Necesse Summoner Guide — Best Build, Gear & Progression
Summoner is one of the most popular builds in Necesse. Your minions fight for you while you focus on dodging, mining, and building. Here is how to build a strong summoner at every stage of the game.
All armor and weapon stats verified against necessewiki.com. Game version: Necesse 1.3.
What Is a Summoner Build?
Necesse does not have hard classes — builds are based entirely on your equipment. A summoner build focuses on gear that increases summon damage, summon slots, and summon attack speed.
Every player has at least one free summon slot even with zero summoning bonuses. This makes summoner a flexible choice: you can run a hybrid build that mixes summons with melee or magic.
Best Summoner Armor by Stage
Armor sets below are verified against the official Armor page. Pure summoner sets are listed first; multi-class sets with summoner variants are noted as such.
Early Game (Cave Tier)
| Armor Set | Armor | Key Summoner Stats | Set Bonus |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gold (with Gold Crown) | 10 | Gold Crown: +1 max summons | +1 max summons |
| Spider | 6 | +10% move speed, +20% summons speed (boots) | +1 max summons; attacks poison target (10 dmg / 5s); immune to slows |
| Arachnid | 12 | +5% summon atk speed, +10% summon dmg, +25% summon speed | +1 max summons; spawns an additional spider summon for every 3rd summon slot used |
| Void (with Void Mask) | 15 | +1 max summons, +20% summons speed (mask) | +1 max summons; V-key speed burst (30s cooldown) |
Recommended early pick: Spider is the first pure summoner set — cheap, gives slow immunity, and poisons enemies. Upgrade to Arachnid for more damage once you can craft it.
Mid Game (Deep Cave Tier)
| Armor Set | Armor | Key Summoner Stats | Set Bonus |
|---|---|---|---|
| Soulseed | 40 | +30% summons speed, +5% summon dmg, +10% summon atk speed | +1 max summon; V-key: explode all active summons for massive damage (60s cooldown) |
| Glacial (with Circlet) | 44 | +1 max summons | +1 max summons; summon attacks slow target |
| Dryad (with Crown) | 50 | +10% summon dmg, +10% crit dmg, +1 max summons | +1 max summons; gain Barkskin stacks out of combat (+10 armor each, up to 3) |
| Ancient Fossil (with Mask) | 60 | +15% summon dmg, +1 max summons | +1 max summons; V-key: 100% crit chance for 5s (60s cooldown) |
Recommended mid-game pick: Soulseed is the pure summoner set for Deep Caves. The V-key ability to detonate all your minions for burst damage is devastating in boss fights. Ancient Fossil Mask is the strongest defensive option.
Late Game (Incursion Tier)
| Armor Set | Armor | Key Summoner Stats | Set Bonus |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nightsteel (with Circlet) | 77 | +10% summon crit, +10% summon crit dmg | +2 max summons; V-key: speed boost + untargetable 3s (can't attack) |
| Spiderite (with Crown) | 77 | +15% summon dmg, +30% summons speed | +2 max summons; V-key: toxic web line 10s; immune to slows |
| Crystal (with Ruby Crown) | 90 | +10% summon crit/dmg/atk speed, +10% summons speed/range | +1 max summons per 150 max resilience |
Recommended endgame pick: Nightsteel Circlet (+2 max summons + untargetable V-key) and Spiderite Crown (+2 max summons + massive summon damage) are the two top endgame summoner sets. Crystal has the highest stats but requires resilience stacking.
Best Summon Weapons
Verified against the official Weapons page. Summon weapons come in two types: those that use summon slots (permanent minions) and those that don't (temporary/supplemental).
