Stress-Free PoE! BONE ZOMBIES: No Required Items! 1-Button Play! SSF League Start-End! 3.13
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The 3.14 version of the guide is out! Here it is! Have a happy Ultimatum! You all rock :)
Alright everyone! Thanks for such a great league! You've all been so kind and helpful to each other and I really appreciate you making this thread a safe place for people to ask questions. Thanks for all your praise and kindness and I wish you the best 3.14! I won't be responding to this post anymore. I'm moving on to 3.14. But I'll post 3.14's link at the top of this guide when it's ready to go (I'll tweet it too so you don't have to keep coming back to check.) My filters will take a TON of work this league with all of the stuff being changed/added to PoE, but hopefully, I'll still have the time to get my guides out before league launch. Hey YOU THERE! WELCOME to my BONE ZOMBIES guide :)!
SHUT UP Wrecker! I JUST WANT TO PLAY! (3.13's guide in one picture)
Ok! Yikes...you could have at least said "please" or something...
 My builds don't require any specific/fancy items or mods to play so you can just pick up and play like a good old fashion "dungeon crawler" (SSF). Pure RNG fun :). For those with similar limitations to mine, I can play this build on both PC and Console. (Thanks Tagz for always being willing to figure out the Wiki with me.)
Why My Builds Are the Way They Are
All of my builds revolve around my medical situation and my love of old school dungeon crawling (which in PoE Land we call Solo Self Found). So if you're curious about why I design my builds the way I do (the limitations I revolve around), I explain it all in my One Stop Shop. (I have multiple guides. So some information is easier to explain in one location rather than many.)
A Quick Note Players new to Path of Exile
Welcome! PoE is a really in-depth game. Its million different mechanics work together is so many countless combinations that there really are endless ways to play this game. If you love theory crafting (coming up with different combos of skills and seeing if it'll work out), there is no other game that compares to this one.
For new people trying to learn Path of Exile, it's my opinion that the most efficient way to learn the game is by doing things for yourself; trying things out in-game, reading nodes/mods/skills, and making choices for yourself. I understand that some people look to guides for help progressing in the game, while others are simply looking for a neat idea to try out. It is the intent of all my guides to give people a relaxing way to play PoE (no matter their experience with the game) while also helping new people understand what's going on. So, when it comes to my guides, it is my goal to help new players learn the game, but learn it in a way that you'll really grasp what's happening on your own. I give direction in my guides, but not many "step by step" directions. Nor do I tell you to do things in a certain order. I give lots of detail but it's to help explain and simplify the mechanics and concepts within the build and have you understand what's going on. My guides aren't intended to be the PoE wiki (but I provide many links to it, so don't worry). My guides are massive because they completely revolve around helping new players understand what's going on. Just be prepared to discover the game and make some choices for yourself :). I hope the guides help you have a relaxing PoE experience and also help you learn and love the game as well. Happy slaying! (I'll reference my One Stop Shop a few times in my guides. It has some Tips for New Players in there that you may find useful.)
Gem Links
PoE restricts which gems are available to each class until Act 3. Until then you can get some gems for free from quest rewards, purchase some from specific NPCs in each town, or find them as loot.
There are two NPC's that sell all purchasable gems: the first one is Siosa in the Library in Act 3 (you have to do his quest first (the Library is connected to The Imperial Gardens)), the second NPC is Lilly Roth in Act 6. *If I have a level next to a gem, stop levelling that gem at that level. For example: "Cast when Damage Taken (Level 2)". Don’t level Cast when Damage Taken past gem level 2. Otherwise, fully level all gems. 5/6 Link - Main Skill (Socket in your chest) Raise Zombie - Brutality Support - Minion Damage Support - Meat Shield Support - Melee Physical Damage Support - Fortify Support
Main Skill and Supports Explained (for those that like that stuff)
Zombies are our main skill. They are the type of minion that once raised, follow you around. Zombies don't have a duration but stay raised until they die. We've included lots of survivability for them in the tree and they'll survive 99% of the content you come across.
Because of Brutality, and the auras that we're using, our minions only do physical damage and nothing else. So if you add any type of element or chaos damage to your minions, it'll be negated and will be a waste (though sometimes those things come incidentally). All of the supports are self-explanatory. They buff melee physical damage which is the type of damage our zombies do; they Attack Melee style. There are stronger options than Fortify and Meat Shield. They are there for the defence (with offensive upside). Now, you could always replace one of these supports with another minion gem like Summon Phantasm or Vaal Skeletons. You'd lower the survivability of your zombies (by lowering the damage they deal, you lower the leech they gain) but you'd give the build more damage circumstantially. Just make sure that they supports match the damage type of the minion you're adding. 4 Socket - Offering and Aura (Socket in Gloves or Boots) Cast When Damage Taken (Level 2) War Banner Desecrate (Level 8) Bone Offering (Level 8)
Offering and Aura Explained
War Banner does not need to be linked to any gems. CwDT, Desecrate, and Bone Offering need to be linked together. It's totally fine if all 4 gems are linked together.
