Guide to the Poison Summoner: Spirits and Creepy Insects v1.6

[Bryan]

Disclaimer: The following are NOT claimed to be the ultimate Hell mode-appropriate builds, and not ones that can in all cases be of more use than a more "traditional" Summoner setup. The Poison Summoner is founded on the notion of personal damage rather than legions of minions, possibly providing an alternative route to the Summoner damage output while certainly making for an efficient farmer.

Index:
1.0 Introduction and notes on criticals
1.1 Generic farmer skills
1.2 Leveling and generic farmer gear
1.3 Generic farmer modding,expertises and power efficiency

2.0 The lv.55 boss farmer
2.1 Boss farmer videos

v1.5 note: For those seeking a boss farmer build,kindly skip the skill/gear suggestions of section A and refer to section B for such information,as the guide now presents two distinct setups with distinct uses.Some information and many suggestions that are valid for one may be valid for the other,but in conclusion they are separate setups.

v1.6 note: Videos of solo Land of Rest runs in Hell and Nightmare have been included directly below the guide's last post,along with the character's numbers for build evaluation purposes.The build used is the one analysed in section B.
An index has been added for easier reading,slight corrections were made.

Included all subsections into spoiler tags,for easier/selective reading.Any feedback on this would be much appreciated.


Why a Poison Summoner?

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Flagship's concept of the Summoner was once that of a Cabal gun-wielder,who sniped away at enemies behind an army of minions.However,the latest incarnation of Hellgate has made guns obsolete,has glorified critical damage as the only real Hell mode damage and has granted Summoners the ability to become demonic-looking tankers.
So how should a current damage-dealing summoner best utilize what Hellgate Global has given?The most feasible answer seems to be,crits with the Poison spells tree.


The most plain reason lies in the "crit=damage" equation in place.Since minions don't crit and Zombie Form autoattacks cannot provide AoE or any decent damage (by Hell mode terms),the Toxic tree is arguably the best choice for damage a Summoner has.Zombie Sacrifice is not an actual substitute either,as it does not crit properly (see RedHerd's observations on the matter under "Tips and Tricks": http://www.hellgateaus.cyou/wiki/Summoner).
 
It is speculated that minion damage has a hard cap, whereas one's personal damage does not. That aside, Venomous Spirit and Swarm can be much more caste-specialized than minions or Zombie Form, and certainly possess more firepower than the latter for the reason mentioned above.

Furthermore, +elemental attack strength properties are often used with the purpose of enhancing Elementals (unconfirmed,and most likely false). In utilizing the Poison tree, one can benefit from this property themselves, reaching noteworthy results when in conjunction with specific Mythics (see "Gear" below).

Lastly, the relative absense of Elementals in comparison to the "norm" makes Poison Summoners more party-friendly. It is unfortunate that technical issues are also factored in in such choices, but seasoned players can agree to it being justified.

"Summoners can't crit".

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This is a common misconception, and frankly it is plain false.To illustrate,Summoners share most of the Evokers' crit possibilities:

-Inherent: 1%
-Veiled Threat: 1%
-Balbi's Ring: 3%
-Crit expertise: 5%
-Strengthen Dark Monarch: 3%
-PvP Achievement: 3%

Those sum up to 16% base crit.Then,Summoners have 2 added Set pieces with crit chance:

-Set Boots: 3%
-Set Gloves: 2%

Those provide an added 5%,which is 1% higher than the Evokers' respective Shoulders (2%) and 5-piece Set bonus (2%).
So in conclusion, Summoners can surpass Evokers' base crit, even when the comparison is made with the Evokers' 5-piece Set including a Dark Form torso. Which in itself is not quite recommended for Evokers due to massive feeds, even if it provides the most base crit.

The issue many emphasise in is the "shape" of spellls, rather than pure crit possibilities. Summoners indeed don't have 2 spam skills to variate between, but the issue is not the direct comparison with the amazing DPS of Evokers. One may still "fill in" in-between Venomous Spirits with Swam, Elemental Nova, and even more supplementary spells such as Brom's Curse or a Warper's Spectral Strike (see "Skills" below).
To conclude, Summoners cannot "play" Evokers, but that does not hamper the setup in it's entirety and does by no means render crit "useless".

