Poisonous Summon Raging Spirit
Necromancer Build

Updated for Patch 3.22

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Recently, DOT Minion builds experienced a surge in popularity due to some major buffs, which resulted in Poisonous Minions being one of the most powerful choices for Necromancers. Raging Spirits are the Minions to be summoned in bulk - you can have up to 20 of them. They have only one basic Physical Melee Attack that doesn't have any inherent peculiarities, but with some Ghastly Abyss Jewels and the Severed in Sleep Sword, these Attacks will have a 100% chance to Poison on Hit. You will use other Minions as well, for Feeding Frenzy and other small bonuses. These are Specters, a Stone Golem, and Animated Guardian. The damage here comes from Passives, Items, Cluster Jewels, Skill Gems, and their level. The rest of the resources will be spent on the character to increase its defenses.

The build uses some expensive Unique and Rare Items such as The Covenant, Aul's Uprising, Aegis Aurora, and Amanamu's Gaze. It's definitely not cheap but compares better to other Necromancer Builds with its several millions of DPS. It can be also run on a budget with minimal investment, but that, of course, means much worse performance. Raging Spirits are short-lived as these will last for around 12 seconds. Cast Speed is not important for this build, there are other matters to focus on, so using Unleash Support will be mandatory to reach the 20 Minion Limit. However, Haste Aura for Cast Speed for the character, and Attack Speed for Minions will be very useful. For defenses, it uses mostly a big pool of Maximum Life, around 4 to 5k of it, very high Spell and Attack Block Chance, Life Regeneration, Spell Suppression, and Armour.

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1. Gameplay

As a Necromancer, you won't rely solely on Raging Spirits. Use Stone Golem to regenerate Life, Spectre, and Animated Guardian for various bonuses such as Proximity Shield, Feeding Frenzy, and Meat Shield. To actively boost stats use Despair Curse for added Chaos Damage, Bone Offering for Block Chance, and Desecrate to create Corpses. These will be cast with a single Arcanist Brand. For a guard Spell use Bone Armour, and for a movement Skill - Flame Dash. For Auras, we recommend Envy (from Item), Determination, Tempest Shield, and Vitality. Haste will be cast off-charge via Aul's Uprising. Malevolence is a temporary Aura activated with Divine Blessing.

Full gameplay video:

2. Build's PROS & CONS

3. Leveling tips

Pick the Summon Raging Spirit Skill Gem at the start of the first act and use it throughout the rest of the game. You won't be able to easily cause Poison at the start, so focus on other types of damage. Minion Instability is a great option, Minions will explode when low on Life, dealing Fire Damage based on their Maximum Life. It can be combined with Tavukai Amulet or Infernal Legion Support Gem. Don't allocate it if you want your Minions alive to deal Physical Damage with Hits. Use Triad Grip Gloves at level 32 to Convert Minions' Damage to an Elemental type, or keep the Physical type. Whichever type of damage you select it should be easy to level up a Minion Build, just be sure to use Zombies and Spectres alongside your Raging Spirits. You can use Auras like Pride, Anger, Hatred, or Wrath to boost the respective damage type, and Curses such as Vulnerability, Flammability, Frostbite, or Conductivity. At level 38 you can start specializing in Poison with Severed in Sleep Sword, and from this point, forming the proper end-game version of the build.

Suggested leveling Gem setups:

Summon Raging Spirit setup
	Summon Raging Spirit - Summons Raging Spirits Minions to deal Physical Damage.
	Raise Zombie - Zombies can be socketed in this setup too to benefit from similar Support Gems.
	Melee Splash Support - Melee Attack deals Splash Area Damage.
	Minion Damage Support - More Damage but less Maximum Life for Minions.
	Multistrike Support - The Attack is repeated additional times resulting in more DPS.
	Unleash Support - Summoning Raging Spirits is faster, you won't have much Cast Speed.

Other Skills
	Vitality - Regenerates your Life over Time.
	Clarity - Regenerates your Mana over Time.
	Steelskin - Guard Speel you can use before Bone Armour, it mitigates damage and stops bleeding.

