3.14 KING OF ALL SUMMONERS. Zombies & Skeletons & Spectres on STEROIDS! | League-Start to End-Game

Initial Posts and answers:
Spoiler
Spoiler
"
zzled wrote:
"
Bisrob wrote:
Hey guys,

I'm considering to play this as a league starter next league (assuming no patch notes impacts), but I'm struggeling with the early leveling.

Rolled a char and I'm lvl 14 so far.
The guide recommends to play with SRS until lvl 12, then transitioning to raise zombies and skeletons.

However at lvl 14, they barely do any decent damage (recommended links are used: zombie / skeleton + minion damage + melee splash).

I really doubt that I will enjoy the further progress, especially in a fresh league.

Do you guys have additional recommendations on how to level smoothly a minion build?

Thank you very much!

Edit1: I haven't linked my gear because the damage should come from the gem levels
Edit2: they die fast ^^




SRS + Minion Damage Support + Infernal Legion on a 3B may give you more mileage at early levels. I started a new SSF Witch yesterday, and she's speed clearing with SRS/Zombies at Lv 23. Some packs die to SRS even before my zombies get there. I haven't bothered to switch to Skeletons, though it gets a little tiring at times with the SRS spam.

You may also need to tweak your early passive skill allocation. Going straight for Enduring Bond is a huge boost, especially with SRS.
https://poeplanner.com/ABMAABkAEjMAAAnfsJLBjr4RLXyDi3ZWLjrpHggAAAAAAA==

I previously followed the levelling guide in this thread, but it was a little slow until mid Act 3. It only sped up after I got Feeding Frenzy Support. I rerolled and am now loosely following the levelling guide from another thread. This one seems smoother for the early early game:
https://www.pathofexile.com/forum/view-thread/2624013


Spoiler
"
MrWay wrote:
"
Bisrob wrote:
Hey guys,

I'm considering to play this as a league starter next league (assuming no patch notes impacts), but I'm struggeling with the early leveling.

Rolled a char and I'm lvl 14 so far.
The guide recommends to play with SRS until lvl 12, then transitioning to raise zombies and skeletons.

However at lvl 14, they barely do any decent damage (recommended links are used: zombie / skeleton + minion damage + melee splash).

I really doubt that I will enjoy the further progress, especially in a fresh league.

Do you guys have additional recommendations on how to level smoothly a minion build?

Thank you very much!

Edit1: I haven't linked my gear because the damage should come from the gem levels
Edit2: they die fast ^^


I´ve tried the leveling yesterday for this build (never played it before) and at lvl 14 felt good. Did you level up the raise zombie gem since you got it even if you were using SRS? maybe you didn´t and it´s actually low level and that´s the problem.

For me the build only felt slow somewhere between acts 3 and 4 until i did the lab and crafted a +1 minion gems helmet (killing Dominus was really painful) Then it was pretty smooth again. Btw i linked minion life in a 4-link because zombies dying all the time was really annoying, and it worked really well, and i also tried Carrion Golem and i liked it.





@zzled @MrWay:
thank you guys for your response. I can assure that i used "raised zombie" at lvl 1 right from the start.

Currently I'm lvl 28/29 and I'm completely underwhelmed how the progress is going, compared to this exact build i played in 3.8
I think I might do something completely wrong.

Here is my setup (at least the pieces with gemlinks)
Spoiler


I killed A3 Piety now, the fight was horrible long. Zombies and Skellies are dying so fast and do barely any damage. I just got the Raise Spectre gem at lvl 28 so its just lvl 1.

However, it seems that my 4L Zombie (with minion life) and 3L Skellie Setup is not able to progress smoothly trhough the campaign at league start.

Do you guys have any further advices? Would love to play a summoner build again next league. My own survivability is not the problem, but during boss fights i don't have any minions because they are dying so fast and don't do any damage.
I'm just right before Dominus and I'm scared as hell imagine the long fight -.-

ps: right now i have 6 zombies and 7 skellies

Ty!

FINAL EDIT:
Okay, i just respecced some passive points to grab "Enduring Bond" and "Sacrifice". And the difference is like day and night.
Thats said, I would not recommend to follow the leveling tree in the first post, instead grab those nodes first for minion damage and survivability.
Last edited by Bisrob#7105 on Jun 5, 2020, 1:38:36 PM
Hello,

In one of your youtube videos you said that we don't use cyclone any more. So how does the Gem set up change now? I am assuming we don't just remove cyclone and start self casting Spirit (now Flesh) offering, instead we replace it with a new set up.

Also, will you be updating your guide (including gem set ups, etc) for Harvest league?