[Bryan]

A) The grinder & Catacombs/Stonehenge/Ginza farmer

Skills

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The following would be the foundation for a Poison Summoner of such uses:
http://www.hellgateaus.cyou/planner/#Summoner,55,50,1,v1.0000101a0a001100115008000000000737010

For those using incompatible browsers or in case the link malfunctions in the future, here is the build with some elaboration.
The build takes a cast set of 2 Masters of the Dark for granted, see "Gear" below for further details.

-10/10 Force
Those are incredibly resilient, making them valuable tanks. Their massive number is also of much use in their role of attracting attention.

-1/10 Spectral
Another resilient melee Elemental, this one can be efficiently used in tandem with Brom's Curse due to striking with an AoE. Added points are not recommended due to the high phase defense of most mobs in end-game.

-10/10 Toxic
Those will provide the most damage out of the available Elementals, and have a handy poison debuff. Furthermore, causing fields when attacking also works well with Brom's.

-1/10 Elemental Nova, 1/5 Master of the Elements
Elemental Nova is a prerequisite, but possible boosts from +1 AS helms or foci may reduce the cooldown enough to make it useful in combat. Master of the Elements is invaluable for power efficiency, and can be further boosted through similar means and/or a cast set (see "Gear").

-1/10 Summoning Circle,5/7 Summoning Empowerment
The former is a prerequisite. The latter boosts the Warper's survivability immensely, and additionally reduces the Warper's resummon timer.

-8/10 Warper
The build's main minion, provides a great overall damage boost and can phase enemies respectably well.

Note: The Warper does not stop providing bonuses beyond the 4th point invested in the skill.This rumor started in the t3 forums,as someone observed that on their character.Said player had multiple +minion damage properties on gear,and thus after hitting the hard cap they would get no additional benefits.It is not an issue of the skill itself,but rather one related to the damage cap.

-1/6 Blood Link
Can be boosted through the aforementioned means, and even a 3/6 through the cast set provides a useful emergency spell.

-7/7 Venomous Spirit
One's spam skill, needs to be maxed for maximum damage output. Fear strength is increased as well, but fortunately mobs/bosses in Hell have enough resistance for it to not become too much of an issue.

-3/7 Venom Armor
Prerequisite. Not maxed as it doesn't measure up to the Evokers' respective spell, and thus cannot be used as a constant buff. That aside, one may make use of the armor boost but added points would be better invested elsewhere.

-7/7 Swarm
One's most often usable AoE, maxed for maximum damage output and radius.

-1/10 Zombie Form
Prerequisite for the ability to dual-wield.


Optional skills to get through foci, Set legs, added skillpoints or skillpoints saved from the main build through a +1 AS helm:

-Brom's Curse
Great asset as regards survivability, and a useful skill for entire parties.

-Elemental Drain
Handy self-buff and enemy debuff for the entire party to take advantage of.

-Blink
Panic button, 2 points suffice to make it a lifesaver.

-Spectral Strike
Possibly the best minion-oriented damage a Summoner can get, perhaps excluding the Reaper (who is not included in the build due to inconsistency and unreliable AI).

[Bryan]

Gear

1) Pre-Lv50

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Early on, gear with +power/power regen is a lifesaver. Power efficiency is a crucial matter for the first levels, as one needs to both sustain Elementals and spam spells. Later on, "Master of the Elements" and the "Tranquility" expertise with be of massive help in eliminating this issue during rank grinding at Lv50.

If possible. +elemental effect strength can make the build shine as well, even if not as much as Mythics and the "Affliction" expertise at Lv50-55.

Abyssal Cores can provide a "theme" feel for a few levels, as can Demonic Scapula. However, other foci that provide power/power regen such as Bottomless Prisms and Forbidden Cores may be of more practical use.

