[3.7] Skelly Mage Summoner ~ The Necrolazyak - 2 Curse, 6k eHP
 ~Welcome to the 3.7 Skeleton Mage Necromancer~ I've played Necromancers for years, and the Mages are definitely nostalgia love from my very first in Diablo 2 so many moons ago. While I have other versions of the build I've played in past leagues, this one is definitely my favorite thus far ~ Especially since the release of the Legion Jewels. I also wanted to move away from the 'To Dust' jewel to see what other options I could push with.  Current Videos: Atziri Deathless 5ish minute clear: https://youtu.be/5taFb9lhF2k Shaped Graveyard Monolith clear: https://youtu.be/lexxDlXO-fk Delve lvl 200 Vaal Outpost: https://youtu.be/VN9EZJCQkFA Current Progress / Completions and next goals: ~Level 92 ~Tier 1~16 complete ~Tier 11 Elder ~Atziri ~Uber Atziri video incoming soon ~Domain of Timeless Conflict soon Pros:
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~Decently tanky, can take a few hits with 6k eHP
~Immune to Desecrated Ground ~Great League Starter, scales to dominate endgame ~Delve is easy & smooth, including darkness exploration ~Life flasks apply to ES! ~Decent Physical & overall Damage Reduction through a combination of Mind over Matter and specific gear Can run so many of the map mods with relative ease, including: ~Both physical & elemental reflect, although elemental reflect will slow you down a bit ~Enfeeble ~Hexproof (Slows boss fights a little sometimes) Cons:
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~Is not an actual tank, needs to play evasively
~Cannot run 0% regeneration mods ~Should not run maps with -max resistances or vulnerability LvL 100 HP / ES / Mana:
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 Current Endgame Gear: Flasks: Previous Body Armour:
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Notes on Gear:
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In other build variations I did run Queen's Decree / Escape ~ But off-color rolling the weapon for blue sockets is a B@$T@RD.. I've done it, but I would not suggest this route unless you are wealthy and bored. It's a great synergy for the 'To Dust' Jewel, but that wasn't the direction I wanted to go with this build.
Build Cost:
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~The build can run for low-income / league start with about 1~3 Exalted Orbs getting you up to Tier 8~10 maps
~To min/max or reconstruct what I've put in, I did craft most of my rares. Rolling the final body took about 250 Chaos Orbs, as getting the +1 to Active Gems & Physical taken as Elemental 'with' life & 1 resist is a bit tough and maddening. My final investment with crafting was about 12~14 Exalted Orbs, where the value of the gear for just buying them can be quite a bit more expensive. Rolls such as Immune to Desecrated Ground on the boots are niche, so prices can go high. Bandits: Kill All Animate Guardian Gear:
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 Image Link: https://i.imgur.com/Es2nRgi.png You may wish to un-summon your Guardian in very high-tier boss fights for safety if the mods are especially rough. Definitely un-summon for Hall of Grandmasters. If you can get a 'Socketed Gems are supported by X level Minion Damage', you may wish to add Fortify for extra survive-ability. Another great melee weapon roll to get would be Maim on Hit. Skill Gems / Links ~ Description & Additional Info: 2 Changes since initial post: 1) Upon reaching Tier 14, I've removed Animated Guardian in favor of expanding Zombie and Vaal links 2) I've dropped Vulnerability for Enfeeble
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 ~  ~  ~  ~ (There was an image error here, the only important 4L is Animate Guardian in the Helmet, 3L's are in weapons obv)  ~  ~  ~ Another option is to drop Animate Guardian. This turns Zombies & Vaal Skeletons into 4 links. Vaal Summon Skeletons ~ Minion Life ~ Minion Damage ~ Summon Phantasm on Kill Raise Zombie ~ Minion Damage ~ Fortify ~ Multistrike Skill Tree:
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Path of Exile site: https://www.pathofexile.com/fullscreen-passive-skill-tree/3.7.3/AAAABAMDAQFvCPQNfA3iEVARlhUnFm8YVhhdGGoabBzcHU8fxyL0JKolsij6KlMqmCy_LYsv2jLRNZI1uTbFNuk5CzlSPC0870GHRUdFnUZxR4VIjklPSbFKn0zfUilTUlONVeBXyVgHWFpakVxrYPhihmaeZ3FodGjyahtqQ2qsa9tsC20ZfA59GH_GgseDX4PMhEiFMohAi3qMdoyxjxqQM5Mnly2a4Juhnr2fSKDmoS-mrKcIpyuofaqprfGwd7JwtAy3Mbc-uJO8qrzqvoq_l8BmwcXDbck9ytPTj9P718_YJNi92mLa3d-K4vfjaukC6rrr7uwY7IPviPIe98H31_k3-ej60v4K_rM=?accountName=Katsuko&realm=pc&characterName=Farnese_Vandimion
Path of Building: https://pastebin.com/zmtNhPmc Legion Jewel Placement:  Abyss Jewel:  Note: I increased Curse Limit +2 despite only using 2 myself, leaving room for co-op play without interference. If you play strictly solo you can drop the curse limit on tree. Suggestions for ilvl 82+ content (Shaper Guardians, Uber Elder, etc):
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I'd suggest picking up Pledge of Hands unique staff to super-power up the Mages for endgame boss killing. The links as shown above work amazing even up to t16 for clearing maps - but for the end bosses, delve 300+, etc - you need to consider this:
Pledge of Hands unique staff, 6L - move mages here Links: Skeletons - Controlled Destruction - Elemental Focus - Minion Damage - Faster Projectiles - Faster Casting This change can be used instead of the suggested weapon setup and will stick rock maps, but it is a much more viable option if you intend to face Uber Atziri, Shaper, Uber Elder, Delve 200+ Bosses, etc. Other Legion Build/s:
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[3.7] Perforate 'Herald of Pain' - 6.2k HP, 600k+ DPS: https://www.pathofexile.com/forum/view-thread/2617365
Last edited by Katsuko#0235 on Aug 27, 2019, 11:11:53 AM Last bumped on Sep 19, 2019, 5:26:29 PM
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Thanks for the guide. I always like reading different takes on minion builds.
