Notable Passives:

1. Blood Aura [8/8] - it simply increases minion damage very efficiently
2. Forbidden Knowledge [7/8] -provides you with a solid amount of Necrotic Resistance and gives  you 7 Intelligence, a very important Attribute
3. Dark Rituals [5/5] - more Attack and Cast Speed for you and your minions

Lich Skill Tree (10 Points)

Notable Passives:

1. Apocrypha [10/10] - 10 Intelligence and 20% increased Mana regen - both stats are in high demand in this build

Necromancer Skill Tree (10 Points)

Notable Passives:

1. Risen Army [8/8] - Minion Damage, Minion Attack Speed, and Minion Cast Speed
2. Mortal Tether [10/10] - 150% more minion health, makes them much more durable
3. Frantic Summons [5/5] - it grants you and your minions more Cast and Attack Speed
4. River of Bones [5/5] - it's one of the most important Passives, it increases Crit Chance and Leech from Critical Strikes for you and your minions, it also increases Freeze Rate Multiplier for them by 100%
5. Heresy [10/10] - 10 Intelligence and 50% increased minion crit chance
6. Blades of the Forlorn [10/10] - minions have higher Critical Strike Multiplier, Chance to Chill, and Cold Damage, another very important Passive
7. Rite of Undeath [10/10] - it massively increases your Elemental and Necrotic Resistances while granting these types of Damage to your Minions

Acolyte and Lich Skill Trees are simple and do not deviate much from any other minion builds, you take mostly what's necessary and move on to the Necromancer Skill Tree. Here you can increase the damage and durability of your minions even further by allocating your points accordingly. You should look at minion general damage increase, especially Cold Damage and Critical Strikes. The build is more reliant on Skeletal Mages than Skeleton Archers, so you should prioritize Spell Damage over Physical one for your minions. The nodes which increase the maximum number of your Skeletons are obviously highly beneficial and you should take all of them.

Summon Bone Golem - As a defense mechanism, you can use Bone Golem or Transplant. We've decided to take the first one - by using Transplant you can often fund yourself out of your Dread Shade Aura and your minions which can be dangerous. The Bone Golem acts as a damage sponge in the frontline, so it's important to take Tower of Bones so that Golem will be more likely to be targeted. It is recommended to turn him into Spectral Golem, it makes him less likely to die. Invest some points in his defenses as well.

Rip Blood - Rip Blood is to be used defensively and offensively in this case, it is set up in such a way that it damages your minions and gives you Ward. Your minions will be fine however, they Leech Health rapidly so it's not an issue for them. Take Marrow Drinker and Arcane Fortress to achieve it. Allocate Hematology - for increased restoration based on your Intelligence, Mana Feast - for better Mana sustain, and Eviscerate leading to Infused Frenzy. It will enhance the damage, attack, and cast speed of your minions as you cast Rip Blood.

Summon Skeleton - It's a Skill that summons Skeletons. As you make your way for Ice Arrow Passive which will upgrade Archers to shoot Ice Arrows dealing Cold Damage, take Mightier than the Sword - to ensure that you will spawn Skeleton Archers only. You should then aim for all the one-point passives that increase the maximum number of skeletons, luckily for you, the passives leading to them are extremely useful so not points are wasted.

Summon Skeletal Mage - Summon Skeletal Mages. Cryomancers and Frost Lich are important for this build - it ignores all the other possible Skeletal Mages that can be spawned so the only ones you can summon are Cold Damage-dealing Cryomancers. Splinter Dominion will grat your minions more projectiles which is always great. Celer Mortis and Grey Merchant will make these minions more powerful. take the Passive for extra Maximum Skeletal Mage.

Dread Shade - It's a minion that elevates the damage of your other minions. It creates an aura that affects the minions inside of it, upgrade the AoE of this aura by allocating four points in Spectral Presence. It leads to Dying Coven - for more Attack and Cast Speed for the minions, and Symbiotic Apparition - you and your Allies are affected by the Aura. Take Egoism so Minions will always Crit. Flesh Harvest makes all the buffs granted by Dread Shade more effective the less Health the targeted minion has. Dread Plague is a small damage increase that leads to Martyrdom - it gives you and your minions a lot of Armor. You can spend the remaining points on Wisdom of the Dead for better Mana sustain.

Stat priority:

Minion Damage, Cast Speed, and Attack Speed are the three most important stats, then look for Critical Strike Chance and Multiplier. To ensure your minions won't die too often, invest in their Health as well. The only Attribute worth keeping is Intelligence. After all your minions are in good shape, aim for some defenses for your character, mainly Armor, Health, and Resistances. Ward Retention is useful too : 

1. Minion Damage and Cold Damage
2. Minion Physical and Spell Damage
3. Minion Cast Speed and Attack Speed
4. Minion Crit Chance and Crit Multiplier
5. Intelligence
6. Health
7. Critical Strike Avoidance
8. Armor
9. Resistances

Recommended Unique Items: 

Reach of the Grave - Mandatory item. It enhances the Damage, Attack and Cast Speed, and Leech of your ranged Skeletons 

Death Rattle - More Damage, Critical Strike Chance, and Critical Strike Multiplier for your Minions. It also increases your Intelligence and provides Health for each minion that dies. The downside is that your minions take more damage.

END NOTE

This is the beta version of our Skeleton Summoner Necromancer Minion Build for Last Epoch. This build already shows a lot of promise and performs quite well even without any Unique equipment, making it a great recommendation for a Starter build. Obviously, as the game gets new content updates, we will be updating this guide regularly, though it may be impossible to be done after each Patch.