Carrion Golem
Necromancer Summoner build

Updated for Patch 3.17

The Best Crafty Guides by Odealo

Summon Carrion Golem is the newest type of Golems in Path of Exile that was introduced in Patch 3.8. They generally don't offer any bonuses to the player but boost other Minions. Carrion Golem uses Leaping Attack, Ground Slam, series of Slashes, and regular Melee Attacks doing mostly Physical Damage. They also gain very high bonus damage for each nearby Minion (up to 50% More damage) so using different Minion types in this build is mandatory. Also, since all your Minions will be doing Physical Damage, and you can get an additional Chance to Impale for your Minions from Cluster Jewels. In the end, this build offers the highest single-target DPS out of all Summoner builds we have played.

We have also released recently a Low-Life Aura stacking variation of this build which is currently much more popular than this standard Life version. You can check it in the following article: Low-Life Aura Stacking Carrion Golem Necromancer

You can also check our other Path of Exile builds at Odealo's Crafty Guides - Full List

1. Gameplay

This is a very swift Summoner build that offers amazing mobility and the highest single target DPS out of all Golem Minions. You don't have to do pretty much anything except for running around Maps and recalling your Minions with Convocation, which makes this build less fun and not for everyone. After you summon your Minions you won't have many things to do except to move around and avoid taking damage. Most of the skills will be triggered automatically or will be Passive. If you want, you can cast your Curse manually to have extra chores in your wicked band of Undead monsters.

0:08 Tier 16 Maze of the Minotaur 0:50 Tier 14 Overgrown Shrine 1:24 Tier 16 Forge of the Phoenix 1:57 Tier 16 Lair of the Hydra 2:29 Tier 16 Ramparts This video was recorded on a level 91 Necromancer in Standard dual-wielding Cold Iron Points Daggers in Patch 3.13. A total of four Carrion Golems were summoned and the build felt extremely smooth and overpowering. You could use some extra defenses maybe, but with proper kiting/positioning you can easily take down any Boss in the game

2. Build's PROS & CONS

3. Leveling tips

Leveling up a summoner character is very easy, however, it may feel a bit slower than other classes. Minions offer slow but steady progress through the campaign and you can support them with Auras/Curses/debuffing enemies and pick up a damaging Spell to increase clear speed and Boss damage. Below you will find the basic Gem setups for leveling (just add extra Support Gens as you gain higher levels - don't strictly keep it at the number of Gems with have listed here) and several very useful Uniques for the lower level characters.

Suggested leveling Gem setups:

Raise Zombie setup
	Raise Zombie - mainly used to tank damage. They don't do much damage on their own, but they soak up damage like a sponge and save your life constantly
	Minion Life Support - mandatory Support Gem for Zombies
	Fortify Support - grants a solid defensive buff for your Zombies and increases their DPS slightly
	Meat Shield Support - increases your Zombie's defensive capabilities, and make them stick to you to intercept enemies getting too close

Raise Spectre setup
	Raise Spectre - Spectres become available at level 28 and you can pick up Carnage Chieftain from Act 2 to generate Frenzy Charges for all your other Minions and/or the Undying Evangelists from Act 3 to cast Proximity Shield
	Minion Life Support
	Minion Damage Support - increases your Spectres' DPS which is more useful on lower levels than more consistent Proximity Shield which you are going to aim for later on

Summon Carrion Golem setup
	Summon Carrion Golem - obviously, you want to use Carrion Golems as soon as possible. They will still deal a ton of damage on lower levels, and buff your Zombies and Spectres too
	Minion Damage Support
	Melee Physical Damage Support - grants a high bonus to Melee Physical DPS
	Multistrike Support - one of the best Support Gems for Carrion Golems

Utility Gems
	Pride - grants your DPS output by increasing Physical Damage taken by enemies in Pride's radius
	Punishment - recommended Curse for this build. It increases Melee Physical Damage and Attack Speed of anyone attacking the Cursed target
	Convocation - allows you instantly recall all your Minions to your position greatly increasing your progression speed
	Clarity - grants increased Mana Regeneration which is almost always useful on the low levels

Bandits:

You should kill all the Bandits for two extra Passive Skill Points. You could also consider helping Oak if you feel like you are missing Physical Damage Reduction

Leveling Skill Trees:

32 Points Skill Tree
Priorities: 1) Lord of the Dead 2) Spiritual Command 3) Quick Recovery 4) Gravepact

65 Points Skill Tree
Priorities 1) Death Attunement 2) Purity of Flesh 3) Golem Commander 4) Redemption 5) Ravenous Horde

Recommended leveling items:

Sidhebreath - cheap and very powerful leveling amulet for Minion-based builds. At the same time, it's also extremely cheap and easy to obtain
(20-30)% increased Mana Regeneration Rate +25% to Cold Resistance 0.2% of Physical Attack Damage Leeched as Mana Minions have (10-15)% increased maximum Life Minions have (10-15)% increased Movement Speed (15-10)% reduced Mana Cost of Minion Skills Minions deal (10-15)% increased Damage

Victario's Flight - the best boots for pretty much the entire leveling phase. They grant very high bonus Movement Speed to you and all your Minions
+15 to Dexterity +15 to Intelligence (100-150)% increased Evasion Rating 5% increased Movement Speed (5-10)% of Damage taken gained as Mana over 4 seconds when Hit 10% increased Movement Speed 10% increased Movement Speed for you and nearby Allies

Clayshaper - the best leveling Weapon for Golem builds. You can start using it shortly after you get your first Golem Spell. It increases the maximum number of active Golems you can have, and it's also one of the best end-game Weapons as well. You can also dual-wield them
15% reduced Enemy Stun Threshold Grants Level 12 Summon Stone Golem Skill Adds (24-30) to (34-40) Physical Damage (8-10)% increased Attack Speed Minions have (20-30)% increased maximum Life +1 to maximum number of Golems Minions deal (5-8) to (12-16) Added Attack Physical Damage

Goldrim - one of the best leveling Helmets in Path of Exile which grants very high All Elemental Resistances
+(30-50) to Evasion Rating 10% increased Rarity of Items found +(30-40)% to all Elemental Resistances Reflects 4 Physical Damage to Melee Attackers

4. Final Skill Tree, Ascendancy Points, and Pantheon

Final Skill Tree:

101 Points Final Skill Tree (Cluster Jewels not included)
123 Points Path of Building(PoB) link

Ascendancy points:

Preferably in that order:

1. Mindless Aggression
2. Unnatural Strength
3. Commander of Darkness
4. Bone Barrier

Pantheon:

Major God: Soul of Solaris 6% additional Physical Damage Reduction while there is only one nearby Enemy 20% chance to take 50% less Area Damage from Hits

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

[DPS] Summon Carrion Golem setup
	Summon Carrion Golem - Carrion Golems are your main source of DPS. You should have at least 4 of them active if you follow this build. They will deal massive Physical Damage and amazing clear speed thanks to their Aggressive behavior
	Minion Damage Support - greatly increases the damage of supported Minions
	Melee Physical Damage Support - more Melee Physical Damage since that's the only type of Damage your Minions are dealing
	Multistrike Support - increases the damage of your Golems by making their Attacks repeat two additional times with increased Speed
	Brutality Support - greatly increases Carrion Golem's Physical DPS but makes them unable to deal other types of damage
	Impale Support - the best way to increase purely Physical Damage is to invest in Impale mechanics

[UTILITY] Raise Zombie setup
	Raise Zombie - Zombies act as Meat Shields and tank the incoming damage. They also increase your Carrion Golem's DPS by being summoned
	Minion Life Support - Zombies have more Life so that they won't die too easily
	Fortify Support - grants high bonus Melee Damage and a strong defensive buff, which greatly increases the survivability of your Zombies
	Feeding Frenzy Support - your Zombies will have a chance to grant you the Feeding Frenzy buff, which increases the speed of all your summoned Minions

[UTILITY] Raise Spectre and Animate Guardian setup (in Helmet with Minion Life Support)
	Raise Spectre - Spectres in this build are used solely as Support Minions. We recommend getting Carnages Chieftain from Old Fields in Act 2 which will generate Frenzy Charges for all your other Minions
	Meat Shield Support - changes the Spectre's behavior to defensive and reduces all damage taken by them. Basically will help you keep them alive during all encounters, without having to run to Old Fields to resummon them
	Animate Guardian - You can use it mainly to grant your Minions Culling Strike and other such enhancements via Unique Items. Be wary, when it dies the items are gone permanently. Recommended items: Kingmaker - two-handed weapon granting your Allies Culling Strike and a small bonus to Item Rarity Southbound - a pair of gloves that increases maximum Life Mask of the Stitched Demon - an expensive helmet that ensures near immortality for the Guardian given that his Body Armour grants him Energy Shield based on his Maximum Life Rare Boots - Resistances and Movement Speed Rare Body Armour - Resistances and "Gain (12–14)% of Maximum Life as Extra Maximum Energy Shield" if using Mask of the Stitched Demon
	Increased Duration Support - skill effect duration is increased

[UTILITY] Convocation
	Convocation - instantly recalls your Minions to your location and grants them high Life Regeneration per second

[UTILITY] Pride
	Pride - the best Aura for this build, since your Minions will deal only Physical Damage
	Generosity - increases the effectiveness of your Pride Aura which applies only to your Minions now

