Intro

This is a zero budget, league start and hardcore viable build guide designed for all players veteran and new. If you’re a seasoned player and just want the POB link, you can find it below. If you require a more detailed guide then read on!

Videos

Changelog

v3.01 – 15/01/2021

• Updated tree and Path of Building for 3.13 (Ritual)
• Updated POB
• Everything A-OK with this build for ritual and echoes.

v3.0 – 18/09/2020

• Updated tree and Path of Building for 3.12 (Heist)
• Added section for alternate gem quality

v2.01 – 22/06/2020

• If you’re having issues with getting the army out quickly, try Melee Splash instead of Fortify or Maim or Brutality. Awakened Melee Splash is cheap too.
• Beware Baran and his mobs! They will make your minions appear to be made of paper.
• Spectres are proving to be quite the liability and you’ll do fine without them. Try carrion golem or stone golem

v2.0 – 18/06/2020

• Guide overhauled for 3.11 (Harvest League), including:
  • Updated tree (and leveling trees)
  • Added cluster jewels
  • Updated with new warcry skills

v1.0 – 11/03/2020

• Guide Published

Overview

The written portion of this build guide is designed for new players who feel like they need some hand holding. As such some things that veteran players and experienced racers might do in the early levels have been left out as to not be too complicated. That being said, this should still be a smooth and quick leveling experience.

This build is a little more advanced than the other build guides, involves more important gems and a bit of balancing man reservations and such. We have done our best to cover this but if it is your VERY FIRST league I would suggest running one of the other guides rather than this one.

Path of Building

Not sure how to use Path of Building, or what it is? Engineering Eternity has a brilliant guide that you can check out here https://exiledguides.com/home/poe-tools/path-of-building/

Pastebin Import: 3.13 POB

Gem Setup

Main Skills: Herald of Purity & Dominating Blow

• Herald of Purity – Brutality Support– Multistrike Support – Melee Physical Damage Support– (Minion Damage from the helmet)
• Dominating Blow – Multistrike Support – Brutality Support – Fortify Support – Feeding Frenzy Support – Maim Support or Melee Splash (optional)

4 Link: Support Spectres

• Raise Spectre – Elemental Army Support – Blood Magic Support – Meat Shield Support

Other skill gems:

• Tempest Shield (level 8) – Cast when Damage Taken Support (level 2) – Vaal Molten Shell (level 10)
• War Banner / Vulnerability / Convocation
• Flame Dash / Summon Holy Relic / Summon Skitterbots / Rallying Cry or Enduring Cry (depending on whether you want offense or defense)

Alternate Gem Quality

• Herald of Purity – Alt quality 2. Summoned Sentinels have 20% increased Cooldown Recovery Rate
• Dominating Blow – Alt quality 2. Summoned Sentinels have 20% increased Cooldown Recovery Rate
• Dominating Blow – Alt quality 3. Maximum 2 Summoned Normal Sentinels of Dominance
• Feeding Frenzy Support – Alt quality 2. Supported Skills have 10% increased Minion Movement Speed
• Summon Skitterbots – Alt quality 2. Minions have 10% increased Effect of non-Damaging Ailments on Enemies
• Vulnerability – Alt quality 1. 10% increased Effect of Curse
• Melee Splash Support – Alt quality 2. Supported Skills deal 40% more Damage to surrounding targets

Leveling

There are some good general leveling guides that can be found here for specifics on how to get through the acts: https://exiledguides.com/home/beginner-guides/leveling-guides/ 

Act 1

Got	Gem	Source	Quest
	Smite	Reward	Enemy at the Gate
	Frost Blink	Reward	Breaking Some Eggs
	Summon Holy Relic	Reward	Mercy Mission
	Ancestral Call Support	Nessa	Mercy Mission
	Raise Zombie	Nessa	Enemy at the Gate
	Added Fire Damage Support	Reward	The Caged Brute
	Flame Dash	Reward	The Caged Brute
	Minion Damage Support	Nessa	The Caged Brute

After killing Hillock, choose Smite as the quest reward. While this isn’t specifically a minion skill,  it will be used from here until level 28 to supplement our minions.  Remember you’ll need to use melee weapons with this skill (sceptres are the best option).

