Lord of Mages?

[relliKniaP]

Ill go for max block and no regular Skeletons. Ill put 10+ points in CE for larger radius, to compensate the lack of meatshields. I figured out something like this below....

Main Summons
20 Skeleton Mastery
20 Skeleton Mages

Main Curses
1 Dim Vision
1 Lower Resist

Firepower
10+ CE

Utility
? Bone Wall
? Bone Prison
? Bone Armor

Additional meatshields & flexibility
1 Revive

Distraction
1 Golem Mastery
1 Fire Golem


Now, i have some questions..

Can Magi shoot through the bone wall?
Can Magi shoot through the bone prison?
How many points in Bone Wall, Bone Prison and Bone Armor?

[Mooranie]

Mages do shot over bone wall and prison, as I've seen (i don't play necro).

I however think you should invest more point in the curse lower resist, maybe max it, since mages are your main weapon. More point in lower resist = more damage from mage.

What about summon resist ? Another 1 point wonder with + skill.

Bone armor is great, so if you can put point in here it's a good idea, but if you go max block and vitality you won't need it, or probably dont.

I'd say for the bone wall and prison just 1 point to try, depending how it work you might max it.

[relliKniaP]

I however think you should invest more point in the curse lower resist, maybe max it, since mages are your main weapon. More point in lower resist = more damage from mage.

I will certainly not max it - the diminishing returns are massive. Above slvl 10 you only get 1% increase per lvl so i think ill put 5 points there.

What about summon resist ? Another 1 point wonder with + skill.

Yes, ofcourse, i forgot to mention it lol

Bone armor is great, so if you can put point in here it's a good idea, but if you go max block and vitality you won't need it, or probably dont.

Ill go for 1pt with +skills for a start and see how useful it is.

I'd say for the bone wall and prison just 1 point to try, depending how it work you might max it.

Yeah same

[Pucho]

1 in bone armor, rest in wall/prison, since you're not going with warrior skellys, you'll have plenty skill points left.
Max CE would be your main killer. Again, you'll have plenty skill points so.. why not max it?

[JayhawkFan]

infinity merc would be really nice...

could you tell us your gear setup or is it just like the basic summoner?

[kykle]

go with maxxed poison tree

[MrProphet]

might be expensive but you could have 4 different sheild each stuffed with different facets to help break immunities.


or give your merc infinity...either one works

[mephiztophelez]

might be expensive but you could have 4 different sheild each stuffed with different facets to help break immunities.
facets will NOT break immunities. only Lower Resist or a Conviction Aura can do that.

once an immunity is broken however, facets rock at full effect.

[Pucho]

even if they did, facets will only work with your attacks, not minions/merc

[relliKniaP]

Max CE would be your main killer. Again, you'll have plenty skill points so.. why not max it?

I have tried max CE with a regular Fishy. It kinda kills the fun, for me, since the radius is huge and everything dies so fast.
However, since i have less meatshields this time, ill definitely put more that 1 pt in CE. Ill sink 5 into it and then another 5 maybe and see how it turns out. Who knows, maybe ill max it eventually if im having trouble

could you tell us your gear setup or is it just like the basic summoner?

This char is gonna be untwinked

go with maxxed poison tree

Not enough points cos ill go with 20/20 Mages

[Ed from Russia]

I haven't done a Mage Lord since 1.09, but it's a fun yet difficult build.

Here's an idea: combine mages with poison for some extra fun:
60 poison skills
20 Mages
1 Lower Resist
rest in Skeletal Mastery

[kykle]

20/20 mages and 20/20/20 poison is completed in the low 90's.

[Ed from Russia]

20/20 mages and 20/20/20 poison is completed in the low 90's.

Not if you want Lower Resist and Summon Resist - that means you need 11 prerequisites if I'm counting correctly.

[pacifickarma]

Why not max Fire Golem out to increase the damage?

[Ed from Russia]

Why not max Fire Golem out to increase the damage?

Mainly because it would cost you 20 skill points and won't give you very much (compared with many other Necro skills).

A Fire Golem simply doesn't do that much damage. Another thing is that a higher-level FG's aura will wake up monsters off-screen, which may be annoying.

[relliKniaP]

20/20 mages and 20/20/20 poison is completed in the low 90's.

