Poison Ranged Animate Weapon | 3.30 Day 1 PAW Update

============================================================== POISON RANGED ANIMATE WEAPON (PrAW) NECROMANCER SLEEPYCAT'S VERSION ============================================================== Credit: inspired by Helm Breaker's Poison Ranged Animate Weapons guide. Nothing here is strict. If you find a better item or a link that feels good, use it. ============================================================== HOW TO USE THIS PoB ============================================================== Pick a loadout in the Loadouts dropdown (top, next to the ascendancy box). It switches tree, gear, gems and config together. Each STEP below matches one or more loadouts. Find your step, read it, follow its Priority list. STEP 1 Leveling: SRS + Absolution ............ loadouts 1-5 STEP 2 Entering maps: the PrAW swap ........... loadout 6 STEP 3 100% poison transition ................. loadout 7 STEP 4 Covenant swap .......................... loadout 8 STEP 5 Mid: Ashes + large cluster ............. loadout 9 STEP 6 Late: endgame wand + top Shaper shield . loadout 10 STEP 7 Spell suppression (high budget) ........ loadout 11 STEP 8 Mageblood + suppression ................ loadout 12 STEP 9 Mageblood min-max (no budget) .......... loadout 13 Gear is "aim for these mods", not exact items. The INFORMATION part after the steps explains flasks, spectres, the Guardian, config and more. ============================================================== GEM SHOPPING LIST: BUY EARLY, LEVEL FOR ENDGAME ============================================================== Every vendor gem the endgame setups use, by the act you can first buy it in (as a Witch). Level them in your weapon swap or any spare socket as soon as you can. Lab / trade-only gems and Vaal versions are not listed. Missed one? Lilly Roth (Act 6 town and later) sells every gem. Colours match the gem: Strength, Dexterity, Intelligence. Act 1 (Nessa): Raise Zombie, Shield Charge, Faster Attacks, Void Manipulation, Minion Damage, Unbound Ailments, Flame Dash, Bone Offering Act 2 (Yeena): Desecrate, Minion Life Act 3 (Clarissa, then Siosa in the Library): Steelskin, Pierce, Automation, Despair, Purity of Elements, Animate Guardian, Raise Spectre, Feeding Frenzy, Convocation Act 4 (Petarus and Vanja): Greater Multiple Projectiles, Unleash Act 6 (Lilly Roth): Eternal Blessing, Vile Toxins ============================================================== STEP 1 . LEVELING: SRS + ABSOLUTION (loadouts 1-5) ============================================================== Play BOTH Absolution and SRS through Act 4 at least (Act 6 is better). One link each: two 3-links early, two 4-links by Act 2-3. - Together they hit way harder on bosses than either one alone, and cover each other's weak spots. More buttons, but worth it. - Sockets are colour-agnostic now, so running two links is easy. - Rather play just one? Pure SRS or pure Absolution both work, same tree. Just disable the link you don't use. - Tree: take Spiritual Command for at least the first 6 acts. From Act 2, grab the Mana Mastery just past Lord of the Dead (through Mystic Bulwark) for 12% mana reservation efficiency. It pays for itself once Clarity + Purity are both running. - Act 3: Spiritual Aid. Your minion damage bonuses also boost Absolution's own hit, a big jump for the combo. It does nothing once you're on PrAW, so it gets respecced out later (the later trees already skip it). - Run Clarity from the moment you get it in Act 1 and level it up some. Spamming SRS on bosses eats a LOT of mana. Don't push it too high though: next to Purity of Elements it ends up reserving too much. Past that point it's easier to just keep a mana flask handy and spam it on bosses. - Grab an off-hand / weapon swap early and use its sockets to level the gems you'll want later: the other skill's links for when you settle on one, plus Raise Spectre, Animate Guardian and Chance to Poison. Same goes for any spare sockets you find. Act 1 - Before SRS: drop Holy Flame Totem and let it kill things for you. Flame Wall in front of packs adds damage to everything passing through. - Once you have them: SRS + Added Lightning + Minion Damage, and Absolution + Added Lightning + Minion Damage. Absolution handles clear, so SRS stays in its bossing link. - Take Chance to Poison as your Mercy Mission reward (Nessa). Witch vendors