The Spell Binding belt may also be of use if it provides a useful skill, plus it provides minion stats so it can be of added benefit.

For 40-50, any foci such as Lenses (due to the 8% base crit) or useful skills will suffice. Shield penetration for areas such as Harrow Deep would also be of use for efficient grinding. Passions or Slipnaughts are noteworthy choices, and the latters' increased power cost will not affect Summoners as their Poison tree is not classified as Evocation (see "Tips and Tricks":  http://www.hellgateaus.cyou/wiki/Summoner). The same applies for any Mutentacles with otherwise useful properties.

2) Lv50

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At Lv50 one can take full advantage of the Set pieces and most crit possibilities, excluding Mythics which solidify this build. Strong recommendations at this point are:

-Veiled Threat (crit)
-Balbi's Ring (crit) OR Miniset belt (crit)
-Strengthen Dark Monarch (crit)
-Set Boots/Gloves (crit,minion stats)
-Set Shoulders (ele strength/defense,inc damage,minion stats,3-piece bonus) OR Miniset shoulders

The Set legs are also an option, due to providing minion stats, shield penetration and a skill point. Those aside, gear with +AA, power regen and possibly +elemental attack strength would be highly recommended (see "Expertises" below).

For players seeking more spread-out builds, replacing Veiled with a +1 AS helm would allow for more point efficiency.

-Cast Set
2 "Master of the Dark" weapons provide +2 to all skills when said set is active. This allows for point efficiency, as one can simply switch to said set to initially summon the Warper and/or Elementals, use Blood Link when needed and switch back to the default foci set.

3) Lv55

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At Lv55 one can finally take full advantage of the Poison tree through Mythics. Below are relayed recommended foci, specifically the ideal set, a compromise set and a borderly functional set.

Note, with the current suggested gear, the PvP achievements and the "Surgical Precision" expertise one would reach a base crit chance of 26% through the base of 2 Glyphs. Disregarding further possible augments or mods.
 
1) The ideal set

2 Glyphs with double elemental damages,ccm and/or cdb vs a desired class and possibly +Poison attack strength or skill points in the build's skills.

A non-apparent reason for suggesting Glyphs being, Swarm only reaches 70% of it's maximum potential radius due to it not scaling to the Evokers' 10/10 Swarm (as is the case with Venomous Spirit). Glyphs are superior to Claws in every regard as is, but their added radius is even more of a necessity for this build due to the aforementioned issue with Swarm.

Skills are also valuable due to the build's massive skillpoint requirement. Any points saved in the founding skills can be invested in the skills suggested above, and getting skills such as Elemental Drain in this manner also saves one the points in prerequisite skills.

Increased Will feeds due to the suggested properties are not much of a drawback for this build to begin with, except extreme cases. For more on the matter, see "Power Efficiency" below.

2) The compromise set

1 Glyph with double elemental damages and ccm and/or dcb vs a desired class, 1 Claw with double elemental damages and possibly +Poison/Ignite/Phase attack strength or skills.

This set would still make the build highly functional, but the less specific attributes and inclusion of a Claw (though with considerable drawbacks) makes this set easier and/or cheaper to acquire. For players with more limited patience/budget this would still be a good foundation untill a possible upgrade.

3) The acceptable set

1 Glyph with ccm and/or cdb vs a desired class and/or added elemental damage or skills, 1 Valley of Death with a single skill/ccm augment.

This set would be much easier to acquire than the 2 above, and still keep some of the essence of the build. The Valley of Death is recommended due to the +minion stats and considerable hitpoint bonus, which adds to survivability.

It is significant however, that the mainhand foci is a Glyph, for all the aforementioned reasons. Anything less and the build begins to lack firepower.
For those seeking +Elemental attack strength Mythics,a particular benefit of such an approach is explained below.

[Bryan]

Modding

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Recommended mods would be

-Base crit/added ccm vs a desired class. Reaching the crit cap may not be much of a necessity, as long as the added ccms boost it to a satisfactory level.

