[3.0] The Lazy Minion Commander - 6k+ EHP - 400K+ DPS - Budget Friendly - Auto Offering

I've become too attached to Convocation, the QoL it brings feels too nice... What do you think about dropping Animate Guardian and doing a 5L Spectre instead? I'm also not going to be doing Clayshaper and plan on picking up Severed in Sleep.

I'm a little skeptical of EE as well since we have to be mid pack in order to proc it with Ice Nova, which can be dangerous, especially since we give up our shield stats. Having to take a hit before we can even get that extra damage is a gamble in the sense that we can be killed instantly or near instantly in some situations.

Other than some changes on preference, I've really been enjoying the build. Nothing gimmicky and effectively a classic Necromancer. It's a treat among the super expensive builds or builds based on SRS. :)

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Dbrn wrote:

I've become too attached to Convocation, the QoL it brings feels too nice... What do you think about dropping Animate Guardian and doing a 5L Spectre instead? I'm also not going to be doing Clayshaper and plan on picking up Severed in Sleep.

I'm a little skeptical of EE as well since we have to be mid pack in order to proc it with Ice Nova, which can be dangerous, especially since we give up our shield stats. Having to take a hit before we can even get that extra damage is a gamble in the sense that we can be killed instantly or near instantly in some situations.

Other than some changes on preference, I've really been enjoying the build. Nothing gimmicky and effectively a classic Necromancer. It's a treat among the super expensive builds or builds based on SRS. :)

Thanks for the compliment. A classic and cheap necromancer is exactly what I had in mind after seeing The Baron listed as a requirement for almost all minion builds this league.

5 and 6L spectre is listed as one of the end game upgrades. I'd definitely drop the guardian if you get a 5 or 6L Vis Mortis. The additional dps link for 4 spectres would be more beneficial than what we get from the guardian. 5L would give you a spot for the convocation you're attached to. :-) Since you're going to go for Severed in Sleep as well you'll actually gain more than you lose. 40% increased minion damage is a larger buff than what the guardian gives.

Instead of cwdt + ice nova you could do spell totem + ice nova. Only downside to that would be it leaves no links for cwdt so now you have a totem, an offering, and your convocation that need to be manually cast. You're not being a lazy commander anymore :-)

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stoudtlr wrote:

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Dbrn wrote:

I've become too attached to Convocation, the QoL it brings feels too nice... What do you think about dropping Animate Guardian and doing a 5L Spectre instead? I'm also not going to be doing Clayshaper and plan on picking up Severed in Sleep.

I'm a little skeptical of EE as well since we have to be mid pack in order to proc it with Ice Nova, which can be dangerous, especially since we give up our shield stats. Having to take a hit before we can even get that extra damage is a gamble in the sense that we can be killed instantly or near instantly in some situations.

Other than some changes on preference, I've really been enjoying the build. Nothing gimmicky and effectively a classic Necromancer. It's a treat among the super expensive builds or builds based on SRS. :)

Thanks for the compliment. A classic and cheap necromancer is exactly what I had in mind after seeing The Baron listed as a requirement for almost all minion builds this league.

5 and 6L spectre is listed as one of the end game upgrades. I'd definitely drop the guardian if you get a 5 or 6L Vis Mortis. The additional dps link for 4 spectres would be more beneficial than what we get from the guardian. 5L would give you a spot for the convocation you're attached to. :-) Since you're going to go for Severed in Sleep as well you'll actually gain more than you lose. 40% increased minion damage is a larger buff than what the guardian gives.

Instead of cwdt + ice nova you could do spell totem + ice nova. Only downside to that would be it leaves no links for cwdt so now you have a totem, an offering, and your convocation that need to be manually cast. You're not being a lazy commander anymore :-)

Good points there.

I'm sticking with it mostly as is until I have a reason to keep myself at distance. I ran all the way to 60 with a Tabula before I decided that even a 4L Vis might help more. Was running into some survivability issues due to it being difficult to keep up with resistances, especially running Midnight Bargain (30% less life) instead of Clayshaper, which also means Flame Dash instead of Shield Charge until I get Severed in Sleep. Luckily, Flame Dash is capable of applying curse on hit. Everything is still melting so the extra stats are feeling more worth it. Chaos damage has been the biggest issue the whole way really, but there have been some big spikes due to diving in for nova and I just know stun is going to catch me at some point.

