TyrantKeel's Blood Raven Archer Summoner

One of the most unique builds I've seen in a long time on these forums. Going to have to give it a try.

I love themed builds and you did a really good job on this one! :)

"

I really wouldn't recommend levelling as this build.

New to the game. How else would you level this? As I understood it you can not fully respec a character.

"

fenzor wrote:

"

I really wouldn't recommend levelling as this build.

New to the game. How else would you level this? As I understood it you can not fully respec a character.

You can definitely fully respect a character. I believe op has mentioned you can level this at least through Cruel with either side of the build (as a Summoner or as a Bow). But issue is Merciless leveling. I can understand that too. If I have a spare Scion respect I may look into this, but the progression scares me a bit.

Just started the build in flashback for fun mostly, leveling is a bit painfull comparing to other build. Currently lvl 33 but I don't play a lot with this char' for the moment ^^




I feel like minions are really weak, it seems a lot easier with bow but i didn't take that way. Merciless will be hard ... :)

Here we go, 10 lvl later ! The bow still do good damage at the beginning of Act 2 Cruel. It's fun to play even if I don't have CoC yet (i'm going to take some ranger nodes for lvl 50+). The stuff required may not be beginner friendly though.



Death's Harp + Unique Quiver are must have for leveling. I'm also quite impressed by the Skullhead that make zombies really tanky.

Cool to see that you're playing the build, I'm interested to hear how it turns out for you.

Only thing that comes to mind from looking at your gear is, since you're using Blackgleam, you might have slightly better bow damage by using Weapon Elemental Damage and an Ele weakness curse.

Yeah I forgot that one, Blackgleam + Weapon Elemental Damage seems really good for leveling. But I borrowed a Drillneck from a friend and i'm trying a new combo :



Not budget at all but I think that it could shine with big packs of mob and CoC. The point would be to go in a physical way instead of elemental and get the piercing shots, I don't know if it could be good but Windrunner is too expansive btw.

I think that without any unique leveling stuff it'll be painfull. And I also feel that going for Minions nodes during the first 20 lvl is not so easy, perhaps because I was playing during flashback all mods days.

Here's some news after a few hours in One Month Flashback !
I'm currently lvl 62 and surprisly Cruel + Merciless were easier than Normal ! This is especially because Death's Harp + Blackgeam/Drillneck + Skullhead + Tabula are incredible leveling gear.
This is my current passive tree

>>> My leveling recommandation : <<<

"

Level 1-20

Go for ranger path and take nodes with attack speed/projectile damage. Don't focus on critical yet because they won't be effective until midgame. If you have mana issue you can go straigth for the "Shaper" mana regen node + Clarity.

Tree sample for lvl 20

Gems :
Your first linked gems should be your main attack which can be Ice Shot, Split Arrow, Barrage. I feel that Tornado Shot isn't really effective until you can get a 4L. I personnaly used Ice Shot as spam attack and Poison Arrow for dot (yeah it was also for the "necromancer" roleplay xD). You'll have to put your minions gems for leveling them until they can get storng enough to make sure that you're not busy to spam them all the time.
I recommand to use Clarity + Herald of Thunder/Fire which are really great.

Uniques :
Silverbranch is fine for the first 10 level and you can add a Asphyxia's Wrath if you're using Ice shot. If you can afford a Meginord's Girdle can follow you for some notable level. For amulets Karui Ward or The Ignomon are good and cost almost nothing.

"

Level 20-36

You have your "Archery basics" to go through 10 slow and borring level because you won't have much unique or passive points to help you. You'll need a rare or even magic bow with good damage. To do so you can check the vendor npc or use some transmutation on white bow. It'll be the point where you'll stop taking Ranger passives in order to start your summoner path.

Gems :
If you have a Blackgleam, which I really recommand, you should go for Tornado/Split arrow/Barrage + Weapon Elemental Damage. LMP/Faster Attacks/Projectile damage are good add also. If you're rich or if you have a spare Drillneck you'll want to use Pierce for additional damage. (see for Uniques bellow)
Once you get enough minions passives and some free link in your gear you can go for Raise Specter + Minion Damage + LMP/GMP

Uniques :
Blackgleam is definetly a must have which can help you until the end of Cruel. I had the chance to try Drillneck which is totally good for use and it'll kill everything with Tornado Shot/LMP/Pierce. But it is not necessary at all. Same for Maligaro's Virtuosity which are good but not ultimate at this point of the game.
Death's Harp is the one that you'll really need at level 32. It's cheap and almost no bow could compete it at this level. I used it until level 53 and it done the job really well.
Skullhead is really interesting for us because it'll make your zombies tanky enough to allow you to breathe without spamming them all the time. At this point I really enjoyed to play with bow and zombies at the same times.
Tabula Rasa is a good investment and will take you until the end of the game. If you can't afford 6L or Voll's 5L, it could be a good choice but you'll loose a lot of surviability.

Here's the skill tree to follow

"

Until the end

From here the game is more enjoyable and quite fun to play. You'll do a lot of damage and your minions will tank hit for you. Because you're lacking res/armor/life, it is important to let them take hit. Minions regen flask is definetly the way to go.
I also recommand Vaal Summon Skeletons for leveling, and even for solo map (they're complety useless against aoe boss/unique though ...)

When should we go for Cast on Crit Skel+SRS ?

I feel that between level 50 and 60 is a good point. You'll have some critical nodes and you're going to take the other. This is also the point where you can get good critical stuff, including quiver and jewel. Harbringer rare bow will be for level 68 if you can't afford Windripper which is my case.

Great post, thanks. I linked it from the OP.