Rank 1 - Necro Support Build guide [2.6]



So for the past 4 leagues my group has been using this build for the "start of the league ladder push" on softcore league. This build is extremely important to speed up your group and we've been getting consistant rank 1 placements with this build.

Today, I wanted to make a detailed guide of how to actually build a proper support and explain why it's so good.


What is necromancer support?

Necro support is a support build that focuses on getting alot of auras (and possibly curses) to buff your allies and make them clear maps faster. The build is based on the ascendancy point "Commander of Darkness". This passive was introduced in 2.3 but was very underused so it received a very noticable buff in 2.4.



Commander of Darkness gives 5% attack and cast speed and 10% damage PER aura aswell as 20% all ress if anyone is effected by your auras (so this only applies once).

This already looks impressive considering that you can run up to 14 auras. Now it becomes alot more intresting when you know that Commander of Darkness also scales with aura effectiveness (both from the tree and generosity skill gem)


Example:
If you have 60% aura effectiveness on the tree. This means that every aura you have on will give your allies 5*1,6 = 8% attack and cast speed and 10*1,6 = 16% damage. This gets ever further scaled if a generosity support gem is used with an aura, lets say Wrath. So if someone is affected by this generosity (21/20) Wrath, they will receive 5* (1 + 0,60 (Aura effect Tree) + 0,4 (Aura effect Generosity)= 10% attack and cast speed and 20% damage PER aura on generosity.

If you want to make a support, but you are unsure of how to do it please take a look at the "Full Build Example" Section.

Useful tools

https://poe.mikelat.com/ - This website makes aura calculations alot easier, so make sure that you use this to avoid any possible fuckups with mana reservation when making your own version.

https://github.com/EmmittJ/PoESkillTree/releases - I use this tool to plan my tree, you can also use a webbrowser variant of it.


Gear in all slots

There are alot of different variants of this build. So it's going to be very hard to go over all of them but I will try to do my best.

First I will go over all the different options for gear pieces and later on I will give some full setups I have used over the past few leagues.

Helmets

For helmets there are 4 different options that you can use:

This helmet is good overall, it makes running alot of auras really easy with the 8% reduced mana reserved. The +2 to aura gems is also really nice in combination with lvl 21 purity of lightning/cold/fire, this will result in our purities to be lvl 23 which gives 1 additional max ress compared to lvl 20. Downside of this helmet is that it doesn't have energy shield which makes it less ideal to run it on HC.

This is my personal favourite, the +1 to gems makes it so that enlighten is also 1 level higher, which might help with managing your reservation. This helmet has a decent amount of energy shield and evasion awswell as some nice amount of chaos ress. If your playing in a hc league I would recommend using this helmet.

The more expensive option is to craft a helmet with essence of loathing. It combines the reduced mana reservation of alpha's howl with some decent amount of energy shield.

Best helmet if you want to play a more curse orientated build. Only use this helmet if you need the reduced reservation on your blasphemy curses.



Weapon

50% increased maximum energy shield. Its cheap and very solid option if you don't have the currency to buy United in Dream.

This weapon gives us a new aura to use called "Envy", which is bacisly a lvl 15 anger with chaos damage instead of fire damage. One thing I would like to note is that enlighten does not reduce the reservation of envy, so keep this in mind when using the aura calculator.

If you want to shield charge really fast.



Body Armour


Needed so chaos damage doesn't bypass our energy shield.

Budget option if you can't afford shav's.

+
One more option I would like to note. This is more of a advanced way of building and is probably the most dangerous one to play, so if you are not familiar with the game I would not recommend using this chest.



Shields


25% reduced mana makes running alot of auras much easier. Dex is also very nice since we're going to need atleast 156-159 dex for haste/grace.

The other option is to just use a rare shield. This will give you an insane amount of ES with a downside of having less auras as result.



Gloves


Rare gloves, you can use whatever you have.

Insanity essence crafted gloves for when you want to go faster.

A option worth considering. Ideally you want 2 blue, 1 green and 1 red socket on this for enlighten + lvl 21 purity of fire/light/cold, this way we will have lvl 23, which gives us 1 additional max ress compared to lvl 20 purities.



