5 minion builds to try in Path of Exile's Crucible League

Few builds in Path of Exile’s Crucible League are more fun and satisfying than minion builds. Any class can summon units to help them fight, but of course, some simply do it better than others. When it comes to playing Path of Exile, it’s honestly my favorite way to play. You can either summon groups of minions, or simply one powerful ally to smash through foes. These builds aren’t always great boss-killers, but they are undoubtedly satisfying and fun.

I did some research on which minion builds could be successful in Path of Exile as we begin 3.21’s Crucible League. This is not a complete list of all the builds, nor is it guaranteed to be the absolute strongest kits in the game. I just want to go over a few interesting builds in brief, so you can perhaps decide if any of these are right for you.

Fun minion builds to try out in Path of Exile’s Crucible League

5) Templar Animate Weapon

Skill gems

Weapon: Descrate + Flesh Offering + Lifetap Support
Offhand: Summon Carrion Golem + Combustion Support + Feeding Frenzy Support
Body: Animate Weapon + Immolate Support + Fire Penetration Support + Minion Damage Support + Melee Splash Support + Elemental Damage with Attacks Support
Boots: Bladefall + Tempest Shield + Determination + Flame Dash
Gloves: Arrogance Support + Vitality, Anger + Generosity Support
Helmet: Animate Guardian + Raise Spectre + Elemental Army Support + Convocation

Animate Weapon is a blend of Raise Zombie and Raging Spirit. Essentially, you animate an identified weapon, and it chases down and murders your enemies in Path of Exile. The build came courtesy of ThanatoZGaming. You can either animate weapons that enemies drop or use a skill like Ethereal Knives/Bladefall to animate the Lingering Blades those skills leave behind.

Then you use Triad Grip to convert the damage to Fire in Path of Exile. Why? Because Physical Damage suffers from damage reduction and resistance. However, Fire damage has a variety of ways to avoid or reduce that efficiently. You can use Combustion Support, run a curse to reduce weaknesses, then use Scorch, or Elemental Army.

It’s a build that’s safe to play and isn’t expensive to build. However, the downside is that you will have to summon new weapons when hitting a new area. That can be tedious, but the strength of this build is worth it for Path of Exile’s Crucible League.

4) Witch Summon Skeletons

Skill gems

Trigger Wand: Desecrate, Flesh Offering, Summon SKitterbots
Shield: Summon Carrion Golem, Animate Guardian, Minion Life Support
Chest: Raise Zombie, Vaal Summon Skeletons + Multistrike SUpport + Fortify Support + Ruthless Support + Melee Physical Damage Support
Boots: Phase Run + Increased Duration Support, Punishment, Determination
Gloves: Cast on Death Support + Portal, Cast when Damage Taken Support + Vaal Molten Shell
Helmet: Raise Spectre + Controlled Destruction Support + Greater Multiple Projectiles Support + Pierce Support

The build I often play the most is the Witch/Necromancer summon skeletons build, and CasualDan’s doesn’t miss. Frankly, you can put together an unfair amount of minions in Path of Exile’s Crucible League.

Twenty-three minions without Vaal Summon Skeletons, and with it, you can rally 59 allies to fight for you! It’s so fun to see a swarm of allies scattering and stabbing any enemy that shows up on the screen.

For the most part, this Crucible League build just swarms people under. But if your opponent is especially strong, it is recommended to pack the Punishment curse; to make things easier. Between Summon Skeleton and Vaal Summon Skeleton, you can simply overwhelm most foes with your elemental army.

It’s not fair, but it sure is fun! It’s a simple way to play Path of Exile, and the Crucible League welcomes the hordes of the undead.

