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[Wallach]

Got bored trying to farm up some gear to finish A4 Merciless so I just kind of brute forced my way through the end. Wound up dying once to the lightning witch and like six times to Malachai. Just looking at the damage & health there from the organ bosses onward I feel like I probably would have needed around twenty hours of farming to safely finish it out deathless, so it's probably in the vicinity of where it should be tuning-wise. Time to look into how this whole mapping thing works!

 

[TheSeks]

It's best to not level (Level one to high 40's/early 50's) as a pure summoner in PoE. Summons require a lot of support from the tree and gear to be able to withstand any form of punishment against bosses and act3+ mobs. At the start, you'll build a bit like a spell caster while working on the skeleton of your build, as you move past all the summon nodes then you start taking all the minion nodes at once when you believe you're ready. Be sure to refund all the points you spent on spell damage beforehand and put them into minions but it's not really a bad idea to keep some as you'll still be supporting the frontline with stuff like traps, freeze pulse or firestorm.

Nowadays, there are a lot of different summoner types, ranging from animating weapons, zombies, raging spirits(Think bone spirit build) to the new element golem skills and even supporting auras thanks to the generosity support gem. Some of these skills don't use or require all of the minion nodes so you are free to take a lot of other things in these types of builds. Summoners also have new buffs that can make corpses/consume them and also a recall-type spell to heal your horde while also protecting them from harmful AoEs.

Summoners aren't as good as they once were back when they got all their new bells and whistles, but as long as you don't focus on being only a summoner at the start, you'll be fine in the later levels once you fully transition over to one, even if you don't have all the best gear at the time.

I dunno. I didn't get to check out the final Act 4 bosses in Normal during the Beta, but I had no problems whatsoever with a summoner build.

I just ran with Zombies and SRS to start, picked up the Chaos Golem later. Went straight for all of the summon nodes in the tree. The gem vendor upgrades has made leveling a Summoner from scratch much easier. It's really hard to miss the required spells.

It'll be slow though if you don't wait til 40-50. Self-found gear will never have the right colors/sockets, it's near impossible to find/make a +1/+2 minion hat, etc. if you're not an active trader.

But I think you can do it. If I hadn't just built one during the Beta, I'd build one right now to demonstrate, but I have a really limited playtime as it is.

Leveling as a summoner is a lot better since they added Desecrate to make corpses and resummon zombies, and in general they tweaked summons to be tankier and stuff. It's still rough at times in early game sure, but it's not terrible. You probably want to go SRS at least for a while so you can kill stuff that murders your zombies though, or you can go like flame totem or whatever.

It's not a time efficient way to level, however. Summoner only really picks up later once you have all the supports and a good amount of minion nodes in the tree, I wanna say around 40-50 or so. Early on, it doesn't kill stuff very quickly and you spend a lot of time just resummoning stuff that dies to random aoes or what not, but it's viable. If your goal isn't to rush to maps or whatever, you might as well level as a summoner. Eventually however it's a beastly build, it does ridiculous damage, has an insane amount of safety compared to most other builds due to minions aggroing stuff and blocking stuff, has very low gear reliance so you can use MF builds to farm and focus on defensive aspects entirely(like you can use an aurumvorax easily for example, or 2 even).

ELIDiablo 2 Player: Is it worth it? You guys say "well, yes and no" and I'm like "well, I dunno any other class since I played nothing but Summonmancer in Diablo 2 because it didn't require me to click fifty different keys in the middle of combat while downing potions 24/7." Path of Exile's Sphere Grid certainly doesn't help matters because you can't get an "idea" of a build since the damn thing is huge and you can't look up skills in game (IF you know what skills there are in game)

I just want to be able to get up to highest difficulty and beat the game.

 

[KKRT00]

I just want to be able to get up to highest difficulty and beat the game.

Heh, now that i think about it, i dont think i've ever killed Dominus on Merciless.
End bosses are freaking ridiculously hard and made/tweaked with end game loot run goal in mind (next to maps). Getting to maps and being able to do them reasonably well, at least ones before 70, seems like decent 'beat the game' point.
Though Dominus on Merciless is definitely easier now, due to act 4.

