Necro Needs a new strat.

[Tagi]

I'm now on my 5th mancer. My first 2 were complete flops, the 3rd was a step above, and my 4th was a summoner. I want to talk about my 4th build for a minute.

Mancer number 4 was a hard core summoner. His skills looked a little something like this:

Skel mastery- 20
skel magi - 20
skel - 10

20 in iron golem and 20 in golem mastery

10 in summon resist
7 in revive monster
7 in decrip (only put 1 in but +6 from gear)

I had +6 skills bonus from gear. +2 from wand +2 from head shield +1 from amulet +1 from armour

I thought I was set with the best build around. I could revive an army that would put baal's forces to shame. They would cover the screen running around like idiots, killing everything in there path. Normal and NIghtmare consisted of me sitting in the back casting decrip, while my minions would charge for the slaughter and whatnot.

Also, I better chim in that I did have a high level ACT 2 merc with that armour enhancing blue circle about his legs. Fazel (as was his name) had some top quality gear packed on his back. Strong weapon and armour.

Along came hell. Act 3 (surprised I made it that far) was a true test for my build type. And naturally, he failed in flying colours. My skeletons were killed with two shots of lightening from sextons and heirophants. This left my IG and Merc open for a whooping. My IG dealt next to none damage while my merc took hits like there was no tomorrow. Of course they both died after about 1 minute of combat, and roughly 15 seconds later I too died.

I would just like to know if anyone out there can use skels and summoning creatures efficiently in hell?

My 5th build is bonemancer. Bone SPirit is maxed and so is GOLEM mast with a fire golem dude. I use lower resist as my curse. In act 1 of hell, level 22 bone spirit does not deal much damage on the zombies even after casting lower resist.

My second question is, Why does the necromancer suck beyond belief? Sure, It's the only class I use, but not because I like him so much. But more so because I'm now determined to beat that damn game on hell with him, simply to prove that I can.

I've tried every build type around.

Also, don't tell me to get trang oul's scales and the anniluhus charm and all that garbage. I went through all of nightmare loaded to the brim with MF gear and the best I found was some really strong pole axe which my merc uses. I died a lot since my MF gear was rather weak, the whole experience was rather lackluster and a total waste of time. I got rid of all my MF gear and went back to my other gear, which by the ways is not much better.

The odds of me finding any good gear in PvM is not very good at all. My best gear on my necro right now is some +2 all skill wand I bought from that female knight turned blacksmith in act 2.

Anyways, my third questions- Is it possible to beat the game without getting all the high level gear, which apparently is none-existent?

I would like to find the deplorable SOB at blizzard that fine-tuned the %'s that determine how often good things drop in the game.

[ScatteredFire]

You should have used a Might Mercenary instead; they boost your Skeleton damage considerably.

First question: Yes, there are several on this forum. The Skelimancer guides are proof of it.

Second question: They don't. You don't need the uber-items, contrary to popular belief. The Summoner would work better with Beast, Bramble, etc., but they aren't necessary. The damage comes from Skeletons, not your weapon, so your main task is raising their damage. Your defense and such doesn't need to be extreme, either, as you have a small army to hide behind. You shouldn't be getting hit, and if you do, Bone Armor is there to soak up damage.

Chief mistake: You maxed Mages, and left Warriors at 10. This, if anything, destroyed your build. Warriors are the best you can have, while Mages are second. 20 RSW, 20 SM, and a Might Mercenary will carry you through Hell. If you want Mages, max them after Warriors.

I'd have recommended Amplify Damage over Decrepify. It boosts damage more than Decrepify does, thus making your Skeleton Warriors even more effective. I'd rather have my enemy dead than slowed. Decrepify is better when your army is in danger; Amplify Damage should be your main Curse.

Clay Golem is also recommended. Your golem isn't there to deal damage, it's there to tank. The Clay version slows enemies, and has the largest life pool out of the three, making it the best tank (although the Fire Golem attracts everything in Holy Fire range). However, you can use any of the three. Clay is just the best tank, unless you're rich enough to afford Grandfathers and such to raise Iron Golems from. You're not, so go Clay. You should only have one point in your Golem, as well as 1 in Golem Mastery,

Revive is one of the "one-point wonder" skills. It only needs one point to be effective, as extra points add more Revives, not attack/life/defense. Your +skills should bring this to a usable level. You wasted 6 points.

Summon Resist should not be higher than 5.

CE is the main Summoner attack. Use it once a kill has been made to wipe out mobs.

Third question: Simply put, yes.

[Dausuul]

I would just like to know if anyone out there can use skels and summoning creatures efficiently in hell?

Yes. I run Baal regularly with my skeleton necro. The central problems with your build are as follows:

1. You need to max Raise Skeleton! I can't stress that enough. Raise Skeleton and Skeleton Mastery both need to be at 20--and that's *before* you factor in +skills items.
2. You need a Might mercenary (the Offensive mercenary from Act 2 Nightmare; be sure to get him from Nightmare, as Normal and Hell will *not* give you a Might merc).
3. You need Corpse Explosion. At least one point, and you may want to max it.

Never put more than 1 point in any Golem skill, nor in Golem Mastery. Your Golem's job is to be a distraction (and, if using Clay, a portable "slowing spell"). It doesn't matter if it dies, since you can re-cast it, and it won't deal any significant damage no matter how many points you pump into it.

