Level 93 Raise Zombie Necromancer^3.25

Notes

DISCLAIMER:
- This is my personal build that I use with my day-to-day gameplay. This link will always display the base version of the build, so it won't be updated if I get an epic drop and need to rearrange/replace skills. But, if I feel like the base version of the build needs tweaking, it'll be tweaked without warning. (I will do my best not to make any changes mid-league.)
- (If you see any "hidden" gems, that's just a PoE Planner thing. There are no hidden gems in PoE.)

ALL OF MY BUILDS ARE DESIGNED TO BE:
  - SSF HC savvy.
    - So that means, defence before offence, life before glory, /deaths = 0 before damage.
  - As Stress-Free (to me) as possible, which means:
    - Having only ONE MAIN BUTTON/skill to press, with (maybe) an occasional secondary button/skill. 
    - Having a defensive setup that ALLOWS SLOW REACTION TIME or slow character movement. We should be able to zone out, take damage, and react slowly with our flasks, to easily survive.
    - ITEM FREEDOM. I like Path of Exile to be a game of discovery and excitement. I want every item that I ID to have the potential to be better than what I have equipped. I also don't like "needing" a specific fancy mod or item for my build to actually function. So, I design my builds not to require specific gear or mods. I think of gear as a bonus to the build. (Obviously, we want good gear, but we won't be crippled until we get it. SSF, am I right?)

TAKE NOTICE:
- Pay attention to the skills and notables when you're allocating them to the build. It's on YOU to remember the requirements of your selections as YOU'LL be the one equipping, modifying, and playing the build. TAKE YOUR TIME within the game to get used to the differences of each addition as they come. The build's details are easier to remember that way.


Everything else, besides what's mentioned below, should be straightforward; I don't think anything else needs a comment. Hopefully, I haven't forgotten anything. I hope the build suits you and that you have a great time!


RETURNING PLAYERS:
- For 3.25:
  - Swapped Mistress of Sacrifice for Commander of Darkness.
    - Bone Offering is now Flesh Offering.
  - Swapped Molten Shell with Steelskin. (We have less Armour in 3.25.)
  - Added Culling Strike.
  - Removed Determination and Vitality, and added Petrified Blood and 'Flesh and Stone'.
  - Minor Tree changes.
    - We now have Instant Leech and more Max Elemental Resists at the cost of life and armour.
  - Raise Zombie now includes Chance to Poison (for more endgame scaling potential) and Cruelty (to easily swap to Empower Support).



BUILD SUMMARY:
- This Zombie build. You Move. Zombie kill. ????
- Walk/stand around and hold down the Enduring Cry button.
  - Offense:
    - Our offensive minions deal Chaos Damage (Physical damage converted to Chaos damage.)
      - Zombies do Melee Strike Attacks, while Phantasms use Spell Projectiles.
  - Defence (all before equipping items):
    - 84% Elemental Resist cap.
    - 67% physical damage mitigation before calculating Armour.
      - Further automatic defensive skills (temp. perks).
    - Freeze and Shock Immune.
    - Extra mitigation when Stationary.
    - 80% crit. damage taken reduction.
    - Insane leech.

BUTTONS:
- Enduring Cry.
  - If you want a 2nd button, look at the CwDT link. You could self-cast (costs less mana) or swap CwDT with Arcanist Brand (costs more mana).
- Flasks are up to you.
- That's it! Everything else is automatic. Easy peasy.


BUILD SPECIFIC THINGS TO KNOW:
Act 1:
- Zombies will die to the Act 1 bosses. You'll want SRS (Breaking Some Eggs) or Skeletons (The Caged Brute) to get through Act 1.

Skill Gems:
- Flesh Offering:
  - Is tagged as a minion skill. So any perks from "using minion skills recently" will be proc'd by using it.

