👻3.20👻 Kay's Summoner💥SRS Bomber💀Poison SRS💀Melee SRS🕷️Spiders💀Skeleton Mages
" Yup, this is a problem against smaller bosses. Since minions don't have phasing they tend to bodyblock eachother alot and the burst gets kinda scuffed. Against very tanky targets that can survive for a couple of seconds like giga juiced Olroths or 100% delirius metamorphs with the atlas tree and sextant, the minions will take sometime but then lineup perfectly in a circle and hit the target. Monster hitboxes can fit most minions if they're given time to orient themselves, but this is largely dependant on the model of the target. But the initial seconds is just a large clusterfuck where everything just bodyblocks eachother. It's basically like they're waiting in queue to hit the target. Against smaller targets it literally becomes impossible for all minions to hit it which is a shame. I wish there was a skillpoint in the tree or some option to give minions perma phasing :-) I've found that the best solution to help minions prevent bodyblocking and congregate efficiently around a target is with Predator. If you run predator on all minions they will surround the target and stick to it very efficiently. Works very well against big targets. Against smaller ones though, there's not enough space for all of them to fit. I wish I could run ranged minions again to accompany my Carrions and Skellies but outside of Skeletons Mages, all ranged minions are literal garbage tuning wise. Spectres are undertuned, and so is things like Lightning pr Fire Golems. The only minions with half decent dps numbers right now are Skeletons cause they have a 50% dmg multiplier built into the gem basically acting like an extra 1.5 links for them. Same thing for Golems since they recieve 50% more dmg with 10 nearby friendly monsters. Eventhough Carrions have recieved flat dps nerfs like 5 times in a row, they're still one of the best melee minions cause of the 50% dmg modifier. Zombies are also pretty good, but they require feeding frenzy to even attack a target (or predator) so they lose out alot of damage there. Their AI is also very bad and their the minions with the biggest problem when it comes to bodyblocking eachother and just staying around. Last edited by Deadandlivin on Mar 29, 2022, 12:19:47 AM
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" I think phys build is probably focusing on survivability. Damage scaling stops early but it's also easier to overwhelm all of boss's phys damage reduction. So then you can focus on defensive layers and become almost immortal :) Ele is better for damage scaling for any builds and Cold is always best because of hatred scaling as well as chill/freeze/shatter. 🔰🌀✨ Video guides on youtube! https://www.youtube.com/KayGaming ✨🌀🔰
🔶🔷🔶 Kay's Summoner build guide: https://www.pathofexile.com/forum/view-thread/3179145 🔶🔷🔶 | |
" " First thanks for the comprehensive answer and explaining your build to others. When I saw those 248M I thought WTF, this must be fake. Because Skeleton Mages are the Meta Build in Archnemesis League. YouTuber Von Vikton: Skeleton Mages Necromancer Final Build Guide Update for 3.17 - Min Max'd Version! 40 Million DPS //https://youtu.be/aDpuv2bbtI4?t=2 On Minute 1:00 "Once you go Skele Mage you never gonna go back, every other build feels like..." Von Vikton spend 200ex to reach up to 40M DPS with Skele Mages and then you come around with a Niche /non Meta Build claiming 248M DPS, well that are 208M DPS Difference. Like Kayella mentioned those Numbers are just on paper due to bodyblock and Melee, those guys have to reach the target first. But anyway, thanks for the wall of text, it was interesting to read and another build I could check out some time. Last edited by Aijendo on Mar 29, 2022, 7:05:20 AM
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" I'm not sure if Phys really is better surviabilitywise though. The only thnig I can think of is that non-phys builds are required to run Skitterbots with Bonechill which is ~42% mana reservation without reservation efficiency. Pure phys builds wouldn't run this and therefore could fit a different defensive Aura like a Purity of Ice Aure et.c. to combine with Aegis Aurora and Melding of the Flesh. Other than that I think the defenses are pretty much identical. Since I run dps spectres however, I'm running Necromantic Aegis and can't use a defensive shield like the formentioned broken Aegis Aurora. This is more of a problem with Spectres being forced to run NA rather than Cold. If I decided to run Charge monkey instead I could simply run defensive shield aswell. (I like how Spectres not only are the worst scaling minions, they also force you to run NA so you're the squishiest too...) Under those circumstances though, I would probably want to go block, that's when Necromancers are superior since it's only they who can cap out their block for the most broken defensive layer in the game rivaled by Spell Supression. If I wasn't convinced Aegis Aurora is getting nerfed next leageu I probably would try to redesign my build to go CI as a necro with Aegis Aurora and x4 or x3 Charge Monkeys instead. Going ES just requires too much investment for league starters though. But just having a ~1k ES pool with Aegis Aurora is super strong. |
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InflatedDPS
