The Baron
Necromancer Build

Updated for Patch 3.21

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The Baron is a Unique Helmet that's a core element of this build, it allows you to summon more Zombies the more Strength you have - one extra Zombie per 500 Strength. If you manage to accumulate 1000 Strength, your Zombies' Damage will be Leeched back to you. That's the minimum Strength to run this build, you can then go for 1500 or even 2000 Strength for extra Zombies, but it's usually not as important as it seems. You should, however, make some space for other various utilities such as Aspect of the Spider, Aspect of the Avian, or you could equip Aegis Aurora and make it a Hybrid build as it's very flexible, the only requirement is to have 1000 Strength and to use Zombies as your main source of damage, other than that it's a regular Minion Build that can be shaped accordingly to your preferences.

Due to the Nature of Strength-stacking, using your Minion to shield you from damage and to Leech Life back to you, and requiring little to no specific affixes on your gear, the build is one of the most defensive-oriented ones. You can easily reach 8k of Maximum Life with defensive layers such as Block Chance, Armour, Immunity to various Ailments, Bone Barrier, and Offerings that can affect your character. The damage is very high, you can also supplement it by using another 6-link (if you're not using a Wand/Shield) where you can put Summon Skeletons or Spectres. It's a build recommended for Necromancer fans that seek a very hard-to-kill character, one able to survive a Shaper's Slam. As for the price - it varies from being extremely expensive to a 10c makeshift build, it depends on your budget.

Patch 3.19 introduced some changes to all Minion Builds. Takin the Unnatural Strength Keystone is no longer an obvious choice, it requires some additional investment in Chaos Damage by applying a Withered debuff, changing the main skill gem setup to not include Brutality, and adjusting Cluster Jewels for a mixed Chaos/Physical Damage. It can result in more long-term single-target damage, but a much simpler solution is to allocate Plaguebringer instead. It simply grants your Minions more Damage and makes you take less of it granted you spawn corpses, which you should do anyway - to use an Offering Skill.

You can also check our other Path of Exile builds right over here Odealo's Crafty Guides - Full List

1. Gameplay

You're going to use several types of Minions - these are Zombies, Spectres, Animated Guardian, and Carrion Golem. You can equip your Animated Guardian with various Unique Items to enhance your other Minions' performance, Spectres offers a huge variety of buffs as well. Carrion Golem will increase the Physical Damage of your other Minions. For a Guard Spell, use Bone Armour from your Ascendancy Skill Tree. A Movement Spell of your choice can be a default Flame Dash, Dash, or Frostblink. The Auras that should affect your Minions are Dread Banner and Pride, the Auras which are good for your Character are Determination and Purity of Elements. There is also Aspect of the Avian or the Spider to choose from, both are really useful. For a Curse use Vulnerability, it increases the Physical Damage affected enemies receive. It's also useful to have Convocation to recall Minions back to your location. Another set of Skills that's good to have is Flesh Offering with Desecrate, preferably cast automatically every 8 seconds via crafted weapon affix.

Full gameplay video:

2. Build's PROS & CONS

3. Leveling tips

We recommend using our guide on how to level up a  Minion Build. It has all the details you need

Bandits:

Kill all three Bandits for two additional Skill Points

Leveling Skill Trees:

23 Points Skill Tree
Take Lord of The Dead, Cruel Preparation, and Death Attunement

62 Points Skill Tree
get more Maximum Life, Minion Damage, and Mana Reservation Efficiency

4. Final Skill Tree, Ascendancy Points, and Pantheon

Final Skill Tree:

111 Points Final Skill Tree (doesn't include Cluster or Unique Jewels)
123 Points Path of Building (PoB) link

Ascendancy points:

Preferably in that order:

1. Mindless Aggression
2. Bone Barrier
3. Commander of Darkness
4. Plaguebringer

Pantheon:

Major God: Soul of Lunaris: 1% additional Physical Damage Reduction for each nearby Enemy, up to 8%; 1% increased Movement Speed for each
nearby Enemy, up to 8%

