[Leveling Guide] Speaker for the Dead | 74-minion Mass Summoner 💀

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bp_968 wrote:

This is my first playthrough and first character and I'm loving this build so far but have resisted dropping the skill point into Elemental Equilibrium. I'm not "seeing" the reason for getting it (I'm just seeing the negative of the +25 resist enemies get!). I'm sure I'm missing something obvious here though!

Also, I managed to grab some +1 spectre items from friends (Queens Decree and Bones of Ullr) for a total of 4 Spectres. I'm loving it but it looks like in the build your not using those at all. Should I be looking for the specific ones mentioned in the build? It seems like, at least for now, that my Spectres and other minions are surviving ok but I suspect that will change at some point, I might as well be ready (though I'm going to cry losing my +2 extra spectres!)

Thanks again for such a great guide!

Elemental Equilibrium buffs one elemental resistance but debuffs the other two types. Damage in this build primarily comes from the minions, who cannot apply this effect. The player's damage is based on Ball Lightning, which is cast while channeling Charged Dash. The mob get +25% resistance to Lightning but -50% resistance to Cold and Fire. Our minions will deal Cold damage due to our Hatred (which must be linked with Generosity to not affect the player). So our primary dps, our minions, get a huge boost from EE.

@ sseebbe:

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Sorator13 wrote:

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sseebbe wrote:

Looks really amazing!

Could you please get a full skill tree up as soon as possible since I don't quite have the knowledge to make my own path from lvl69.

Also how viable is this for SSF?

Belated, but yes, this is SSF viable; you'll want to check the relevant FAQ entry in the main guide for some SSF tips, though. Mostly info on how to adjust for not being able to buy perfect Elder/Shaper mods.

After the final tree you want to follow the main guide. I recommend Passive Tree #1, the budget version that takes more life nodes instead of jewel sockets. By this point that's really all you're getting. Life and jewel sockets, so it's pretty simple. If you need DEX, get the life/sockets on the right side of the tree.

As for SSF, it's perfectly viable. FAQ has more info.

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@ FalconPimpslap:

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FalconPimpslap wrote:

Hey, thanks for the masterwork of a guide.

I'm assuming they changed which gems were available from vendors in 3.6, since there are a few that are missing (e.g. Herald of Agony from Yeena after Intruders in Black), but waiting for A3/A6 isn't a huge deal.

For spectres, I used Alpine Shaman (ice spear goatmen from Ascent in Act 4, after killing Malachai) until A8. Slower cast speed than the Flame Sentinels, but better synergy with Wrath's new blanket cold damage buff, and the same extra engage distance as the Frost Sentinels.

There was no change in gem availability. Herald of Agony has never been available to the Witch for normal quests. You either have to wait for Siosa in Act 3, trade with other players, or mule from alternate character who has access to it. I just haven't yet written out that section to explain it.

One saving grace about the Alpine Shaman is their negative cast speed is a reduction, meaning it can be overcome with enough cast speed (like from Unending Hunger). I'll have to see how they hold up for me while leveling.

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@ maxy44:

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maxy44 wrote:

Hi I new to this build i a bit confused about what gems get linked into what Gear i would be very great full for any help thanks

Did you read through the Gem Links and Gear section in the main build thread?

"I Accept" -> "EVERYTHING YOU NEED" -> "Gem Links and Gear"

If you're asking about when leveling, then it is entirely based on the linked gear and socket colors you're able to find. You won't be able to run all links at first.

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@ bp_968:

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TheDonPerignon wrote:

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bp_968 wrote:

This is my first playthrough and first character and I'm loving this build so far but have resisted dropping the skill point into Elemental Equilibrium. I'm not "seeing" the reason for getting it (I'm just seeing the negative of the +25 resist enemies get!). I'm sure I'm missing something obvious here though!