don't sell it until Siosa in Act 3. Act 2 - 4-links: Absolution + Faster Casting + Added Lightning + Minion Damage. SRS + Minion Damage + Added Lightning + Minion Speed. - Level Chance to Poison in your weapon swap. You'll want it high later. - Holy Flame Totem can go once both links are up. Use the sockets for Zombies + Summon Phantasm on a 2-link instead, and add Minion Speed (faster Phantasm procs) or Minion Life (keeps them alive) when you get more links. - Movement: Shield Charge with Faster Attacks and/or Momentum, and Frostblink. Act 3 - SRS: swap Added Lightning for Added Chaos once you can buy it (Siosa). Absolution keeps its link (now Vaal Absolution). - Curse: Elemental Weakness (Act 3 vendor) on the Convocation / Offering setup. - Zombies + Feeding Frenzy from level 31. Act 4-10 / level 70 - Once you have Unleash, pick one: keep both (Unleash on SRS, Spell Echo on Absolution), or drop Absolution and go full SRS. - SRS + Unleash + Added Chaos + Minion Damage, Multistrike once you have the links. - You'll still swap Melee Splash in constantly to clear: take out Multistrike (or Minion Damage) for it, and put it back for bosses. - Start levelling Animate Guardian, Raise Spectre and Chance to Poison in your weapon swap (see the Gem Shopping List). Gear - Life, res and movement speed boots. A tower shield the whole way. A minion wand with minion damage / attack speed / cast speed is a nice bonus. - Cheap res: sell an Iron Ring with a red, green or blue gem to get a Ruby, Topaz or Sapphire ring (a Sapphire helps a lot vs Merveil). The bench adds a res to any item, even white ones, for 1 Orb of Transmutation. Ascendancy First lab: pick one. - Mistress of Sacrifice: your Offerings affect you too, so Flesh Offering makes you move, attack and cast faster. The fast option. - Mindless Aggression: more minion damage and speed, the chill option. It also gets you to Unnatural Strength (Unholy Might) a lab earlier, if you want those gem levels sooner. - You end up with both, plus Unnatural Strength and Bone Barrier. Commander of Darkness (early damage + ele res) is another 1st lab option, but you'll respec it later. How it plays - Clearing: just cast Absolution as you move. It and your minions do the work, you barely have to stop. - Bosses and tanky rares: get your 3 Absolution Sentinels up, then spam SRS. Go back to spamming Absolution until your spirits drop below about 10, then spam SRS again. Repeat. Keep your curse up too (Elemental Weakness from Act 3). - Shield Charge / Frostblink to move. Keep Flesh Offering up for the speed once you have Mistress. ============================================================== STEP 2 . ENTERING MAPS: THE PrAW SWAP (loadout 6) ============================================================== Swap once you have BOTH Animate Weapon of Ranged Arms and Bladefall of Trarthus, and a 5-link chest. - Until then, keep running SRS in early maps. - Ranged Arms is a transfigured gem: lab or trade. Bladefall of Trarthus is harder: farm Mercenaries or buy it in trade. - Quality on Ranged Arms = more weapons (+1 per 10%). Your first Gemcutter's Prisms go into this gem. REQUIRED: Bladefall of Trarthus. Do not swap to PrAW without it. Without it the build is clunky and very hard to get online. Offerings - Cast Flesh Offering + Desecrate by hand at first (Offerings eat a corpse). - Swap to Bone Offering sooner rather than later once damage feels good. With Mistress of Sacrifice and a tower shield it gives YOU block, and our 75% block depends on it. Maps get rippy without it. Notes - Chaos res is low here and that's normal. Cap elemental res first. - Chance to Poison gives +40%. Keep it in until jewels alone reach 100% (Step 3). - The minion Area of Effect mastery was only for SRS. It becomes 20% increased effect of Offerings. - Spare points? An early small minion cluster beats the minion damage nodes past Redemption / Righteous Army. Priority 1. Poison Ghastly Eye jewels. 100% poison is the biggest damage step in the build. 2. Carnage Chieftain + Hulking Miscreation spectres. 3. Early Animate Guardian gear (Leer Cast, Dying Breath...). Tick its group in the Config tab. 4. Proper defensive flasks (Granite, a res flask if needed, see Flasks) and start crafting them toward automatic use ASAP. 5. Trigger wand ("Trigger a Socketed Spell when you Use a Skill" bench craft) with +1 minion gems, to automate your Offering. The craft unlocks from a hidden grate in Act 9's The Refinery. Grab it on the way through. How to craft a +1/+1 one: see Information, "Crafting the +1/+1 wand". 