 

[Rufus]

ELIDiablo 2 Player: Is it worth it? You guys say "well, yes and no" and I'm like "well, I dunno any other class since I played nothing but Summonmancer in Diablo 2 because it didn't require me to click fifty different keys in the middle of combat while downing potions 24/7." Path of Exile's Sphere Grid certainly doesn't help matters because you can't get an "idea" of a build since the damn thing is huge and you can't look up skills in game (IF you know what skills there are in game)

I just want to be able to get up to highest difficulty and beat the game.

You're not going to stomp the content like a LoD Skellymancer, that's for sure. The last (and only) time I played a pure necromancer from start to finish was many many patches ago though. I think it's doable, but the bosses and maybe even some rares will just murder your minions. You will need a backup skill to do damage yourself, one that doesn't take much investment on the tree, at which point you might as well only use that to level. But again, if you want to play pure summoner start to finish, you can. It's not impossible, but possibly arduous.

 

[Morokh]

Ugh, no Shockwave totems until normal Act3 is annoying

But having access to more gems and especially more supports early completely changes the feel of the game for the better.

 

[Gaming Truth]

ELIDiablo 2 Player: Is it worth it? You guys say "well, yes and no" and I'm like "well, I dunno any other class since I played nothing but Summonmancer in Diablo 2 because it didn't require me to click fifty different keys in the middle of combat while downing potions 24/7." Path of Exile's Sphere Grid certainly doesn't help matters because you can't get an "idea" of a build since the damn thing is huge and you can't look up skills in game (IF you know what skills there are in game)

I just want to be able to get up to highest difficulty and beat the game.

So here's the thing: Take everything I say from the perspective of a casual player. I've played the game for 2 years now, but my average playtime is about 8 hours a week, tops. I think I have a firm grasp of how things work and everything and I know how the top-end builds generally work.

So from a casual player's perspective, its perfectly viable. I think the only boss I had trouble with was Dominus and that's cause, either he zapped my minions or they were too spread out thanks to all the different targets. A Spell Totem Summon Skeletons or Summon Raging Spirit normally takes care of this.

From an experienced player's perspective, I know why the others are saying what they're saying. If you've played for two years and are used to racing, then leveling up a Summoner is slow. There are builds out there that pew pew right out of the gate and make leveling a breeze. With a summoner, it'll take some time before you're in boss mode. The many summoner builds you can make in this game all work, but will take some time to do. But it's cool though, because every skill point, every gem you add will definitely add to your experience.

So I say definitely build a summoner and if you're building in Warbands, I'll try to stash Summoner stuff in the Guild Stash

 

[tiltnkirby]

ELIDiablo 2 Player: Is it worth it? You guys say "well, yes and no" and I'm like "well, I dunno any other class since I played nothing but Summonmancer in Diablo 2 because it didn't require me to click fifty different keys in the middle of combat while downing potions 24/7." Path of Exile's Sphere Grid certainly doesn't help matters because you can't get an "idea" of a build since the damn thing is huge and you can't look up skills in game (IF you know what skills there are in game)

I just want to be able to get up to highest difficulty and beat the game.

One of the things about PoE is that your builds don't really come to life till later on in your character's career, around the 40's to 50's(End of normal mode, somewhere in hard/Cruel), earlier with good gear. Because of this you need to be able to still make progress with easy/cheap skills that may not be a part of your skill gem set while you work on building the backbone of your passive tree. Totems, AoE skills like fire trap and firestorm are used to still push on in the early parts because they have a lot of early game impact with little damage investment, allowing you to still progress on routing your passive tree for the eventual switch over point, whenever that may be. The game rewards you with 2 refund points every act, on every difficulty, so spend a few points early game on survival/damage nodes then refund them later on once you can't use them anymore.

We're not being wishy-washy because we want to confuse you, that's just how it is with this game and it's ever changing balancing, new bosses/content, new gear, new passive routes and interactions, so sorry about that. It's fine to be a summoner but it's going to be tough as just a summoner out of the gate if you choose to forgo early spell/elemental damage for rushing summon nodes.

If you want some cheap barebones skeleton/zombies build for a summoner starting at level 1 going to the end of act 1 into act2-ish you'll be working on just grabbing all the minions nodes as you pass-by with this being the end of the line for minion nodes. Plan for detours to grab stat, HP/MP nodes as needed along the way.

