Project insane summoner

[biko]

hey all

Well, ive decided to try to make the best possible summoning druid i can. Since cost is of no big importance (i have hundreds of high runes and stuff to spend on him), id first like to see what people think about some thoughts i have about gear:

I've already decided to use:

45 life skill charms,
a 20/20 druid torch,
a 20/20/x anni,
an ethereal beast in a war axe with 40 str,
a bp enigma,
bk rings (i suppose 08 version would only be better if i used oak sage, but since im going to be using HoW i think ill stick to newer ones?),
arachnid mesh,
an as good druid only helm as i can get (2 dru/3 summoning, 3 grizzly, x HoW, sockets, life, fhr etc),
magefists,
cta on switch

well, thats the easy part.. now, here are some things i dont really know yet:

Which shield? to block or not to block? stormshield or spirit? with stormshield, i am forced to use the 46 fcr bp, if im not sacrificing other gear for fcr, rings for example. One thing that makes me think stormshield would be good is that i wont be using oak sage, so if id use spirit, the vitality points saved from not getting max block with stormshield wouldnt be worth as much. Also, using stormshield would support me with alot of dmg reduce, which i kind of have a hard time getting from somewhere else. The advantages of spirit, as i see it, is that i simply get loads more fcr, and can easily reach the 68 fcr bp, without even needing fcr on the amulet. Also, i ofcourse get more life using spirit, but seeing as it is only multiplied by bo, is it really worth it?

Next, which small charms to use? alternatives i guess are: life/all res, life/specific res, life/mana (will i need the mana?)

I think that was most of my thoughts about gear, except for amulet, that highly depends on shield choice. Now moving over to skills:

20 Heart of Wolverine
20 Grizzly
20 Spirit wolves
20 Dire wolves
20 Poison creeper
1 oak sage
1 raven
1 arctic blast
1 cyclone armor
1 twister
1 tornado
1 hurricane (hurri and prereqs depending on if i find a helm with +hurri)

This will be done at level 96, and i guess that as long as im lower than that ill have to bear with not having maxed poison creeper.

Any input on skills choices?

I think that's all, sorry for really long post, but this is a big project :cool:

Thanx in advance for any critizism, advice, suggestions, whatever

[omgitsmeta]

I'd consider using CTA + Spirit shield on switch and wearing a kickass Faith bow as your main weapon. Your damage will actually reach a good amount with Faith's absurdly powerful mods, summons and merc will get a good boost from Fanat+HoW and you may still get good life from the CTA and the life charms.

Also you forgot to tell your merc equipment(I'm thinking PvM here): best weapon for a summoner's merc is probably Reaper's Toll, and the merc is Act2 Might, although Might + HoW + Fanat might be a little overkill - you may want to pick a Freeze or Defiance guy instead. :)

Other good suggestions for helm are Shako and Jalal's(no Delirium as it'll interfere with with the Decrepify from Reaper's Toll).

One note: the bear/wolf synergies are one of the few synergies in the game that are affected by +skills. Another example of such synergies is the prayer/cleaning/meditation synergies for the paladin.

[biko]

hi

Yeah, ofcourse spirit is the given choice of shield on cta slot if i get enough str for it (if i dont use storm with a -req jewel)

Considering faith, i dont think i will use it, since beast gives fanat too... True i cant fire arrows with beast but, i do get a shield, which will be important for either blocking and dr (storm) or fcr and skills (spirit). Also i think that a merc + bear will kill quickly enough by themselves.

Oh yes, i didnt mention any merc equipment. I was thinking using a might merc with an eth doom pole and probably an eth coh and a 08 gaze. Thatll give himself an impressive dmg, will give the bear might, will have lots of def, dr, res and ll and he will have a holy freeze aura, which will be useful both in pvp and pvm purposes, though this is minly a pvp char. And dont tell me how holy freeze in pvp is bad mannered, because i am too tired of no-skill lamer paladins with grief and exile charging and 1-2 hit killing my league chars that i spent mad amounts of time and items on to care.

Yes, shako and jalals are ofcourse great helms, but i feel that a really nice druid pelt will both be really good, considering its big skill bonuses and other possible mods, and will look quite impressive with good mods on it, so i have kind of decided for that already :xmas30:

Oh yeah, i had forgotten that the pets get synergie bonuses from +skills, thats good to know when choosing helm, thanx :)

[Valvolux]

You'll have trouble with the usual chars, Bvc, Smiters, MB sins etc but overall Summoners can be fun to pvp with. Don't expect your merc to last very long.

You might want more fhr, i didn't see any on your items listed. Also apart from anni and hellfire do you have any other resists? -70 all is asking for trouble vs sorcs etc.

Good luck hope he works out well.

[illa]

Why those 1 points in elementals?

[A C E]

Hurricane chills monsters n slows them down. I'm guessing thats why. :xmas10:

[Tor]

i dont think hurricane will do much, so get more poitns into cyclone armor?

you have to remeber defense > offense unless you're countign 1-2 hit kills

if a guy teles on you and spams you you need to be able to prevent that or reduce the damage hes dealing and sommon a fat bear on them or the sort

[Jary]

Valvoux and omg have pretty good points....

but, you're worried about having a shield with your Beast, which gives only lvl 9 fanat....why? --Most hunters need some sort of attack, unless u plan on just running in circles while your bear kills, which I'd find really boring at times, 'cause when u get to hell they just plain dont kill as fast. Grizzly's are strong but they're just too slow, I'd go Dire wolves for better numbers/shielding+ when they eat corpses they get stronger :P
I'd honestly consider using Faith, which provides up to lvl 15 Fanat---instead of just lvl 9 with Beast. Also, u'd be able to fire with faith and maybe even get some cold damage/knockback........honestly, what can u even do with your Beast/ss, or whatever u decide?
Either go 'Faith', or take off like 10 in spirit & HOW and do like a rabies/summon hybrid. Otherwise I see no point in going Beast.

....For stats, my opinion is:
-Lose the poison creeper-- even lvl 50, it sux... like 100 ps over 4 secs,eww
-take like 10 points off spirit wolf, its only real benefit is ar, and u'll be fine
-with remaining 30pts, max cyclone armor & put 10 on hurricane--this will give u like 700 absorb, which will be PLENTY to contimplate for your crap resists which will mess u up in hell :P.... either way, plzzz dont go poison creeper.... at least save some dignity and go raven if anything, lol

[Lord Nyax]

Just my input, but were this PvP, and you planned on keeping your Merc alive via teleport, I'd definitely say go with Pride. It's a runeword that gives level 16-20 Concentration, which, unlike Fanaticism, gives full damage to party members.

The concentration would far outweigh the Fanaticism for damage, though it is still missing the increased attack speed. A Mercenary with Might and Concentration, along with HoW and Fanaticism would cause nearly any player to wet themselves.

[INEEDMENTALHELP]

remember how is diveded ed by half.

so 300 ed turns into 150 towards your bear

[lCE]

Nope its not divided by half. Dunno where u got that from.

[Valvolux]

Nope its not divided by half. Dunno where u got that from.

Yes Fanaticisms listed damage is divided by half for party members/minions, so the level 9 from 'beast' is adding 93%ed not 186%ed to the party.

The main reason for using 'beast' is increased attack speed and attack rating, tho the minor damage boost helps aswell. Oh and i wouldn't use 'faith' over 'beast' no shield in pvp makes you such a easy target. It maybe ok for a zon 2 screens away spamming guided arrows and has dodge, but not for a druid.