Lich Queen Skeleton Summoner PoB, Passive Skill Tree & Gem Links
IMPORTANT PoB NOTES
The PoB community fork created by Localidentity is the only version being kept up to date, so make sure you have the correct version: PoB Community Fork.
END GAME PoB & PASSIVE SKILL TREE
This build is extremely straightforward. Budget-friendly versions include 1 cheap Cluster Jewel, due to how volatile they are in terms of crafting difficulty and due to how expensive they can be the jewel chosen can have maximum passive count and be very affordable and even craftable.
Here is the Lich Queen Low Budget PoB, and for a quick glance over the finished skill tree for this version, check out this link.
Once the skill tree is finished, focus entirely on more jewel sockets or cluster jewels if you can afford it.
LEVELING PROGRESSION
Depending on if you’re playing Hardcore or Softcore, you will have to adjust your route depending on the quality of gear you’re able to obtain. For example, if you have lots of Life and Resistance from drops you get during the Acts, you can focus on taking damage-providing nodes over the defensive ones and vice versa. The links below are trees that should fit in almost any situation no matter the drop RNG.
MASTERIES
A lot of the masteries available comes down to a matter of personal preference but some are more or less mandatory.
Life mastery: “+50 to maximum life” is a mastery we want to pick up as soon as possible
Life mastery: “10% increased maximum life & 10% reduced life recovery rate” should be picked up in your second available life cluster
Minion Defence Mastery: “minions leech 1% of damage as life” this is crucial for the sustainable survival of your minions
Minion Offence Mastery: “20% increased effect of offerings” this further scales our Flesh Offering to let us deal more damage
Minion Offence Mastery: “Minions have 100% increased critical chance” this is a fodder mastery that boosts damage a little bit but nothing we want to rush to unless we’ve taken everything else from the build
LEVELING GEMS & LINKS
Don’t bother enabling Spectres until you’re level 65-70 or they will die consistently, so what you want to do is level the gem in your off-slot weapons.The only important links to think about during the leveling progression are the links utilized for Summon Skeletons:
Do keep in mind that if you feel like you’re lacking single target damage versus any boss during the Acts, you can always change your Melee Splash to a red damage support gem such as Added Fire Damage Support or Melee Physical Damage Support. Once you get a 4-link, I would go for the Melee Physical, and later you can change the Splash for Multistrike Support instead for single target. I recommend enabling Feeding Frenzy Support at level 31 as the 4th link as it gives the skeletons a charge-like ability making clearing a lot smoother.
Aura decision comes in Act 3 which is when we enable Hatred for optimal damage output. However, this will change when you reach the later Acts and make the switch to dealing pure physical damage using endgame gem auras.
AMULET ANOINTMENT
In my opinion, there’s only one Notable worth anointing for this build and that is Death Attunement, which requires 1x Clear Oil, 1x Crimson Oil, and 1x Silver Oil. This node is very crucial and very cheap, so I recommend making it a priority to reach it as soon as you can.
END GAME GEM LINKS
6-Link Skellies
Our summoned Skeletons are strictly here for single target damage output, so you should follow these links:
- Summon Skeletons
- Multistrike Support – You can switch this for Melee Splash Support to help clearing if needed.
- Impale Support
- Brutality Support
- Minion Damage Support
Using Predator Support will significantly improve single target damage
4-Link Spectres
The spectres in this build are your main source of damage for smooth and effective clearing. While melee skellies are great for single target, they are rather slow for map clearing. While there are many great spectre choices, in order to stay within a purely physical approach, allowing the spectres to scale the best from your auras, we will use the Syndicate Operatives. This will allow them to clear very effectively and also provide a tiny bit of extra damage versus single targets.
- Raise Spectre
- Greater Multiple Projectiles Support
- Vicious Projectiles Support
- Minion Damage Support (If you put the spectres in an Elder Helmet you can get minion damage support as a modifier, if you do you can use Brutality Support instead here)
3-Link Mobility
This is your Movement Speed setup with a second mobility skill to get over edges:
3-Link Trigger
Generic trigger setup to automate our buffs:
4-Link Auras
Since we are going pure physical damage, we’ll be using very specific auras to further scale our damage:
4-Link Golem & Curse
We’ll be using a Carrion Golem to boost our minions damage output and, in this setup, we’ll have room for a curse:
1-Socket Animate Guardian
If you wish, you can socket Animate Guardian inside an Unset Ring to further scale your build’s damage output.