CwDT automatically casts linked spells. Linked spells can't be self casted. (For this set of links it's optimal to have CwDT on one of the end links and Desecrate right after it. This will ensure that Desecrate casts before the offering skill. BUT it's not important at all. There are almost always corpses around. I don't reroll socket colours to get this.) Desecrate guarantees Corpses for our Offering Skill. Bone Offering consumes corpses to provide Block chance to our minions! And thanks to the Mistress of Sacrifice ascendancy node, this block chance impacts us as well (but at a reduced value). We'll be taking a Keystone on the tree that doubles our block chance but increases the damage we take from blocks. Normally when a block happens, we take 0 damage. With this build, because of the Glancing Blows node we'll take on the tree, we'll have a TON of block chance, but we'll be taking 65% of the damage a blocked hit would have given. It sounds like a big negative deal, but it's not. Think of it this way, it's like a Fortify Support that gives 35% damage reduction for ALL types of hits (instead of Fortify's 20%) and it applies to you AND your minions. Sweet. BONE ZOMBIES! The CwDT gem is low-level because I prefer the linked spells to be cast more frequently at less values than less frequently at greater values. 4 Link - Movement, Bonus Defence, and Curse! (Socket in Gloves or Boots) Shield Charge (Level 1) - Fortify Support - Hextouch Support Vulnerability
Movement, Bonus Defence, and Curse! Explained
This set is primarily for the ability to have Fortify on us. So if we're using wands, we're limited to Shield Charge. (I have Shield Charge at Level 1 because I don't like fast movement ;). I'm sure you're fine with it though, so feel free to level Shield Charge as much as you like. If you're not married to wands (for the eventual Convoking Wand), then pick any movement melee attack that you like. Just remember that we don't invest in any accuracy.
Shield Charge hits a lot as you travel with it. So it's a great place to apply curses. I have Vulnerability selected for the sake of damage but Enfeeble is never a wrong choice either. Do what you like. 4 Link - Spectres (Socket in your Helmet) Raise Spectre - Blood Magic Support - Minion Life Support - Culling Strike Support (Level 8)
Spectres Explained
(We socket this in our helmet because eventually there are mods that increase minion levels that are specific to helmets.)
Spectres are a beast of a subject. They can be as offensive/defensive/supportive as you like. Hundreds of enemies in the game can be summoned to help in the way that you wish. I like to use it as support which is why I have the support gems listed. Blood Magic gives support spectres a huge mana pool to cast their skills as often as they can (without ignoring their skills' cooldowns). Minion Life kinda makes sense doesn't it ;). I just want them to live and be supportive. Oh right, Culling Strike stops at level 8 simply because of the Dex. requirement. There's no need for our build to go higher with Dex. It's just for Culling Strike. Now, whether you choose to have these minions support you or your allies is up to you. Feel free to min/max this to your heart's content of course. Feel free to discuss within the community via this thread what support combos people come up with! There's isn't enough space in this guide to fully explain Spectres. The options are infinite. So I'll only be answering questions about Spectres regarding the suggestions that I make. But please please please feel free to discuss the infinite options at your disposal with everyone else. Spectres don't have a duration (like zombies) and are amazing. There are so many options to consider. Too many. So I use this site here for help. It shows monster damage types, life pools, where to find them...it's great. If you care to find your own Spectres, remember to look for physical damage minions. Remember, you can mix and match, you don't have to have all of your spectres as the same type. For Spectres, these are the three options I like to suggest (out of the hundreds): - If you want your minions to be like all the other minions (and not feel left out) and just deal lots of sweet damage themselves, try Kitava Heralds. They are those awesome looking big winged demons you start seeing in the Cathedral Rooftops and Feeding Trough (in acts 5 and 10 respectively). They deal lots of physical damage. - For those that want to keep themselves and keep their allies a little more safe, try the Undying Evangelists. They provide temporary Proximity Shields around themselves that protect themselves and allies within the shield of any projectiles. They can be found in the Sceptre of God and Upper Sceptre of God in Act 3 and The Grand Promenade in Act 8. - If you want to buff your allies, the big monkey things found in the Riverways in both Acts 2 and 6. They're called Stygian Silverbacks. They have a Mass Frenzy skill that gives THEIR nearby allies frenzy charges! One of my favourite thing about Spectres is that we don't have to raise them every time we login :). Just like zombies. Now, feel free to replace these gems based on your choices. IF THE PROSPECT OF SPECTRES MAKES YOU BONKERS don't worry. It doesn't have to be min/maxed. You can be very care-free with this and still have the build function perfectly. Pick one of the three suggested Spectres and then ignore it. Easy peasy. 3 Socket - Auras (Socket in your Shield) Flesh and Stone - Maim Support Pride
Auras Explained
Flesh and Stone needs to be linked with Maim Support. Pride does not need to be linked. It's totally fine if all 3 gems are linked together.
