The Perfect Summoner Contest

The Perfect Summoner Contest

Hey all,

I was looking through my old gear and found my old Shaman's stuff. Its really a shame to let such godly gear rot on a mule, so I am thinking of a giveaway.

To the best PVP SUMMON BASED DRUID I could donate basically perfect gear, including:

10 druid summon charms with 35+
20/19/10 anni
My old rare ammy: +2 10% fc 18 str 16 dex life primsatic
HOTO, Engima, storm with whatever you want, etc, etc etc

Basically, you ask for it, I got it.

This thread can be a brainstorming thread, including exact skill distribution and ideal items. Winner could get me to sponor the build. Remember, it must be PvP and Summon based.

Garbad

 

highly offensive summoner build

obviously 20 points into spirit wolves, dire wolves and summon grizzly are a must for as your going to be a summoning druid.

as your name suggests your an "offensive" summoning druid thus you will use heart of the oak for dmg and AR.

now you'll want 1 point into poison creeper as another source of dmg along with 5 ravens can cause your opponent to block giving your bear/wolves more time to attack.

now thats all for summoning id suggest using twister, only 1 point is need for the stun and any extra points can be put into cyclone armour for elemental absorb or you can put some points into hurricane to add cold dmg.

items generally revolve around +all skills and alot for caster cast, you'll need at least 66% faster cast to be able to use twsiter and tele efficiently.

items:
Heart of the Oak(HotO), this provides +3 all skills, 40% fast cast and a maximum of +40% all res, all very good mods but expensive.

if you cant afford HotO the next best weapons are:
wizzard spike, 50% fast cast, 75%! all resist and +mana per lvl but lacks + skills

Suicide Branch, +1 all skills, 50% fast cast, +life and 10% all resists.

shield:
lidless, lidless is the best shield you could use for this build beeing that you need alot of +skills and fast cast, lidless includes +20% faster cast and +1 all skills, very good shield.

armor:
Enigma runeworded "Breastplate", Enigma has alot of good mods, +2 all skills, 45% fast run/walk, +5% max life, +8% dmg reduce and the infamous teleport, the defense might be low but so are the requirements, only 30 str needed!

rings:
rings include either 2 stones of jordan or to bul-kathos wedding bands, both are basically the same but sojs add mana and BK rings add life, id suggest 1 of eachfor life and mana increase and +2 all skills.

amulet:
Maras amulet, +2 all skills, +5 to all attributes and +20-30% all resists, very good amulet and only exception for another amulet would be a +1-2 druid skills +10-20% fast cast with res crafted amulet.

helm:
Harlequin Crest, quite self explanitary, +2 all skills, 10% dmg reduce and + lots of mana and life per character lvl. only other helm you could consider would be a rare circlet with +skills, faster cast and +resists etc.

gloves:
magefists or trangs gloves, magefists have regen mana and trangs gloves have + cold resists along with 20% faster cast each, both are good choices.

boots:
Water walks, water walks can have +65 life and +15 dex each, + faster run/walk, other boots to consider include sandstorms with str/vit/fast hit recover and rare boots with hit recover, faster run/walk, resists etc.

Belt:
Arachnid Mesh, this belt has +1 all skills and 20% fast cast. very nice.

on switch i suggest using Call To Arms (CTA) and lidless to cast battle command and battle orders, these will increase your life/mana by at least 600 life and 200 mana.

Stats:
30 base str
no points into dex
all possible points in VIT
no points into energy


with this build and these items you'll reach 100-110% cast cast, minimum of 1.5k life and a bear that can do upwards of 6k dmg.

(ill right strats later along with any suggestions you make.)

 

I think it should be more thna theoretical before you give anything away Garbad. With no more Smite abilities on the Grizzly's attack it's going to be nigh on impossible to accomplish any damage with Summons...

 

BTW, again, don't let cost be an issue. I have literally thousands of runes. Super hard to find rares I may or may not have, it just depends.

Garbad

 

If you are a summoner with a Bear that actually should hurt the opponent, I'd use that runeword that give Fanaticm over HotO any day.

EDIT: DeathHand, for that build to work, you would need either more run/walk so you wouldn't be killed instantly or your would need LOTS of more life, IMO.

 

Well, sure I'd like the items :uhhuh: but the reason I post is mostly because I always liked the concept of Summoners yet have failed to see anything great come out (I joined nearly at the same time as the board wipe)

Now, here's what I believe could be fun and maybe good for pvp:

Grizzly - Maxed
Dire Wolves - Maxed
Spirit Wolves - Maxed
Raven - Maxed ? (I'm saying this because on blizzard's site it says there is a synergy and resist all ... not really clear what they mean)
HoW - Maxed

Now some people might say that I'd need something to 'do' while my summons are there. Considering the massive damage that can be dealt in such a short period of time (Hammers, FoH, Fireball, etc) I think I'll spend most of my time recasting to keep them busy.

