Summoner end game and Maps

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Grimlocke_ wrote:

Oh and once you start getting higher level maps.. there are some maps with higher chances spawning certain mob types, like titty machine guns, flame sents, arc mages, etc. Once you get those high-leveled (69-75) spectres, they never die, ever.

My daily routine:

- log on
- grab crappy spectres from solaris 2-3/lunaris 2-3/wherever
- pop 1-2 maps where my spectres spawn
- get 4 demigod spectres
- wipe the floor with any map in existence for the next 1-12 hours

Cons:

- can't log off at will
- server crashes/dc's are your only bane

Damn, I really like what you are saying. Sounds like a cool thing to do as a summoner. I might start playing mine again after all.

Well, aside from your casually mentioning of crafting a 6L. As if that was an easy task everyone could just do - that part was strange ^^

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Baalat wrote:

There is maybe a window to equip midnight bargain + 3 x 40% auras = 96% life reservation if equiping prism guardian shield + mana reserve nodes + CI (?)

or even 4 x 40% auras = 98% life reservation (if u do not like MB)

You can't use Blood Magic/Life Reservation in any form with CI. Life Reservation is rounded up to the nearest integer.

"

Grimlocke_ wrote:

Oh and once you start getting higher level maps.. there are some maps with higher chances spawning certain mob types, like titty machine guns, flame sents, arc mages, etc. Once you get those high-leveled (69-75) spectres, they never die, ever.

My daily routine:

- log on
- grab crappy spectres from solaris 2-3/lunaris 2-3/wherever
- pop 1-2 maps where my spectres spawn
- get 4 demigod spectres
- wipe the floor with any map in existence for the next 1-12 hours

Cons:

- can't log off at will
- server crashes/dc's are your only bane

Would you tell us, which maps and mobs you especially mean? That would help a lot. Im doing all the maps (66-69) with the spectres from the Temple and so i'm really interested in your advice.
Greetings, Chinaski

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Baalat wrote:

Thanks for this good thread, veru helpful

It seems like there is some sort of 'trend' when it comes to end-level map farming summoners, maybe a summary would be:

- Respec EB, you will need that ES for end-game maps
- Wear armor/es gear
- Use Vitality and replace minion flasks with quicksilver/granite/other
- Get high level reduced mana, use Determination + Vitality + Purity on the mana pool
- Get a prism guardian shield and attach low-lvl-non% auras to it: Discipline + Grace + Clarity
- Attach quality/rarity to spectres, get iiq/iir gear
- Use skelletons/zombies as meat shields only, take out minion dmg gem from them, keep minion life, respec minion instability
- Summon spectres from maps
- Extreme late game: Spec reduced mana reservation nodes and add Haste to the mana pool (it may need some Dexterity passives)

This varies from a player to player, not all summoners are the same. My summoner variation is directed at maximizing loot potential while not gimping either survivability or clearing speed.

- EB is amazing for whole merci+docks/fellshrine/ledge where you don't care who lands the last hit, be it skellies or zombies. However, when you step into maps, you want to MF your way into dragons lair filled with endless riches, not clear them with like no IIR. Wtf is the point in that? No reason to even go into maps if you have no intention to get godly items/endgame uniques, at least not for me. And to get decent IIR, you will have to sacrifice some survivability, and that's where ES steps in, and useless auras get kicked out.

- Armor/es gear is perfect for my MF-ing setup, and socket colors can be easily tailored to our needs

- Prism guardian is only recommended if you wish to run more auras. Vitality + discipline + purity + bloodmagic linked lvl 3 clarity, those are basic auras you need. Other auras are just icing on the cake to make yourself even more godly (determination, grace). At the moment, I don't use prism guardian because I crafted a perfect shield for my build (and chest) with + mana.

After slapping those 3 auras on my mana pool, I am left with 177 mana and approx 30mana/sec regen, more then enough. Mana flask is there for when alchemists/incinerators/golems wipe out your zombies.

- I stopped using skeletons, too many collision problems. If supported properly, zombies rarely die anyway.