It can be done, but i usualy burn a lot of points, for example in all Curses, for maximum flexibility. For someone like me that would be a drag.

I haven't done a Mage Lord since 1.09, but it's a fun yet difficult build.

Here's an idea: combine mages with poison for some extra fun:
60 poison skills
20 Mages
1 Lower Resist
rest in Skeletal Mastery

hmm i think ill go for something similar... stronger mages and weaker poison....
20 Mages
20 Mastery
20 Psn Nova
20 Psn Explosion
rest in Psn Dagger

[Radamer]

You're going to have to go with a more poison dagger or commandomancer build with that skill set. Your mages would be your back-up and you and your merc will do most of the fighting and killing, unless you get an Infinity polearm (which is probably a requirement for a build like this). In fact, I'd recommend that your necromancer wields infinity and that you have a good bone armor on top of the LR, mages, and mastery. You'll have cyclone armor charges combined with bone armor which may even make this build hardcore viable. That way, you won't be too dependent on your merc to aid you mages.

[maiku]

Actually, I have two suggestions for your Merc in such a build. We're going to suppose that "Infinity" is not available (unless you do have one available, in which case, ignore the following...).

1. If you go with an Act 2 Merc, arm him with a "Rift" Thresher and a lot of IAS items so he spits out Frozen Orbs and Tornados like crazy. Your Lower Resist will help him do more damage.

2. If you go with an Act 5 Merc (Barb), arm him with an ethereal "Voice of Reason" sword which is kind of like a baby "Rift" and much cheaper. Also load him with IAS so he spits out a lot of Frozen Orbs and Ice Blasts and LR enemies as you encounter them. This will freeze and fracture a lot of enemies. This is one of my favorite rune words, and I use it on my Conviction Zealot.

With one of these, your Merc becomes a mage too and contribute a significant amount of damage.

[relliKniaP]

Actually, I have two suggestions for your Merc in such a build. We're going to suppose that "Infinity" is not available (unless you do have one available, in which case, ignore the following...).

1. If you go with an Act 2 Merc, arm him with a "Rift" Thresher and a lot of IAS items so he spits out Frozen Orbs and Tornados like crazy. Your Lower Resist will help him do more damage.

2. If you go with an Act 5 Merc (Barb), arm him with an ethereal "Voice of Reason" sword which is kind of like a baby "Rift" and much cheaper. Also load him with IAS so he spits out a lot of Frozen Orbs and Ice Blasts and LR enemies as you encounter them. This will freeze and fracture a lot of enemies. This is one of my favorite rune words, and I use it on my Conviction Zealot.

With one of these, your Merc becomes a mage too and contribute a significant amount of damage.

Hmm interesting. I could make this Nec revolve around massive elemental damage.
LR + CE + 20/20 Mages + Elemental rw (such as those you mentioned) on merc = win :thumbsup:
oh yeah and lets not forget psn tree lol


Cold dmg means less corpses though lol

[relliKniaP]

You're going to have to go with a more poison dagger or commandomancer build with that skill set.

What do you mean exactly?

Your mages would be your back-up and you and your merc will do most of the fighting and killing

Wouldnt CE + Mages + LR do most of the killing? Merc would do most of the fighting.

In fact, I'd recommend that your necromancer wields infinity and that you have a good bone armor on top of the LR, mages, and mastery. You'll have cyclone armor charges combined with bone armor which may even make this build hardcore viable. That way, you won't be too dependent on your merc to aid you mages.

Why worry about Bone Armor & Cyclone Armor when theres Dim Vision & Max Block?

[maiku]

Hmm interesting. I could make this Nec revolve around massive elemental damage.
LR + CE + 20/20 Mages + Elemental rw (such as those you mentioned) on merc = win :thumbsup:
oh yeah and lets not forget psn tree lol


Cold dmg means less corpses though lol

Frozen Orb by itself won't shatter too many corpses ("Rift"). It's mainly the Ice Blast on "Voice of Reason" that will, but that can also provide a lot of effective crowd control and it's got quite a bit of punch to it. Once you have your Magis up and running, I think most of the corpses you'll be using for CE nuclear blasts across the screen, and all you need is a few to get that CE chain going which provides even more corpses and blasts. I don't think you'll find the cold damage to be a problem. If anything, I imagine you'll want a lot of crowd control and slowing, so your Merc can fight and not die. :smiley:

[relliKniaP]

Once you have your Magis up and running, I think most of the corpses you'll be using for CE nuclear blasts across the screen, and all you need is a few to get that CE chain going which provides even more corpses and blasts.

