Aura of Last Epoch gold Decay and Dread Shade are permanent. Your minions are permanent. They also have so much leech and damage that survivability is almost never an issue-even against Rift Beasts, Nemesis encounters, and high-end bosses.

The only button you regularly press is Summon Skeleton Mage, which doubles as your movement skill. Thanks to Grave Passage, it teleports you across terrain and pulls your entire army along with you, letting you reposition instantly while staying aggressive.

Boss fights are where the build really shines. Abominations, Harbingers, Tier 4 Julra, and even Aberroth melt in seconds. You don't kite, you don't dodge endlessly-you stand close, keep enemies inside Aura of Decay, and let poison do the rest.

Skill Breakdown

Aura of Decay (AoE & Core Scaling)

Aura of Decay is the backbone of your poison damage. Key priorities include:

Massive multiplicative poison damage for minions

Poison resistance shred scaling with Intelligence

Increased area and survivability

Added slow for crowd control

This aura ensures enemies around you are constantly debuffed, poisoned, and weakened.

Dread Shade (Damage Amplifier)

Dread Shade is attached to your Bone Golem and provides:

Huge attack speed bonuses

Multiplicative damage over time

Conversion from necrotic to poison

Increased area and scaling based on missing health

It turns your already deadly minions into absolute monsters.

Summon Bone Golem (Tank & Dread Shade Anchor)

The Bone Golem exists to:

Soak damage

Hold threat

Chill enemies

Boost armor and survivability for nearby minions

It deals minimal damage but enables everything else.

Summon Skeleton (Primary Damage Dealer)

Skeleton Rogues are the stars of the build. Warriors and Archers are disabled, ensuring every summon is a Rogue. These Rogues:

Throw poison-based flasks

Gain up to 200% multiplicative damage

Scale with attack speed, poison, and crit

Have so many leeches that they effectively never die

You'll stack extra skeletons, damage, and crit for maximum output.

Summon Skeleton Mage (Movement & Utility)

Skeleton Mage is your traversal skill via Grave Passage, allowing:

Teleportation across elevation

Instant repositioning of up to nine minions

Additional poison scaling and attack speed

Bonus crit and movement speed

It's one of the smoothest movement skills in Last Epoch.

Passive Trees Overview

At level 100, this build fully utilizes the Acolyte, Lich, and Necromancer trees.

Key highlights include:

Heavy investment into Intelligence, Vitality, and resistances

Massive minion armor and health scaling

Poison chance and penetration

Extra skeletons and skeleton mages

Ward generation per minion (you run 13+ minions)

Conversion of melee bonuses into throwing damage for Rogues

Several nodes provide enormous value, including poison penetration, physical penetration, and multiplicative damage scaling based on Vitality and Endurance.

Blessings, Idols, and Gear

Blessings

Recommended blessings focus on:

Health

Crit avoidance

Endurance

Armor

Ward per second

These can be adjusted based on resistance needs.

Idols

Look for Acolyte double-health idols, ideally with:

Flat and % increased health

Ward per second or ward decay threshold

One idol with Mark for Death on minion hit to reduce enemy resistances

Mandatory Item: Lethal Concentration

This weapon is absolutely required. It:

Transfers up to 210% effectiveness of your poison damage to Skeleton Rogues

Grants minions poison leech

Can roll +skills

It is extremely affordable, even with low LP

With high poison rolls, this weapon alone pushes your damage into absurd territory.

Other Notable Gear

Boneclamor for ward

Evolution's End for damage reduction

Mantle of the Pale Ox for mitigation

Dual Hollow Finger for extra skeletons

Tyrant Skull (Primordial) for frenzy and endurance scaling

Jeweler's Obsession for massive minion attack speed

Endurance stacking heavily boosts both survivability and minion damage.

Leveling and Loot Filter

The build transitions smoothly from leveling into cheap Last Epoch gold endgame around level 60. Several core skills overlap, making the swap painless once the campaign is complete.