Since quite a few other people seem to be posting their potential builds for discussion, comments and critique I decided to throw my dice in with them and give it a go~ So here's the main 3 builds I'm thinking of trying out.
Summoning & Support
First up we have what'll most likely be the main build I'm running around with most of the time. To me it feels like the best interpretation of a summoner should be: Constantly being surrounded by tons of pets and supporting them and your allies. The build might be a little slow in PVE, but the sheer number of pet's you'll have up at any given time will keep one feeling truly in the thick of an army.
For my summons I've chosen Mongrels, the Gargantuan, Fetish Army and runed Wall of Zombies. The first 3 are relatively bread and butter for any summoning build. Fetish Army runed for cooldown reduction giving it very little downtime when combined with the cooldown reducing passive (What is it? 50 seconds reduced by 25%? 38 seconds or so, meaning there's really only 18 seconds of cooldown). The fourth, while testing needs to be done on it (does it summon the full wall and 3 zombies walk out of it? Does it just summon 3 zombies? Do those zombies last 5 seconds?), sounds perfect for a summoning build either way as something spammable. Grasp of the Dead also has great potential damage and utility. Runed for a shorter cooldown allows it to be always readily available for assisting my minions, kiting or quick escapes, especially when paired with Zombie Wall. Big Bad Voodoo also seems like quite a typical staple of this sort of build where you have so many of your minions benefiting from the ASPD increase. I rune it for a longer cooldown because I figure it's better to have a sped up attack and movement for a longer time than it is to have it for a shorter period with another boost. Over 50% up time for that kinda thing sounds good to
me.
Stacking thorns for this is a must, due to the sheer number of minions you'll have up at any given time.
Summon the DOTs!
DOTs are a great way to chip away at an enemy's health. With this many DOTs I'd be more inclined to say you'd be chunking away their health. This is THE DOT build as far as I'm concerned. Any group of enemies that get swarmed by your minions are going to be suffering numerous hits every second from 3-4 auras, an ever multiplying Locust Swarm and slowed from escaping your wrath by a damage enhanced grasp (which can also be used to save your skin if you need a peel by re-summoning your dogs close by).
Zombiemancer
Ok. Take typical spells you would expect an all out offensive mage or any caster to have; familiars, a spell blast, a wave, a targetted AOE, a nova. Now turn them into zombies. Yeah it's an all out theme build, but I feel like this could be an incredibly viable DPS build. Summons for your own protection and then attack spells for any and every situation. It could probably use some form of escape, but with this build I prefer the idea of DPSing things down faster than they can kill me.
Spirit Tribe Doctor
Haunt(gives life back from damage) Spirit Walk(walkthrough damage) Spirit Barrage(ghost with auto shoot) and Horrify (see them run and keep shooting). Arcane and physical damage. Rush of Essence passive refunds you for mana cost. Peirce of Veil increases the mana cost so you'll just get it all back in exchange for more damage. The last 2 abilities are from tribal rites passive. Fetish army with fire. Big bad voodoo with damage aura. Once I'm on cooldown, I'm on fire; thats when I'd need horrify. Advantages: I don't need them together, Haunt and spirit barrage takes care of that. No having to keep track of pets that get stuck between walls. Pop up army then go defence. 3 damage types. big bad voodoo plays well with other players.
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Summoning & Support
First up we have what'll most likely be the main build I'm running around with most of the time. To me it feels like the best interpretation of a summoner should be: Constantly being surrounded by tons of pets and supporting them and your allies. The build might be a little slow in PVE, but the sheer number of pet's you'll have up at any given time will keep one feeling truly in the thick of an army.
For my summons I've chosen Mongrels, the Gargantuan, Fetish Army and runed Wall of Zombies. The first 3 are relatively bread and butter for any summoning build. Fetish Army runed for cooldown reduction giving it very little downtime when combined with the cooldown reducing passive (What is it? 50 seconds reduced by 25%? 38 seconds or so, meaning there's really only 18 seconds of cooldown). The fourth, while testing needs to be done on it (does it summon the full wall and 3 zombies walk out of it? Does it just summon 3 zombies? Do those zombies last 5 seconds?), sounds perfect for a summoning build either way as something spammable. Grasp of the Dead also has great potential damage and utility. Runed for a shorter cooldown allows it to be always readily available for assisting my minions, kiting or quick escapes, especially when paired with Zombie Wall. Big Bad Voodoo also seems like quite a typical staple of this sort of build where you have so many of your minions benefiting from the ASPD increase. I rune it for a longer cooldown because I figure it's better to have a sped up attack and movement for a longer time than it is to have it for a shorter period with another boost. Over 50% up time for that kinda thing sounds good to
me.
Stacking thorns for this is a must, due to the sheer number of minions you'll have up at any given time.
Summon the DOTs!
DOTs are a great way to chip away at an enemy's health. With this many DOTs I'd be more inclined to say you'd be chunking away their health. This is THE DOT build as far as I'm concerned. Any group of enemies that get swarmed by your minions are going to be suffering numerous hits every second from 3-4 auras, an ever multiplying Locust Swarm and slowed from escaping your wrath by a damage enhanced grasp (which can also be used to save your skin if you need a peel by re-summoning your dogs close by).
Zombiemancer
Ok. Take typical spells you would expect an all out offensive mage or any caster to have; familiars, a spell blast, a wave, a targetted AOE, a nova. Now turn them into zombies. Yeah it's an all out theme build, but I feel like this could be an incredibly viable DPS build. Summons for your own protection and then attack spells for any and every situation. It could probably use some form of escape, but with this build I prefer the idea of DPSing things down faster than they can kill me.
Haunt(gives life back from damage) Spirit Walk(walkthrough damage) Spirit Barrage(ghost with auto shoot) and Horrify (see them run and keep shooting). Arcane and physical damage. Rush of Essence passive refunds you for mana cost. Peirce of Veil increases the mana cost so you'll just get it all back in exchange for more damage. The last 2 abilities are from tribal rites passive. Fetish army with fire. Big bad voodoo with damage aura. Once I'm on cooldown, I'm on fire; thats when I'd need horrify. Advantages: I don't need them together, Haunt and spirit barrage takes care of that. No having to keep track of pets that get stuck between walls. Pop up army then go defence. 3 damage types. big bad voodoo plays well with other players.