Important Tree Nodes

The best ascendancy order is Commander of Darkness, Mindless Aggression, Unnatural Strength, and Bone Barrier. The Resistance Mastery is important for chaos resistances and its mastery node gives Corrupted Blood immunity. The Reservation Mastery is also important because it gives increased mana reservation efficiency so that you can use the recommended reservation skills. Make sure and take the nearby minion offense nodes and the nearby life percent nodes for survival. Note: The skill tree above is updated for the new season (3.25).

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Defensive Layers

The Commander of Darkness ascendancy gives you, your allies, and your minions 30% increased elemental resistances, 30% increased damage, and 3% increased attack and cast speed for every aura skill. The elemental resistances from the Commander of Darkness ascendancy makes it much easier to find great equipment. 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 their maximum life as extra maximum energy shield which helps your minions survive. This build also has an army of minions to take the damage for you and the strong defensive advantage of being able to use a shield.

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Gems

 

Weapon (3-link)

Vaal Summon Skeletons

Flesh Offering

Desecrate

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Shield (3-link)

Steelskin

Empower Support

Flame Dash

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Armour (7-link)

Summon Holy Relic Of Conviction

Awakened Controlled Destruction Support

Chance To Poison Support (use Awakened Void Manipulation here once you have a 100% poison chance from abyss jewels)

Awakened Minion Damage Support

Awakened Unbound Ailment Support

Empower Support

Added Chaos Damage (granted by the recommended The Covenant body armour)

 

Helmet (4-link)

Grace

Malevolence

Clarity

Enlighten Support

 

Gloves (4-link)

Raise Zombie of Slamming

Summon Carrion Golem

Feeding Frenzy Support

Empower Support

 

Boots (4-link)

Lancing Steel Of Spraying

Returning Projectiles Support

Withering Touch Support

Life Gain On Hit Support

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Reservation Skills

Grace is the best defensive auras for this build and give very high evasion. Malevolence is the best offensive aura for this build and gives increased damage over time and increased skill effect duration. Clarity is also needed for the high mana cost of the build. Malevolence 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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Gem Notes​

1. Steelskin is the recommended 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 Holy Relic of Conviction is a new transfigured gem that is better than the standard Summon Holy Relic gem. It causes attacks on enemies to trigger a physical nova spell on enemies whenever you attack an enemy.

3. Lancing Steel of Spraying is the best attack for triggering Summon Holy Relic because it's a ranged skill that can hit enemies very quickly with its stream of projectiles which return to you with Returning Projectiles Support.

4. Poison damage is the best way to scale your damage on this build and makes Summon Holy Relic deal extremely high boss damage. You can get a 100% chance for your minions to poison with the recommended Darkness Enthroned belt and Ghastly Eye jewels socketed in your tree with 10-15% chance for minions to poison. As a budget option you can also use Chance To Poison Support before you can afford the recommended minion poison chance Ghastly Eye jewels.

5. Desecrate, Flesh Offering, and Summon Skeletons are automatically cast with an eight second cooldown when using the recommended weapon for this build. Desecrate creates corpses for Flesh Offering and Flesh Offering is used to increase the attack speed, cast speed, and movement speed of your minions.

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

7. If you would prefer to try out an alternate summoner build that focuses on summoning ranged attacking mage skeletons you can also check out the Vaal Skeleton Mages Necromancer Guide here Skeleton Mages Summoner Necromancer Guide.

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Equipment

 

Weapon

Rare Anarchist Spiritblade

This weapon base has the fastest attack speed with a low dexterity requirement and should have high attack speed, increased minion damage, triggers socketed spells when you use a skill with an 8 second cooldown, and hits can't be evaded. To craft the weapon you can roll Deafening Essences of Fear on an Anarchist Spiritblade to get high increased minion damage until you get a tier one attack speed with an open prefix and two open suffixes. You can then add triggers socketed spells when you use a skill with an eight second cooldown and hits can't be evaded at the crafting bench.

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Shield

Rare Shield

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

 

Armour

The Covenant

Gives socketed gems are supported by level 29 Added Chaos Damage, 30 intelligence, 10% increased life, and skills gain a base life cost equal to 100% of base mana cost. The life cost isn't even noticeable once you have a large enough life pool. You can also eventually look for a The Covenant with a +2 to socketed minion gems corruption once you have enough currency.

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Helmet

Rare Helmet

Look for +2 to level of all minion skill gems, high life, and resistances. These modifiers can go on a Bone Helmet for a 20% increased minion damage implicit (the modifier above the line on an item) or an energy shield helmet. Legacy Bone Helmets in standard are even better and can have up to a 40% increased minion damage implicit.