3) Holy Flicker Strike Necromancer (Holy Relic)

Skill gems

Weapon: Spirit Offering, Desecrate, Bone Offering
Shield: Pride, Summon Skitterbots, Zealotry, Tempest Shield
Chest: Summon Holy Relic + Brutality + Increased Critical Damage + Increased Area of Effect + Minion Damage + Meat Shield Support + Empower
Boots: Static Strike + Ancestral Call + Multistrike, Flicker Strike
Gloves: Summon Chaos Golem + Feeding Frenzy, Flame Dash, Reckoning, Decoy Totem
Helmet: Raise Spectre + Meat Shield + Mi nion Life, Animate Guardian

While this could go on either Guardian or Necromancer easily enough, Necromancer is far more satisfying. I’m biased because I love Necromancer perhaps. This build, created by Fire_Archer, also chose Necromancer for this Path of Exile Crucible League build.

The idea behind this Crucible League build is that players will summon Holy Relic and trigger the Holy Nova attack with Flicker Strike. It can’t miss, and it’s arguably the best skill for this combo. It can be hard on your cooldowns, but Frenzy Charges can be spent trying to fix that.

You’ll be building those via Flicker Strike as well. You will also have multistrike support and ancestral call to ensure you’re hitting multiple targets, increasing your chances at more Frenzy Charge buildup.

If you’re dealing with single-target fights (bosses), you will have Static Strike to help you, since each beam that hits counts as an attack for the purposes of this powerful build.

2) Necromancer Raging Spirits

Gem skills

Trigger Wand: Desecrate, Convocation, Bone Offering
Shield: Shield Charge+Faster Attacks, Flame Dash
Chest: Summon Raging Spirit + Concentrated Effect + Predator + Unleash + Minion Life + Fire Penetration Support
Boots: Raise Spectre+Elemental Army + Spell Echo, Ball Lightning
Gloves: Animate Guardian + Minion Life + Raise Zombies + Meat Shield
Helmet: Defiance Banner, Tempest Shield, Determination, Summon Skitterbots

You don’t always want your Path of Exile minions to stick around. Necromancer Raging Spirits is just that - you use Minion Instability and if you can, the Tavukai Unique Amulet. That, alongside Infernal Legion support, will make them so that while they’re constantly taking damage when they detonate, it will be based on their maximum HP.

Necromancer Raging Spirits is going to be an incredible Crucible League build, that’s for sure. There aren’t too many opponents where your swarm of spirits cannot melt without much effort. It’s a little This is Weo_’s build, and they do highlight that it requires a bit more gear compared to some other builds.

It’s still a budget Crucible League build, though it’s not recommended as a starter. It’s not the best farm build, but it can do virtually everything else. It’s a pretty simple build too. Watching your spirits explode and take everything with them is quite satisfying.

1) Guardian Beefy Zombie/Towering Titans

Skill gems

Mon’Tregul’s Grasp: Frost Blink + Wave of Conviction
Brood Charm: Herald of Purity + Tempest Shield
Honor Guardian: Raise Zombie + Summon Skeleton + Multistrike Support + Melee Physical Damage Support + Minion Damage Support
Alberon’s Warpath: Determination + Summon Carrion Golem + Dread Banner + Feeding Frenzy Support
Oblivion Mitts: Steelskin + Raise Spectre + Minion Life Support

When it comes to Path of Exile Crucible League builds, I like to feel safe. I want to be able to clear waves and do it with incredible ease. However, like the above build, Devon752’s Beefy Zombie build needs several uniques to keep up with.

This build can just decimate Crucible League bosses and enemy waves alike. Nothing is out of your reach. However, it would be best if you also had a very high strength (1500~) to make it really kick off. This is a more advanced build, but it’s so fun and satisfying.

The goal is to have as much strength as you can humanly get for this Path of Exile build. The actual combat of this build is incredibly simple though. You keep a horde of zombies and skeletons in play, and if they perish, resummon and cast Flesh Offering.

You have a debuff for bosses, but more often than not you just let them do all the work. Shield Charge, Leap Slam, or Frost Blink if you want to get around in a pinch.

There is so much to know about these builds, but this is just a taste of what they offer. All of them are powerful Path of Exile builds for the Crucible League. No matter how you want to play, there are ways to do it, but these minion builds are going to dominate.

Edited by Adarsh J Kumar