Bandits:

Kill all three Bandits for two additional Skill Points

Leveling Skill Trees:

31 Points Skill Tree
Go for Maximum Life, Minion Life, Damage, and optionally Minion Instability Keystone

64 Points Skill Tree
Allocate Glancing Blows and take Mystic Bulwark, get more maximum Life, and some more Minion nodes

Recommended leveling items:

Tavukai - This Amulet can be used to upgrade your Raging Spirits, but be careful, these will die quickly with no Chaos Resistance, which is not necessarily a bad thing if you want them to Explode.

Regenerate (2-4) Life per second +(30-40) to Intelligence Minions have +(-17-17)% to Chaos Resistance Summon Raging Spirit has (20-30)% increased Duration Summoned Raging Spirits deal (25-40)% increased Damage Summoned Raging Spirits have (25-40)% increased maximum Life Summoned Raging Spirits take 20% of their Maximum Life per second as Chaos Damage

Replica Bones of Ullr - Boots that make your Raging Spirits last longer during boss Fights.

(40-60)% increased Energy Shield +20 to maximum Life +20 to maximum Mana (5-15)% increased Movement Speed Summoned Phantasms have 10% chance to refresh their Duration when they Hit a Unique Enemy Summoned Raging Spirits have 10% chance to refresh their Duration when they Hit a Unique Enemy

Le Heup of All - Overall great leveling Ring with tons of Attributes and Resistances.

Adds 1 to 4 Physical Damage to Attacks +(10-30) to all Attributes (10-30)% increased Damage (10-30)% increased Rarity of Items found +(10-30)% to all Elemental Resistances

Replica Midnight Bargain - You can use one or two of these Weapons to be able to have much more Raging Spirits active at once. A very powerful weapon, but has nothing to do with Poison.

(22-26)% increased Spell Damage +(10-20) to Intelligence Minions have (40-50)% increased Movement Speed Minions deal (50-70)% increased Damage +6 to maximum number of Raging Spirits +3 to maximum number of Summoned Phantasms Reserves 30% of Life Cannot be used with Chaos Inoculation

Severed in Sleep - If you want to start poisoning early on, you can equip this Sword at level 38.

40% increased Global Accuracy Rating +(10-20) to all Attributes Minions deal (20-30)% increased Damage Minions have +17% to Chaos Resistance Minions have 60% chance to Poison Enemies on Hit Minions Recover 20% of Life on Killing a Poisoned Enemy

Goldrim - Goldrim is excellent for leveling due to its Elemental Resistances.
+(30-50) to Evasion Rating 10% increased Rarity of Items found +(30-40)% to all Elemental Resistances Reflects 4 Physical Damage to Melee Attackers Level Requirement reduced by 100 (Hidden)

Tabula Rasa - Allows you to link six Gems from level one.

Item has no level requirement and Energy Shield (Hidden) Item has 6 White Sockets and is fully linked (Hidden)

4. Final Skill Tree, Ascendancy Points, and Pantheon

Final Skill Tree:

109 Points Final Skill Tree (doesn't include Cluster Jewels)
123 Points Path of Building (PoB) link
 

Ascendancy points:

Preferably in that order:

1. Mindless Aggression
2. Bone Barrier
3. Commander of Darkness
4. Mistress of Sacrifice

Pantheon:

Major God: Soul of Lunaris: 1% additional Physical Damage Reduction for each nearby Enemy, up to 8%; 1% increased Movement Speed for each nearby Enemy, up to 8%

Minor God: Soul of Gruthkul: 1% additional Physical Damage Reduction for each Hit you've taken Recently up to a maximum of 5%

