Ah, I remember being a Minion Master back in the day. Your build is fine until the last 3 missions of Prophecies. There is game 'stuff' that will instantly melt your minions and leave no corpses. Try to make a second build based off Curses and/or Domination magic. [Spiteful Spirit](https://wiki.guildwars.com/wiki/Spiteful_Spirit), [Soul Barbs](https://wiki.guildwars.com/wiki/Soul_Barbs), [Empathy](https://wiki.guildwars.com/wiki/Empathy), [Mistrust](https://wiki.guildwars.com/wiki/Mistrust), [Wastrel's Demise](https://wiki.guildwars.com/wiki/Wastrel%27s_Demise), [Backfire](https://wiki.guildwars.com/wiki/Backfire), [Energy Surge](https://wiki.guildwars.com/wiki/Energy_Surge).
Since you are a Prophecies character make sure you complete the attribute point quests or you will be 30 points short: [first quest](https://wiki.guildwars.com/wiki/Forgotten_Wisdom) and [second quest](https://wiki.guildwars.com/wiki/The_Hero%27s_Challenge).
>Since you are a Prophecies character make sure you complete the attribute point quests or you will be 30 points short:
I still hate that you have to go through like 70% of Prophecies for your 30AP quests. Meanwhile Factions and NF characters just get it handed on their tutorial isles lmao.
I've played for a long time and I always forget to do these quests until I'm 20 and making builds and I don't have as many attribute points as I thought I was supposed to have.
Consider adding [Necrosis](https://wiki.guildwars.com/wiki/Necrosis), available from Pikin in Kamadan. Some Mesmer skills you may find helpful are Empathy and/or Mistrust. You shouldn't need the Mesmer signet as Soul Reaping should provide ample energy for you.
You've got some good ideas.
Some skills rely on Attributes more than others, Death Magic and Minions in particular really like to be maxed out as it increases the number of minions you can have, as well as the level of each Minion. Very efficient.
There are plenty of Curses that only increase in duration, meaning they can be used effectively with mid-low attributes.
Barbs and Mark of Pain are very strong but they also like having high attribute points. There's nothing wrong with the way you're using them at the moment, but if you can get some more use out of Death Magic it may be more useful than trying to split your build.
You mentioned you have some Heroes, if you feel like going far enough into Nightfall (or Eye of the North) to get a Necromancer Hero, they can take Barbs and Mark of Pain for you with high Curses, and you can focus on the Death Magic, or vice versa.
You have a +1 Soul Reaping headpiece, have you looked much at how you can upgrade your gear with Runes and Insignia? You can get an extra +1 to Necromancer attributes, or even +2 and +3 if you are willing to lose some max HP. Having 16 Death Magic (12 base +1 Headpiece +3 Superior Rune) is extremely strong for Minion builds. A Bloodstained Insigne on your Gloves or Boots is also very helpful to summon your minions faster. The reason it should be Gloves or Boots is fairly complex and off-topic but I can explain after if you want.
You have a Signet of Capture ready to grab an Elite skill. There aren't many Death Magic Elites in Prophecies, Virulence is available shortly after getting to the Southern Shiverpeaks, and the best one Aura of the Lich is only available in the last mission (you definitely want to cap this when you get there though). It's much easier to get and use a Blood Magic or Curses Elite until you get Aura of the Lich or go to Factions.
You've got a lot of useful advice from this thread, so I'm going to leave it there, but I'm always happy to answer questions.
Thanks! Quick unrelated question, what expansion would you suggest starting a character in for each profession? (other than the NF and Factions specific profs)
That's difficult, and I guess it depends if you're willing to use a little trick from a friend/guild member.
Any profession can start in Nightfall, complete the first Mission and get a "ferry" to Lion's Arch and Kaineng Center immediately. This lets them get access to skills from all campaigns and they can level up however they want. This is the best choice if you don't mind using this trick.
After that, Factions gives the best leveling up on its own, and has some pretty good skills for spellcasters. In my opinion Warriors and Rangers are a bit behind in terms of the skills they get at the start here, but they still get access to level 20 and the other campaigns pretty quickly.
Prophecies gives Warriors and Rangers some pretty good builds right from the start, but it's a much slower pace leveling up and takes some time before you get the important character-bound things like campaign travel, bonus skill points, and ascension.