Items
HotO
Enigma
Shako
Mara
SS
Arachnid
2x Soj
Trang-Oul's Claw
Silkweave

10x Summoning Grand Charms
1x Anni
9x Resist All/ Faster Run/Walk / Str (to equip items if necessary)

Basic strategy:

Before I say anything, everything written here is my opinion and MOSTLY conjectures, I haven't made this guy yet and never dueled with a summoner. So in fact these are more what I believe should work.

Well the way I see it, who you fight will simply determine which summon you need.

Spirit Wolves - I guess it'd be easier to catch up with teleing opponents (read: casters) and also to escape Bone Prisons, or Walls

Dire Wolves - With these guys, you want to fight a summoner necros, or another summoning druid so you get them enraged. Else, I guess I'd use them only for Melee char that can target only one thing at a time and that spirit wolves can't survive (Charge, Smite, FoH, Maul ?)

Grizzly - Vs. Barbs in general, Zeal Pally, Fury Druid, Fend Zon (If those even exist lol)

So I guess what I can conclude from this is (those classes which appear twice will mean that both could be used depending on opponent or depending on what REALLY happens when you duel with that build lol):

Spirit Wolves - Bone Necros, Hammerdin, Fire Sorc, Blizzard Sorc, Fury, Zeal, Berserk

Grizzly - Hammerdin, Fire Sorc, Blizzard Sorc, Rabies, Fury, Zeal, Concentrate, WW Sin, Kicker

Mmm, maybe I won't use Dire Wolves, in PvP I think I'd prefer Spirit Wolves.

Mmm, writing about it makes me want to do one.

Oh well, I just hope it gets people thinking about possible ideas !

MaskOfSeasons

Lol said I had included too many smilies, meh too bad.

EDIT: Sorry I hadn't read the previous post since it was posted WHILE I was writing it, so excuse me for any similarities or anything.

 

I had a Shockbear guy in 1.09 with maxed Direwolves to use against casters. They were mean and deadly, I tell you!! Ask Struber, if you should ever see him.

Another thing: View some of garbad's stuff at: www.nybro.dk/~t50/Shaman.gif

 

you mean "beast" ? thats not a bad idea, although you'll lose 40-50% fastcast and -3 to all skills including resists.

also why would i need lots of run/walk, ill be teleporting ontop of opponents not running and also with a 9(?) frame casting of twisters you shouildnt really be getting hit too much.

ill inculde strats later as i dont have much time to add any at the moment.

btw grizzly bears can easily 700-1k pvp dmg per hit agaisnt a 50% DR opponent so summon dmg isnt an issue.

 

As I said, I wouldn't mind the items but I posted mainly to help the 'brainstorming' since I neither HAVE a summoner druid nor did I ever used one ... Let alone duel with one.

Everything I said is simply hypotheses that I believe make sense. I know Dire Wolves do a lot of damage but the reason I'd keep em out is because the spirit wolves' ability to teleport is really useful vs. fast opponents (wheter (However it's written) because of Teleport or simply Stacked R/W)

I'd also prefer spirit since they can be 5 therefore attacking 'faster' (this is relative of course) so putting the opponent in recovery or dodge/weapon block lock.

Oh and btw the link to the .gif doesn't seem to work for Garbad's Items.

And following the previous guide I guess I should add a section

Stats:
Str - 100 (With enigma or str charms this gives you PLENTY to equip nearly anything)
Dex - 175 (While making my elementalist I realized it was quite easy to get to ~210 with a base of 175 which is enough to get the listed Block % at lvl 99)
Vit - 290 (Which is jsut the rest)
Ene - None

Oh and another thing I'd like to note is that Following fenris' guide I'd say it's better to make enigma in archon plate.

One LAST thing, if ravens don't give resist all I'd rather put the points in WB and Shock Wave.

All these observations are both for my post and deathshand's.

MaskOfSeasons

 

some things i should have mentioned before, i HAVE been pvp and pvm summoners BUT that was in 1.09 so my "guide" if you can call it that was mostly theoretical.

MaskOfSeasons:
i would like you to understand my reasoning behind using enigma breastplate over archon;

1) you're using heart of the oak and are using human form therefore your life is naturally low (even with CTA).

2) Only the skill Werebear gives enhanced defense and unless u max Werebear (not likely) the extra 300 def makes very littel difference especially as most melee duellers have at LEAST 4-5k AR which will easily break your 1.5k def so the lower requirements are much more usefull.

3) Enigma Archon armours are generally more expensive then Enigma Breastplates and if you make the enimga your self 3 socket breastplates are alot easier to find.

