Viable player minionish type characters?

Ok, I started at release and played till about mid 2006. During that time, one of the most fun looking builds to play was your basic minion necro. Of course, minion bomber heroes now exist etc etc. But I am curious what fun and viable minion builds still exist?

I know there generally is no "best" and that isn't what I am looking for. What I'm looking for is not gimping myself entirely. Originally I thought I'd go with the SoS rit mainly due to the fact that it looks like a blast (I'm one of those players that loves tossing as many bodies into the fray as possible. I'd rather have 20 people fighting than 1 overpowered. I just think its fun). However, there seems to be quite the stigma around that.

I know of two builds available for minion type toons:

SOS Rit
Minion Necro (I dont know if this is viable as a player. I know heroes can minion bomber but what of users?)

Are there others and of them which do you think are viable player options for someone who wants to achieve end game titles, etc.

I wouldn't minion bomb on a player. The AI is faster at death nova.

But you pretty much nailed it, Rt/N and N/any.

Players can use OoU and deal damage by keeping their minions alive. Bone Fiends, OoU, Consume Corpse.

Human minion masters are still viable and they can absolutely run circles around hero minion bombers. Skill updates have dramatically narrowed the range of more-or-less optimal builds down to one basic template: OoU, ESBoH, Fiend, Vamp, BotM, Maso. In the remaining two spaces you need e-management and a solution for the problem that HM monsters can sometimes kill Vamps faster than the animate skill recharges.

SoS rits are quite viable. They're also quite common, and quite commonly done poorly.

SoGM rits are also viable, though definitely second fiddle to SoS rits. A coordinated team can fit both together.

As said above, a master minion master (heh) will run OoU without killing themselves.

For MM's, minion bomber is definitely better on heroes than humans. Although some would disagree, I think the same is for Rt/N MM's since they are also kind of minion bombers. For humans, they can use AotL and OoU better than the AI.

Aura of the Lich combined with Masochism is a good option. You'll get 11 lvl 21 Minions (with 16 Death Magic +1+2)

Hope this helps

OoU is fun to use to. I actually played through the campaigns using that build recently. Just make sure you change up to SS in areas that don't have many corpses.

Quote: Originally Posted by mathiastemplar

Aura of the Lich combined with Masochism is a good option. You'll get 11 lvl 21 Minions (with 16 Death Magic +1+2)

Hope this helps Yes, but size doesn't matter when concerned with MMs. Minions with too high an armour rating will be less likely to absorb damage from the team if it excels that of the casters. Unless you pack SY, that is.

If bodies is your goal, go with the SoS Ritualist (or really most any profession, they just won't be quite as powerful) and add in the Ebon Assassin and Asura Summons. Or go /Ranger and include a pet. The more the merrier?

OoU is pretty fun as a human. The minions actually do good damage while alive . AotL is great for just tossing bodies into the action. Rt/N is pretty fun for sturdy minions and some explosions if you pack Explosive Growth.

For a player, I'd suggest toying with OoU.

Alternatively, Assassin's Promise + Ebon Vanguard Assassin Support.... On 8 players. Have fun kiting like hell with 20 EVAS fighting for you.

hehe, good one!

Might as well make them Rangers with Beastmastery!

Quote: Originally Posted by FengShuiDove

Rt/N is pretty fun for sturdy minions Bone horrors produced by a necro primary with masochism are level 20, with 80AL and 480 hp.

Bone horrors produced by a rit primary are level 14, with 56AL and (assuming 16 Spawning) 590hp.

Having only 56AL means taking ~152% as much damage as compared to 80AL. 110hp doesn't even come close to making up for that loss.

Quote: Originally Posted by Chthon

Bone horrors produced by a necro primary with masochism are level 20, with 80AL and 480 hp.

Bone horrors produced by a rit primary are level 14, with 56AL and (assuming 16 Spawning) 590hp.

Having only 56AL means taking ~152% as much damage as compared to 80AL. 110hp doesn't even come close to making up for that loss. This is true. The advantage of rolling as a rit minion master is the extra damage provided by Explosive growth and the extra party support provided by spirit gift. Explosive growth minion bombers are definitely strong contenders.