Stress-Free PoE :-) | BONE ZOMBIES: No Required Items, 1-Button Play, SSF League Start-End | 3.15

Hi again! I played a bit with the Ancient Skull,it's doing the trick nicely,zombies randomly becomes absolute units of destruction.
When the Whispers effect activates,they seem to lose life (since now some of them dies),they hit random enemies,but they DO NOT ATTACK YOU.
However...Specters tend to die a lot.
So it's a 50/50 item.
And you're welcome about my words,it's deserved^^

"

Dharkhy wrote:

Spoiler

Hi again! I played a bit with the Ancient Skull,it's doing the trick nicely,zombies randomly becomes absolute units of destruction.
When the Whispers effect activates,they seem to lose life (since now some of them dies),they hit random enemies,but they DO NOT ATTACK YOU.
However...Specters tend to die a lot.
So it's a 50/50 item.
And you're welcome about my words,it's deserved^^

Oh awesome Dharkhy! Thank you :). And that's great feedback as I likely won't be touching the unique so that's good to feedback. Thanks!

Hello, Wrecker-of-Days,

Great build thus far as I am only playing this for the league and no other builds due to limited time I have for the game. I am not sure if my character is open to the public for viewing, but I followed the guide pretty closely and I am having very good results so far.

A few things I've noticed along the way:

1) Zombies (which you and other noted) tend to disengage mobs if you are not moving toward, close or around the enemies. While we have good damage mitigation built in, it is also sporadic due to cool-downs etc. Thus leaving me open to a two-shot death at times.

2) I HATE SHIELD CHARGE! OMG!!11! Why is it that sometimes it charges me forward and other times it locks me in place? The several deaths I had was due to that, so I will see about another movement skill in the near future.

3) The Kitava Heralds and the Silverback seems to work nicely as stated in the guide. I am also hearing/reading about the syndicate mobs are great too, but at this time I have not been able to capture one.

4) At tier 7-8 maps, it feels like the minions are hitting with wet-noodles, but this may be due to certain map mods and not particularly the build itself.

I plan to play this build until next patch, but I wanted to thank you for spending time putting it together and participating with the community.

In Game Name: SluttMuffinsMcGee

character name GlendaGW
my 2nd build of the game (first was Templar Holy Relics)
thank-you thank-you thank-you
this game can be a lot for a beginner. you have made this so much fun as the build has such simple functions.

I am not tech savvy on filters, I'd like to be able to see gems that drop with quality as they can be traded to make gem upgrades.


I found clay shaper rock breaker ... seems perfect to use with minions + golem. what are your thoughts please.

Question is I found to hard to get the right socket colors on items for gems to be added. Helm has +2 to minion gems - hard to roll the green for culling
I have 3 B with one red trading culling for vaal summon skeletons ... what are your thoughts please.

last I cannot seem to get sufficient mana for flesh & stone - I get the icon on my screen : does this still work if I hover over skill button that states not enough mana ? - how do I get this to work properly ? should I use tree skills to lower mana resources?

Hi, Pallydyn,

I know your question was directed to the thread leader, but if okay, I would like to submit my humble thoughts here:

Question is I found to hard to get the right socket colors on items for gems to be added. Helm has +2 to minion gems - hard to roll the green for culling
I have 3 B with one red trading culling for vaal summon skeletons ...

Ans: I found it best to use the socket trick by adding and removing sockets using the jeweler's crafting recipe as wasting 100s of chromatics is annoying. To get a lot of jewelers, I vender just about every six socket item I find (of course as long is it not 6-linked :) ). If you go from a 2 to 3 sockets the new socket will be a different color... sometimes. If you don't get what you want, then re-craft back to 2 and repeat the process.

last I cannot seem to get sufficient mana for flesh & stone - I get the icon on my screen : does this still work if I hover over skill button that states not enough mana ? - how do I get this to work properly ?

I had this issue too at first. I really did not need flesh-stone until T4 maps to be honest. In fact, you might be okay without it depending on your gear. However, if you get/craft gear with high mana pool then it is doable. If you follow the guide, two of the auras are using your life-pool and not mana pool (I believe the life / mana regen auras are there). The other auras are base on mana. Quite frankly, flesh and stone is a great addition but at a rather high mana reserve cost :(

I hope this helps a little.

Hey everyone! I'm Sabbathing today so I'll be responding to guide replies tomorrow. But I've decided what the "new" gem setup would be if I was to release the guide today (or what it'll be for 3.16 if nothing changes). So I wanted to share it since I have the time. (I've posted it at the top of the guide as well.)