"
Vamii wrote:
Hi, what's better a six link femur or six link queen's escape?



Femur all the way, mainly because of the +1 socketed gems
"
Vamii wrote:
Hi, what's better a six link femur or six link queen's escape?



femurs is good for making ur zombies or any socketed minion powerful by getting that +2 to socketed minion gem and since u have zealots oath from the geoffris chest piece. the hp regen is converted to ES regen. so its good for ur defense too.

queens on the other hand is better for a speed setup and +1 extra zombie, spectre and skeleton. id say to go with femurs if u have dont mind the minion speed that much.
"
gabscene wrote:
Hi, I'm looking to start on one final build before league ends. Budget is around 40ex, can stretch a little bit more. Any recommended POB I can follow in here that can clear all content with that kind of budget?


Hello,

If u can stretch a bit more currency than 40ex then u can have a look at my POB

my necromancer: https://pastebin.com/eKGAuLmL


its not the most dps version(around 895k dps per zombie without awakened multistrike and i have 12 zombies). but to go further than my build u would need a convoking wand costing anywhere from 10-15ex each and a chest piece that cost around 30-40ex (geoffris with +1 to level of socketed gems corrupted implicit and 6l with correct color sockets) since with. u can go with other chest pieces too but ud loose a huge ES from others. u can also go with the skin of loyal which has +2 to level of socketed gems(+1 is explicit and another +1 if from corrupt implicit) from which u are able to reach lvl 34 zombies. But u also need 2 of +1 all spell gems and +1 to minion gems convoking wands with atleast 50% minion damage.

my build is good enough to clear a8 sirus , shapers and elders very fast.
and i have 6k hp along with 4.4k ES , fortify , and vaal molten shell for that oh Sh!t moments during boss fights.

one of my flask is bad but im doing everything easily so i dont even bother with flasks anymore. only time i pop flask is during boss fights then i pop vaal molten shell.

if u need any further help dont hesitate to contact me. if u want to go further than my build than Bruno has the most OP summoner build which he has not linked in the OP but has a video.

as for spectres i use : carnage chieftain, host chieftain, mervails retainer and arena master.

But u have to be very active all the time. u cant stop even for a sec.

"
gabscene wrote:
Hi, I'm looking to start on one final build before league ends. Budget is around 40ex, can stretch a little bit more. Any recommended POB I can follow in here that can clear all content with that kind of budget?


Hello,

If u can stretch a bit more currency than 40ex then u can have a look at my POB. belt alone cost me 35ex lmao. other stuff put together is like 25ex. But keep in mind the clusters jewels got expensive because we are near end of league. the large clusters cost me 1ex when i got them. mediums and small were all 40c each.

my necromancer: https://pastebin.com/eKGAuLmL

its not the most dps version(around 895k dps per zombie without awakened multistrike and i have 12 zombies). but to go further than my build u would need a convoking wand costing anywhere from 10-15ex each and a chest piece that cost around 30-40ex (geoffris with +1 to level of socketed gems corrupted implicit and 6l with correct color sockets) since with. u can go with other chest pieces too but ud loose a huge ES from others. u can also go with the skin of loyal which has +2 to level of socketed gems(+1 is explicit and another +1 if from corrupt implicit) from which u are able to reach lvl 34 zombies. But u also need 2 of +1 all spell gems and +1 to minion gems convoking wands with atleast 50% minion damage.

my build is good enough to clear a8 sirus , shapers and elders very fast.
and i have 6k hp along with 4.4k ES , fortify , and vaal molten shell for that oh Sh!t moments during boss fights.

one of my flask is bad but im doing everything easily so i dont even bother with flasks anymore. only time i pop flask is during boss fights then i pop vaal molten shell.

if u need any further help dont hesitate to contact me. if u want to go further than my build than Bruno has the most OP summoner build which he has not linked in the OP but has a video.

as for spectres i use : carnage chieftain, host chieftain, mervails retainer and arena master.

But u have to be very active all the time. u cant stop even for a sec.

hello !

I have a question about withering step.
In the "tanky endgame setup" it is linked with desecrate, spirit offering and convocation
I don't understand how and when i have to use those skills, is there a specific gameplay about them ?

thank you very much for your help
"
pat_hibulaire wrote:
hello !

