Opting Not To Take Minion Instability
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I got to thinking that I should opt not to take Minion Instability. My zombies currently have about 10k hp. So on death my zombies will pop for about 3400 damage which is nothing considering that my LMP Fireball does 1000~ damage. Most of the time my zombies are dying from ranged mobs anyway, rendering the explosion useless. The upside of not taking Minion Instability is that you'll have tankier zombies (33% more HP). This improves your survivability, it is dangerous to roam without zombies to tank for you. The effect is multiplicative too, you will gain 35% more hp across 6+ zombies. You'll also be saving time that would otherwise been spent resummoning your zombies. I haven't tested it out yet though, just theory crafting.
To sum it up. Taking MI is bad because you trade 35% health on your zombies for a small amount of damage. However, for a pure summoner it would could be better to take MI, since it amounts to a more significant amount of your DPS. IGN: Indiiii Last edited by indiicheng#2249 on Feb 26, 2013, 5:41:38 AM
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" Zombies....? MI is not for zombies. It´s for skeletons. Place spell totem next to a boss --> skeletons get summoned ---> skeletons supported with "blind" render the boss pretty much helpless --> when he kills the skeletons, the deal massive damage. MI is for skelies, nothing else. |
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I'm aware of the tactic but I never had to use it... It's still making my zombies 35% less tanky. Besides, how often would I be killing bosses anyway?
I will have to do some testing but I still don't feel they would be contributing that much dps. IGN: Indiiii Last edited by indiicheng#2249 on Feb 26, 2013, 6:06:56 AM
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" once (or twice) for each map ? unless you plan to skip some bosses altogether (like the thicket map boss with rain of arrows who can instantly clear your zombies) MI is the only way to progress in certain situations Dogs Summoner - http://www.pathofexile.com/forum/view-thread/885199 Last edited by Amiag#0234 on Feb 26, 2013, 6:31:20 AM
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I stopped using both instability and zombies at around lv50, both are useless. Skeletons can tank anything with hp gem + 33% more hp from removing instability. Specters annihilate anything + i help them with arc shock debuff. Zombies just get in the way and take my time resummoning them.
" Damage spell -> totem works perfectly there. Never skipped any boss. https://www.youtube.com/user/ixthUA Last edited by ixthUA#3364 on Feb 26, 2013, 6:36:51 AM
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I'm currently level 80 running high level maps, and i can tell you you'll regret this later.
Especially with 71 map bosses like piety, you won't be able to even tickle her without your minions exploding. I suppose It's a personal choice, and you'll still have plenty of content to do, but there will also be plenty of content that'll be pretty much impossible. |
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I guess you are at ~level 50 at this time. And, as soon as i picked up MI i would have agreed with you. But if you are pure MI, good chunk of your damage, and the only way (at least for me) to clear some rooms is with skeleton/MI being dropped on the head of something nasty.
" Hmm... i do not have any issues with thicket roa boss, it takes 2 roa (sometimes 3) for him to kill a skeleton. my zombies are usually done with him before he is done with them. I did few "double boss" thickets and, admittedly,it s bit more difficult. [quote="Mark_GGG"]we try not to be dicks.[/quote] Last edited by Vladis#7170 on Feb 26, 2013, 2:37:01 PM
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" Its a pitty that people are that narrowminded and see things written in stone. Personally I REALLY like the idea of the OP making minions more tanky by not taking MI. My highest character is a lv 70 Summoner and though I consider my summoner "VERY CLASSIC" its still pretty niche compared to all the other "stuff" which runs arround as a summoner. My build relies on casting skelettons by myself which do MASSIV damage. I tried a totem for a short time but I am PRETTY SURE that a skel totem is >NOT OP< as it has a lot of SEVER disadvantages.(still 90%+ of all summoners rely on the totem crap) My arguments are: -skeletton totem takes up 1 supportgem(which could have been attackspeed or melee damage) -lower castspeed (people take faster casting sometimes: here goes another possible damage supportgem) -dont know if true but totem deals only 60% damage(but even if its not true the next argument is devastating enough: -selfcasting is much more effective because you have more control and can place skelettons properly Thats IMMENSE in my opinion, there is absolutly no reason to go for a skel totem as a summoner. Selfcasting is a lot stronger(still you require some mana) Currently I cant imagine that any other skill has the potential to have more single target DPS then my skels(and they have only 4 link + 1 skill + not max level + no quality) I see many summoner pick up a damage spell but in my opinion its impossible to do any decent damage if you spec into minions. You always have to see the opportunity costs: Yes you could do some damage with your summoner build if you have 2 wands with + 60+ spelldamage but then you will lack other stats like Life, MF, Mana(auras!) and still you wont do any damage because your spells have no scaling. For instance: there is a popular build which utilizes ARC in order to shock enemies, but the problem: without shochchance and shockduration you will pass the shock treshhold rarly ending up not shockstacking efficently. What I want to say is that you always have to invest or give up other stats. Instead of shockchance you could have gone reduced mana reservation and got haste and your overall DPS goes up like crazy. Back to topic: I took MI though I actually dont like it. My idea of the build is to make minions ultra tanky with high damage(full summoner spec) and support them with double curse. As a result I dont like MI(because of the survivabiliy loss) but still I take it because its "necessary" as it makes difficult parts of the game easier. There are enemies in maps which do untankable damage and without MI I couldnt do any damage. If you are interested into my pure summoner build here is a close overview: -zombies for base army 4-6 link in armor -skels for main damage. They kill everything EXTREMLY fast as long as they stay alive -necromantic aegis with purity to max survivability. Focus on block/Armor and fire resist. Its possible easy to get your minions to 79% all resist(they have base resist) -double curse: temporal chains is EXTREMLY good and you can also take another curse(you probably want vulnerability) -your own character wants life + positive resists + cast speed + magicfind Then you can farm maps like a boss My future plans: If my mions can tank its definitly a possibility to abandon MI, but I will have to see. Since I have STR/Int shield with + fire resist they can withstand AOE fire pretty well but they die extremly fast to multiple projectiles. I try to get GRACE in addition but I will need more mana for this. Another note to MI: I think people overrate the fire damage. If you really spec into minion damage it is mediocre for clearing content and you what you want is to keep your minions alive and fast(haste!) |
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" thank you. i actually just started a thread trying to show disadvantages of using spell totem on skeletons ( http://www.pathofexile.com/forum/view-thread/199726 ) I am glad to see a like-minded individual. I do think that zombies and specters still do more damage, but by no means do I underestimate dps skellies produce [quote="Mark_GGG"]we try not to be dicks.[/quote]
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I've tot about supporting my minions with a rejuvenation totem instead (i.e my single totem).
My worry is about cost of mana though. I don't have a lot of it after activating discipline and purity. 1 totem can give me 12 skeles all by itself and MAINTAIN that number for as long as the totem lasts. I only need to 'top up' my zombies once in a while. Once I hit an untankable boss, I don't think I will have enough mana to summon minions fast enough to occupy it, even if they are 33% tankier WITH a rejuv totem. |
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