I really enjoy this style of building though because you leave plenty of room for customization and don't make me rely on 400c Uniques. I feel that makes for a better build since I can build on it to my liking and also less subject to nerfs due to not being a meta/mega farming build so I'll likely be able to run it next league without much issue. If it can't run end tier maps or Shaper, it'll at least let me farm up for a build that can and I'm good with that.

By the way, Solar Guards and Goatmen Fire Raisers are the truth.

Alright, so I've upgraded my gear further, have my minion 4 links set, 5 socket Vis, Skeletal Mages and Severed in Sleep. I haven't been able to get the SiS to give me a red socket so I'm having to use Whirling Blades until it does. (FYI, brightbeak and Shield Charge is funny.)

The overall clear damage is quite hilarious, but the map speed is unfortunately limited by our slow movement (you did mention this). The issues I'm running into are sneaky chaos dots (can be especially hard to notice I'm standing in poison pools with all the minions running around) and stuns. I feel like I get stunned by every little thing that hits me, which can really hurt the whole idea of using CWDT Nova for EE. I can't think of a better way to do it though since we're limited on gem spots (me even further since I like convocation) and hotkey space. Keeping resistances capped has also been a bit of an issue but I've managed to bring it back up after selling some stuff and buying a couple duo resist unset rings (man these get pretty expensive for the better rolls).

Another update... I've decided to switch CWDT + Spirit Offering over to Severed in Sleep with Shield Charge. Shield now has Glacial Cascade + Curse on Hit + Elemental Weakness. I feel that this allows me to play a bit safer, still apply EE and curse, and still have a CWDT setup while keeping my minions between me and the bad stuff. It's taking more laziness out of the lazy minion commander theme of course, but I feel that its suiting me a bit more.

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Dbrn wrote:

...The issues I'm running into are sneaky chaos dots (can be especially hard to notice I'm standing in poison pools with all the minions running around) and stuns. I feel like I get stunned by every little thing that hits me, which can really hurt the whole idea of using CWDT Nova for EE...

I've been thinking about those issues as well and have been playing with the tree to find a way around it. I'm leaning towards this, but I need to get some regrets to try it out.

http://poeurl.com/bxJD

Rearranging jewels by having that extra jewel slot also means we can put an Anatomical Knowledge in the spot to left of witch start. 6-8% increased life from the jewel and +30 life due to the 90 INT in the radius.

Gives us 4k life and 1k ES (without discipline any more) with full stun immunity instead of our current 3.2k life, 2.8k ES, and partial stun immunity only when casting. Grab rest of life around Constitution as level higher.

Without discipline any more could use Vitality, Arctic Armor, or maybe Purity of Elements if need help with resists. If you have free gem slots from not using an animate guardian could do blasphemy/elemental weakness too.

I definitely need to test this out before recommending it, but on paper I like it.

Thanks again for the guide. I'm on the Xbox and so far it's pretty decent but I know I'm part of why my DPS is not great as my links and stuff are not yet setup correctly.

Few questions if you'd be so kind.

1. Where do you get those spectre's? I'm just now realizing that only some are ranged. To make matters worse, raising the spectre I want can sometimes be difficult on Xbox.

2. Is there an overall stats on gear guide for this until we can get most of the gear you suggested? I haven't played in a long time so I'm back to being confused about what we want on our gear. Maybe I didn't read it well and it's already there. I spend most of my time in the leveling sections of the guide and sometimes reference the links/gems section.

3. Is the Queen's Decree any good for us early on? It dropped and I'm not sure if I should be using it. I'm only level 41 if that matters. I know we give up an offhand, and mine only has 3 slots so far.

4. Is it better to buy gear with the links and slots setup correctly or modify them ourselves when starting out? I bought the boots but so far after about 20ish tries I can't even get 4 slots, let alone link them or worry about the colors. All versions of those boots can have 4 slots right? I seem to remember something about item level being a factor for the number of slits an item can have.

I keep saying slots, but I'm pretty sure that's the wrong word. :(

I look forward to getting the right spectre and links for them and unleashing holy hell balls of death on my enemies. Keep up the good work on the guide!!