-Splash radius increase. As mentioned, Swarm lacks in terms of radius. Therefore, boosting it through mods seems appropriate.

-Elemental damage. Boosting overall damage alongside crit damage hardly requires justification.

-Power regeneration. If one finds their regeneration to be lacking, boosting it through a couple mods would be a solution to the issue.

-Elemental effect strengths. Such mods would receive the "Affliction"'s and gear's respective property bonus, drastically boosting one's poison(/ignite/phase) attack strength. Perhaps not the most effective mods to invest in, but surely ones that show and keep with the poison theme.

Understandably, not all such mods need be single-property ones. One could for instance use a couple dual regen/radius mods and then invest solely in crit/elemental damages. Any such combinations should be appropriate, as long as there is some degree of focus on one element over the others (ie crit or radius).
Most recommended for damage would be the Evoker norm of using 4 ele/50 ccm and 4 ele/100 cdb mods,but this may be very expensive going by the marketplace price fluctuation.
 
Alternative approaches to a crit-heavy setup would include

-Heavy splash radius-based
One could explore the possibility of breaking the ~160% splash radius cap and thus boosting Swarm tremendously. Much crit would be lost in the process, but for lower difficulties doing so may provide a respectable source of wide-area damage. A couple of elemental damage mods would be of use with such an approach as well.

-Heavy poison-based
One could invest in many +poison attack strength mods, losing in general offensive capabilities but gaining massive amounts of poison strength in doing so. Such an approach would assist in hunting the Dessicator (for whom Summoners are great tankers), but for this purpose a secondary set may suffice. For secondary sets however there may be the need for more careful stat point allocation due to differences in feeds.

Expertises

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In accordance with the entire setup, the recommended expertises are as follows:

-4/4 Surgical percision.
5% added crit chance, most crucial for a crit/quasi-crit build.

-3-4/4 Tranquility
Power regeneration is more significant than a gigantic power pool, thus this expertise can fill in for some added regeneration without the need to invest more Will.

-3-4/4 Leadership
Minion damage must not be neglected. This setup may focus more on personal damage than usual, but a Summoner should always attend to their minions' stats as well.

4/4 Toughness
A flat armor boost can be of much use in terms of survivability.

-4/4 Affliction
This expertise grants an added 28% elemental effect strengths. One can easily acquire a sum of at the very least ~50% through gear, which in turn applies to the ~500 poison (or ignite/phase) strength granted by Mythics.
A simple hypothetical calculation can illustrate the significance of this expertise for players seeking such Mythics:

-2 Glyphs with +poison strength will provide ~750 poison strength each, summing up to ~1500. 50% of that equals an added 750, for a total of 2250.

-2 Glyphs/Claws without such a property will have ~250-350 elemental strengths respectively, so practically that much poison strength as well. Summing up such foci would yield anywhere between 500 and 700, and 50% of that will yield an added 350 poison strength at most, barely reaching 1000 in total.

In this respect, using +elemental strength mods can have amplified benefits for one's total elemental strengths as well.
It is not the recommended approach for dealing damage,but it is an option and may be of use in bosses that elemental effects have a good impact on.The Dessicator would be a fine example of an encounter that can be made much easier with +poison strength available.

Power Efficiency

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For this build, the common perception that "Will is always useful" is not valid. Many stat points may be required in Accuracy and/or Strength, depending on foci's properties and modding choices.

Ideally, 1800-2000 regeneration/minute suffices for constant spell spamming, without the need for a massive power pool and even power injector consumption for most encounters. The "Master of the Elements" skill is always a welcome asset in maintaining a sufficient power pool still, but the Will required for armor/suggested foci (~350-400) and the "Tranquility" expertise should already suffice.