6. Amulet anoint: Death Attunement (+1 spectre). Only take it once you have a 3rd spectre worth using and can afford to buy one or get it yourself. Minion res, chaos res or block anoints (e.g. Decay Ward) are fine until then. Don't put much currency into your belt or chest. The belt becomes Darkness Enthroned, and later the chest becomes The Covenant. A good chest helps, but don't spend a ton on it. How it plays - Bladefall of Trarthus: cast it once and it's basically a toggle, dropping blades for you over and over. Cast Animate Weapon of Ranged Arms on those blades to summon your weapons. No more pressing Bladefall every time. - PrAW does the blasting: your weapons shoot, poison and shred everything, and follow you around. Convocation pulls them back to you. Link it with Automation (and Steelskin) so it casts itself. From Step 3 on, Bladefall of Trarthus goes in that Automation link too, so you never have to cast it yourself. - Trigger wand: every skill you use casts the wand's spells for you: Bone Offering, Desecrate (corpses for Bone Offering), and either your curse (Despair) or Stone Golem. Golem in the wand keeps it permanently alive. Pick whichever you prefer. - Until you have the wand, cast Offering + Desecrate by hand before packs and bosses. - Two 5-link options: one for MAPPING (Greater Multiple Projectiles + Pierce + Unleash) and one for BOSSING. Mapping is what you'll run almost all the time. GMP + Pierce make clear feel good, Unleash refills weapons faster. You'll mostly only need the bossing link for pinnacle fights, or a really tanky map boss in juiced maps. For those: summon with the mapping link first, then swap. Chance to Poison stays in both until jewels hit 100%. ============================================================== BEFORE YOU BUY ANYTHING: CHECK YOUR STATS ============================================================== Every gear set here has capped elemental res and meets all attribute requirements. Keep it that way: - Fire / Cold / Lightning at 75% (bottom-left of PoB). Chaos: positive early, 75% from Step 3 on. - Overcap elemental res by ~15% once you can. Exposure and enemy curses take res off you mid-fight. - A gem requirement in red means you're short on that attribute. Dexterity is the one people miss most on this build. Animate Weapon of Ranged Arms is a Dex gem and +levels push it past 110. The Witch starts far from Dex, so it comes from gear (gloves, rings, amulet). Check it on every swap. - Paste an item into PoB (Items tab) before you buy it. If it uncaps a res or an attribute, fix that first. ============================================================== STEP 3 . 100% POISON TRANSITION (loadout 7) ============================================================== Once jewels give your minions 100% poison chance, drop Chance to Poison for a real damage support. - Poison comes from Ghastly Eye jewels in your tree and in a Darkness Enthroned belt (the belt boosts its jewels). - Get a Darkness Enthroned early, even a cheap low roll. Use the chart below to pick the right one for your jewels. - Enduring Composure: grab a small Armour cluster jewel (2 passives, item level 68+) with this notable. It goes in the large jewel socket, and that socket's poison jewel moves to the basic socket two Intelligence nodes away. It gives an endurance charge every second while you've been hit recently. Blocking counts, so they're basically always up. The points come from Sovereignty and its two Reservation Efficiency nodes, plus Juggernaut and the Life and Armour node. - Once you take Blood Magic, respec out the mana reservation nodes (Sovereignty, Reservation Efficiency, Mana Mastery). Your auras don't reserve mana anymore, so they do nothing. Put the points into life. Running a Perfect Warlord spectre? Its Enduring Cry gives you endurance charges, so you can skip the cluster and keep those life nodes. Saves a bunch of points. - No Darkness Enthroned yet? A life belt plus more poison jewels in the tree works, it just takes more sockets. - Shield: block + armour tower shield from here on. With Bone Offering this caps your block at 75%. - Wand (up to Step 4): +1 minion wand with the trigger craft, plus minion damage and/or attack speed. Darkness Enthroned breakpoints (minion poison chance per belt jewel) Belt jewel value = jewel % x (1 + belt effect), rounded DOWN. Find your jewel's row, then the highest belt roll at or below yours. Example: 13% jewel on a 69% belt -> 67% step -> 21%. 