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Jauron wrote:

Thanks again for the guide. I'm on the Xbox and so far it's pretty decent but I know I'm part of why my DPS is not great as my links and stuff are not yet setup correctly.

Few questions if you'd be so kind.

1. Where do you get those spectre's? I'm just now realizing that only some are ranged. To make matters worse, raising the spectre I want can sometimes be difficult on Xbox.

My personal favorite are Solar Guards, but they are hard to get. I don't like spending half of the little time to play I have hunting for spectres so 99% of the time I just use flame sentinels since they always spawn in the templar laboratory. They may only be level 68, but they do a great job until I do find solar guards during normal mapping.

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2. Is there an overall stats on gear guide for this until we can get most of the gear you suggested? I haven't played in a long time so I'm back to being confused about what we want on our gear. Maybe I didn't read it well and it's already there. I spend most of my time in the leveling sections of the guide and sometimes reference the links/gems section.

Until you get the recommended gear look for gear that has +life, +es, %es, and any missing stats like strength or dex. Even though you may have the extra space for +% res, still try to get it all on only rings, belt, gloves, and helm. You don't want to replace your tri res chest with Vis Mortis when you get it only to find you now have to replace other gear as well because you are no longer res capped.

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3. Is the Queen's Decree any good for us early on? It dropped and I'm not sure if I should be using it. I'm only level 41 if that matters. I know we give up an offhand, and mine only has 3 slots so far.

It would definitely be OK for leveling, but if you use it don't bother taking Necromatic Aegis until ready to drop it and go 1H + shield.

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4. Is it better to buy gear with the links and slots setup correctly or modify them ourselves when starting out? I bought the boots but so far after about 20ish tries I can't even get 4 slots, let alone link them or worry about the colors. All versions of those boots can have 4 slots right? I seem to remember something about item level being a factor for the number of slits an item can have.

It all depends on prices really. For 4L items it's usually not much more expensive to buy one linked than it is unlinked. 2H weapons and body armor I always buy unlinked and do myself. If I hit 5L I stop trying and start using it. I'll then buy another and retry for 6L. If I get 5L again I'll sell it and then buy another to retry for 6L. By selling when you get 5L you usually make back what you spent in fusings, but not always. It's all RNG.

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I keep saying slots, but I'm pretty sure that's the wrong word. :(

I look forward to getting the right spectre and links for them and unleashing holy hell balls of death on my enemies. Keep up the good work on the guide!!

Thanks!

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stoudtlr wrote:

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Dbrn wrote:

...The issues I'm running into are sneaky chaos dots (can be especially hard to notice I'm standing in poison pools with all the minions running around) and stuns. I feel like I get stunned by every little thing that hits me, which can really hurt the whole idea of using CWDT Nova for EE...

I've been thinking about those issues as well and have been playing with the tree to find a way around it. I'm leaning towards this, but I need to get some regrets to try it out.

http://poeurl.com/bxJD

Rearranging jewels by having that extra jewel slot also means we can put an Anatomical Knowledge in the spot to left of witch start. 6-8% increased life from the jewel and +30 life due to the 90 INT in the radius.

Gives us 4k life and 1k ES (without discipline any more) with full stun immunity instead of our current 3.2k life, 2.8k ES, and partial stun immunity only when casting. Grab rest of life around Constitution as level higher.

Without discipline any more could use Vitality, Arctic Armor, or maybe Purity of Elements if need help with resists. If you have free gem slots from not using an animate guardian could do blasphemy/elemental weakness too.

I definitely need to test this out before recommending it, but on paper I like it.

I've moved points around so I can test this out. Arctic Armor won't work for me currently since it takes me under resistance cap as it doesn't count as an aura. I'll try with Vitality first.

"

Dbrn wrote:

I've moved points around so I can test this out. Arctic Armor won't work for me currently since it takes me under resistance cap as it doesn't count as an aura. I'll try with Vitality first.

Great! Let me know how it goes. I had enough regrets to drop some of the points and make it down to Unwavering Stance, but still need some more to drop rest of ES nodes and swap for life. It's great already just not having stuns to worry about. I need an aura as well for the resists. I decided to go blasphemy elemental weakness, but since that doesn't count as aura I also threw in a level 1 clarity. Still trying different combinations to see what I like. Having minor surgery on Wednesday and then rest of week off work so I should have plenty of time to try and optimize this.