"So I've played around with 3.15's mana changes for a while now. Here's how I'd set the gems up for 3.16 if nothing changes:"

6L: Zombies - Meat Shield - Brutality - Melee Physical - Ruthless - Stun (Support)
3L, 1S: Spectres - Minion Life - Maim, Pride
4L: Void Sphere 1 - Hextouch - Vulnerability - Culling Strike
4L: CwDT 7 - Desecrate 1 - Bone Offering 12 - Withering Step 1
2L, 1S: Golem - Feeding Frenzy, Skitterbots
3L: Arrogance - Vitality - Clarity

(L=links, S=sockets-unlinked)

This setup has way more survivability and pretty equal damage. With the Zombies stunning and only one CwDT link, mana is way more predictable and completely under control. The build itself becomes extremely predictable and very safe to play. I've played lots with it the last while and am really happy with it.

(You could go for even more damage with Fortify and Multistrike instead of Ruthless and Stun.)"

Hi Wrecker

Great guide as always, thank you. Having some fun with this one yet again , it seems to be my go-to build to choose since I started playing last year.

I hate shield charge and the randomness of it sometimes working and sometimes moving you hardly anywhere, so have swopped this out for CWDT - Vulnerability - Withering step

My question to you , as I have no idea accept for one of your past Bone Zombie guides that I used , is if I do the following , does Banner still work with Zombies?

If I take the Sovereignty node on the tree with the 3 nodes leading to it , reducing the reservation costs by 14% it helps with the lesser life reserved and it leaves some room left to slot in War Banner (in your past guide this worked very well with the physical zombies , does it still work the same ?)

Just thought I would ask you as I have no clue really what I am doing when it comes to all the gem interactions

On a plus side , after struggling quite some time in t2 / t3 maps I eventually got my 5 link , which has made a huge difference and added the war banner , so things are almost melting like they did last league and the league before that and the league before :))

Thanks for another great build, Wrecker!

I played POE for a good stretch back in 2018, before becoming frustrated by complexity of key bindings needed and specific equipment necessary for the builds I was following. Using your 1-button play has completely renewed my enjoyment of the game.

I am anxious to try the new gem links for this build...time to start leveling some gems. That being said, I am level 91, SSF, using the original setup with very few problems. My deaths are usually due to lack of remembering boss mechanics. I have made a couple changes during leveling, that I have stayed with since they seem to be working OK. I have linked summon phantasm support to my chaos golem. Also, I have linked melee physical damage to my spectres because it was easier than getting a green socket for culling. I have not used the arrogance support links (vitality and clarity) as the life sacrifice seems too great based on my current equipment. My bone offering seems to be active almost all the time, and mana doesn't seem to be a major issue.

Once again, thanks for devoting so much time to keep the game fun for the casual gamer.

Hey Sabbathing,
Thanks for the build.
This is really good for casual player.

"

Seebeu wrote:

Spoiler

Hello, Wrecker-of-Days,

Great build thus far as I am only playing this for the league and no other builds due to limited time I have for the game. I am not sure if my character is open to the public for viewing, but I followed the guide pretty closely and I am having very good results so far.

A few things I've noticed along the way:

1) Zombies (which you and other noted) tend to disengage mobs if you are not moving toward, close or around the enemies. While we have good damage mitigation built in, it is also sporadic due to cool-downs etc. Thus leaving me open to a two-shot death at times.

2) I HATE SHIELD CHARGE! OMG!!11! Why is it that sometimes it charges me forward and other times it locks me in place? The several deaths I had was due to that, so I will see about another movement skill in the near future.

3) The Kitava Heralds and the Silverback seems to work nicely as stated in the guide. I am also hearing/reading about the syndicate mobs are great too, but at this time I have not been able to capture one.

4) At tier 7-8 maps, it feels like the minions are hitting with wet-noodles, but this may be due to certain map mods and not particularly the build itself.

I plan to play this build until next patch, but I wanted to thank you for spending time putting it together and participating with the community.

In Game Name: SluttMuffinsMcGee

Thanks Seebeu!

That's really kind of you. Thanks for the encouragement and feedback! It's good to hear.

I too have noticed that Zombies seem a little extra dumb this league. Something seems to have changed cause they are acting a lot less aware than I remember in past leagues. Maybe someone's brought it up to GGG already.

I'm glad you're having such a good time. Thanks again for the post!

"

PALLYDYN wrote:

Spoiler

character name GlendaGW
my 2nd build of the game (first was Templar Holy Relics)
thank-you thank-you thank-you
this game can be a lot for a beginner. you have made this so much fun as the build has such simple functions.

I am not tech savvy on filters, I'd like to be able to see gems that drop with quality as they can be traded to make gem upgrades.


I found clay shaper rock breaker ... seems perfect to use with minions + golem. what are your thoughts please.

Question is I found to hard to get the right socket colors on items for gems to be added. Helm has +2 to minion gems - hard to roll the green for culling
I have 3 B with one red trading culling for vaal summon skeletons ... what are your thoughts please.

last I cannot seem to get sufficient mana for flesh & stone - I get the icon on my screen : does this still work if I hover over skill button that states not enough mana ? - how do I get this to work properly ? should I use tree skills to lower mana resources?

