Overview
This is a Druid summoner built around rage rather than companions, pitched as a 0.5.5 league starter with a clear upgrade path. The Shaman ascendancy does two things that make the whole plan work: it converts empty charm slots into a large block of spirit, and it grants extra rage generation with no rage loss, which means the character sits at maximum rage permanently. That parked rage then feeds minion damage through Commanding Rage.
The result is a minion army that scales from a roughly six-divine early-endgame version into a genuinely expensive late-game one without changing shape. Ever-Grasping rings do most of the heavy lifting, adding extra chaos damage to allies — with two of them and a decent sceptre, pinnacle bosses fold quickly.
Leveling has two routes. Entangle is one of the strongest campaign options in the game and then swaps to summons at early endgame; alternatively, Skeletal Archers plus Firewall with Raging Spirits goes straight to minions from the start. The creator recommends the Entangle route as the faster campaign.
Pros & Cons
Pros
- Strong on both axes — the army clears well and still deletes pinnacle bosses
- Working budget version at around six divine orbs, with a defined path upward
- Permanent max rage from Shaman means the damage multiplier is never conditional
- Ever-Grasping rings are cheap for how much damage they add
- A real alternative for players tired of companion-based minion builds
Cons
- Charm slots must stay empty for the spirit conversion, so you give up charm utility entirely
- Energy shield stacking with no life investment leaves little room for error
- The best belt — plus two minion skills with minion splash — is the single most expensive item in the game plan
- Some of the cheap uniques will not be cheap on league day one
Key Skills
- Vile Vulture spectres — the core clear, constantly leaping onto packs for heavy AoE; Giant Wasp is the alternative worth testing
- Storm Mages — shock application on rares and bosses, scaling everything else’s damage
- Skeletal Revenants — cheap filler to occupy the remaining minion slots
- Clerics — minion healing, and sacrificed in pairs to buff the rest of the army
- Wolves and a single Archer — defensive body-blocking plus a Master-supported damage boost for the whole army
- Entangle — the recommended campaign skill before the summon swap
Gear & Anointments
Budget and endgame versions share a shape: energy shield everywhere, plus-to-minion-skills on every slot that can carry it, and spirit wherever possible.
Budget version
- Sceptre — Zuan’s Divine Sceptre with plus three to minion spell skills, spirit and increased minion damage
- Shield — Prism Guardian for the spirit and resistances
- Rings — Ventor’s Gamble in one slot, Ever-Grasping in the other; run Ever-Grasping in both if resistances allow
- Boots — the unique that reduces reservation for skills creating undead minions
- Helmet / amulet — plus two to minion skills, high energy shield, resistances
- Jewels — minions deal increased damage plus minion elemental resistances, with attack and cast speed as a stretch
Endgame version
- Sceptre — Rattling Sceptre for the extra Skeletal Warriors, plus four to all minion skills, increased spirit, and allies in your presence deal increased damage
- Focus — plus two minion skills, heavy energy shield and resistances, since the rings no longer supply any
- Helmet — two rune slots if possible, for minion reservation efficiency and additional rage
- Belt — minion splash is mandatory; plus two minion skills on top of it is the aspirational version
- Boots — the unique that raises the skeleton cap, with a spirit-scaled movement speed rune
- Amulet — spirit, plus two minion skills, resistances; War Leader as the allocation
Endgame Notes
The endgame army runs four to five Vile Vultures, four Storm Mages, seven Skeletal Revenants, two Clerics, two sceptre-granted Warriors, wolves and one Archer. Reservation efficiency is what makes that count fit, which is why the boots, runes and helmet slots all bend toward it.
Credits & Source
Build credited to Barczi POE2. See the source video for the full support gem lists, planner links and gameplay footage: BEST Minion League Starter? | PoE 2 0.5.5.