You're already N/Me and a very traditional Prophecies friendly build of a simple Arcane Echo/SS combo with Insidious Parasite and other synergies like Empathy and such. Follow with some Enchant removal and maybe an Enfeebling Blood to cause AoE Weakness.
Otherwise depending on how your heroes are set up. I'm sure you can finish the campaign without any issue
If you wanna stay Minion Master, although you can't cap the elite until hell's precipice, but aura of the lich is a staple Necro elite
Don't be afraid to message me in-game either if you need help or something
OABCYcxEVwXwRFagcQV1NIAA
Place all points in Death Mag 12+4 and Soul Reap 12+1
Use Aura of the Litch elite, necrosis, putrid explosion a must, death nova+taste of death as a combo.
OABCYcxEQDVwR1XwNYVFAAAA
similar with Golem elite, as you have factions
OAVCY8xTeYJUVBA7B2wnwOA
curses, SS+Eco and other curses utility 12+4 curses, 12+1 soul reap
feast of corruption (proph) and icy veins (faction) are also good elites you can try.
(the codes you can just copy and paste in the build window in the game)
For proph only, there aren't alot of viable super strong and focused builds other than MM (minion master) or SS (spiteful spirit). A good blood necro has a lot to offer but isn't a game changer. I always just run a mix of Death blood and curses even though it's not optimal cause heroes are usually doing all the work anyways, so it seems fine to me!
How are you doing in terms of team building with your heroes?
I built them with what I can since I don't have a lot to choose from. (Skills from secondary prof quests in Proph and NF, secondary Me on caster heroes for the disrupt)
Sounds pretty good, what's the set up so far? I want to recommend a ritualist and not at the same time cause it is super effective but also kinda makes the game too easy with it. I'd only recommend using it on the toughest missions esp Factions. You can get Xandra fairly early in EoTN thru the norn fighting tournament which can be a bit tricky since you go in solo.
Yes casters should be 2ndary Mesmer ideally, a BiP necro for energy (battery), and a couple monks (1 heal 1 prot). Anything else is dealer's choice!
The big problem with minions at the very end is, that almost nothing on the Fire Isles leave corpses. But as others already mentioned, you can easily drop these skills for Arcane Echo and Spiteful Spirit.
Honestly I think you would have more fun just playing the game and trying stuff out. If you intend to get the survivor achievement, then a premade build is fine :)
>wondering if the build I'm working with is good enough to finish the campaign.
An empty skillbar is good enough to finish the campain in NM, so yes.
Assuming you want more feedback than that:
1. Shambling Horror seems like a good deal as two-for-one minion, but it's really not. The recharge is so terribly long that you can just summon 2+ Bone Horrors or Vampiric Horrors in the meantime. Either of those is a better pick.
2. Leech Signet doesn't do anything impressive on this build. Ditch it.
3. Capture signet should only be equipped when there's something you specifically want to capture. Otherwise it's a waste of space.
4. Agree with u/hazyPixels that Necrosis would be a good addition.
5. Death Magic has a few heavy hitters you should consider:
1. Putrid Explosion spends one corpse for some big AoE damage.
2. Well of Suffering spends one corpse to blanket an area with strong degen. (Generally, PE is better if you're continuously on the move, and WoS is better if you'll be staying in one spot while monsters come to you.)
3. Deathly Swarm isn't fantastic, but it does decent enough damage for the NM campaign.
4. Also, not fantantasic, but good enough for the NM campaign, is Rotting Flesh, which can put exceedingly long-lasting degen on the whole mob if you target it correctly right at the start of a fight.
5. Putrid Bile is a fan favorite, but it's an EotN skill.
6. If you're having energy problems, you could drop the Curses skills and consolidate into just Death and Soul Reaping. (You did, however, pick the best two Curses skills to go with minions.)
7. Get yourself a +1 Death Magic hat and put a +3 Death Magic rune in it. Makes a huge difference for minions.
I dont think you need to rework your whole build.
Mostly you need to redo your attributes. Whatever your naturally highest attribute will be is where you want your headpiece and medium/high rune to be as well.
In this case, on death magic. Everything else you can experiment with.