Use Summon Slots (Permanent Minions)
| Weapon | Damage | Slots | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Brain on a Stick | 10 | 1 | Summons baby zombies (alternates with archer) |
| Magic Branch | 14 | 1 | Baby snowmen throw snowballs |
| Spider Staff | 14 | 1 | Baby spiders, melee |
| Bashy Bush | 18 | 1 | — |
| Vulture Staff | 18 | 1 | Vulture hatchlings, flying melee |
| Skeleton Staff | 19 | 1 | Summons 2 skeletons (1 ranged + 1 melee) |
| Empress Command | 20 | 1 | Spiderkin, alternates ranged/melee |
| Swamps Grasp | 20 | 1 | 2 pouncing slimes per slot |
| Eye of the Void | 20 | 1 | Robotic egg, hits up to 3 enemies |
| Phantom Caller | 27 | 1 | Phantoms charge enemies |
| Cryo Staff | 29 | 1 | Cryo flakes, short-range ranged |
| Sentient Sword | 36 | 2 | Flying sword, dashes in a line |
| Orb of Slimes | 41 | 1 | Slimes orbit the player |
| Crystallized Skull | 180 | 2 | Summons a ruby dragon — highest damage summon |
Don't Use Summon Slots (Temporary)
These stack on top of your permanent minions for extra damage:
| Weapon | Damage | Max Active | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Stabby Bush | 18 | 3 | — |
| Frost Piercer | 26 | 8 | Flying frost crystals |
| Dryad Branch | 39 | 5 | Channel baby dryads (disappear when you stop) |
| Slime Canister | 40 | 10 | Short-lived poison slimes |
| Ruby Shields | 50 | 6 | Gemstones block non-piercing projectiles |
| Reapers Call | 75 | 5 | Flying spirits — highest burst |
Summoner Progression Tips
- Always carry a backup weapon. Even the best summoner should have a melee or ranged weapon for emergency situations.
- Summoner excels at multi-tasking. While minions fight, you can mine, build, or manage your settlement.
- Non-slot summon weapons are free damage. Stack Stabby Bush, Dryad Branch, or Reapers Call on top of your permanent minions — they don't compete for slots.
- Boss fights: Summoner shines in boss fights where you can focus entirely on dodging while minions deal damage. Pop a V-key ability (Soulseed explosion, Nightsteel untargetable) for burst phases.
- Skeleton Staff punches above its weight. 19 damage but summons 2 minions per slot — effectively double the output.
Community Pro Tips (From Veteran Players)
Strategies below are sourced from experienced Necesse players on YouTube. These complement the wiki data above with real playtime insights.
Hardest Boss for Summoners: Sage and Grit
Sage and Grit (Deep Desert boss #12) is widely considered the worst matchup for summoner builds. Both dragons move extremely fast, and their endurance increases as the fight progresses — melee summons like Slimes simply can't keep up with them.
How to counter:
- Switch to projectile summons. Cryo Staff summons (ranged) can hit the dragons while they dart around. A mix of 1 Slime + 4 Cryo summons + Reaper's Call gives +15% summon damage and enough ranged pressure to keep up.
- Use the terrain. Clear an arena near the dragon pedestal in Deep Desert before the fight, and place your buff banner.
- Consider the Blink Scepter (quest reward) — teleporting helps you dodge their dive attacks and reposition quickly.
(Source: veteran Necesse summoner playthrough series)
The Skeleton Army Combo
The strongest mid-game summon loadout stacks Skeleton Staffs:
- 3x Skeleton Staff = 6 skeletons (each slot summons 1 melee fighter + 1 shooter)
- Add 1x Orb of Slimes (tanking) + 1x Cryo Staff (ranged chip damage)
- Total: 2 slimes orbiting you, 1 cryo summon, 6 skeletons — with each different summon type adding damage via the Summoner's Bestiary trinket (+5% damage per unique summon type)
This combo gives +20% summon damage from Bestiary alone and covers melee, ranged, and tanking roles simultaneously.
Cryo Witch Armor: The Mid-Game Power Spike
Combining Witch set materials with Cryo materials crafts the Cryo Witch set — the strongest mid-game hybrid armor for summoners:
- 52 total armor (vs 36 for base Witch)
- Set bonus: Press V to encase yourself in ice — freeze all non-human enemies in a large area while you safely use potions
- Boosts both magic AND summon stats (+15% summon attack speed on the hat)
The ice encase ability effectively pauses the fight, letting you heal, reposition, or let your summons re-aggro.
Hybrid Summoner Builds
You can mix summoner gear with other classes. Examples:
- Summoner + Melee: Use a sword alongside summons for close-range burst damage
- Summoner + Mage: Use magic weapons from range while summons tank
Each class combination has its own armor and trinket synergy. Experiment with what works for your playstyle.
FAQ
How do I get more summons? Summon-slot weapons occupy permanent minion slots; trinkets raise the cap — Mesmer Tablet (+1, dungeon chests) and Hysteria Tablet (+2 max summons, +30% summon speed).
What is the hardest boss for summoners? Sage and Grit — killing one dragon enrages the other. Counter-strategy in the pro tips section above.
What trinkets should summoners use? Hysteria Tablet + Scrying Mirror (+1 max summon each) as core, plus Summoner's Bestiary (+5% per different summon). See the full Trinkets Guide.
Looking for other class guides? Check our Mage Build Guide, Melee Build, and Ranged Build. For the best weapons across all classes, see our Weapons Guide.