Raise Spectre
Necromancer build

Updated for Patch 3.24

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Raise Spectre is a Minion Spell that allows you to resurrect slain enemies to fight for you and Support them with Gems that benefit their abilities. Their skills and damage vary a lot and the variety of enemies you can resurrect is overwhelming. This guide will focus on a Lightning Spell Damage Minion called Wretched Defiler. It's a spider-like creature that fires Projectiles with extremely high base damage and Far Shot, meaning their damage is much higher at a distance. They also summon their own Minions - charred bears and Rhoas, but this is not something worth expanding upon. You can find Wretched Defilers in T17 maps. The build guide can be used for other similar Spectres, you just have to adjust a few parameters to fit your type of Minion - see if they deal the same type of damage, if they use a Spell or Attack, and if they fire Projectiles.

It's a very typical Minion build with just one caveat. As you put on Wraithlord, you can no longer summon non-Spectre Minions. It will in turn extend your Maximum Specrte limit by 4, and increase the level of all Minion Gems by up to 2. You can then be able to summon 8 or even 9 Spectres. Some of them may play a support role in generating Frenzy Charges, granting Onslaught, and giving your Minions more Action Speed. We recommend getting some supporting Spectres, the bonuses they grant can be really good. Try one Spectral Commander, Carnage Chieftain, and Warcaller. They're available as of 3.24.

For defences, you will follow the usual drill - Aegis Aurora with capped Block Chance for Spells and Attacks with a lot of Armour and tons of Energy Shield. We should make it a Chaos Inoculation build while we're at it. There are not that many opportunities to get more Maximum Life, especially on a build that stays primarily on the upper side of the Passive Skill Tree. The build should be extremely durable against Hit, especially a large number of small hits that you can block. Damage over time is a bit harder to avoid, but with enough Life Regeneration and Zealot's Oath, it should not be an issue.

You may also check Best PoE Builds by Odealo if you are looking for other Path of Exile builds

1. Gameplay

Spectre Summoner is somewhat similar to other summoner builds. Your main role is to support your Minions with Auras and position yourself to avoid enemy Attacks to stay alive. The Spectres will obliterate anything on your Map within seconds. Initially, we suggest using Slave Drivers as your Spectres, which have insane Lightning AoE Damage and are very easy to find. You can Summon them in Act's 5 Control Blocks. This is the optimal Spectre for leveling and Starter builds, whereas you should "upgrade" to Wretched Defilers as you progress through content and finding/obtaining them becomes easier. 

Gameplay videos: This video was recorded on level 96 Necromancer with 8 Wretched Defilers summoned. The character is wearing Brass Dome for the best defensive capabilities, at the cost of reduced DPS output

2. Build's PROS & CONS

3. Leveling tips

Follow our Witch Leveling Guide using Minions. You can switch to Slave Drivers as soon as Act 5, but we recommend doing so only after putting on the Wraithlord, which won't be accessible that early at the league start. Your Spectres may often die if their Gem Level is low and if you haven't invested in additional Minion Life on your Skill Tree, which is bad for Spectres as you cannot re-summon them on a whim, you have to Desecrate first and look for the ones who died (in the right order if you use more than one type of them). The best Spectres are accessible on T17 maps so it can take a while until you get the ones you want.

Bandits:

We recommend killing all the Bandits for two additional Passive Points

4. Final Skill Trees, Ascendancy Points, and Pantheon

Final Skill Tree:

95 Points Final Skill Tree  (doesn't include Unique or Cluster Jewels)
123 Points Path of Building (PoB) link

Ascendancy points: 

Preferably in that order:

1. Commander of Darkness
2. Mindless Aggression
3. Bone Barrier
4. Mistress of Sacrifice

Pantheon:

Major God: Soul of the Brine King You cannot be Stunned if you've been Stunned or Blocked a Stunning Hit in the past 2 seconds

Minor God: Soul of Gruthkul 1% additional Physical Damage Reduction for each Hit you've taken Recently up to a maximum of 5%

5. Final Gems links

[UTILITY] Raise Spectre setup
	Raise Spectre - This build is centered around the Wretched Defiler, it deals Lightning Damage with Projectile Spell. At Gem Level 25 you can summon one additional Spectre. It is achievable.
	Minion Damage Support - Minion deals more damage but has less Maximum Life.
	Spell Echo Support - Minons' Spell repeats one time with a much higher Cast Speed but lower damage.
	Faster Casting Support - Faster Casting to Cast Spells more often.
	Returning Projectiles Support - Returning Projectiles will deal damage one additional time, which is great with their Far Shot.
	Pierce Support - By default, the first enemy will absorb the Projectile, which is bad for clearing and against bosses. Pierce is mandatory.

