CasualDan's Minion Army Necromancer Build Guide (PoE Settlers of Kalguur 3.25)

August 16th, 2024, 12:40

Introduction

Just a few more days and we’re gonna play the Settlers of Kalguur League. This Minion Army Necromancer is a cheap league starter that will enable you to farm tier 16 maps on a budget of around 1 to 4 Divines. Fast, deadly, with a lot of quality of life features, 1 to 10 mil DPS, and 50K to 150k EHP, the Minion Army Necromancer is gonna run through maps at 200% movement speed and make bank.

Since a lot of newer players have tried out this build, I’m gonna answer the 2 most recurring question in the Introduction section. What are the specters that we’re using in this build, and what’s their purpose? The specters are Frost Auto-Scouts. To get them, you need a Tunnels or Repository Contract and you need to cast Desecrate on the ground. Press “A” to see the name of the Specters, and raise 2 Frost Auto-Scouts. Their purpose is clear. They don’t do a lot of damage, but their attacks are covering the whole screen. I’ve tried out different specters, like Carnage Chieftains, Host Chieftains, Arena Masters, and although our DPS goes up in PoB, the clear in game is a lot worse. After a few more tests I decided to use only 2 Frost Auto-Scouts, and add a Harpy for better damage. So we’re gonna be using 2 Frost Auto-Scouts that are gonna handle most of the clear, and the Harpy is gonna be our third specter.

For the 3.25 Settlers of Kalguur League, the Minion Army is gonna be my main build at least in the first month of the league. I’m gonna use the low budget version and farm a Mageblood, however as upgrades become cheap, after the first week of the league, I will add better items (for example: Aegis Aurora and Empower lvl 3), but only as long as they don’t cost much. I will also experiment with the returning specters, and hopefully they are still viable. The Frost Auto Scouts are amazing, but so were the specters from Affliction league. The build has been updated for 3.25, and with the change to Unholy Might which took place a league ago, we’re gonna go for Bone Barrier instead, which should make the build tankier and a lot smoother to play, since we’re not gonna have to rely on Gravebind for sustain. Also, we have really good explosions with the Asenath's Gentle Touch and Profane Proxy combo, and … I’m so excited to play the Minion Army Necro as my main build again!

You can see a Tier 16 Map Run >>>Here<<< .

If you’d like to feel like a General of an Undead Army, then try out this league starter and you’re gonna have a lot of fun.

Since the Passive Skill Tree is mostly the same, with just an Ascendancy change and some currency, you’re gonna be able to transition into my Arakaali's Fang Occultist without any issues.

You can find the Arakaalis Fang Occultist >>here<< .

Below there is one video guide made for Youtube:

Overview

Pros

✔️ Huge Army of 23 minions without Vaal Summon Skeletons, and with Vaal S.S. a total of 61 minions

✔️ Great mobility with Phase Run and Flame Dash.

✔️ Good DPS at around 2 Million with Vaal Summon Skeletens and around 1 Million DPS without

✔️ Amazing Clearspeed in white and yellow tier maps, and good in red maps

✔️ OK defences for Softcore

✔️ Amazing transitional build that can be used to farm the currency needed for your second build

Cons

❌ The low budget version is not really a bosser. You can take down the tutorial Exarch and Eater versions, and the Shaper, Elder, and Conqueror Guardians, but you need to invest more if you want to go for Pinnacle Bosses or Invitations

❌ Not for Everyone. This is a minion build after all.

❌ A bit spammy because of the Vaal Summon Skeletons

How Does it Play?

While mapping this build goes really fast, and the minions are doing all of the work. Summon your Skeletons and watch them destroy everything. When you encounter a tough monster like an Essence for example, summon your Skeletons, your Vaal Summon Skeletons, and curse the enemy with Punishment.

Do the same for map bosses and you’re gonna be ok.

In terms of tier 16 mapping, this build shines in Blight Encounters, since the bosses are gonna be stuck in place when you cast Vaal Summon Skeletons. Add a few Seismic towers and an Empowering tower in the middle and you can comfortably farm tier 16 maps.

Damage and Defensive Scaling

Damage Scaling

To scale damage we’re allocating most of the notables on the tree that give us minion damage, minion attack, and cast speed. For single target, we’re running Summon Skitterbots and a Punishment curse.

