Eh, I guess everyone has their own personal preferences.
If you're going pvm, why simply use a merc that powers up your summons?
For quick leveling and killing, I use a Gmerc, and putting one point in lower resist makes them infinitely better.
The summons can kill the fire/light immunes fast too, plus provide a great deal of protection for the necro from overpowered mana burn lightning enchanted, etc.
And you don't hit any decent fcr breakpoints, why?
Standing still and letting summons do the work is really boring ;\
Teleport around and let mages (or gmerc) kill while they have LR cast
Here's my critique on the gear:
Helm: I agree, Shako is the best, I prefer Um'd Non-eth, because defense isn't all that important, your summons are your "wall"
However, elemental attacks sometimes can deflect off summons and go straight to you, which means instant death if your resists are low (thus the Um)
Amulet: Mara's is gfg, good choice.
Weapon: Here's where people I know argue continuously. There are 3 different weapons I prefer: Beastz, Doomz, and Wizzy. Of course, this comes from my tendency to go pvp with my Necro.
Doomz really screws zons over, they basically can't do jack once you teleport on top of them. As for monsters, the slowing effect helps a LOT, since decrepify isn't needed once you use it
Beastz is good for fast killing, and the ar bonus from Fana for summons rocks, and there is another bonus that summons you wouldn't think receive it actually
get . Of course, I'm not going to tell you, this is a secret between me and my friends who use summoners
Finally, Wizardspike lets my Summoner reach the final Breakpoint for Fcr, 125%. This helps a LOT with my gmerc, and due to the mana bonus/regen from Wizzy, I never run out
The resists make it even godlier, this thing really is an awesome caster weapon.
Shield: Darkforce is the only way to go for me, Um'd of course. The mana bonus, 30% fcr, it's great, and for those of you who hate it bc it's expensive, remember that the only expensive ones are the ones with 3 to PnB, everything else people try to get rid of (I bought a 3/1/3 for 1 fg ^^)
Armor: Breastplate Enigma
Why? It's sexy on any Necro, and thanks to Breastplate, I wear all gear (including Spirit Monarch) with base str
Gloves: T'rangs, T'rangs, T'rangs Only way to go for a necromancer here, they give 20% fcr, +2 curses, +30 cold resist. Why would you choose anything else?
Rings: I use one fcr ring to hit breakpoints easily, but it's really personal preference I guess. There isn't a huge difference in one skill level once Summon skele/mage is around level 45-50 And of course one SoJ
Belt: Arach good choice
But in pvp sometimes you gotta sorb :\ (though I'm yet to with mine
)
Boots: Marrowwalks Good choice again, BUT make sure they have a lot of dex so you can use base dex with wizzy, it helps a lot
Charms: All up to personal preference, but of course, use a gg anni and torch. PvM I use about 4x Summon Gcs and I often see godly drops in my chaos runs (you think I'm gonna let a leecher take those?!!)
For Stats like Vitality, etc., it's all up to you, I used base Dex, base Str, and I divided up my other points into Vit and Energy.
My necromancer, for mana purposes, has a huge energy base, but when you don't need to use mana pots, you will appreciate it.
Mine has 2k life/ 2k mana, and I almost never die (I got to 95 in 3 weeks after making him)
And the reason not to go all vit is because you don't get hit, your summons do
If any of you want to flame me for my own personal opinion, feel free to pm me for a Summon vs. Summon duel.
I would love to show you how it's done.