3.2 Melee skeleton

Just a quick build idea. I know i am missing some stuff. Was thinking of adding Phantasm on Kill Support to zombie with culling strike. Anyone else looking at a build like this.

https://pastebin.com/sUBjLdMu


Updated

14 Skeletons
168,591 each skeleton
MOM
5400 life

Hi!
I have been trying to make melee skeletons work for 2 leagues now using a similar idea to yours, mainly because I like single target damage, no micromanaging, and running away while doing damage. I'm not an experienced player, and have no idea what end game maps or shaper fights are like.
Here's what I want to do in the new patch: https://pastebin.com/tADc92N5

I have a level 85 character in Abyss league with only 5 links on weapon, only a tabula rasa for body, and no skill gem quality, no good jewels, etc. and.... It's working great! Therefore these new buffs to skellies could make it a viable meta build.

The premise is this:
- full physical damage skellies, so almost no damage reduction from high level monsters and bosses or enemy resists. High single target strikes even mitigate high armour to some extent.
- I use phase run for movement skill. (4 link - Phase run self cast, CWDT, skill duration, and immortal call) put your skellies down, then phase away to safety or pick up loot while they bash away. Helps with NPC quests sometimes too.
- Purity of elements to keep you and minions alive, and make room for uniques which have no resists. This also procs commander of darkness.
- decoy totem in voideye cos it can make hard fights super easy, and should help with these beast captures
- tanky zombies going fast as a meatsheild and lots of them for the physical damage reduction. They also clean up whatever your skellies miss, and apply the maim part of vulnerability to anything which has no skellies nearby, making them great for defense as well as decent dps.
In the plus 2 minion helm (The baron is good, or a well rolled bone helmet)
- Carnage chieftan spectres for frenzy charges - 3 of these is good or 2 of them and one host chieftan for power charges too
- animate guardian with victarios charity boots, any of the tanky shield, helm, armour, and singularity (or the blinding wand) for an unkillable defense utlity.
- Stone golem for life regen
- The 2 socket abyss belt is great for belt slot, use this to get extra life, resists, minions blind on hit, minion speed, minion damage, etc.
- Boots, I have been using alberons warpath, but decided I'd like to try survivability, movement speed boots for quality of life, such as atziris step. extra skellies and strength matter less to me.
- passive tree is just for minion nodes, life nodes and jewel slots

Playstyle is simple: run, put down skellies, run on. place a decoy totem and phase away for anything that looks dangerous. even if everything else dies to some ridiculous aoe monster, just place skellies and kite, they can get an attack off before they die. Most bosses are melting up to tier 12 maps, and I'm only in danger when I run into mobs before placing skellies or totem.

Needless to say, I am excited to try the new phantasm on kill as well!

A few things

1. You shouldn't care about survival for skeletons, they're not built to take any significant hits no matter how much life you try to stack on them, and they're easily resummonable now

2. I would completely bypass offering for a skeleton build after the nerf, puppet master fullfils a similar role and doesn't require 3 active buttons (skeletons, ee/curse, offering)

3. For phantasm route I would go skeleton mages or gmp specters since they share supports

Here's a tree I made with zomboes + skels, I think the zombs are worth sacrificing a gem slot cause then you don't need splash
https://pastebin.com/3pQRKtNd