Witch - Stress-Free PoE! BONE ZOMBIES: No Required Items! 1-Button Play! SSF League Start-End! 3.14 - Forum

Everyone having trouble with this build, here it is: Lean on that shield charge. Circle packs, dive through them when safe. You're constantly moving and applying your curse and aura affect. I keep my Quartz up the whole time too. This isn't a stand still or hide behind your minions build, it's a dive in and get dirty build. You want to drag them through and across the edges of packs and whittle them down. I'll try to post a video, I've been running juiced t14-16 all day long, I'm about to level to 96. Always moving exile! Stand still and you're toast.	Posted by Royella#8141 on Apr 20, 2021, 7:37:10 PM Quote this Post
" Royella wrote: Everyone having trouble with this build, here it is: Lean on that shield charge. Circle packs, dive through them when safe. You're constantly moving and applying your curse and aura affect. I keep my Quartz up the whole time too. This isn't a stand still or hide behind your minions build, it's a dive in and get dirty build. You want to drag them through and across the edges of packs and whittle them down. I'll try to post a video, I've been running juiced t14-16 all day long, I'm about to level to 96. Always moving exile! Stand still and you're toast. This^ Although it seems like defensive minions got some behavioral problems with the update? Mine always stay off-screen without convocation. (Granted I could circle around whatever they're targeting and only then move on, but it's not ideal.) How do you deal with ultimatum encounters? I find them always so much more punitive than vanilla content and I have no idea how to fix that.	Posted by mattfreyn#4313 on Apr 20, 2021, 11:05:31 PM Quote this Post
" mattfreyn wrote: How do you deal with ultimatum encounters? I find them always so much more punitive than vanilla content and I have no idea how to fix that. It's still ritual on xbox, not sure how this build will fare for me. TBH I don't have a lot of time to play and may level this one to 100 SSf standard. Not sure yet. Last edited by Royella#8141 on Apr 20, 2021, 11:59:09 PM	Posted by Royella#8141 on Apr 20, 2021, 11:58:21 PM Quote this Post
" Royella wrote: Everyone having trouble with this build, here it is: Lean on that shield charge. Well that could easily be the source of why our experiences differ (also, not sure whether the new patch changed smth if you're still on the old one), I'm like WoD in that I simply cannot use Shield Charge. I hate it, it never seems to do what I want it to do so I switched to the alternative CWDT setup and have a Frostblink in an unlinked slot just for movement, but it doesn't seem to be enough, the defensive side of the build feels just too weak for me and that seems to be a systematic problem with my minions just spreading out way too far and so don't really ever help me.	Posted by TheDelta#0491 on Apr 21, 2021, 4:33:06 AM Quote this Post
Thanks for the updated version, remember playing this in 3.11 and should be a comfortable choice this time around as well. Gl.	Posted by Rippy56#7391 on Apr 21, 2021, 9:06:47 AM Quote this Post
A few comments about this build: 1. I am lvl 94 and have been running pretty juiced T16 maps. I agree with a previous poster about circling tough mobs and occasionally using shield charge to apply buffs and get to safety. 2. The Increased Duration Support gem will need to be capped at lvl 5 to be triggered by the lvl 2 CWDT. 3. My golems die so seldom, that I am just linking a minion life support gem (which makes them even less likely to die) to replace the CWDT. And yes, I have modified my passive tree to have 2 golems. 4. As a previous poster mentioned, the Lifetap Support gem specifically says that minions can't gain the buff. So, I have replaced it with a gem to support the type of damage done by my spectres. Right now, I playing around with hairy bonecrushers and using melee physical damage support to buff their cleave skill. I'm certainly not a PoE expert, so some of these decisions could be counter productive. Again, thanks WoD for your builds and filters.	Posted by Krush_U#4525 on Apr 21, 2021, 12:45:38 PM Quote this Post
Awesome! Thanks everyone for your patience! It's been a long wait for those waiting for responses. But don't worry! Zombies are my favourite. They will never be neglected! Thanks for waiting everyone. I hope the game is treating you well. Let's get to some responses... " mattfreyn wrote: Spoiler Spoiler Hi, thanks for the guide! There's an issue with lifetap support though: the gem says "Minions cannot gain the lifetap buff" which makes it useless for our spectres. Don't mind me, I misread a gem description. Cool. Good job figuring it out. Ask whatever you like :). " McToastMuffins wrote: Spoiler What jewels for the passive tree do you recommend? Also Dead Reckoning skeletal mages do elemental damage correct? Hey McToastMuffins! I'm pretty apathetic to cluster jewels. There are lots that are relevant...just like unique items. But honestly, anything minion works. The only thing we don't do is elemental damage because of Brutality. Sorry for the general answer but