I suggest enfeeble as your go-to curse while leveling as a pure summoner since it'll allow your pets to not be dead the second some AoE comes your way. Get a minion life gem to link with zombies and maybe skeletons at the start if they aren't in a spell totem. You have a lot of points left over after all that, so be sure to look for another area to go into, like multi-curses or even start picking up some kind of spell damage or auras to start backing up your teammates/minions, you got lots of room to work with.

 

[KPJZKC]

I'm currently playing a Summoner build - I'm finding them a lot more capable than they used to be (last one I played would have been at the introduction of Imperial Gardens/hedge maze).

Not invincible, mind, but I haven't had to purchase any minion specific or survival loot (looking at you Aurumvorax) yet - just hit Act 4 of normal.

Looking forward to getting my multistrike or splash so I can boost those zombies a bit.

Looks like I never actually joined the guild though, but would love to! Any space? Is character name required or account name?

Also, with regards to the above post - I've taken no elemental or spell damage nodes - only Minion related nodes, health, mana regen, and energy shield. Vast majority of my damage comes from minions and Minion Instability. I *do* use Arc a lot to add damage when there are a lot of mobs though, with a mace in one hand that adds ~30 fire damage to spells - this makes up for the unpredictable nature of lightning damage in game.

Granted I can't say how well this will work in Cruel difficulty - I'll most likely drop arc completely as I'll be swapping that mace out for something more survival related - have to get those resists up!

 

[Hellshingu]

More like 60-70% here play standard.

Yeah i dont have time too, but hell, the HC feels just better to me.

I've always like the HC mods better than Standard as they seem more fun. Maybe I'll try HC for a little this league when I get time.

 

[V_Arnold]

I do not get why people say zombies are weak. I ran SRS+Zombie hybrid summoner in a past few months, and the ONLY time all my zombies were dead was when we got a lv77+ ground slame multistrike exile out of a strongbox, or a particularly hard 77-78 map boss. Every other time it is a rarity that even one died. And with summoned spectres, they survive even more.

Yeah, by the time you get there, lv20 minion + 2 minion helm is nice, but the former comes automatically by leveling, and the latter can be crafted quite easily. Just alt a good base until you get the rarity, regal and then craft the missing mod, be that a res or life or whatever.

And this was with several zombie-specific talents not even activated. If I would ditch all the cast speed and duration and mana cost skills and put those into even more minion stuff, I am pretty sure even harder exiles would not "rip" them.

But of course, the most important item at that point is a Skulltor Helm or what is its name.

So yeah, zombies and summons ARE viable, but I would not run them blindly without twinking some just now. Quite hard to do pure summoner with malachai. Maybe with a spell totem+summon skeletons? I will try it a few weeks later when I have the proper twink amulets and chests

 

[Gaming Truth]

p.s., are Vaal Skeletons still in the game? Back when they were introduced, this skill was nuts. I was running a Zombie/Skele build with all the skele trimmings. Every time I pressed the "I win!" button, I would have 30+ skeletons absolutely trashing every part of the screen.

 

[TheSeks]

Well, the last time I played Path of Exile was Steam launch... so... a year or two(?!) ago. My problem with doing summons last time was them being on some sort of timer + dying really easily. Skeletonmancer in Diablo 2 was pretty much a tank. You could pull aggro, the skeletons would feed like piranhas and your party would come in to finish the ones that were still alive if you didn't corpse explosion (for more summons) the ones still standing after some of your party was maybe 1-2 knocked out of the 10 skeletons you were summoning.

I've got summon skills/gems on my previous character (that I haven't bothered to reskill since they wiped that characters tree like 5-10 updates ago? Whoops?) but that's probably because the character was a Shadow and not a Scion which is closer to the actual summon skills.

 

[Gaming Truth]

Well, the last time I played Path of Exile was Steam launch... so... a year or two(?!) ago. My problem with doing summons last time was them being on some sort of timer + dying really easily. Skeletonmancer in Diablo 2 was pretty much a tank. You could pull aggro, the skeletons would feed like piranhas and your party would come in to finish the ones that were still alive if you didn't corpse explosion (for more summons) the ones still standing after some of your party was maybe 1-2 knocked out of the 10 skeletons you were summoning.

I've got summon skills/gems on my previous character (that I haven't bothered to reskill since they wiped that characters tree like 5-10 updates ago? Whoops?) but that's probably because the character was a Shadow and not a Scion which is closer to the actual summon skills.