Check Tarkleigh for movement speed boots (you can use the search function at the bottom right of the trade window with Ctrl+F and type “move” to search his inventory quickly – this will highlight anything with movement speed).

As we move through the first act, keep an eye out for 3-links dropped on the ground (or from the vendors in town) with the colours Blue – Blue – Red. These links can be in any gear slot, though we try to avoid wearing body armour if possible for the first few acts (for speed), and we do prioritize movement speed on boots ahead of sockets or links.

After completing the quests ‘Mercy Mission’ and ‘Breaking Some Eggs’, return to town at the next way point. Pick up Frost Blink and Summon Raging Spirit as your quest rewards, along with a Quicksilver Flask. Purchase Ancestral Call Support and link it to Smite, this will increase our clear speed by way of making us not have to walk up beisde mobs to smack them for the Smite buff. *Note if you find smite to be annoying its not a huge disadvantage to just drop it, as we are mostly using it for the buff it adds to our minions for extra damage.

If you have a spare Scroll of Wisdom, also buy a Raise Zombie from Nessa. Our Zombies may die occasionally at this point, but as we invest more points into minion life regeneration and level the skill gem, they will become tougher and stop dying.

Once you’ve killed Brutus, select Flame Dash as your quest reward. Don’t forget to left click Flame Dash on your bar and set it to ‘always attack without moving‘ (This replaces Frost Blink)

Buy two Minion Damage Support gems from Nessa and link these to your Raise Zombies and Summon Raging Spirits. Also buy a Melee Splash Support for the Summon Raging Spirits.

Note: Zombies have a built in AOE slam which means we don’t require Melee Splash for good clear.  And would prefer to give them minion speed or minion life or melee physical from act 2.

Complete the passive point quest ‘The Marooned Mariner’ (in the Ship Graveyard). Grab the way point in the Cavern of Wrath and kill Merveil!

Gem links at the end of Act 1:

• Raise Zombie – Minion Damage Support
• Smite – Ancestral Call Support
• Flame Dash
• Summon Raging Spirit – Minion Damage Support – Melee Splash Support

Act 2

Got	Gem	Source	Quest
	Herald of Purity	Reward	Intruders in Black
	Melee Physical Damage Support	Reward	Sharp and Cruel
	Minion Speed Support	Yeena	Sharp and Cruel

In this build we Kill all the Bandits for the 2 passive skill point reward. If you haven’t already got a 3-link item with the colours is Red – Blue – Blue, make sure you’re watching out for these, as we’ll need them later this act.

Once you’ve completed ‘Intruders in Black’ (in the Chamber of Sins), Gruest will reward you with Herald of Purity. This will be our main single target damage sorce eventually but we will not start activly using it untill we get Dominating Blow later on, so for now just level this somewere.

Once you complete the quest ‘Sharp and Cruel’, choose Melee Physical Damage Support as your reward and link it to your Raise Zombie gem. At this point you can also purchase a spare Melee Physical Damage Support gem (for the next act). Alternativly you could use a Minion Speed Support in your Zombie links if you feel the damage is already good but want it faster, i personally prefer Minion Speed but its up to you.

Ideally by the end of this act we have links for our damage abilities, along with other things:

• Raise Zombie – Minion Damage Support – Melee Physical Damage Support
• Summon Raging Spirits – Minion Damage Support – Melee Splash
• Smite – Ancestral Call Support
• Flame Dash

Act 3

Got	Gem	Source	Quest
	Feeding Frenzy Support	Reward	Fixture of Fate
	Fortify Support	Vendor	Fixture of Fate
	Summon Skitterbots	Vendor	Fixture of Fate
	Maim Support	Vendor	Fixture of Fate

Kill General Gravicius and complete ‘Sever the Right Hand’ to receive Dominating Blow.

