Keeper's Wraithlord Necromancer Build Guide

Fantastic damage against 1, 2, or 3 targets

Relatively simple gameplay - focus on buffs, debuffs, and survival, rather than targeting and attacking enemies

Can clear waves of enemies off screen because the wraithlord stays where you put it

Extremely high mobility

Wraithlord can be killed, requiring you to summon it in a safe position and teleport it to a safe locations using the experimental affix, PrefixExperimental Minions Transported with Traversal Skills

If the wraithlord dies after casting Dread Shade, or you put the shade on the wrong minion, the majority of your dps is lost until you can cast it again

No AOE clear. Most enemies are 1-shot, but the wraithlord only fires 3 beams at once, so swarms of enemies can be a problem

Quick Summary

Cast Summon Wraith, Infernal Shade and Dread Shade on it, and transplant around to move your minions and avoid damage.

Gameplay

After entering a new zone, re-cast summon wraith, and put both shades on it. Shades can sometimes drop off when changing zones.

Use Transplant to maneuver the wraithlord and control where its damage goes. The wraithlord does not move on its own due to Locus Of Death 1/1, so the affix PrefixExperimental Minions Transported with Traversal Skillsis required. You can drop locust of death, but it massively reduces damage and means you cannot precisely choose where the wraith is attacking.

Transporting into enemies works due to Thanatophobia 1/1, which fears targets where you appear. However, this impacts each target only once, so do not expect teleporting into a boss multiple times to cause multiple fears. This allows you to put the wraithlord in the proper position for dealing the most damage while also buffing its attack speed due to Veins of Malice 5/5. Keep the wraithlord out of AOE attacks as much as possible. It can tank most attacks and heal itself, but when playing over corruption 1,500, incoming damage is so high that it will die to AOEs. This can result in a 90% loss of dps if you recently cast Dread Shade.

For even higher damage in boss fights, keep the wraithlord and two normal wraiths close to the boss, with Infernal Shade on all 3 minions. This will apply 80-100 armor shred stacks, boosting damage against tanky enemies.

Cast Bone Curse every 6-8 seconds on bosses or large groups of enemies to apply Marked For Death and Slow, boosting DPS and making it easier to avoid incoming damage. Idols can also allow minion attacks to provide marked for death, but idol marked for death is not ideal against groups. Bone curse applies it to every enemy in the AOE, and having marked for death applied to every target can be the difference between a 1-shot and a 2-shot.

Potion cast speed buff - Elixir of Hunger 8/8. This node buffs your minion attack speed by 10% for 8 seconds after taking a potion. This is directly a 10% damage buff on potion use, and you can have it always active in monoliths as well as boss fights. Potions also boost movement speed due to Exsanguinous, resulting in consistently high movement speed.

Wraithlord mechanics

Wraithlord scales with Summon Wraith and shoots necrotic beams when not summoning other wraiths. This build focuses on that necrotic damage, so we want to summon the only 2 small wraiths to maximize the wraithlord's time dealing damage. Twin Spirits 1/1 reduces the max small wraiths to 2. Any other summons are targeted by the wraithlord, giving it a temporary damage and health boost. Using Simulacrum 1/1 allows you to consistently feed the wraith and keep the buff up.

Optionally, you can take Bone Prison 1/1 and Shattered Prison 1/1 to feed the wraith. This reduces dps but boosts wraith health. it shouldn't be used with simulacrum because that reduces DPS further, with no additional benefit.

Bone Curse mechanics

Bone curse applies a curse which deals damage per attack on the target, making it a decent damage boost on top of high direct attack speed builds. However, the main reason I use it in this build is for marked for death Sigil of Mortality 1/1, slow Crippling Anguish 2/4, and kill threshold Brittle Bones 3/3.

Marked for death boosts damage of the wraithlord, and slow prevents swarms from overwhelming you.

Flame Wraith mechanics

Flame Wraith is a decent buff to the small minions because it scales with fire damage and can hit from range, making them useful during wave clear or fights where you cannot stand on the boss. They can also apply marked for death with an idol, providing a higher uptime on the debuff against bosses. I use one idol withPrefixChance for Summon Wraith to summon a Flame Wraith instead and health on it to improve the chances of getting a flame wraith.

Dread Shade mechanics

Dread Shade is used for buffing the wraithlord and is responsible for over 70% of the damage done. I take Egoism 1/1 for 100% crits, Blind Fury 1/1 for faster attack speed, and other nodes for damage buffs. Optionally, you can go into Pernicious Pact 1/1 and Doomed Wrath 3/3 for maximum damage, but this deals permanent poison damage to the wraith which will eventually kill it. An easier way to play this build is using Duskheart 2/4 and Flesh Harvest 2/3, which results in a bit of a damage loss, but the wraith doesn't have to die and be re-summoned.

Infernal Shade mechanics

Infernal Shade is a great buff to minions, improving their attack and cast speed, directly improving dps and wave clear. It also applies Shred Armour, boosting dps against bosses and high health enemies.

Movement speed is increased by transplant granting haste and Exsanguinous providing speed on potion use. A movement affix on boots is ideal to get above 90% increased movement speed. Alternatively, you can use Blood of the Exile for speed, as I'm using here.

Julra's Obsession are the best gloves you can use for damage on this build, with PrefixCast Speed. This will buff your damage directly by that cast speed % because the minion benefits from that bonus. However, it is rare to drop with more than 1 LP, so farming can take time. I have T7 int and T5 health 2 LP Julra's Obsession, but I prefer the crusader's gauntlets because of the T7 minion damage, ward generation, health, and crit avoidance. If you use a high life, rather than low life build, Julra's would be best.

Last Steps of the Living are a good alternative, and they boost survivability by adding anothee 2-3k ward. However, they are rare with 3+ LP, so putting the right stats on it can be a grind. This build has immobile wraiths, so the experimental affix is required. Aim to put the experimental minion teleportation affix with movement speed if you choose to use last steps or the living.

Weapons

Usurper's Mandate, Eulogy of Blood, and Reach of the Grave are the top weapons, in that order for damage. If you have a better affix combination on reach of the grave, use it over eulogy of blood. In either case, with a 1-handed weapon, pair it with an Opulent Focus which buffs ward, and look for the affixes PrefixMinion Damage, PrefixMinion Health, and any needed resistances or SuffixDodge Rating.

The highest damage you can have is with a Usurper's mandate with +2 minion skill points, high necrotic pen, and either double minion spell damage or 1x minion spell damage and 1x SuffixNecrotic Penetration and Minion Necrotic Penetration. If you happen to get a 3+ LP usurper's mandate, add PrefixParry Chance for added defense and any other prefix which buffs mana. Mine has a 10% parry chance, which can prevent 1-shots from occurring.

Wraithlord's Harbour - prioritize intelligence and max health %. If you have one with 3+ LP, add PrefixLevel of Summon Bone Golem orPrefixLevel of Summon Volatile Zombie for extra wraith survivability or damage. Armor, dodge, crit strike avoidance, any resistance, or ward per second are also solid choices.

Ambitions of an Erased Acolyte with intelligence, minion damage, minion health, or player health is ideal, but the randomness of weaver items makes this challenging. An additional skill point in all skills allows for more damage and minion health.

Belt - PrefixExperimental Traversal Cooldown Recovery on Potion Use is a game changer. Everything else in this guide provides improvements to damage or survivability, but this affix changes how you play. You can use a potion or two to instantly get transplant back, allowing you to teleport your minions to dodge an attack, then immediately dodge a second attack by transplanting again. It also lets you move across the map incredibly quickly.

I have a 4 lp The Scavenger and 4 lp Chains of Uleros, but I choose to use the one in this build because it has minion damage, cleanse, and transplant recovery on potion use. Unique belts can't have 3 prefixes like this one because of the sealed t6 experimental affix.

Finally, use a chest with PrefixLevel of Summon Wraith and intelligence on it. Mine has summon wraith and health, but int would be better.

https://www.lastepochtools.com/loot-filters/view/NoX8llo7