[3.9] Pure Phys Skeletons & Friends Necromancer — Beginner/SSF/Budget Build

Never played a true summoner build before so I decided to give this guide a go. However, upon looking at the gem setup I decided to make some new changes that allow more room to maneuver while not forcing me to play piano on my keyboard with too many buttons to press :D

Here's my gear in Synthesis:

Core idea is the same, keeping both zombies and skeletons but I find this setup gives me much smoother gameplay. I find that even with a lot of minions surrounding me I still get hit pretty often, so Immortal Call becomes necessary. I also think Convocation is spectacular for the build, so I link both Immortal Call and Convocation with CWDT and this allows me to move a bit faster in delve/maps/etc while taking dmg. (Currently able to do delve depth 560 with some deaths but can survive 4-5 nodes before dying once or twice).

Also another CWDT setup I run is CWDT + Flesh Offering + Desecrate + Vulnerability. These work great because I can generate corpses very easily while also buffing my minions if I get hit with minimal dmg :D. I also have another lv 20 Desecrate gem separate because I need to create corpses before big boss fights like Uber elder (thanks for the advice in gameplay Viper :D). I find using Curse on hit Vulnerability is quite clunky because I have to self-cast the curse to make it work (low cast speed) and I often times forget to do that, while I take dmg pretty often so mobs are cursed automatically.

Lastly I have a free slot so I put in Purifying Flame for extra sustain and healing minions (self-cast but only used in certain boss fights).

For FLASKS I run a hybrid flask to sustain mana and MoM effect more easily alongside Clarity and some mana regen nodes in tree and also more life recovery aside from Blood of the Karui.

Currently sitting at about 8.4k Ehp, mostly focus on movements around place with Shield Charge and Flame Dash, and this plays a big factor in boss fights. More room to focus on movement without having to cast so many things at the same time leaves me room to react to certain deadly things AND press flasks more often. Overall, mapping becomes a lot safer now with more frequent flask use and movement to get out of narrow paths (and I move faster without having to stop to cast :D) Managed to take down Uber Elder today with ZERO deaths.

Thanks for the guide, Viper, this is my first true summoner build and it's much more fun than I thought :D

"

Hologram_o wrote:

Never played a true summoner build before so I decided to give this guide a go. However, upon looking at the gem setup I decided to make some new changes that allow more room to maneuver while not forcing me to play piano on my keyboard with too many buttons to press :D

Here's my gear in Synthesis:

Core idea is the same, keeping both zombies and skeletons but I find this setup gives me much smoother gameplay. I find that even with a lot of minions surrounding me I still get hit pretty often, so Immortal Call becomes necessary. I also think Convocation is spectacular for the build, so I link both Immortal Call and Convocation with CWDT and this allows me to move a bit faster in delve/maps/etc while taking dmg. (Currently able to do delve depth 560 with some deaths but can survive 4-5 nodes before dying once or twice).

Also another CWDT setup I run is CWDT + Flesh Offering + Desecrate + Vulnerability. These work great because I can generate corpses very easily while also buffing my minions if I get hit with minimal dmg :D. I also have another lv 20 Desecrate gem separate because I need to create corpses before big boss fights like Uber elder (thanks for the advice in gameplay Viper :D). I find using Curse on hit Vulnerability is quite clunky because I have to self-cast the curse to make it work (low cast speed) and I often times forget to do that, while I take dmg pretty often so mobs are cursed automatically.

Lastly I have a free slot so I put in Purifying Flame for extra sustain and healing minions (self-cast but only used in certain boss fights).

For FLASKS I run a hybrid flask to sustain mana and MoM effect more easily alongside Clarity and some mana regen nodes in tree and also more life recovery aside from Blood of the Karui.

Currently sitting at about 8.4k Ehp, mostly focus on movements around place with Shield Charge and Flame Dash, and this plays a big factor in boss fights. More room to focus on movement without having to cast so many things at the same time leaves me room to react to certain deadly things AND press flasks more often. Overall, mapping becomes a lot safer now with more frequent flask use and movement to get out of narrow paths (and I move faster without having to stop to cast :D) Managed to take down Uber Elder today with ZERO deaths.

