The Best Crafty Guides by Odealo
Estimated budget: medium
Guide notes |
August 14, 2018 -Build created August 24, 2018 -Added Gameplay video |
With the Minion-related changes in Patch 3.4, the Melee Summoner class became one of the most interesting types of builds in Path of Exile. It allows players to benefit twice from the same Passive Points, with Minion Damage and Minion Attack Speed bonuses applying to the player as well. This also synergizes well with the Mistress of Sacrifice - Necromancer's Ascendancy Passive, which finally allows the player to truly benefit from the Offerings Spells. Necromancer grants very high
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This MeleeMancer build is unlike any other Necromancer build you have played so far. It is a combination of a very powerful Crit/Melee fighter and Summoner who uses Minions to mitigate a big portion of incoming damage and to deal quite a bit of damage by themselves. With the changes in Patch 3.4, Minion Passives benefit also your character, which makes them extremely effective for this types of characters. At the same time, this build uses Staves, as all Crit and Staff-related Passives are within Witch's reach. This entire build is based on the newly added Movement Skill - Consecrated Path. It's one of the smoothest Movement Skills in the game, being a combination of Flicker Strike and Leap Slam, but with no Freny Charge cost. It also deals good AoE DPS and creates Consecrated Ground upon landing. Consecrated Path makes this build a one-button build for low-level farming and leveling, with only two buffs that have to be cast manually (Blood Rage and Ancestral Warchief Totem). On the other hand, this build has mediocre but well-balanced defensive mechanics. It utilizes moderately high Life, Block Chance, Evasion and Minions to mitigate a big portion of incoming damage.
0:06 Tier 11 Mesa |
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PROS |
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CONS |
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You should level this Melee/Summoner Necromancer character with the use of Minions as you won't be a proper Melee Fighter early on. Your leveling should be based on Raise Zombies and Summon Raging Spirit spells, and you shouldn't bother with the Melee part of the damage until the mapping phase. You can still use Consecrated Path for leveling, but mainly for the mobility and Consecrated Ground for Life Regen.
Suggested leveling Gem setups:
Raise Zombie setup | |
Raise Zombie - durable Minions that tank enemies while you cast SRS | |
Minion Life Support - increases the Zombies' Life | |
Minion and Totem Elemental Resistance - another good defensive Support Gem | |
Fortify Support - increases the Damage of your Zombies and grants them the Fortify buff on Hit |
Summon Raging Spirit setup | |
Summon Raging Spirit - your primary DPS during the leveling Phase. It summons Raging Spirits for a short duration which behave like homing missiles and follow enemies around the area | |
Minion Damage Support | |
Melee Physical Damage Support - since Raging Spirits use Melee Physical Attacks, this Gem increases their damage greatly | |
Melee Splash Support - greatly increases your clear speed | |
Spell Echo Support - one of the best Support Gems for the Ragin Spirits setup |
Utility Gems | |
Summon Holy Relic - summons a Minion by your side that grants increased Life Regeneration to your and your other Minions when you attack | |
Anger - DPS Aura that adds Fire Damage to your Minions' Spells and Attacks | |
Clarity - Aura that increases Mana Regeneration Rate | |
Stone Golem - is the recommended Golem for the leveling phase |
Bandits:
You should kill all the Bandits for two extra Passive Skill Points, and later on change to Alira for Crit. Multiplier and Mana Regeneration Rate
Leveling Skill Trees:
31 Points Skill Tree
Priorities: 1) Lord of the Dead 2) Gravepact 3) Potency of Will 4) Shaper
64 Points Skill Tree
Priorities 1) Spiritual Command 2) Sacrifice 3) Death Attunement 4) Discipline and Training
Recommended leveling items:
Sidhebreath Paua Amulet - the best leveling amulet for this build. You can use it until the early mapping phase | |
(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 |