So these auras, along with Brutality linked with Zombies make the build purely physical. Because of both, it's a lot of modifying the build to try and add non-physical damage to the build. Even elemental conversion will not work with this build. So, remember, our minions only do physical damage, k? Pride gets stronger the longer an enemy is within the aura's range. It's something you can ignore as clearing will be easy and only hard enemies will be in the aura for a while. And that's when we want the damage bonus anyway. Flesh and Stone makes enemies within the aura take increased damage. (Increasing minion damage is TOTALLY DIFFERENT than enemies taking increased damage. Enemies taking increased damage is much stronger.) This has a small AoE so don't be scared to get close to enemies. It's linked with Maim because it allows us to apply Maim's damage perks to enemies without needing to use up a socket on our minion's links. If you read both Flesh and Stone and Maim you'll see that "Enemies Maimed by Supported Skills take...increased Physical Damage". Flesh and Stone maims enemies. Neat! If this doesn't make sense, let me know! 3 Link - Golem and Bonus Offence (Socket in your Weapon) Cast When Damage Taken Summon Chaos Golem Feeding Frenzy Support
Golem and Bonus Offence Explained
You can honestly use whichever golem you like, but I have a soft spot for the Chaos and Stone Golems. Whichever golem you choose, it'll be a great support. It's attached to CwDT so we never have to bother looking to see if it's dead or not. We always want our golem out because it applies some nice survivability bonus to us for free...along with buffing our minions' offence. It gives ALL OUR MINIONS the Feeding Frenzy buff which gives them increases to damage, movement speed, and attack speed. It also makes the linked minion Aggressive. (Aggressive just means they don't stay as close to you and are more eager to kill stuff.)
A Free Amazing Defensive Skill! - Bone Armour - This is our other optional active skill :). This skill comes for free from the Bone Barrier Ascendancy node. It doesn't use up a socket on your gear, but it does need to be allocated to a button. It is amazing. It gives damage reduction to you and your minions AND it also makes you and your minions immune (and removes) bleed! It is amazing. It is an Instant Skill which means you can press this skill's button in the middle of any animation and it'll cast no matter. It won't interrupt what you were doing too! Gosh, it's perfect! I honestly don't even use the "active button" part of the skill. I never think to hit the button. But if I did, I'd be even more rad. This is strong enough simply with the passive physical damage mitigation.
Gear
This is my setup if you're interested. I play the same as the guide unless I'm testing something out.
USE ANYTHING YOU WANT! - I like having a shield and one-handed weapon instead of two one-handed weapons. It's just a preference; no right or wrong there. If you’re new to PoE, check out my One Stop Shop. It gives lots of help and tips on gear, mods, currency, levelling, and endgame mapping. Some good to know stuff that you'd hate not knowing. - Weapon - Anything you like. - Shield - Anything you like (consider Shield Charge). - Head - Anything you like. - Chest - Anything you like. - Hands - Anything you like. - Feet - Anything you like. - Amulet - Anything you like. - Ring - Anything you like. - Ring - Anything you like. - Belt - Anything you like. - Jewel - Anything you like. - Flasks - Anything you like. I simply use 3 health flasks (all modified to remove bleeding) and 2 Quartz Flasks that removes Chill/Freeze. ***Now don't go being a Cotton Headed Ninny Muggins and think that because this build doesn't require anything specific that you can go and melt end game content with crap gear. Crap gear will clear crap content while amazing gear will clear amazing content. My build/guide style just allows you more freedom to get there...m'kay?
My Dream Mods
Here's an example of some of the mods and gear I'd eventually aim for. Since this is Path of Exile, there are obviously a million different combos of mods that would work for any build. So don't think that this is the best or only combo of mods to aim for. This is just my preference for "non-fancy" gear as an example of what I'd aim for Endgame. So these aren't influenced, Delve specific, Essence mods, or anything. Just easy crafting or normal rolls. So obviously you can maximize this even more. Also, these are unrealistic goals as all these mods are tier 1 rolls. (The # at the beginning of each mod is the item level that T1 mod starts rolling at. The # at the beginning of each item is the map level that base-type starts dropping at.) Anyway, here you go:
(72) Convoking Wand(s) (Only drops in the Lex Ejoris region): Implicit: - Can roll Minion Modifiers Prefix: - (84) - Minions deal (75–79)% increased Damage - (80) - Minions deal (35–39)% increased Damage/+(42–45) to maximum Mana - (60) - +1 to Level of all Minion Skill Gems Suffix: - (83) - Minions have (23–25)% increased Attack Speed/Minions have (23–25)% increased Cast Speed - (82) - Minions have (37–40)% increased maximum Life - (40) - Minions have (26–30)% increased Movement Speed (64) Ezomyte Tower Shield: Implicit: - +(30-40) to maximum Life Prefix: - (73) - +(100–109) to maximum Life - (80) - +2 to Level of Socketed Support Gems - (62) - +(43–95) to Armour/+(29–33) to maximum Life Suffix: - (84) - +(46–48)% to Fire/Cold/Lightning Resistance - (81) - +(31–35)% to Chaos Resistance - (81) - Regenerate (1–1.1)% of Life per second (73) Bone Helmet (Only drops in the Lira Arthain region): Implicit: - Minions deal (15-20)% increased Damage Prefix: - (64) - +(90–99) to maximum Life - (86) - +3 to Level of Socketed Minion Gems - (60) - +1 to maximum number of Raised Zombies/+1 to maximum number of Skeletons Suffix: - (84) - +(46–48)% to Fire/Cold/Lightning Resistance - (81) - +(31–35)% to Chaos Resistance - (68) - Minions have (16–20)% increased maximum Life Chest: Prefix: - (86) - +(120–129) to maximum Life - (60) - (5–8)% increased maximum Life/(5–8)% increased maximum Mana Suffix: - (84) - +(46–48)% to Fire/Cold/Lightning Resistance - (84) - +(46–48)% to Fire/Cold/Lightning Resistance - (81) - +(31–35)% to Chaos Resistance Gloves: Prefix: - (54) - +(80–89) to maximum Life - (40) - Minions deal (10–20)% increased Damage - (81) - +(36–40) to maximum Life/Regenerate 4 Mana per second Suffix: - (84) - +(46–48)% to Fire/Cold/Lightning Resistance - (84) - +(46–48)% to Fire/Cold/Lightning Resistance - (81) - +(31–35)% to Chaos Resistance (70) Two-Toned Boots (Only drops is the Tirn's End and Lex Proxima regions): Prefix: - (54) - +(80–89) to maximum Life - (81) - (18–20)% increased Movement Speed/Cannot be Chilled - (46) - +(11–15) to maximum Energy Shield/+(24–28) to maximum Life Suffix: - (84) - +(46–48)% to Fire/Cold/Lightning Resistance - (84) - +(46–48)% to Fire/Cold/Lightning Resistance - (81) - +(31–35)% to Chaos Resistance (74) Marble Amulet (Only drops in the Haewark Hamlet region): Implicit: - Regenerate (1.2-1.6)% of Life per second Prefix: - (54) - +(80–89) to maximum Life - (81) - +(36–40) to maximum Life/Regenerate 4 Mana per second - Something cool :) Suffix: - (85) - +(33–35) to all Attributes - (82) - +(51–55) to Dexterity - (60) - Minions have (18–22)% increased Movement Speed (80) Vermillion Rings (Only drops in the Lex Proxima and New Vastir regions): Implicit: - (5-7)% increased maximum Life Prefix: - (44) - +(70–79) to maximum Life - (81) - +(36–40) to maximum Life/Regenerate 4 Mana per second - Something Cool :) Suffix: - (84) - +(46–48)% to Fire/Cold/Lightning Resistance - (81) - +(31–35)% to Chaos Resistance - (60) - Minions have (18–22)% increased Movement Speed (1) Stygian Vise (Belt): Implicit: - Has 1 Abyssal Socket Prefix: - (64) - +(90–99) to maximum Life - (81) - +(36–40) to maximum Life/Regenerate 4 Mana per second - Something Cool :) Suffix: - (84) - +(46–48)% to Fire/Cold/Lightning Resistance - (84) - +(46–48)% to Fire/Cold/Lightning Resistance - (81) - +(31–35)% to Chaos Resistance Flasks: (60) Divine Life Flask or (65) Eternal Life Flask: Prefix: - (2) - +(10–20) to Maximum Charges Suffix: - (8) - Immunity to Bleeding during Flask effect/Removes Bleeding on use (27) Quartz Flask: Implicit: Phasing/10% chance to Dodge Attack Hits/10% chance to Dodge Spell Hits Prefix: - (2) - +(10–20) to Maximum Charges Suffix: - (4) - Immunity to Freeze and Chill during Flask effect/Removes Freeze and Chill on use Weapon Mods: - Anything Minion - Any other minor thing that helps (resists, attributes...). This isn't important. It's just a bonus. Your goal on the rest of your gear is: - Increases to Maximum life - Increases to Resists - Increases to Movement Speed (Typically on Boots) - Anything Minion - Ensuring you have high enough attributes for your skills. ***Remember that the only mods that help minion damage SPECIFICALLY SAY "minion" or "ally". Any other improvements to damage only affect you (and you don't do damage).*** Filters: - I make my own filters AND YOU ARE REQUIRED TO LOVE THEM! Just kidding...but they are awesome. They will make looting a MUCH more relaxing experience. They only filter gear. So if you don't want to miss out on ANY currency these are perfect for you. One filter is guide specific (it only displays gear relevant to all my guides) and the other is a global filter for any build. Details for each tier of each filter are within the filters themselves. Both the "Guide Specific" and the "Everyone" filters are available on all platforms. If you click "Follow" next to the filter that you want, it'll automatically load to your filter list in-game when you login! And it automatically updates upon each login as well!
Passive Tree
Here's 3.13's Passive Tree:
- 3.13's PasteBin - https://pastebin.com/dtxdXiQG - This Pastebin will only work in the Community Fork version of PoB. (Copy the link, open Path of Building, click on “New”, then click “Import/Export Build”, click “Import from Pastebin…”, paste the link.) - 3.13's Passive Tree on PoE's website.
Ascendancy
As you go through the game you'll come across Trials of Ascendancy. Starting in Act 3 you'll see their value. Once you have completed all 6 of the first set of trails, you'll get to attempt your first Labyrinth (lab). Good luck! Upon completion Choose Necromancy. You get two ascendancy points per lab. There are four labs for a total of 8 points. (Redoing the same lab difficulty will not reward you with more ascendancy points if you've already completed it.)
You can spend your points in any order you like. My preference is as follows: - 1st Two Points - Mistress of Sacrifice. Part of our core defence that's coupled with the Glancing Blows Keystone on the three. Having our Bone Offering impact us is the only reason I chose Bone Offering. This essentially makes all of our blocks like a super-strong Fortify. - 2nd Two Points - Mindless Aggression. Increases Minion Damage, Movement Speed, and Attack/Cast Speed. - 3rd Two Points - Bone Barrier. This is a busy node. It gives us physical damage reduction, increased life recovery rate per minion up, and it gives our minions more life. Most importantly, it also gives us a free skill, Bone Armour (explained in the "gem" section). Free is nice. It can be manually cast after you assign it a button. This is one of our Active skills. - 4th Two Points - Unnatural Strength. This increases the level of ALL of our minion skill gems; even their maximum level. Minion gems get stronger and stronger the higher their level. This is our strongest offensive node. **Unnatural Strength makes its corresponding gems act as if they were 2 levels higher. And for all intents and purposes, they are. BUT in terms of gems impacted by this node that are linked with CwDT, you don't have to worry about the bonus. In other words, you can level the spells linked to CwDT to their normal level the guide indicates and ignore the bonus. The gem will still act as if it's two levels higher but the bonus gem levels from Unnatural Strength won't increase the gem's level outside of the CwDT trigger range.