Yeah, now when i think of it, youre right :)

[Radamer]

What do you mean exactly?

The whole point of using Skeletons is that you can lay back and let your minions take the hits. With this build, the mages will lay back with you so the monsters will tend to find their way to where you are.

Wouldnt CE + Mages + LR do most of the killing? Merc would do most of the fighting.

Yeah, but why rely on your merc? He can get in a tough situation that the AI cannot handle properly. Besides, between you, your golem, and your merc, you should be able to handle the enemies much faster and ensure that they all have the conviction aura on them at the same time.

Why worry about Bone Armor & Cyclone Armor when theres Dim Vision & Max Block?

Because we all know that those Gloams can't possible hit you with lightning off screen and out of range for Dim Vision. And Max Block works so well when your running. [/sarcasm]

[Ed from Russia]

Because we all know that those Gloams can't possible hit you with lightning off screen and out of range for Dim Vision. And Max Block works so well when your running. [/sarcasm]

Apparently you've never maxed Dim Vision. Your range (with skill bonuses) will make sure that everything on and off screen is blinded for about 15 seconds (that's with the 75% reduction in Hell). No need to worry about Gloams. You will still have problems with Bosses and Champions (that aren't affected by DV), but those are taken care of by your Merc.

[maiku]

The whole point of using Skeletons is that you can lay back and let your minions take the hits. With this build, the mages will lay back with you so the monsters will tend to find their way to where you are.

Well, on a Fishymancer, the skeletons (and Merc) do two things:

1. They do take hits, forming a form of movable and powerful Bone Armor.
2. They help you get your first few corpses to start exploding stuff while monsters are Amped. Maxed CE is monstrously powerful. A few blasts of maxed CE on my Summoner do more damage than my skellies can put out in the same amount of time. Then their job is to get more bodies for me so I can make things messy again.

If you just wait for skellies to kill stuff, can take a while if you're not using "Infinity," "Beast," etc. and many other items to boost the heck out of skellies. CE, though, is powerful no matter what you have once you slap an Amp on enemies. LR too will benefit CE because it'll lower enemies' resistance against fire. You can also add some fcr to explode corpses faster, creating more corpses, more explosions, etc. It's pretty sick. :thumbsup:

Second, I think it's not a problem if enemies are running toward the Necro and he has Merc, Golem, and lots of little Magi running around. All summons/hirelings are viable punching bags for enemies, and if they draw in enemies, it's their doom, not yours once you start the CEs.

On my Fishymancer, I *like* it when my Fire Golem draws enemies toward the blob, so I can get the fights started faster.

[relliKniaP]

The whole point of using Skeletons is that you can lay back and let your minions take the hits.

Ofcourse, that much is obvious.

With this build, the mages will lay back with you so the monsters will tend to find their way to where you are.

Not really, you obviously didnt use Magi.
Also, dont forget Fire Golem's pulse which draws enemies to him & Dim Vision which easily and almost entirely disables most enemies. And theres other crowd-control skills like Attract and Confuse.

Anyway, you said that i should melee with poison dagger alongside my summons. Why do you think that?

Yeah, but why rely on your merc? He can get in a tough situation that the AI cannot handle properly. Besides, between you, your golem, and your merc, you should be able to handle the enemies much faster and ensure that they all have the conviction aura on them at the same time.

No one said anything about relying on a merc. In a matter of fact, hes just there to provide Might.
And if he gets in trouble "which AI cant handle" theres plenty a crowd-control skill that can handle :laugh:

"Infinity" which you keep mentioning, is not easily attainable for untwinked singleplayer. It aint necesary for the build either.

Because we all know that those Gloams can't possible hit you with lightning off screen and out of range for Dim Vision. And Max Block works so well when your running. [/sarcasm]

Yeah thats true lol. But a quick Attract, Confuse or Dim Vision renders a pack useless. Creativity and player skill is all you need to handle Gloams.