Bones of Ullr - another great Minion-related leveling item | |
+20 to maximum Life +20 to maximum Mana (40-60)% increased Energy Shield (5-15)% increased Movement Speed +1 to maximum number of Zombies +1 to maximum number of Spectres |
Reverberation Rod - this is the best low-level Wand for the Summon Raging Spirit setup | |
(15-19)% increased Spell Damage +1 to Level of Socketed Gems Socketed Gems are Supported by level 1 Spell Echo +(10-30) to Intelligence |
Tabula Rasa - one of the most popular leveling items in Path of Exile. Grants 6-links as early as level 1 | |
Item has no level requirement and Energy Shield (Hidden) Item has 6 White Sockets and is fully linked (Hidden) |
Praxis - reduces the Mana Cost of Spells which makes it very easy to sustain your Mana if you are using Tabula Rasa | |
+(20-25) to maximum Mana +(30-60) to maximum Mana (3-6) Mana Regenerated per second -(8-4) to Total Mana Cost of Skills 8% of Damage taken gained as Mana over 4 seconds when Hit |
Final Skill Tree:
115 Points Final Skill Tree
115 Points Path of Building(PoB) link
Ascendancy points:
Preferably in that order:
Pantheon:
Major God: Soul of Lunaris 1% additional Physical Damage Reduction for each nearby Enemy, up to 8%; 1% increased Movement Speed for each nearby Enemy, up to 8%
Minor God: Soul of Gruthkul 1% additional Physical Damage Reduction for each Hit you've taken Recently up to a maximum of 5%
[DPS] Consecrated Path setup | |
Consecrated Path - your primary DPS and Movement skill | |
Melee Physical Damage Support - increases the Physical Damage of supported skills | |
Fortify Support - increases Physical Damage and grants the Fortify buff | |
Elemental Damage with Attacks Support - mandatory Gem for this build | |
Concentrated Effect Support - grants increased damage at the cost of reducing Consecrated Path radius | |
Added Fire Damage Support - grants additional Fire Damage based on your Physical Damage |
[MINIONS] Raise Zombie setup | |
Raise Zombie - your meatshield. They also Ignite enemies and apply Combustion's debuff | |
Minion Life Support | |
Fortify Support | |
Combustion Support - grants high chance to Ignite with Attacks, and enemies Ignited by supported skills have their Fire Resistance reduced by up to 19% |
[UTILITY] Herald of Purity and Anger (this is the preferred setup when using Bronn's Lithe, better setups would require to leave 1 Green Socket on a Dex-based Armour which is extremely expensive) |
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Herald of Purity - increases your Physical Damage and when you kill an enemy you spawn Sentinels of Purity. Sentinels of Purity deal moderate damage and instantly kill enemies below 10% Life | |
Minion Damage Support | |
Faster Attacks Support | |
Culling Strike Support | |
Anger | |
Enlighten Support - reduces the amount of Mana reserved by Anger and Herald of Purity |
[UTILITY] Phase Run and Offerings | |
Phase Run - increases your Movement Speed, Melee Damage and makes you less visible to enemies (they are more likely to target your Minions). Keep this Gem at level 14 | |
Cast When Damage Taken Support - keep this Gem at level 12. Will auto-cast all supported skills | |
Flesh Offering - increases the Attack and Movement Speed of you and your Minions. Keep this Gem at level 15 and socket it AFTER Desecrate (you need to create the corpses first) |
[CURSE] Flammability setup | |
Flammability - recommended Curse for this build. With the Impresence Amulet, it is used as an Aura around you | |
Blasphemy Support - makes the supported Curse work as an Aura |
[UTILITY] Utility Gems (single-links) |
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Blood Rage - grants Attack Speed, Life Leech, and generates Frenzy Charges | |
Ancestral Warchief - summons a Totemincreasesncreaes your Melee Damage | |
Summon Ice Golem - Ice Golem increases your Crit. Chance and Accuracy Rating. Both are very important stats in this build |
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Let's get down to the most interesting part - the Gear section. Below you will find all the recommended gear for this build. Our MeleeMancer build is very flexible, and you can replace any listed unique with a Rare alternative.