Delirium Clusters
I have provided one jewel socket on the outside of the Passive Tree for the sake of Cluster Jewels. In SSF Land you don't know what's going to drop. So the tree is made so that you can clear the Atlas no matter the jewels that drop. You can, therefore, choose which nodes from the provided tree to cut based on what drops. If Minion mods drop in a jewel, you can remove it from the main tree. If Max Life drops, then you can remove that from the tree...and so forth. If you're in a trade league, you'll likely know what you're looking for and should have a plan of what to cut from the provided tree as part of your plan while purchasing.
You'll start as a Witch. It's a minion heavy ascendancy (obviously). Levelling Path: **Just follow the tree and take the nodes as they come. You'll find it quite naturally balanced. The tree will take you to level 91; it'll be easy to achieve. Pick anything you like after that. (If I was to level this character again, I'd literally just "hug the right" and pick the nodes as they come. Seriously. The tree is balanced with all aspects of the build as long as you don't skip nodes along the way.) Tree Focuses: - Minions - I've selected the nodes that increase minion limits and really focused on minion life, leech, and regen. I want the Zombies to live while they taunt. Obviously, I put in as much minion damage as possible as well. - Jewels - Jewel slots are amazing. Jewels are items you can find that you can actually allocate on your tree. They can give almost anything from health, damage, resists...anything. We have only 2 jewel socket selected :(. As great as jewels are, I find managing them and remembering what I have socketed, exhausting. So I typically only have one slot per character. What's really neat is you can swap jewels in and out of your passive tree anytime. BUT for those that like many jewels, we're really close to a few others that should be easy for you to change the tree a bit to get there. - Health. You need it to live. :) Don't forget about attributes. You'll pass some nodes on the tree that give +30 to Strength or Dexterity. If you don't have items to cover what you're short in, feel free to select some of these as you pass them. You'll get respec points that will let you remove them later once you have better gear. Now, feel free to modify this in anyway. This is just my preference for easy Solo Self Found. Take your time to look at each passive node as they come along. Some of the nodes are pretty dramatic. Some quests earn you respec points in case you regret any decisions you made on the tree. You can also use Orbs of Regret for the same thing.
Pantheon
Choose any you like as they come across. I personally like physical damage reduction but there are no make or break options here. Just personal preference.
Bandits
Kill all the Bandits for the extra two passive points.
Attributes
You'll get most of the attributes that you require to use your gems from the tree. You'll need a little bit of Strength and Dexterity.
You'll Be Short: Strength: 11 Dexterity: 24 Intelligence: 0 Needing 11 Str. and 24 Dex. is really easy to get. An Amulet can easily accommodate your needs. Though we don't need almost any extra Str., it'll typically come late in the tree. So don't pass by Str. mods apathetically. From the Tree You'll Get: Strength: 144 Dexterity: 44 Intelligence: 292 Your Gems Need: Strength: 155 Dexterity: 68 Intelligence: 155
Gameplay (How the Build Functions When It's All Setup)
This build is really easy to play. Sooooo easy.
Quick Version: Move around and our zombies kill everything. That's it! Honestly! Everything else is automatic! Slightly Detailed Version: This build's offence is 100% minions. We do no damage ourselves. Our defence is from Bone Armour (from our ascendancy), , Fortify, block chance from Bone Offering (and Glancing Blows), support spells, and Spectres (and Enfeeble if you so choose). Offence: Our zombies can do all content and once raised; everything else is support. Our zombies (because of the auras we're using and Brutality Support) deal pure physical damage. Adding any other type of damage to minions in any way is lost on this build. It won't be beneficial. Our Auras force us to be relatively close to our enemies. Pride makes enemies take more damage the longer they are within the Pride aura (which is large), while Flesh and Stone has a pretty small AoE. Defence: Bone Armour is a skill that comes from our ascendancy that is really awesome. It requires a button press for half of the skill, but as mentioned, I always forget about it and simply take advantage of the passive physical damage mitigation it provides. It's extremely strong and should be active as often as you think about it. It's considered an Instant Skill which means it has no cast time. This also means it can be cast in the middle of another animation without interruption. The button can also just be held down. Bone Offering gives us some pretty good block chance for almost zero investment and is automatically cast when we take very little damage. Coupled with Glancing Blows on the tree, this gives us 35% damage mitigation against ALL HITS (while Bone Offering is active). Also, if you stuck with the guide, almost every time you use Shield Charge, you'll have Fortify. That's nice. Keep in mind, lots of little extra perks happen when we get hit. When you check the gem section, you'll see that getting hit has its benefits as it refreshes many of our support skills. Getting hit is kinda required with this build ;). Obviously your Spectres play a big role, but I have no idea what you chose to do with those. How Minions Work: Minion damage only increases with items, gems, or passive tree nodes that specifically increase "minion damage". If a node on the tree or mod on an item doesn't specify "minion", it won't be useful at all. So something that says, "Increases your damage by 30%" won't improve your minions' damage. In this build your character will do almost no damage, only your minions will. Minions ARE considered Allies. So auras, nodes, or items that improve allies will benefit our minions. (Not every skill that reserves mana is an aura.) Minions are NOT considered Party Members and will not gain any benefit from Party Member benefits. Our minions Attack enemies, they don't Cast spells. So anything that improves minion/ally Attack Speed will help our build, but not Cast Speed (that's for spells). Lastly, minions are their own entity. Once you bring them into the world, they attack who they want. Some minions are summoned, others are raised. Summoned minions (like the Skeletons) don't follow you but will keep attacking and chasing enemies within their attack radius. These minions have a duration. Other minions are raised, such as Zombies. They do not have a duration and will stay raised until dead. These types of minions will follow us wherever we go. They will also follow the lead of summoned minions as well. Lastly lastly, minions don't care about you. So if you're taking damage, they aren't going to run back and help you. You have to help yourself. Let me know if you have any questions.
