Summoner end game and Maps

So i guess im still too early to consider myself end game- but ive been level 70 for past two days and feel like i hit a wall. Up until this point i felt that summoner's were very op - i have all the unique requirements to allow 4 spectre's and have chain/gmp all the gems i need.

This was true until i started doing maps - at first i really liked the challenged as it wasn't just roflfaceroll like docks/etc, i actually had to pay attention, move accordingly etc. Then after doing about 10 maps or so I felt completely useless and frustrated. The problem is that the summons die almost instantly - zombies are fine because when they die they deal lots of damage and I can easily resummon, but sepctre's and finding and raising them is sooo annoying.

There's been many times where ALL of my summons just immediately blow up (flame mobs) and I am left with nothing and die immediately. I feel like I cannot effectively do maps at this points. My gear's aren't bad either (i think) I currently have 2.6k HP (Eldrich batter) running 4 auras and max resist with purity (except cold). I currently use Elemental weakness for curse

I pretty much tried every spectre/gem combinations to find what was most effective but it really doesn't matter when they instantly blow up

What am I doing wrong here? Are you other summoners in my level doing maps fine? If so can you shed some light for me?

I've been following this build:

My current build: (updated)

My current gear:

Can't help with the main question. (I'm still in cruel, can't solo piety yet -_-)

Small tips:

Get the Intelligence node which connects near 16% Chaos resistance and Agility. (or if you have a better plan, explain ^_^)
Refund the two 6% resistance nodes. (no one likes them)

Ideas:

If you use curses, which you should, get Hex Master (3 points). (It's more of a placebo to calm the nerves)
Borrow the unique ring which gives two curses and see if you like the play style.

Get a +2 (or even a +1 minion helm) for your zombies.

Get rid of queens decree and get a wand and shield. The benefit just doesn't outweigh the losses.

Get a Sapping or Perpetual or I forget the last one flask of animation, just spam it to heal your zombies.

I am constantly spamming these pots to help my minions stay alive:

I've been looking forever for a decent +1 or +2 minion helms but can't find any with +life/resist so using my current helm but i still don't think an extra 1k life on zombies are gonna help mitiage the damage in maps.

Does equipping a wand/shield really do make a better difference than using the Queens Decree?

Queen's Decree is just bad. You'd be MUCH better off with a wand and shield. Also the +2 to minion level is HUGE!!. At level 60, for me, it is the difference between 5894 Health Zombies, and 9217 Health Zombies. Remember, the +2 to minion gems effects the minion support gems as well which is why people always use it for Raise Zombie, Minion Health, Minion Damage, and Minion Speed (which ALL get the +2 bonus).

Hmm i see so i guess having a shield outweighs having an additional spectre... For wand tho what kind of stats should i be looking for? + Spell damage does not make any sense as I don't use any spell or have passive to benefit for it, im guessing resist/health?

I guess the +2 minion is important too, i didn't know it affects support gems as well - any idea how much a +2 minion helm sells for now days?

Thanks for all your help guys i really do appreciate it

"

foreversky wrote:

Hmm i see so i guess having a shield outweighs having an additional spectre... For wand tho what kind of stats should i be looking for? + Spell damage does not make any sense as I don't use any spell or have passive to benefit for it, im guessing resist/health?

I guess the +2 minion is important too, i didn't know it affects support gems as well - any idea how much a +2 minion helm sells for now days?

Thanks for all your help guys i really do appreciate it

Yeah, minion helms are very important. I'm still using a level 11 +1 helm :(

For wands, and daggers!, look for cast speed, mana, mana regen, resistances. You can't get life from either.

Actually, you can pretty much use any 1-handed weapon.

thanks for using my guide =P.

Heres some pointers, don't expect your spectre to live long, always keep spare support gems to change out in order to summon the spectres you have in the map at the moment. Versatility is key.

I long switched out queens decree for wand/shield setup. Using arc + ele proli + shock nodes to further dps output.

Constantly resummon when needed, its why I suggest EB high mp regen + auaras. If your having a tough time with mobs that lay down fire on the ground then simply move away. They rape your minions fast.

Use of conversion trap makes your life A LOT easier.