10% jewel: 50%>15 | 60%>16 | 70%>17 | 80%>18 | 90%>19 | 100%>20 11% jewel: 50%>16 | 55%>17 | 64%>18 | 73%>19 | 82%>20 | 91%>21 | 100%>22 12% jewel: 50%>18 | 59%>19 | 67%>20 | 75%>21 | 84%>22 | 92%>23 | 100%>24 13% jewel: 50%>19 | 54%>20 | 62%>21 | 70%>22 | 77%>23 | 85%>24 | 93%>25 | 100%>26 14% jewel: 50%>21 | 58%>22 | 65%>23 | 72%>24 | 79%>25 | 86%>26 | 93%>27 | 100%>28 15% jewel: 50%>22 | 54%>23 | 60%>24 | 67%>25 | 74%>26 | 80%>27 | 87%>28 | 94%>29 | 100%>30 Chance to Poison support = +40%. Drop it once jewels alone reach 100%. Ghastly Eye stats (mostly for later: poison chance is the only thing that matters until you hit 100%) After 100%, in order: 1. Added Physical Damage (better than chaos) 2. Life 3. Minion Attack and Cast Speed 4. Added Chaos Damage - Taunt: one jewel with minion taunt chance is enough. Taunted enemies chase your minions and hit you for 10% less. - High-tier flat damage is a big part of the damage in this PoB. Every weapon gets it, and Darkness Enthroned boosts belt jewels further. - The jewels in this PoB ramp up: low tiers here, mid tiers at Step 5, T1 from Step 6. Keep a few life ones, upgrade one at a time. Priority: 1. 75% block and 75% chaos res 2. A 6-link body armour (it becomes The Covenant next) 3. Spare chaos res on boots / belt / ring before Covenant goes in How it plays - Same loop as Step 2, with real damage now that Chance to Poison is gone. Bone Offering keeps your block at 75%. - Two 6-links from here on: MAPPING (Greater Multiple Projectiles + Pierce + Unleash) and BOSSING. Map with the mapping link; at a boss, summon with it first, then swap to the bossing link. Unleash stays in every mapping setup. ============================================================== STEP 4 . COVENANT SWAP (loadout 8) ============================================================== The Covenant gives your links Added Chaos and makes skills cost life. Covenant has no resistances at all. Whatever res your old chest had, you lose. Have spare res (chaos especially) on other slots first. - Good time for an entry Shaper shield: life, block, "Recover % of Life when you Block". - Shaper shields are cheap: buy a decent base and use Harvest's Life reforge to chase mods. - Base item level: 77+ for the top block / spell block rolls, 86 for the very best block roll. The top flat life roll on shields only needs 73. If you plan the Step 6 shield, buy 83+ now (see there). How it plays - Same loop. Skills now cost life, so keep an eye on your life when you're spamming movement. ============================================================== STEP 5 . MID: ASHES + LARGE CLUSTER (loadout 9) ============================================================== Ashes of the Stars, a large minion cluster, a +2 minion helmet and a better Shaper shield (block, spell block, life on block). - Wand: budget +1 minion / +1 spell. Both count for Raise Spectre and Animate Weapon (+2 levels each). - The large cluster takes the large socket now: Enduring Composure moves into one of its medium jewel sockets. Your 4th spectre: Raise Spectre gives a 3rd at gem level 25. Plus the Death Attunement anoint = 4. - Corrupted 21 Raise Spectre + the +1/+1 wand = 23. A +2 minion helmet takes it to 25 (the piece people forget). Ashes adds +1 more. - Lineup: Hulking Miscreation, Carnage Chieftain, Arena Master, Perfect Forest Warrior. How it plays - Same loop with 4 spectres. Resummon Hulking Miscreation when its buff drops (see Spectres). ============================================================== STEP 6 . LATE: ENDGAME WAND + TOP SHAPER SHIELD (loadout 10) ============================================================== - Top shield: Shaper + Elder (Awakener's Orb). The Elder suffix "(3-5)% additional Physical Damage Reduction" needs item level 83+. Keep life, % block and spell block as prefixes; recover on block (Shaper), phys reduction (Elder) and one open suffix. - Endgame wand: +1 minion, +1 spell, trigger craft, minion damage and minion attack speed. - Late Animate Guardian gear (Kingmaker, Crown of the Tyrant). - More damage from here: T1 Ghastly Eyes, gem levels, corruptions. Late is the last "normal" step. Steps 