Must have devotions for pet build

[DraX]

I read many articles/builds for necro pet style and found many different opinions about devotion setup/criteria. So i wanted to also ask, which are must have devotions that buff our pets and why? Also in which skill is best to combine them, like shepard crook with...?

So far im 46 lvl only necro and started to setup devotions, i have so far imp for skele, shepard crook with reaper, lion, panter, toad, hawk, jackal or something like that, not sure what next... Planing to go for rathosh stuff

[Carl!!!!]

Focus on ones that will buff your pets, or that you can bind to your pets to debuff enemies with. Never forget about your own survival though. No you = no pets.

[DraX]

Forgot to add, im looking for suggestion for mid-game, not endgame.

I'll rebuokd it later for specific build, but right niw im testing and playing 'overall with pets'

[Elenoe]

Well, I don't fully understand them either, more like I'm facing the same "choice" (being conjurer pet summoner tho with physical pets).

And so far:

- in early game (veteran) it doesn't matter. Pets are just taking care about everything just fine no matter what (I just stack items with pet bonuses/more pets)

- in the mid game (elite/ultimate) you actualy target the endgame setup as you have enough points

- endgame is not really about different individual devotions and all the "discussions" seem to boil into "what late devotions to target" which pretty much defines the path how to get them. So it often have some "suboptimal" devotions just for affinities. And that the choice of late devotion is more based on damage you are planning to do.

- stacking %damage bonuses goes only so far. I'm level 46 and sitting on 300%. Something like Lion seems to bring nothing aboard. Especially when the %damage is scaling with gear. So adding something multiplicative like damage reduction (in my case Manticore) seems to have more effect.

And since I'm playing a bit careless and draw too much attention (while all I need to survive is duck&cover while managing buffs/procs) I think I will need an Ishtak (and Nature's Guardian) which also mean I need Sailor, Eel and Crane to get enough affinity

[DraX]

Originally posted by Elenoe:

Well, I don't fully understand them either, more like I'm facing the same "choice" (being conjurer pet summoner tho with physical pets).

And so far:

- in early game (veteran) it doesn't matter. Pets are just taking care about everything just fine no matter what (I just stack items with pet bonuses/more pets)

- in the mid game (elite/ultimate) you actualy target the endgame setup as you have enough points

- endgame is not really about different individual devotions and all the "discussions" seem to boil into "what late devotions to target" which pretty much defines the path how to get them. So it often have some "suboptimal" devotions just for affinities. And that the choice of late devotion is more based on damage you are planning to do.

- stacking %damage bonuses goes only so far. I'm level 46 and sitting on 300%. Something like Lion seems to bring nothing aboard. Especially when the %damage is scaling with gear. So adding something multiplicative like damage reduction (in my case Manticore) seems to have more effect.

And since I'm playing a bit careless and draw too much attention (while all I need to survive is duck&cover while managing buffs/procs) I think I will need an Ishtak (and Nature's Guardian) which also mean I need Sailor, Eel and Crane to get enough affinity

Could you list me your current devotions?

[Boink]

Your basic choice is Mogdrogen or Fallen God: that's the end point of devotions for a pure pet build. Everything else is either getting to those or supplementing them. i.e. after getting one of those two you choose +OA randoms like panther or -RR like manticore. You can get to Mogdrogen with ~30 devotion points, FG takes a bit more from memory. But you can do Mog in Veteran, I've done it several times.

As a Necro, you might want to focus more towards FG, due to +vitality %dam for skeletons. I have a 100 HC ritualist (13k HP, cleared Ult) who uses ravenous + bone wave (whatever it's called) if you want a setup using Myth Corruptor + AoM Bargol + Wraith off hand (the ++bonuses to Necro skills are rediculously good - you can get up to +8-10 in summoning skills alone, allowing for a very full build) I can post it. Bone is there for a) the massive pet buff the end tree skill gives, b) to proc a devotion and c) surprisingly massive DD. Note: this requires farming MIs, but, and here's the kicker - the level 70 / 84 give as much +summoning skills to skele / blight as the higher ones, so farming them is ultra fast. Oh, and the vendor in the new Ancient Grove also sells them which is easy mode: I farmed mine before that update happened.

I also use Reap as an offensive proccer + DD which many people don't like - it's micro-management intensive, but the DD payoff + control of Proccs is worth it, imo. Same for Manticore summon - I use both because endgame Necro gear is stuffed to the gills with +free points to both - you can get +6 easily, making getting 9 in each very viable.

Very endgame (100, farming stuff) you'll be tempted to ditch the skeletons; too squishy, annoying to micro during dangerous fights and the DD is less impressive: I'm playing around with that possibility but it takes some dedicated gear. Then again, you'll probably have anything from +6 to +10 to skeleton skills just from gear, making a 1/1/1 investment a no-brainer even if you want the points elsewhere.


Oh, and to add some drama: Manticore is often seen as "must have" for endgame pet builds: it's not. I have a (90ish?) occ/shaman who transmutes almost all the damage into elemental / lightning and the proc from crown is much better - 15% chance to proc vrs 10% and -26 RR base vrs -10. It's simply a better DD setup, but it takes a bit to achieve. <- You won't see this build very often.

