Skeletal Sniper Shaman

Why pick this build

This Skeletal Sniper Shaman Build Guide for the Druid Class uses a variety of Minions, Spells and Curses to deal with enemies. You can follow it from the start of the campaign and continue all the way into the endgame.

During the campaign, you summon Raging Spirits by casting Volcano. Then, use the Minion command skill provided by Skeletal Sniper to deal damage in a wide area. You also cast Elemental Weakness to increase your Minion's damage. Unearth is cast on enemy corpses to spawn an army of temporary Minions. You also buff your army of Minions with Pain Offering to increase their damage.

After the campaign you rely more on Skeletal Snipers, Wolf Pack and Gargantuan Wasp Spectres for your damage. You no longer need to use Raging Spirits and Volcano. Another key piece for the late setup is a From Nothing jewel with the Bulwark keystone. This allows the build to take both the Warlord Berserker and Warlord Leader notables.

For defenses, the build relies on stacking Energy Shield, Energy Shield recovery and block chance. After ascending, Reactive Growth provides less elemental damage taken. Your damage taken is reduced by a further 10% through Wolf Pack Minions supported by Loyalty.

Leveling skill progression

Acts 1-2

• The first two levels you need to play as a Druid using Bear or Wolf form while casting Volcano.
• The First skill gem you cut is Contagion. Cut Unleash with your first Uncut Support Gem (Level 1).
• Switch from the "Primal" skill gem tab to the Occult tab to take Contagion.
• Loot a Rattling Sceptre, or buy it from Una. Do not use Spirit on more Skeletal Warriors from your Rattling Sceptre.

Acts 3-4

• Get Skeletal Sniper and Unearth — you can explode ignited enemies with the gas arrows from your Skeletal Sniper's command skill. This deals most of your single-target damage against rares and bosses. Cut Multishot I and Fire Attunement as your support gems for your Skeletal Snipers.
• Remove your talisman and stop using Bear or Wolf form when you have Skeletal Sniper. Activate the Minion by clicking the "+" marking in the skill gem tab.
• Cut Frost Bomb to debuff enemies with Exposure.
• After defeating The King in the Mists, you get an Uncut Spirit Gem (Level 15). Use it for Pain Offering.

Gearing

Uniques (all common / cheap)

• Enfolding Dawn — solid offensive option. Common drop, sub-div on trade.
• Bones of Ullr — minion-scaling unique. Common drop, sub-div on trade.
• Waveshaper (level 51) — great defensive option as an alternative to Enfolding Dawn.

Pros & cons

Pros

• Most forgiving of bad gear — classic minion "AFK while it kills" feel
• No required uniques, upgrades are all sub-div
• Safest of the four builds
• Strong curse + minion-buff layering (Elemental Weakness, Pain Offering)

Cons

• Damage slightly behind the top picks in 0.5 vs summoners
• Requires you to manage active minions (command skills)
• CI swap is mid-tier — still strong but a power dip in maps if unprepared