[UTILITY] Flesh Offering/Desecrate setup
	Cyclone -  we recommend using Cyclone to apply Curse via Ring affix, and cast Desecrate and your Offering Spell via Cast while Channelling Support Gem. It just makes this entire setup so much smoother to play. You could also get a pair of Elder Boots with extra Fortify Support for additional defensive utility
	Cast while Channelling Support - when you are spinning with your Cyclone, you  will automatically trigger Desecrate and Flesh Offering
	Desecrate - creates Corpses which can be sacrificed by Flesh Offering to grant your Minions powerful bonuses. You can also use it to create corpses for Raise Zombie and Raise Spectre Spells
	Flesh Offering - the best DPS-wise Offering Spell you can use. It increases the speed of all your Minions

[UTILITY] Dash
	Dash - the recommended movement Spell for this build, you can also use Flame Dash or Frostblink if it suits you better

[UTILITY] Dread Banner
	Dread Banner - grants you and your Minions greater Chance to Imaple and increased Impale effectiveness while reducing Accuracy for the Enemies nearby

[UTILITY] Determination
	Determination - increases your Armour significantly

[UTILITY] Aspect of the Avian
	Aspect of the Avian - if you are using Saqawal's Nest, it's pretty much a must-have. You need to beast-craft it on one of your Rare Items. It grants you and your Minions a chance to deal Double Damage and increased Movement Speed interchangeably.

[CURSE] Vulnerability
	Vulnerability - it's best to pick a Ring with Vulnerability on Hit, and you will be applying it via Cyclone

5. Gear Setup

Below you will find all the recommended gear for this build. Our setup consists mainly of Rare equipment except for the Weapons and Body Armour, with the latter being completely optional. However, you will also need several Primordial Jewels to add up one extra Golem, and it's recommended to at least one Large Cluster Jewel and multiple Medium Cluster Jewel to increase your Minions Life/Life Regen and give them a high chance to deal double damage when on Full Life. Either way, it should be rather easy to complete the build for low and mid-tier mapping with random Rare replacements.

(Helmet) Rare Helmet - the best in the slot. Try getting Elder one which added Minion Life to your Spectres, allowing you to Support them with different Gems

Min. requirements: 70 maximum Life Socketed Gems are Supported by level # Minion Life Optional affixes: Armour Rating Strength Elemental Resistances

Helmet enchantment: ​​​​​​​Summoned Carrion Golems deal 40% increased Damage 150% increased Effect of the Buff granted by your Carrion Golems

(Body Armour) Rare Body Armour - preferably with +1 to the level of socketed Support Gems

Min. requirements: 100 maximum Life 70% to Elemental Resistances Optional affixes: +1 level to socketed Support Gems You can apply an additional Curse increased Area of Effect

(Body Armour) Saqawal's Nest - our top recommendation for the Body Armour slot. It helps you sustain Pride/Banner and Aspect Spells while increasing the effect of the last one

+(25-75) to all Attributes +(30-40)% to Lightning Resistance (10-6)% reduced Mana Reserved 100% increased Aspect of the Avian Buff Effect Aspect of the Avian also grants Avian's Might and Avian's Flight to nearby Allies +(120-150) to Evasion Rating and Energy Shield

(Weapon) Cold Iron Point - one of the best Weapons for this build. It increases the level of your Carrion Golems greatly increasing their damage and bonuses. In our video, we have used two of those but at least one can be replaced with Clayshaper

30% increased Global Critical Strike Chance +3 to Level of all Physical Spell Skill Gems Deal no Elemental Damage

(Weapon) Clayshaper - another great Weapon Choice. It increases the maximum number of Golems you can have summoned at the same time

15% reduced Enemy Stun Threshold Adds (24-30) to (34-40) Physical Damage (8-10)% increased Attack Speed Minions have (20-30)% increased maximum Life Minions' Attacks deal (5-8) to (12-16) additional Physical Damage Can Summon up to 1 additional Golem at a time Grants level 12 Summon Stone Golem

(Gloves) Rare Gloves - aim for high defensive bonuses

Min. requirements: 60 maximum Life 80% Total Elemental Resistances Optional affixes: Minion Damage Armour Rating

(Belt) Rare Belt - again,  aim for high defensive bonuses

Min. requirements: 90 maximum Life 90% Total Elemental Resistances Optional affixes: Armour Rating Chaos Resistance

(Amulet) Rare Amulet - this piece should grant very high bonus Attributes so that you can easily use all the required Gems. You can also try getting a Shaper/Redeemer one with Reduced Mana Reserved and somehow squeeze Flesh of Stone into this build (this is a very expensive route)

Min. requirements: 70 maximum Life 50 Dexterity 50 Strength Optional affixes: Elemental Resistances Non-channelling Skills have -# to Total Mana Cost

Recommended Anointments: Ravenous Horde Enduring Bond Grave Intentions (good for Animated Guardian)