[Wintermute]

Shepherd's crook is a must-have on any pet build. Rest depends on the class you run.

Fiend or Huntress are good on skeles.

Resist reductions are also mandatory, but those depend on your damage focus. I've seen Solael Witchblade and Widow used.

[DraX]

Originally posted by Boink:

Your basic choice is Mogdrogen or Fallen God: that's the end point of devotions for a pure pet build. Everything else is either getting to those or supplementing them. i.e. after getting one of those two you choose +OA randoms like panther or -RR like manticore. You can get to Mogdrogen with ~30 devotion points, FG takes a bit more from memory. But you can do Mog in Veteran, I've done it several times.

As a Necro, you might want to focus more towards FG, due to +vitality %dam for skeletons. I have a 100 HC ritualist (13k HP, cleared Ult) who uses ravenous + bone wave (whatever it's called) if you want a setup using Myth Corruptor + AoM Bargol + Wraith off hand (the ++bonuses to Necro skills are rediculously good - you can get up to +8-10 in summoning skills alone, allowing for a very full build) I can post it. Bone is there for a) the massive pet buff the end tree skill gives, b) to proc a devotion and c) surprisingly massive DD. Note: this requires farming MIs, but, and here's the kicker - the level 70 / 84 give as much +summoning skills to skele / blight as the higher ones, so farming them is ultra fast. Oh, and the vendor in the new Ancient Grove also sells them which is easy mode: I farmed mine before that update happened.

I also use Reap as an offensive proccer + DD which many people don't like - it's micro-management intensive, but the DD payoff + control of Proccs is worth it, imo. Same for Manticore summon - I use both because endgame Necro gear is stuffed to the gills with +free points to both - you can get +6 easily, making getting 9 in each very viable.

Very endgame (100, farming stuff) you'll be tempted to ditch the skeletons; too squishy, annoying to micro during dangerous fights and the DD is less impressive: I'm playing around with that possibility but it takes some dedicated gear. Then again, you'll probably have anything from +6 to +10 to skeleton skills just from gear, making a 1/1/1 investment a no-brainer even if you want the points elsewhere.


Oh, and to add some drama: Manticore is often seen as "must have" for endgame pet builds: it's not. I have a (90ish?) occ/shaman who transmutes almost all the damage into elemental / lightning and the proc from crown is much better - 15% chance to proc vrs 10% and -26 RR base vrs -10. It's simply a better DD setup, but it takes a bit to achieve. <- You won't see this build very often.

Which procs do you use on which skills? Like which on skele and blight? Also which on reap and which on bone

[Schizoid embolism]

You can get fallen god and mordagens pact in the same build, just.
https://www.grimtools.com/calc/pZrodON6

[Faust Wither]

if you a cabalist you can combine the crook with curse of frailty.

[Schizoid embolism]

Bone harvest is the optimal one no? As you're using that to get the passive soul harvest ( 3rd skill bubble in line) anyway.

[DraX]

is it worth to potetialy sacrafice all other devotions for fallen god? its price and also needs some hp/mana buff, becouse it drains it every second

[RodHull]

Totally depends on your build my cabalist pet build went for tanky pets, full 95% resist on all except pierce and bleed if i recall (poison is also 95 but BOD doesnt show on pets in grimtools for some reason)

https://www.grimtools.com/calc/vNQKakRV

However this does lack the pure dps of other more common pet builds but she can clear all main campaign content sans ravager, lokar and mog. Rashalga down in around 30 seconds rarely have to resummon skeles as they are tanky as f**k, she can do crucible gladiator up to around 130 comfortably, but if she gets fabius or shieldmaden spawns they just ignore my pets and destroy me. With a bit of tweaking and more optimal gear she could get to 150 gladiator imo.

The two schools of thought are huge dps from pets to burn things down fast OR massive health and resists so they can just body block and face tank stuff. Think my skeles have 35k health using this setup, early on id focus on getting fiend, bysmiel, shepherd and witchblade personally. But thas just me

[Elenoe]

https://www.grimtools.com/calc/q2MJ8w0V - this is what I have
https://www.grimtools.com/calc/p25qLa02 - this is where I'm currently heading to

But I currently have 6 pets and most damage they do is physical, so I really want to try Manticore and Assasin's Blade for resist reduction.

You can get Fiend if you do damage yourself.

Other version is to get Ulo/Ishtak for more survival and pet taunt (I might spec for that later; that was the original for Gladiator crucible I based this on).

[RodHull]

Originally posted by Elenoe:

You can get Fiend if you do damage yourself.

Alot of pure pet builds (including mine) use fiend on the skeletons, the aura procs when they attack and procs on them so if you have say 8 skeletons thats 8 firey auras around your skelemans couple that with a hellhound with witchblade and it shreds most mobs fast.

[DraX]

Manticore proc stack together? For example i f few skele trigger it on same target, res reduction, armor reduction and acid/poison dmg will stack together?