Thanks for the guide, Viper, this is my first true summoner build and it's much more fun than I thought :D

I'm stuck in Uber Elder. How did you solve the problem of melting zombies? The Shaper and the Elder kill my minions way to easy. Zombies as well as Skeleton are not helping the deal. If you don't mind, could you give me some advise or the POB or the video? maybe?
I tried to maximize the resistance of the zombies, but the results were the same.

Hey,
A couple of things...

That setup wasn't the first before I did Uber Elder. And it fact, it took me to the 9th Shaper set to defeat uber elder for the first time. And it was not a clean fight. Even with 0 deaths as I stated, it was quite messy in the end (3-4 ground spots of decay, and about 9-10 vortex balls in the arena).

In uber elder (UE) fight, the following will happen:

1. Your zombies will die pretty quickly. They usually only survive until Shaper is brought down to 75% life (end of phase 1), and Elder got damaged a bit. So within 2 phases of the fight (the fight has 10 phases if you follow Engineering Eternity's video guide on UE fight)

2. Your skeletons also die very quickly. Shaper balls, beams and Elder moves easily dismantle them.

So what are the strategies to counter these bosses when all minions die? (Even with 75% resistance, they still die quickly)?

1. Before entering the fight, spam Desecrate to create corpses (you'll need those to recreate zombies later on).

2. Focus mostly on summoning skeletons even when your zombies die (especially during phases when both bosses are active), since there is no cooldown and newer ones will replace older ones. With my setup, once I take dmg, bosses are cursed with Vulnerability, so my summoned skeletons deal MORE dmg to them. That is also why I focus more on buffing minions's burst dmg whenever they're alive, than focusing on their maximum life.

3. Try resummoning your zombies during phases where only one boss is active just so your zombies can live longer and easier for you to summon them(when Elder summons portals, or Shaper's portal). Desecrate helps with that, to reorganize your force.

4. I have Purifying Flame, so I just need to dodge boss moves, run around to keep myself safe, and sometimes support my minions - it sounds sketchy and prolongs the fight, but it also provides some healing and creates more crit chance for minions, so more dmg potentially, if consecrated ground is below the boss.

5. Keep mobile during the fight - You will have to move around a lot, kiting Shaper balls and managing Elder's tentacle adds. Even when you are focusing your minions on Elder's tentacle adds, you still have to move around pretty constantly, side-stepping Shaper's balls and/or Elder's spears. Pop your flasks if needed. You'll mostly use Shield Charge to gain fortify as often as possible, and only Flame Dash when Shaper beams or balls block your way or corner you. Teleporting through them will be fine. Try avoiding bad spots in the arena, like in a corner or to the very sides.

6. Manage vortex balls properly! This one is very hard, but you need to manage vortex balls so that they're placed on top of each other. No need for them to be in the exact one spot, 100% on top of each other, just so you have enough rooms to move around the arena. In this regard, pick a spot in the arena where you will pop the vortex ball, and then kite the new ones that spawn to around the first one. This requires practice and you will make mistakes, but it is, if not exaggerating, the most important thing in this fight to keep you alive. Your zombies and skeletons do melt, you lose your DPS sources a lot, so the only way to prolong the fight is to manage these arena events so you are not completely overwhelmed by them.

7. Killing Elder adds to keep (mostly the center) the arena clean. However, the adds spawn more often as the bosses are closer to death, so in the last phase where both bosses perform their full moveset, focus on killing Shaper first, and then maybe some adds if they're in your way, and finally Elder. You can also kill adds still, if they spawn in the same area as where Shaper/Elder is.

8. Vaal Summon Skeletons is great to use right after each portal phase of each boss. With this army up, phasing them to another phase is almost as easy as eating cakes. Your minions kill stuff in the portal phases to charge up the Vaal skill, which you can use to push the fight more quickly. Don't activate this skill during any portal phases.

With my current gem setup, once I take dmg, the following will happen:

1. Immortal Call goes off (which does nothing)

2. Convocation - minions go to where I am. This can be very important when I need to get Elder's adds killed in time, or when I really need to get close enough to either boss for my minions to attack them. Also grants them some life regen alongside their life leech to help them out a bit.