Also, I managed to grab some +1 spectre items from friends (Queens Decree and Bones of Ullr) for a total of 4 Spectres. I'm loving it but it looks like in the build your not using those at all. Should I be looking for the specific ones mentioned in the build? It seems like, at least for now, that my Spectres and other minions are surviving ok but I suspect that will change at some point, I might as well be ready (though I'm going to cry losing my +2 extra spectres!)

Thanks again for such a great guide!

Elemental Equilibrium buffs one elemental resistance but debuffs the other two types. Damage in this build primarily comes from the minions, who cannot apply this effect. The player's damage is based on Ball Lightning, which is cast while channeling Charged Dash. The mob get +25% resistance to Lightning but -50% resistance to Cold and Fire. Our minions will deal Cold damage due to our Hatred (which must be linked with Generosity to not affect the player). So our primary dps, our minions, get a huge boost from EE.

I'll clarify that it buffs ALL elemental resists that you hit with (in a single hit, each hit overwrites the previous entirely), and debuffs any elemental resistances you did not hit with. So if you hit with all three elements, the monster will be buffed against all three elements. But if you then hit with only one element, the monster will only be buffed against that element and debuffed against the other two.

If you're following this build, you'll be dropping Bones of Ullr and Queen's Decree. Neither are good for us. We want movement speed, life, and resists on our boots. We want Vicatrio's Charity for Frenzy Charges. We want a +1 Maim claw to stack levels and make our Zombies tanky and our Crawler much more powerful.

We're not a Spectre summoner. Spectres are there to do just enough damage to quickly spawn a full contingent of Phantasms for maximum area coverage. Together these guys clear regular mobs, while our Agony Crawler demolishes anything tougher.

We do this because it's more versatile and less prone to problems than relying solely on Spectres:

• 2 out of 4 minions getting stuck on terrain or firing at a single straggler instead of a pack is 50% your clear speed gone.
  
  
• 2 out of 14 minions doing the same is roughly only 14% of your clear speed gone.

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@ TheDonPerignon:

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TheDonPerignon wrote:

This was a phenomenal guide which I used as my league starter and I’m still enjoying it. This is the very first character I’ve played through to the Epilogue and started delving and mapping. These guides are very complete and after playing all the way through, I’ve got some feedback.

Here’s some things I wish I knew earlier.

If you cast a spell then remove it from your skill bar, the effect persists. In this case, summons with no timer and auras will stay active as long as the gem is slotted in your gear, whether it’s on your skill bar or not. Took me a while to figure out how to manage all the spells/summons.

The ones worth keeping on the skill bar are Summon Skeletons, Vaal Summon Skeletons, Shield Charge, and Charged Dash. I’d also recommend Summon Zombie because they do die (rarely) and will need resummoning

The rest of the skills on your bar are up to you.

You effectively have 2 skill bar setups, one for each weapon set. Spell effects will end if their gems are in your weapons and you swap (hotkey X). That means any summons or auras in your weapons will need to be recast once you swap back. I keep Desecrate in my alternate set so I can always spawn in Spectre corpses when needed.

That said, if you don’t want to micro-manage the slot for the Raise Spectre Gem, I’ve so far found it works just to spawn corpses in my Hideout with Desecrate, do what needs doing, then rez the corpses. Only caveat is to make sure you don’t accidentally unslot Desecrate or swap weapons (if it’s in your alternate) because the corpses will immediately despawn.

Ctrl+Left Click moves items from one window to another. I was dragging and dropping everything before a friend told me about this one...

I love this build and it lets me keep up with my higher level, more experienced friends. Thanks so much for sharing!

Thanks! Yeah, I could add something about these in the Mechanics Explained section of the main guide.

What's up
I'm new to the game and I'm following your tutorial.
I have seen that you invoke 3 specters, I am level 68 but I can only invoke 2, have any items that make 1 more? or ability?

I thank you from now if you can throw me this doubt.

Hi, I'm having trouble staking herald of agony, I do not know what I'm doing wrong.

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anderalw wrote:

What's up
I'm new to the game and I'm following your tutorial.
I have seen that you invoke 3 specters, I am level 68 but I can only invoke 2, have any items that make 1 more? or ability?

