Necromancer - Core Minion Necromancer
The community gave this build a rating, making it second-tier: Good
Focused on: Condition damage
Designed for: Open World, Open World General and Open World Core
This build is up to date for the June 30, 2022 game patch.
Overview
A good open world starter Necromancer build for those who do not have access to expansions. This is a simple minion master build that features moderate damage and high defense.
There are two variants of this build: a power and a condition damage version.
- The power damage version is easier to gear and can be used while levelling.
- The condition damage version is much harder to gear and said gear cannot be obtained while levelling. It does, however, do more damage.
Template Code
- Power version
[&DQg1KQIVEz6bAKIAcAF0AXYAcwHkAHUBlQCVAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA=]
- Condition version[&DQgnPTI1AhWbACgP5ABAAXYAdwFwAYEAlQAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA=]
Skill Bar
Dagger/Warhorn
Axe/Focus
Utility
- Condition version: use scepter and dagger. On the second set you can use staff, or warhorn, or focus.
Specializations
Power version
Condition version
- This build doesn't really make much use of any of the first 2 major traits of
Curses. and make it worth to cast and for DPS, specially since the damage of Terror scales with condition damage.
- - large loss of damage in exchange for a little healing. Not that great after the nerf with End of Dragons.
- - more defense. Great option when you won't be killing trash mobs to summon more Jagged Horrors.
Blood Magic Variant
In either version, you can replace Soul Reaping with Blood Magic for extra sustain.
- - revive potential when playing in groups.
Equipment
Power version
- Ascended gear and stat infusions are not required
This build uses gear similar to Build:Reaper_-_Power_DPS, making it ideal for general PVE.
Head
Berserker
Berserker
Shoulders
Berserker
Berserker
Chest
Berserker
Berserker
Hands
Berserker
Berserker
Legs
Berserker
Berserker
Feet
Berserker
Berserker
Backpiece
Berserker
Berserker
Accessory
Berserker
Berserker
Accessory
Berserker
Berserker
Amulet
Berserker
Berserker
Ring
Berserker
Berserker
Ring
Berserker
Berserker
Dagger
Berserker
Berserker
Warhorn
Berserker
Berserker
Sigil
Sigil
Axe
Berserker
Berserker
Focus
Berserker
Berserker
Sigil
Sigil
Rune
x6
x6
- You could use instead of Thief plus instead of Air, at a minor dps loss if flanking is impractical.
Condition version
- Ascended gear and stat infusions are not required
This build uses gear similar to Build:Scourge_-_Condi_Scourge, making it ideal for general PVE.
Head
Viper
Viper
Shoulders
Viper
Viper
Chest
Viper
Viper
Hands
Viper
Viper
Legs
Viper
Viper
Feet
Viper
Viper
Backpiece
Viper
Viper
Accessory
Viper
Viper
Accessory
Viper
Viper
Amulet
Viper
Viper
Ring
Viper
Viper
Ring
Viper
Viper
Scepter
Viper
Viper
Dagger
Viper
Viper
Sigil
Sigil
Warhorn
Viper
Viper
Sigil
Rune
x6
x6
- You could use for less damage but more life (and life force) and one extra minion.
- If you need more defense you can use
Trailblazer.
Consumables
- Food
- Any ascended food is superior to any other food you could use. Steak for power, flatbread for conditions. Budget versions of these foods exist and are acceptable.
- - farming
- , - power DPS
- , , - condition DPS
- Utility
- (and variants) - farming
- , - power DPS
- - condition DPS
Usage
Power damage version
- is your highest damage skill. is also very good for damage, especially if the enemy has boons.
- Ideally, open with to inflict 5
Vulnerability and regain some life force, followed by and . Then, enter shroud and use and , followed by shroud auto attacks . This skill pierces enemies, so position yourself accordingly.
- Ideally, open with to inflict 5
- Go in and out of shroud periodically to trigger and . Though, ideally, you would only stay out of shroud to use your high damage skills and regain some life force, before going back into shroud.
- Use your axe-focus set for damage, and the dagger-warhorn for utility.
- Your biggest sourcess of life force are , , and dagger auto attacks . Nearby deaths also provide life force, but finish off enemies outside of shroud, since you don't gain life force from nearby deaths while inside shroud.
- Use for
Swiftness. Its damage is extremely low but can be okayish when fighting a group of enemies in melee range, while providing a little life force.
- deals low damage but can be used when fighting groups of enemies. If you are only fighting one enemy, only use Unholy Feast when the enemy is below 25% health, to trigger the extra explosion. Otherwise, axe auto attacks deal more damage.
- You have a lot of boon removal. Prioritise using for that, due to its high damage, but know that you also have and .
- If you don't need crowd control, you can use and for more damage.
Condition damage version
- Ideally, open up with and to quickly inflict 5 conditions and maximize the
Torment application of /.
- Your damage skills are , /, , , and .
- Your sources of life force are nearby deaths, /, , and . Finish off enemies outside of shroud, since you don't gain life force from nearby deaths while inside shroud.
- You can swap to staff and cast and before entering shroud. But don't stay on staff for long because it has very low damage over time. Only if you're severly starved for life force you can consider staying in staff for some seconds using .
Defense
- Against the majority of enemies, your minions should be able to draw enemy aggro and tank for you. Remember that you can always sidestep and walk or dodge out of enemy attacks. Not taking damage is always the better option because it lets you conserve life force.
- You have a lot of toughness thanks to many traits in the
Death Magic specialization.
- You will be almost inmune to conditions thanks to . also helps. You can also use if using dagger off-hand.
- If you need more defense you can use .
- can be used to blind enemies.
- You take 33% reduced damage inside , consider it as a second health bar.
Sustain
- gives you a little sustain. The power version can also use . While the condition version can use .
- If you desperately need more sustain, you can replace
Soul Reaping with the
Blood Magic specialization to lower your damage but gain some sustain through , , and . This is slightly worse for the condition damage version as you lose .
Crowd Control
Ratings

Minion Master is an excellent class but this build is complete crap. If i could give it a negative star score i could and its obvious people dont know what a minion master build is. This build is not supposed to be a high DPS build but more of a tank build that can survive anything. This build is sacrificing the damage the minions can do for the damage of the player. The minions share the player's condition damage so it makes more sense to increase that instead of Berserker armor try Viper as it will increase the damage done by the player as well as the condition damage of both the player and the minions. Also the sigils are best being Bursting and Corruption as they increase the condition Damage further. You should also use Staff for multiple enemies and scepter/focus for single enemies. Using the changes i recommend you should be able to solo almost anything.

The power build itself is good and pretty strong against most of the content of the base game, the status that the minions have are fixed and the only status that scale is condition damage, expertize and concentration. Unfortunately all the minions don't have their own way to do condition unless you have the conditions on your character making the condition damage build not so worth it. Do the power build version and use staff to have AoE damage and get better results against packs of mobs.

When it comes to open world, Necromancer is a fantastic place to start. The minion variant of this build offers an excellent roaming option and a variant using wells does fairly well (hah!) in zergs. Overall a solid core spec for open world farming.
Comments
Get MetaBattle Premium
Enjoy an ad-free experience & support the website, for less than $1 per month! Upgrade to Premium
Enjoy an ad-free experience & support the website, for less than $1 per month! Upgrade to Premium