Minor God: Soul of Yugul: 50% chance to Reflect Hexes; You and your Minions take 50% reduced Reflected Damage

5. Final Gems links

[DPS] Raise Zombie setup
	Raise Zombie - it's as Simple Minion Skill as you can get, you spawn them from a corpse, they use a default Attack as well as Slam to deal Physical Attack Damage
	Minion Damage Support - Minions deal more Damage but have less Maximum Life
	Empower Support - Increases the Level of Raise Zombie Skill Gem. You can replace it with  Ruthless Support.
	Brutality Support - Zombies are able to deal only Physical Damage, but it's greatly increased.
	Melee Physical Damage Support - Melee Physical Damage is increased, but the Attack Speed reduced
	Multistrike Support - Attacks are repeated additional times with increased Attack Speed

[UTILITY] Minions setup
	Animate Guardian - Animate Guardian can be equipped with various Unique Items to enhance your other Minions
	Feeding Frenzy Support - linked Minions are Aggressive and have increased Attack, Cast, and Movement Speed
	Raise Spectre - you can use various Spectres for many useful Buffs, it can be spawned from a corpse of the Minion you want to summon as your own
	Minion Life Support - Linked Minions have more and increased Maximum Life

[UTILITY] Minion's Auras setup
	Dread Banner - It grants increased Impale Effect and Chance to Impale while reducing the Accuracy Rating of nearby enemies
	Pride - enemies affected by Pride receive more Physical Damage, it grows stronger after four seconds of being constantly exposed to it
	Generosity Support - Auras won't affect you but your Minions only, the effect of Auras is increased
	Enlighten Support - increased Mana Reservation Efficiency for Linked Auras

[UTILITY] Auras setup
	Determination - your Character has additional and increased Armour
	Purity of Elements - grants you a lot of Elemental Resistances and Immunity to all Elemental Ailments
	Enlighten Support

[UTILITY] Flesh offering and Desecrate socketed in "trigger every 8 seconds" weapon
	Flesh Offering - increased Attack, Cast, and Movement Speed for your Minions
	Desecrate - spawns 5 Corpses that can be consumed for Flesh Offering for when there are no Corpses nearby
	Lifetap Support - linked Skills cost Life instead of Mana

[UTILITY] Carrion Golem
	Summon Carrion Golem - Carrion Golem adds Physical Damage to Minions' Attacks, it increases their Damage and Maximum Life

[UTILITY] Convocation
	Convocation - your Minions are teleported back to you and have their Life Regeneration increased for a while

[UTILITY] Vulnerability
	Vulnerability - a Curse that would make the enemies take more Physical Damage

[MOBILITY] Flame Dash
	Flame Dash - use it as a basic Mobility Skill

6. Gear Setup

When using The Baron your primary objective is to get 1000 Strenght, and if you want to get more you can go for 1500 or 2000. Just be aware that you get one extra Zombie per 500 Strength. Your weapon and Amulet can be used to increase the Gem Level of Raise Zombie, that is the best way to increase your DPS. Speaking of a weapon, you should craft the mod that would allow you to cast linked Spells Every 8 seconds there. Other than that, the build leaves you with a lot of room to experiment and shape it according to your needs. You can for example use a Bow which increases the level of socketed Gems by 3, but the Wand and Shield setup is more defensive-oriented. If you're able to - try to craft the affixes that increase Minion's Damage. Attributes should not be any problem, same with Elemental Resistances, you can seek more Armour, Chaos Resistance, and Life Regeneration if you want to be sure that nothing will slay your character.