I have a question about withering step.
In the "tanky endgame setup" it is linked with desecrate, spirit offering and convocation
I don't understand how and when i have to use those skills, is there a specific gameplay about them ?

thank you very much for your help


you can use a cyclone + cast while chanelling + spirit offering + desecrate setup. and put the convocation / withering step in the unset ring.

but if want to use the setup in tanky end game setup , then bind withering step to left mouse click. so u procc it auto while ur moving. and u have to cast other 3 skills manually when u need them.
"
Bisrob wrote:
@zzled @MrWay:
thank you guys for your response. I can assure that i used "raised zombie" at lvl 1 right from the start.

Currently I'm lvl 28/29 and I'm completely underwhelmed how the progress is going, compared to this exact build i played in 3.8
I think I might do something completely wrong.

Here is my setup (at least the pieces with gemlinks)
Spoiler


I killed A3 Piety now, the fight was horrible long. Zombies and Skellies are dying so fast and do barely any damage. I just got the Raise Spectre gem at lvl 28 so its just lvl 1.

However, it seems that my 4L Zombie (with minion life) and 3L Skellie Setup is not able to progress smoothly trhough the campaign at league start.

Do you guys have any further advices? Would love to play a summoner build again next league. My own survivability is not the problem, but during boss fights i don't have any minions because they are dying so fast and don't do any damage.
I'm just right before Dominus and I'm scared as hell imagine the long fight -.-

ps: right now i have 6 zombies and 7 skellies

Ty!

FINAL EDIT:
Okay, i just respecced some passive points to grab "Enduring Bond" and "Sacrifice". And the difference is like day and night.
Thats said, I would not recommend to follow the leveling tree in the first post, instead grab those nodes first for minion damage and survivability.


My SSF Necromancer never used Skeletons. I went from SRS+Zombies to SRS+Zombies+Spectres to SRS+Zombies+Spectres+Golem.

Up to Act 3, I was running:
2B-1R: Raise Zombie - Melee Physical Damage Support - Minion Damage Support
3B: Summon Raging Spirit - Minion Damage Support - Infernal Legion Support

SRS provides AOE damage to take down packs, whereas Zombies do more single target on tougher mobs and bosses. After getting Raise Spectre, I added:

3B: Raise Spectre - Feeding Frenzy Support - Minion Speed Support

Even just 1 low-level Spectre (ideally Stygian Silverback from Act 2 The Riverways) is enough as a buffbot for SRS+Zombies. The linked Feeding Frenzy Support and the Stygian Silverback's Frenzy buff provide a significant damage boost for all minions.

As 4L gear became available, I moved to:
3B-1R: Raise Zombie - Melee Physical Damage Support - Minion Damage Support - Minion Speed Support
4B: Summon Raging Spirit - Minion Damage Support - Minion Speed Support - Infernal Legion Support
3B-1R: Raise Spectre - Feeding Frenzy Support - Minion Speed Support - Melee Physical Damage Support

Later in Act 4, as more gems became available, I finally moved away from SRS+Zombies to focus on melee damage. This is my current setup and gear in early Act 5. I don't know if it's optimal, but it gets the job done.

2B-2R: Raise Zombie - Melee Physical Damage Support - Minion Damage Support - Multistrike Support
2B-1R: Summon Carrion Golem - Melee Physical Damage Support - Feeding Frenzy Support
3B-1R: Raise Spectre - Melee Physical Damage Support - Minion Damage Support - Minion Speed Support
3B-1R: Summon Raging Spirit - Minion Speed Support - Pride - Purity of Elements



Most of my gear was bought from vendors with the right sockets, and upgraded to rares using Essences. I also lucked out with a 46% Increased Global Damage unique... just have to roll with whatever drops for SSF and league starters. :)

My Skill Tree at Lv.46: http://www.poeurl.com/cSLK

My initial focus was to get Enduring Bond, Sacrifice and Gravepact. Unless you're playing HC, you can probably delay getting passives like Heart and Soul, Cruel Preparation, Heart of the Warrior and Warrior's Blood, in favour of boosting minion damage and attack speed. I left Death Attunement until I was ready to add in Spectres+Golem.

Right now, I Flame Dash slightly past enemies to get them into the Pride aura range, then use SRS to proc the additional 20% damage on Enduring Bond. And my Zombie+Spectre+Golem army rolls over everything and I pick up the loot.

Hope this helps!
Last edited by zzled#5973 on Jun 6, 2020, 1:17:49 AM
Quick Question:

I currently have a 5L Femurs of the Saint and I have link my skill gems: Raise Zombie 19/20 - Impale 19/20 - Minion Speed 19/20 - Multistrike 19/20 - Melee Physical Damage 19/20 and after I kill Al-Hezmin it dropped Awakened Brutality Support 1/0. I'm just wandering if I can swap this to any of my support gems on that link to improve my DPS on zombie?

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