Level 85 Raise Zombie Necromancer^3.22

Notes

Welcome to Gyro's Basic Minion Army Necromancer League Starter Build guide for 3.22 Trial of the Ancestors. 

This guide was created based on my older build and has not been tested in the new league YET. Please expect updates and check the video description again after the league started, for any corrections and additions - thank you!

*** These notes are supposed to help you or serve as quick reminders, but if in doubt, I strongly suggest that you go watch the original build guide video where I talk you through more than I've written up here! ***


IMPORTANT NOTES or FAQ (and PLEASE WATCH THE VIDEO before you start complaining! lol)

1. There is only one unique that's really cheap and I find it every league very quickly - Sidhebreath amulet - It is NOT required, I just happen to use it every time... 

2. DO NOT TRUST THE DAMAGE numbers on the left - THEY LIE! Why? Because I suck at making PoBs and frankly can't be bothered making sure everything lines up here - I record verbal instructions as a video guide for a reason!

    This is just to show you the basic way, and it works FINE for starters (not to stomp End-Game! lol) 
    
    ********  WITH THE RIGHT GEAR (i.e. better stats for Necros + Damage to Minions etc) THIS DOES ENOUGH DAMAGE TO GET YOU INTO MID-TIER ATLAS MAPS *********

3. Rare item templates were NOT picked with a particular purpose, so they mess up the defensives and damage numbers. They are just placeholders.

4. For a Wand, try and find a Calling Wand that boosts damage (and/or other stats) of your Minions. 

5. How far can you take this build? Look, it's a League STARTER, not a FINISHER! :) It's basic and doesn't cost anything for a reason... 

    I got it to T6-T8 Maps, where it started struggling and you'll need to reinforce it further with uniques and looking for ways to scale your minion damage further, 
    e.g. by investing in their Accuracy and Crit Strike Chance/Multipliers. 

6. FOR EXTRA DEFENCES, I always take Bone Barrier Ascendancy point among the FIRST ONES, for that extra physical damage reduction EVEN IF I'm IN CRAP GEAR.

7. UNNATURAL STRENGTH Ascendancy point is the last one I take (If I climb high enough in the build to do 4th Lab) - WHY? Because I don't scale Chaos damage (yeah I keep it simple). BUT YOU COULD! ;)

8. What key passive would I Annoit? Most likely Ravenous Horde or Fearsome Force.


IF YOU HAVE MANA ISSUES

Mana is always a trade-off and you can simply turn off one of the secondary auras to give yourself a bit more to play with. 
E.g. I'd turn off Tempest Shield if you're not dying all the time, or Skitterbots if your damage is fine as it is without them.


BANDITS

Kill all. 


RESISTANCES

Should be your priority to cap on gear, with talents, and by crafting on your rare pieces if you're still under 75%. 


OTHER STATS

I always max resistances, then go for max life, minion damage (duh!) and then block chance when I play this build with a shield (not a 2H staff - this build shows 1h wand and a shield, but you obviously can experiment).


OPTIONAL and DISABLED SKILLS

Those show you optional skills you could try and use if you have an extra slot or would like to swap something out to try those instead. E.g. SRS feels really good with Unleash, but I've marked it Disabled/Optional because 
it's there for speed of generating SRS, not as a direct damage booster - which is why it's not a priority if you're just starting out.