Media (Videos/Filters/Tools/Links/Social Media)
- Here's 3.13's gameplay example video.
- My BONE ZOMBIES playlist showing my most recent sessions with the build. - My broadcast channel. Twitch keeps the last 14 days worth of broadcasts. I don't always play awake, but I'd rather play than not :). Filters: - I make my own filters AND YOU ARE REQUIRED TO LOVE THEM! Just kidding...but they are awesome. They will make looting a MUCH more relaxing experience. They only filter gear. So if you don't want to miss out on ANY currency these are perfect for you. One filter is guide specific (it only displays gear relevant to all my guides) and the other is a global filter for any build. There are four tiers of strictness per filter. Details for each tier of each filter are within the filters themselves. Both the "Guide Specific" and the "Everyone" filters are available on all platforms. If you click "Follow" next to the filter that you want, it'll automatically load to your filter list in-game when you login! And it automatically updates upon each login as well! Social: - Forever Exiled - A Path of Exile Podcast is a PoE podcast hosted by both Tagz and myself. We talk about everything Path of Exile...and only PoE. If you're looking for a podcast run by casual gamers but lovers of PoE, feel free to check it out! - My Twitter. I only use my twitter account to give updates on PoE stuff like my guides and filters. I don't use Twitter for anything personal. So if you want updates about when guides are done or filter corrections have been updated, feel free to follow. Software: - PoEMate - My primary build planning tool. It's mobile. (If the link doesn't work in your area, just search PoEMate in your mobile store. Hopefully, it's available in your region. Every league it's updated faster than any other tool I use.) - FORK Path of Building - Another planner I use. - Yolo Mouse - If you have a hard time keeping track of your mouse during gameplay, try this out. I use it for all my PC games and I'd die 100x more in PoE if it wasn't for this little program. Build Links: - 3.13's PasteBin - https://pastebin.com/dtxdXiQG - This Pastebin will only work in the Community Fork version of PoB. (Copy the link, open Path of Building, click on “New”, then click “Import/Export Build”, click “Import from Pastebin…”, paste the link.) - 3.13's Passive Tree on PoE's website. https://www.ForeverExiled.com/: Forever Exiled, A Path of Exile Podcast Last edited by Wrecker_of_Days#7691 on Apr 15, 2021, 3:36:58 PM Last bumped on Apr 15, 2021, 3:37:06 PM
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Levelling
SHUT UP Wrecker! I JUST WANT TO PLAY! (3.12's guide in one picture)
Ok! Yikes...you could have at least said "please" or something...
1. The first is a player that knows the game well enough that, no matter the guide/build, they have no need for direction. 2. The second is a player that wants to be able to level like the person I just mentioned. Though newer PoE players may find PoE daunting, I feel the most efficient way to learn PoE is to make decisions for yourself. I think you'll be surprised how quickly you catch on to each mechanic you start playing with. So this section won't be about holding your hand and giving you a step by step process. It'll guide and encourage you to choose between the pros and cons your character will constantly face...while levelling and selecting gear. I know, I know, you hate me. But maybe you'll thank me later? Maybe? (Remember, I have some tips for new players in my One Stop Shop that'll help in the overall PoE experience that any levelling process will benefit from. Below are tips for levelling this character, not general levelling tips.)
Where to Get All the Gems You'll Need
There are two NPCs that sell all purchasable gems: the first one is Siosa in the Library in Act 3 (you have to do his quest first (the Library is connected to The Imperial Gardens)), the second NPC is Lilly Roth in Act 6 (Do her quest in Act 6).
