Last run I had 4 Blessing + the Banner and I got all of that pretty late so my pets were all out.
Should I try using defensive stance? Maybe my pet piloting (in terms of positioning and focus) is just not great so they “lose” aggro and therefore dps?
I don’t use “pet attack” at all, so that is definitely not it.
And no, setting pets on defensive makes it worse.
Unfortunately I can’t comment on your positioning without knowing how you play 
But if you have all the items and have made your character exactly like the one in my GT link, then you shouldn’t be having this problem even with terrible piloting as I am a terrible pilot myself. So, this is kind of perplexing…
So you never feel the need to focus in certain mob for a kill order?
Because in that video pets just focus on the first and second nemesis and then on the big guy… mine are kinda random, things die all together almost never mob by mob except I “petattack” a certain target and so they focus on it and it dies “quickly”.
Where lots of mob spawns should I wait CoF them? I usually tend to CoF way before my pets get there.
Maybe i should just never run away from the mobs even if they attack me and my hp are getting low, trusting my pets will eventually hold aggro? just stay there (except on ground pools :P)
I never focus on anything except Sentinel and Karroz because they have Mindcontrol which is problematic for pet builds. Even then, I just move to their spawn points at the start of the wave instead of using “Pet Attack”
Sigatrev pilots differently from I do. Mostly because he aims for better Crucible clear speeds while I don’t.
I just Spam CoF on everything I see.
Standing and hoping pets will hold aggro is a bad idea and will get you killed. That said, in the Crucible when playing with blessings and banner, I do facetank stuff like Reaper of the Lost without a problem. But then again, our experiences with the build have been vastly different, so I can’t say how that will go for you.
Maya, do pets kinda lag behind in the beginning of the game? I notice mine drift behind my character by a bit and I either need to use pet attack or be amongst the mobs before they start attacking even when they are set on aggressive. Also do you play hardcore with these builds or are you mainly a softcore player?
Yeah pets start out a bit slow. Another reason why it is better to level with Familiar since it is Ranged. They do get better late game though, once you get items and devotions that increase their speed.
Personally I play softcore as I am not a fan of permanent death mechanics. But the build is hardcore viable as I don’t really die except maybe in higher shards of Shattered Realm where you get insane boss combinations and end up getting swapped into Gravathul’s Red balls by Valdaran or something.
@Lyrrados personally, I think the Raise Skeletons from Necromancer are a real powerhouse early on. Though, at mid-game, they start the become incredibly squishy. Ashes of Malmouth acts in Elite will just tear them to pieces…
I hated Skeletons so much that I ended up using Lokarr’s Set + Potions of Clarity in my Beginner build Diary for Necro because I couldn’t take it anymore.
I don’t like skeletons regardless of at which stage of the game or how much you buff them with items and devotions…
Birbs have ruined me.
(Blight Fiends are cool though. I have been Critical of those fat blobs, but have come to love them greately)
Yeah, the skeletons are pretty strong, but the randomness of which ones you get irritate me.
You know, if this was made without a set or an assumption that you’ve already got pieces. ie. for a newb. It’s be worth trying, but how would they know what to aim for and where is the starting point?
That is why I included the beginner’s guide section right 2 posts down from the OP.
It is the same one Malawiglenn linked above, so you can just click on it instead.
hey, loving the build. what do u recommend about the factions? i’ve already killed barrow 'cause i dont like cannibals, but what about the forgotten gods exp factions? (bys, dreeg and solael)
, Barrowholm has some of the best stuff for pets. But it is ok ,we can work around it.
As for FG factions, you can go with whichever you prefer as the choice doesn’t lock you out of the other 2.
So for example, if you choose Bysmiel, you can still buy stuff from Dreeg and Solael.
What it does affect is which faction you do quests and bounties for. So if you ally with Bysmiel, you will gain reputation faster for them compared to Solael and Dreeg.
As we want to get Revered with Bysmiel ASAP, that would be my personal recommendation. But the other 2 also have good stuff, so go with whichever you prefer 
yeah, i saw after killing them that u used their stuff =x but i only had 1 char before this one, so i wanted to see what happened if i didn’t ally heh
thank you so much, u r awesome!
Btw, made slight changes to the builds since no barrowholm
Budget Build: https://www.grimtools.com/calc/vNQdKbpZ
Main build: https://www.grimtools.com/calc/DV9zXvQZ
Should work fine.
oh my. thank you so much =)))) you are the best
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Hello, great build, I am playing it as first char in GD
I am really amzed by Grim dawn
I have question related to item crafts (Helm+weapon)
Can you please hint, which smiths should I use to craft them?
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Entirely upto you. I don’t really bother with Crafting bonuses.
But I would recommend either Angrim for the pierce resistance or Kaylon for Stun resistance.
You can find all the crafting bonuses here: https://grimdawn.gamepedia.com/Blacksmith
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Can you upload some starter skill and devotion level up for this build each 10 level like the Birds of Bysmiel - Pet Occultist. i have the pc at home follow the pet occulist and now want to try this build at my laptop. Just have over few dozen hours with grimdawn and love it. Thank you very much.