Very soon, Dominating Blow will replace Smite and Summon Raging Spirits and should be in at least a 3 link, Red – Red – Blue. Most builds do not bother to do the library quest ‘A Fixture of Fate’ – however, a Templar minion build benefits from the ability to buy every gem this early, so don’t skip this quest! (It’s the one where Siosa asks you to find four golden pages).

After completing A Fixture of Fate, select Feeding Frenzy Support as your reward and purchase Fortify Support , Maim Support and Summon Skitterbots from Siosa.

TIP: unlike most other vendors, you’ll need to have the currency in your inventory to buy things from Siosa, as he has no access to your stash – so it’s useful to have the currency on you when you go to do the quest. There is a waypoint very close to the vendor, however. At the time of writing, Fortify costs 1 Chance Orb and Maim costs 1 Orb of Transmutation.

From this point out we are looking for 4-link items for our Dominating Blow, and (depending on your mana) Herald of Purity. Once we have both of these in 4-links, we can drop our Zombies. The links we are after for both of these are 3 Red – 1 Blue

*Note: Depending on your luck with flat mana you may not be able to afford to use Maim in the Herald of Purity setup. If this is the case, continue with just a 3-link for that skill until we pick up some mana reservation nodes.

**Note: This is also where our playstyle changes to what it will be forever. As we drop SRS In favor of using Dominating Blow and Herald of Purity. This is where the build starts to feel like itself, and really begins to pick up.

The ideal links here will list what you can change into once you have two 4-links.

• Dominating Blow – Feeding Frenzy Support – Melee Physical Damage Support – Fortify Support
• Herald of Purity – Melee Physical Damage Support – Minion Damage Support – Maim (If your mana allows, otherwise leave off maim)
• Raise Zombie – Minion Damage Support – Minion Speed Support (If you still have space)
• Flame Dash / Summon Skitterbots

Act 4

Got	Gem	Source	Quest
	Multistrike Support	Reward	The Eternal Nightmare

During Act 4, we unlock Multistrike Support. This is the last big gem setup change for a while. We should keep this gem and level it somewhere in our gear, as we cannot afford to use it till the end of act 5 – but it will be a massive damage increase at that point!

Complete your Normal Labyrinth and ascend to Guardian during this act (generally the best time to do this will be after killing Kaom and Daresso but before killing Malachai). Take Radiant Crusade While there is at least one nearby Ally, you and nearby Allies deal 10% more Damage
While there are at least five nearby Allies, you and nearby Allies have Onslaught
+20% to all Elemental Resistances with your first ascendancy points. 

This will be a very noticeable increase in power, as well as improving the survivability of your minions. This should also allow us to retain our zombies for the next few acts without a problem,  though we will eventually drop them so don’t get too attached!

From this point on you should only hold onto Raise Zombies until the gem links become to much to handle. Simply drop them whenever you need gem space, as they are not part of the end game build and we will eventually not have room for them at all.  When you complete the quest ‘The Eternal Nightmare’, select Multistrike Support as your reward and begin levelling it.

Ideal gem setup at end of Act 4:

• Dominating Blow – Feeding Frenzy Support – Multistrike Support – Fortify Support
• Herald of Purity – Melee Physical Damage Support – Minion Damage Support
• Flame Dash / Summon Skitterbots

Act 5

It is important to note that helmets can roll +1 (and later on +2) to the level of socketed minion gems. So from this point on we should pay extra attention to 4-link helmets that might fit our Herald of Purity colours, as we get mana reservation this act and can now 4-link our Purity. (Minions scale exceptionally well with extra levels so gaining an extra level for Herald of Purity is invaluable.)

