{3.10} Speaker for the Dead | The Mass Minion Summoner | League Starter, Leveling Guide 💀

@ everyone:
I'm back!

---

"

Dashbb wrote:

By the way @Hercanic, your quicksilver flask has the wrong name in the PoB for that build. It's Flagellant's when it should be Alchemist's

Thanks! I've corrected it in the upcoming 3.9 PoB link.

---

@ Arageron:

"

4-white sockets Triad Grip

Not worth it currently, due to few ways for this build to feasibly scale it. Just two, in fact: Despair and Wither.

Three if you count a -9% fossil helm (four with Vaal Blight). Which may be necessary, given that bosses have 35% chaos resistance now and the only other way to lower that without being an Occultist is Despair, and that's reduced by boss curse effect to 34% potency. -29% * 0.34 = -10% chaos resistance. Giving up our glove slot to lose a quarter of our converted damage doesn't look so hot.

Withered (from either Wither, Withering Touch Support, Withering Step, or Blight with the Spreading Rot jewel) can apply up to 90% increased Chaos Damage taken. This would stack additively with Skitterbot's Shock, reducing its value. You'll also need to be able to apply 15 stacks within 2 seconds or you won't get the full 90%.

Assuming you manage full Withered stacks, you'll gain (0.75 * 1.9 =) 43% more damage.

If you instead went pure Phys, Increased Physical Damage Taken has Maim (14%), Flesh and Stone (16%), Vulnerability (39% * 0.34 = 13%), and War Banner (12%) = 55%. Pride is a 39% More Taken multiplier, for a total of 115% more damage (= 1.55 * 1.39). The new buff to monster armor would reduce this somewhat, but I don't have any hard numbers for bosses to calculate from.

Cold conversion, meanwhile, can nullify the new 50% boss resistance with EE. Resists can be further dropped into the negatives with Elemental Army (-10%), Elemental Weakness (-39% * 0.34 = -13%), and Frostbite (-44% * 0.34 = -15%), for a total of -38%. Bonechill (16%) is the only Increased Taken aside from Shock, so it holds more weight on the final tally. Hatred with Generosity gives 25% more and 33% extra. All this together becomes (1.33 * 1.25 * 1.16 * 1.38 =) 166% more damage.


In summary:
Chaos = 43% more, ignore shields (ES and Proximity) and reflect
Phys = 115% more, better stuns, free glove slot
Cold = 166% more, chill/freeze/shatter, 75% resisted reflect


Full disclosure: In actuality, we don't necessarily use both curses, though we can. However, they are not L20 (L5 for ring on Hit or L12 for glove corruption). On the other hand, working in everything for pure phys or chaos will demand various sacrifices, and I don't plan to figure those out. So I just call it a wash for this quick estimate.

"

Is there another spectre other than Frost Sentinels with similar clear capacities I could try?

Solar Guard
Pro: Their area damage from GMP Fireball can overlap and hit multiple times from a single cast, multiplying the damage by 2-5x depending on how many monsters are close together (or nearby walls/obstructions) to detonate multiple Fireballs. Beam skill (8sec cooldown) has a very long range, the same range as Frost Sentinels, and a very large AOE.

Con: Fireball has -50% action distance (half range of Frost Sentinels). Beam takes 2.5sec to cast, equal to three casts of Fireball, but only deals 30% more damage than a single cast of Fireball.


Flame Sentinel
Pro: If the visuals can be trusted, they may have a larger AOE on Fireball than Solar Guards, giving better overlap damage. Alternates between Fork/+1LMP/+2LMP each cast (same as Frost Sentinels). No Beam delaying Fireballs.

Con: -50% action distance (half range of Frost Sentinels). Lower damage as a Spectre; its LMP Fireball deals 31% (+2LMP) to 15% (Fork) less damage than the Solar Guard.


Goatman Fire-raiser
Pro: Fireball has good AOE (note: deals 11% more base damage than the Solar Guard, but SGs have a 112% damage multiplier so it equals out). Magma Orb (3sec cooldown) has a long range (Frost Sentinel range), faster cast speed (30% increased & 0.7 base cast time instead of 0.85), effectively 'pierces' through packs with three bounces, and can hit the same target up to three times (would need Slower Proj).