5. Final Gems links

[DPS] Summon Raging Spirits setup socketed in The Covenant
	Summon Raging Spirit - The core ability, It summons Minions that Attack an enemy repeatedly, Poisoning it.
	Unbound Ailments Support - Poison lasts much longer and deals more Damage.
	Minion Damage Support - Minions deal more Damage but have less Maximum Life.
	Unleash Support - You can store up charges and release up to four Raging Spirits at once with the awakened version of this Gem, great with low Cast Speed.
	Withering Touch Support - Minions deal extra Chaos Damage sourced from Physical Damage and apply stacking Withered debuff on Hit to deal more Chaos Damage, which includes Poison.
	Melee Splash Support - Attacks have a large area of effect for better clearing. For bossing, switch to  Multistrike Support.
Support Gems from The Covenant:
	Added Chaos Damage Support - Extra 7th Support Gem for added Chaos Damage, which results in more Poison Damage.

[DPS] Auras setup
	Determination - Adds and Increases Armour for more Physical Damage mitigation.
	Vitality - Steadily recovers your Life, as you can't leech it.
	Tempest Shield - Is used mostly for its high Block Chance, but it can also Shock enemies.
	Enlighten Support - Increases Mana Reservation Efficiency for all linked Skills.

[UTILITY] Arcanist Brand setup
	Arcanist Brand - It's used to Cast three Spells with just one key, it sticks to an enemy.
	Despair - Cursed enemies take extra Chaos Damage.
	Bone Offering - Grants you a lot of Block Chance due to the Mistress of Sacrifice.
	Desecrate - Creates Corpses you can consume with Bone Offering.

[UTILITY] Other Minions
	Raise Spectre - Spectres have many functions, you can pick ones for extra Charges or a Proximity Shield.
	Animate Guardian - You can equip Guardian with various Items to have Fortify and other such bonuses, that is if you can afford Items for it.
	Minion Life Support - Increases Minions' Life and lowers their Damage.
	Meat Shield Support - Minions in this setup will stay close to you and take less damage, increasing survivability not only for themselves but also for your character.

[UTILITY] Stone Golem setup
	Summon Stone Golem - Stone Golem regenerates your Life much like Vitality Aura.
	Feeding Frenzy Support - Golem has a chance to grant Feeding Frenzy buff on Hit, increasing Damage, Attack, and Movement Speed for other Minions.

[UTILITY] Malevolence setup
	Malevolence - An Aura that increases Damage over Time taken by nearby enemies, Poison in this case.
	Divine Blessing Support - You won't need this extra Damage for clearing, activate the aura against tough enemies with Divine Blessing, it won't reserve Mana this way.

[MOBILITY] Flame Dash
	Flame Dash - A basic mobility Skill that teleports you over a short distance.

[UTILITY] Haste
	Haste - Use Haste with Aul's Uprising, but if you don't have it cast the Vaal variant from time to time instead. It increases Attack, Cast, and Movement Speed for you and your Minions.

6. Gear Setup

There are some Unique Items that are nearly necessary, some of them expensive. To make this build work, the bare minimum is achieving a 100% chance of Poisoning for Minions, which is easy. Severed in Sleep provides 60% of it, and this weapon is cheap. The rest 40% can be acquired from three Ghastly Abyss Jewels, or two if socketed in Darkness Enthroned. For more Damage, seek modifiers to Minions' Attack Speed, Damage, and Gem Level of Raging Spirits. Damage over Time or Poison Damage would be the preferred damage type but added Chaos or Physical Damage is also great as these can affect Poison. For survivability, go for Maximum Life, Resistances, Spell Suppression, Block Chance, and Armour. You will need 155 Strength, Dexterity, and Intelligence, which might be hard to get.

Our recommended items will:

1. Cap your resistances at 75%
2. Provide you with enough DPS and Life to start mapping

(Helmet) Rare Helmet - The primary role of a Helmet is to grant you +2 to the Level of all Minion Skill Gems. Add to that some Maximum Life, Elemental Resistances, and Attributes or Spell Suppression.