Boots


You can really use anything you want on this slot. I prefer to use steppans because they have nice ES and movement speed with some other bonuses on top.

Budget option. Solid boots overall (nice ES + Dex)

Not recommended. You can use these in very specific situations. Although they give 6% reduced mana, they also make you not able to regen life. This means you cannot use any movement speed skills without using elreon jewellery (- mana cost rings). Life regen that gets converted to energy shield regen with Zealot's Oath also stops working (shavronnes revelation regen still works (see later)).



Belts


Any crystal belt will do, some nice stats are chaos ress and reduced flask charges used. Movement speed is also really nice and can be crafted if there is a prefix open with tora.

Budget option. Still gives insane amount of ES aswell as increased recharge rate which helps a bit (also increases ES recharge/s for vaal disc)



Amulets


Best in slot options. Gives you stun immunity + a shitton of ES and chaos ress.

Budget option is a rare amulet with alot of dex and some ES. Keep in mind this will give alot less es then presence of chayula. Unwavering Stance is required if you decide not to go with presence of chayula (this will be 4 additional nodes on the tree).



Rings


Best in slot option. Gives energy shield regen and some decent amount of ES because of the int roll. Always place this in your right ring slot. If you cannot afford this ring, just use one of the ones listed below.

A rare ring with high energy shield and some ress or dex (life is also nice if you are using presence of chayula).

1 elreon ring (-7 or 8) is necessary if you want to make use of zealot's oath or if you dont have enough life to cast skills due to too much life being reserved. I will talk more about this later.

Very underrated ring. Gives all ress, chaos ress and some movement speed aswell as: http://pathofexile.gamepedia.com/Lucky#Unlucky. What this means is basicly every hit gets rolled twice and the lower damage is chosen. (Ex. you get hit for 1000 damage, the ring rolls the damage again, this time it rolls 950 => you take 950 damage instead of 1000 damage. This ring is good against lightning damage because lightning damage usually has a very big difference between top and bottom end damage.

I personally never used any of these rings, but I would like to mention them as a possibility if you are in need of sockets or if you just want to have a lvl 26 discipline for example. I would recommend using any of the rings listed above.

Only use this if you need additional curses.



Flasks

Flasks setups are personal, do whatever you want with them. Make sure that you have a bleed removal and freeze removal flask for SC and a shock removal flask in HC aswell.

Here is my flask setup I like to use:



In softcore you can replace on of those flasks for a onslaught flask if you want to shield charge/move faster.



Other options:




Jewels

This jewel is a must for the obvious reason that it reduces mana reservation.

If you want to get some extra ES, This can be placed in various places in the tree. Ideally you want to use this for the "Melding" Wheel. Alternatively you can also use this for the nodes; Quick Recovery, Devotion and Barbarism.

Some examples of rare jewels, the stats your looking for are: Dex, ES, Life (presence of chayula), Faster Start of ES recharge and maybe resistances/chaos ress if you need them.

This jewel is pretty nice when playing with people that cannot get fortify by themselves (Wanders, Bow characters). You can also just run it because of the long duration on it which makes life easier for your group.




Skill Tree

General Tree: https://www.pathofexile.com/passive-skill-tree/AAAABAMDAAPuDXwOPA5cEVAUcRUnFy8ZihqPGyUc3B0UHU8dqh2-IvQksCW8Jwso-i0fL28zhzW5OlJFfkZxSVFJsUuuTLNV1lfJWfNca1-wYVJk52aeavpsC20Zb55wu3IPcql_xoCkgseDCYO2hEiExYZghtGMdoyxjxqPRo_6kyebipuhm7WhL6cIpyusqrQMtzG4k75PvorBxcM6w23KSsrT0B_Tj9fP2RPZW9tP34rfv-DD4YjpAuoY6rrr7uwY7IPvTu-I7-vw1fba9zL31_jr-Tf56PrS-wn-SQ==

We pick up all aura nodes and take ES nodes along the way. We take Potency of Will for longer vaal haste/disc.
Blood magic keystone and mortal conviction are necessary to run high amounts of auras. This will remove your mana and will reserve everything on life for half the cost. This keystone makes it so that your shield charge, offering skills and others will cost life instead of mana. So for this reason a small amount of life regen is necessary to be able to sustain these skills (The "Shaper" node for example). If you use zealot's oath this regen is removed (See Zealot's Oath below).