Sources of added power in case one should need it include:
-The "Finally the Reinforcement Merchant" (100 enchants) achievement (50 power)
-The "Improve Willpower" expertise (25/60/100/180 power depending on level)
-The "Restoration Sekworm" pet (200 power)
-The "Rouser" ring (88-99 power and 85-90 regeneration, not recommended over the "Strengthen Dark Monarch" ring unless absolutely necessary)

[Bryan]

B) The lv.55 boss farmer

For a heavily boss-oriented setup,the goal is not simply the most damage possible at the cost of all else.Removing +minion stat gear can have a massive impact on Forces,hampering their tanking capabilities.Therefore (and since it has been established that Summoners can't play at being Evokers with absolute success),the optimal goal is the ideal compromise between the tanking Forces and personal damage output,though still highly in favor of the latter.

Gear

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Desired gear would be what Evokers would seek,with only a few notable exceptions.Namely,for foci:
Double ele damages,ccm or cdb against the desired caste.The fewer other properties that increase will/stamina feeds,the better.Strength ones may be more tolerable,due to them possibly being covered by the +AA from gear.

Additional base crit is a most welcome property,but unless the foci in question is a Claw,it is not as essential as the others.It is noteworthy that Summoners are in even more need of Glyphs and their inherent radius increase,due to the issue with Swarm's radius discussed earlier.

Modding choices would be the norm for Evokers,essentially 4 ele/50 ccm mods untill the crit cap has been reached,then 4 ele/100 cdb mods for any leftover slots.The usual required ccm is roughly in the 300% range,but can be altered based on base crit from armor/foci.

The differences with Evokers begin at armor selection.Recommended gear for such a setup would be:

-Stat helmet. Veiled Threat's bonuses to evocation skills do not apply to the Summoners' toxic tree,and stat pieces can provide more cdb.The 1% crit may be worth seeking one with +stat augments,but 1% crit alone may not be worth it's feed price otherwise.

-Set torso. Base armor,minion stats,hp and relatively bearable feeds.The armor bonus alone makes this a worthy set piece,as it is worth remembering that Summoners lack the Arcane Shield spell.Dead characters deal no damage.
Due to rarity,a stat-&-minion stat torso can be used to similar effect.However,the loss in survivability may be better accounted for by wearing either the set helm (% hp bonus) or the set legs (+armor),both of which also have defensive minion stats.

-Lazy Envoy belt. 1-2% crit,5-9% armor penetration,shock defense and a reduced shock timer as a complete miniset bonus.Even 1% crit may suffice,but understandably the higher all provided stats are,the better.

-Stat legs. No unique appears to be worth considering as a replacement,and the set ones simply have major feeds.They may still be considered,as discussed below.

-Set boots. 2-3% crit,1-2 Sprint,movement speed,power points and minion armor.The stamina feed will be roughly 10,and only the 22 will feed makes this choice hard.All the aforementioned bonuses are worth the feed however,plus +stamina/+will/+AA augments may be attempted to lessen such drawbacks.

-Set gloves. 1-2% crit,200-300 hp regeneration and minion health at the price of roughly 10 stamina and 10 will.Same as above,+stat augments may be considered.

-Lazy Envoy shoulders. 2-4% added damage,29-46% generic cdb,7-13% hp bonus,very low feeds and a reduced shock timer as a complete miniset bonus.The +AA can vary from 5 to 9,but an average 6-7 +AA and ~35 cdb bonus still makes the piece itself and the complete miniset a worthy asset.

Such gear will grant a minimum of 16% base crit,without even a Veiled Threat.The best crit properties possible will grant 20% base crit,thus 23% with Claws and 25% with Glyphs.
Thus the benefits of 1) fewer slots needed for ccm relics and 2) minion stats are weighed against feeds,and therefore less cdb by comparison to a scenario of more stat pieces.Returning to the initial argument however,the goal is not to sacrifice everything for cdb,otherwise the Summoner simply becomes a pseudo-evoker with frail pseudo-minions.The goal is to ensure the Forces will tank sufficiently,while as much personal damage as possible is dealt.

Skills

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The modified build would make use of these skills:
http://www.hellgateaus.cyou/planner/#Summoner,55,50,1,v1.0000101a00051300115800000100000737010

Reminder,the above takes a cast set of 2 Masters of the Dark for granted.