7-9 are for big budgets. How it plays - Same loop. Bosses melt, and the shield + Bone Offering block most physical hits. ============================================================== STEP 7 . SPELL SUPPRESSION (loadout 11, high budget) ============================================================== Same tower shield and 75% block, plus 100% spell suppression. Needs a respec to a more central tree. - About half the 100% comes from gear (shield, helmet, gloves, boots incl. a 10% Eater gloves implicit), half from the tree: Reflexes, Evasion / Suppression nodes, a suppression tattoo, and The Green Nightmare (cold / all-res nodes near it count at 70%). Craft suppression on your shield. The bench adds +8-10% to ANY shield with an open suffix, tower shields included. That lets the helmet be a pure armour base with a small crafted roll. Gloves and boots still need rolls (Chimerascale bases). - Foulborn Covenant (Blood Magic built in) skips the Blood Magic keystone. - Wand on a Convening base: Convoking needs 242 Int, which this tree doesn't have. - Gear + tree give 105% suppression without the Quartz flask, so you stay capped when it's down. Keep Quartz for the phasing. Magebane (optional): 1 point, +1% suppression per 15 Dex (about +7-9%), but Dex stops giving evasion. Only if your gear is short. Suppression only really pays off near 100%. Chasing it earlier is possible but costs a lot. How it plays - Same loop. Spell suppression means caster-heavy maps and bosses stop being scary. ============================================================== STEP 8 . MAGEBLOOD + SUPPRESSION (loadout 12) ============================================================== Step 7 plus Mageblood. Same tree, Foulborn Covenant and 100% suppression, so nothing goes backwards. - Darkness Enthroned is gone: 4 more poison Ghastly Eyes replace Amanamu's Gaze, Sublime Vision, Watcher's Eye and a small cluster. - Flasks: Progenesis, Ruby, Sapphire, Topaz, Granite. The res flasks raise MAX res (about 88%), most of the extra EHP. - Damage stays about the same. PoB already counts flasks as always on, so Mageblood shows up as defence. How it plays - Same loop, no flask pressing: Mageblood keeps everything up. ============================================================== STEP 9 . MAGEBLOOD MIN-MAX (loadout 13, no budget) ============================================================== - Elegant Hubris gives Supreme Ostentation: no attribute requirements, so no gear wastes mods on Dex or Int. - Thread of Hope and Impossible Escape reach far notables. Two large clusters, 11+ poison Ghastly Eyes, 21/20% corrupted gems. - Same tower shield (block 75% with room to spare, so Strength tattoos go into armour), same 6-link, spectres and late Guardian. - Flasks: Progenesis, Ruby, Sapphire, Topaz, Quartz (for suppression). Quartz is safe here: Mageblood keeps it up all the time. Suppression is exactly 100% thanks to the crafted shield roll. Don't lose any suppression roll when you upgrade. How it plays - Same loop as Step 8, just with far more damage and defence. ============================================================== INFORMATION ============================================================== Background on the systems the steps use. Read it once, then come back when a step points here. -- CHAOS RES AND ELDRITCH IMPLICITS -- - Boots: Exarch "+% to Chaos Resistance" implicit (up to ~17%). Free chaos res. - Gloves: Exarch "Minions deal % increased Damage" (up to ~29%). Suppression gloves add Eater "+% to Suppress" (up to 10%) on the same pair. - Rolled chaos res on belt / body / ring / boots, or Fire-and-Chaos hybrid mods. - Short? An Amethyst Ring or a couple of nearby chaos nodes cover 10-15%. -- FLASKS -- - Fill all 5 slots. Granite from Step 2 on: armour against phys hits. - The Gold flask is optional: swap it for a Ruby / Sapphire / Topaz if a res is short, or an Amethyst for chaos (Covenant!). - No Rumi's at any step: block caps without it. Use a Masochist's Granite (gains charges when you're hit) so it stays up. - Mageblood steps use res flasks + Progenesis. - Bleed immunity on every life flask from day one (Staunching / Sealing and higher suffixes, or the Menagerie craft). Mageblood steps: put "Immunity to Bleeding and Corrupted Blood during Effect" on a utility flask instead (permanent with Mageblood). Automating flasks (before Mageblood): aim for the enchant "Used when