Ideal gem setup at end of Act 5:

• Dominating Blow – Feeding Frenzy Support – Multistrike Support – Fortify Support
• Herald of Purity – Melee Physical Damage Support – Minion Damage Support – Multistrike Support
• Flame Dash / Holy Relic / Summon Skitterbots

Act 6

Be sure to complete Fallen from Grace here – Lily sells all the same gems as Siosa, but you don’t need the currency in your inventory, making it far more convenient.

Act 7

Keep progressing through the quests, improving your gear along the way, and follow the passive tree. Keep an eye out for linked gear with the right colours if you are missing any. During this act we get the instant warcry keystone. This allows you to pick either an offensive or defensive warcry. Eventually (in mid to late maps) you will want Rallying Cry as an offensive tool, but while leveling if you feel you want more defense you can go with Enduring Cry. This will just be a single link, and should be bound to left click so that it happens automatically as you walk around. You never need to think about the warcry as an active skill, as the keystone turns this into a passive buff.

Act 8

Nothing changes here – again, keep an eye out for any left-over socket links that you’re missing, and start looking out for decent life/resist gear as we move closer to maps. Be on the lookout for a 5-link chest piece as well.

Complete the Cruel Labyrinth at some point during this act, and choose Unwavering Crusade Nearby Allies deal 30% increased Damage
Nearby Allies have 15% increased Attack, Cast and Movement Speed
Nearby Allies have 30% increased Area of Effect
Nearby Allies Intimidate Enemies for 4 seconds on Hit
Nearby Allies Unnerve Enemies for 4 seconds on Hit with your second ascendancy points. This is once again a massive buff to both our damage and clear speed.

Act 9

At this point, make sure you’ve completed any passive point side bosses you may have missed or skipped. Keep an eye out for map worthy gear upgrades, especially jewellery.

One of the first uniques we want for this build is a unique ring, called Circle of Guilt. So, if possible, aim to have a single ring that you can drop and still be resistance capped. (The unique ring will not be available on day 1, but should start showing up regularly on trade from about day 3 onwards..)

Act 10

By the end of this act, we can get away with a 4-link chest – however we will need to find or buy a 5- or 6-link eventually. (A Tabula Rasa is fine to start with.)

This is our last chance to fix up resistances, so keep an eye out for more gear. Important stats are:

• higher movement speed boots
• elemental resistances
• life

If we happen to come across an additional 4-link item during this act, we can start using support spectres. (Don’t go out of your way looking for the item, as you’ll almost definitely find one in early maps.) If you happen to get the full 4-link you will raise Carnage Chieftain Spectres, which grant you and your allies frenzy charges. These can be found in The Ashen Fields in Act 7.

Do not bother with this until you have the correct 4-link set up though, as the spectres will not survive long enough (or use their frenzy charge skill often enough) without the proper links: Raise Spectre – Elemental Army Support – Blood Magic Support – Meat Shield Support

Somewhere during Yellow map progression, these specters begin to start dying regularly, this means we need to either drop them completely or replace them with some useful tanky specters. My Suggestions are Arena Master specters (bangers), a Drox (yellow) influence map only minion who is actually tanker than we are. These can be found in any Drox map, they will only spawn from the portals that the Drox minions spawn out of. If you are interested in the second kind of specter (So we can use 1 of each). My suggestion is ‘They of Tul’ who are not named in game, but are any rare mob from a Tul breach in a map, or a Tul Breachstone. These put out big swirly area of effect around them they give us dodge chance and reduced damage taken.

Complete the Merciless Labyrinth and choose Bastion of Hope before killing Kitava. This should increase our survivability due to the spell block and block chance. At this point, if you haven’t already, you’ll want to equip a shield in your off-hand. A great unique choice that is often cheap is Ahn’s Heritage – it can also provide additional maximum resistances. We will be replacing this with an Armour base shield that gives % of life on block (a Shaper mod) when one becomes available, however.

Make sure to check and fix your resistances, then proceed to maps and the end game story line!