I guess the united in dream is mostly for the melee minions? (Envy wouldn't do much for the skelly mages either?) And does that animated guardian do better than, say, spectres or skeletons in that helm? |
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" United in Dream gives Minion Damage, and the skeleton mages fire projectile spells, and projectiles 'hit'. So they are getting bonus damage, poison, extra leech, & they are hindering via the Abyss Jewel. The hinder effect really helps out with Monolith clearing and safety. With this build - due to Spell Echo on Skelly's, it just requires one cast for all skelly's to be summoned. My Mummies / Zombies and the animated guardian are kind of like a personal escort squad. Thanks to bane, wherever I cast - they run to. Whether that be on me or a targeted area I can control their movement. The primary dps is coming from Skellys, so I keep the Mummies alive for the Ascendancy DR as much as possible. The Guardian is essentially my tank, and I like to get taunt on hit via an item when possible with him. |
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Updating build, another option is to drop Animate Guardian.
This turns Zombies & Vaal Skeletons into 4 links. Vaal Summon Skeletons ~ Minion Life ~ Minion Damage ~ Summon Phantasm on Kill Raise Zombie ~ Minion Damage ~ Fortify ~ Multistrike |
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After a lot of tinkering with things, I've found dropping Guardian, and using the Vaal setup with Summon Phantasms in the helmet is a superior way to go.
Monoliths and Bosses are even more of a joke to bash. |
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I am new to POE. How are "Skeletal Mages" different from regular Skeletons and where do you get them?
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 Regular Skeletons do not follow your movement, You can summon them manually or set up a spell totem to do it for you. It's decent for leveling, but I've never found them reliable for endgame play. Mages, however - you combine Dead Reckoning w/:  Using 2 Dead Reckonings and From Dust, Spell Echo both increases their cast speed and doubles the casting / summon of them. So you get all 10 with one cast. Watch the videos at the top of post to see how they function. Last edited by Katsuko#0235 on Jul 30, 2019, 11:22:51 AM
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Thank you for that information. I like summoner builds and this looked like a nice twist on the standard skelly build.
Do the "Mages" replace the skeletons from the Summon Skeleton gem or add to the regular skeletons ? I appreciate you taking the time to make these detailed builds for us "noob" POE players. Last edited by Wizzzzer#5357 on Jul 30, 2019, 5:56:09 PM
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" They replace the regular Skeleton Count. We get Skeleton Archers, Warriors, & Generals from Vaal Summon Skeleton, which is used when encountering rare bois, bosses, monoliths, etc. |
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Hi,
I have read your build and I think it's amazing even though I haven't tried it yet. But I still have some question: 1.Why do you use a vaal skele gem and a skele gem instead of only 1 vaal skele gem ? vaal skele gem have summon normal skele too though. 2.And is not bane also a curse ? therefore aren't you applying 3 curse ? Also I think projectile weekness + element weakness is better ? 3. Have you tried skele mage + spectre build ? You build a 6L helmet with 2 addition mods: minion damage lv20 and concentrate effect lv20 for Slave Driver spectre ? 4. Do you think using blade vortex + CoH with 2 curse is beter than Bane ? or Brand or something else ? 5. What is timeless jewel ? I read the wiki but cannot understand it. Can you explain and why do you choose eternal ? Thanks for the build, I really appreciate your work. Last edited by bodeoco#3786 on Aug 4, 2019, 12:06:57 AM
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