{3.10} Speaker for the Dead | The Mass Minion Summoner | League Starter, Leveling Guide 💀

@ The_Faint_Smile:

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The_Faint_Smile написал:

Creative build idea but very hard to make it work.

Play style break down.

1. Summon Skeleton to attack - Every 3 sec

Skeletons have a base duration of 20 seconds. Are you assuming they're dying within 3 seconds? I am not using them for clear, mind you. They are only used on strong bosses, defense events, or tossed into rooms with narrow doorways.

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The_Faint_Smile написал:

2. melee attack to activate agony - whenever not summoning minion. agony stack will fall when not attacking. vs boss / single target, what is the poison/successful hit per sec ?

Ball Lightning is the primary generator for Virulence. Charged Dash is just for applying bleed (lasts 8 seconds), getting 0.35 cast speed for Ball Lightning through Cast While Channeling support, and its teleport ability.

Poison rate was calculated in my post just above yours. Short answer is 40 Virulence takes only ~2 seconds against a single small-sized boss.

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The_Faint_Smile написал:

3. spam spirit offering every 4 sec / no desecrate mean need kill to get crops.

Spirit Offering is hooked up to Cast When Damage Taken. I don't manually cast it, nor need to. It's mainly just there for corpse disposal, to protect against Porcupines, Unstable Wetas, and Detonate Dead.

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The_Faint_Smile написал:

4. Charge dash to activate ball lightning to apply EE. Shield charge to move, but why 2 movement skill ?

Shield Charge immediately moves you, has room for Fortify, and is overall faster when you need to cross a lot of terrain.

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The_Faint_Smile написал:

5. Some flask management... YOU HAVE 5 FLASK TO MANAGE

Doesn't everyone? But no, I really don't pay much attention to my flasks. Life flasks for "Oh Crap!", Quicksilver flask to go zoomzoom, Phasing flask for narrow delve doorways, and a free slot that I swap between Onslaught for more zoomzoom or mana flask on No Regen maps.

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The_Faint_Smile написал:

6. resummon dead zombi / zombi will die from time to time / no desecrate mean need kill to get crops, no crops = no zombi.

Zombies don't die while mapping, and during bosses I don't care about them. I keep a Desecrate gem in my inventory to swap with GMP in the Charged Dash set when I first log in.

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The_Faint_Smile написал:

7. IT IS A MELEE BUILD WHERE U NEED TO STAY NEAR ENEMY TO ATTACK + SUMMON.

It's a Ball Lightning caster build that uses a long-range melee channeling skill for a couple bonuses.

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The_Faint_Smile написал:

How are you going to manage all this in T16 boss, shaper, uber elder fight, Uber atziri. These BOSS skill will one shot all your minion, no convocation mean you have no control over your minion. so minion = kamikaze warrior.

Who do I need to convocate? I don't care about Zombies, Spectres are for mapping/delving utility, Phantasms are disposable, Agony Crawler is immortal, Holy Relic stays with me, and Skeletons cannot be convocated.

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The_Faint_Smile написал:

Biggest Con of all

Raise Spectral
+ Summon Phantasm on Kill (21/-) - BAD FOR BOSS
+ Elemental Proliferation (21/20) - BAD FOR BOSS
+ Greater Multiple Projectiles (20/20) - BAD FOR BOSS
+ Faster Projectiles (20/20) - BAD FOR BOSS
+ Minion Damage (20/20) - GOOD

WHERE ARE ALL THE DMG MULTIPLIER SUPPORT GEM ?
ARE YOU TRYING TO MAKE A SUPPORT SPECTRAL ?

From my EXP as a summoner, Raise Spectral is GOD of all Minion, Raise Spectral alone can clear 90% of mapping monster. Removing GMP and swap with slow proj/pierce/frostbite (DMG MULTIPLIER) Can drop Boss HP in sec.

Spectres are how I get Phantasms. Together they are mainly for clearing. They are the Tornado Shot to my Barrage Skeletons. I don't need to worry about maxing out their damage, I already have more than enough elsewhere and instead get great utility and coverage out of them.

Spectres are not the god of all minions, they're just the easiest to manage. Go into PoB and try to get those Spectres above 2 million total damage. A Solar Guard with 20/20 Minion Damage, Concentrated Effect, Combustion, Spell Echo, and Vile Toxins reaches 374,616 DPS. Say I get a Vis Mortis for four Spectres, that's 1.5 mil. That's swell. But now what? How do you push it higher?

Fire-Eaters? Vanguards? Now how do you clear maps? Swap back and forth? I personally wouldn't want to spend that much on Oba's Cursed Trove maps.

This build is about versatility: performing well in any situation without much fuss. I want Phantasms, GMP, and Faster Projectiles for massive area coverage while mapping and Elemental Proliferation for reliable freezes in delves.

If you feel like grabbing more overall damage for a particularly tough boss encounter like Shaper, Uber Atziri, Uber Elder, etc, you can totally swap out the clearing gems for DPS gems. I don't do that because I haven't felt the need. But you would have that option. Vile Toxins makes a great Green DPS gem, too.