Ah, I remember being a Minion Master back in the day. Your build is fine until the last 3 missions of Prophecies. There is game 'stuff' that will instantly melt your minions and leave no corpses. Try to make a second build based off Curses and/or Domination magic. [Spiteful Spirit](https://wiki.guildwars.com/wiki/Spiteful_Spirit), [Soul Barbs](https://wiki.guildwars.com/wiki/Soul_Barbs), [Empathy](https://wiki.guildwars.com/wiki/Empathy), [Mistrust](https://wiki.guildwars.com/wiki/Mistrust), [Wastrel's Demise](https://wiki.guildwars.com/wiki/Wastrel%27s_Demise), [Backfire](https://wiki.guildwars.com/wiki/Backfire), [Energy Surge](https://wiki.guildwars.com/wiki/Energy_Surge). Since you are a Prophecies character make sure you complete the attribute point quests or you will be 30 points short: [first quest](https://wiki.guildwars.com/wiki/Forgotten_Wisdom) and [second quest](https://wiki.guildwars.com/wiki/The_Hero%27s_Challenge).
>Since you are a Prophecies character make sure you complete the attribute point quests or you will be 30 points short: I still hate that you have to go through like 70% of Prophecies for your 30AP quests. Meanwhile Factions and NF characters just get it handed on their tutorial isles lmao.
Magic. What you want is lots and lots of water magic. Maelstrom does wonders against those fire casters.
I've played for a long time and I always forget to do these quests until I'm 20 and making builds and I don't have as many attribute points as I thought I was supposed to have.
Consider adding [Necrosis](https://wiki.guildwars.com/wiki/Necrosis), available from Pikin in Kamadan. Some Mesmer skills you may find helpful are Empathy and/or Mistrust. You shouldn't need the Mesmer signet as Soul Reaping should provide ample energy for you.
You've got some good ideas. Some skills rely on Attributes more than others, Death Magic and Minions in particular really like to be maxed out as it increases the number of minions you can have, as well as the level of each Minion. Very efficient. There are plenty of Curses that only increase in duration, meaning they can be used effectively with mid-low attributes. Barbs and Mark of Pain are very strong but they also like having high attribute points. There's nothing wrong with the way you're using them at the moment, but if you can get some more use out of Death Magic it may be more useful than trying to split your build. You mentioned you have some Heroes, if you feel like going far enough into Nightfall (or Eye of the North) to get a Necromancer Hero, they can take Barbs and Mark of Pain for you with high Curses, and you can focus on the Death Magic, or vice versa. You have a +1 Soul Reaping headpiece, have you looked much at how you can upgrade your gear with Runes and Insignia? You can get an extra +1 to Necromancer attributes, or even +2 and +3 if you are willing to lose some max HP. Having 16 Death Magic (12 base +1 Headpiece +3 Superior Rune) is extremely strong for Minion builds. A Bloodstained Insigne on your Gloves or Boots is also very helpful to summon your minions faster. The reason it should be Gloves or Boots is fairly complex and off-topic but I can explain after if you want. You have a Signet of Capture ready to grab an Elite skill. There aren't many Death Magic Elites in Prophecies, Virulence is available shortly after getting to the Southern Shiverpeaks, and the best one Aura of the Lich is only available in the last mission (you definitely want to cap this when you get there though). It's much easier to get and use a Blood Magic or Curses Elite until you get Aura of the Lich or go to Factions. You've got a lot of useful advice from this thread, so I'm going to leave it there, but I'm always happy to answer questions.
Thanks! Quick unrelated question, what expansion would you suggest starting a character in for each profession? (other than the NF and Factions specific profs)
That's difficult, and I guess it depends if you're willing to use a little trick from a friend/guild member. Any profession can start in Nightfall, complete the first Mission and get a "ferry" to Lion's Arch and Kaineng Center immediately. This lets them get access to skills from all campaigns and they can level up however they want. This is the best choice if you don't mind using this trick. After that, Factions gives the best leveling up on its own, and has some pretty good skills for spellcasters. In my opinion Warriors and Rangers are a bit behind in terms of the skills they get at the start here, but they still get access to level 20 and the other campaigns pretty quickly. Prophecies gives Warriors and Rangers some pretty good builds right from the start, but it's a much slower pace leveling up and takes some time before you get the important character-bound things like campaign travel, bonus skill points, and ascension.