Min. requirements: +2 to Level of all Minion Skill Gems +70 to maximum Life Optional affixes: Elemental Resistances Spell Suppression Chance Attributes

Helmet enchantments: Summon Raging Spirit has 18% chance to summon an extra Minion 150% increased Effect of the Buff granted by your Stone Golems

(Weapon) Severed in Sleep - This weapon grants a 60% chance to Poison Enemies on Hit for Minions, inflicts Wither debuff, and gets you the Envy Skill that adds extra Chaos Damage to Minions' Attacks.

40% increased Global Accuracy Rating Grants Level 25 Envy Skill Minions have +29% to Chaos Resistance Minions have 60% chance to inflict Withered on Hit Minions have +5% to Critical Strike Multiplier per Withered Debuff on Enemy

(Shield) Rare Fossilised Spirit Shield - A Shield is used mostly for Maximum Life, Elemental Resistances, and increased Damage for Minions that can be found on a Fossilised Spirit Shield only.

Min. requirements: +100 to maximum Life Minions deal 100% increased Damage Optional affixes: Chance to Block Elemental Resistances +#% to all maximum Resistances Attributes

(Shield) Aegis Aurora - Note that with Eldritch Battery your Energy Shield is used only for Mana, so Aegis Aurora's recovery will help you only with Mana Sustain, unless you've allocated Mind Over Matter Keystone. It grants some Armour and 5% to maximum Cold Resistance, which is a lot.

(300-400)% increased Armour and Energy Shield +10% to all Elemental Resistances +5% to maximum Cold Resistance +6% Chance to Block Recover Energy Shield equal to 2% of Armour when you Block (10-20)% increased Elemental Damage with Attack Skills

(Body Armour) Rare Body Armour - Rare Body Armour offers solid defensive bonuses like tons of Life, Resistances, Spell Suppression, and increased effect of Offerings for more Block Chance.

Min. requirements: +80 to Maximum Life #% increased effect of Offerings Optional affixes: Elemental Resistances #% increased maximum Life Spell Suppression Chance Attributes

(Body Armour) The Covenant - The recommended Body Armour, it provides a very useful 7th Support Gem, slightly increases Maximum Life, and that's it. You will need a somewhat high Life Regeneration with this Armour to sustain Life drain.

Socketed Gems are Supported by Level 29 Added Chaos Damage Skills gain a Base Life Cost equal to 100% of Base Mana Cost +(20-30) to Intelligence (210-250)% increased Energy Shield 10% increased maximum Life

(Boots) Rara Boots - Boots are very basic, just get the Movement Speed, Resistances, and Maximum Life.

Min. requirements: +70 to Maximum Life +70% to Elemental Resistances +25% increased Movement Speed Optional affixes: Spell Suppression Chance Cannot be Frozen Chaos Resistance Attributes

(Gloves) Rare Gloves - Gloves are simple too, seek the basic defensive modifiers and a specific Redeemer's Prefix if you need more Damage.

Min. requirements: +80 to Maximum Life +60% to Elemental Resistances Optional affixes: Minions deal #% increased Damage Spell Suppression Chance Chaos Resistance Attributes

(Belt) Darkness Enthroned - This Belt is very good given you have two good Ghastly Abyss Jewels, which you should. Put your best ones here, but not the Unique.

Has 2 Abyssal Socket 75% increased Effect of Socketed Abyss Jewels

(Amulet) Aul's Uprising - This Amulet allows you to have Haste Aura up at all times at no cost. If you don't use it, go for Vaal Haste instead. It also grants a lot of Maximum Life and Attributes. You could also get a version with free Envy Skill instead of Haste.

+(10-16) to all Attributes +(20-30) to Dexterity (15-20)% increased Evasion Rating +(100-120) to maximum Life Nearby Enemies grant 25% increased Flask Charges Monster gives 25% increased Flask Charges on death (Hidden) Haste has no Reservation

(Amulet) Uul-Netol's Vow - If you want the 8th Support Gem, go for this Amulet - this way you won't have to swap Multistrike with Melee Splash. It grants not much else, and it'd be optimistic to assume the presence of any positive Resistances here.