Charges reach full". - Get it with Instilling Orbs, or the bench craft (5 Instilling Orbs + 5 Glassblower's Baubles). - Pair it with the Flagellant's prefix (gain charges when hit). You get hit a lot, so the flasks fire on their own. -- WATCHER'S EYE -- - Purity of Elements: +max elemental res, +chaos res, "% of Physical Damage from Hits taken as" an element (great vs phys). - Determination: additional phys damage reduction, armour, +1 max endurance charge. A Perfect Guardian Turtle spectre gives you Determination, and that counts for the Watcher's Eye. -- DEFENCE: PHYS IS WHAT KILLS YOU -- - % additional Physical Damage Reduction on the shield. - Mystic Bulwark + Quick Recovery: a few points, a big jump in max phys hit. - Granite / Basalt before Mageblood. Turtle spectre once damage allows. Pantheon: Lunaris + Gruthkul. - Keep chaos res capped. Covenant is what usually breaks it. - Overcap elemental res by ~15% against exposure. -- AURAS, CURSE, UTILITY -- - Early: Determination + Clarity + Purity of Elements. Later: Purity of Elements with Eternal Blessing. - Trigger wand: Bone Offering + Desecrate + either Despair or Stone Golem of Safeguarding (golem in the wand = always alive). - Feeding Frenzy with your zombies. Steelskin + Automation + Convocation + Bladefall of Trarthus in the boots. -- WICKERMAN -- One part per slot. Early = Low/Med rolls (High where it's easy to find). Endgame = High rolls. Early - Head: Stag Head (+8-12% spell suppression) - Torso: Bonestalker's Ribcage, High (4-6% additional physical damage reduction) - Upper limb: Golden Ankh, High (life regen per raised zombie: about 4-6% life/sec with 8 zombies) - Lower limb: Infected Leg, Med (+10-14% minion damage over time multiplier) Endgame - Head: Minotaur's Head (+1% all max elemental res) - Torso: Nightmarish Wings of Catarina (+1 maximum spectre) - Upper limb: Warden's Arm, High (5-7% more max life). Golden Ankh is still great if you mostly map. - Lower limb: Infected Leg, High (minion ailments deal damage 15-20% faster) - Most Wickerman damage parts only work for you, not minions. Only take ones that say "Minions". -- IMBUED GEM (SOULCORES) -- - Take UNLEASH or RETURNING PROJECTILES. Unleash: faster weapon refills everywhere, and frees a slot so you swap fewer gems. Returning Projectiles: the best damage pick, but it only works with Pierce in the link, so keep Pierce in at all times. Exception: a Vestigial Covenant with "Supported by Level 15 Pierce" counts as your Pierce, which frees that slot. - Imbues are cheapest on green gems, so Returning Projectiles is also the budget-friendly pick. - Other options: Unbound Ailments (damage), Faster Attacks (damage) or Minion Speed (comfort). -- CRAFTING THE +1/+1 WAND -- +1 to Level of all Minion Skill Gems and +1 to Level of all Spell Skill Gems are both PREFIXES on wands. 1. Base: a Convening Wand, item level 82 or below. Nothing you need here is above that, and these bases are cheap. 2. Roll it with a Prime Chaotic Resonator (4 fossils) until it has both +1s. Use these four: Corroded (no elemental mods), Metallic (no physical), Jagged (no chaos), Shuddering (no mana). They shut off almost every other prefix. What's left is one damage prefix plus the two +1s, so most 3-prefix rolls give you both. Expect roughly a dozen tries. Each try uses up the resonator and all 4 fossils, so buy a stack before you start. Most hits come with full suffixes, which is what steps 3-4 fix. 3. Bench craft "Prefixes Cannot Be Changed" to lock both +1s. 4. Clear the suffixes: Orb of Scouring wipes them all, or Orb of Annulment if only one is in the way. 5. Bench craft the trigger mod. Want minion attack/cast speed too? Craft "Can have up to 3 Crafted Modifiers" first. -- CLEAR OPTIONS -- Both are trade / drop gems (level 72+), worth it once you can afford them. They go in the MAPPING link. - Greater Chain: weapons' shots bounce to more enemies after hitting, so one shot covers a whole pack. It replaces Pierce (shots only start chaining once they're done piercing). Imbued Returning Projectiles? Keep Pierce and swap Greater Chain in for Greater Multiple Projectiles instead. - Annihilation: enemies your weapons kill can explode for 10% of their life. Late game, for very dense content (juiced maps, heavy strategies) explosions chain through packs. Use it as an alternative there. -- ANIMATE GUARDIAN -- Cheap early and a big damage