New to fishymancer, I have a few questions

**redsoil** · 27-05-2012, 18:41

I'm on my second playthrough of the game, and decided I didn't want a sorc anymore, so I'm playing a fishymancer this time around. I'm only level 24 right now, but I was wondering if I can do anything besides melee? The guide I was following (http://diablo.incgamers.com/forums/s...er-Version-2-1) says to max out my Skeles and Mastery first, which is what I have been doing, but I find myself just standing around while they do all the work. I just killed Duriel, and there wasn't much I could do, I meleed as I watched my Skeles die and it was super close.

Is there maybe another variation of this build, that will allow me to do something other than melee until I can max out the necessary skills? I still have Akara's reward from and Act I quest to reset my skills. I'm completely new to the class, so any advice at all, not mentioned in the guide, would be awesome. Thanks for your input!

**Ladvarian** · 27-05-2012, 21:46

Here is the latest and final version.

What is your exact definition of doing something besides melee? Are you throwing curses such as Amplify Damage and Decrepify? Decripfy should be used for Duriel and Diablo if you have it. Do you use Corpse Explosion as well? You could try Appendix C, in the link provided, for the Crushing Blow setup. This will allow you to do damage as well as your army.

If you are getting bored with having your army do the damage then maybe a fishymancer is not for you. You might want to try a Poisonmancer. He will require more work as you will be doing the damage, but he can clear a lot of the area 85 places easily with the right equipment. I'm not too familiar with the guides for him so I dare not suggest one.

**baldanders** · 27-05-2012, 22:49

Well, early on with Fishys it's really all about the skellies, so I wouldn't divert skill points from them until they are maxed. That does leave you pretty passive for a while. Once you have CE at a high level you'll be the one doing most of the damage, as CE can pretty much clear the screen at low players settings. That still feels kind of passive to me as there isn't a lot of choice involved in it- you just wait for the bodies to drop and then explode them. As a result my Fishymancer isn't one of my favorite characters to play, even though he's very effective. He can carry a lot of MF and be pretty safe even in WSK, but I find him a bit boring.

One thing about the Fishy though is that he has a lot of discretionary points once he's high-level. You could put them into some bone skills and let him help taking down the first corpse with those. Or you could go with the crushing blow setup. Or, as Ladvarian points out, if you find the Fishy not so much fun to play you could try a different build.

**redsoil** · 27-05-2012, 23:15

Alright guys, thanks for the help, and thank you for posting that link! I didn't have CE yet, but I guess I'll grab it now. I also didn't pick up Decrep, I'll try it out for now and see what happens. At the very least, it'll be great for farming.