This guide provides an overview of a PvE “Minion Mancer” Reaper build. Properly utilized, this build can maintain 11 active minions with periodic increases of up to 16 minions. Minion Mancer Reaper’s feature an incredible amount of survive-ability while still providing high amounts of damage.

“Minion Mancer” Reaper Build Overview

Build Editor Link

Skills

• Summon Blood Fiend
• Rise!
  • Summons a Shambling Horror plus additional Shambling Horrors for each enemy struck by this shout
• Summon Bone Minions
• Signet of Locust
  • 25% increase in movement speed
• Summon Flesh Golem

“Rise!” is perhaps the most important skill in the Minion Mancer rotation as it allows you to summon up to 6 additional minions, with a low cool-down. Signet of Locust can be swapped out for another utility skill if you do not need the increased movement speed (or if you are using daggers + Quickening Thirst trait). Other utility skills to consider in place of SoL include: Plague Signet, Signet of Spite, “You Are All Weaklings!”, or one of the other Summon skills (Shadow Fiend, Bone Fiend, Flesh Wurm). The remaining Summoning skills shown above are the best ones available for the Minion Mancer reaper build.

Specializations and Traits

Specialization #1 – Blood Magic

• Ritual of Life
  • Spawn a Well of Blood when reviving
  • Revive speed increased by 10%
  • ALTERNATE: Quickening Thirst
    • 25% increase in movement speed when wielding a dagger
    • Dagger skills recharge reduced by 33% (when health above 75%)
• Vampiric Presence
  • You and nearby allies siphon health
• Transfusion
  • Shroud 4 heals and partially revives allies

Specialization #2 – Death Magic

• Flesh of the Master
  • Minions have 50% more health
  • Gain 20 toughness for each minion
• Necromantic Corruption
  • Minions deal 25% more damage
  • Minions transfer conditions to target
• Death Nova
  • Minions explode in a cloud of poison when they die
  • Summon a jagged horror when you kill an enemy

Specialization #3 – Reaper (Elite)

• Augury of Death
  • Reduce recharge of shouts by 10%
  • Siphon health from enemies and gain additional 5% shout recharge reduction per enemy hit
• Soul Eater
  • Reduce recharge of Greatsword skills
  • ALTERNATE: Chilling Victory
    • Striking chilled foes grants might and life force
• Reaper’s Onslaught
  • Attack 15% faster while in shroud
  • Killing an enemy reduces shroud skills recharge by 5s

Gear

Stats

The specific gear stats you choose to use for this build are not as important as using the correct specializations and skills. However, we will provide a few recommendations to help you get the most out of the Minion-Mancer build.

• For maximum damage output:
  • Berserker’s gear (+Power, +Precision, +Ferocity)
• For extra healing power:
  • Zealot’s gear (+Power, +Precision, +Healing Power)
• For extra toughness and vitality:
  • Soldier’s gear (+Power, +Toughness, +Vitality)

Weapons

• Staff
  • Excellent ranged weapon that provides utility through marks (such as regeneration)
• Greatsword
  • High melee DPS, especially when combined with “Soul Eater” trait
• Dagger + Warhorn/Focus
  • Alternative to GS
  • Decent life force generation and damage

Sigils/Runes

• For maximum damage output:
  • Superior Rune of the Scholar
  • Superior Sigil of Force/Air/Bloodlust
• For increased healing:
  • Superior Sigil of Water/Renewal
• For increased life steal:
  • Superior Rune of Vampirism
  • Superior Sigil of Blood/Leeching
• For increased Tougness/Vitality:
  • Superior Sigil of Momentum
  • Superior Rune of the Reaper/Warrior

Usage/Mechanics

1. Summon all of your permanent minions, you should have around 5
2. Activate “Rise!” when you are in close proximity to enemies (ideally 5 enemies)
3. At this point you should have 6 – 11 active minions
4. Using the Staff, attack foes at range and use the 2 – 5 skills as appropriate to lay down marks
5. When you have built up enough life force enter shroud and use skill #4 to attack enemies and heal your minions
6. Exit shroud and re-activate “Rise!” as soon as it is off cool-down
7. Return to step #4 and repeat the process

The steps outlined above are meant to give a general overview of the Minion Mancer rotation, but you should adapt your strategy to the situation at hand.

Tips

• Make sure to re-activate minions if they are killed in combat
• If a foe is below 50% health, you can spam Greatsword #2 skill for a high damage attack
• Use shroud #3 skill if you need stability
• Staff #2 skill provides an additional source of regeneration for minions
• Shroud #4 can be used out of combat to heal minions
• “Flesh of the Master” trait creates an icon over your skill bar that can be used to monitor the number of active minions you have