there isn't a guaranteed best. It's preference-based as you have to sacrifice something from the tree to get what you want. Yes, Skeleton mages are primarily elemental damage. " timtwins wrote: Spoiler I can't get the path of building link to work for some reason :(. I've tried the pastebin a few times since your post timtwins. It's worked for me. Have you gotten it to work yet? " Rezanow wrote: Spoiler " So, I actually use the following instead: - CwDT (level 2) - Vulnerability (level 6) - Withering Step (level 9) - Purifying Flame (level 12) This makes my only button Bone Armour. So... What are you using for movement? Just the phasing flask and walking? Edit: Withering Step. Duh. Edit2: Wait, it's CWDT linked. Now I'm confused. Hey Rezanow! Almost all movement skills make me nauseous. A slow Shield Charge or the newish animation for Leap Slam do work for me. But for the most part, I find that I can avoid nausea by just walking/running around and using flasks and I need it. That's just me though. It's easy to add a movement skill to the build with an unset ring if you couldn't find a way to switch a gem out. " Clanfear wrote: Spoiler tried this build for a couple of weeks of 3.13 and few days of 3.14, respeced my 4yo 92lvl outdated zombiemancer and sure my gear still suck immensely (i play ssf standard only, no leagues, and quite rarely overall), but i used to run any map any mods no problem (to some degree even phys reflect, although usually it's the only no no), bosses too - now even first red maps are huge problem, no survivability at all even with easy map mods i don't know if it's game is changed so much since i last play (it's been almost two years) or this build is just weak, but yeah... looking at it overall - i just don't see it being even remotely viable in late game, looks like farming yellow maps is it's limit, everything else is very far from being "stress-free" Hey Clanfear! Sometimes respec'ing and playing through can have really different results. I'm a standard player and respec often at the beginning of each league. I've found over the years that it's really easy to miss some small, but really important details, when I haven't focused on the build from the ground up. It's quite possible that your setup was missing something vital. I don't mean that as a criticism by any means. It's just easy to miss little details in a game as crazy as PoE. This build is my go-to for everything. Anytime I can't do content with another build, I load up Zombies and crush it. " Royella wrote: Spoiler The league is still going on xbox and I've been hitting the crafting. Made a good wand with essences and Harvest crafted the helm. Working on an explody chest (for a new build, not the necro), got the important part done before they nerfed it. Wow! Nice wand Royella! " jokaclown wrote: Spoiler " Lucozademan wrote: can't seem to find the ascendancy order... unless I'm blind As you go through the game you'll come across Trials of Ascendancy. Starting in Act 3 you'll see their value. Once you have completed all 6 of the first set of trails, you'll get to attempt your first Labyrinth (lab). Good luck! Upon completion Choose Necromancy. You get two ascendancy points per lab. There are four labs for a total of 8 points. (Redoing the same lab difficulty will not reward you with more ascendancy points if you've already completed it.) You can spend your points in any order you like. My preference is as follows: - 1st Two Points - Mistress of Sacrifice. Part of our core defence that's coupled with the Glancing Blows Keystone on the three. Having our Bone Offering impact us is the only reason I chose Bone Offering. This essentially makes all of our blocks like a super-strong Fortify. - 2nd Two Points - Mindless Aggression. Increases Minion Damage, Movement Speed, and Attack/Cast Speed. - 3rd Two Points - Bone Barrier. This is a busy node. It gives us physical damage reduction, increased life recovery rate per minion up, and it gives our minions more life. Most importantly, it also gives us a free skill, Bone Armour (explained in the "gem" section). Free is nice. It can be manually cast after you assign it a button. This is one of our Active skills. - 4th Two Points - Unnatural Strength. This increases the level of ALL of our minion skill gems; even their maximum level. Minion gems get stronger and stronger the higher their level. This is our strongest offensive node. Awesome. This was copied from the Passive Tree section, Lucozademan, just in case you need to reference it again. (It's easy to miss stuff. Ask whatever you like :).) " daxtxad wrote: Spoiler Thanks for this build, I had a lot of fun with it. Had issues with kitava, because the minions wouldn't attack the boss. Thanks for the thanks daxtxad! I'm glad it's been fun for you :). Interesting about the zombies. I'm not sure what the issue would be without it being a glitch. I'll keep my ears open. " Rezanow wrote: Spoiler I'm having in issue where, unlike last league using this build, the zombies don't stay near me as well. I had to substitute in a socket ring to get convocation otherwise I was constantly running ahead of my guys and getting