First is used on most maps, since well supported zombies rarely die. Second is used on extreme maps with 100+ quantity if there are alchemists/incinerators/golems/fast snakes in them (yes, I failed to get +mana on +2 minion helm, got stupid +armor instead, but the helm looked so sweet so I kept it, cba spending a ton of exalts again).

- I specced back into minion instability.. mostly because when I see those anti-summoner mobs, I go berserk, run straight between them and watch my zombies go kaboom! I found this to be the most efficient way of preserving your spectres, otherwise you risk loosing a few. Also, when you run into their melee range, they start punching you instead of throwing chaos/fire bombs/rolling all over the place. Careful though, this only works with decent hp/es and when they are not supported by other mob varieties (puncturing dogs anyone?).

- If you like haste, I just dropped a +2 minion mask in my shop (check my sig) with +40 something dex on it, perfect for haste summoners. And you can exalt it twice, chances of it becoming godly are pretty solid.

"

Chinaski222 wrote:

Would you tell us, which maps and mobs you especially mean? That would help a lot. Im doing all the maps (66-69) with the spectres from the Temple and so i'm really interested in your advice.
Greetings, Chinaski

From my experience in maps up to lvl 71(only done a couple of 72+), map population is 90% randomized, remaining 10% falls of to indigenous species.

Indigenous examples:

- cementery: always some undead variations, yes more mhm-moo-hmm-ing, feels almost like home
- tropical island: monkeys and similar wildlife
- spider lair: arachnophobia anyone?
- underground lake: strap-on taliban sirens
- arcade: flash gordon snakes
- vaal pyramid: shoot first, ask questions later robocops
- mud geyser: GGG guys must have thought of Adele when creating those golems, while 'Rolling in the deep' straight over your entire army

And so on.

However, I started spotting some types of mobs spawning more often on certain maps. For example, lvl 69 map - spider forest. At least for me, flame sentinels/arc mages appeared every 2nd/3rd run on that map. So now, whenever I log on and decide to do maps (especially higher level ones) for the next 3-4 hours, I try to always have 1-2 spider forests and some other similar spawning maps prepared in my stash, to do first and get decent spectres (varied map population mod rolled on maps also does wonders).

It doesn't always work, sometimes you'll be stuck with regular variations, or if your army gets wiped out by a really nasty pack, you'll end up more frustrated then ever, because loosing those hard earned spectres is really.. bad.

When I earlier wrote about having demigod spectres.. demigods can still die, and will die, more or less frequently. Even if you had level 100 spectres, they would still die to some insanely bursty mob variations. Due to playing on softcore, I have the luxury of grabbing the attention of alchemists/incinerators/snakes, making them focus on me and zombies instead of spectres (insta-healing flask spam ftw while standing in poison clouds on opposite side of your spectres, or running in between packs taking punches while spectres melt them from a safe distance).

I recently ran lvl 69 tunnel map with fire golems/undying alchemists. Whoever ran that map knows that there are small rocks scattered across very tight passageways, and your dumb-like-f*ck minions get stuck on every single one of them. So when you walk into a room with those particular packs with only 2 out of 10 zombies, bam all your spectres die instantly, while remaining zombies are humping a microscopic-sized rock one screen away from you. Kept happening trough out the whole map, so many times I lost count. Nothing ever made me so angry in any game I played like this did.. I still don't know how I managed to complete that map.. guess I am just crazy or something since any sane person would get out of it and start another.

I used to be full summoner, and tried every way known to man to solo maps, and couldn't even manage to solo a blue 66 map with good modifiers. Spectres, die, you die. Simple as that. Not to mention i would keep having to go to freaking solaris to get flame sentinels.


Summoners are for dock / ledge farming, and should be kept at either 53 or 62 depending on which one you want to farm. Anything past that is a complete waste for summoners, as you can't solo, and noone will want to group with you.


So, I came up with a compromise. I liked the summoner playstyle, but I didn't like the headache and nonviability of it. I built a spec that plays similar, and is broken strong. I solo lvl 72 maps at lvl 79.


http://www.pathofexile.com/forum/view-thread/216016/page/1/#p1877069


To see it in action, check out http://www.twitch.tv/protosori/new

Best of luck to you!

