The Death Shepherd - Poison Skeletons and Zombies

Mapping video

Path Of Building: https://pobb.in/dBV75nFLZIoS

Budget: 50-60 divines

Forbidden flesh/flame jewels - Profane Bloom : 25 divine

Amanamu's Gaze : 8.5 divine

6 link covenant spidersilk robe : 3 divine

+2 all minion skills and high life helmet : 30 chaos - 5 divine

Aegis Aurora : 1 divine

Vaal Summon skeletons 21/0 : 3-5 chaos

Divergent Multistrike 20/20 : 1 divine

Phantasmal Zombies 20/20 : 30 chaos

Awakened Minion damage : 80 chaos

Ghastly jewels : ? 6-10 divine

This build keeps cost in mind and is not min/maxed, it can easily reach 100+ divines.

It is a fast mapper when it comes to minion builds and I used it for abyss farming. It can do uber elder easily and has 20+ million guardian/pinnacle dps without vaal skeletons. The default configuration with nothing checked is 7 million dps. It uses both skeletons and zombies in the 6 link.

The playstyle is using withering step and convocation as your main abilities while maintaining flesh offering and marking durable enemies with predator.

Boss opener: Start with 2 desecrate piles, one for the buff from Plaguebringer and one for flesh offering. Pre-cast Vaal skeletons if it's available. Mark the boss with predator, then withering step on the boss for instant 7 stacks of wither.

Defensive actions: molten shell, quartz flask (phasing/elusive), and Rumi's flask (additional block). Quartz flask also helps with moving through packs.

It's a very functional build without the forbidden jewels because you have 20 permanent dps minions and the jewels don't add anything to bossing. That being said I wanted to lean into profane bloom for mapping so I dropped Envy to add Skitterbots with despair socketed in profane proxy for quick pops.

The minions are durable with grave intentions and indomitable army taken on the passive tree.

Skeleton defense stats:

6.7k life

1.3k energy shield

83% capped resistances

75% capped chaos resistance

49% physical damage reduction

Spectres:

Ruins Hellion for rallying cry giving 15% increased minion damage and 30% less damage from taunted enemies.

Carnage Chieftain for frenzy charges.

Primal Cruchclaw for added clear speed

Another carnage chieftain in place of the crushclaw is a good choice but with permanent minions you can get away with using one carnage chieftain.

Animated Guardian - Leer mask for the 50% increased minion damage and dying breath for the 18% increased effect of auras. % Life regeneration on the other gear slots and 1000 armour chest.

With the focus on mapping I have Ravenous Horde annointed for minion onslaught and minion speed. Replacing it with Whispers of Doom and Asenath's gloves on the Animated Guardian is a big boost to bossing.

I found and made most of my ghastly jewels so I hope my price estimate is not wildly off. Crafting the jewels is just alteration and augmentation, regal, and exalt. The foul sphere in darkness enthroned was pretty disappointing when the exalt landed damage reduction against abyssal monsters :/

It performs pretty well in sanctum with quick kills but it's not going to get you a no hit run.

I play it with withering step as my only movement skill because I like the instant stacks as I convocate onto a pack, but flame dash is socketed, wither is socketed, and withering touch is linked to zombies and skeletons. You can drop withering step without really losing anything.