Has 1 Socket Socketed Support Gems can also Support Skills from your Body Armour +(-30-30)% to Fire Resistance +(-30-30)% to Cold Resistance +(-30-30)% to Lightning Resistance +(-23-23)% to Chaos Resistance

(Amulet) The Jinxed Juju - It upgrades your Envy, Haste, and Malevolence Aura, all of which are very important. The extra layers of protection are great additions.

+(16-24) to Strength and Dexterity +(30-40) to Intelligence +(23-31)% to Chaos Resistance (10-15)% increased effect of Non-Curse Auras from your Skills 10% of Damage from Hits is taken from your Spectres' Life before you

(Amulet) Rare Amulet - Rare Amulet is a well-balanced option, it can fix your Resistances and Attributes, grants extra Gem Levels for Raging Spirits, and increases Mana Reservation Efficiency for all or specific Auras.

Min. requirements: +40 Maximum Life +50% to Elemental Resistances +1 to Level of all Skill/Fire Skill Gems Optional affixes: Attributes +1 to Level of all/Fire Skill Gems Mana Reservation Efficiency Chaos Resistance increased Mana Reservation Efficiency of Skills

Recommended Anointments: Charisma Ravenous Horde Inveterate

(Ring) Rare Ring - Bone Rings are great for most Minion Builds, you can increase their damage or survivability this way. On regular Rings seek Resistances, Life, and Attributes.

Min. requirements: +70 to Maximum Life +50% to Total Elemental Resistances Minions 30% Deal increased Damage Optional affixes: Minions have #% increased Movement Speed Minions have #% increased Maximum Life Non-Channelling Skills have -# to Total Mana Cost Attributes

(Jewel) Rare Ghastly Abyss Jewels - These are very important. First, get the remaining Chance to Poison, then increase your Minions' Damage by other various modifiers. "Minions deal #% increased Damage if you've used a Minion Skill Recently" would be the best one. You should have at least 5 of them in your build.

Min. requirements: +30 to maximum Life Minions have 15% chance to Poison Enemies on Hit (until reaching 100%) Optional affixes: Minions deal #% increased Damage if you've used a Minion Skill Recently Minions deal # additional Chaos Damage Minions have #% increased Attack Speed

(Jewel) Amanamu's Gaze - It massively increases Poison Damage for Minions so you should get it at some point. It is quite expensive.

+(5-10) to all Attributes Minions have +6% to Damage over Time Multiplier per Ghastly Eye Jewel affecting you, up to a maximum of +30%

(Jewel) The Green Nightmare - Near Eternal Youth there's some Cold Resistance for a 12% Spell Suppression Chance and a 24% Chance to gain a Frenzy Charge on Kill. It allows you to reach 100% Spell Suppression Chance with the right gear.

Gain 5% of Cold Damage as Extra Chaos Damage Passives granting Cold Resistance or all Elemental Resistances in Radius also grant Chance to Suppress Spell Damage at 50% of its value Passives granting Cold Resistance or all Elemental Resistances in Radius also grant an equal chance to gain a Frenzy Charge on Kill

(Jewel) Large Cluster Jewels - Call to the Slaughter is excellent to improve your Minions' Damage and mobility, Renewal is great to keep Minions alive for longer.

Recommended affixes: 1 Added Passive Skill is Feasting Fiends 1 Added Passive Skill is Call to the Slaughter 1 Added Passive Skill is Renewal

(Flask) Rumi's Concoction - Reaching a 75% Block Chance for Spells and Attacks could be possible with this Flask.

+1500 to Armour +(8-12)% Chance to Block Attack Damage during Flask effect +(4-6)% Chance to Block Spell Damage during Flask effect

Other suggested Flasks: Alchemist's Quicksilver or Amethyst Flask of Adrenaline Quartz Flask with Bleeding immunity/removal Life Flask with random ailment removal Basalt Flask with a Suffix for increased Armour

If you have any other build requests please leave that in the comments below. We are always open to suggestions and constructive feedback.

Pictures used in this article are the intellectual property of Grinding Gear Games.