Honestly, those numbers are alitle inflated. As mentioned by Kay, part of it is because it would assume every single minion is hitting a target with 100% uptime which won't really happen. In reality ~20% of the minions are usually left out and just stay around doing nothing. This is most often the bulkier minions like the Spectres and some Zombies. The Skeletons have very thin models and will squeeze themselves im between eachother easily. The Carrion Golems will literally force themselves in cutting the line by leap slamming infront of other minions. Often, 1 or 2 Crushclaws will just stand behind a line of other minions and cast their AoE shouts since their melee hits can't reach a target. Issues like these could easily be resolved if GGGG gave players the options to either grant Phasing for our minions (I think Ravenouz Horde should grant perma phasing to minions) through a skill node or a mastery or simply by letting us increase the strike range of minions somehow. There are dozens of way to get phasing or Strike range for our own character in this game but nothing for minions :/ Another thing is that the PoB I linked uses Assassin's Mark. In all honesty, my dps is already so high and no one actually need 250 million dps. While playing, 99% of all content don't last long enough for me to even click a target and apply Assassin's Mark to begin with. So for general purposes, I instead run convocation 99% of the time unless I want to film some video where I oneshot Sirus in half a second or something. Replacing Assassin's Mark in my build with convocation would also remove 1 Power Charge since my minions having max Power Charges is predicated on them getting it from Assassin's Mark, which also won't really happen since most targets die too fast. Against yuber tanky content though, 3 Power Charges is somewhat reliable though. If I remove Assassin's Mark and replace it with Anomalous Convocation (Which is superior for clear due to the 100% incraesed movement speed it gives) and drop 1 Power Charge I end up with 176 million dps which is far less impressive. But still enough to kill everything in the game in 1-2 second, maybe not 0.5 seconds like before :)
SkellyMages
The thing about Skeleton Mages are that they really aren't meta because they're the best dps minion. In all honesty, skeleton Mages are kinda medicore when we're talking pure dps. Their strength is that they literally are the only decently strong ranged minion we can run. I know Kayella is pulling her hairs out trying to make ranged spectres work, which I applaud her for. I think we all want Ranged spectres like Redemption Sentries or SOs to be good again since summoning Totems.. ERHM, I mean Skeletons is a very unsatisfying playstyle.
When it comes to ranged minions though, Mage skellies literally double the dps of Spectres, if not more. In reality though, Skeleton Mages lack scaling options for their damage. Everyone runs Fleshcrafter which caps their penetration at 0% which is very convenient. However, other options can pierce enemy resistances or phys damage reduction in the negatives. Mages can't which limit their scaling alot. Personally, I don't think it's Mage skeletons that are meta right now. I think what's Meta is running full block with Aegis Aurora and Divine Shield. (And sometimes Melding of the Flesh) It reminds exactly of Aura stacking minions in the past. In the past, people said they were running Pure Phys Carrion Golems When I watched their builds, they were just running an Aura stacker. Carrion Golems happened to be the strongest minion at the time so they plugged it into their aura stacker. When Carrion Golems were nerfed, people simply replaced them with SOs and made a pure phys spectre aura stacker instead :) Same thing goes for the meta minion builds right now. Skeleton Mages just happen to be the best ranged minion we have access to. Other than that, everyone's just running a full block build with Aegis Aurora. If Mages are nerfed, not much will change to the build. Ppl will swap Fleshcrafter and Dead reckoning for something else and just plug in a different minion into the same build, just like Aura stacking minions did. Say that Spectres somehow become the strongest minion next patch.. well, swap Dead Reckoning for Unending Hunger. Maybe keep Flesh Crafter, run 4green Triads/Grip of the Council instead and swap Zealotry for Hatred. It's basically the same build. For these reasons, I personally don't think it's Skeletons that are meta right now. I just think they are the prefered minion of choice for Aegis Aurora builds which are what's truly meta today. Everyday we see new builds pop up abusing that shield. And it's not only Necromancers either. We see Occultists, Inquisitors, Crusaders and Elementalists using the shield. I've even seen a large number of Raiders who use it which is astonishing to me. It was actually kinda amusing to see Ghazzy design different minion builds on stream the last week. He made an Absolution and a SRS build. Both builds were basically his minmaxed Skelly mage build were he swapped out the minions and changed some items and Auras around. For Absolution he simply used Doryanni's instead of Flesh Crafter and some creative ways to push his lightning resistance down. For SRS it was basically the same build, just with SRS links and Hatred instead of Zealotry.
