Can't decide who to start playing: necro, aero mage, summoner or poly? And how to combine them?

[genesiset]

Can't decide who to start playing. I know that it doesn't matter because later you can make literally anyone but still it looks like there are definitely particular 'borders' that you should stick into. Like the pairs of elementals: it's always have to be Geo+Fire, I checked a lot of stuff and I never seen, for instance, Geo+Air. Same goes for Hydro+Aero rule, only seeing this pair everywhere.
But I don't understand what are the 'true pairs' for other skill trees like Summoner, Necro etc?
I really don't know who I want to start playing, but it has to be a mage-like class. I also require cool animations and visuals in general. I checked spells tier list and it says most hydro skills are trash. I'm also not interested in Fire or Geo element, don't like it aestetically. I have mixed feeling about a summoner because it looks like he just uses his minion and nothing else? No other schools/trees? Is it possible to be an Aero-Summoner mage or something?

I also think I liked Necromancer (from visuals) and they say he has very good skills, a lot of his spells are A to S in tier list and they say he is versatile and fun to play. I watched some youtube videos (necro gameplay) and it looks like everyone combines Necro skills with Fire element skills, but as I mentioned above I don't like fire element...is it possible to be Necro + Aero or Necro + Summoner or Necro + Polymorph? I mean, technically it's sure is possible, but will it be even playable and not making me suffer?
What would you suggest me to start with, which skills to pick in the character creation screen, which traits/perks, and what of the mentioned trees (that I like) is the best pair?
Aero, Necro, Summoner, Poly - what combinations are good?
Though I heard that if you gonna play summoner, you have to put all points into summoning tree...so I will have no spare points left for the other tree or what? And since Aero and Summoner are ranged mages, while Necro is...melee hybrid or whatever (I didn't understand what he is yet), how is it even going to work?
I actually have melee characters because they are usually physical, I only love mage classes, but in this game the necro is a mage but melee for some reason? Also if Necro abiities do phys dmg, but other magic trees I mentioned do magical dmg, does it mean it can't be combined together?

Oh and btw, is Necro skills that heal yourself will damage my skeleton character or not? I only want to play Fane

I've been sitting thinking for hours, want to start a game already lol

[Chaoslink]

Summoner is kinda unique as the skill breaks core rules that all other skills follow. A “proper” summoning build hits summoning 10, then goes Pyro/Geo/Hydro/Aero 2. This is so you can craft the source infusion spells for each element. You probably also want a point in Scoundrel for Adrenaline, like every build typically.

Necro pairs to Warfare for damage scaling. You don’t get damage scaling from Necro points.

Poly is pretty much exclusively a secondary skill. There’s not enough focused abilities in there to make it a main skill.

Aero can be a main focus and works well with Hydro. You don’t really need to use Hydro for too much, but it’s good to have on the side.

As for the Necro melee thing, they just equip a melee weapon to use the Warfare knockdown spells. You don’t actually use melee aside from that. Same for Necro/Pyro. You take Pyro points to learn Corpse Explosion because, especially early game, Necro lacks offensive spells. Many players actually play summoning until level10-12 then respec Necro just to skip early game Necro.

I personally find Necro boring as it basically just becomes source spell spam. You do the same cycle every fight and wreck everything. It’s repetitive and kinda OP to the point of boredom.

[EthanT]

Poly/Warfare is the build I soloed with

[orthostatic]

This game has a ton of replay value. Just pick a Lost Sinner build from the Steam Guides section, or check them out on Youtube as "Sin Tee". You won't regret the time spent.

Plus, the more you learn about how the game works, the more you will be able to tune different builds to synergize more effectively. It's great stuff. This may be the only RPG I've ever continued playing years after clearing all of the derp achievement flags.

[Haglitm]

I think if you were going to go Aero Summoner, this could be a fun build. I don't think that Hydro is "trash" per say, but I think it's something that you don't want to make your main ability (I don't think I've ever pumped it to 10 for reference). It should also be worth noting that Necromancy scales on Warfare, but if you get something like Torturer, you could do something like Blood Rain and put bleed on all of the enemies, and leave a pool of blood on the floor that you could electrify (some of the reason i recommend having some hydro for an Aero mage so you can do this). I do agree with Chaos though that it's probably better to do summoner rush first, and then expand. But I *also* think it's not a bad idea to splash into fire first to get haste so you can potentially do things like haste / supercharger on your summons (I say be ready for your summons to die in my opinion and just have more than just using the incarnate). Having said that, I think the totems are... Pretty solid for the most part. You can do fun things with netherswap and your party members (IE, being the first person to go, summoning a totem, and then Nether Swapping your melee if you have one in its place while having the totem in viable attacking range.

Maybe I'm wrong on this, but if you want it to be a mage, you could do something like
Talents to consider:
Far Out Man - It's not really a must here since a lot of Aerotherge spells are close range, but it's worth considering.
All Skilled Up - Just to master summon at 10 faster. You can drop later if you want.
Amibidextrous (yah, you can make Elemental Totem scrolls later, and doing this will allow you to start fights that you need to via putting on 3 totems down in the same turn if you don't just outright have one summoned as the first move you make).
Glass Cannon - I think it's useful so you can give your summon full buffs ASAP. It's especially useful if you can find time to fit in at least one point of scoundrel into a build.
The Pawn - Great for letting you move as you're probably not going to have much time for moving yourself with abilities (and you probably don't want to very often honestly).

I think the main thing here for such a build is:
when you're looking for gear for levels, prioritize getting +summon (even if you have to lose int points / respec or have something like 12 strength sometimes.)
- Be the party member with enough wits / initiative to go first. The faster your summons are out there, the better.
- If you can, splash into Pyro 1 so you can at least get haste and peace of mind.
- Getting shields might not be a bad idea so you aren't bothered as much by enemies (especially if you decide to take glass cannon).
- Get at least 1 point of hydro so you can make it rain prebattle and summon water totems. Even if you don't use spells much from hydro, the totems can put wet on enemies and turn shocked into "stuns" which means that you'll have much better CC than if you just take Aero alone. You can also electrify the wet surfaces which will cause the enemies to either take damage walking through the electrified puddle or waste AP walking around it.

And yes, Necro just straight up heals you even if you are a skeleton. If you deal damage, you will heal, no undeads hurt here unless you're attacking them! :P