NO LONGER MAINTAINED

This build should work perfectly fine in 3.7 (UPDATED TREE FOR 3.7) - I suggest adding spectres to the build for extra single target and drop vaal skellys, since spectres got alot QoL since 3.0 when this build was originaly played.

Updated Passives and PoB, they include a spectre set up now!
The old set up still works with the new tree just switch Soul Weaver for Mistress of Sacrifice.


I was playing this build up to lvl 94 in the SC Harbinger league. I'm able to run almost all map mods without struggling too much. The clear speed and defense are solid, i can deal with most bosses (vaal summon skeletons healps quite alot) and the play style is overall very relaxed and fun. I have done up to t15 maps with almost all kind of map mods and completed uber lab without any issues, i killed chimera, hydra, minotaur, pheonix and shaper didnt try uber atziri yet.




It was very easy to lvl and works quite well on a low budget with alot room to improve later on.

UPDATES&CHANGELOG

-Guardians have been slain.
Guardians

Videos can be found in the GAMEPLAY section.
Phoenix

quite easy 1 death because i missed the big boom, did some more runs deathless

Chimera

deathless, add phase can hurt thou

Minotaur
Deathless, falling rocks can hurt

Hydra
1 death, bad positioning got killed by big shot



-added videos in GAMEPLAY section: Chimera & Phoenix

-added Elemental Equilirium dropped Anger for Haste. Updated passives/PoB to display the changes.
-tried and killed shaper him first attempt on this char 3rd over all.
-UPDATED FOR 3.7
-changed haste to zealotry
-updated gear and very minor changes to passives





LEVELING

-I lvled as summoner right from the beginning starting with SRS (SRS+MinionDmg+meleeSplash in a Lifesprig) it worked realy well.
-switched to skeletons in the early 30th using Reverberation Rod (Summon skeletons+pierce+LMP)if you dont like that or prefer to stay SRS for longer just switch the lifesprig with a Reverberation Rod and you should be fine untill you get a 5L +2 staff or your pledge of hands.
-(OPTIONAL)While lvling i also tried a 5L sire of shards which was quite fun, can recommend trying it at least once if can get your hands on a cheap one (Summon Skeleton+gmp+pierce+minionDmg+spellEcho).
-I used the Sire of shards setup till i was able to equip pledge of hands at lvl 68.
PassivesWhileLeveling







GEAR

required Gear

With my Setup you'll need 2x Dead Reckoning to make all your skeletons mages!


recommended Gear UPDATED

OUTDATED
-Pledge of hands is an extra link for our skeletons and provides quite a nice boost to our mana synergising well with Mind over Matter.




-Weapon I would go with a Temple sceptre or wand (either dual wield for more damage or with a shield if you perfer to shield charge/ more life) with high %minion damage and an open suffix for minion attack and cast speed craft. IMPORTANT make sure it does not have cast speed on it already since you can't craft the minion cast speed on if that's the case.
-Cloak of Defiance / Rare Fossil Craft Extra 10% MoM effect, but there are cheaper options, like crafting a rare chest with Lucent fossil, which probabl will end up beeing stronger with the right rolls.
-Essence Worm Let's us run Haste without taking up Mana which i need for MoM to get a nice EHP pool.
-Bone Helmet 20% increased Minion Damange implict, try to get +2 Minion for vaal summon skeleton.
-To Dust for the other Jewel slots, i decided to get "to dust" jewels which add dmg and cast speed. If you can't afford those any jewel with minion dmg and life, res, stats would work but i figured those are more expensive in most cases.
-Everything else = cap your resis > life > mana > mana reg > stats if needed (dex mostly). try to get Gloves with an open prefix to master craft Minion dmg with cata on it.



current Gear OUTDATED

check PoB for updated gear



GAMEPLAY

T16 Phoenix
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fiCKcmrt0cc&feature=youtu.be



T16 Chimera Map + Boss
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lpmDTEJwmjI&feature=youtu.be



T13 High Gardes monster life beyond vulner
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9K4uaAv50zU&feature=youtu.be


Had to go rather slow in the vids below because i dropped alot frames i somewhat fixed it in the vid above
t14 Palace
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OexNz3VOBvc&feature=youtu.be

t14 Shaped Promenade
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OE044vB3VS0&feature=youtu.be



GEMS&LINKS

>Body armour-> summon skeletons > Pierce > GMP/LMP > Minion Damage > Elemental Focus > Controlled Destruction

>Helmet (if you got +2 on it) - Vaal Summon Skeleton - Minion Speed - Minion Damage - Minion and totem resistance

>Essence Worm -> Zealotry

>rest isnt specific to a slot, you can socket it where ever it fits.

>flesh offering - vaal haste - faster casting - increased duration

>desecrate - summon stone golem - faster casting - flame dash

>arc / ball lightning - curse on hit - elemental weakness

>clarity

>purity of elements (only for ele weakness maps if needed)



PASSIVES

Bandit kil all
http://poeurl.com/cvkZ
See PoB paste bin below! Updated for 3.4!


ASCENDANCY


DEFENSE


PoB_HybridSkellys&Spectres
https://pastebin.com/3AZJaYKZ


PoB_PureSkelly
https://pastebin.com/DnyyHpXH


Feel free to ask if you have any questions!
Last edited by Shareware on Sep 8, 2023, 3:26:57 PM
Last bumped on Sep 8, 2023, 2:12:46 PM
Good looking guide for a fun and different playstyle.

happy to add it to the builds listings.