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The_Faint_Smile написал:

Why need so many minion ? they only make the fight more complected. You cant see ground effect + cant see boss skill effect + cant see enemy monster around you.
YOU CANT EVENT SEE WHAT NEGATIVE EFFECT IS ON YOU !!! DONT TELL ME TO CHECK THE BUFF EFFECT ON TOP OF MY SCREEN, 90% OF THE PEOPLE DONT HAVE THE TIME TO LOOK AT THEM IN BOSS FIGHT.

ABOVE IS MY TWO CENT :D
BTW I LIKE YOUR SUMMONER ART :D

Why so many minions? ...Huh? Why are you asking why? Why would anyone ever ask that? Are you feeling ill? Should I call a doctor for you? I mean, we're talking about a Necromancer here. THE Lord and Commander of the Undead Hordes. If a Necromancer doesn't have an army, what are they? Just some weirdo with a disturbing fashion sense and in desperate need of deodorant.

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Hercanic написал:

Hail, oh wandering soul. Since the time of the ancient people of Be'Ta, I have been a purveyor of the perverse art of Necromancy. Shall I sate that dark curiosity of yours? You want power, do you not? You must have an army, squirming with the wretched and the damned. You will wash the Atlas in your color, fell the most arrogant of abominations, and penetrate the deepest black pits of Nightmare. I will show you how, for but a pittance. A mere piece of your soul. You won't miss it. Now, now, don't tarry, what's there to think about? You want it, I have it. Take it. Heh heh heh, yes... TAKE IT!


this is how its done,...right

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I might have missed it, but whose guide did you say was equally good? There are well-written guides for meh builds and meh guides for meta builds, but I have never seen such a beautiful guide on such a powerful off-meta build.

I did say "at least" equally good... but lol, I do agree, it would be tough to find such a beautiful, informative, creative and poetic build guide anywhere else on the Forums. I didn't want to ruffle any feathers or be unfair to some of the people that have put their heart, soul and time into presenting excellent guides. There are many of them.

That said - I am sorry to gush, but this was obviously a long time labour of love finally realized by the OP. It struck me as work of art as much as anything else and I don't know how often one would say that about a simple(?) post on any forum in the World.

Hey.this looks super fun and interesting. Also well written and detailed.
Just one question, since you seem to like to write (a lot :D) could u take some time to give us (beginners) some kind of lvling guide? Skilltrees, gem setups/progression while lvling and recommended/helpful lvling uniques

Again, great job this looks innovative and fun, yet strong and well thought through.

Which endgame content did u clear with it personally? And were any changes neccesary for it?

I don't have much time to play, so i would really like the video demonstration before investing in it.

Design of the guide is AWESOME, but the build seems so out of norm that i can't even imagine how it would be played... video please, it would be one last push to the contract with the dark spectre!

I'm not hurrying you, just let you know that this video would be the reason to play the build at least for one person :)

I'm also very impressed by the guide and the refreshing different build
Good work OP!

However summoners are not really my bread so, before giving it a try, i would like some sort of lvl guide (also brief, ie: what to focus on, which skills to use and when, which passives to go first etc.) because, with the limited time i have to play, i get discouraged very quickly if things get rough and i do not know if intended and/or how to fix it (let alone the lvling part is boring on its own imo)

No biggie we are over half the league, i would take this time to better understand build mechanics, lvling process etc in light of next league ;)

Gratz on a very well made guide! (hope you can improve it with lvling guide and maybe a couple videos)

Thanks!

@ Schnubbel_:

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Schnubbel_ написал:

Hey.this looks super fun and interesting. Also well written and detailed.
Just one question,

Looks like you asked three. I'll be taking an extra fee...

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Schnubbel_ написал:

since you seem to like to write (a lot :D) could u take some time to give us (beginners) some kind of lvling guide? Skilltrees, gem setups/progression while lvling and recommended/helpful lvling uniques

Yep, I probably will. To give you the shorthand version: You can't go wrong leveling a summoner. You can booty-blast Act bosses with Zombies and Skeletons with minimal investment. The rest is just a speedrun.

Unlike Attack builds, who scale from their equipment and thus can fall dangerously behind on damage, Summoner damage is built into the skills themselves. And unlike Spell builds, who must stand still to deal damage and thus open themselves up to dangerous boss mechanics, Summoners can keep running around to avoid those deathtraps.

Our disadvantages don't come until later, when Attack builds get high sustain from leech (we have to rely on flasks and regen) and Spell builds one-shot the screen (minions have a targeting and movement delay and we don't get cool heralds that deal cascading exponential damage to surrounding targets).

Gear Stat Priority
1. Movement Speed. Example: Wanderlust boots (lvl.3).
2. Resistances. Example: Aurumvorax rapier (lvl.17, 62 dex)
3. + level to Skill Gems. Example: Matua Tupuna shield (lvl.23), Wraithlord helm (lvl.34)
4. Linked Sockets. Example: Tabula Rasa chest armor (lvl.1)

You can follow the skill tree linearly to the left half (wait on Acrobatics until you hit all the minion clusters), making a B-line to the first Minion Regen node so your minions stop dying to attrition damage (Holy Relic helps in the meantime). You can grab the two +30 nodes, Might and Agility, to shore up any attribute deficits until you fill out more of the skill tree.