[UTILITY] Auras setup
	Determination - Added and increased Armour, which is very important in this build.
	Discipline - Added Energy Shield. It's also crucial because you have no Life.
	Haste - Increases Attack, Cast, and Movement Speed for you and your Minions. It can be replaced with  Tempest Shield if you can't cap your Spell Block Chance without it.
	Enlighten Support - Linked Spells Reserve less Mana.

[UTILITY] Various Gems (can be triggered automatically by Wand affix)
	Flesh Offering - Increases Cast, Attack, and Movement Speed for your Minions.  Bone Offering can be used too to cap your own Block Chance, but that should not be necessary.
	Desecrate - Creates Corpses to consume with Flesh Offering.
	Conductivity - Lowers enemies' Lightning Resistance to deal more Lightning Damage to them.
	Arcanist Brand - Linked Spells are triggered with a Brand attached to an enemy. It saves you buttons to press.

[UTILITY] Molten Shell/Sniper's Mark setup
	Molten Shell - Prevents a portion of incoming Hit Damage for some time or until it breaks.
	Sniper's Mark - Sniper's Mark causes enemies to take increased Projectile Damage. If you don't want it to be triggered by CwDT, use a level-21 Gem. You can link it with  Mark on Hit Support if you use Shield Charge.
	Cast when Damage Taken Support - It should trigger Molten Shell after taking a certain amount of damage.

[UTILITY] Warcry setup
	Call to Arms Support - Will automatically cast Enduring Cry for you.
	Enduring Cry - Regenerates your Energy Shield and grants Endurance Charges. Allocate Zeaot's Oath to make it work.

[MOBILITY] Shield Charge
	Shield Charge - It's the movement skill of your choice, you can replace it with anything similar, but use something that Hits to apply Exposure via Gloves' Implicit. Shield Charge can even apply Mark if you plan to use Mark on Hit Support.

5. Gear Setup

The Spectre Summoner build is not only extremely powerful but also budget-friendly, however, the price of some of these unique items may vary. The necessary ones are Wraithlord and Aegis Aurora. The Brass Dome, Perquil's Toe, and Darkness Enthroned are quite likely the best-in-slot Uniques for our configuration. All of your other Rare items should provide you with enough Resistances and Attributes. Strength and Dexterity are especially important. After that, look mainly for Energy Shield, Armour, and Life Regeneration. Your Minions deal non-Critical Lightning Damage with Spells and their base Crit Chance is 0%. To boost their Survivability get them 25% of all Elemental Resistances, which can be found on Bone Rings and Jewels. Jewels are especially important, you will use two Large Cluster Jewels and around 11 Ghastly Abyss Jewels.

Also, remember that you can always visit our Path of Exile marketplace and restock any type of PoE Currency required to complete your build.

Our recommended items will:

1. Cap your resistances 
2. Give you enough DPS/Life/Mana to start mapping successfully

Wretched Defiler variant

(Helmet) Wraithlord - It lets you have up to four additional Specres and increases the Gem Level of all your Minion Skill Gems. Remember to put Ghastly Abyss Jewels there.

Has 4 Abyssal Sockets (120-150)% increased Energy Shield +(1-2) to Level of all Minion Skill Gems +1 to maximum number of Spectres per Socketed Ghastly Eye Jewel You cannot have Non-Spectre Minions

(Weapon) Convoking Wand - It's the best Wand type which can roll Minion Modifiers. You're looking for generic Minion Damage, Minion Cast Speed, and Gem Level for Minion Spells. An 8-second Trigger can be crafted, it's a Suffix.