Hey PALLYDYN!

I'm so glad that the build has made sense for you as a new player. It's hard to write thinking like a new player. So it's good to hear that it makes sense and has helped you learn and progress.

In regards to quality gems, they are shown in the filter, but not every one. Only gems that are 14% quality and higher show. I found that I got really annoyed when I had a full stash tab of gems to trade in but I needed 10 gems for one GCP. So I have the recipe to show 14%+ so that I know every 3 gems trades in for one GCP.

I personally don't see too much of a value for a Clay Shaper in this build. You could use an Essence of Fear on a Convoking wand and get something that works for all the minions in the build instead of only a secondary one.

Socket colour frequency is based on the type of basetype you have. In my One Stop Shop I have a couple of tips for new folks. In there I talk about Evasion items being more likely to roll green items and such. So give that a look if you haven't already. Colouring sockets is easy for this build if you're rolling Chromatics on Armour/Energy Shield gear.

With mana, as you level you'll end up getting more mana inherently, though the game doesn't tell you that. But, some support gems may apply to an aura and therefore increase the mana the aura costs. So make sure you have nothing linked to your aura that shouldn't be. If that's not the case, just don't turn on Flesh and Stone until you have the mana for it. The build is fine without it.

"

derranged1301 wrote:

Spoiler

Hi Wrecker

Great guide as always, thank you. Having some fun with this one yet again , it seems to be my go-to build to choose since I started playing last year.

I hate shield charge and the randomness of it sometimes working and sometimes moving you hardly anywhere, so have swopped this out for CWDT - Vulnerability - Withering step

My question to you , as I have no idea accept for one of your past Bone Zombie guides that I used , is if I do the following , does Banner still work with Zombies?

If I take the Sovereignty node on the tree with the 3 nodes leading to it , reducing the reservation costs by 14% it helps with the lesser life reserved and it leaves some room left to slot in War Banner (in your past guide this worked very well with the physical zombies , does it still work the same ?)

Just thought I would ask you as I have no clue really what I am doing when it comes to all the gem interactions

On a plus side , after struggling quite some time in t2 / t3 maps I eventually got my 5 link , which has made a huge difference and added the war banner , so things are almost melting like they did last league and the league before that and the league before :))

Hey derranged1301!

Thanks :) That's really kind of you to say. I really appreciate you taking to time to be so kind. Thank you. I'm glad you have a build that really suits you that you can go to each league!

If you have the mana space for it, a banner would be perfect! Both War and Dread Banner would give the same-ish DPS...but I always prefer defence over offence, so I'd go Dread banner to lower enemy accuracy.

Good call though. If you're happy with what you're sacrificing to get the mana reservation nodes, a banner is a good filler.

I'm glad things picked up for you. Thanks again for the kind words :).

"

Krush_U wrote:

Spoiler

Thanks for another great build, Wrecker!

I played POE for a good stretch back in 2018, before becoming frustrated by complexity of key bindings needed and specific equipment necessary for the builds I was following. Using your 1-button play has completely renewed my enjoyment of the game.

I am anxious to try the new gem links for this build...time to start leveling some gems. That being said, I am level 91, SSF, using the original setup with very few problems. My deaths are usually due to lack of remembering boss mechanics. I have made a couple changes during leveling, that I have stayed with since they seem to be working OK. I have linked summon phantasm support to my chaos golem. Also, I have linked melee physical damage to my spectres because it was easier than getting a green socket for culling. I have not used the arrogance support links (vitality and clarity) as the life sacrifice seems too great based on my current equipment. My bone offering seems to be active almost all the time, and mana doesn't seem to be a major issue.

Once again, thanks for devoting so much time to keep the game fun for the casual gamer.

Hey Krush_U!

That's really kind of you. It took me a long time to get over the feeling of being overwhelmed in the game. Honestly, some things still are overwhelming. But it's been fun to get to the point where so much of the game makes sense. I'm glad the one-button style has suited you so well. I really appreciate your encouragement! Thanks for taking the time to be so kind. It keeps the guides going for sure.

Your modifications seem great! If the build is working well for you, keep it going. Mana availability was the main reason I posted the new changes so if it's not an issue, and if you're finding content easy, just stick with what you have. I'll likely have some options for the 3.16 setup. Like Ruthless+Stun OR Foritfy+Multistrike. And on Void Sphere having either Second Wind/Culling Strike/CwDT1 as the final socket.

Thanks again for the kind post and I'm glad you're having fun. Let me know what you choose to go with and how it goes for you (if you want).

"

JackalR wrote:

Spoiler

Hey Sabbathing,
Thanks for the build.
This is really good for casual player.

Haha! Hey JackalR!

I guess that's what happens when I try and make something a verb. haha! Nice catch.

I'm glad you're liking the build! Thanks for taking the time to let me know :).