Important Tree Nodes

The best ascendancy order is Commander of Darkness, Mindless Aggression, Bone Barrier, and Unnatural Strength. The legacy Anima Stone jewel is helpful if you play standard because it allows you to summon an extra golem. The Dead Reckoning jewel is also a legacy jewel that can be used in standard to make Summon Skeletons summon skeleton mages without the Summon Skeletons of Mages transfigured gem. Also make sure you don't pick up all of the minion chaos resistance nodes with the recommended Fleshcrafter body armour or you'll unsuccessfully try to summon minions with no life. This happens because the Fleshcrafter body armour converts a portion of your minions' life to energy shield based off of how much chaos resistances your minions have. The Reservation Mastery is also important so that you can use the recommended reservation skill. Make sure and take all of the nearby increased minion damage nodes and as many of the nearby life percent nodes as you can for survival.

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Defensive Layers

The Commander of Darkness ascendancy makes raising you, your minions, and your allies elemental resistances much easier by giving 30% increased elemental resistances along with 30% increased damage, and 3% increased attack and cast speed for each aura skill. With the Bone Barrier ascendancy you will also have 10% physical damage reduction, 1% of damage dealt by your minions is leeched to you as life, and your minions will have 40% of maximum life as extra maximum energy shield. You will also have an army of minions to take the damage for you and the strong defensive advantage of using a shield.

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Gems

 

Weapon (3-link)

Raise Spectre​

Feeding Frenzy Support

Culling Strike Support

 

Shield (3-link)

Steelskin

Empower Support

Precision

 

Armour (6-link)

Vaal Summon Skeletons of Mages

Awakened Minion Damage Support

Awakened Spell Echo Support

Awakened Elemental Focus Support

Volley Support

Minion Speed Support

 

Helmet (4-link)

Grace

Discipline

Dread Banner

Enlighten Support

 

Gloves (4-link)

Summon Lightning Golem of the Hordes

Summon Carrion Golem

Awakened Minion Damage Support

Minion Speed Support

 

Boots (4-link)

Raise Zombie Of Slamming

Empower Support

Minion Life Support

Summon Phantasm Support

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Reservation Skills

Hatred is the recommended offensive aura because it increases the damage of your physical minions including the physical minions from Vaal Summon Skeletons. Discipline should be used as a defensive aura to give energy shield and increased energy shield recharge rate to you and your minions. Discipline also helps your minions ignore the elemental resistances of enemies while they have energy shield with the recommended Fleshcrafter body armour. Precision is also selected to increase the critical strike chance and accuracy of your minions and can be used once you have the increased mana reservation efficiency from the Reservation Mastery and a level 4 Enlighten Support to lower the mana reservation cost of your skills.

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Gems Notes​

1. Steelskin is the best guard skill for this build because Immortal Call requires you to use potions more often and Molten Shell requires very high armour to be effective.

2. Summon Lightning Golem of the Hordes allows you to summon more Lightning Golems which gives more lightning damage auras for your minions' attacks and spells.

3. Raise Zombie of Slamming does more damage than Raise Zombie and should be used if you have enough minion defenses to keep your zombies alive. It's also recommended that you link a Minion Life Support and a level 4 Empower Support to your Raise Zombie of Slamming to increase their damage and greatly improve their survivability.

4. If you would like to try another summoner build that has about the same capability as the Vaal Mage Skeleton Summoner Necromancer you can also check out the Golem Summoner Elementalist guide here Golem Summoner Elementalist Guide.

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Equipment

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Weapon

Rare Wand

Look for +1 to level of all minion skill gems, +1 to level of all spell skill gems if you can afford it, increased minion damage, increased minion attack and cast speed, and optionally minions have a chance to deal double damage.

 

Shield

Rare Minion Shield

Look for life, +1 to level of all minion skill gems, increased minion damage, increased minion life, and resistances.

 

Armour

Fleshcrafter

Makes your minions ignore the elemental resistances of enemies as long as your minions have energy shields, converts 2% of your minions' life to energy shield for every 1% chaos resistance they have, and gives your minions up to a 100% faster start of their energy shield recharge. You can also look for a +2 to level of socketed minion gems corruption once you can afford it. 

 

Helmet

Rare Bone Helmet

Look for +2 to level of all minion skill gems, life, energy shield, +1 to maximum number of Zombies/+1 to maximum number of Skeletons, and resistances. Bone Helmets have a 20% increased minion damage implicit. Legacy Bone Helmets are an option in standard and can have up to 40% increased minion damage. An energy shield base minion helmet is also a very strong option.

 

Belt

Stygian Vise

Look for high life, life percent, strength, energy shield, resistances, and an abyssal socket. You should also use 20 Fertile Catalysts on the belt to increase its life bonus.

Abyss Jewel

Look for life, energy shield, increased minion attack/cast speed, and chance for minions to blind on hit.

 

Gloves

Rare Gloves

Look for gloves with increased minion damage, life, resistances, and if you can afford it +2 to level of socketed minion gems. You can purchase boots with a +2 to level of socketed minion gems fracture and use Deafening Essence of Fear for increased minion damage until you get the gloves you want. You should also use Eldritch Embers and Eldritch Ichors to roll increased minion damage and chance to suppress spell damage.

 

Boots

Rare Boots

Look for +2 to level of socketed minion gems, high life, strength or dexterity, spell suppression, a resistance, and movement speed. You can purchase a +2 to level of socketed minion gems fracture and use essences. You should also use Eldritch Embers and Eldritch Ichors to roll increased buff effect granted from your Carrion Golems and a chance to avoid elemental ailments.

