Necromancer PvE | Open World Dagger/Warhorn, Staff | Damage Orrian Minion Master
Table of Contents
Summary
This is the base, easily refinable version of a build I started using a couple of months ago. It has only grown more powerful with the recent fixes and updates to the Necromancer, particularly with the bugfixing (and buffs) related to life siphoning. You should have no trouble at all dealing with multiple max-level mobs in Cursed Shore, although going solo against champs is not recommended unless you're well-experienced with champion fighting.
In the sections below, I will explain the ideas behind the build as well as potential refinements you could make if you so desire.
This build can also swap major traits, weapons, and utilities to become a well-rounded dungeon runner that won't step on another player's toes if they are running a condition build.
I. Weapons and Skills
-
- Necrotic StabStrike your foe again.Damage: 235Life force: 2%Range: 130
- Necrotic BiteStrike your foe and gain life force.Damage: 403Life force: 6%Range: 130
-
- 0
- 0
-
- 0
- 0
-
- 0
- 0
-
- 0
- 0
-
- Taste of Death¾Sacrifice your blood fiend to heal yourself.Healing: 6520
-
- Putrid Explosion1Explode a bone minion.Damage: 1,529Radius: 240Combo Finisher: Blast
-
- Rigor Mortis50Immobilize your bone fiend, and it will immobilize foes.Damage (2x): 716Immobilized: 2 s
-
- Haunt20Command your shadow fiend to teleport to and blind a foe.Damage: 525Blind: 5 sLife Force: 10%Radius: 120Range: 1,200
-
- Charge 40Command your flesh golem to charge a foe.Damage: 1,444Range: 1,200
Weapon and Skill Details
Pretty straightforward melee-ranged minion master setup here. Make sure you have all your minions up before starting a fight. The 1.5s cast time might not seem long, but it seems much longer when you take a big hit to the face while you're casting.
II. Traits
Spite
Curses
Death Magic
Blood Magic
Trait Details
Open World
These major traits boost your minions' potential significantly, in addition to providing near-constant healing while in combat, assuming your minions are alive. There is a tiny bit of flexibility here if you don't mind longer minion cooldowns. You can swap out Death Magic III with VI (Shrouded Removal) for a quick, convenient condition removal. Or you can swap it to Death Magic II and then swap Spite VI to V, which will give you ~10s of retaliation if you heal and use DS back-to-back.
Basically, this trait setup allows the minions to do most of the work for you.
Dungeons
- Swap Spite VI to II (Spiteful Talisman) to increase the effectiveness of your Focus skills.
- Swap Spite IX to VIII (Axe Training) to increase the effectiveness of your Axe skills
- Swap Death Magic III to IV (Ritual of Protection). This will generate a significant amount of protection for your allies assuming they're in the well radius when you set it off (so try to make that happen).
- Swap Death Magic X to IX (Death Shiver). This will allow you to sustain your vulnerability application when you enter Death Shroud, which will keep your group DPS up.
- Swap Blood Magic II for VI (Transfusion) or IV (Ritual of Life). Which is up to you. One will put out a solid AoE heal every 40 seconds while damaging enemies in the area. The other will create a Well of Blood when you revive someone (with a 40s ICD), which will make reviving much easier in most cases.
- Swap Blood Magic VII for VIII (Ritual Mastery). This will let you put down more wells more often, which will help your team immensely.
III. Stat Specifics & Effects
Primary Stats
- Health 22962 (+3750)
- Vitality 1291 (+375)
- Armor 2066 (+230)
- Toughness 1146 (+230)
- Attack 3089 (+1232)
- Power 2101 (+1185)
- Critical Hit 31% (+31%)
- Precision 1563 (+647)
Secondary Stats
- Boon Duration 20% (+20%)
- Condition Duration 30% (+30%)
- Critical Damage 47% (+47%)
- Damage 988 (+5%)
- Defense 920 (+0)
- Experience from Kills 20% (+20%)
- Ferocity 717 (+717)
- Healing Power 200 (+200)
Boons
Conditions
Control
Fields & Finishers
IV. Food, Armor, Trinkets & Upgrade Items
Food Nourishment
Power: 100
Ferocity: 70
Experience from Kills: 10%
- (1hr)
- Power: 100
- Ferocity: 70
- Experience from Kills: 10%
Utility Nourishment
Gain precision equal to 6% of your toughness
Gain precision equal to 4% of your vitality
Experience from Kills: 10%
- (30min)
- Gain precision equal to 6% of your toughness
- Gain precision equal to 4% of your vitality
- Experience from Kills: 10%
Armor & Runes
- Defense: 73
- Vitality: 25
- Ferocity: 35
- Vitality: 50
- Ferocity: 65
- Vitality: 100
- 7% of vitality is converted to ferocity.
- Defense: 73
- Vitality: 25
- Ferocity: 35
- Vitality: 50
- Ferocity: 65
- Vitality: 100
- 7% of vitality is converted to ferocity.
- Defense: 314
- Vitality: 25
- Ferocity: 35
- Vitality: 50
- Ferocity: 65
- Vitality: 100
- 7% of vitality is converted to ferocity.
