle Bone Whistle

The Fight

• Bacco is a large skeletal warrior
• Not too difficult if you're prepared
• Use:
• Eagle Bone Whistle
• Rattle
• Pan’s Flute
• Your two drums
• All three wind chimes

When defeated, he drops:

Bacoc's Bow

• Only you can see the arrows fired
• A unique and powerful ranged weapon

9. Other Ceremonies in Totemic

Here are the remaining optional but useful rituals:

Dance Macabra

Revives zombies from rotten flesh

(with a chance to create zombie villagers)

Sundance

• Takes you to half health
• Then heals & shields everyone nearby

Steve’s Lullaby

Calms and heals zombie villagers

Drought Dance & Rain Dance

Start/stop the weather

Zaphkiel Waltz

Rapid plant growth

Symphony of the Depths

Gives water breathing

War Dance

Speed + strength for a few minutes

10. Totemic Tools & Utilities

Medicine Bag

• Crafted with buffalo hide & teeth
• Sneak-right-click a totem pole to “absorb” its effect
• Wear/open the bag to get that totem effect anywhere
• Recharge by standing near the original totem

Buffalo Meat

• Raw and cooked
• Buffalo hide can replace leather

Tipi

• Portable bed made from buffalo hide

Totem Torches

• Stronger light than vanilla torches
• Long-range illumination