For Ascendancy Points: Take "Commander of Darkness" First, "Mistress of Sacrifice" Second and "Beacon of Corruption" Third. There is no reason to do Uber Lab.

Most of the skill trees are going to be generally the same with some small differences based on personal prefences. Some of the most popular options:

Zealot's Oath: This is the most important option to consider, it gives a nice amount of ES regen together with vitality but at the cost of alot of investment. To be able to run this you will need an elreon ring (see Gear) since you will be regening life anymore to use skills like shield charge/bone offering. An elreon ring reduces the mana cost of skills with 4 to 8 depending on the roll,
so make sure your shield charge costs less then this. If you want to use bone offering to blow up corpses the only option for you is to use a vertex with an enlighten, this will reduce the mana cost of your offering from 17 to 8.
Vitality is recommended if you use Zealot's Oath giving you a nice amount of regen due to our aura effectiveness.

Essence Surge: Great node for survivability, makes your energy shield recharge faster and also start 15% sooner.

Alchemist's: I usually always take this node. Quicksilver makes you move faster, Resistance Flasks will give 2 extra max ress. Rumi's will give some extra block chance as well as armour.

Whispers of Doom: If you want to use additional curses.

Melding: Great in combination with energy from within. Could also be allocated without using energy from within with presence of chayula since it give a nice amount of health.

Devotion, Quick Recovery (Only if you path near it) and Barbarism: If you want you can allocate these nodes and put energy from within into the jewel socket next to it.

Resolute Technique: You can use this so you cannot miss enemies which makes your shield charge proc fortify 100% of the time. (Worth considering, I usually do not take it)

Indomitable: Great node for HC, 20% reduced extra damage taken from critical strikes.

Unwavering Stance: Only take this if you dont have presence of chayula/ eye of chayula. Keep in mind that if you are using this, "Grace" will not give you any defensive benefits

Iron Reflexes: Take this if you prefer to have armour over some armour+some evasion. (See Popac's setup in the "Complete Setups" section)



Lab Enchants

Helmet enchants:
-Reduced mana reserved with any aura
-Effect of curse (if you are using a curse ofc)
There is really not much else

Boots enchant:
-Movement speed when not hit recently
-Life/mana regen when hit (only take this if you are using zealots oath)


Gem Links

This sections is a really hard one, because there are so many different options that you can go with.
Generally you want to choose which auras you want to run and then figure out a way to do it with the aura calculator: https://poe.mikelat.com/

Quality on auras: I don't pay that much attention to it since the bonus is very very small and you probably will barely notice the difference. Also it's really hard to get lvl 21 auras with quality (or alot more expensive).

Auras that are a must:
Discipline: gives ES
Purities: Gives you the ress you need and additional max resistance
Haste: Speeds up your group and helps you move faster
Clarity: It only reserves 10 life so why not run it?

Optional Defensive Auras:
If you have room I would always include Grace, since it gives you a nice amount of flat evasion.

Vitality: only use this if you want to go zealot's oath or if you are having problems with sustaining your life while using skills.

Determination: I personally don't like this aura and I would not recommend taking it unless you cannot take anything else.

Purity of Elements: No reason whatsoever to run this, so don't.

Optional Defensive Auras:
Anger: Benefits all builds (except for builds that don't hit like caustic arrow or righteous fire). So its probably best to take anger for every version of support build.

Wrath: Only take this if you are mapping with someone that uses lightning skills or if someone is playing an elemental attack skill like Kinetic blast or Ele Tornado Shot

Hatred: Only run this if you are playing with someone that uses physical spells (EK, blade vortex) or uses physical attack skills like (physical tornado shot, reave)

Envy: Run this if you have United in Dream equiped.