Our recommended items will:

1. Cap your resistances at 75%
2. Provide you with enough DPS and Life to start mapping

(Helmet) The Baron - The Baron is the core element of the build, it synergizes with your Zombies and Strength in a very unique way

+2 to Level of Socketed Minion Gems Minions have (10-20)% increased maximum Life Half of your Strength is added to your Minions +1 to maximum number of Raised Zombies per 500 Strength With at least 1000 Strength, (1.5-2)% of Damage dealt by your Raised Zombies is Leeched to you as Life

Helmet enchantments: Raise Zombie enchantments

(Weapon) Rare Sceptre or Wand - it should increase the Level of Raise Zombie Skill Gem, increase Minion Damage, and automatically Trigger socketed Spells

Min. requirements: +1 to Level of all Spell Skill Gems Minions deal 50% increased Damage (crafted) Trigger a Socketed Spell when you Use a Skill, with a 8 second Cooldown (crafted) Optional affixes: Minions have 15% increased Attack Speed Minions have 15% increased Cast Speed +1 to Level of all Minion Skill Gems Trigger a Socketed Spell when you Use a Skill, with a 4 second Cooldown

(Shield) Rare Shield - used for more Block Chance, Strength, Life, Resistances, and Mana Reservation Efficiency

Min. requirements: +70 to Maximum Life +50% to Elemental Resistances +50 to Strength Optional affixes: Armour Socketed Gems have 30% increased Reservation Efficiency

(Shield) Aegis Aurora - A very popular Shield for characters with Armour, Block Chance, and Energy Shield. If you have a significant amount of all of these, equip Aegis Aurora.

(300-400)% increased Armour and Energy Shield +10% to all Elemental Resistances +5% to maximum Cold Resistance +6% Chance to Block Recover Energy Shield equal to 2% of Armour when you Block (10-20)% increased Elemental Damage with Attack Skills

(Weapon) Rare two-handed weapon or a Bow - Two-handed weapons and Bows offer different kinds of mods, you can use them to make your main Zombies setup much stronger via the local Skill Gem Level modifiers, also the Minion Damage mods are more potent. These mods are, however, still hard to get.

Min. requirements: +1 to Level of Socketed Gems +2 to Level of Socketed Support Gems Minions deal 100% increased Damage Optional affixes: Minions have increased Attack Speed Minions have chance to deal Double Damage

(Body Armour) Rare Body Armour - here you can find a rare Warlord's or Elder's Suffix that would increase your Strength by up to 12%, otherwise, it's great for Maximum Life, additional Strength, and Resistances

Min. requirements: +50% to Elemental Resistances +50 to Strength +100 to maximum Life Optional affixes: 10% increased Strength increased maximum Life +1 to Level of Socketed Active Skill Gems

(Body Armour) Saqawal's Nest - It's a Unique Body Armour that enhances your Aspect of the Avian Skill, grants you a lot of Attributes, and Mana Reservation Efficiency

+(25-75) to all Attributes +(30-40)% to Lightning Resistance (20-12)% increased Mana Reservation Efficiency of Skills 100% increased Aspect of the Avian Buff Effect Aspect of the Avian also grants Avian's Might and Avian's Flight to nearby Allies +(120-150) to Evasion Rating and Energy Shield

(Boots) Rare Boots - try to get a pair with Life, Movement Speed, Strength, and additional Elemental Resistances

Min. requirements: +70 to Maximum Life +50 to Strength 25% increased Movement Speed Optional affixes: Armour Chaos Resistance Elemental Resistances

(Boots) Alberon's Warpath - these Boots grant you increased Strengths by up to 18%, making it one of the best Items for this build

Adds 1 to 80 Chaos Damage to Attacks +(180-220) to Armour +(9-12)% to Chaos Resistance 20% increased Movement Speed +1 to maximum number of Skeletons (15-18)% increased Strength

(Gloves) Rare Gloves - besides the regular defensive stats it's also a good opportunity to get some extra Dexterity, it's going to be needed for Desecrate

Min. requirements: +50 to Maximum Life +60% to Elemental Resistances Minions deal 20% increased Damage (crafted) +50 to Strength Optional affixes: Armour Dexterity Chaos Resistance

(Belt) Rare Belt - Synthesised Implicits have a chance to increase your Strength by up to 18%, you really want to have such a belt

Min. requirements: +60 to Maximum Life +60 to Strength 18% increased Strength (synthesized Implicit) Optional affixes: increased maximum Life Minions have #% increased maximum Life Elemental Resistances

(Amulet) Ashes of the Stars - it's good enough, the Level, Quality, and Mana Efficiency mods are all useful, but it grants you little to no Strength