(do not take that as a "flame" or me condesending you, im just giving my opinion as to how enigma breastplates are the superior armor (over elite versions))

Now, if you use breastplates this means you'll be saving 70 stats from str and putting them into VIT, this means 140 extra life before BO and about 200 after BO, a noticable improvement since you dont use Oak.

something im not sure about yet is a secondary attack and whether or not to use block, any suggestions please?

btw if we can get some good ideas down ill try this build out seriously with and maybe think up a good pvp summoner guide (the first one diablo2 history)

 

I would definitely use block. You'll be teleporting on top of them, so they'll kill you if you aren't careful.

Clarification: First PURE PvP Summoner guide maybe.

 

ive been thinking ive thought of 2 ways this could go, either max rabies and use carrion wind (about 5k poison dmg) or use shockwave to keep them stunned.

im aware u cant use tele while shifted but could u possible tele onto someone then shift and use rabies/shockwave?

 

You have thousands of runes but you wanted to sell poor fenris and ETH arachnid :hanky: Strid for mod.

 

To answer DeathsHand

1) I agree, which is why I believe you need blocking

2) Werebear itself would be at one, I'd shapechange only to be able to cast shockwave, if I DID add points to this tree it would be in lychantropy.
Oh and since I realised you can't tele while shapeshifted you migth be better off just dropping that tree.

3)I completely agree with you, but since I'm using SS I needed the STR anyways so might as well use it to get a higher defense armor.

To answer ProudFoot

Even though I will use Enigma I don't intend to teleport that much to avoid the risk you described (i.e. teleing on top of them and dying), to reposition my summons I'd prefer recasting them (Which is what I'll spend most of my time doing ... spirits don't tend to live long)

To add to my own post

I just did some SP testing and was surprised at the damage a Bear could do. With crappy gear (And I mean CRAPPY, total +5 to summoning) my Bear was able to handle WSK 2, 3, Throne and Baal in NM. That may not sound impressive, but add better gear (more +to skills maybe fanatiscm) a merc with Doom and Might ... and he'd maybe be able to do it on hell !

My point being that since you can't really use a merc in PvP (even in pubby) getting HotO to precast is great but then maybe I'd switch to Beast ? And since there is no casting delay for summons, you can very quickly recast a bear (for example) in a hammerdin's weak spot (Lower Left) or even to get past bone prisons/walls.

Here's a 'revision' of my 'guide' for a Pure PvP summoner (but that can do fairly well in PvM)

PvP Summoner

Skills:
Grizzly - Maxed
Dire Wolves - Maxed
Spirit Wolves - Maxed
Heart of Wolverine - Maxed
Oak Sage - Maxed

Items:
Enigma/CoH
Shako Socketed with Um
Mara/Gaean amulet of something
Arachnid/Verdungo
2x Soj/2x Bul Khatos/2x Dwarf/2x Raven/2x Wisp
Trang-Oul's Claw/Frostburns
Silkweave/Waterwalk/Aldur's Boots

Precast: (If you don't mind taking the time to do it)
HotO/Lidless, Wiz/Lidless
CTA/Lidless
Demon Limb (To enchant Bear/Wolves)

In Combat:
HotO/SS (Socketed with Um) - This would be to recast and teleport
Beast/SS (Socketed with Um) - Once you get the guy surrounded by wolves

10x Summoning Grand Charms with + to life
1x Anni
9x Resist All/ Faster Run/Walk / Str (to equip items if necessary)

Basic strategy:

Casters:
Generally because of the HUGE damage, you'll want Oak sage to help both you and your minions survive. As for the weapon in this case I'd get Beast so your minions will be faster to land a hit. I have to test the teleporting ability of the spirit wolves in PvP but if they follow a teleporting enemy, then Spirit wolves are my summon of choice, against casters that teleport less but cast more, I'd go for grizzly for it's better survival capacity.

Summoners:
Against summoners (druids or necros) I'd go for Dire Wolves for the body eating (if it works) and the good balance of damage/spread combined with HoW.

Melee:
Spirit is HoW in most cases since you'll NEED the AR and damage to hurt these guys. Against attacks that target a single monster (Charge, Berserk,Smite, Maul, Poison Dagger,DTalon, etc.) I'd go for spirit wolves. Against attacks that target multiple monsters (Zeal,Fury,WW,Rabies,etc) I'd use Oak and Spirit Wolves.

Mmm, ok that does it. My next char HAS to be a PvP summoner ... once I find some half decent stuff I'll start one and i'll try to update the strategy section.

MaskOfSeasons

 

nice summoner guides collecting
tomorrow if I have time, i ll try one

 

I don't see why a summoner needs to be pure, really ... I'd rather shift into bear for for the extra life (and defence and FHR aswell). If you're not going to use any elemental spells at all I just see it as plain stupid not being a bear!

 

Strid, give me a link to my items. (wtf do you have them for anyhow)?