Once you've chosen which auras you want to run. It's time to plan your links. If you want some concrete examples of how your setup should look like, take a look at the "Full Build Examples" section below.

Generally you want in your 5L: 3 Dmg auras + enlighten + Generosity (Always generosity your dmg auras)

In 4 links: 3 auras (ex purity of fire/light/cold) + enlighten
(Ideally you can put purities in alphas or prism guardian to get the additional max ress)

In insanity gloves: Faster attacks - Fortify - Shield charge - Flame dash or reduced mana (if you are using elreon rings the reduced mana is necessary to bring the mana cost to 0)

3 Link: Vaal Haste - Vaal Disc - Increased duration
Alternatively if you want to use generosity on vaal haste:
Vaal Haste - Increased Duration - Generosity (Put vaal disc in a random open socket) (If you are using united in dream, you can use these links in the weapon slot to give envy the generosity aswell)

Put Bone Offering and Clarity in some random socketed that you have left over.



Full Build Examples


If you are not to sure what to make, this is probably the most basic support build and works pretty well with all dps builds. If you are looking for a more budget friendly build just swap out United in Dream for Ephimeral Edge and run Determination instead of Envy. Also 6 link shavs is not necessary you can use 5L and put clarity in the empty socket.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vGfCHIDXsgM&t=220s



Hardcore version: This build is made especially for hardcore but can be used for softcore purposes aswell. The build is EXTREMELY tanky.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dOgNQ5sU_-A



This build uses victario's influence, I would not recommend following this build unless you know what you are doing.

142 Attack and Cast speed + 298 increased Damage Commander of Darkness




This setup was made to buff dps to the maximum amount without losing too much survivability. The amount of damage that this build gives is insane. It makes use of the victario's influence chest to be able to run all the auras aswell as empowered hatred/wrath/anger and with relatively no enlightens so more room is free for other useful things. The downside of this build is that you die instantly if you don't have the corruscating elixer up while getting hit with chaos damage. So this build is not recommended for HC (obviously). I would like to note that I made it to lvl 96 with this character and I only died 3-5 times because of not hitting my flask. :D






Stats:


Although this character only has 8k es, it has 92% max ress and max block which makes it extremely tanky.

Aura Calc:
https://poe.mikelat.com/#cc34pAPd/tr.DU6c/zH=OLb.4gXb/9b.TnXb/9b.I7p/9b.fYab/9b.7494/tNrp.sJb

Skill Tree:
https://www.pathofexile.com/passive-skill-tree/AAAABAMDAAFvBx4NfA48DlwRDxFQFHEVJxcvGYoaOBqPGyUdFB1PHaod2SL0JLAlvCcLKk0tHy9vNbk6UjsNPydDVEV-RnFJUUmxS65Ms1FMVIJV1lltWfNca1yKX5hfsGFSZOdmVGaeaGVq-mwLbRlvnnC7cg9yqX1bf8aApIMJg7aESITFhmCG0YhCjHaMsY9Gj_qQVZMnlG-VLpuKm6GbtaEvo--nK6xHrJisqrQMtzG-T76KwcXDOsNtykrK088y0B_Tj9fP2RPZW9tP34rfv-DD4Yji9-kC6hjquuwY7IPvTu-I7-vw1fPd9HH22vcy99f46_k3-tL7Cf5J

Important thing to note:
The reason why Exceptional Performance and Arcane Chemistry was chosen over Potency of Will is because of Corruscating elixer. With this setup I have 3 uses on the flask instead 2, making the flask uptime feel so much better.



Min-maxed skyforth version of the build. This is for the more advanced player that knows what he is doing. This build is also very expensive and hard to setup.




Leveling

In group: In the beginning of the league I usually level as full support because I level with my group all the time. If you are not certain about your groups coordination, you can always level up going damage and respec later (see Solo). It's really not fun to be left behind playing support while leveling since you won't be able to kill anything solo.

