Path of Exile 3.26: Poison SRS Necromancer-A Boss-Slaying Ghost Army
In POE currency, the Poison SRS Necromancer build has become a dominant choice for players looking to maximize both bossing potential and map clearing efficiency. With its incredible scaling potential, smooth progression, and the feeling of commanding an unstoppable ghost army, it's no wonder that this build has become a favorite among players at every stage of the game. Whether you're diving into league start or pushing through high-end content, this setup is a reliable powerhouse.
In this guide, we'll walk you through how the Poison SRS Necromancer build works, its ascendancy path, leveling setup, gear and gems, and how to scale it for endgame content. Let's dive right in!
How the Build Works: A Poisonous Army of Spirits
At its core, this build revolves around Summon Raging Spirits (SRS), which are fiery skulls that deal poison damage instead of relying on their regular attack hits. This is achieved through the Golden Rule and Chance to Poison mechanics, which convert the spirit's attacks into poison stacks. The key to the build's effectiveness lies in the fact that you're summoning multiple SRS per second, which leads to rapid poison stacking, especially on bosses where these stacks melt enemies in seconds.
The SRS spirits don't need to deal massive damage on their own. Their primary job is to apply poison to enemies, and with unleashed summoning speed, these skulls are very efficient at it. This mechanic is further enhanced by stacking poison damage over time and applying debuffs to enemies through Withering Step and Despair.
The beauty of this build is its automation: your minions will handle the heavy lifting while you focus on movement, positioning, and avoiding damage. Despite being a minion build, the Poison SRS Necromancer offers strong defenses with Grace, Determination, and Block Chance, making it one of the tankiest summoner builds in Path of Exile.
Ascendancy Path: Scaling Poison & Minions
Your Necromancer ascendancy points are crucial for both the poison damage scaling and minion synergy. The order in which you pick your ascendancy nodes is important for both smooth progression and damage scaling. Here's the recommended ascendancy path:
1. Commander of the Darkness
This node offers an early boost to elemental resistances and increases attack and cast speed for both you and your minions. It's particularly useful for capping resistances early on and boosts SRS effectiveness by improving overall speed. This quality-of-life node is critical for leveling and progression.
2. Mindless Aggression
Minion movement speed, attack speed, and damage are key to maximizing SRS clear speed and poison application. This node helps your spirits get to enemies quicker and attack faster, which is crucial for map flow and boss kills.
3. Unnatural Strength
This is the powerhouse of the ascendancy. It provides a +2 level increase to all minion skill gems and boosts your SRS damage and minion life. This node greatly improves the scaling of your build, particularly once you hit higher-tier content and start seeing real damage numbers.
4. Bone Barrier
This final node grants minions additional life and physical damage reduction. It also unlocks Bone Armor, which is essential for surviving high-tier content. The extra defensive layer makes this build much sturdier, especially during tough boss fights or Delve runs.
Leveling Setup: From Act 1 to Maps
Leveling as a Poison SRS Necromancer is fairly smooth and can be broken down into a few key steps.
Early Acts (1-50):
1.SRS & Minion Damage: At the beginning, focus on summon raging spirits with a basic minion damage setup. You won't be using poison yet, but this setup allows your spirits to quickly clear packs.
2.Melee Splash: Add Melee Splash to your SRS for better pack clearing. Also, use Unleash to summon SRS more quickly as you level.
3.Chance to Poison (Level 18): Around level 18, start adding Chance to Poison into your setup. This will mark the beginning of your poison scaling.
4.Desecrate & Offering Skills: At Act 3, pick up Desecrate and Offering skills. These will become essential for poison scaling and summoning speed.
5.Golden Rule (Level 50): By level 50, equip the Golden Rule jewel. This is a game-changer, as it reflects your poison onto enemies, making your self-poisoning a crucial part of the build.Mid-game Setup (Maps):
Poison Scaling: Once you hit the maps, the build begins to really shine. Add Minion Damage, Chance to Poison, and Unleash into your 6-link setup. Minion Movement Speed and Attack Speed will further enhance your spirits' effectiveness.
Defensive Auras: Start running Grace, Determination, and Defiance Banner for armor and resistances. These auras make mapping much smoother and safer.
Gear Upgrades: Look for a wand with +1 to minion skill gems or cast speed. Upgrade to Golden Rule early for poison reflection, and aim to grab Despair on Hit rings for automatic curse application.
Scaling into Endgame
As you approach red maps, it's time to upgrade your gear and take the build to the next level.
Weapon & Shield:
1.Wand: Look for +1 to Minion Gems, Chaos Gems, or Minion Damage. Additionally, cast speed is valuable for faster summoning.
2.Shield: Aegis Aurora is a must-have, as it grants energy shield on block, creating a reliable recovery loop. If you prefer a more spell-suppression-focused setup, opt for a rare shield or a +1 Minion shield.
Cluster Jewels:
Medium Clusters with Minions Deal Additional Chaos Damage or Unholy Might on minion kills will significantly increase your chaos DPS.
Large Clusters with Call to Slaughter or Feasting Fiends will enhance damage, and Unholy Might will ensure that poison stacks penetrate chaos resistance.
Helm & Chest:
SRS +2 Helmet: Look for +2 to SRS, Minion Life, and Chance to Poison mods. This helm upgrade will carry you through endgame bosses and provide critical scaling.
Chest: Go for a Grasping Mail or Evasion Base. A +1 to Socketed Gems chest is a fantastic upgrade, allowing for more skill socket options.
Curse Setup:
Despair + Temporal Chains: Automate Despair and Temporal Chains for longer poison durations and increased chaos damage. These are key for boss fights and high-tier maps.
Skeletons as Panic Button:
Summon Skeletons becomes an essential tool for burst phases. Use them to add extra pressure to bosses or when things get too tight.
Gameplay Guide: How to Play Poison SRS Necromancer
Boss Fights:
1.Preparation: Dash in and use Withering Step to apply chaos resistance reduction to bosses.
2.Summon Skeletons: Use them for extra burst damage and to distract bosses.
3.Cast Despair: Apply Despair to reduce enemy chaos resistance.
4.Summon SRS: Spam SRS while staying mobile to avoid incoming mechanics.
Your role in boss fights is to stay mobile, maintain your flask uptime, and avoid damage while your SRS and minions handle the damage.
Mapping:
Fast and Fluid: The mapping playstyle is fast-paced. Dash through packs, cast SRS, and keep moving.
Poison Stacks: Enemies will often die shortly after contact due to poison ticks, which allows you to keep moving without waiting for kills.
Endgame Content:
Delirium, Blight, and Legion encounters all perform well with this build. The ability to stack poison and chaos damage over time ensures that this build holds up in high-tier content.
Conclusion: The Green Cloud of Death
The Poison SRS Necromancer is a dynamic and scalable build that shines in both mapping and bossing. With a reliable progression curve, great defenses, and the joy of controlling a ghost army, it's a fun and powerful build for both league starts and endgame pushes. By focusing on poison mechanics, minion scaling, and efficient gear progression, this build will carry you smoothly through the game while you watch your poison spirits melt everything in their path.
Whether you're new to buy POE currency or a seasoned veteran, the Poison SRS Necromancer is a perfect balance of power, ease of play, and satisfaction. Try it out, and let your ghost army do the work while you enjoy the rewards of high-end content and smooth progression.