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We guarantee that the items listed will:
Stat priorities on items:
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(Helmet) Rare Bone Helmet - is the best in the slot, however, with the changes in Patch 3.4 and Minion builds popularity, it is a very expensive option |
Min. requirements: 70 maximum Life 38% increased Minion Damage Optional affixes: Elemental Resistances |
(Helmet) Starkonja's Head - another great pick for this build. Provides very high defensive utility |
50% reduced Damage when on Low Life +(50-70) to Dexterity 10% increased Attack Speed 25% increased Global Critical Strike Chance (100-130)% increased Evasion Rating +(80-100) to maximum Life 150% increased Global Evasion Rating when on Low Life |
Helmet enchantment: (do not enchant Bone Helmets!) Consecrated Path deals 40% increased Damage |
(Body Armour) Bronn's Lithe - the best in the slot, grants insane DPS bonuses |
3% reduced Movement Speed (Hidden) +2 to Level of Socketed Movement Gems 10% increased Attack Speed (35-50)% increased Damage with Movement Skills (200-250)% increased Evasion Rating 10% increased Movement Speed 15% increased Attack and Cast Speed if you've used a Movement Skill Recently |
(Weapon Slot) Hegemony's Era - the best in the slot. It's rather easy to obtain and not very expensive, making it the best choice |
+18% Chance to Block Attack Damage while wielding a Staff +6% Chance to Block Attack Damage while wielding a Staff Adds (180-190) to (190-220) Physical Damage (12-16)% increased Attack Speed (20-30)% increased Critical Strike Chance +1 to Maximum Power Charges 10% chance to gain a Power Charge if you Knock an Enemy Back with Melee Damage |
(Boots) Rare Gloves |
Min. requirements: 60 maximum Life 300 Accuracy Rating Optional affixes: Mana gained on Kill Added Fire or Physical Damage to Attacks increased Melee Damage |
Glove enchantment: Commandment of Frost |
(Belt) Rare Stygian Vise - with high defensive bonuses |
Min. requirements: 60 maximum Life 25% Fire Resistance 25% Lightning Resistance 25% Cold Resistance Optional affixes: increased Elemental Damage with Attacks |
(Amulet) Impresence (Fire) - our recommended pick for the Amulet slot. Allowing you to use your Curse as an Aura without Mana Reservation |
+(10-16) to all Attributes Adds (20-24) to (33-36) Fire Damage +(50-70) to maximum Life +(20-25)% to Fire Resistance 1% of Life Regenerated per second 100% reduced Flammability Mana Reservation Gain Maddening Presence for 10 seconds when you Kill a Rare or Unique Enemy |
(Rings) Rare Rings |
Min. requirements: 55 maximum Life 40 maximum Mana 280 Accuracy Rating 30% Fire Resistance 30% Lightning/Cold Resistance (use Lightning Res. on one of the Rings and Cold on the other) |
(Gloves) Rare Boots |
Min. requirements: 60 maximum Life 35 Dexterity 25% increased Movement Speed 30% Cold Resistance 30% Lightning Resistance |
Boot enchantment: 0.6% of Damage Leeched as Life and Mana if you've Killed Recently 16% increased Attack and Cast Speed if you've Killed Recently Adds 45 to 68 Fire Damage if you've Killed Recently |
(Jewel) Abyss Jewel - use at least one to gain the Onslaught buff |
Recommended affixes: maximum Life added Fire/Physical Damage to Attacks/Staff Attacks chance to gain the Onslaught on kill |
(Jewels) Rare Jewels - this should provide Life, Minion Damage and Critical Strike Multiplier with Elemental Skills (it's a very unusual combination which does not make such Jewels very expensive) |
Recommended affixes: increased maximum Life increased Minion Damage Critical Strike Multiplier with Elemental Skills |
(Flask) The Wise Oak - assuming your Fire Resistance is the highest, this Flask grants very high Fire Damage Penetration |
+35% to all Elemental Resistances During Flask Effect, 10% reduced Damage taken of each Element for which your Uncapped Elemental Resistance is lowest During Flask Effect, Damage Penetrates (10-15)% Resistance of each Element for which your Uncapped Elemental Resistance is highest |
(Flask) Lion's Roar - grants extra Melee damage during its' effect |
+3000 to Armour Adds Knockback to Melee Attacks during Flask effect 75% chance to cause Enemies to Flee on use (20-25)% more Melee Physical Damage during effect Knocks Back Enemies in an Area when you use a Flask |
Other suggested Flasks:
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We hope that you will enjoy this build as much as we did. If you have any suggestions on how to improve it, please leave a comment below.
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