CI Necro build for simulacrum, ubers, the feared, deep delve etc. Detonate Dead of Chain reaction

First off: I did not in any way invent this build, I just copied elements of what the deep delve people are doing and made some minor tweaks. I'm only here to consolidate a short guide with some explanations of how some key components work and post the build. I'm not a content creator or POB guru, so there's probably better ways to do this, feel free to share if you see some.

What I've done so far: Uber Cortex, Uber Elder, 50 or more 30-wave simulacrums with only one death, "the feared" with no deaths, uber Atziri, easy delving at 600+ with about 20+ Aul kills and the other assorted delve bosses. I haven't done Maven yet because I want to gather a few writs since I think I'll have trouble with the memory game. I haven't done Uber Eater or Exarch but I imagine it will trounce them too.

This build is great for people who have trouble dodging or identifying mechanics or just don't feel like dealing with them. This build is great for killing ubers and delve bosses, farming simulacrum, doing invitations and I use it on standby to deal with pesky bosses if my alt mapper builds roll something they can't deal with.

This build maps fine, I think ele reflect can be an issue for cold snap, so I pull it for those maps, D̶D̶ ̶i̶s̶ ̶u̶n̶a̶f̶f̶e̶c̶t̶e̶d̶ ̶b̶y̶ ̶e̶l̶e̶ ̶r̶e̶f̶l̶e̶c̶t̶. EDIT: ele reflect will kill you with DD. despite how the tooltip is written. For necro you will either need to use the appropriate atlas sextant or forbidden flesh/flame combo/ mitigation, for ele you can swap to the primal aegis ascendency passive.

This is not an MF build, there's not really room for that, this is not a super-expensive build, but it isn't budget, I farmed up to it playing an ele ignite proliferation build guide from Maxroll. Mageblood was the most expensive item. This build is not a fast mover, it is a slow, implacable, engine of destruction. I've seen variants which convert ele to chaos but don't want to pay for the ring.

This build requires specific uniques and is greatly helped by other specific uniques and it uses some clusters. This can be good or bad depending on which mode you are playing. I think I've spent around 300 DIVs total on it maybe less, it was not super expensive. The gloves I just crafted because those were absurd to pay for. After the eldritch crafting, I fossil slammed with dense.

with that: Here is my gear, see POB link for passive tree jewels (https://pobb.in/A-xy_0DDYpVZ):



Notes on gear and interactions, Edited 2/4 for more gear details:

*Elementalist version*: You can use most of the same gear to run a very strong ignite elementalist build as well. Need different gems, few different passives and a different scepter, most of the rest is quite similar. Clear speed will be a lot better and I was easily able to juice maps and fit in an item rarity support gem as an elementalist version of this in my armour. Pinnacle Bosses become a bit more rippy and deep delving can be harder as the necro simply has more tank. You will be using regular or vaal detonate dead if you want the elementalist version and focusing on ignite. Forbidden flame/flesh with Essence Glutton or Vile bastion will provide significant tank for the elementalist side of things, as will "corpse walker" boots. You can run MF lite with the elementalist also by popping in a gold flask with all ele resist modifier on it and I did fine juicing T16s by running a Ventor's in my left slot. I suggest if you want to try out some MF with the ele version that you also place an item rarity support with desecrate, since whatever DOT was on the mob first when it dies will dictate drop rarity.

Incandescent Heart: This is an amazing option for CI builds of any sort because it converts elemental damage taken to chaos damage, which we are immune to. This means we just don't take that coverted damage. As an added bonus, it also gives us additive chaos damage applied to our elemental damage. This is an easy to find armor, I've dropped several just mapping and they are available all over trade. It has great armor and good energy shield.

Aegis Aurora: Another clutch item that is easy to find; we are running a ton of armor between determination and our gear, Aegis recovers energy shield based on a percentage of our armour when we block, this allows for very reliable replenishment and makes frost shield less painful to run. Aegis also gives a whopping 5% to max cold resist, which is huge, especially when chasing a 90% cap using melding of the flesh. If you can corrupt one or buy one to get phys taken as chaos, all the better, because it's more damage that just goes away.

Viridi's veil: This a convenience item that is awesome, but drops off Maven, this build can work without it but it makes us curse immune provided we are using a magic ring in our right slot. This allows us to stack curse modifiers on our maps with impunity. In addition it makes the chance for enemies to hit us as unlucky. Easy to find and fairly cheap on trade league (at least it was when I bought it).

Mageblood: It's Mageblood. Rolling your own potions is quite easy, especially with the sheer volume of alteration orbs this league. You can use taste of hate or bottled faith as your 5th potion, or whatever, the 5th will only come into play very seriously on *really* hard fights. Remember that the enkindling orbs provide a huge flask boost at no cost and should always be rolled for increased effect.

+2 Max cold resist gloves: These were overpriced AF when I checked.... there are guides for eldritch crafting, but the easiest method I found was to roll grand searing exarch orbs on the gloves until I got the +1 to cold resist, then used a lesser ichor, then orb of conflict and hope for the best. I came back when I hit +2 cold resist and rolled ichors for the exposure. From there, fossil craft with dense fossils and primitive resonators. For the base gloves, the easiest is finding fractured ones with some base dexterity, you don't need a lot but you'll need some. These probably took the longest time, but the cost was pretty low compared to trading.

Boots: Corpsewalkers are good as well, I have an endurance charge when hit jewel, and zealot's oath converts our life regen to ES regen, so I went with what I did.

Rings: I ran polaric devastation with my elementalist or a ventor's for mapping but wanted some more ES to delve deeper. Up to you, it's rare to have a hit that takes more than 1/3rd ES off, but it happens. The magic ring is obligatory for Viridi's, you can craft one or buy one with the enchant already on it. I've seen people running a 2 curse set-up, but haven't needed it yet.