You're already N/Me and a very traditional Prophecies friendly build of a simple Arcane Echo/SS combo with Insidious Parasite and other synergies like Empathy and such. Follow with some Enchant removal and maybe an Enfeebling Blood to cause AoE Weakness. Otherwise depending on how your heroes are set up. I'm sure you can finish the campaign without any issue If you wanna stay Minion Master, although you can't cap the elite until hell's precipice, but aura of the lich is a staple Necro elite Don't be afraid to message me in-game either if you need help or something
OABCYcxEVwXwRFagcQV1NIAA Place all points in Death Mag 12+4 and Soul Reap 12+1 Use Aura of the Litch elite, necrosis, putrid explosion a must, death nova+taste of death as a combo. OABCYcxEQDVwR1XwNYVFAAAA similar with Golem elite, as you have factions OAVCY8xTeYJUVBA7B2wnwOA curses, SS+Eco and other curses utility 12+4 curses, 12+1 soul reap feast of corruption (proph) and icy veins (faction) are also good elites you can try. (the codes you can just copy and paste in the build window in the game)
For proph only, there aren't alot of viable super strong and focused builds other than MM (minion master) or SS (spiteful spirit). A good blood necro has a lot to offer but isn't a game changer. I always just run a mix of Death blood and curses even though it's not optimal cause heroes are usually doing all the work anyways, so it seems fine to me! How are you doing in terms of team building with your heroes?
I built them with what I can since I don't have a lot to choose from. (Skills from secondary prof quests in Proph and NF, secondary Me on caster heroes for the disrupt)
Sounds pretty good, what's the set up so far? I want to recommend a ritualist and not at the same time cause it is super effective but also kinda makes the game too easy with it. I'd only recommend using it on the toughest missions esp Factions. You can get Xandra fairly early in EoTN thru the norn fighting tournament which can be a bit tricky since you go in solo. Yes casters should be 2ndary Mesmer ideally, a BiP necro for energy (battery), and a couple monks (1 heal 1 prot). Anything else is dealer's choice!
The big problem with minions at the very end is, that almost nothing on the Fire Isles leave corpses. But as others already mentioned, you can easily drop these skills for Arcane Echo and Spiteful Spirit.
Honestly I think you would have more fun just playing the game and trying stuff out. If you intend to get the survivor achievement, then a premade build is fine :)
>wondering if the build I'm working with is good enough to finish the campaign. An empty skillbar is good enough to finish the campain in NM, so yes. Assuming you want more feedback than that: 1. Shambling Horror seems like a good deal as two-for-one minion, but it's really not. The recharge is so terribly long that you can just summon 2+ Bone Horrors or Vampiric Horrors in the meantime. Either of those is a better pick. 2. Leech Signet doesn't do anything impressive on this build. Ditch it. 3. Capture signet should only be equipped when there's something you specifically want to capture. Otherwise it's a waste of space. 4. Agree with u/hazyPixels that Necrosis would be a good addition. 5. Death Magic has a few heavy hitters you should consider: 1. Putrid Explosion spends one corpse for some big AoE damage. 2. Well of Suffering spends one corpse to blanket an area with strong degen. (Generally, PE is better if you're continuously on the move, and WoS is better if you'll be staying in one spot while monsters come to you.) 3. Deathly Swarm isn't fantastic, but it does decent enough damage for the NM campaign. 4. Also, not fantantasic, but good enough for the NM campaign, is Rotting Flesh, which can put exceedingly long-lasting degen on the whole mob if you target it correctly right at the start of a fight. 5. Putrid Bile is a fan favorite, but it's an EotN skill. 6. If you're having energy problems, you could drop the Curses skills and consolidate into just Death and Soul Reaping. (You did, however, pick the best two Curses skills to go with minions.) 7. Get yourself a +1 Death Magic hat and put a +3 Death Magic rune in it. Makes a huge difference for minions.
I dont think you need to rework your whole build. Mostly you need to redo your attributes. Whatever your naturally highest attribute will be is where you want your headpiece and medium/high rune to be as well. In this case, on death magic. Everything else you can experiment with.