Act 1 - Enemy at the Gate - Reward - Level 1 - Raise Zombie Act 1 - The Caged Brute - Purchase - Level 8 - Minion Damage Damage Support Act 1 - The Siren’s Cadence - Purchase - Level 12 - Bone Offering Act 2 - Intruders in Black - Reward - Level 16 - Desecrate Act 2 - Sharp and Cruel - Purchase - Level 18 - Culling Strike Support Act 2 - Sharp and Cruel - Purchase - Level 18 - Melee Physical Support Act 2 - Sharp and Cruel - Purchase - Level 18 - Minion Life Support Act 3 - Lost in Love - Purchase - Level 24 - Pride Act 3 - Sever the Right Hand - Reward - Level 28 - Raise Spectre Act 3 - A Fixture of Fate - Reward - Level 31 - Meat Shield Support Act 3 - A Fixture of Fate - Purchase - Level 1 - Blood Magic Support Act 3 - A Fixture of Fate - Purchase - Level 4 - War Banner Act 3 - A Fixture of Fate - Purchase - Level 10 - Shield Charge Act 3 - A Fixture of Fate - Purchase - Level 14 - Vulnerability Act 3 - A Fixture of Fate - Purchase - Level 28 - Flesh and Stone Act 3 - A Fixture of Fate - Purchase - Level 28 - Maim Support Act 3 - A Fixture of Fate - Purchase - Level 31 - Feeding Frenzy Support Act 4 - Breaking the Seal - Reward - level 34 - Summon Chaos Golem Act 4 - The Eternal Nightmare - Purchase - Level 38 - Cast when Damage Taken (x2) Act 4 - The Eternal Nightmare - Purchase - Level 38 - Hextouch Support Act 6 - Fallen from Grace - Purchase - Level 38 - Brutality Support Act 6 - Fallen from Grace - Purchase - Level 31 - Fortify Support (x2) (Let me know if you see any errors in the list.) - I suggest doing every quest in the game. It doesn't take too much longer and you'll get some nice bonus gear to help the SSF process. For those that just want to rush to the Endgame, here's a link to all the quests that give Passive Points as a reward. You don't want to miss those. Bandits - With the Bandits in Act 2, I kill them all for the extra 2 skill points. You, of course, do what you like. The Lord's Labyrinth - Here's a list of all the lab trials for the first three labyrinths (the trials for the fourth lab are found randomly in endgame maps). How to Level the Build What Skill(s) Should I Use - Our main skill, Raise Zombies, is available right away. They don't really have the survivability to be efficient right away so I like to use Summon Raging Spirits (SRS) or Summon Skeleton. You'll want to keep a mana flask for SRS. Feel free to use SRS until any point in the game, just be sure that you're levelling the build's gems too. Once your zombies hit around gem level 11 they start to be able to hold their own. I've found that Zombies-Minion Damage-Summon Phantasm is a great 3 link to level with. This build is really easy to level as all the major gems you need are available naturally and early on to the Witch. Passive Tree - You can honestly go in any direction you like. The main points to the tree are: life nodes for you, minion nodes, and a Keystone. No matter the direction you choose, if you pick all nodes as they come across without skipping any, you'll have a very balanced character as you level. There really isn't a wrong way to go. There isn't anything wrong with getting any major nodes early or later on. - If you have to be told what to do in order to progress ;), progress on your tree like I progress my maps; "hug the right wall". There's no reason for it though. I just like turning right :). Gear - Gear is so easy here. Minions only benefit from terms that specifically say Minion or Ally; and most of those mods don't drop while you're levelling. So you're really only looking for gear for yourself that has better life and resists than what you currently have equipped. It's really that simple. High-five for minions!
Endgame Mods to Avoid
At the end of the game, the levels (maps) you try and clear will have random modifiers (mods) allocated to them. There are A LOT of mods that can go on a map.
This build should only avoid maps that roll Physical Reflect. Some other map mods might be inconvenient, but they won't be impossible to run. For example, we need mana for our movement skill which gives us Fortify and our curse. But you don't need it. Obviously it's helpful though. You'll learn your personal preferences the more you play. If you hate dying, pay attention to map mods. They can modify your playstyle slightly no matter the build.
My Filters
Oh my goodness! A link! You should click on it. Definitely. WOW! Look at all those pretty green FOLLOW buttons. You should press them all ;).
https://www.pathofexile.com/account/view-profile/Wrecker_of_Days/item-filters I LOVE FILTERS! So, I make my own filters! THEY ARE AMAZING ;). For me, making filters is just as fun as playing Path of Exile. If you're looking to cut down on the amount of garbage on your screen but don't actually want to miss anything, my filters are right up your alley. They only filter equippable items. Everything else will show. I've made two types of filters: 1 - A filter that only shows gear relevant to my guides. 2 - A filter for everyone that's relevant for all builds. Each of the above filters has 4 tiers of strictness you'll want to Follow: 1. Starting Off (Used for levelling until you're mapping comfortably.) 2. Tops-84s-Fancies-Atlas (Used when you are only looking for the top bases of each class.) 3. 84s-Fancies-Atlas (Used when you only care about gear item level 84+.) 4. Fancies-Atlas (Used when you only want Fancy gear like Atlas Drops, Influenced gear, etc.) The descriptions of each are on the filter page, with all the details you want, explained within. (Because I have two filters (2), each with four tiers(2*4=8), posted for all 3 platforms (2*4*3=24), my filter list is quite large. So just be sure you're Following the filters you want for the platform you want. It's easy to mix it up with a list that large.) Please let me know if you have any feedback or see any errors you may find within the filters...otherwise, I hope they enhance your PoE experience! If my filters interest you, once you've clicked on the provided link, click "Follow" next to the filter(s) that you want. It'll automatically load to your filter list in-game when you login AND it automatically updates upon each login as well!