For the items try to get a trigger wand with a little bit of minion damage, 2 Ghastly Eye Jewel with Minions deal additional physical damage and you’re good to go. After the first few days of the league when Maw of Mischief goes down in price, add it to the build to make your minions aggressive by default.

Defensive Scaling

Shock Immunity
Reduced damage from Critical Strikes (Mastery)
Good Block and Spell Block at around 50% each
75 resistances and positive chaos resistance
4 Endurance Charges
20-30k armor
2 – 3k automated Molten Shell.

PoB Imports

The current PoBs for this build are always available here:

PoB

For help with this build go to our discord and ask for help there. and one of our moderators will help you ASAP: Discord

Make sure you are using the latest version of PoB Community Fork

End game viable?

If you plan on using the low-budget version and then transitioning into a different build, then you can run these farming strategies:

For new players in their first league:

Essences in White Tier Maps;
Harvest / Expedition in White Tier Maps;
Contracts + Blueprints.

For advanced players that can follow the PoB and get the build to 2 Mil DPS:

Blights + Wrath of the Cosmos Altars in Tier 16 Maps;
Blighted Maps Tier 1-16;
Alch and Go Harvest / Expedition + Wrath of the Cosmos Altars in Tier 16 maps;
Boss Rushing, preferably in Tier 14 maps, since bosses take a bit of time in Tier 16 maps.

Using these main farming strategies you’re gonna farm anywhere from 2 up to 6 Divines profit per hour, on a build that costs 1/4 Divines.

Ascend, Bandits, and Pantheon

A full explanation of bandit, pantheon and ascend choices can be found here:

Link

Leveling

For leveling, we’re gonna explode our way through the campaign by running a lot of minions that detonate and burn the enemies.

You’re gonna start off on the Twilight Strand as a Witch. After you defeat Hillock you’re gonna get to Lioneye’s Watch. Get your Summon Raging Spirit after completing the “Breaking Some Eggs” quest. Place it in a blue socket and use it as your main DPS source.

After you defeat Brutus, you’re gonna get Summon Skeletons as a reward. Link it to Infernal Legion Support which will be available at Nessa at the same time, just after you defeat Brutus.

On your Passive Skill tree, you’re gonna go straight for the Minion Instability Keystone and you’re pretty much ready to blow up your up until act 10.

The playstyle is really simple. Use Summon Skeletons when you see a pack, and if you encounter a dangerous rare or an Act Boss, then cast Summon Raging Spirit as well to take them down a lot faster.

Once you defeat Fidelitas in Act 2, you’re gonna be able to buy Summon Skitterbots from Nessa which will be your second Infernal Legion Support set-up. Now you’re pretty much an Autobomber with the Infernal Legion Support Summon Skitterbots , but the DPS is not gonna be enough for Rares and Bosses, so you’re gonna have to spam your Summon Skeletons and Summon Raging Spirit when you encounter tough enemies.

If you wanna go overboard (I usually do), add some Raise Zombie and a Summon Carrion Golem, and you’re gonna have a huge army of minions to carry you through the Acts.

Add 1 Minion Damage Support to the Infernal Legion Support Summon Skeletons for more damage.
Add 1 Minion Damage Support to the Infernal Legion Support Summon Skitterbots for more damage.

Try to fit in a Flame Dash and a Phase Run and remember to use your Quicksilver Flask to move faster through the Campaign. Shield Charge works amazing as well.

If you happen to have some extra sockets, add a Minion Life Support and Feeding Frenzy Support on the Raise Zombie or just a Feeding Frenzy Support on the Summon Carrion Golem

Something really important that I have decided to add in the Forbidden Sanctum League, was the Flammability curse which you can easily buy from Act 3 Clarissa or get as a reward once you complete the quest “Lost in Love”. This was the final piece to make this leveling tech a lot better. Our DPS was really nice versus packs, but we struggled a bit versus bosses and rares. With Flammability I noticed that all act bosses go down really fast and rares fall near instantly, so don’t skip it.

If you’d like to see the leveling tech in action, then you can take a look at it >>>>>Here<<<<<

With this set-up you’re gonna be ok until Act 10, and if need be, all the way until red tier maps.