It still can work the same way. Zombies, golems, specters, and guardians are permanent. Skeletons and Raging Spirits have timers, but I get around that by putting them on Spell Totems so I just cast and forget.

 

[TheSeks]

I guess that's my problem: I was using skeletons in the hopes they were similar to the Skeletons of Diablo 2. I guess I need to switch those out and find a zombie skill gem.

 

[TheFatOne]

ELIDiablo 2 Player: Is it worth it? You guys say "well, yes and no" and I'm like "well, I dunno any other class since I played nothing but Summonmancer in Diablo 2 because it didn't require me to click fifty different keys in the middle of combat while downing potions 24/7." Path of Exile's Sphere Grid certainly doesn't help matters because you can't get an "idea" of a build since the damn thing is huge and you can't look up skills in game (IF you know what skills there are in game)

I just want to be able to get up to highest difficulty and beat the game.

Summoners are harder to level early game pre level 50-60. Once they get to end game though they are beastly. All you have to do is use another skill that requires very little investment to levell up. Here's a great leveling guide by ZiggyD Using this leveling guide you should be able to get to merciless without too much trouble except for the bosses. This probably isn't 100% the thing you were looking for, but it's one of the more efficient ways of leveling up any build really. It's useful for summoners since they are weak early. My advice would be to stick with summoners. Early they are hard to level but once you make it to end game it's so worth it. Just have a giant meat shield army. Be warned though there are weaknesses to summoners which is much like every build. Bosses/hard mobs that can insta kill mobs are the worst. On the flip side summoners allow you to run much more dangerous map mods than normal people.

Edit: If you are playing normal than just level summoners from the beginning don't worry about deaths. If you are playing hardcore it's best to follow a leveling guide like ZiggyDs guide. It just takes a while for summoners to get to full speed, but they are amazing once you get there.

 

[Gaming Truth]

I guess that's my problem: I was using skeletons in the hopes they were similar to the Skeletons of Diablo 2. I guess I need to switch those out and find a zombie skill gem.

Start a new Witch in Warbands. Raise Zombie should be the first reward. Join the guild too. Can't promise I'll be on, but I can help through the Stash

 

[V_Arnold]

I guess that's my problem: I was using skeletons in the hopes they were similar to the Skeletons of Diablo 2. I guess I need to switch those out and find a zombie skill gem.

Zombies are the new skeletons,but if you want to feel like piranhas invading poor enemies, then look up Summon Raging Spirit

 

[Armaros]

This skill can be gained as a reward for finishing quests:

Sever the Right Hand in Act 3 (Normal), by Marauder and Templar.

Or drop.

I dont know if is sold in shops.

Iirc the wiki is updated to show if a gem is sold by a vendor and what quest needed.

 

[Morokh]

Holy crap that last fight O_O

not getting anywhere near that in Hardcore lol

 

[RS4-]

Jumped back in POE today after...probably a year. Was 65.5 in the Dominus area, proceeded to die multiple times just reaching Dominus, now I'm at 65 lolol.

I don't think I'm equipped at all to kill him.

Tried to follow the Duelist build outlined here: http://www.pathofexile.com/forum/view-thread/868996/page/1

 

[TheSeks]

Start a new Witch in Warbands. Raise Zombie should be the first reward. Join the guild too. Can't promise I'll be on, but I can help through the Stash

Zombies are the new skeletons,but if you want to feel like piranhas invading poor enemies, then look up Summon Raging Spirit

Hohly crap. Zombies defo are the Diablo 2 Skeletons. I haven't even put points into a build yet and level 3 in the starting areas are doing pretty decent for them. I'm wondering if I can stack another zombie gem to get more zombies since apparently you can only do 3 (unless you level up gems? I never really "got" leveling gems).

 

[Rufus]

Hohly crap. Zombies defo are the Diablo 2 Skeletons. I haven't even put points into a build yet and level 3 in the starting areas are doing pretty decent for them. I'm wondering if I can stack another zombie gem to get more zombies since apparently you can only do 3 (unless you level up gems? I never really "got" leveling gems).

Your gems level, yes, same as you.