Forever Exiled - A Path of Exile Podcast
https://www.foreverexiled.com/
If you're looking for a Podcast that's 100% Path of Exile, my buddy Tagz and I have exactly that! A podcast that is 100% about Path of Exile! We put out an episode once a week and talk about all things Path of Exile 100% of the time. Tagz started playing Path of Exile 100% of the time in Beta (April 2012) and I started playing Path of Exile 100% of the time in 2014. We play Path of Exile completely different, 100%. (His ways suck 100%, mine don't...100%. (In other words, he crushes Path of Exile 100% and I hate him for it...100% true.)) If you check out the podcast, let us know what you think. We've grown like crazy! 100% Serious. It's insane. So the more feedback we get the better. Thanks 100% for the listens!  Replies: Feel free to respond to other players' posts! The more that's out there, the more we learn. Please be kind, respectful, and theoretical (not a Know-It-All) when helping others out. I will happily respond to questions but please note that I have multiple guides and I'd like to respond to each equally. I’ll do my best to get back to you as quickly as possible but set your expectations that I'll respond to each guide once a week. (Too much time responding to guides makes an unhappy spouse...an unhappy spouse means less time for guide replies...less time for guide replies makes an unhappy me...Unhappy spouse + unhappy me = an epic hockey fight with sweet uppercuts which I would obviously lose...a lost hockey fight against my spouse = busted hands that I can't type with, no teeth to voice type with, and black eyes that I can't read with. So one build a day, m'kay? K.) Here's a list of my OTHER GUIDES if you're interested :). OH! Don't forget, to support GGG by buying a skin for all your favourite skills you use. They last forever, you look rad, and it keeps PoE going too :). Double OH! I make a new thread every league for every guide I do. So all the comments, questions, and answers you read are all relevant for this current expansion. (At the end of a league I post links in the previous guide to guide players to the newest rendition of the build.) Tripple Oh! Please let me know if you see any errors. I'll fix them as soon as possible!
Change Log (for returning players)
Very little changed.
- I changed a 4 link to a movement skill that can apply Fortify and a curse (on hit). - Predator Support changed to Meat Shield. - Oh, Spectres are now in the helmet instead of a 3 link so we aren't scared to lose our spectres everytime we swap weapon sets. (That was dumb of me in 3.12, sorry.)
Build History
3.12 - Stress-Free PoE! BONE ZOMBIES: No Required Items! 1-Button Play! SSF League Start-End! 3.12
3.11 - 3.11 - Stress-Free PoE! SLOW-MO ZOMBIES: No Required Items! 1-Button Play! SSF League Start-End! 3.10 - 3.10|Stress-Free PoE| SLOW-MO ZOMBIES |Use Any Items You Want|1 Button Gameplay|Easily Customizable 3.9 - 3.9| Stress-Free PoE - SLOW-MO ZOMBIES |SSF the Atlas w/ 1 Button & Any Gear|Dungeon Crawl PoE! 3.8 - 3.8| Stress Free PoE - SLOW-MO ZOMBIES |Clear the Atlas with YOUR Items at YOUR Pace (SSF & Co-op) 3.7 - 3.7| Stress Free PoE - SLOW-MO ZOMBIES |Clear the Atlas with YOUR Items at YOUR Pace (SSF & Co-op) 3.6 - Stress Free PoE| SLOW MO ZOMBIES |ANY Items Work|Easy/Relaxing Play|Easily Clears the Atlas [3.6] 3.5 - Slow Mo Zombies! (No Uniques Needed|Relaxed Playstyle|Easy to Gear|Anyone Can Play|All Content)[3.5] 3.4 - Super Slow Mo! (All content! No uniques required! Perfect for new, SSF, & challenged gamers.) (3.4) 3.3 - Super Slow Mo! (No uniques required! Made for new, physically challenged, & SSF gamers.)(3.3) 3.2 - 3.2 - Wrecker of Days - Super Slow Motion - Explained and Designed to Take New Players to the End 3.1 - 3.1 - SRS - Super Slow Mo - Cheap (5C) (Perfect for new players, poor players, and endgame players). https://www.ForeverExiled.com/: Forever Exiled, A Path of Exile Podcast Last edited by Wrecker_of_Days#7691 on Jan 14, 2021, 4:46:01 PM
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You rock.
https://www.ForeverExiled.com/: Forever Exiled, A Path of Exile Podcast
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Thanks for the update! I really appreciate and enjoy the builds.
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My favourite minion build is back ! I'll be happy to play it as a league starter.
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Looking forward to starting with this, used your cyclone build a couple of leagues back and it was a breeze to play, had been hoping to get back to zombies and your here with a rsi friendly zombie build!
Especially appreciate the low gear build as it allows for newbs like myself a chance to experiment if a unique that might boost things even further drops, as opposed to requiring them from the get go. Thank you and have a great league! Last edited by Lorflin#2843 on Jan 14, 2021, 7:41:57 PM
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This is a newb question but what about Physical immune monsters?
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No monster in poe is immune to physical damage. (or fire, cold, lightning).
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I'm in!!! Until I figure out if I want to do something else or not, I'll go with easy and effortless!
Thanks Wrecker, almost beach time... I will wear your ghost and you will die twice, against me and for me.
That is some cold blooded shit to say... |
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I know this is a standard league oriented build, but what would be your thoughts for 3.13 minion nerfs? Is the build still possible to play?
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