- Defense: 133
- Vitality: 25
- Ferocity: 35
- Vitality: 50
- Ferocity: 65
- Vitality: 100
- 7% of vitality is converted to ferocity.
- Defense: 194
- Vitality: 25
- Ferocity: 35
- Vitality: 50
- Ferocity: 65
- Vitality: 100
- 7% of vitality is converted to ferocity.
- Defense: 133
- Vitality: 25
- Ferocity: 35
- Vitality: 50
- Ferocity: 65
- Vitality: 100
- 7% of vitality is converted to ferocity.
Armor Stat Totals
- Defense 920
- Vitality 175
- Ferocity 100
Rune Bonuses
Superior Rune of the Wurm- Vitality: 25
- Ferocity: 35
- Vitality: 50
- Ferocity: 65
- Vitality: 100
- 7% of vitality is converted to ferocity.
Accessories & Jewels
- Power: 25
- Precision: 15
- Ferocity: 15
- Power: 25
- Precision: 15
- Ferocity: 15
- Power: 25
- Precision: 15
- Ferocity: 15
- Power: 25
- Precision: 15
- Ferocity: 15
- Power: 25
- Precision: 15
- Ferocity: 15
- Power: 25
- Precision: 15
- Ferocity: 15
Accessory Totals
- Power:545
- Precision:356
- Ferocity:377
- Toughness:30
Weapon Set Sigils
- Weapon Strength: 924-981
- Power: 120
- Precision: 85
- Ferocity: 85
- Weapon Strength: 814-900
- Power: 120
- Precision: 85
- Ferocity: 85
Weapon Set I
Sigil of Superior Force+5% damage.
Sigil of Superior BloodlustYou gain +10 power each time you kill a foe. (max 25 stacks and ends on down or weapon change)
- Weapon Strength: 985-1111
- Power: 239
- Precision: 171
- Ferocity: 171
- Weapon Strength: 0-0
Weapon Set II
Sigil of Superior EnergyYou gain 50% of your endurance when you swap to this weapon while in combat. (This effect cannot trigger more than once every 9s)
- Weapon Strength: 905-1000
- Power: 120
- Precision: 85
- Ferocity: 85
- Weapon Strength: 905-1000
- Power: 120
- Precision: 85
- Ferocity: 85
Water Weapon I
Sigil of Superior Force+5% damage.
Water Weapon II
Sigil of Superior Force+5% damage.
Upgrade Item Details
Consider the stat allocations on the armor and weapons a starting point. My build has gradually shifted as I've swapped in Ascended trinkets and other items. Personally, I enjoy a bit of extra HP (and Life Force), so I swap in Valkyrie armor and gemstones here and there.
V. Basic Gameplay
Open World
Dagger and Warhorn are your bread-and-butter weapons here. Initiate a fight with Dark Pact and your minions will begin attacking the affected target. Run in with them and use Locust Swarm, then begin using your combo attack. If there is a group of mobs, use the PBAoE of Locust Swarm to round them up and keep them close. Focus down one target at a time.
I've noticed that sometimes your Flesh Golem will hang back, if he does this just activate his minion skill to get him into the action.
If you get in over your head, sacrifice your Blood Fiend (Taste of Death) switch to Staff to increase your base damage rating, and enter death shroud immediately afterward. Start cycling Life Blast to build up might, then fire off Life Transfer. This should do a significant amount of PBAoE damage alongside your minions and Locust Swarm (if it is still up). Death Shroud will also pad your survivability against your Blood Fiend cooldown, so you can use him again almost immediately after returning to your normal weapons.
Another alternative escape (if you don't want to burn life force) is to swap to your staff and evade away. Then throw Reapers Mark under the enemy mobs, which should reset their aggro to the nearest minion once the fear wears off.
Dungeons
Keep the staff, but lose the Dagger and Warhorn. Swap for Axe/Focus with Sigils of Debility and Force. You'll be able to maintain a deep stack of vulnerability from reasonable range using the axe, in addition to providing Regeneration for your allies with the focus.
Switch your heal to Well of Blood. Then add Well of Suffering, Well of Darkness, and Signet of Undeath. Take Lich Form as your elite (it scales well with Power builds).
You are now the stacking king. Your wells will heal allies and damage, apply vulnerability, and blind enemies. Don't throw them down at the same time, make sure you spread them out so your allies can combo with them. Signet of Undeath will revive up to 3 downed allies (assuming you get the 3s cast off).
Main Skill Rotation
Dark Pact will aggro your minions to your target as you approach. Once in range, use Locust Swarm and start cutting with the dagger. If you start to take a little damage that your minions can't siphon-heal away, use Wail of Doom and Life Siphon to recover some HP and continue the fight. Repeat ad infinitum.
Death Shroud Escape Rotation
You can heal, swap to staff, evade, and then enter Death Shroud to pad your HP significantly while sustaining your damage output.
Staff Escape Rotation
If you don't have the life force and some minions are still alive, you can use this rotation to put some distance between yourself and the enemies. Not recommended against champions.
VI. Conclusion and Thanks!
I'm having a blast roaming around high level areas with nary a care in the world. My pack of undead monstrosities keeps me safe! I hope you do the same!
Thanks for reading the guide. It's my first one! I hope you enjoyed it!