This is the progression for zombies:
http://pathofexile.gamepedia.com/Raise_Zombie#Gem_level_progression

You get more zombies/minions from passives:
https://www.pathofexile.com/passive-skill-tree (type "zombies" into the search boy at the bottom)

and certain unique items:
http://pathofexile.gamepedia.com/Raise_Zombie#Unique_items

 

[Gaming Truth]

Hohly crap. Zombies defo are the Diablo 2 Skeletons. I haven't even put points into a build yet and level 3 in the starting areas are doing pretty decent for them. I'm wondering if I can stack another zombie gem to get more zombies since apparently you can only do 3 (unless you level up gems? I never really "got" leveling gems).

No. You get more from the Skill Tree. Those same nodes also add skeletons, if they're your secondary troop.

 

[TheSeks]

Got it. Also grabbed the weapon one from a random drop in Act 1. Now to figure out the link system and see if I can get fire/cold on the zombies.

 

[Gaming Truth]

So I decided to build a summoner too. It's always been my favorite type to play, but I wanted to do "better" this time. So I'm mixing it up. I'm running Flame Totem as my main damage source with Frost Wall as my backup/defense. It's nuts so far and I haven't even linked it yet

 

[Gromph]

I left the guild, mainly because no one plays in Standard

But if anytime you guys need anything of me, please add me as friend IGN: Gromph_Witch or Hear_No_Evil

Good luck all!

 

[Fragamemnon]

So I decided to build a summoner too. It's always been my favorite type to play, but I wanted to do "better" this time. So I'm mixing it up. I'm running Flame Totem as my main damage source with Frost Wall as my backup/defense. It's nuts so far and I haven't even linked it yet

If you are using zombies, find a way to get a couple of chaos for the Matua Tupuna at some point in Act 3. The extra levels you get on your summon gems make a massive difference.

Also the health regen/life leech nodes for zombies are very good. Without some kind of sustain they get whittled down pretty easily.

 

[arts&crafts]

Act 4 is awesome! (maybe this is because i have 3000 hours played in acts 1-3) also loot filters are an awesome addition.

Currently lvl 50 dual flame totem. Never had a totem character before I hope it isnt gimp in maps.

 

[TheFatOne]

Had an incredibly stupid rip today. Did a map that was way above what I should have tried. Will take a break for a few days then try to roll another mf character. Think I'm going to go poison arrow this time though. Not sure yet.

 

[dommynick]

Price check for Warbands? Decided to try my luck on a Jack in the Box ;D

 

[TheSeks]

Hmm... bought two minion 31% damage increase gems/skills from Nessa. They do stack, right?

Also got that Summon Raging Spirit thing TheFatOne was talking about. I dunno how I feel about those being "piranhas" he was mentioning, they don't take up much MP but I'm just sitting there spamming W (well, holding it) and never reaching the 50 the skill says has a limit because I keep between 4-5 before one of them dies and it goes back to 4. :/

Also picked up a "convert enemy" trap skill I dunno if that'll be useful but it sounded decent.

I need to find some decent armor or figure out the orbs that'll let me link some of these together.

 

[Wallach]

Hmm... bought two minion 31% damage increase gems/skills from Nessa. They do stack, right?

Nope. Can't stack multiples of the same Support gem in any given link.

 

[TheSeks]

Nope. Can't stack multiples of the same Support gem in any given link.

Seriously? Why did it let me put it in the same weapon then? :| Waste of cash. I should've gotten the Lighting Support skill for them I guess.

 

[Wallach]

Seriously? Why did it let me put it in the same weapon then? :| Waste of cash. I should've gotten the Lighting Support skill for them I guess.

You may want to save it. You probably won't be able to fit all your summons onto the same link with proper supports later on, so you may want at least one spare to link other summon types to in a different piece.

 

[TheSeks]

You may want to save it. You probably won't be able to fit all your summons onto the same link with proper supports later on, so you may want at least one spare to link other summon types to in a different piece.

Speaking of a waste of cash: I bought two totems, not sure what they did/are. I think they're similar to the ones that ice-froze me while getting the spirit for the TALA MOANA, WARRIOR armorer dude as a "mission." But I can't put them together. :| Also seems once you hit your skill limit for qwert and the mouse you can't put any more skills on. But anyway, one of them is a fire one which seems like it'd possibly be good if I can use it to support the summons and converted enemies.

 

[Lactose_Intolerant]

Got my few days of play time before I'm bored with the game done. I'll be back for the next major update.

