Summon Holy Relic of Conviction
Necromancer Build

Updated for Patch 3.24

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The Summon Holy Relic of Conviction is the newest addition to the Summoner Archetype. It is an upgraded version of the regular Holy Relic, focused more on the offence. The biggest change is that the Relic will release its Holy Nova around the Enemy you Hit, which is a massive buff to the Clear Speed. The Summoned Relics will no longer Heal you or your Minions, but they have lowered Cooldown on their main Ability and you can summon two of them by default. Thanks to the very common Geofri's Legacy Unique Helmet you will be able to summon 1 additional Relic, for a total of 3. The Relics release the Holy Nova Spell only if you Hit the enemy, so you don't need to scale their Cast Speed.

The best way to Trigger the Holy Nova is by using the Cyclone. Thanks to the Cast While Channelling Support you will be also casting Bone Offering and both Curses, which removes a lot of button pressure from you. The Bone Offering is used to boost your defence, as with the Necromancer Ascendency it will apply its bonuses to you at a reduced effectiveness. It will also improve the survivability of your Animate Guardian and Spectres, which are indispensable Minions for any Necromancer. 

In terms of defences, you will have around 4 to 6k of Maximum Life, Armour, nearly capped Chance to Block Spells and Attacks, constant Life Leech from your Minions, and a bit of Life Recoup. The other Minions you should be using are Animated Guardian, some kind of defensive Golem, and a Spectre granting your Minions a utility Buff. The build is rather cheap, it only requires some Unique Items, and the rare ones have very few stats that would actually benefit your Minions. 

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1. Gameplay

It is a very relaxing Summoner, you will hold the Cyclone to trigger Holy Nova. Your Relics, Spectres, Animated Guardian, and Golems will roam around you performing their tasks. All other Utility Spells will be cast via Channelling Setup. For your Minions, you should also use Auras such as Pride, Aspect of the Avian, and Zealory. The Auras Recommended for your Character are Determination and possibly Vitality. 

Full gameplay video:

2. Build's PROS & CONS

3. Leveling tips

The Holy Relic is rather weak in the early progression. We recommend levelling up using other Minions, such as Raging Spirits or Skeletons. You can find more tips in our Witch Leveling Guide using Minions.

Bandits:

Kill all three Bandits for two additional Skill Points

4. Final Skill Tree, Ascendancy Points, and Pantheon

Final Skill Tree:

105 Points Final Skill Tree (doesn't include Cluster Jewels)
119 Points Path of Building (PoB) link

Ascendancy points:

Preferably in that order:

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

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 Shakari: 50% less Duration of Poisons on You; 5% reduced Chaos Damage taken

5. Final Gems links

[DPS] Summon Holy Relic setup
	Summon Holy Relic of Conviction - Holy Relics cast a Nova Spell that deals Physical Damage each time you Hit an enemy, it has a low Cooldown that can be reduced by the Quality of this Gem.
	Minion Damage Support - Minions simply deal more Damage.
	Empower Support - The Gem level of Holy Relics is important, use Empower to increase it.
	Brutality Support - it greatly improves the Physical Damage dealt by your Minions, but disables any other Damage type..
	Increased Critical Strikes Support - you can mark an Enemy to greatly increase the Damage it takes from your Minions.
	Increased Critical Damage Support - The Critical Strikes of your Minions deal more Damage.

[UTILITY] Minions setup
	Animate Guardian - You can equip the Guardian with various Unique Items that have a unique effect on other allies.
	Feeding Frenzy Support - Improves all your Minions with Damage and Movement Speed.
	Raise Spectre - you can Raise Cheftain Apes from Act 2 as Spectres to generate Frenzy and Power Charges for your Minions.
	Minion Life Support - Linked Minions have increased their Maximum Life.

[UTILITY] Cyclone setup
	Cyclone - it is used to Hit enemies as it has a very good base Attack Speed, and you can take advantage of the Channeling portion.
	Cast While Channeling Support - you will Cast linked Spells in succession as you keep Channeling the Cyclone. You can keep it at level 1 to decrease the Trigger Rate to reduce the Mana Cost, and you will have permanent uptime on your Buffs anyway.
	Desecrate - creates Corpses which you can use to cast Offering.
	Spirit Offering - consumes nearby Corpses to grant your Minions a Buff that greatly increases their potency with Critical Strikes.
	Assassin's Mark - your Minions are more likely to land a Critical Strike, deal more Damage, and generate Power Charges when targeting Marked Enemy.
	Vulnerability - increases the Physical Damage taken by your Enemies, which is the only type of Damage dealt by your Minions.

