Kay's Summoner Memorial Page | New Guide is linked inside!

As somebody playing RS since 2013, I'd like to give my 2 cents.

So, what you have to understand first of all is that for many, many leagues now, RS has been the go-to league-starter by a decent margin (especially in HC). This is undeniable if you look at stats.
(To be clear, I'm not saying that popularity equals power, but certainly there's a good amount of overlap, right?)

It is just the nature of RS that they're great from the get-go, but it becomes harder to compete with expensive endgame builds. If I'm being honest, it's been pretty ridiculous how strong we have been so far with virtually zero investment. But you do get accustomed to it, it becomes normalized, and the nerfs hurt - understandable.

The best solution probably would've been to tweak individual spectres and perhaps AI, but that would take too much work.
I guess SD will suffer the most because of the low base HP - you'll have to invest more, or pick a different mob.
SO nerf (fix, really) was inevitable, I hope no-one is surprised, since it was clearly not working as intended.
However, there are plenty of other good spectre choices, especially with Heist being accessible.

So, I understand nerfs suck, but this was inevitable, it's long overdue if you look at reality and stats without any bias.
Most spectres other than SD have large base HP, so ultimately nothing has changed except losing a substantial amount of damage, which let's face was justified. The Ascendancy small nodes nerf (15% -> 10%) is minor.
If you like RS and want to keep playing it, I would - it will still be an excellent build, especially an excellent starter. If you want to play a different Necro build: zombies, golems, skellies, animwep, domblow, SRS - all still viable. (SRS in particular is still really strong, I don't think ppl realize this, considering how underplayed it look based on stats).

Just my humble opinion. Relax, gentlemen.

"

slindimasq wrote:

I feel so numb after reading the Maifesto,GGG really has stick it to us summoners this time,Do they expect us to play casters and bows this league?

No. They expect you to use your intelligence and imagination and come up with new ideas and tweaks for the spectre summoner build. Look at how many knobs we get to turn: Rituals, Harvest, Heist, Delve. I can't wait.

The greatness of Spectres that it was a real League Starter skill, leading to unexpensive builds and somewhat passive gameplay.

In other words: perfect for casual players. Now it is likely not viable anymore unless you invest a lot of hours to "tweak" it.

So casual players left with an alternative: still use weak and not viable endgame build, or just switch to some other build.

Or quit the game since this league is super hard oriented to endgame grinds.

I am sure they don’t give a shit but I wrote an email to GGG complaing about this nerf. Either way this is a league and potential game killer for me. I hope others speak up as well!

"

kayella wrote:

I feel like I want to cry.

Cheer up Kay! I can't describe how much you've done for this build and the community, but do remember you always have our support.
The nerf is mainly targeting low life% spectres and support spectres. I believe a majority of spectres are still playable. It's not the end of the world.

Edit:
I was checking PoB and thought that taking Bone Barrier instead of Mistress of Sacrifice will improve the current situation.


Mistress of Sacrifice has received two major nerfs in a row. I personally see less reason to take it. RS necro does not rely on skill duration that much like ED+C and some other builds. It's true that Mistress grants Bone/Flesh offering buffs, but Bone Barrier also gives both you and your minions defensive benefits.

Take Slave Driver for example. The nerf from lv.76 to lv.72 is 20.83% less max life, while Bone Barrier gives 20% more max life ;)

Also, the granted lv.20 Bone Armour skill saves you a whole gem slot. I see your current setup is using steelskin, but Bone Armour is simply a better steelskin (both takes 70% dmg, total 2209 dmg, 3s cd, but bone armour applies to you and all of your minions).

With Steelskin gone, I think a new setup can be:
Trigger Wand: Desecrate - Offering - Tempest Shield (take away spell cascade)
Shield: CWDT - Immortal Call - Withering Step (or inc duration)

What do you think?

This is the Enki's Arc Witch 2.0 now - the noobtrap bad for endgame build that has been nerfed to shit and no one ever except newcomers is going to play it again. And because of all the whining even newcomers are going to avoid this at all costs.

Rest in pepperoni, lmao.

Simple question. How big is the Nerf for specters? What does it mean for the actuel gameplay.
Minions got nerfed a few times in the past and it wasent that big of a deal... I guess....

"

iStalker2222 wrote:

The greatness of Spectres that it was a real League Starter skill, leading to unexpensive builds and somewhat passive gameplay.

In other words: perfect for casual players. Now it is likely not viable anymore unless you invest a lot of hours to "tweak" it.

So casual players left with an alternative: still use weak and not viable endgame build, or just switch to some other build.

Or quit the game since this league is super hard oriented to endgame grinds.

Disagree a lot here, no worries please but i cleared up to T11 with just an lvl 24 Weapon (Reverberation Rod) and SRS in an comfortable Clearspeed and switched at that Point to Spectres. Do not think about not doing same in comming League!-)
Since i played Summoner already a Lot i will try SO again and think the Way i play it could be still very Viable.

My Profile is open and there are really many Things tested in many different Ways.

Well f(*&!

In all seriousness I would appreciate some suggestions on builds, This was my go to, as I could get to endgame with little investment.. I need something that will not cost tons to set up, and have at least semi passive playstyle.. and can handle endgame content..
(Im an old fart, learning new tricks takes a minute)

Thanks in advance!

"

xoxPerkxox wrote:

Well f(*&!

In all seriousness I would appreciate some suggestions on builds, This was my go to, as I could get to endgame with little investment.. I need something that will not cost tons to set up, and have at least semi passive playstyle.. and can handle endgame content..
(Im an old fart, learning new tricks takes a minute)

Thanks in advance!

Hey man, I'm in a same old age boat as you. Finally found an interesting build for myself, tested it out in ssf flashback and was surprised how good it is (yeah I'm late to spectres party).

I think we will have to wait a bit for patch notes first and then look if new mechanics provide summoners with any buffs. We still can get new spectres from the Ritual league and they could be our saving graces. Though the nerf-hammer got us pretty good this time.

Actually — if you look at ascendancies rework — they all got smashed, with the exception of slayer, occultist, deadeye (buffed I guess) and raider. So I don't really now if switching from this build is a good idea even with the nerfs. Cause there is not a lot of things you can switch to.