Con: 50% reduced cast speed (nullified to 0 with 50% increased cast speed), which makes them slower than other Spectres to unleash their damage when moving from pack to pack. -50% action distance on Fireball.


Slave Driver
Pro: Highest DPS, with 47% more damage and 70% more cast speed than a Solar Guard. Does not use projectiles like the others listed here, which has some advantages, like a natural 'pierce' from its rectangular AOE and not having the damage penalty of GMP. Has the Quick mod, which grants 50% increased movement speed and lets them quickly dart around the battlefield.

Con: His "Flame Whip", a Lightning version of Flame Surge, is a rectangular PB-AOE (point-blank area of effect) spell, which has some disadvantages, such as very limited screen coverage (projectiles can cover two screens away and fan out). Its high base cast speed (0.5 vs. 0.85) is mitigated by 65% reduced cast speed (can be nullified with increased cast speed). It deals Lightning Damage, so EE must be applied with Fire Damage (Avatar of Fire keystone is an option). Squishy, due to low life. Not a good pairing with Phantasms, since they need Projectile supports.


Risen Vaal Advocate
Variants: Lightning, Fire, Physical, and Chaos. Distinguished by color of hand effect. All but Phys cast a variant of Fireball, who instead uses a crappy mortar. Because of this, Phys is just too weak to consider. Chaos only has ~30% of the base damage of the others, so they're not really worthwhile either. Fire is good, but their Firestorm special is too delayed for clearing and visually very messy. Lightning is the best and most preferred variant.

Pro: Only -40% action distance, or 60% of Frost Sentinel range, higher than the other monsters listed here. High damage multiplier (150% vs. 120%). Very high life multiplier (405% vs. 180% + 40% Extra ES). AOE overlap. Has 35% base elemental resistances, so hitting cap and overcapping is far easier.

Con: Slower base casting time (1.2 vs. 0.85). Their special skill, Delayed Lightning Spark (6sec cooldown), eats up a Fireball cast (1.2sec cast time). Lightning Damage means you must trigger EE with Fire Damage (e.g. Avatar of Fire keystone).


Lunaris Concubine
Pro: Rapidly fires a long sequence of 34% damage projectiles (I'll need to count to see exactly how many so I can calculate their true DPS), outputting a massive spray of spines with GMP. Deals physical attack damage with 50% converted to Cold, strongly benefiting from Hatred (and fully benefiting with Cold Triad Grip; will also be less affected by 1R in Triad Grip due to this existing conversion). High accuracy from our build means 100% hit chance for their attacks.

Con: Attack has an initial delay and locks them in place for the sequence, lasting 2 seconds (faster with attack speed), making them less responsive when racing through monster packs. -60% action distance. Deals less damage the closer the target is (reverse of Point Blank). Slightly squishier than a Slave Driver.


Other notable Spectres:
(though not the best for clear or DPS)
Kitava's Herald (phys mortar, tanky)
Slashed Miscreation (Blade Vortex)
Knitted Horror (piercing Puncture projectile attack, tanky)
Sandworn Slaves (Cyclone w/ phys Tornado Sparks on Hit, tanky)
Wraith (Ethereal Knives)


Utility Spectres:
Frenzy / Power Charges to Allies (6sec cooldown): Carnage Chieftain / Host Chieftain
30% less damage Taunt (8sec cooldown): Ruins Hellion
Proximity Shield (18sec cooldown): Undying Evangelist
Powerful Enfeeble: Diabolist, Reanimator
Temporal Chains: Mortality Experimenter
Temp. Chains on Hit (1.5sec cooldown): Shrieking Witch
Ele Weakness: Defiler
Elemental curses (10sec cooldown): Death Bishop (cold), Ash Prophet (fire), Sin Lord (lightning)
Powerful Vulnerability: Merveil's Retainer
Vuln. on Hit: Armour Cruncher, Whipping Miscreation
Suppression on Hit (3.5sec cooldown): Chrome-infused Chimeral

"

what are my option of bringing up the level of the [Spectre] gem to 25?

I covered that in the Balance Manifesto for Minions.

With a L21 Spectre gem, and without overly changing the build, you'd need another +2 levels:

1. Amulet: +1 to Level of all Intelligence Skill Gems (Hunter prefix)
2. Dagger: +1 to Level of all Spell Skill Gems (prefix)
3. Body armour: +1 to Level of Socketed Gems (corruption)
4. Boots: +1 to Level of all Raise Spectre Gems (fossil suffix)
5. Empower Support: +1-3 to Level of Supported Active Skill Gems

If using Phantasms, you don't really need a fourth Spectre.

"

possible to have double influences on the item?

Yes. And based on the screenshot from Amnexty's post above, even dual Shaper+Elder is possible.

---

@ woefulwabbit:

"

...just made the switch to Triad, hope I'm doing it right.

That's about right. Just a few notes:

"

Skeletons: [Melee Physical Damage] changed to [Elemental Damage with Attacks]

EDWA is a 5% higher multiplier than MPD, but EDWA doesn't affect the Chaos Damage from Spirit Offering or Unholy Might. They end up being roughly equal against Shaper. While clearing, where mob's Chaos Resistance is lower/zero and Unholy Might procs, MPD comes out ahead.

You can use both against endgame bosses if you have a Minion Damage helm, then swap EDWA for Melee Splash for much better map clear during Blights, Incursions, Breaches, room sweeping, awkward terrain, etc.

"

Zombies: [Melee Physical Damage] changed to [Empower]

Only use Empower if it's providing at least +4-6 levels.

"

Zombies: [Feeding Frenzy] changed to [Minion Damage]

Either is fine. I personally prefer Feeding Frenzy. Zombies keep the buff up while clearing, benefiting Spectres/Phantasms. Aggressive Zombies waste less time derping around, something especially important to avoid for melee minions who already need time to run up to their target.

---

@ APlear:

"

APlear wrote:

What specters should we be using, im still using the goatman fire raisers and im trying out the triad version.

For Cold Triad, I strongly recommend Frost Sentinels with Phantasms. Check out my reply @ WeaponizedSP.

so,

what weapons mods would be good to chase after now ?

METAMORPH LEVELING

Act 6 completed two weeks ago. I had finished before I left for the holidays. Now that I'm back, I can make a proper post for it. (And start playing again, yay!) The reason I'm recording this, in case anyone was wondering, is the same as during Blight: to be used as content for the 3.9 rewrite's leveling guide.

<-- Act 5

---

@ SONICDK:

"

SONICDK wrote:

what weapons mods would be good to chase after now ?

Same as before, if it's affordable. You want a Shaper or Elder melee weapon with as many good support gem mods that work with Zombies.

Shaper mods

• [PRE] Added Fire Damage - Good. Stacks additively with Hatred, so not as strong as an actual More multiplier. You'd also have to avoid dealing any fire damage yourself, due to EE.
  
• [PRE] Elemental Damage with Attacks - Ideal, if using Triad Grip. Otherwise, it's mediocre to decent depending on the total elemental damage of Zombies (Hatred, Grip of the Council, Added Fire Damage mod).
  
  
• [SUF] Maim - Ideal. Maim phys debuff is half as effective due to proportion dealt as Cold and Chaos Damage from our minions, but it's still very worth it due to boosting all our minions. The phys debuff is useless if using Cold Triad Grip, but the movement slow still has utility and the More multiplier of Maim still works fine.
  
• [SUF] Faster Attacks - Good. Great for clear and applying Blind/Taunt from jewels sooner. It's additive with other attack speed increases, so it's not as effective as a More multiplier.
  
• [SUF] Melee Splash - Great for clear, but less necessary for Zombies due to their Slam ability.
  
• [SUF] Critical Strikes - Weak. A bit better if the minion has Power Charges and there's a nearby Kingmaker providing crit multi, but still weak.

Elder mods

• [PRE] Melee Physical Damage - Ideal.
  
• [PRE] Ruthless - Great. Since Zombies are persistent, they'll maintain their attack count when moving from pack to pack. The stun is also nice.
  
• [PRE] Brutality - BAD; invalidates Hatred.
  
  
• [SUF] Multistrike - Good, but slows down their clear speed due to being locked in place for three attacks even if everything is dead.
  