I thank you from now if you can throw me this doubt.

I believe the 3rd comes from the delve crafted boots. If you got to his main guide it says something in there.

"You can use any rare boots with 30-35% movement speed. Do not use Bones of Ullr. The sacrifice of mobility, life, and resists is not worth +1 Spectres. Unlike many Spectre builds, we don't rely on them for damage. They exist to generate Phantasms and freeze monsters. Use 2 Frost Sentinels over a Solar Guard."

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anderalw wrote:

Hi, I'm having trouble staking herald of agony, I do not know what I'm doing wrong.

To apply stacks of poison you need to deal physical damage or chaos damage. That's why the guide recommends linking Lesser Poison which adds chaos damage to Ball Lightning.

Eventually you want either a gem or mod on your gear that says "Add X Physical/Chaos Damage to Spells" (specifically spells).

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3.6.2. Patch Notes:
Minion skills can now be supported by Unleash Support. This only applies to the summoning of minions, and does not cause your minions' skills to reoccur.

Hi, does that change anything to the build? pretty new and strictly following your build with lots of fun. Great work, thx!

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uberal wrote:

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3.6.2. Patch Notes:
Minion skills can now be supported by Unleash Support. This only applies to the summoning of minions, and does not cause your minions' skills to reoccur.

Hi, does that change anything to the build? pretty new and strictly following your build with lots of fun. Great work, thx!

Not really. Unleash Support builds up "seals" like charges which, when a spell is cast, cause the spell to repeat a maximum of three times.

This means you can do things like summon 4 zombies with one cast or a bunch of skeletons but you'd sacrifice too much damage for the convenience of quick summoning. The only things we really summon in-battle are skeletons anyway.

Hello, returning player here.

I played PC years ago and now I returned to start fresh on the PS4. I am loving the build, so far I am on act 4 playing around with the azure mine mechanic, that was added after my time.

Could you take a look at my gear and give me any pointers? I got the items I was familiar with on PC like bones of ull and the head offhand, those 2 brought back memories. I am thinking of dropping shield charge cuz I barely use it for mobility, I mostly just spam quicksilver flasks and go about my business. During combat I only use charged dash, cuz shield charge doesn't stun that often.

I bought the unset unique ring that boosts the golem, got it cheap for 1c. I am going to be using that when I am high enough. Then I will look for the unique shield you recommend. I will pass on the ring that holds the curse, cuz I need that ring slot to have max tri res. I will be getting my resistances from the gloves, 1 ring, and the amulet.

What do you think? And thanks for this awesome build.

Edit: I can't figure out why the items are not being shown.

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squalltheonly wrote:

Hello, returning player here.

I played PC years ago and now I returned to start fresh on the PS4. I am loving the build, so far I am on act 4 playing around with the azure mine mechanic, that was added after my time.

Could you take a look at my gear and give me any pointers? I got the items I was familiar with on PC like bones of ull and the head offhand, those 2 brought back memories. I am thinking of dropping shield charge cuz I barely use it for mobility, I mostly just spam quicksilver flasks and go about my business. During combat I only use charged dash, cuz shield charge doesn't stun that often.

I bought the unset unique ring that boosts the golem, got it cheap for 1c. I am going to be using that when I am high enough. Then I will look for the unique shield you recommend. I will pass on the ring that holds the curse, cuz I need that ring slot to have max tri res. I will be getting my resistances from the gloves, 1 ring, and the amulet.

What do you think? And thanks for this awesome build.

Edit: I can't figure out why the items are not being shown.

Spoiler

Not OP and won't comment much on your gear, but I'd recommend shuffling your gems around to get more benefit from the +minion skill gem lvl mods on your helm and shield. IMO skeletons in the helm + zombies/HoA in the shield would be better than your current zombies/HoA in helm + holy relic in shield. But play with it in PoB and see what you think, if you have access to PoB.

You will want to switch over to Victario's Charity for your shield when you can, though; it's very good.