Garbad

 

LOL, garbad you stupid n00blar ... O_O
You asked me if I could host those pictures like last year or so. And so I did, and they're still on my webspace:

www.nybro.dk/~t50/garbad/Shaman.gif
www.nybro.dk/~t50/garbad/JAVAS2.gif
www.nybro.dk/~t50/garbad/L28 Pala.gif
www.nybro.dk/~t50/garbad/l90 pala.gif
www.nybro.dk/~t50/garbad/Stones.gif

is all I got. I think I messed up the link last time...

 

Let's review some of this...

Enigma breast plate gives a maximum of 74 strength at level 99. Suppose your character is level 85, then you get a bonus of 63 strength. Add base strength of a druid of 15 and you have a total of 78.
Suggested equipment lists +5 from maras, +2 from harlequin's crest and you end up with a whooping total of 85. That's still at least 48 short of wearing a -15% requirement Stormshield (133 strength) and 71 short of wearing a non-socketed stormshield (156 strength). That is a lot of strength to still make up and you will probably end up increasing strength by allocating statpoints. If you get +strength from rings, amulets or charms it doesn't actually matter for worries about re-equipping gear since those slots will be automatically filled anyway. I don't see any other suggested +strength gear.

Base strength of 15+48 = 63, at least enough strength to wear an exceptional armor.
Base strength of 15+71 = 86, enough strength to wear an elite armor.

You might as well go for one of those instead of a non-stylish ugly breast plate (Fashion matters). Every bit of defense makes a difference and if you intend to shift into a bear such a difference is extra. Even if it is only a 1% chance to hit difference for your opponent, if you intend to optimise then you gain a little here.


Dire wolves shouldn't have to be maxed if you intend to duel with grizzly and/or spirit wolves exclusively. They provide a life bonus to the animals which can result in them becoming bigger leech sources to the opponent. Dire wolves can be very impressive though.



With the suggestions I'm about to make you'll lose +skills for the summons, but you can always use switchgear to normal Shockbear standards when you think the following melee stunning approach won't work (it used to work in 1.09 for my shockbear). I've tried the normal fast casting Shockbear tactics in 1.10 but I noticed it is now a lot tougher to get your minions to kill properly. The following did give me some proper results.

If you go for blocking then your dexterity is already good and you will have a decent amount of base attack rating. Now the trick would be to use a rare phase that has a fool's mod and 30% IAS. Add an AR/15% IAS jewel to get a 7fps attack (in 1.09 I had to use a magical fool's with IAS/shael as sockets since 20% was the maximum on rares, not anymore now).
20% IAS from a possible Cat's Eye gives then a 6fps attack nice faster run bonus and some AR bonus from the dex it gives as well.

Add Cerebus Bite or Ialal's for AR/shapeshift boost and go for a level 1 maul attack to stun the opponent while your minions attack it. The AR bonus from HoW will aid you further for a nice amount of AR that you could get at around 10000 due to the fool's mod on your phase (okay, maybe a bit less since I had alternative rings). Overall proper enough to hit most opponents, though not all of them nowadays.

Of course you stun your opponent first with shockwave since the 6fps attack probably won't do overall. For that you have 20% fcr from Arachnid's Mesh, 20% from magefist or trang oul gloves, which should give a 12 frame shockwave. Not too bad if you ask me all considering. Keep your minions around and circle potholes whilst using shockwaves. If you see a swirl move in with your maul attack and hope your minion(s) move in fast enough to get their hits in.

It should be possible to get around level 34 to 36 minions or 36 to 38 if you prefer a 7 fps maul and use a +2 amulet rather than Cat's Eye (11 charms, 1 arachnid, 2 enigma, possible 2 from ialal). Seems a bit low however so prebuffing may be the idea and moving in with your shockwave/maul as soon as possible. You may be able to get an additional +2 from Bulkathos and Stone of Jordan rings of course.

No maxed DR either and maybe hard to get maxed resistances but yes... that's the challenge of it. If you feel like experimenting with a maul/shockbear.... this is probably one of the ways it can be done, although full optimisation is still needed. Lots of options to make small changes though.


PS: I just noticed the talk about Beast and fanaticism. Since you go as far as using Fanaticism you may also want to go as far as (ab?)using the level 13 grizzly charges.... so if you run out of options for skillpoint allocation you can spare all points from grizzly to get the (buggy?) synergy bonus, but of course that's fully up to you. It could allow maxing lycanthropy, werebear on top of your summoning skills at the cost of some direwolf damage....

 

I believe a shockbear will be the best build with its massive life. Max HoW to deal some damage, max the two wolves, and grizzly and use either the grizzly or wolves depending on who you're dueling. Plus skills will pump shockwave and either put points in werebear, lycanthropy, or cyclone.

Max block should be a no-brainer.

A little FCR will be needed for shockwave.

I was just writing this because I was bored, but now it sounds kind of interesting to actually have damaging summons.