• [SUF] Critical Damage - Weak. Decent if minion has Power Charges.
  
• [SUF] Poison - Weak. Useless if using Cold Triad Grip.
  
• [SUF] Ancestral Call - Useless; does not work on minions.
  
• [SUF] Chance to Bleed - Useless; does not work on minions.

Aside from the support mods, the prefix +1 to Gems is decent on its own, and becomes ideal if combo'd with +2 to Support Gems craft and a L4 Empower.

If these cannot be found, crafted, or bought, then it's fine to use Zombies for utility (Meat Shield taunt, Feeding Frenzy buff, Elemental Army exposure, Maim phys debuff, golem buff) and go for a weapon with high global minion damage to benefit Skeletons/Spectres/Phantasms.

Unfortunately, the Elderslayer mod pools do not include any support gem affixes. So we can only rely on what comes from Shaper/Elder maps.

METAMORPH LEVELING

Act 7 completed.

<-- Act 6

thanks for that answer! https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=1960520171


ended up getting this weapon, 30c was a steal and fits right into the whole gear,

maim + added fire was to expensive

Hey there,

Played a bit more this week-end, and I'm wondering on what I should work next to be stronger. I've 9k eHp without spirit offering atm, and I rule the atlas without any difficulty so far (redmaps, 12 watchstones).

I was thinking about a Whispers of Doom anointment for my amulet, to add a ring with elemental weakness on hit, and a watcher's eye with ES on hit (discipline) to get a nice refill. What do you think ?

Stuff in the spoiler below


Thank you.

Is there anyway to add the new build completely in one place? The comments in between your act updates makes it difficult.
I am trying to follow it, after a false start using the 3.8 build from the first pages.
Thank you again for the updates. This is the second time I've used this guide and plan to do so in the next updates.

@ jdarkstone:

"

new build completely in one place?

That's the idea.

You can follow the 3.8 build if the cost of an ES on Hit Watcher's Eye doesn't scare you (~10ex).

The 3.9 rewrite will be based on the Charity Triad variant (aka Cold Triad, Shadow Reaper). See my reply @ sasja & hlghwlnd.

---

@ Amnexty:

"

thinking about a Whispers of Doom anointment for my amulet, to add a ring with elemental weakness on hit

We're only 3 points away from Whispers of Doom. You can also get a Hunter-influenced body armour with +1 curse.

I've been considering anointing Ravenous Horde for variants that run CwC Spirit Offering, since Wicked Ward is unnecessary then. It'd give us back 7 points to spend elsewhere.

Minions would lose 9% movement speed, 18% increased damage (=~4% more), and 5% increased attack/cast speed (=~2.5% more).

"

watcher's eye with ES on hit (discipline)

It's very powerful while mapping with lots of targets to hit. CwC Spirit Offering is more reliable and consistent, but ES on Hit has no upper limit.

If you want to have an extreme amount of recovery, an interesting idea to have the best of both worlds is using a Mjölner. Hitting with Mjölner would trigger Ball Lightning (+Slower Proj) socketed in the weapon while Cyclone would be free to be linked to CwC Spirit Offering. To keep Zombies, you'd either need a Hungry Loop ring or drop a support on Skeletons to share the helm with Zombies.

You would need to reach 400 strength to do this. Our current tree grants 134. If you used the 7 points recouped from Ravenous Horde to go down to Warrior's Blood, that'd give another 60, for a total of 194. You'd need the remaining 206 from gear.

With two more points, you could take Physique and Might for another 60. Anointing Utmost Might would be 40 and 8%. That'd be (294 * 1.08 =) 317, but you'd lose Ravenous Horde. In this case, you'd need a bit less than 83 from gear.

---

@ SONICDK:

"

ended up getting this weapon, 30c

Nice!

METAMORPH LEVELING

Act 8 & 9 completed. I flubbed and forgot to make a completion post for Act 8 until I was already halfway through Act 9.

Twice in a row, I ended up distracting myself from snapping a completion pic for both Acts because I was too eager to spawn the Metamorph. =o(

<-- Act 7

The next 6 pages, from p300 to 305, have been reserved for future guide expansion.

Jump to p306 -->