[UTILITY] Auras setup
	Determination - a mandatory defensive Aura grants you an increased and additional Armour Rating.
	Pride - Pride makes nearby enemies take increased Physical Damage, it's even more effective after 4 seconds.
	Zealotry - Increases Spell Damage and Critical Strike Chance for your Minions, which is exactly what you will need.
	Enlighten Support - Linked Spells have increased Mana Reservation Efficiency.
	Clarity - you will need a low-level Clarity to sustain casting your Spells constantly.

[UTILITY] Other Utility setup
	Frostblink - it is an instant teleport, so you can use it during your Cyclone without interrupting the Channel.
	Molten Shell - Molten Shiell is a very powerful Guard Skill that increases your Armour and absorbs a large amount of Damage during its Duration.
	Summon Stone Golem - a helpful Minion that greatly increases your Life Regeneration. You can also use the Transfigured Stone Golem of Safeguarding to reduce the Damage you take from Melee Hits.

6. Gear Setup

You will only need Life, Armour, Resistances, and Minion Damage. You should use a Warstaff that increases the Socketed Gem Levels and improves the Damage of your Minions. A Mandatory Unique Item is Geofri's Crest, it's a Helmet specifically designed to summon more Holy Relics. You should also use the Stampede Boots, so the Cyclone doesn't slow you as much. You will need a bit of Attack Speed to match the Cooldown of your Relic's Nova. Thanks to the Spiritual Command you can source your Attack Speed via bonuses to your Minions. To add the Aspect of the Avian Skill to your equipment you will need to sacrifice Saqawal in the Altar in your Beastiary.  

Our recommended items will:

1. Cap your resistances at 75%
2. Provide you with enough DPS and Life to start mapping

(Helmet) Geofri's Crest - a mandatory Helmet, it increases the limit of your Relics by 1. It also provides plenty of Elemental Resistance. It is a common Unique, you should look for a Corrupted Implicit that reduces the Mana Reservation of Socketed Aura Gems.

(120-150)% increased Armour and Energy Shield +(20-30)% to Fire Resistance +(20-30)% to Cold Resistance +(20-30)% to Lightning Resistance +(20-30)% to Chaos Resistance +1 to maximum number of Summoned Holy Relics

(Weapon) Rare Warstaff - use a Staff dedicated for Attacks, as it can roll a modifier that increases the Level of all Socketed Gems, including the Empower. It should also boost your Attack Speed and Damage of your Minions. It is also possible to craft additional Gem Levels for socketed Support Gems. You can Craft it using the Essence of Fear on a Fractured Staff.

Min. requirements: +1 to Level of Socketed Gems +2 to Level of Socketed Support Gems Optional affixes: Minions deal #% increased Damage Increased Attack Speed

(Body Armour) Saqawal's Nest - You can use this Body Armour for massive amounts of Attributes and increased Mana Reservation Efficiency. The aspect of the Avian will grant your Minions a solid chance to deal Double Damage.

+(25-75) to all Attributes +(30-40)% to Lightning Resistance (20-12)% increased Mana Reservation Efficiency of Skills 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

(Boots) The Stampede - Cyclone won't slow you down with these boots on, and you can Anoint them. You can also use your movement Skill with a higher frequency.

(100-150)% increased Evasion and Energy Shield (30-40)% increased Stun and Block Recovery (50-80)% increased Cooldown Recovery Rate of Travel Skills (30-40)% increased Mana Regeneration Rate while moving Your Movement Speed is 150% of its base value

(Gloves) Rare Gloves - look for Life, Resistances, and bonuses to your Minion Damage. The Attack Speed bonus will also be very useful, as you need to reach a 7,5 Attack Rate with your Cyclone to match the Cooldown of your Relic's Nova.

Min. requirements: +70 to Maximum Life +70% to Elemental Resistances  Optional affixes: Minions deal 20% increased Damage % chance to Unnerve Enemies for 4 seconds on Hit Chaos Resistance increased Attack Speed

(Belt) Stygian Vise - here you should aim for simple defensive modifiers such as maximum Life or Resistance. You can also get Flask modifiers to improve your sustain.

