Poison Animate Weapon Necromancer Necropolis 3.24 Guide

Build Overview

The Poison Animate Weapon Necromancer has always been a cherished build for its unique approach to gameplay, particularly in the Path of Exile (PoE) universe. With the recent expansion, Necropolis, and the introduction of Transfigured Gems, this build has gained significant enhancements, allowing for a sustained range of animated weapons. Previously, the summoning of these weapons was limited by the necessity for weapons on the ground to be either identified or white. However, the latest updates have lifted this restriction, making it easier to summon these weapons even during crucial boss fights, including Uber Elder, Shaper, or Sirus. This transformation has positioned the Poison Animate Weapon Necromancer as one of the most affordable summoner builds that can achieve multiple millions in Shaper DPS without depleting your currency reserves.

The Necropolis expansion has brought further benefits to this build, including instant leech through the Bone Barrier and the introduction of a convocation modifier option on gear. For optimal performance, it's necessary to equip this modifier on either a wand or shield, allowing the use of two bone rings. These enhancements ensure that the Poison Animate Weapon Necromancer build remains a formidable choice for players looking to explore the depths of the Necropolis league in PoE.

Pros and Cons

Build Main Mechanics

Playstyle

The Poison Animate Weapon Necromancer offers a unique playstyle within the minion build archetype in Path of Exile (PoE), especially after the rework of Bladefall. This skill now leaves blades on the ground, providing a new method to summon weapons for the Animate Weapon skill. This change significantly enhances the build's flexibility and efficiency in instanced boss fights like Sirus, Uber Elder, or Shaper, where previously, the dependency on dropped weapons could hinder the sustainment of your army. Notably, the Transfigured Animate Weapon skill transforms these ground blades into ranged weapons, enhancing your army's capabilities.

One potential downside is the necessity to actively use a skill to generate blades for summoning. However, the extended duration of Animated Weapons mitigates this, reducing the frequency of re-summons required and maintaining a strong presence on the battlefield. It's advisable to periodically summon new weapons during map clears to avoid the total loss of your minions in combat.

Damage Scaling & Defensive Layers

This build excels in both offense and defense, boasting a significant effective HP (eHP) and employing a high block chance for attacks and spells. On higher budgets, spell suppression can be maximized, further enhancing survivability. The lack of armor from gear is counterbalanced by strategic flask usage, alongside the use of a life-on-block shield, ensuring consistent eHP sustainability. This makes the Poison Animate Weapon Necromancer not only potent in damage output but also exceptionally sturdy, suitable even for Hardcore play.

Damage scaling is straightforward, relying on the collective strength of your summoned weapons. Additionally, the build benefits from defensive modifiers such as Blind and Taunt on Hit, applied through Ghastly Eye Jewels. These effects significantly reduce the threat level from enemies, contributing to both the build's survivability and efficacy in combat.

PoB, Passives and Gem Links

The Poison Animate Weapon Necromancer build, ideal for delving into the Necropolis expansion of Path of Exile (PoE), is outlined through several Path of Building (PoB) links, catering to different budget levels:

• Low Budget;
• Medium Budget (Note the custom modifications reflecting a higher budget version of the Animate Guardian);
• High Budget (Includes advanced tweaks for peak performance);

Amulet Anointment

For the amulet, anointing Testudo is crucial for enhancing block chance, requiring 1x Clear Oil, 1x Sepia Oil, and 1x Black Oil.

End Game Gem Links

Here's a breakdown of the essential gem links for the Poison Animate Weapon Necromancer build:

• Before Poison: Animate Weapon, Chance to Poison Support, Minion Damage Support, Withering Touch Support, Vicious Projectiles Support, Hypothermia Support. For map clearing, swap Hypothermia and Vicious Projectiles for Greater Multiple Projectiles Support and Pierce Support to enhance clear speed.
• Poison 6-Link: Animate Weapon, Chance to Poison Support, Minion Damage Support, Withering Touch Support, Pierce Support, Vicious Projectiles Support. For map clearing, swap Vicious Projectiles for Greater Multiple Projectiles Support.

For higher budgets, flexibility increases with white sockets allowing for support swaps regardless of color, enhancing adaptability between single target and clearing modes.

Utility and Mobility Gems: Bladefall, Desecrate, Bone Offering, Convocation for utility; Shield Charge and Frostblink for mobility.

Utility Minions and Curses: Raise Spectre, Raise Zombie, Minion Life Support for minion utility; Vulnerability or Despair for curses, depending on build stage.

Guard Skill and Animate Guardian: Molten Shell for defense; Animate Guardian ideally in an Unset Ring for enhanced survivability.

Golem and Auras: Summon Carrion Golem with Feeding Frenzy Support; Determination, Tempest Shield, and Divine Blessing Support with Vaal Haste as auras, plus either Summon Skitterbots (before poison) or Malevolence (poison variant) for the last aura, influenced by build version.

For detailed setups, including spectres and Animate Guardian specifics, refer to the provided PoB links.

Ascendancy, Pantheons and Deal with the Bandits

Ascendancy

For the Poison Animate Weapon Necromancer build, the choice of Ascendancy nodes is streamlined to complement the build's strengths and address its weaknesses. Here's the preferred setup:

• Commander of Darkness: This is the cornerstone node for the build, enhancing gear efficiency by providing additional resistances. It boosts the attack and cast speeds, benefiting both the summoning of weapons and the overall damage output of your minions.
• Mindless Aggression: Essential for reaching further nodes, it notably enhances the minions' damage, attack speed, and movement speed.
• Mistress of Sacrifice: Significantly extends the duration of Animate Weapon and applies the effects of Bone Offering to both the player and the minions, bolstering defensive capabilities.
• Bone Barrier: Finalizing the chosen path, this node synergizes well with the build, especially due to its bonus of making minions deal 30% of their physical damage as extra chaos damage, aligning perfectly with the build's damage scaling focus.

Bandits

In line with typical summoner build strategies, the choice here is to eliminate all bandits in favor of the additional skill points, which offer more value to the build's development than any benefits the bandits might provide.

Pantheon

Personal preference plays a significant role in the selection of Pantheon powers:

• Major God: The upgraded Brine King offers protection against freeze, a crucial advantage when combined with the Tempest Shield aura for immunity against the most threatening ailments encountered in the game.
• Minor God: Preference leans towards Shakari for mitigating chaos damage, a commonly overlooked resistance in lower-budget builds. Alternatively, Abberath is favored for its significant protection against ignite, rounding out the build's defenses against various elemental ailments.

Gear

The gear choices for the Poison Animate Weapon Necromancer build in Path of Exile's Necropolis expansion focus on balancing offensive capabilities with defensive needs. Here is a summary of the recommended gear:

This setup emphasizes the importance of life, resistances, and specific attributes on most gear pieces to ensure the build's survivability and effectiveness in combat. The unique items, such as Tabula Rasa for the chest slot and Darkness Enthroned for the belt, offer significant boosts to the build's core mechanics and performance.

Summary

And there you have it, folks – your complete guide to dominating with the Poison Animate Weapon Necromancer build in Path of Exile's Necropolis expansion. From the core mechanics to gearing up for victory, we've covered everything you need to bring this powerful summoner to life. Whether you're looking to melt bosses, navigate the toughest maps, or just enjoy a bit of nostalgia, this guide's got you covered. And hey, if you find yourself stuck or just want to skip the grind, remember that we at WowCarry are here to lend a hand with any part of this build. Our services are tailored to help you get the most out of your gaming experience, without the fuss. Happy summoning!