So you are telling us you lacked determination, patience and prolly never bothered to experiment with your summoner to see what works best in different areas of the game.. Great, so now all summoner builds suck because of your shortcomings?

All you did is copy-pasted zefer's build, switched a few passive points and went tried-out route. Props to you, but don't shove your "ingenuity" into other peoples faces, as whole two-three people in your thread already suggested.


Moral of the story..

Just because you suck at something, doesn't mean everyone else sucks at it too.

Just another perspective/opinion - 77 Full summoner. The only time I run my dedicated gear is when leveling, which takes 8-10 68 maps to level. Otherwise I wear my MF stuff. I do run five aura's but never have want for mana. With Purity, Haste, Grace, Wrath, Anger I still have 532 mana. I use skeleton totem for strategic strikes against enemy totems or snakes and other such mobs on a flank while the zombies/spectres push the front. I also use them in doorways in dungeons where I know my spectres pathing will bug out. My least favorite map is ghetto which bugs the heck out of the spectrers.

If my spectre's die,killing is slower, but its just as easy to succeed. When in doubt, move around. Just shy of 3k HP with EB and the only cause for concern I have is those stupid cinder golems, which teleport around on me, and end up rolling over me. Flicker mobs or snakes aren't a big deal, its the glitching golems that always kill me. I'm assuming its lag/desync that causes the golems to behave that way, but its very frustrating considering they're really a non-threat considering their skills, but combined with lag/desync they're deadly to my summoner (not my army).

I've often thought about switching Aura's up, but the only other Aura that would be useful would be vitality. Some good food for thought in this thread.

"

Avicularia wrote:

I used to be full summoner, and tried every way known to man to solo maps, and couldn't even manage to solo a blue 66 map with good modifiers. Spectres, die, you die. Simple as that. Not to mention i would keep having to go to freaking solaris to get flame sentinels.


Summoners are for dock / ledge farming, and should be kept at either 53 or 62 depending on which one you want to farm. Anything past that is a complete waste for summoners, as you can't solo, and noone will want to group with you.


So, I came up with a compromise. I liked the summoner playstyle, but I didn't like the headache and nonviability of it. I built a spec that plays similar, and is broken strong. I solo lvl 72 maps at lvl 79.


http://www.pathofexile.com/forum/view-thread/216016/page/1/#p1877069


To see it in action, check out http://www.twitch.tv/protosori/new

Best of luck to you!

Level 84 pure summoner here. (leveled to 84 solo)

It looks to me you did something completely wrong with your summoner. I started playing maps from level 66-67 and im still able to complete absolutely any map (66-74) except for blood magic.

I use 4 flame sentinels from solaris temple before i can find ether 66+ sentinels or fire bombers and they just destroy absolutely everything while my zombies tank mobs,they got 20k HP at the moment (soon 21-22k) Even lv62 sentinels will destroy everything in 70-74 map! (tested)

The link to the dual totem build you posted. I had similar lv70 character but with dual ice spear totems + specters, its an interesting character but after playing both i choose summoner because its faster and more safe.


Next time please don't confuse people with the words like summoners are for dock farm if you dont know what you are talking about.

LOL. I know very well what I am talking about.

Pro's and Cons:

Summoner PRO: You have meatshields....

Summoner CON: You always have to worry about spectres, you can't see anything that is going on, and the FPS drops are ridiculous.

MY Build PRO: I have 2-3x summoner dps, I have spectres on command ( totems ), I never die because everything is permafroze / knocked back, I run 6 auras.

MY Build CON: I don't have nor need meatshields.



My build is far more viable than any summoner build for maps, and I took the idea from Zefer's build, credited him, and changed about 30 passive points away from what his passive tree suggested. I also use different supports for my EK, different aura's, and different gear and playstyle. But thanks jackass, for making the connection to Zefer. I should probably make the connection that your "ingenuity" for your summoner build derived from Diablo 2 Necromancer's.

Bottom line, I had a terrible time with summoner because I got sick and tired of babysitting spectres, not being able to see my screen, and watching a slideshow ( on a good comptuer I should add ).

If you like that sorta thing, stick with summoner. If not, gtfo of there as fast as you can.