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Belt

Darkness Enthroned

This belt has two abyssal sockets and up to 100% increased effect of socketed abyss jewels. You should socket two abyss jewels in it with minions have a 15% chance to poison enemies and minions have added physical damage. This will give your minions a 60% chance to poison and you can get the other 40% chance for your minions to poison by socketing more Ghastly Eye abyss jewels into your tree or as a budget option you can link Chance to Poison Support to your Summon Holy Relic.

 

Gloves

Rare Gloves

Look for increased minion damage, high life, resistances, and if you can afford it +2 to level of socketed minion gems. You should also add increased minion damage and chance to suppress spell damage using Eldritch Embers and Eldritch Ichors.

Note: You can look for a +2 to level of socketed minion gems fracture (permanent golden modifier) and use Deafening Essences of Fear for up to a 30% increased minion damage modifier until you get a tier one life roll with great modifiers.

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Boots

Rare Boots

Look for high life, resistances, increased movement speed, and spell suppression. You should also use Eldritch Embers and Eldritch Ichors to roll a chance to avoid elemental ailments and a chance to avoid being Ignited to help maintain energy shield.

 

Amulet

Ashes of the Stars

Gives +1 to level of all skill gems, increases the quality of your gems by up to 30% (which increases the cooldown recovery of Summon Holy Relics), and increases experience gain of gems by up to 10%. The legacy version is better if you are playing in standard. You should also use Intrinsic Catalysts on the amulet to increase its attribute bonus.

 

Rings

Rare Despair Ring

Look for Despair on hit, high life, strength or dexterity, and resistances. You should also use Fertile Catalysts on both of your rings to increase their life bonuses.

Rare Ring

A Bone Ring is a great option for minion modifiers if you can get enough resistances on the ring. Look for high life, dexterity, increased minion damage, and resistances.

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Utility Flasks

Rumi's Concoction (legacy is better)

Gives 1500 armour, a 12% chance to block attacks, and a 6% chance to block spells. The legacy version has much higher block chances. You should use Instilling Orbs on the flask until you automatically use the flask whenever it has full charges.

Jade Flask (legacy is better)

Gives 1500 evasion and can have up to 60% increased evasion as a second modifier. Legacy Jade Flasks can have higher increased evasion. You should use Instilling Orbs on the flask until you automatically use the flask whenever it has full charges.

Quartz Flask 

Gives Phasing and a 10% chance to suppress spell damage. You should roll Bleeding and Corrupted Blood immunity during effect and use Instilling Orbs on the flask until you automatically use the flask whenever you are Bleeding.

 

Anointment

You should anoint your amulet with Prismatic Skin for 2% increased maximum elemental resistances at Cassia using a Silver Oil, Golden Oil, and Golden 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 If You Have Been Hit Recently

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Bandits

The best bandit to help in Act 2 is Alira because she gives 15% to all elemental resistances which allows you to focus more on damage from your equipment. If you don't need the resistances you can also kill all three bandits for 1 passive skill point.

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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

Redbeak

This level one sword is recommended because the recommended skills that trigger Summon Holy Relic require a sword or axe.

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Armour

Tabula Rasa

Tabula Rasa is a great offensive level one chest armour that has six linked white sockets. White sockets means that you can link any color six gems together for much higher damage at an earlier level. You can also look for a Tabula Rasa with an 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 helmet that has up to 40% increased elemental resistances and 10% increased rarity of items found.

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Gloves

Lochtonial Caress

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

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Boots

Wondertrap

Wondertrap boots can be used at level nine and give high strength, dexterity, intelligence, and movement speed for their level.

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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% increased experience.

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Flasks

Quicksilver Flask

This flask can be used at level four for 40% increased movement speed and can have increased movement speed as a second modifier. 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 increases your attack speed, cast speed, and movement speed as early as level 27. It can also have increased movement speed as a second modifier. You should 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 by giving 1500 armour and can have high increased armour as a second modifier. You should also use Instilling Orbs on the flask until you automatically use the flask whenever it has full charges.

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Leveling Gems

You can start using Summon Holy Relic of Conviction once you reach level 4 and it can be combined with Raise Zombie. Precision is the best offensive low level aura and can be used once you reach level 10 for increased critical strike chance and accuracy. Vitality is the best defensive aura for leveling by far and can be used as early as level 10. Splitting Steel can be used to trigger Summon Holy Relic of Conviction before you make the switch to Lancing Steel of Spraying. Make sure to pick up a Steelskin gem once you've reached level four and have 16 strength for a defensive guard skill. Dash also requires level four and should be used as your travel skill at early levels.

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Upgrades

The Tempestuous Steel unique sword can be switched to once you reach level 20 for a much better weapon. The Carnage Heart amulet can also be used at level 20 and gives up to 56 to all attributes and 20% increased elemental resistances. 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 Summon Holy Relic Guide! For more about PoE you can view the endgame guide here Endgame Guide.

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