Opinions on Minion Builds...?

So, with the 3rd Witch Ascendancy revealed, what's your opinion on minion builds, going forward?

Seeing as we have no real class supporting minions, I believe minion builds to be extremely uninteresting. The devs wanted to kill that specific game style, but instead they made it unbearably boring. If you want to go Minions you just stack as much Spirit as you can, and pray that the minions do not get stuck in doorways.

I think they want to make minions an option that the majroirty of classes can specialize in/benefit from. Which i like because minions in poe1 were pretty diverse but most of them felt underwhelming if not playing a nercromancer or elementalist for golems, or some templar build*

a fair amount of the current ascendancies do have support for minions with the +bonuses to nearby allies, also both smith of kitava/infernalist get a minion in their ascendancy tree (not sure if huntress tamed beast is restricted).

Why do minions need a specific Ascendancy that ultracharges them but is completely and utterly 100% worthless to anyone who is not going all-in on Minions And Only Minions?

Why are people fixated so heavily on the return of the POE1 Necromancer? It's one of the most boring Ascendancies in the game. "Are you playing non-golem minions? Play Necromancer. Period." That isn't a meaningful choice, it's boring nonsense. It's nothing but a crappy build tax. Be more creative.

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1453R#7804 wrote:

Why do minions need a specific Ascendancy that ultracharges them but is completely and utterly 100% worthless to anyone who is not going all-in on Minions And Only Minions?

Why are people fixated so heavily on the return of the POE1 Necromancer? It's one of the most boring Ascendancies in the game. "Are you playing non-golem minions? Play Necromancer. Period." That isn't a meaningful choice, it's boring nonsense. It's nothing but a crappy build tax. Be more creative.

By this logic all Ascendancies should be a Jack of all trades.

I don't even care much about not having a Necro, although a bit disappointed. I just wish minions would be interesting to play; so far nothing from any class makes them stand out. It's like they're an afterthought, whatever support that annoys your enemies while you use the real supported skill.

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lupasvasile#5385 wrote:

By this logic all Ascendancies should be a Jack of all trades.

I don't even care much about not having a Necro, although a bit disappointed. I just wish minions would be interesting to play; so far nothing from any class makes them stand out. It's like they're an afterthought, whatever support that annoys your enemies while you use the real supported skill.

Query. How is this different from PoE1 Minion builds that typically avoided active skill use as much as possible?

In PoE2 your minions run around and do minion things while you use your other skills; in PoE1 your minions run around and do minion things while you stand in the back with your thumb firmly up your hindquarters. At least in 2 you have Command skills, combo abilities, and interplay between minions. In 1, any minion build that used a button for anything other than "Resummon minions", Convocation, or your choice of skip-leg-day movement skill was a terrible build that indicated its maker should uninstall forever, quit PC gaming, and go join a convent.

I'll take the PoE2 version any day, thanks.

Then i bet your ecstatic they're about to add hundreds of new minions on friday, right?

Minions work pretty well right now...With the addition of specters and some supports they will be even better. Detonate dead will work with that gigantify support...

They should fix the damn hit box for them or give them phasing with each other, that what they should do, because right now half of them watch 2 of them killing something a narrow space.

Minions going forward are going to be Spectres. The likelihood that the devs managed to balance all Spectreable monsters properly to be consistent with minion gems is ludicrous. By launch I expect much of this will be resolved, but they also will likely have 1000 monster varieties by then. Especially if GGG makes bosses Spectreable.

Litch is not going to be the only "viable" minion Ascendency, but it's consistent with literally every other archetype in the game to have an Ascendency dedicated to it. PoE 2 is yet unfinished, but those future Ascendancies will get there.

As underwhelming as Ritualist is getting from the community, using Doryani's Prototype on a lightning minion build (or any lightning build for that matter), can net up to -172% lightning resistance (with perfect corrupted rolls worth hundreds to thousands of divine). A 3rd ring and 25% increased effect of your 3 rings + amulet is ridiculously potent for a large variety of builds.

Totems appear to be considered minions which opens up a whole new dynamic of "minion" builds.

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Direfell#7544 wrote:

Then i bet your ecstatic they're about to add hundreds of new minions on friday, right?

I won't lie, this is the only reason I still want to play minions, and probably the only thing that will make it interesting.

But, as all good things in POE, it won't last. Enjoy it before they nuke it into the ground.

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Aldonés#1294 wrote:

As underwhelming as Ritualist is getting from the community, using Doryani's Prototype on a lightning minion build (or any lightning build for that matter), can net up to -172% lightning resistance (with perfect corrupted rolls worth hundreds to thousands of divine).

What? I got my infernalist to -217% without any corrupts/buying gear at all. was even able to tone it to exactly -200%. Not a minion build but only takes 2 ventors, ingenuity and an optional controlled metamorphasis jewel*