buff. Three gear sets in the item sets dropdown: early (to Step 5), late (Step 6 on), explode. - Early: Leer Cast (+50% ally damage), Dying Breath (+18% damage, +18% curse effect), Windscream, Temporal Chains-on-hit gloves. - Late: Kingmaker (Culling Strike, +50% crit multi, +10 Fortification for you), Crown of the Tyrant (-10% enemy res incl. chaos), Cospri's Will, Asenath's Gentle Touch. - Explode: Cane of Kulemak with the explode unveiled mod instead of Kingmaker. Better clear, loses Kingmaker's buffs (untick those lines in the Config group if you run it). PoB doesn't pass Guardian buffs to your other minions. They're in the Config tab as Custom Modifier groups instead. -- VESTIGIAL COVENANT (3.30) -- A Vestigial Covenant can beat the Foulborn one. Worth checking trade for these mods: Gem power - +20% quality to gems in green sockets (more weapons: every 10% quality on Ranged Arms is +1) - +2 level to gems in red sockets Free supports - Socketed gems supported by level 15 Pierce - Socketed gems supported by level 10 Chance to Poison Defence - +200 maximum life, or 20% increased maximum life - Take no extra damage from critical strikes - 25% of physical damage from hits taken as lightning, or 20% of physical damage taken as fire -- SPECTRES -- One Raise Spectre gem: 2 spectres at level 13, 3 at level 25, +1 from Death Attunement. 3 from Step 2, 4 from Step 5. Raising a new spectre: take Bone Offering off the trigger wand first (Offerings eat corpses). - Cast Desecrate, then hold A with Raise Spectre selected to see corpse names, and click the one you want. - Already raised one? Desecrate can spawn it again later. Keeping spectres safe: - Put +minion weapons in your weapon swap (a cheap +1 minion wand and shield is enough). Swapping by accident then doesn't drop your gem levels and kill spectres. - Change gear or respec in town. Losing an attribute requirement or a +level there can't kill anything. - Keep Raise Spectre in the same socket when you swap the item holding it, or they die on your next zone. - Take your Offering off before gem or gear changes. If one dies, its corpse is on the ground: raise it again. - Raise your most expensive spectre LAST. If you drop below your spectre limit, the first one you raised goes first. Priority: 1. Hulking Miscreation: animated weapons are constructs, so +100% damage, +30% speed. Counted at half strength (uptime, see Config). Get it: corpse item (trade). 2. Carnage Chieftain: frenzy charges for your minions. Get it: free, Act 2 (The Old Fields / Broken Bridge) or Act 7 (Ashen Fields). 3. Arena Master: damage + speed. Get it: Warlord-influenced maps (Desecrate there). 4. Perfect Forest Warrior: Onslaught. Get it: corpse item (Ritual rewards or trade). Defensive swaps: - Perfect Guardian Turtle: Determination + 5% phys reduction. About -5% damage for +25% max phys hit. Corpse item (Ritual / trade). - Perfect Warlord: Vitality, Enduring Cry, Immortal Call. Comfortable once Covenant makes skills cost life. Corpse item (Ritual / trade). -- MAP MODS -- You can run every map mod, but these ones really hurt. Reroll them when you can: - Reduced effect of non-curse auras: Purity of Elements is holding your res up, so this drops them. - Reduced recovery rate: much worse when you're juicing map modifier effect. - Reduced chance to block: block is a core defence layer. - Monsters avoid poison: poison is most of your damage. - No regeneration is also rough until you have Blood Magic. -- CONFIG -- The Config tab follows the loadout. Custom Modifier groups (bottom of the tab) each have a tick box: - Step 2: Guardian groups OFF. Tick "Early Animate Guardian" once yours is out. - Steps 3-5: early Guardian ON. Tick the late PREVIEW group to see what late gear adds. - Steps 6-9: late Guardian ON, plus +10 Fortification from Kingmaker. - Miscreation uptime group: -50% minion damage, -15% speed, so the buff counts at about half. Untick for the "always up" number. - PoB already counts spectre buffs. Only Carnage Chieftain's 2 frenzy charges are set in the config. - Showcase: 10 poison stacks, 15 Withered, Feeding Frenzy, Lunaris + Gruthkul. Flasks on in mapping sets. - Each PrAW / Guardian gem has its own item set box under Main Skill, already set per loadout. Re-check it if you add item sets. - The animated weapon count matches each loadout's real maximum (hover the gem). Update it if your gear changes it.