 

[Gothos]

Man, I fucking love this game

Killed Malachai on Normal yesterday. 1800HP was enough, but both his rooms could definetely be a little bigger.

So far, my build works great - 1H+Shield Duelist using Molten Strike. I love all the buffs for shield users - new Tempest Shield is nice, plus we got Riposte and Reckoning. Mobs just kill themselves attacking me Also, I'm using new Arctic Armor which is imho great for melee now - flat 10% dmg reduction from physical/fire is amazing and it doesn't cost that much mana. Basically - I'm having tons of fun. And lockstep is simply amazing.

Playing Hardcore, obviously

 

[KKRT00]

Man, I fucking love this game

Killed Malachai on Normal yesterday. 1800HP was enough, but both his room could definetely be a little bigger.

So far, my build works great - 1H+Shield Duelist using Molten Strike. I love all the buffs for shield users - new Tempest Shield is nice, plus we got Riposte and Reckoning. Mobs just kill themselves attacking me Also, I'm using new Arctic Armor which is imho great for melee now - flat 10% dmg reduction from physical/fire is amazing and it doesn't cost that much mana. Basically - I'm having tons of fun. And lockstep is simply amazing.

Playing Hardcore, obviously

Yep, i'm going to do a shield based character next, but first i need to get to Act 3 farming on current char

 

[Haly]

I ran into a wall with my dual mace crit Scion in Cruel Act 4 so it's probably time to reroll.

 

[Kammie]

Got my few days of play time before I'm bored with the game done. I'll be back for the next major update.

If you just got a new act and got only a couple days out of it... why even bother?

I ran into a wall with my dual mace crit Scion in Cruel Act 4 so it's probably time to reroll.

The content is unbalanced, you're gonna hit walls and have to zerg things with a lot of builds. You can probably find alternatives. Farm a normal boss a little, get some alts, buy new items and respec.

 

[Gothos]

Besides, maces and crits? Weird combo

 

[tiltnkirby]

Golems are awesome, even as a non-summoner.

 

[Lactose_Intolerant]

If you just got a new act and got only a couple days out of it... why even bother?

It is the same game I've played for years.

I don't understand the why bother part though. Why shouldn't I play a game if I enjoy it? It is when I stop enjoying it that I quit and play something else I will enjoy.

 

[Haly]

Cruel Daresso down. The dream is real. Just needed to get better at flask usage

Spoiler

and not care about death count.

 

[Rufus]

Died on my duelist. Ghosted Byrkul proved too strong, though I played recklessly. Re-rolled a - summoner, because why the hell not.

Using flame totem to level, but my zombies can hold their own well enough already (just got to A3N).

 

[KPJZKC]

So who do I need to PM about joining the guild?

Seems like the original people are either banned or gone

 

[Gromph]

So who do I need to PM about joining the guild?

Seems like the original people are either banned or gone

So current officers in GAF guilds are:
Perkel
sYkoDe4d
Zeth
Whoaness (dont remember Your GAF's name sorry )

So if anyone wants to join our guild, it would be the best to just write Your ingame nick in this thread and someone with right will just add You in free time.

Just put your IGN here so they can add to the guild.

 

[Gaming Truth]

Died on my duelist. Ghosted Byrkul proved too strong, though I played recklessly. Re-rolled a - summoner, because why the hell not.

Using flame totem to level, but my zombies can hold their own well enough already (just got to A3N).

For old-timers and new alike, don't sleep on Frost Wall. Thanks to gem vendors, they're not a rare drop anymore. Also, with the rebalance, it does a significant amount of damage.

This spell protects me, allows me to DD, and can pop barrels and crates.

 

[TheSeks]

Perkel already has me on his friend list from when Steam launch. But he kicked me from the guild like a month or so later. *shrug* I haven't bothered to really apply since I dunno if I'd feel good stealing equipment from the guild stash while being way behind everyone else.

 

[tiltnkirby]

Perkel already has me on his friend list from when Steam launch. But he kicked me from the guild like a month or so later. *shrug* I haven't bothered to really apply since I dunno if I'd feel good stealing equipment from the guild stash while being way behind everyone else.

Oh god! Not my 2nd string armor and gems I toss in there because I can't use it! Nah, just take anything you want, we put it in there for a reason, we keep all the good stuff from finds anyway.