Cheers
Hot Flashes: poeurl.com/bPZT
Balance: poeurl.com/btzp
Shocking EleHit: poeurl.com/bZXo
I've been trying some skeleton mage builds and this one seems to suit my playstyle. A couple of questions:

- Considering the amount of rares, would it make sense to use a second Essence Worm for another dps aura?
- With the addition of Vaal Summon Skeletons and Vaal Haste, do you feel that you can comfortably kill t14-16 bosses?
- «It was very easy to lvl and works quite well on a low budget with alot room to improve later on.» Could you elaborate? Maybe list some possible upgrades.

Thanks in advance.

Last edited by vampiregrave on Aug 16, 2017, 5:49:21 AM
"
vampiregrave wrote:
I've been trying some skeleton mage builds and this one seems to suit my playstyle. A couple of questions:

- Considering the amount of rares, would it make sense to use a second Essence Worm for another dps aura?
- With the addition of Vaal Summon Skeletons and Vaal Haste, do you feel that you can comfortably kill t14-16 bosses?
- «It was very easy to lvl and works quite well on a low budget with alot room to improve later on.» Could you elaborate? Maybe list some possible upgrades.

Thanks in advance.



- you could probably fit in another one if you get your res capped and run haste i didnt feel its necessary but its an option.
-the normal t14/15 bosses are quite easy, i didnt do guardians yet but i think i could kill them if its gonna be easy idk.
-probably bad wording from my side, i wanted to say that you dont need much to get going but can improve upon that. i could probably improve on the rare items getting higher values, quality on gems and a +1 curse neck.

I hope i could answer your questions, if you have further questions dont hesitate to ask.
Last edited by Shareware on Aug 16, 2017, 12:11:41 PM
Hello! I saw this build and just had to try it out, it looks so fun! but my damage is insanely low with the skeletons.

is the only way to increase the damage on the skeletons only through jewels? or have I missed something?
(sorry im the biggest noob^^)
"
Shareware wrote:
"
vampiregrave wrote:
I've been trying some skeleton mage builds and this one seems to suit my playstyle. A couple of questions:

- Considering the amount of rares, would it make sense to use a second Essence Worm for another dps aura?
- With the addition of Vaal Summon Skeletons and Vaal Haste, do you feel that you can comfortably kill t14-16 bosses?
- «It was very easy to lvl and works quite well on a low budget with alot room to improve later on.» Could you elaborate? Maybe list some possible upgrades.

Thanks in advance.



- you could probably fit in another one if you get your res capped and run haste i didnt feel its necessary but its an option.
-the normal t14/15 bosses are quite easy, i didnt do guardians yet but i think i could kill them if its gonna be easy idk.
-probably bad wording from my side, i wanted to say that you dont need much to get going but can improve upon that. i could probably improve on the rare items getting higher values, quality on gems and a +1 curse neck.

I hope i could answer your questions, if you have further questions dont hesitate to ask.


That answers everything, thank you. I'm making some small adjustments, might go for double curse like you mentioned (Projectile Weakness). I think i'll test Haste too, depending on my resistance gear, but the build seems pretty solid as it is.

Edit: Keep us posted if you make any progress regarding guardians or any other relevant bosses; this seems pretty good for mapping, and that's exactly what I was looking for, but it would be great to know if I can tackle somes bosses every now and then.
Last edited by vampiregrave on Aug 16, 2017, 12:40:25 PM
"
sexton275 wrote:
Hello! I saw this build and just had to try it out, it looks so fun! but my damage is insanely low with the skeletons.

is the only way to increase the damage on the skeletons only through jewels? or have I missed something?
(sorry im the biggest noob^^)



I need more details to help here, your profile is set to private which means i cant look at your characters. let me know if you made your profile public and ill try to help you improve.



"
vampiregrave wrote:


Edit: Keep us posted if you make any progress regarding guardians or any other relevant bosses; this seems pretty good for mapping, and that's exactly what I was looking for, but it would be great to know if I can tackle somes bosses every now and then.


I'll let you know.

"
Alea wrote:
Accidentally found your video on youtube and i must stay this is really OP build

Congrats ^^


Thanks (:
Last edited by Shareware on Aug 16, 2017, 1:29:00 PM
Now it should it work :), well I bought the main items I think for the build and were trying out the dps before Im buying these '' To Dust jewels '', They're quite expensive so I wanted to try out the dmg before I bought them.
maybe I have to buy them and then it should go little smoother?
"
sexton275 wrote:
Now it should it work :), well I bought the main items I think for the build and were trying out the dps before Im buying these '' To Dust jewels '', They're quite expensive so I wanted to try out the dmg before I bought them.
maybe I have to buy them and then it should go little smoother?



i got those jewels rather late, in the late 80th or so, your summon skeleton gem is lvl 6 and almost all the dmg is based on that gem, lvling this one will probably fix most issues, also a 5/6L will be more important than those jewels for sure.
Skeletons are really safe, Can do T10 maps. Haven't found T11 maps yet tho.

This build is really for maxing out damage and everything. Not much people can do that.
(6 L pledge of hands oh my...)

The more budget build would probably be what I'm using.

Run a Lioneye's Remorse Pinnacle Tower Shield and a Tabula. Works fine for me atm, but I will probably lack damage later on.
Last edited by Magicians on Aug 16, 2017, 3:28:33 PM

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