-10/10 Force
The tanker elementals, the stars of the setup for any boss encounter where adds are involved.Berial and more significantly, the Land of Rest, are fine such examples.

-1/10 Spectral
Yet another sturdy elemental,survives almost as much as the Forces and the Witch Doctor only assists in that front.Provides one more tanker with an AoE chance to phase enemies,as small as it may be it's worth the point.

-5/7 Elemental Fortitude (7/7)
Buff for the Forces to hold their ground more efficiently.

-1/10 Elemental Nova,3/5 Master of the Elements (5/5)
The former is a prerequisite,the latter decreases the summon cost for elementals by 50%.More available power for spells equals more total damage dealt.

-1/6 Blood Link (3/6)
A means to heal the Witch Doctor,which he will immediately repay.It will not be used often,and the cast animation will unavoidably disrupt the offensive spells' rotation.Therefore casting it with the cast set for an increase in healing is recommended.

-1/10 Summoning Circle (3/10),5/7 Summoning Empowerment (7/7)
The former is a prerequisite,but is still an option for spending leftover/extra skill points as it increases the Doctor's hp and thus survivability.Empowerment massively increases the Doctor's armor,ensuring he stays alive to heal the team.

-8/10 Witch Doctor (10/10)
The minion who will keep the others alive,and even assist the party when able.Maxed for maximum heal amount,healing targets available and heal frequency.

-7/7 Venomous Spirit
The main single-target damage spell,scales to the Evokers' 10/10 and grants 4 projectiles per hit when maxed.

-3/7 Venom Armor,7/7 Swarm
The former is a prerequisite.Swarm is the AoE damage spell,and due to the lack of a 2nd single-target spell it is the one that will always be on the boss at any given time.Maxed for damage and radius.

-1/10 Zombie Form
Prerequisite for the ability to dual-wield.

-1/10 Afterlife (3/10)
A spell that will clear all dead bodies around the caster and return hp for each body drained.Useful emergency spell for cases the Doctor unexpectedly dies,and very practical for eliminating lag in certain encounters by causing dead bodies to vanish.The Land of Rest is the ideal example of such a use.

This leaves 2 points unaccounted for.Those may be invested in upgrading skills such as Blood Link or Summoning Circle,or they suffice to get Blink at a bearable cooldown.
If one is willing to get an additional 10 skill points,acquiring 10 Toxic elementals may be an option to consider.They will provide an advantage of some added damage and more targets for enemies,but also the disadvantage of a lower available power pool and more targets for the Doctor to heal.

Expertises

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Only slight changes from the expertises recommended in section A may be in order.
Leadership will be unneeded due to a complete lack of offensive minions,and Affliction may be of less use than before.
A possible,and recommended,replacement for Leadership is Improve Willpower,which will grant an additional 180 power.

Survivability
-"The best defense is not being there."

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Cabal gear does not provide much armor,and Summoners lack the handy Arcane Shield skill that Evokers have.Therefore,kiting and constant mobility are significant.The minions do provide more targets to receive attacks in place of the Summoner,but this alone cannot provide absolute safety.

The skills Brom's Curse and Afterlife,the Witch Doctor,the Regeneration expertise and of course,health injectors are all means of healing in the midst of combat.Depending on the circumstances and the chosen setup itself,most such choices may be impossible/difficult to utilize.One may always compromise and acquire most/all of the aforementioned,however a viable alternative is to do so to a degree while buffing one's personal armor by a certain amount.

Means of buffing armor to a degree include:
-The set torso (116 armor)
-Possible +armor/TAV augments on standard/stat pieces
-The Toughness expertise (20/50/90/140 armor depending on level)
-The Shulgoth/Sydonai pets (200 armor/100 armor and 10% damage reduction respectively)
-The Venom Armor skill (result varies based on level,55'' duration versus 90'' cooldown at max)

Conclusion

In conclusion, Summoners are arguably the most versatile class available, so it is understandably surprising to see a specific build (with slight variations) be regarded as the only viable end-game build for this class. Hopefully this guide can provide players with a feasible alternative within the boundaries set by the game's current incarnation.
Experimenting further than these suggestions is to be encouraged, as experimenting is the very means by which this guide came to be. Personal tastes and efficiency in variable circumstances may always alter this build, and any input in that front will be most appreciated.

