Thoughts On Bruno's KING OF ALL SUMMONERS Zombiemancer & Importance of Experiencing End-Game Content

Hey guys! Before getting into a discussion on this topic, I just wanted to note that before Harvest League, I've always been more of a casual player (been playing since Essence League). I normally played on and off without ever really getting into the nitty gritty of fully understanding the fundamentals/mechanics of the end-game of PoE.

With that said, I did just want to make a post about why I think Bruno's build is something more players should consider trying out. (Here's a link to his guide: https://www.pathofexile.com/forum/view-thread/2642810).

The main reason I believe more people should give this build a try is its accessibility. Many of the necessary uniques for the build are relatively easy to acquire by trading and aren't particularly expensive. With just these uniques along with a few well-rolled rares to max out resistances, players are able to progress well into red maps, which I believe a substantial portion of PoE's player base actually fails to accomplish (probably not a majority, but still a good amount). Although there are numerous reasons why a player may have never progressed to red-tier maps with their builds (i.e. Wanted to improvise their own personal off-meta builds, followed poorly constructed build guides, etc.), I do believe it is important for players to be able to experience end-game content, which often holds the misconception of only being accessible to streamers or those who devote ungodly amounts of time into the franchise. Though Bruno's build is a summoner's build, which I recognize is not a playstyle all players agree with, its scalability in terms of damage and its relatively "hands-off" nature of playstyle would allow for players to progress into at least red-tier maps and grasp the fundamentals of acquiring the type of damage and survivability it takes to reach end-game bosses like the Shaper, Elder, or Sirius.

An issue that games as complex as PoE usually have to deal with is player retention. Oftentimes, players who perceive reaching end-game content as a fruitless endeavor are more than likely to take long breaks from the game (like I have) and enjoy other games before returning to PoE, or in the worst-case scenario, simply quit playing the game altogether. The reason I encourage players to consider a Necromancer build and recommend Bruno's guide is due to the ease at which I was able to reach AND farm end-game content, and the enjoyment I had from being able to share in a project that Bruno had personally invested lots of time into.

Though the same reasons can be applied to how other players feel about other build guides, something I feel PoE has done a great job at is fostering a community of gamers who support one another in reaching new heights within the game and try to share with others the enjoyment that they have for different aspects of the game (Ex. How to make an OP build, how to make lots of currency, how to approach certain boss fights, etc.). So if you feel that you've also come across a build/guide that you felt was exceptional too, that's something I'm sure myself and many other players may come to appreciate as well upon your sharing.

What I hope this short discussion and my arguments achieve in doing is encouraging a helping community that's more open to newer players who may not understand PoE to the extent that veteran/experienced players do, and hopefully attract more players to one of the best games/communities on the internet.

(Also! I made a fun little video featuring Bruno's build on my channel a while back that I think some of you will enjoy. :) I would really appreciate you guys checking that out.)

Thanks for reading!

Is this build still effective as of now for a beginner like me? Imagine playing only SSF.

I have read this post and the video that you made, also checked the main post for the build guide by Bruno and hovered to some of the points that I understand since I'm fairly new to this game and only know a little about the mechanics and items. Then read some of the last pages and I saw some post that they said this build is not effective/viable anymore, or they don't like it (hopefully not because it's not working anymore as of recent patch).

I will create my 3rd character soon since my other 2 seems to be dying even in T4 normal maps, honestly, this is a game that I have invested a lot of hours but still don't get how to at least be decent in it. I'm almost at the point of just quitting since I finished Act 10 and the end game stuff is like an impossible dream (I'm thinking it can only be done by streamers, vloggers or people who can focus on this game every day for a long time).

Before I completely quit I tried to at least take a look for some info regarding the popular characters/builds and maybe end game content can be done with normally acquired items or an SFF character (I thought I could play the game and learn to be decent while playing it without any external info/resource, boy was I wrong). Fortunately, I saw the guide by Bruno and this post hoping that it is still viable as of now. We mainly play on XboX but for my 3rd character, I will try it on PC since there's a lof of recommended tools that are only available with a PC (and it's really convenient to switch to a browser for the guides and info that I am searching for).

Hoping for some feedback if the build is still viable and if there are any tips/suggestions for a beginner like me. Thank you in advance (^_^).