Rush for sovereignty and whispers of doom (if possible buy conqueror's efficiency and get a jewel socket). Get a 3 link with generosity + Wrath/Anger/Hatred (Choose 2 which fit best in your group). Get 2 curses from act 3 that work well with your group (ex. Ele Weakness + Flammability). If possible buy (or corrupt) a low lvl vaal haste and link with increased duration. While levelling focus on getting aura and life nodes, and eventually maybe equip a third aura on mana if possible. At around lvl 60-70 depending on your gear (4-5k ES SC or 5-7k ES on HC should be enough to start lowlvl maps), you can respec to ES and get BM keystone. In beginning of the league it's worth considering to use a high es shield instead of prism guardian to get your ES high enough to start mapping.

Solo: If you plan on lvling solo and group up with your friends in maps, you can always level with a damage spec. I generally lvl with flameblast totems or Firestorm. Just take up some fire/elemental/spell damage and life nodes and respec to support at lvl 60-70. If your looking for a more advanced lvling guide on these builds, you can always look on the forums or youtube (there should be tons).

Bare minimum tree at lvl 60-70 to start mapping: https://www.pathofexile.com/passive-skill-tree/AAAABAMDAAPuDXwOPBFQFHEVJxcvGYoajxslHNwdFB2qHb4i9CSwJbwnCyj6L28zhzW5OlJGcUlRS65V1lfJWfNca1-wYVJk52aebAttGW-ecLtyD3Kpf8aApILHgwmDtoRIhMWGYIbRjLGPGo9Gj_qTJ5uKm6GbtaEvpwinK6yqtAy4k75PvorBxcM6w23KSsrT04_ZE9lb20_fit-_4MPhiOkC6hjquuvu7Bjsg-9O8NX22vcy99f46_rS-wn-SQ==


Bandits

Normal: Kill all
Cruel: Kill all or Kraitlyn if you prefer attack speed
Merci: Kill all


More Comming Soon
If you have any questions post them down below
Last edited by _Wrex on Apr 14, 2017, 9:05:09 PM
Last bumped on Jun 9, 2018, 3:31:50 AM
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https://www.pathofexile.com/fullscreen-passive-skill-tree/AAAABAMDAQFvA-4NfA48DlwRUBRxFScXLxmKGjgajxslHNwdFB1PHaodviL0JLAlvCcLKPospi0fL28zhzQKNbk3ZjeDOlJFfkZxSbFLrkyzVdZXyVnzXGtcil-wYVJk52aeavpsC20Zb55wu3IPcql_xoCkgseDCYO2hEiExYZghtGLeox2jLGPGo9Gj_qQVZMnm6GbtZ48oS-m66cIrKq0DLcxuJO-isHFwzrDbcpKytPQH9fP2RPZW9rd20_fit-_4MPhiOL36QLqGOq66-7sGO9O74jv6_DV9tr3MvfB99f46_k3-ej60vsJ_kk=
Last edited by rakis on Apr 7, 2017, 3:35:59 PM
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Last edited by TheTzn on Apr 20, 2018, 4:24:16 AM
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ok but why does he take blood magic in the talents, if he needs blood magic and also mana to run that many auras... like how does that work, i am confused and need a explanation since im trying out that build but am at lvl 18 so far, how much mana reserved is there at the end so that he takes that blood magic?
"
sloxnikox wrote:
ok but why does he take blood magic in the talents, if he needs blood magic and also mana to run that many auras... like how does that work, i am confused and need a explanation since im trying out that build but am at lvl 18 so far, how much mana reserved is there at the end so that he takes that blood magic?


Blood magic converts all mana cost to life. So we don't have any mana. We take blood magic because of the node behind it called "Mortal Conviction", which gives 50% less mana reserved (it basicly divides the cost of an aura by 2). The amount of mana an aura would normally reserve is now reserved on life instead and because of the mortal conviction we can run alot more auras on life then we normally would without BM keystone. Not using blood magic keystone and using blood magic gem to reserve your life instead is not really an option since blood magic has a 200% mana muliplier, which means the aura reservation is basicly doubled.
Last edited by _Wrex on Apr 13, 2017, 10:11:03 AM

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