Min. requirements: 80% Minion Damage +1 to Level of All Minion Gems Trigger Socketed Spell when you use a Skill with an 8-second cooldown Optional affixes: Minion Attack/Cast Speed +1 to Level of All Spell Skill Gems

(Weapon) Maata's Teaching - It can be a really good weapon as it increases the Critical Strike Chance of your Spectres to a point where you can consider making it a Crit build. It lacks Minion Damage mods but increases their Skill Gem Level by up to 2.

26% increased Elemental Damage +(30-40) to Intelligence (25-50)% increased Critical Strike Chance +(1-2) to Level of all Minion Skill Gems Minions' Base Attack Critical Strike Chance is equal to the Critical Strike Chance of your Main Hand Weapon

(Off-hand) Aegis Aurora - Instantly Recovers a big portion of your ES on Block. Requires capped Block Chance and high Armour. You can Corrupt it for a chance to take a portion of incoming Physical Damage to be taken as Chaos.

(300-400)% increased Armour and Energy Shield +10% to all Elemental Resistances +5% to maximum Cold Resistance +6% Chance to Block Recover Energy Shield equal to 2% of Armour when you Block (10-20)% increased Elemental Damage with Attack Skills

(Body Armour) Fleshcrafter -  It's a budget option that negates the need for any Resistance Penetration or Concuctivity Curse. You can't give your Minions too much extra Chaos Resistance, only up to 24%.

(100-150)% increased Energy Shield Minions Convert 2% of their Maximum Life to Maximum Energy Shield per 1% Chaos Resistance they have Chaos Damage taken does not bypass Minions' Energy Shield Minions have (50-100)% faster start of Energy Shield Recharge While Minions have Energy Shield, their Hits Ignore Monster Elemental Resistances

(Body Armour) The Brass Dome -  It has tons of Armour, causes you to take no Critical Damage, and grants Maximum Elemental Resistances. These stats will boost your survivability by a lot. You can Corrupt it to increase the level of Socketed Minion gems.

(350-400)% increased Armour +(1-5)% to all maximum Elemental Resistances Strength provides no bonus to Maximum Life Take no Extra Damage from Critical Strikes

(Boots) Rare Boots - A Rare pair with basic defences and Freeze immunity will be great here. For the Eldritch mods get the increased Effect of Flesh Offering and Cooldown Recovery Rate for Enduring Cry.

Min. requirements: Energy Shield 30% increased Movement Speed 80% Total Elemental Resistances Optional affixes: Life Regeneration Armour Freeze Immunity

(Belt) Rare Belt - Look for something with the highest possible defensive Stats. Stygian Vise is the best base because of the extra Abyssal Socket, though it can get much more expensive.

Min. requirements: Strength 80% Total Elemental Resistances Life Regeneration Optional affixes: Energy Shield Armour Energy Shield Flask modifiers

(Belt) Darkness Enthroned - Due to the potency of Ghastly Abyss Jewels, we recommend this Belt. Socket your best Jewels in its sockets.

Has 1 Abyssal Socket Has 1 Abyssal Socket (50-100)% increased Effect of Socketed Abyss Jewels

(Amulet) Aul's Uprising - You can use it to have one of your Auras off-charge, which is desirable if you want to run more Auras such as Wrath or Zealory.

+(10-16) to all Attributes+(20-30) to Intelligence (15-20)% increased maximum Energy Shield +(50-70) to maximum Life Hits against Nearby Enemies have 50% increased Critical Strike Chance <Random Intelligence aura> has no Reservation

(Amulet) The Jinxed Juju - One of the best Amulets for this build. It grants good defensive utility by reducing all your damage taken from Hits by 10%

+(16–24) to Strength and Dexterity +(30–40) to Intelligence +(23–31)% to Chaos Resistance (10–15)% increased Effect of your Curses (10–15)% increased effect of Non-Curse Auras from your Skills 10% of Damage from Hits is taken from your Spectres' Life before you

(Amulet) Perquil's Toe - This one is the best-in-slot Amulet. Lightning Damage has a wide range of possible rolls. Lucky hits roll twice to select the better outcome, resulting in around 30% more damage.

(12-20)% increased Rarity of Items found +(40-50) to Dexterity (5-8)% increased Movement Speed Lightning Damage of Enemies Hitting you is Lucky Nearby Allies' Damage with Hits is Lucky

Recommended Anointments: Ravenous Horde Whispers of Doom

(Rings) Rare Rings - We recommend Bone Rings with modifiers to enhance your Minions' damage and mobility. For other mods, seek Attributes, Resistances, and Energy Shield. Reduced mana Cost of Skills can be crafted.