Skip all 3-point jewel sockets until you have close to what I have in jewels. A couple 2-point jewel sockets on the way are fine, as you can use them to temporarily shore up any resists or attributes.

Smite (lvl.1) and Ancestral Call (lvl.4) are not available to the Witch, but if you can buy them then they're a good supportive Attack combo to trigger Holy Relic. You could also make a Marauder or Templar, complete Hillock and Mercy Mission to get the gems for free as quest rewards and transfer them through your stash.

The same goes for Shield Charge (lvl.10), which you'll want when you pick up Spiritual Command on the passive tree to go zoomzoom. Flame Dash (lvl.10) will get you over obstacles.


You can also use Static Strike (lvl.12) all the way into Red Maps. The Life on Hit is absurd and practically makes you immortal. You can dive into Delve side areas without any flares, for example. I switched out of it post-300 Delve for Charged Dash because it was getting too dangerous to stay so close to monsters.

Put Zombies in Matua Tupuna, Skeletons in Wraithlord, and Spectres in Tabula Rasa. Use Phantasms with Zombies until you get Spectres.

Ascendancy Order
1. Invoker (no choice)
2. Skeletons
3. Spectres
4. Zombies (or whatever you prefer)

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Schnubbel_ написал:

Again, great job this looks innovative and fun, yet strong and well thought through.

Which endgame content did u clear with it personally? And were any changes neccesary for it?

Not as much as I would have liked before boasting about how awesome the build is. Frankly, it should perform well at any content if you have a solid skill level and an understanding of the boss mechanics. People have beaten the hardest fights with less health, damage, and mitigation.

However, this build cannot face-tank one-shots. Its eHP just isn't high enough (10k+ needed). The only way to get close to that on this build is MoM, but that means dropping Hatred and Herald of Agony (Aul's Uprising amulet can salvage Hatred, but it's super expensive). Or you could drop the right side of the tree, get more life nodes on the left, and prioritize the highest life rolls on gear (and solve dex somehow).

Guardians died very quickly. I have not run Shaper, but there shouldn't be a problem. You just have to dodge his telegraphed mechanics. Uber Elder will be sketchy if you have trouble anticipating the multiple boss attacks coming your way. The build's high damage should help keep both these fights relatively brief, though.

For very deep and dangerous Delves, I would suggest getting a second pair of gloves so you can replace GMP (green) with Knockback (red). Combined with Projectile Weakness's knockback chance and Ball Lightning's constant hits, this will hilariously bulldoze monsters and keep you safe. You can also swap your green Mark of Submission ring for a second blue-colored one socketed with Enfeeble for more protection. With an Extra Curse amulet corruption and gloves corrupted with a Temporal Chains implicit, you can double-up on the defensive curses:


I don't yet have Vorici 8 to make use of this combo, unfortunately.


I also considered this as a possibility, to get 100% movement slow. Hinder (Blight slows by 80%) and Maim (30% slow from Zombies and Agony Crawler) stack additively.

Against Delve bosses, I have yet to find one, so I cannot comment.

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@ Med1umentor:

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Med1umentor написал:

I don't have much time to play, so i would really like the video demonstration before investing in it.

Design of the guide is AWESOME, but the build seems so out of norm that i can't even imagine how it would be played... video please, it would be one last push to the contract with the dark spectre!

I'm not hurrying you, just let you know that this video would be the reason to play the build at least for one person :)

Thanks! Video is definitely on my to-do list!

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@ Yloss:

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Yloss написал:

I'm also very impressed by the guide and the refreshing different build
Good work OP!

However summoners are not really my bread so, before giving it a try, i would like some sort of lvl guide (also brief, ie: what to focus on, wich skills to use and when etc.) because, with the limited time i have to play, i get discouraged very quickly if things get rough and i do not know if intended and/or how to fix it (let alone the lvling part is boring on its own imo)

No biggie we are over half the league, i would take this time to better understand build mechanics, lvling process etc in light of next league ;)

Gratz on a very well made guide! (hope you can improve it with lvling guide and maybe a couple videos)

Thanks!

I'm glad you liked it! Above is a quick leveling guide if you missed it. I'll add a proper one in time.

GUIDE UPDATE
First video added! T15 Basilica. Also my first game recording! +EXP level up!

Gameplay starts at 0:35. First part just shows the map mods and a loading screen.


Art by Chanho Kang

GUIDE UPDATE
Another video! Delve 300. Starts at 1:00. First part just shows delve node and a loading screen.

Sorry about the lack of video editing, I'm just taking this straight from OBS to YouTube.

Oh, and that lag is because I've got a crappy 5400rpm HDD so PoE slogs at asset loading in the beginning.


Art by Sergey Katsukov

Thanks a lot for a video!

I think i will try it in the next league... well, if next league would be soft to summoners. As i see it, delve is quite clunky for ranged summons, especially the deep ones.