Minion Bomber AI?

Hi all

I am trying to build an effective Minion Master for my Hero. I have not played a Necro myself so I was just wondering a few things

I have been looking at the builds on PvX and I really like the Jagged Bones build for minion bombing. I am currently running:

OABDUshnOVhlKaQpaJ+E2hqK

I monitored his behavior and noticed that he is very faithful with Death Nova, he seemed to cast it on every party member and minion. However, because of this he neglects Jagged bones and a minion mob of 9 quickly gets reduced to only 3 Jagged horrors. Is that ok? Or would a Flesh Golem be more effective for a hero?

I think in clearing two area on hard mode he only used Feast of the Dead once or twice and the same goes for Mark of Pain and the other skills. As a player I would have thought one would use Taste of Death or Feast of the Dead quite often to bomb your minions while getting a new Jagged Horror.

So Basically my question is whether Heroes have the AI to work this build? Or is a simpler Flesh Golem or Order of Undeath build better for them?

Also, on a side note, since a minion master does not in any way depend on Soul Reaping could a E/N minion master be as effective? Because I dont see a single build working with Energy Storage and minions, why?

Thanks

Try this: OANTUYD+USOoKANQBcLMgoe4uC

Also, MMs depend on SR an incredible amount. I dont know where you're getting that they dont need it

I'm starting to get annoyed by death's nova. Yes, the aoe armor-ignoring damage+poison is nice, but the hero keeps wasting a lot of time casting it, and, mostly, it likes to put it to dying teammates instead of those prots i gave him So i'm starting trying to avoid death's nova, using the MM (not minion bomber anymore) only to fuel the other necros' energy bars and to build up a meat shield for defensive purposes (and to use more effectively the secondary skills, heals or prots). It would be nice an AI update which makes heroes use death nova only on minions, and not on humans.

First of all, as Life Bringing noted: minion master's depend on Soul Reaping a lot, the frequent deaths of their minions/foes is what keeps their energy up.

Second, heroes maintain Jagged Bones(/Death Nova) just fine on their minions. The reason why you see so few Jagged Horrors after all of your minions have been "bombed" is because it has a 30 second duration and a 15 second recharge, effectively limitting it to being active on two minions at a time (not taking into account +enchanting weaponry or half skill recharge effects triggering).

I haven't used Feast of the Dead or Mark of Pain on my Necromancer heroes, so I can't comment on their usage of those, but I doubt they need a skill to "trigger" deaths (your minions will most likely/should be dropping like flies in HM).

Again, as Life Bringing noted: the "core" of a minion bomber is usually Animate Bone Minions, [insert elite skill here], Death Nova and Masochism. This leaves you with 4 "utility" skill slots to do something else with, for example skills from the Curses or Protection Prayers attributes. Minion bomber's have enough energy to use these alongside their other skills.

As to your question regarding Animate Flesh Golem/Order of Undeath:
- Flesh Golems are the "tanks" among minions, able to absorb a lot of damage. This is why they are unsuitable for a minion bomber, as you want your minions to die in order for them to deal damage.
- Order of Undeath isn't suited for minion bomber's because you are attempting to increase the damage your minions deal, but this isn't the primary focus of a minion bomber: minions are just a "medium" for you to deliver damage to your foes with Death Nova.

In addition, I don't believe heroes are capable of using Order of Undeath effectively.

The reason why you don't see many E/N minion master's/bomber's is because the moment the Elementalist has used all his/her energy, he/she will have to wait until their energy recovers.

Necromancers, on the other hand, will likely have their energy refilled every 15 seconds from the deaths of minions and foes.

I see the benefits of a high Soul Reaping skill now Probably cause I haven't played or used necros but been far more involved with elementalist heroes that I thought in that direction. Thanks!

I am not sure whether I agree that he maintains Jagged Bones really well. I kept his skill bar open and he rarely cast it, being mostly occupied with Death Nova.
However since, as you noted it has a 30sec duration and a 15sec recharge having 3 Jagged Horrors after an encounter is actually fairly good!! It would however be more effective if he wouldnt keep casting Death Nova on party members as Swahnee said.

I am surprised order of undeath is not well used by your hero, thats sad

with regards to Life Bringing's build, I should have said in the OP that I dont have eotn at the moment But thanks

Ok, well, looks like I have to take back my comment in the last post and my OP. Just been playing again and he is using Jagged Bones far more consistently now. Thanks for all the advice

I don't see much point in having a minion raising skill, my MB upkeeps 7~or more minions easily without one. I use support elites like Empathic Removal or Signet of Removal. Much more helpful.

I usually run my MM hero with Aura of the Lich and Shambling Horror. Then tack on Death Nova and BotM and I'm all set.

Then use either Monk or Ritualist Secondary. Monk for Prot spells or Rit for heals (Mend Body & Soul, Spirit Light, Life).

Has worked great for me so far with no troubles. Except for the occasional lag behind from the Death Nova casting. -.-

Aura of the Litch is much, much better than Jagged Bones.

More minions and bigger minions.

Better on all aspects.

It can even raise a 3-4 minions army without a single corpse.

Quote:

One problem can be with the AI if you're using 16 Death Magic, Masochism and AoTL, the minion's armour may be higher than a caster's, making the enemy AI target them less often. Minion dun go boom waa.

Based on the advice I think Id run this AEOiRGmF8cUlD4B0QVdyJNHnA

but is Blood of the Master better than Feat of the Dead for a minion bomber? Or as mentioned in one of the posts, is either of them needed at all? Can I just put in another skill instead?

Quote: