Minion players in POE currency have a new toy in patch 3.26, and it's not the usual Summon Raging Spirits or skeleton horde. Today, we're diving into the Poison Animate Weapons Necromancer-a powerful, budget-friendly minion build that blends chaos damage scaling with one of the most unique mechanics in the game. While it requires a bit more micro-management than standard summoner setups, once you understand the rhythm, this build delivers insane DPS, strong clear, and one of the most satisfying gameplay loops available right now.

Whether you're farming maps, tackling endgame bosses, or just looking for something different from meta minion armies, this build deserves a close look.

Build Overview

The foundation of this build is Animate Weapon of Ranged Arms, a transfigured gem introduced in 3.26. Instead of summoning melee weapons from the ground, this variant creates ranged spectral weapons that hurl projectiles. When combined with poison scaling and proper support gems, these minions melt bosses and clear maps at lightning speed.

The core setup relies on Bladefall of the Tartu, a new transfigured skill gem that continuously generates spectral blades while channeling.

These blades act as fodder for Animate Weapon, letting you summon and maintain an army without needing to pick up identified weapons.

Key strengths:

 Extreme DPS: Outdamages Poison SRS and traditional minion armies.

 Great mapping speed once weapons are active.

 Budget friendly: Works well with mid-tier gear.

Key weaknesses:

 Defensive trade-offs: Squishier than minion army builds.

 Gem swapping required for bossing vs. mapping.

 Micromanagement: Summoning and swapping requires attention.

If you're looking for a rewarding high-DPS minion build and don't mind some complexity, this is the perfect choice.

How It Works

The cycle of this build looks like this:

1.Channel Bladefall of the Tartu → generates blades.

2.Cast Animate Weapon of Ranged Arms → turns blades into spectral ranged weapons.

3.Maintain uptime → each weapon lasts ~85 seconds, enough for most maps.

Swap support gems depending on content:

1.Mapping: Greater Multiple Projectiles and Pierce.

2.Bossing: Unbound Ailments and Minion Damage.

Against tanky bosses, you also weave in Despair curse to supercharge poison damage.

Leveling Tips

Leveling a Necromancer always has a bit of turbulence in the early game, and this build is no exception. Here's the roadmap:

 Levels 1-24: Zombies and Absolution carry you. Zombies may die frequently, but keep leveling the gem for later.

 Strength requirements: Use an Amber Amulet or bench crafts to hit early stat checks.

 Clarity/Vitality: Don't overlevel these-mana reservation will choke your setup.

 Spectres: In Act 2 Old Fields, raise Carnage Chieftains for Frenzy Charges. Desecrate corpses, hold A, and select them.

 Act 3 Library: Buy missing support gems from Siosa.

By level 31, your build starts resembling the endgame version as Animate Weapon becomes viable. Keep leveling your extra spectres and Animate Guardian in weapon swap-they'll eventually hit level 21 with a Vaal Orb.

Ascendancy Progression

Necromancer ascendancy choices define the playstyle curve:

1.Commander of Darkness → resistances + minion damage for smooth leveling.

2.Mindless Aggression → global minion speed and DPS boost.

3.Unnatural Strength → +2 levels to all minion gems, massive power spike.

Respec later into defenses → transition to:

1.Bone Barrier for regen, damage reduction, and Bone Armour active skill.

2.Mistress of Sacrifice to share Offering buffs, greatly improving survivability.

This balance lets you breeze through campaign acts with offense, then shore up defenses for red maps and endgame bosses.

Passive Skill Tree

The passive tree doubles down on minion scaling and poison synergy:

 Core Minion Clusters: Minion damage, life, and resistances.

 Mind Over Matter + Eldritch Battery: Routes mana cost into Energy Shield for smoother casting.

 Sacrifice: Buffs survivability of both player and minions.

 Spell Suppression + Block: Defensive layering.

 Convocation: Keeps minions properly positioned.

 Poison nodes: Scale chaos/poison damage to maximize DPS.

Overall, the tree balances minion offense with player defense, making you tankier than pure glass-cannon summoners while retaining insane poison DPS.

Gem Setup

This build demands flexibility in gem choices, especially with gem swapping between content.

Core Skills:

 Animate Weapon of Ranged Arms (must-have)

 Bladefall of the Tartu (blade generator)

 Bone Offering (replaces Flesh Offering for defense)

 Summon Carrion Golem (minion buff)

 Convocation (minion repositioning)

 Despair (boss DPS boost)

Mapping Supports:

 Greater Multiple Projectiles

 Pierce

 Unleash (keeps summoning fast)Bossing Supports:

 Unbound Ailments

 Minion Damage

 Void Manipulation

Utility:

 Precision (lvl 10) → boosts minion accuracy without eating mana.

 Steelskin (linked to Automation) → reliable defensive layer.

Transition note: Once your Animate Weapon gem reaches level 15 and you secure a six-link body armour, you can drop Absolution completely and run full Animate Weapon.

Gear Priorities

After the campaign, gear upgrades make or break progression.

Prioritize:

 Life and Resistances (especially Chaos resistance).

 Minion Damage/Attack Speed (on wands, rings, and shields).

 +1 to Minion Gems and +2 to Socketed Minion Gems on weapons/helmets.

 Essences of Envy: Great for chaos resistance on armor bases.

 Crafting Bench: Use Chaos + Elemental resistance mods when available.

Recommended Uniques

 Dual Obliteration Wands → strong chaos explosions.

 The Covenant (body armour) → free Chaos Damage support.

 Lear Cast Helmet → solid minion buffs.

 Asenath's Gentle Touch Gloves → cheap utility with explosions.

 Inextricable Fate Boots → chaos scaling and survivability.

 Belt of the Deceiver → cheap but strong belt option.

 The Jinxed Juju Amulet → minion survivability aura scaling.

Animate Guardian & Spectres

Your Animate Guardian plays a key support role:

 Kingmaker Axe → Culling Strike + Fortify aura.

 Mask of the Stitched Demon → sustain.

 Garb of the Ephemeral → denies crits against allies.

Spectres:

 Carnage Chieftains (Frenzy Charges).

 Host Chieftains (Power Charges).

 Arena Master (damage aura, late-game option).

Gameplay Loop

This build plays differently from standard minion setups:

1.Enter map → channel Bladefall of the Tartu → summon army of ranged weapons.

2.Keep Unleash active in maps for constant resummon speed.

3.Swap gems for bossing: start with Unleash to spawn army, then swap to Minion Damage/Unbound Ailments for DPS burst.

4.Maintain Despair curse and refresh Animate Weapons as needed (~85s duration).

5.Use Convocation to pull minions when repositioning is required.

6.Defensively, keep Bone Offering and Steelskin (Automation) up.

Once set up, your weapons shred packs with poison projectiles while you focus on positioning and survivability.

Strengths & Weaknesses

Pros

 Incredible DPS scaling with poison.

 Flexible hybrid roles (mapping vs. bossing).

 Endgame viable on a budget.

 High fun factor-controlling an army of spectral ranged weapons.

Cons

 Requires gem swapping for optimal performance.

 Squishier than minion army builds.

 Complex mechanics (summoning rhythm, weapon duration management).

Final Verdict

The Poison Animate Weapons Necromancer in POE currency for sale is one of the most exciting minion builds available right now. It brings a refreshing twist to summoner gameplay by trading the classic melee minion swarm for spectral ranged weapons that scale absurdly well with poison. While it asks more of the player-managing gem swaps, resummoning, and defensive layers-the payoff is worth it: lightning-fast map clears, massive boss DPS, and a unique playstyle that feels unlike anything else in the game.

If you're tired of the same old minion builds and want something that hits harder than Poison SRS while still being budget-friendly, this Necromancer should be at the top of your list.

Rating: 9/10-Incredible DPS and fun factor, with some complexity and defensive trade-offs.