- Zombies and Phantasms:
  - The build deals Physical damage converted to 100% Chaos damage.
  - Zombies do Melee Strike Attacks, while Phantasms use Spell Projectiles. (It's an awkward combo to adhere to, but I LOVE Phantasms.)
  - Because of one of the mastery options we selected, our minions heal a bit when a minion dies. Phantasms do this for us. They'll die often but they'll also be replaced often. Replacing a living Phantasm also counts as a minion dying, which also happens often.
  - Cruelty Support:
    - The "hit" portion of the skill works with our linked minions (despite what the wiki says).
    - Eventually, I prefer to have a level 4 Empower Support linked to my Zombies. Cruelty is only in the build so it's easy to swap in the red-coloured Empower whenever it comes.
    - Aiming for Empower Support makes having an AR/ES base much easier to manually colour. (Having innate Armour in our chest helps us keep that extra +1 to Max Elemental Resists in the Soul of Steel Mastery.)
      - If all this isn't worth it for you, feel free to not select the mastery, have any basetype of armour you like, and replace Cruelty with Void Manipulation.

- Spectres (2):
  - I like one Stygian Silverback from the Riverways in Act 2. One ape will easily cap our minions with Frenzy Charges, which give our build a big damage boost.
  - I like the Undying Evangelist from either Sceptre of God in Act 3. I like its Proximity Shield.
  - Obviously, you can pick any spectres YOU like. They are perks to the build.

Items:
- Shields are required because of Tempest Shield.
  - You may as well find a shield that has 20%+ reduced Extra Damage from Critical Strikes, which would make us "immune" to crits. (30+30+20(from the tree)+20 (from the shield)=100)
- For all other items, use anything you want. Just have fun with what you find or think of. Play YOUR way.
- If you wish to forgo the shield for more damage:
  - Good luck. May the Leech be with you.
  - Shock immunity is vital in HC. So you'd likely want to replace Tempest Shield and Arctic Armour with Purity of Elements. (Pantheons aren't good enough for shock mitigation, imo.)
- DAMAGE mods, in order of offensive power:
  - 1) Chance for minions to poison. (We have 40% already. So only bother getting another 60% total.)
  - 2) 100%+ Increased Minion Damage.
  - 3) +1+ to Spell or Minion Gems.
    - (Increasing the gem level of a minion gem doesn't do as much of a damage bonus as adding "100% increased minion damage", but it does improve all other aspects of what improves when the gem levels. That always includes life, but GGG doesn't always let us know what else improves.)

The Passive Tree:
- The Passive Tree takes you to character level 93 (If you kill the bandits).
- We need 111 Dex. but we only get 54 Dex. from the tree. 
  - Don't be shy to use the +30 Dex. nodes until you find some gear that totals 57+ Dex. (I like amulets for that.)
- Levelling is easy with this build. There's no wrong to do it. (If you like to be told how to level, select every passive tree node as they come, without skipping any. Deal with the "dead-ends" branches first, then on. The tree is quite linear that way.)


WHERE TO UNLOCK EACH GEM:
- Act 1: Raise Zombie: Reward for Enemy at the Gate.
- Act 1: Summon Phantasm Support: Reward for Mercy Mission.
- Act 1: Summon Phantasm Support: Buy after Mercy Mission.
- Act 1: Clarity: Reward for The Caged Brute.
- Act 1: Withering Step: Buy and The Caged Brute.
- Act 1: Flesh Offering: Reward for The Siren's Cadence.
- Act 2: Arctic Armour: Reward from Intruders in Black.
- Act 2: Desecrate: Buy after Intruders in Black.
- Act 2: Tempest Shield: Buy after Intruders in Black.
- Act 2: Cruelty Support: Reward for Sharp and Cruel.
- Act 2: Culling Strike: Buy after Sharp and Cruel.
- Act 3: Automation: Buy after Lost in Love.
- Act 3: Raise Spectre: Reward for Sever the Right Hand.
- Act 4: Summon Chaos Golem: Reward for Breaking the Seal.
- Act 4: Cast when Damage Taken: Buy after The Eternal Nightmare.
- Act 6: Arrogance Support: Buy after Fallen from Grace.
- Act 6: Enduring Cry: Buy after Fallen from Grace.
- Act 6: Energy Leech Support: Buy after Fallen from Grace.
- Act 6: Feeding Frenzy Support: Buy after Fallen from Grace.
- Act 6: Flesh and Stone: Buy after Fallen from Grace.
- Act 6: Meat Shield Support: Buy after Fallen from Grace.
- Act 6: Petrified Blood: Buy after Fallen from Grace.
- Act 6: Punishment: Buy after Fallen from Grace.
- Act 6: Steelskin: Buy after Fallen from Grace.