My summoner got to level 78 and could solo rare 69/70 maps easily for the most part, and I rarely lost a spectre. I had a Midnight Bargain and Rathpith Globe with Necromantic Aegis, and the large ES on that combined with Discipline/Purity/Haste made my pets very hardy. I actually removed Minion Life from my zombies and spectres and just rotated through 3 health pots that gave 60% of healing to pets (FYI the healing is done on your pets even if you personally are at full health).

Flame Sentinel spectres linked with minion damage, chain, chance to ignite and elemental proliferation was my spectre setup and they killed most packs of mobs with 1-2 shots. I personally didn't cast any DPS spells since it wasn't necessary, and I only used skelly totem to break into especially dangerous rooms. Having double curses was great; either Flammability and Ele Weakness to burn high health targets down faster or Temporal Chains and Enfeeble if you're worried your pets are taking too much damage or if you're fighting something that might be able to kill you.

My summoner is currently retired as a result of my having a poor internet connection and DCing often, which means having to re-acquire pets. Plus pet AI in indoor maps was rather frustrating. But summoners are definitely viable to at least mid level maps and probably higher, and if you want to make your spectres as tanky as possible you can get very good results.

Foreversky, no worries, summoners are very viable, will never clear as fast as rangers/maras but you also have a lot larger gear pool to pick from. They won't last long on any lvl maps without maxxed resistances and smart playing while you can steamroll with miserable resists (higher hp pool still required).

Prolly the best perk of being a summoner is that you can leave chaos res at -60, projectiles can easily be dodged by moving to a side or behind a wall while rares with 'deals chaos damage' mod will never get to you. You should work on elemental resistances, but it's not an absolute requirement if you are careful.

As for our spectres.. The most important part for me was crafting my first 6L. Raise spectre+minion dmg+faster casting+lmp(chain for tight corridors)+item quantity+item rarity === total craziness. All drops improved a lot since I linked those gems in, running maps with around 300 rarity and some quantity.

However, when you link your spectres with iir/iiq gems, you don't want anything else to kill mobs. Zombies with anger/wrath? Bad. Zombies exploding? VERY bad since they have huge hp pools late game with quality gems.

So I developed a different strategy. Respecced out of eldrich battery, out of minion instability. Running vitality(zombies never die except when facing alchemists/fire golems/uberfast piercing snakes), purity, low-level clarity, discipline, all linked to reduce mana gems. Haste is a waste imo, your spectres kill fast enough alrdy, and you can't level it properly due to high dex requirements.

Lvl 80 build:


Some options post 80 to become truly invincible:


You can also go a different route, replace midnight bargain with high spell damage wand, replace high-res/high hp shield with high spell damage one, link arc(other spells work too) with proliferation and lightning penetration and become a spell-slinging necromancer. Works great, but I prefer to watch el' classico while my minions do all the work and just loot epix afterwards.

Curses? Just spam temporal chains on alchemists/fire golems/uberfast snakes, anything else dies too fast to even bother. Elemental weakness? Meh, spectres two/three-shot blues with 'resist elemental damage' mod. Map unique bosses? D2 ftw. Walk next to a boss, open a portal, enter then exit, bam dead in a couple of seconds.

Discovery of vitality aura was the turning point in my summoner experience. Juicy explosions are cool, but why ever bother having to recast something when your minions clear just as fast when not dying at all? If you want to run grace/anger/wrath, link them to a blood magic gem.

All I do is stay in aura range of my minions and pick up loot followed by typing /itemlevel to see if its high enough for crafting, while strolling around like an all-out panzer division. Your hp pool should be solid enough even after 30% reduction from midnight bargain, and using ar/es hybrid armor+shield+helm (all with high armor/es % and bonuses + high resists) will grant you enough es to prevent blinkers/jumpers to ever touch your hp.

I run 3 quicksilver flasks (thanks to vitality, no need for minion flasks). Tactic on open maps: pop a few charges, run around gather as many packs as humanly possible, position yourself so that all sides are covered with your zombies (drop a skelly totem if there is a gap), loot, move on gathering next several groups. In-door: use arc or similar damage spell to point your minions in the right direction.

What's left? Ah yes, profit! :)