Min. requirements: Minions deal increased Damage Minions have increased Attack and Cast Speed Attributes 80% Total Elemental Resistances Optional affixes: Attributes Energy Shield Minions have increased Movement Speed Reduced Mana Cost of Skills

(Gloves) Rare Gloves - The preferred option. Just aim for high defensive stats and Attributes. For Eldritch mods get Increased Minion Damage and Lightning Exposure on Hit.

Min. requirements: 200 Energy Shield Minions have #% increased Damage (Crafting bench) 80% Total Elemental Resistances Optional affixes: Dexterity Attributes

(Gloves) Algor Mortis - You can create chilling grounds with Cold Snap, Vortex, or Frostblink if using those, and increase the Lightning DPS output of your Minions. It's a great option if you already have your Attributes and Resistances sorted out.

+(50–70) to maximum Energy Shield +(15–20)% to Cold and Lightning Resistances (20–30)% chance to Sap Enemies in Chilling Areas Enemies in your Chilling Areas take (25–35)% increased Lightning Damage (15–20)% increased Effect of Non-Damaging Ailments

(Jewel) Unending Hunger - Increased radius of AoE spells cast by your Spectres. It grants them the Soul Eater buff for increased Cast Speed (5% per stack).

Minions have (6-8)% increased Area of Effect of Area Skills With at least 40 Intelligence in Radius, Raised Spectres have a 50% chance to gain Soul Eater for 30 seconds on Kill

(Jewels) Abyss Jewels - Aim for increased Damage, Cast Speed, or added Lightning Damage for your Minions. For your character, look for Energy Shield, Armour, and Life Regeneration.

Recommended affixes: maximum Energy Shield Minions deal additional Lightning Damage Minions deal (15–20)% increased Damage if you've used a Minion Skill Recently Minions have increased Attack/Cast Speed Armour Life Regeneration

(Jewels) Large Cluster Jewels - Use one or two of these with 12 passives, each with an increased passive Effect. The small nodes shall increase your Minions' Attack and Cast Speed, grant you Energy Shield, and Attributes or Elemental Resistances. Such Jewels can get expensive.

Recommended affixes: Added Small Passive Skills also grant: Minions have 3% increased Attack and Cast Speed Added Small Passive Skills have 25/35% increased Effect Added Small Passive Skills also grant: +3% to all Elemental Resistances  or Attributes Added Small Passive Skills also grant: +10 to maximum Energy Shield

(Jewels) Watcher's Eye - You can get additional Spell and Attack Block Chance via Determination and Discipline modifiers. You're also using Haste but there are not many good modifiers for this Aura here.

(4-6)% increased maximum Energy Shield (4-6)% increased maximum Life (4-6)% increased maximum Mana <Two or Three random aura modifiers>

(Jewels) Thread of Hope - Socket a Large Ring Thread of Hope near Endurance notable and allocate Divine Shield, Glancing Blows, Redemption, and Righteous Army.

Radius: Large Only affects Passives in (Small-Very Large) Ring Passives in Radius can be Allocated without being connected to your tree -(20-10)% to all Elemental Resistances

(Jewels) Brutal Restraint - Go for the Balbala version and get the Traitor, you will only use three or four of your Flasks. We deem it the preferable option as there are simply not that many good Flasks you can use compared to other builds.

Denoted service of (500-8000) dekhara in the akhara of (Asenath-Balbala-Nasima) Passives in radius are Conquered by the Maraketh Historic

(Flask) Rumi's Concoction - A great utility Flask which increases your Chance to Block and your Armour Rating. Go for it only if you're not on 75% to Block Spells and Attack. It should not be needed later.

+1500 to Armour +(8-12)% Chance to Block Attack Damage during Flask effect +(4-6)% Chance to Block Spell Damage during Flask effect

Suggested Flasks: Granite Flask with reduced effect of Shock on you, or reduced effect of Curses on you Basalt Flask with increased Armour Quicksilver Flask with increased Movement Speed

If you have any other build requests please leave that in the comments below.

Pictures used in this article are the intellectual property of Grinding Gear Games.