(Ring) Rare Rings - aim to get high Life and defensive stats. You should get a Vulnerability Curse on one of the Rings which will be applied by your Cyclone. You can also get Aspect of the Avian the Ring, as it's quite a popular place for it

Min. requirements: 70 maximum Life 65% Total Elemental Resistances Optional affixes: Aspect of the Avian Skill Curse  +1 to Minimum Endurance Charges

(Boots) Rare Boots - getting high defensive stats should be your priority here. You can also get an Elder Pair with Fortify so that you get the buff when you use Cyclone

Min. requirements: 75 maximum Life 30% Movement Speed 60% Total Elemental Resistances Optional affixes: Cannot be Frozen Socketed Gems are Supported by level # Fortify

Boot enchantment: Regenerate 2% of Life and Mana per second if you were Hit Recently

(Jewel) The Anima Stone - mandatory Jewel used in this build. It allows you to summon two additional Golems in total.

Can Summon up to 1 additional Golem at a time If you have 3 Primordial Jewels, can Summon up to 1 additional Golem at a time

(Jewel) Primordial Might - making your Golems more aggressive greatly increasing their targeting and clear speed. You need to use one Primordial Might in this build

(25-30)% increased Damage if you Summoned a Golem in the past 8 seconds Golems Summoned in the past 8 seconds deal (35-45)% increased Damage Golems have (18-22)% increased Maximum Life Your Golems are aggressive Primordial

(Jewel) Primordial Harmony - these Jewels grant the highest DPS reducing the cooldowns of your Golem's most powerful abilities. They can be quite expensive but are totally worth it

Golem Skills have (20-30)% increased Cooldown Recovery Speed Golems have (10-15)% increased Cooldown Recovery Speed (16-20)% increased Golem Damage for each Type of Golem you have Summoned Golems regenerate 2% of their Maximum Life per second Primordial

(Jewel) Primordial Eminence - a decent alternative to Primordial Harmony, should be cheaper than it and still grant decent bonuses

Golems have (16-20)% increased Attack and Cast Speed 30% increased Effect of Buffs granted by your Golems Golems have +(800-1000) to Armour Primordial

(Jewel) Rare Abyss Jewels - should provide extra Life and added Physical Damage to your Minions' Attacks

Recommended affixes: maximum Life Minions deal added # Physical Damage Minions have increased Attack and Cast Speed if you or your Minions have killed recently

(Jewel) Fortress Covenant - grants high bonus Minion Damage and extra block chance. It's great to pick it up and socket it inside one of your Cluster Sockets, as then the negative effect is ignored

Minions deal (35-45)% increased Damage Minions have +(10-12)% Chance to Block Attack Damage Minions have +(10-12)% Chance to Block Spell Damage Notable Passive Skills in Radius are Transformed to instead grant: Minions take 20% increased Damage

(Jewel) Quickening Covenant - just like the above, though this time it grants a bit different spectrum of bonuses

Minions have (12-16)% increased Attack Speed Minions have (12-16)% increased Cast Speed Minions have (10-12)% chance to Dodge Attack Hits Minions have (10-12)% chance to Dodge Spell Hits Notable Passive Skills in Radius are Transformed to instead grant: Minions have 25% reduced Movement Speed

(Jewel) Large Cluster Jewel - you should get at least one Large Cluster Jewel. You are primarily looking for Feasting Fiends and Renewal to boost your Minions Life and DPS. The third Passive is optional since you don't have many useful options here. Possibly Rotten Claws for a small chance to Impale would work

Recommended affixes: 1 Added Passive Skill is Feasting Fiends 1 Added Passive Skill is Renewal 1 Added Passive Skill is Rotten Claws

(Jewel) Medium Cluster Jewel - you can use up to 4 Medium Cluster Jewels in this build depending on your level. You can simply stack Renewal and Feasting Fiends on them or give your Minions some extra defenses via Dread March  Passive

Recommended affixes: 1 Added Passive Skill is Feasting Fiends 1 Added Passive Skill is Renewal Optional affixes: 1 Added Passive Skill is Dread March

(Jewel) Small Cluster Jewel - if you have free Passive Points (and a Socket) for Small Cluster Jewel pick one with Fettle for the highest bonus Life

Recommended affixes: 1 Added Passive Skill is Fettle

(Flask) Rumi's Concoction - a great Utility Flask which boosts your defenses significantly

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

Other suggested Flasks: Life Flask with random ailment removal Basalt Flask with random ailment removal Quartz Flask with random ailment removal Experimenter's Quicksilver Flask of Adrenaline (Inc. Movement Speed)

If you have tried our Carrion Golem Necromancer build, make sure to let us know how it worked out for you. We will also appreciate your feedback that can be posted in the comments below. With your help, we will be able to improve our content.

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