[Bryan]

Land of Rest videos and remarks


(~10 minutes)

(~50 seconds)

Vraedna's numbers:
- Critcapped +7 Glyphs with a total of +71% elemental damage
- 1k clean cdb and 400 caste cdb
- +90% minion hp,+40% minion armor from set/stat pieces,and an added ~110% hp and ~125% armor from the cast set (2 Masters of the Dark)

One may consider both times to be mildly to extremely lacking in comparison to other classes.However,the comparison that should be made is with other summoner setups,as summoners are not evokers,and of course not engineers or marksmen.

On to what was lacking in terms of personal gear and party buffs:
- Enchants,as the top-notch players use weapons of an average +9.
- 10 ranks,and thus 100 clean cdb and 1 more expertise apart from crit/armor/power/power regen.
- Additional points saved from optimal cabal stat gear,and thus a decent amount of cdb.
- 14% elemental damage if the comparison is made with plain maxed 2x ele Glyphs and only 8x 4% relics,up to a maximum of 28% if the comparison is made with 3x ele Glyphs and the shop bracelet.
- The Moloch pet,and thus 5% more armor penetration.
And most importantly,
-an Engineer's buffs,namely Haste Bot and Beacon which by itself increases damage dealt by an obscene amount.

Most notably,the build is not mainly designed around solo play but rather,around party support.This factor should always be considered when evaluating it's performance.
A demo duo run with VampQ's engineer may better simulate real party conditions:

(~1:50)

Of course,this can also be used as a point of reference regarding party safety,the performance when Beacon is available and the issue of power consumption.
A similar point of reference can be drawn from a 5-man Dessicator run,such as the one below.


The above are not attempts at showcasing a personal achievement,but rather points of reference as to the efficiency of the mentioned numbers.There is much room for improvement for players willing to invest in one such character,and hopefully such improvements will be of much more use in the Land of Rest.
 

[Violet-n-Red]

one of the best guide for character building i've ever seen! described every aspect of the build and given all the variants one could possibly want!  me likes

[Wolfilein]

+1
A very detailed build with lots of usefull informations for beginners and even pro's.

[Bryan]

My thanks for the kind words guys

If you find anything to be missing/not elaborated enough on,I'd always appreciate the pointer and see to the omission.

[Bryan]

Bump.

Added a couple lines in the introduction as a point of reference.It is rather sad to see people regard Swarm,an AoE that can actually crit,as "redundant",when the class as a whole is treated as a target hive due to lack of personal damage.
I wonder if a couple of videos should be added as well,just to illustrate the build's efficiency.Perhaps a Land of Rest run?

[Ailove]

Well written, there is a lot to learn.Thanks to the author.

[Identity]

i have a question, actually.

let's say you have a summon set with 2x master of the dark (2 all skills) and summon your elementals with that set, and only 3 hard skills in master of elements. once summoning is finished, you switch sets to your dps set. will you lose power points upon switching? because you now only have 3/5 instead of 5/5 in master of elements?

currently thinking about dual masters for that reason, saves 2 skills in master of elements, elemental fortitude, also means 30% minion damage if you have 1 point to elemental revenge and 30% minion health and 50% minion armor for the witch doc, if you have 1 to summoning circle and summoning empowerment.

[Bryan]

Actually you do lose some power points,but only those the weapons themselves provide.

As long as it's a passive bonus,any +points to such a skill on summon are retained even after a weapon switch.That works for Master of the Elements and all the skills you mentioned,the Doctor himself,and even on the Reaper's timer and the Spectral elemental's phase strength 

[Identity]

almost thought so thanks for confirming this

[Bryan]

I have been thinking about updating the guide for a while now.Given Identity's recent tests on crit,I guess it's the right timing to do it