Witch - 3.9 READY!!! SlimB's HOT Popcorn Skeleton Princess! - Forum

[3.4] SlimB's HOT Popcorn Skeles Witch!
_________________________________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________________________

Hey! Whats going on Exiles? Its SlimB.

Hello! Hello! Welcome again Exile, I've been playing Path since it was considered Beta. I really really love this game. I've played many many builds over the course of 5 years. Safe to say 2013 to present has been a slew of Achievements and Failures when it comes to making your own builds haha! I am a HUGE fan of Diablo 2, Necromancer was my favorite. So I tend to have a soft spot for summoners. <3

After playing 3.4 for most the league, another INSANELY Satisfying build had surfaced! Plenty of Ideas were tested but this is the Third of Three that stood out. Popping Skeletons all over the place turned out to be crazy fun!

Down below I will break down the whole scheme of things.
-Introduction
-Build Summary
-Pros and Cons
-Passive Tree
-Leveing tips
-Final thoughts

Come hang with me on Twitch.tv/slimb44 Mon - Thurs 9PM EST (I do stream at random times on the weekends)
Ill be working on a Youtube Video soon for a visual concept also!
_________________________________________________________________________

So one day I ran across Earendel's Embrace and at first I thought "Neat!.... but I doubt its endgame viable, probably could make it work Mapping and Delving."
So I held on to it and eventually theory crafted a build and brought it to life.

Earendel's Embrace

This is the soul item that forces the skeletons to die. Combo this with a keystone passive called Minion Instability, it turns your skeletons into walking time bombs!

So up front, you can chose a few ways to run what you wield. 1. Dual wield two Embraces. That translates to quicker melt but less mobility. 2. One Embrace + Rare shield with good stats, Max life and All Resistances. OR 3. Embrace + Maligaro's Lens. A viewer of mine brought up the idea of this unique shield, turned out to be the better option. Its all really on how you want to play the build!

This setup translates to a lot of mobility and a crafty little mechanic. So if you take the shields -50 all resistance thats super helpful for forcing your skeletons to pop BUT the kicker is "Nearby allies recover 2% of your maximum life when you die." (my skeles have 9k hp) When using that shield and grabbing the Necromantic Aegis passive it grants every stat your shield has to your minions instead of you! Im being healed every time a skeleton dies!

The best setup for supporting your skeletons that I came up with is - Vaal Summon Skeletons, Minion Life, Minion Damage, Combustion, and Elemental Focus

_________________________________________________________________________

My initial expectations for this builds power were like 1/4 the actual outcome! It pops off!!! Smacks all Map Tiers, Ez Uber Atziri, Silky Smooth Uber Lab runs, and Shaper Viable. So with that being said, this build is GREAT for league starting, the cheapest of the 3 guides I've made this league actually! Just overall its a unique feeling to play this way, you're a traditional summoner but you're not. Oddly Satisfying.

The nature of the build is similar to Summon Raging Spirits very spammy and mobile. You summon skeles and two seconds later the blow up! There are two huge ways you scale the skele explosions - Minion Life and Minion Damage. Any source of that will make it more powerful.
This build also has a high power ceiling, meaning if someone wanted to invest currency into perfect gear and min max the passive tree, it can do all content if desired.

_________________________________________________________________________

Pros!
-You're a summoner so you wont be putting yourself in a lot of harms way. Your skeles pop off for you!

-Every time one of your skele pop you are healed, generous sustain. You are tanky!

-Takes 9000% advantage of Vaal Summon Skeles! >:] (fun times lol)

-Very Cheap, non expensive items that are required to make this build go.

-Can do most content with the highest links needed: 4 link.

-Very mobile with shield charge. You have Fortify! Did I mention you were tanky?

-This build slaps on a lot of Physical Damage Reduction for the lack of no shield - 10 Zombies = 10% PDR. Chaos golem = 4% PDR. Arctic armor = 13% Less Phys Damage taken when hit.

-Takes advantage of the Mind of Matter node. Big mana pool, high mana regen! Swear I said you were tanky for having no shield didnt I?

Cons.
-You dont have a shield! #Sadface

-Delayed Damage, its a style you get used to. It has its own Rhythm. You have to let your skeles burn then pop. Once you find that sweet spot of timing its GG.

_________________________________________________________________________

Remember this isnt fully optimal, this game can be played in so many different ways someone elses might be more efficient. This is my end result tree.

Path of Building, Pastebin -
https://pastebin.com/Er6rnZdP

POE Tree -
https://www.pathofexile.com/fullscreen-passive-skill-tree/3.4.3/AAAABAMDAQSzCPQN4hEtE2wWbxbzGDwYVho4HNwdFCL0JKolsiY8Jy8o-iqYLJws4i-dMtE1kjbpOQs6WDrhQYdFR0WdRnFHhUiOSOdJT0mxSp9NuU3jU1JVxlnzWpFgQ2D4YoZmVGaeZrpncWobakNqrGvbbAttGW49cg98g30YgseDCYPbhTKFYI8aj0aQVZMnlG-XLZrgm6GevaDmoS-iAKZXpqynCKh9qqmqxKyYsHe0DLc-uJO8qrzqvSe-gL6Kv5fAZsk9ytPMvNOP0_vXz9i934rjaukC6-7sg--I8B_yHvJF99f5N_no-tL-Cv6P_rM=

Tip: When selecting jewels you want for your passive tree, you want to look for 3 major stats: Life Increases, Minion Damage, and Minion Life.
Jewel sockets are insanely strong and underrated by the average Path player.

_________________________________________________________________________

I leveled this character as Regular ol' Summon Raging Spirit, cant get much simpler. SRS is broken as is, it'll get you to when its time to transition to Popcorn Skeles you are ready to go.

ALSO just dont forget to level your Vaal Summon skeletons somewhere for when you are ready to use it!!!!

_________________________________________________________________________

All in all, I find this to be one of my more intriguing builds! Unorthodox, Unique, but yet its Stupid Satisfying. The ceiling for this build can only get better given the right ideas, gear, and player. Great League starter for any Path player, from Newb to Seasoned Vet. Its almost as if you are watching a Spooky Horror movie at the movie theater!!! You made sure you didnt forget the popcorn! LUL

But anyway, thanks for stopping by and giving my HOT Popcorn Skeleton Princess guide a look! If you liked this guide and want to see more content that I've posted, check out my Soulwrest Guardian guide below!

https://www.pathofexile.com/forum/view-thread/2215895

Until next time Playas!