What skills for my pure Summoner (HC)?

[WrathTalon]

Hiya folks,

Hoping I can harness your knowledge and experience!

I'm planning on making a Summoner Druid. PvM. Hard Core. Playing in (small) parties. Untwinked (using only what I can find).

I'm debating skill point allocation. I'm pretty certain that I'll want the following as a base:

*max Dire Wolves
*max Grizzly
*max HoW
*5 in Ravens (for their blinding and distraction)
*5 in Spirit Wolves (with HoW maxed, I hear that it really isn't necesary to pump Spirit Wolves for their passive AR bonus, though would love to hear thoughts on this)

With a Might merc.

But where to go after this? I don't want to bother with the fire skills, since I think that they would need massive synergizing to be at all useful, and I don't have the points to spare. But I'm still faced with a lot of possible options. Should I:

1) max Ravens? Since their chance to blind is largely influenced by their level, I've heard that by level 18 or so, they have a 100% chance of blinding any enemy of equal or lower level. I can imagine this would be really helpful, especially against ranged attackers: cast Ravens right next to them to blind them and interrupt their firing.

2) max Oak Sage in addition to HoW? That way, I can run HoW in relatively safe environments for quicker killing speed, but switch to Oak in dangerous environments. (And since I'm playing Hard Core, this may be especially attractive.) On the other hand, would this also require putting more into Spirit Wolves so my pets will still have a chance to hit when I'm running Oak instead of HoW?

3) max Poison Creeper? I know some people have recommended this for a pure summoner--mainly to serve as an extra distraction for monsters and take heat off me and my pets. (I hear that since Poison Creeper stays underground more than the other two vines, it has a better chance of surviving monster attacks; and when maxed, can actually take a couple of hits in Hell before disintegrating.) Also nice for stopping monster heal, I guess...

4) put 1 point in Werebear, 1 point in Lycanthropy (for the bonus to life), and several points in Shockwave, so I can keep baddies stunned while my pets take them out? On the other hand, I can't summon while in Werebear form, right? Which means that I won't be able to cast Ravens next to ranged attackers while a bear, nor resummon my grizzly or wolves, should they go down... But then again, if I'm shockwaving enemies, then perhaps my grizzly/wolves won't go down in the first place...

Any thoughts from those familiar with Summoners would be greatly appreciated!

[Valvolux]

On the other hand, I can't summon while in Werebear form, right?

You can cast summons as a bear np, IMO shockbear option or maxing Poison creeper is your best bet. Dual spirits aren't needed, neither are 'high' lvl ravens.

The added life as a bear couldn't hurt in HC as well, plus stun monsters = safety :grin:

[WrathTalon]

You can cast summons as a bear np, IMO shockbear option or maxing Poison creeper is your best bet. Dual spirits aren't needed, neither are 'high' lvl ravens.

The added life as a bear couldn't hurt in HC as well, plus stun monsters = safety :grin:

Valvolux, thanks for the help.

I didn't know you could summon while in were-form! So it's only the elemental damage spells which are off-limits, eh? Great to know!

So I'm thinking I'll take your advice: put the point in Werebear, maybe one in Lycanthropy (for an extra 20% life), and some in Shockwave. Will give me more to do in combat too...

[Valvolux]

So it's only the elemental damage spells which are off-limits, eh?

You can also cast Armageddon as a wolf/bear, best of luck.

[Verashiden]

I'm assuming you would max Shockwave, right Valvolux? Or is the extended stun duration negligible?

[Valvolux]

I did on one of my builds, tho its not really needed, if I’m spamming Shockwave I usually aim for the 99fcr bp. I've seen it lock up some chars in pvp pretty bad combined with ravens/geddon/pups.

[Aldarad]

You can cast summons as a bear np, IMO shockbear option or maxing Poison creeper is your best bet. Dual spirits aren't needed, neither are 'high' lvl ravens.

The added life as a bear couldn't hurt in HC as well, plus stun monsters = safety :grin:

But you cant use bow/crossbow as a bear. And IF you , like me, prefers to use missile, ravens are far more valuebel then poison creeper. I would go with the ravens and a gemmed bow. Far less risky in hard core.

[ilovesoda]

But you cant use bow/crossbow as a bear. And IF you , like me, prefers to use missile, ravens are far more valuebel then poison creeper. I would go with the ravens and a gemmed bow. Far less risky in hard core.You can use bows and crossbows in bear form, tho u can't shoot:>

[Verashiden]

But if you stun with Shockwave the Ravens aren't too effective. Especially since Ravens have a VERY bad tendency to attack the target even after blinding them. With Shockwave you get a crowd control element (keeping your summons alive to, you know, kill) while greatly increasing your own survivability.