3. Vulnerability - as stated above, giving more dmg boost to minions, very effective.

4. Desecrate + Flesh Offering - generate corpses and also grants more minions' movement speed and attack speed, which is great! I can take advantage of that to revive a zombie or two, as they usually last for a bit if they're dealing direct damage (leeching + life regen from themselves or my Purifying Flame)


What about Purifying Flame (self-cast) and at which moments to use it?

In my opinion, you use purifying flame whenever you're safe (of course you never truly are in a fight like UE as you have to move a lot, but there are safer moments than others). Meaning, create as much consecrated ground as possible during the Elder's portal/Shaper's portal phase. You basically just run around in these phases, dodging either Elder's spears/Expanding nova moves, or Shaper's balls and beams. So alongside movement, you have time to actually cast Purifying Flame to help your minions out (and you too, as standing on this ground effect heals you up pretty quickly). Other moments can be taken advantage of, such as when Elder is casting a Nova (he takes some time to do it), your minions get about 15% crit chance when Elder's standing on consecrated ground, or when Shaper goes for beam.

When to resummon zombies/click Desecrate?

Same as above, do that during Shaper's and Elder's portal phase (or actually just whenever you feel you can, shouldn't be a chore unless you summon all zombies back again). When you take hits, you also generate corpses. This means you almost always have corpses up to consume to create zombies.

The bottom line is, whatever it takes, you have to be SAFE first. If you die, your minions won't save you for the most part. Meaning, dodge Shaper slam, Elder's nova explosion, Shaper's balls. The build itself leaves you enough room to survive a wave of Elder's spears, so taking dmg sometimes here and there is fine. You can also get close to each boss and they will melee you, which does not kill you but also generate buffs. You will take dmg more often than not in a fight like this, there are some moves you can live, but some, not at all. You have to live to be able to command your army to put in their work and govern the fight in the way you want it to be. I hope it helps, as I tried to make this build able to go through Uber Elder, and it did :D

And lastly, unfortunately I cannot even record anything I play in this game because of my potato and more lag spikes ><. I would like to record big boss fights, but it just turns impossible. Even under normal conditions, I have to make sure my latency is stable enough before each UE run.

Soooo 3.7 has left skeletons in limbo a bit. The current state of affairs seems to be that they will no longer be able to use Melee Splash, and won't naturally hit multiple targets with their melee attacks either. I will confirm this once the patch launches, but if true this is a substantial nerf to the build, reducing the clear speed of the build by 25-30%. Still very much a playable build, but unfortunate.

Tree and PoB updated for 3.7. 3.7 PoB here. N.B. we use the new Impale support on skeles now, which isn't in PoB yet. Thus the apparent 5L. I will update the gems section properly with this when Impale exists as an item and we've confirmed the Melee Splash stuff.

**edited**

https://www.reddit.com/r/pathofexile/comments/bxci5q/ggg_minions_in_37/eq7lc8k/?context=3

Looks like minions can use melee splash.

It has just been confirmed that minions use the new melee system. This is fantastic news. Not only does this mean that we can still use Melee Splash, but we might not even have to as both skeletons and zombies now always hit multiple targets with their basic attacks. This build is buffed compared to 3.6. I will update again when we've had a chance to test whether Melee Splash is necessary. I'd appreciate anyone following this guide in 3.7 to also test it and let me know.

Edit: beat me to it!

"

viperesque wrote:

It has just been confirmed that minions use the new melee system. This is fantastic news. Not only does this mean that we can still use Melee Splash, but we might not even have to as both skeletons and zombies now always hit multiple targets with their basic attacks. This build is buffed compared to 3.6. I will update again when we've had a chance to test whether Melee Splash is necessary. I'd appreciate anyone following this guide in 3.7 to also test it and let me know.

Edit: beat me to it!

Be fun to see these in action with a nearby Animated Guardian also granting them perma fortify and culling strike...nyuk nyuk nyuk

Have you seen the new aura, pride? How does this change the build, I'm thinking it needs to be integrated. Even with no point investment it's like adding a link of phys damage

"

KittenWrangler wrote:

Have you seen the new aura, pride? How does this change the build, I'm thinking it needs to be integrated. Even with no point investment it's like adding a link of phys damage

Yea, once I get my other gear's resistances up higher (so I'm capped without one ring) I'm going to try it with the Essence Worm ring. Pride reserves 50% mana which is just too much given you want the mana pool for the Mind Over Matter damage reduction.