+(10-16) to all Attributes (5-10)% increased Experience Gain of Gems (10-20)% increased Reservation Efficiency of Skills +1 to Level of all Skill Gems +(20-30)% to Quality of all Skill Gems

(Amulet) Rare Amulet - Elder's Prefix can extend your Zombies limit by one,  you can also get the regular +1 to all Skill Gems, and obviously more Strength and Life

Min. requirements: +60 to Maximum Life +50 to Strength +1 to maximum number of Raised Zombies Optional affixes: Dexterity +1 to Level of all Skill Gems Minions deal increased Damage

Recommended Anointments: Charisma Enduring Bond

(Ring) Rare Ring - As was the case with the Belt, you can also get a synthesized Implicit for increased Strength, by up to 7%. Get some more Strength, Maximum Life, and increased Minion Damage mods

Min. requirements: +70 to Maximum Life 7% increased Strength (synthesized Implicit) +50 to Strength Optional affixes: Elemental Resistances Non-Channelling Skills have -(7-6) to Total Mana Cost (crafted) Chaos Resistance Minions deal 30% increased Damage Dexterity

(Jewel) Rare Jewels - these should grant you extra Maximum Life, Elemental Resistances, Minon Damage, and Attributes

Min. requirements: 7% increased Maximum Life Minions deal 15% increased Damage Elemental Resistances Attributes

(Jewel) Brawn - you can use these to increase your Strength and Dexterity

(4-6)% increased Dexterity (4-6)% increased Strength (15-10)% reduced Intelligence

(Jewel) Fortress Covenant - A must-have Jewel. Socket it in near Unwavering Stance, it won't affect any Notables there

Minions deal (35-45)% increased Damage Minions have +(10-12)% Chance to Block Attack Damage Minions have +(10-12)% Chance to Block Spell Damage Notable Passive Skills in Radius are Transformed to instead grant: Minions take 20% increased Damage

(Jewel) Watcher's Eye - Determination or Purity of Elements mods can be very useful, especially the additional Chaos Resistance

(4-6)% increased maximum Energy Shield (4-6)% increased maximum Life (4-6)% increased maximum Mana <Two or Three random aura modifiers>

(Jewel) Large Cluster Jewel - Rotten Claws and Vicious Bite are one of the best offensive Notables, Feasting Fiends and Renewal are good for making your Minions more durable

Recommended affixes: 1 Added Passive Skill is Feasting Fiends 1 Added Passive Skill is Renewal 1 Added Passive Skill is Vicious Bite 1 Added Passive Skill is Rotten Claws

(Jewel) Split Personality - you can allocate two of these, each granting you Strength and Maximum Life at the end of the Cluster Jewel near Resolute Technique for extra stats

This Jewel's Socket has 25% increased effect per Allocated Passive Skill between it and your Class' starting location <Two random modifiers>

(Jewel) Thread of Hope - allocate it near Instability, this way you will be able to get Heart and Soul, Indomitable Army, and Ravenous Horde

Only affects Passives in Very Large Ring Passives in Radius can be Allocated without being connected to your tree -(20-10)% to all Elemental Resistances

(Flask) Rumi's Concoction - this Flask grants Armour and Block Chance

+1500 to Armour +(8-12)% Chance to Block Attack Damage during Flask effect +(4-6)% Chance to Block Spell Damage during Flask effect

(Flask) Bottled Faith - it increases your DPS and Life Regeneration by creating Consecrated Ground

40% increased Damage Creates Consecrated Ground on Use (30-15)% reduced Duration Consecrated Ground created by this Flask has Tripled Radius Consecrated Ground created during Effect applies (7-10)% increased Damage taken to Enemies (100-150)% increased Critical Strike Chance against Enemies on Consecrated Ground during Flask effect

Other suggested Flasks: Quicksilver Flask with Bleeding immunity/removal Life Flask with random ailment removal Basalt Flask with random ailment removal

If you have any other build requests please leave that in the comments below. We are always open to suggestions and constructive feedback.

Pictures used in this article are the intellectual property of Grinding Gear Games.