Amulet: I switched to Aul's to fit in Purity of Ice, Vitality and Arctic armour when I swapped to necro. For mapping though with elementalist, I was running Eternal Struggle with Eater dominant. The clear is better and if you aren't deep delving or targeting ubers and simulacrum, this might be the better option. Depends on your focus. Vitality converts regen to ES with Zealot's Oath.

For Jewels: the two variable ones are megalomaniac and watcher's eye, it is easy to find a megalomaniac with "Winter Prowler", from there, I found one with "Sadist" for more ele damage, but there are lots of other synergies. Alternately, you can get winter prowler on a small cold resist cluster. I'm still using an old Watcher's Eye and could use a phys to cold or something but haven't bothered or needed it.


Other notes on passive tree uniques and jewels, also found in POB *Edit* because I forgot a couple:

Megalomaniac with "Winter Prowler" at the least for 2 max cold resist

Melding of the flesh for obvious reasons

Impossible Escape with Unwavering Stance (Imbalanced Guard might fit, but not sure)

Nature's Patience small cluster (I doubt you need this, so your discretion, it slows you down but improves your tank)

Forbidden Flesh/Flame with Vile Bastion (may also not need, I like the extra tank)

Thread of Hope with a Large radius

some ele damage large clusters, see POB


Of note with the gear:

You need your magic ring in the right slot for the helmet to make you curse immune, that is player's right and not character's right.

You can essence craft an oscillating scepter pretty easily for minion damage, the build uses the "spiritual aid" passive to apply that damage to our own casts.

Playstyle: Use Frostblink of Wintery Blast to get around or get moving, this will remove the stacks of nature's patience slowing you down. This travel skill is a bit clunky with a pause to cast but has no limit on uses.

You then park where the mobs are and toss out your brand which starts flopping corpses everywhere.

Pop a frost shield for some extra tank, or don't, whatever, it's pretty hard to die.

Don't forget to recast you desecrate brand.

Start detonating. CWDT coldsnap will start loading you with frenzy charges, you'll start building intensity and everything will start dying. Some of the tankier bosses will die kind of slow, but this is a war of attrition build and they'll lose. It will take a little bit for DD to build up steam, chain reaction is not an ignite skill, it chunks health off mobs with each hit.

Anyway, that's about it. Cheers!

Update: also cleared Valdo's Map with "the feared" + petrify on hit + monsters gain + 6 frenzy charges (edit, wrong charges), died twice.

More gear notes 2/4

Uber Eater Update: not optimal for this build, too much in-place ramp-up needed and untankable mechanics with the grey meatballs. Doable with a skilled player but ignite ele version is probably better for him and exarch. Sirius is a cakewalk.

Update: cleared Valdo's map with union of souls modifier/ Maven follows you being annoying/ 100% phys and ele reflect. Learned that ele reflect is an issue with DD and promptly died. Needed to swap in ele flesh/flame combo. Edited original post to "reflect" this.

I approve of "grey meat balls"

"

Saltychipmunk wrote:

I approve of "grey meat balls"

Uber-eater jess making sure sure we get fed.

Update: completed Valdo's "Maven follows you around, increased cost of skills, enemies fire 5 projectiles, area occupied by elderslayers" at about 5k primal juice. Took awhile, but not hard once you kill Drox with his banners.

Update: Maven attempted, made it to last phase. Quite easy I think with a player used to the fight, which I was not.

GEAR UPDATE: Got an off-meta Elegant Hubris (Cadiro) for 3 Div and moved some points around to grab another jewel slot, I'm not very good at the maths, but it adds a total of 160% minion damage. Tooltip only shows 4-5k more, but that doesn't account for the detonate portion of the hits or unleash, spell cascade etc. Delving at 650 it felt stronger immediately. A̶s̶ ̶a̶ ̶h̶u̶g̶e̶ ̶b̶o̶n̶u̶s̶,̶ ̶t̶h̶i̶s̶ ̶a̶l̶s̶o̶ ̶m̶a̶k̶e̶s̶ ̶"̶S̶u̶p̶r̶e̶m̶e̶ ̶D̶e̶c̶a̶d̶e̶n̶c̶e̶"̶ ̶a̶n̶d̶ ̶o̶p̶t̶i̶o̶n̶ ̶w̶i̶t̶h̶ ̶o̶n̶e̶ ̶e̶x̶t̶r̶a̶ ̶p̶o̶i̶n̶t̶,̶ ̶w̶h̶i̶c̶h̶ ̶l̶e̶t̶s̶ ̶u̶s̶ ̶u̶s̶e̶ ̶a̶ ̶l̶i̶f̶e̶ ̶p̶o̶t̶i̶o̶n̶ ̶t̶o̶ ̶r̶e̶s̶t̶o̶r̶e̶ ̶E̶S̶ ̶a̶t̶ ̶3̶0̶%̶ ̶l̶e̶s̶s̶ ̶v̶a̶l̶u̶e̶,̶ ̶w̶h̶i̶c̶h̶ ̶w̶o̶u̶l̶d̶ ̶b̶e̶ ̶r̶e̶a̶l̶l̶y̶ ̶n̶i̶c̶e̶ ̶f̶o̶r̶ ̶s̶o̶m̶e̶ ̶o̶f̶ ̶t̶h̶e̶ ̶p̶a̶n̶i̶c̶ ̶m̶o̶m̶e̶n̶t̶s̶ ̶w̶i̶t̶h̶ ̶t̶h̶e̶ ̶u̶b̶e̶r̶s̶. Not sure if I did something really clever here, or no one else is doing it for a reason...

Supreme Decadence doesn't work with CI, but 160% extra damage is nothing to sneeze at.