VonViktonBuilds
When it comes to Von Viktor, I like his builds and he puts out very good and comprehensive build guides on youtube. What I especially like with his Mage build is that he's running life Mages with a Surrender instead of Aegis Aurora which I find interesting. It's objectively worse, but I like that he thinks outside of the box. It also prepres his build better for next league cause I see no world where GGG won't crack down on Aegis Aurora. That being said, Von Vikton is one of these build creators who always have been prioritizing defenses over offenses. He's kinda like Ethan from the Gamereport in that regard. These type of build creators like to get their build up to ~20 million dps. Then start investing hundreds exalts, even mirrors into their defenses. They like to get Ailment Immunity, 53 layers of defenses, gazzillion regen et.c. Their goal often seem to be able to create a build that can stand afk inside monsters and not care too much. To achieve this, they sacrifice dps and clearspeed. I'm the opposite. I like to focus on DPS and DPS only, especially early on. My logic is that, if I can push my dps high early, it will allow me to simply bypass monster and boss mechanics by just killing them before they can do anything. This allows me to push harder content (Like the feared) much earlier in a league and allows me to run more rewarding content. This results in larger currency gains cause I can both do harder content, but not only that. I design my builds to do it much faster too. I prioritize DPS > Then Speed > Lastly defenses. The consequence is that I die more and early on, literally get stuck at level ~96. But I see this as an investment as it allows me to farm currency so much faster, which I then can invest into high budget items to finally fix my defenses later on. This type of approach is what allowed me to farm ~500 ex in 2 weeks to make my build this league. I also consider this an uphill battle cause I was playing when Ex are 170 chaos which has been exceptionally painful. Personally, I've never really liked the approach of building tanky from the get-go. This usually sacrifices alot of speed, clear and dps and in turn, my Exilence Next numbers are cut by like 30-50%. |
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" The POB from the video only has 26M DPS though? It's about same DPS than my updated build. But difference is my build much cheaper: normal Fleshcrafter 1 cluster set Hit build: +2 duration Fleshcrafter 2x clusters 1 timeless jewel (160% dmg) "Once you go skele mages you never go back" I played skele mages for a few maps and went back to AW/DB :P 🔰🌀✨ Video guides on youtube! https://www.youtube.com/KayGaming ✨🌀🔰
🔶🔷🔶 Kay's Summoner build guide: https://www.pathofexile.com/forum/view-thread/3179145 🔶🔷🔶 | |
" " Minute 1:50 = about 25M DPS without Vaal Skellys, and 39M DPS with Vall Skellys, and he could spent another 50ex to get 2.5M on top, but thought it's not worth it. So the 40M Title is more a "Whats possible" and the fact that the usual number is 26M DPS for Skele Mages is even more crazy to the 248M DPS, We talked about. /// My 3rd Char this League is a Guardian with Holy Relic based on Moosseolini https://www.pathofexile.com/forum/view-thread/2717739/page/1 Esqueleto Avulso has reached 40M DPS with 2 Holy Relics, so that this Niche Build even beats Von Viktons Skelly Mages and I assume the Holy Relic Build is <200 EX. https://pastebin.com/6u4kPhaq So for our beloved Kayella, you can check out Holy Relic and maybe add it to your Arsenal of Minion Builds. You can easily swith from Guardian to Necromancer by just use 5 respec points. But when you pick Commander of Darkness you screw up your trigger rate of your Holy Relic due to the Attack Speed, therefore I would take Plaguebringer for DPS and only Commander of Darkness early for Resis. I follow Kayellas build several leagues now and its fantastic that you can start with Zombies/Skelly/SRS what ever and upgrade into Spectres or any other End Game Builds with just a few respec points. And also the focus on Defense I really apreciate, because Von Viktons calls himself old by the age of 32 and I am 41, so I am Anchient Aijendo then ;) Last edited by Aijendo on Mar 29, 2022, 5:19:30 PM
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" I see! Actually I just check the POB (didn't watch the video)... thanks for the notes! I change my build slightly (take out awakened spell echo because it's too expensive!!) and we can get 25 / 41 :) I think the build can cost less than 10ex with lucky self crafting. 20ex I guess if you buy everything already made. Did he really say 200ex for his build? Holy Relic is really interesting. I wonder if I can add it to my build library! I like having all the builds use the similar passive tree + gear. I already changed minion 5-6 times in the league :P Does Esqueleto Avulso have a video? Edit: I found some other people's video. Looks OK. The idea is matching cyclone APS to HR trigger rate? Flicker strike version looks good for clearing. 🔰🌀✨ Video guides on youtube! https://www.youtube.com/KayGaming ✨🌀🔰 🔶🔷🔶 Kay's Summoner build guide: https://www.pathofexile.com/forum/view-thread/3179145 🔶🔷🔶 Last edited by kayella on Mar 29, 2022, 8:38:49 PM
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" I wish too! I'm thinking of how to make a build with a small team of strong melee minions + strong ranged minions. I think your before build was good! Golems + SO. But SO is pretty dead now. and spectres feel very underpowered. Carrion Golems + Skele Mages maybe? but mages don't have smooth map clearing because of resummoning... I wonder if I can steal your idea and put CG in a 6.5 helmet for my spectre build. By the way, I think zombies can work without FF if you use aggressive from helmet or wand! 🔰🌀✨ Video guides on youtube! https://www.youtube.com/KayGaming ✨🌀🔰
🔶🔷🔶 Kay's Summoner build guide: https://www.pathofexile.com/forum/view-thread/3179145 🔶🔷🔶 | |
" Witch Divergent Holy Relic and Cyclone to Trigger the Nova you need no extra Attack Speed. Haven't tried Flicker Strike with HR because I can't bare this jumping around. |