smacked down. Was Meat Shield changed? Hey Rezanow! There wasn't anything in the patch notes that I saw that mentioned Meat Shield or minion behaviour. So if things are working very differently from the last league, it's likely an issue that GGG will fix, if they're aware of it. I haven't heard of anything outside of this thread. I'll keep my ears open. " Pancasila wrote: Spoiler for the Lifetap Support gem that supporting Raise Spectre, should I keep it at level 1 or just as high as possible? Hey Pancasila! There's no reason to keep the support at level 1. Just level it all the way and ignore it :). " TheDelta wrote: Spoiler I have to admit, after loving your builds in the past, this one just doesn't seem to be it for me. I start dying _way_ earlier than in early leagues, my minions are practically unkillable and do tons of damage but they spread everywhere and without Convocation, I seem to be running for my life (and failing) in what should be simple A10 trash fights even before hitting maps. I know my equipment is still trash but I'm really troubled whether this will turn out to be something that works in maps for me. Hey TheDelta! Sorry this build has been frustrating. I haven't checked your gear, though better-than-trash gear always helps, but there have been others complaining about Zombie behaviour too. 3.14 comes out on console in 5 and a half hours. I'll give it a shot tonight and see if I notice a difference. I have new example videos to make so I'll be putting some time in to ensure some good content gets tested. On a side note, this build is my go-to and it's basically the exact same as it's been for the last two leagues. So, if there's no glitch with Zombie behaviour, the build will pan out for sure. Another side note, don't forget about your Pantheon selections. Make sure they match your ACTUAL playstyle and are also filling in any gaps you think you have. " Rippy56 wrote: Spoiler Thanks for the updated version, remember playing this in 3.11 and should be a comfortable choice this time around as well. Gl. Awesome Rippy56! Thanks! Hopefully you enjoy it. Good luck in 3.14 as well! " Krush_U wrote: Spoiler A few comments about this build: 1. I am lvl 94 and have been running pretty juiced T16 maps. I agree with a previous poster about circling tough mobs and occasionally using shield charge to apply buffs and get to safety. 2. The Increased Duration Support gem will need to be capped at lvl 5 to be triggered by the lvl 2 CWDT. 3. My golems die so seldom, that I am just linking a minion life support gem (which makes them even less likely to die) to replace the CWDT. And yes, I have modified my passive tree to have 2 golems. 4. As a previous poster mentioned, the Lifetap Support gem specifically says that minions can't gain the buff. So, I have replaced it with a gem to support the type of damage done by my spectres. Right now, I playing around with hairy bonecrushers and using melee physical damage support to buff their cleave skill. I'm certainly not a PoE expert, so some of these decisions could be counter productive. Again, thanks WoD for your builds and filters. Great suggestions and changes Krush_U! And thanks for your kind thanks. I really appreciate it :). (Yay filters!) Just a couple of comments regarding them: - Support gems aren't triggered by trigger skills. Only active skills are triggered. So any supports linked to skills getting triggered can still be fully levelled and impactful. - Lifetap's buff doesn't apply to minions true. The point of Lifetap (Blood Magic) is to give the support spectres a huge mana pool to spam their skills with. Of course, that's with me thinking of supportive spectres. If you're going offensive, like you said you are, that's a different story. I'm just clarifying for others reading. Hazaa! I love league launches. Busy stuff. Ask whatever you want folks. Others, and eventually myself, will answer the best we can. You're all awesome. I don't know what the issues are with zombies. I've quickly looked it up since making these replies and can't seem to find anyone else talking about it. I'll be back on Saturday for more replies to this guide and by then I will have had a good amount of time with the build to see what's up. Thanks everyone! Have fun! https://www.ForeverExiled.com/: Forever Exiled, A Path of Exile Podcast	Posted by Wrecker_of_Days#7691 on Apr 21, 2021, 2:48:58 PM Quote this Post
Thanks for your clarifications on the gem mechanics. Even after reading the gem descriptions, I still get confused too often. Those make total sense now.	Posted by Krush_U#4525 on Apr 21, 2021, 10:27:08 PM Quote this Post
A little more crafting and I have a new helm! Extremely easy to hit, I used minion and life fossils on Ilvl 86 base. I'll use harvest crafts to bump that fire res up and it will be sickity sick. :) My spectres are level 27 now! Last edited by Royella#8141 on Apr 22, 2021, 12:02:13 PM	Posted by Royella#8141 on Apr 22, 2021, 11:59:59 AM Quote this Post
I have a quick question. How did you get the pob to calculate the zombie total dps on the bottom left side of pob?	Posted by krylo#4996 on Apr 22, 2021, 9:30:47 PM Quote this Post