Min. requirements: +80 to Maximum Life +70% to Elemental Resistances Optional affixes: % increased maximum Life Flask Charges gained/used Strength Chaos Resistance

(Belt) Darkness Enthroned - it can be expensive, but it is the best source of increases in Minion Damage. You can put your two best Abyss Jewels here to double their effect.

Has 2 Abyssal Sockets (50-100)% increased Effect of Socketed Abyss Jewels

(Abyss Jewel) Rare Jewel - you will use a lot of Abyss Jewels that improve your Minion's Damage and your maximum Life. Other than that, try to include lacking Resistances, Attributes, or add flat Physical Damage for your Minions.

Min. requirements: +30 to Maximum Life Minions deal 15% increased Damage if you've used a Minion Skill Recently Optional affixes: Minions deal # to # additional Physical Damage Resistance Attributes

(Amulet) Replica Dragonfang's Flight - It's by far the best Amulet, it grants you plenty of Reservation Efficiency, reduces the Attribute Requirements, and boosts Holy Relic Gem by 3 Levels.

+(10-16) to all Attributes +3 to Level of all <Random Skill> Gems +(5-10)% to all Elemental Resistances (5-10)% increased Reservation Efficiency of Skills Items and Gems have (10-5)% reduced Attribute Requirements

Recommended Anointments: Allocates Whispers of Doom Allocates Charisma

(Ring) Rare Ring - use the Bone Ring to get special Minion modifiers available only on this Base. You should look for maximum Life, bonuses to your Minions, Resistances, and Attributes. You can craft Reduced Mana Cost of Skills, and add the Aspect of the Avian via Beastcraft.

Min. requirements: +70 to Maximum Life Minions deal 30% increased Damage +50% to Elemental Resistances Optional affixes: Non-Channelling Skills have -(7-6) to Total Mana Cost (crafted) Minions have #% increased Attack Speed Minions have #% increased maximum Life Minions have +#% to all Elemental Resistances

(Jewel) Fortress Covenant - a very efficient Jewel, you can Socket it in the Cluster Jewel to negate the downside completely. It greatly improves the Damage of your Minions and grants them a chance to Block Damage.

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) Energised Armour - this Jewel can grant you tons of Armour when Socketed near the Faith and Steel Notable. You can also allocate the Armour Mastery so it applies to Chaos Damage from Hits, but it won't affect DoTs such as Poison.

(15-20)% increased Armour Increases and Reductions to Energy Shield in Radius are Transformed to apply to Armour at 200% of their value

(Jewel) Large Cluster Jewels - there is a very limited amount of useful Notables here. The Vicious Bite is the most impactful, as sources of Critical Strikes for your Minions are scarce.

Recommended affixes: 1 Added Passive Skill is Feasting Fiends 1 Added Passive Skill is Renewal 1 Added Passive Skill is Vicious Bite

(Flask) Rumi's Concoction - it is a very good defensive Flask, it improves your Armour, and boost your Block Chance by a solid amount.

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

(Flask) Bottled Faith - Use Bottled Faith for more Critical Strike Chance and More Damage for your Minions,  as well as some Life Regeneration for yourself, as long as you stay in the Consecrated Ground.

40% increased Damage Creates Consecrated Ground on Use (30-15)% reduced Duration Consecrated Ground created by this Flask has Tripled Radius Consecrated Ground created during Effect applies (7-10)% increased Damage taken to Enemies (100-150)% increased Critical Strike Chance against Enemies on Consecrated Ground during Flask effect

(Flask) Taste of Hate - another great defensive Flask, it reduces the Physical and Cold Damage you take during its effect. You won't have this flask permanently, so don't rely on this to cap your Cold Resistances.

(10-15)% of Physical Damage from Hits taken as Cold Damage during Effect Gain (10-15)% of Physical Damage as Extra Cold Damage during effect 30% chance to Avoid being Chilled during Effect 30% chance to Avoid being Frozen during Effect

Other suggested Flasks: Life Flask with Bleeding Removal Jade Flask with Evasion Rating bonus

If you have any other build requests please leave that in the comments below. We are always open to suggestions and constructive feedback.

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