 

Amulet

Rare Amulet

Look for a legacy amulet with +1 to all intelligence skill gems in standard. Other strong modifiers include increased minion damage, +1 to maximum number of skeletons, high life, energy shield, increased attributes, and resistances.

 

Rings

Rare Bone Rings

Look for rings with high life, energy shield, increased minion damage or increased minion attack and cast speed, increased minion movement speed, and resistances. You should also use Fertile Catalysts on the rings to increase their life bonuses.

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Tattoo (Standard Only)

Honoured Tattoo of the Wise

This tattoo can replace a 30 intelligence node on the tree to give +1 to Level of All Intelligence Skill Gems.

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Utility Flasks

Rumi's Concoction (legacy is better)

Gives 1500 armour, increases your block chance by 12%, and gives 6% spell block. The legacy version is better and gives much higher block chances. You should use Instilling Orbs on the flask until you automatically use the flask when it has full charges.

Taste of Hate (legacy is better)

Gives 15% of physical damage as extra cold damage, 15% of physical damage taken as cold damage, 20% less cold damage taken, 50% cold resistances, 30% reduced chance to be Frozen, and 30% less chance to be Chilled. The legacy version is better. You should use Instilling Orbs on the flask until you automatically use the flask whenever it has full charges.

Jade Flask 

Gives 1500 evasion. You should roll Bleeding and Corrupted Blood immunity and use Instilling Orbs on the flask until you automatically use the flask when you are Bleeding.

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Anointment

You should anoint your amulet at Cassia with Death Attunement for +1 to maximum number of Skeletons, +1 to maximum number of Spectres, and +1 to maximum number of Zombies using a Clear Oil, Silver Oil, and Crimson Oil.

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Enchants (Standard Only)

Helm: Steelskin Buff Can Take 45% Increased Amount Of Damage

Gloves: Commandment of the Grave

Feet: Regenerate 2% of Life per Second

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Bandits

You should usually help Alira in Act 2 because she gives 15% increased elemental resistances, 20% increased critical strike multiplier, and 5 mana regeneration per second. However, if the last two nodes on your tree are better than having 15% increased elemental resistances you should kill all three bandits instead.

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Pantheon

Soul of Solaris is the best major Pantheon power and gives 6% reduced physical damage taken when only one enemy is present, a 20% chance to take 50% less area damage, 8% reduced elemental damage taken if you haven't been hit recently, take no extra damage from critical strikes if you've been hit with a critical strike recently, and a 50% chance to avoid elemental ailments from critical strikes. Soul of Abberath is the best minor power to help maintain energy shield and gives 60% less Ignite duration on you, makes you unaffected by burning ground, and gives 10% increased movement speed on burning ground.

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Leveling Gear

 

Weapon

The Blood Thorn

A great level one staff with a 30% chance to block that curses enemies with Vulnerability when you block.

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Armour

Tabula Rasa

Tabula Rasa is a great offensive level one chest armour that has six white linked sockets which allows you to link any color skill and support gems together for much higher damage at an earlier level. You can also purchase a Tabula Rasa with a high increased damage corruption which also requires level one for fairly cheap from the trade site.

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Helmet

Goldrim

An excellent level one resistance helmet with up to 40% to all elemental resistances and 10% increased rarity of items found.

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Gloves

Lochtonial Caress

These great level one gloves give 15% increased attack speed, 15% increased cast speed, and a 15% chance to generate a Power, Endurance, or Frenzy charge on kill.

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Boots

Wondertrap

Wondertrap can be equipped at level nine and give up to 30 strength, 30 dexterity, 30 intelligence, and 25% movement speed.

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Amulet

Sidhebreath

A level one amulet that makes minions deal 35-65 cold damage, converts 50% of minions' physical damage to cold damage, gives 15% increased minion life, and makes minions deal no non-cold damage.

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Rings

Perandus Signets

You can use two Perandus Signets at level one that each give up to 65% mana regeneration, 65 mana, 2% increased intelligence for each unique item equipped, and 2% more experience.

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Flasks

Quicksilver Flask

This flask requires level four and gives 40% increased movement speed which helps speed up the leveling process. You should use Instilling Orbs on the flask until you automatically use the flask whenever it has full charges.

Silver Flask

This flask gives Onslaught which gives increased attack speed, cast speed, and movement speed as early as level 27 and can have increased movement speed as a second modifier. You should also use Instilling Orbs on the flask until you automatically use the flask whenever it has full charges.

Granite Flask

This flask will help you survive hits by giving 1500 armour and can have high increased armour as a second modifier. You should also use Instilling Orbs until you automatically use the flask whenever it has full charges.

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Upgrades

The Dying Breath staff can be equipped at level 13 and gives 18% increased damage to nearby allies and minions, 18% increased effect of auras, 18% increased cast speed, 18% increased maximum mana, and 18% increased effect of your curses. The Clayshaper is a great weapon upgrade that can be equipped at level 41 to give your golems high added physical damage and it allows you to summon another golem. The Carnage Heart amulet is also great to use at level 20 for up to 56 to all attributes and 20% increased elemental resistances. If your zombies are having trouble surviving you should use Aukuna's Will gloves at level 31 to give your Zombies 100% increased life and it makes your zombies summonable without corpses. Many of the items in the leveling section above last all the way until the midgame where better items will become available.

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And that's all for the Summoner Guide! For more about Path of Exile you can view the endgame guide here Endgame Guide.

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