Likewise, I wouldn't blow more than 1 in Revive, and no more than 5 in Summon Resist.

The basic summonmancer strategy involves using skeleton warriors and a Might merc to get the first kill, then Corpse Explosion to start a chain reaction and wipe out the rest of the monsters (which is not to say that the skels and merc cannot kill everything perfectly well on their own, it just takes a little longer). Skeleton magi and Revives are optional; they add a bit of firepower, but they are by no means necessary. As far as curses go, use Decrepify if your skeletons are dying, Amp Damage if they seem to be holding their own.

My second question is, Why does the necromancer suck beyond belief? Sure, It's the only class I use, but not because I like him so much. But more so because I'm now determined to beat that damn game on hell with him, simply to prove that I can.

He sucked in previous patches, although not as much as people made him out to. Not any more... if you build them right, summoners and bonemancers are highly effective in 1.10, even with crappy gear. I'm told a poisonmancer is devastating if you can afford the equipment, but it sounds like that's not an option for you (it isn't for me, either).

To make a bonemancer work, you need to use the synergies. Max Spear, Spirit, and Wall; then you have your choice of maxing Prison (if you don't have Marrowwalks or don't want to rely on the bug) or Teeth (if you do have Marrows and wish to use them). Get one in each curse and put nothing whatsoever in the summoning tree, except maybe one in clay golem.

Anyways, my third questions- Is it possible to beat the game without getting all the high level gear, which apparently is none-existent?

Yes, it is quite possible. Your #4 build's gear should do the trick, although you may struggle a bit in late Hell. Also note that getting high-level gear is best done by repeatedly killing the act bosses in Nightmare/Hell (Mephisto and Baal are the popular choices) while wearing a lot of magic find. Just playing through the game normally isn't likely to yield a lot of loot.

[Dragonmaster]

Heh you guys beat me to it. If I were you I'd just take a look at the fishymancer guide, it might be just what you are looking for

[Tagi]

Thanks a lot guys. I was led astray by other forums.

Everything you've told me pretty much contradicts everything previously told to me.

I was told

A) clay suck
B) Magi are better than skels
C) best merc is a defensive one
D) Max golem mastery


Thanks agian. I will remake my necro (sigh) for the 6th time now. My latest one is going well but I've already maxed out fire and mastery for the golem. What a waste.

I was worried about my bonemancer since High level Bone Spirit is dealing low damage on Hell Act 1 zombies.

[ScatteredFire]

Thanks a lot guys. I was led astray by other forums.

Everything you've told me pretty much contradicts everything previously told to me.

I was told

A) clay suck
B) Magi are better than skels
C) best merc is a defensive one
D) Max golem mastery


Thanks agian. I will remake my necro (sigh) for the 6th time now. My latest one is going well but I've already maxed out fire and mastery for the golem. What a waste.

I was worried about my bonemancer since High level Bone Spirit is dealing low damage on Hell Act 1 zombies.

Everyone just hates Necromancers. I even made a thread on that subject :)
Anyway, who would know the Necromancer better than the Necromancer Forum?

Golden rule: read some guides before wasting your time ;)

[Slipin]

I was told

A) clay suck
B) Magi are better than skels
C) best merc is a defensive one
D) Max golem mastery
Ok...I want you to find the person who told you this...and kill him...

[flapserdk]

Only use CG and spent your point elsewhere. If you build a boner, you only need a few points in GM and CG. The other golems are waste of points.

If you build your boner properly, he will sweep though Hell, but remember to use your curses. Attract and Dim Vision are super curses.
After 1.10 Bone Spear has become very powerful, so remember to max it to.
If your BS and Spear damage is low, you can raise your damage be improving your cast rate. If you raise your cast rate from 35 % FCR to 125 % FCR, you will roughly be dealing 66 % more damage over 5 sec.

If you have MF gear, save it in your stash until you enter Hell, and start making Pit runs.

Good luck

[Mad Mantis]

If you build your boner properly, he will sweep though Hell, but remember to use your curses.

He wanted a Skellimancer. :drool:

[TheKbob]

Commandomancer as well, but just a "tad" more expensive that your usual fishymancer :rolleyes:

Read a guide, that should help you. With your bone dude, you didn't max any synergies or anything. Read a few guides to figure out what to do next as well.

Also, I don't think reading my guide will help to much for a necro without any gear :cheesy:

~Kbob

[Dausuul]

Thanks a lot guys. I was led astray by other forums.

Everything you've told me pretty much contradicts everything previously told to me.

I was told

A) clay suck
B) Magi are better than skels
C) best merc is a defensive one
D) Max golem mastery


Thanks agian. I will remake my necro (sigh) for the 6th time now. My latest one is going well but I've already maxed out fire and mastery for the golem. What a waste.

I was worried about my bonemancer since High level Bone Spirit is dealing low damage on Hell Act 1 zombies.
Wow... sounds like whoever told you that was determined to make sure your necro was as ineffective as possible. The only thing they missed was telling you to use maxed Weaken as your main curse.

Actually, what it really sounds like was someone who was used to playing necros in 1.09. Before the 1.10 patch, clay golems did suck, a defensive merc was a good choice, and magi were much better than warriors. Don't know about the golem mastery, though.