So, I'm a bit of a rat, and am not that rich, this is why my necro may be a bit more appealing to people who aren't as fortunate, and it owns anyway
Also, I play ESCL, and my Account is: FoM_Huan, if anybody wants to see/test my necro =)
Small IntroductionSummon Necromancers have been somewhat more common with the advent of Enigma, and from what my friends tell me, and what I've experienced when dueling other summoners, they create something like a "lag-field," any time you get near them, everything will get sloooooooooow, and then you're dead. =)
Also, they are quite flexible with gear, although I never switch around on my necro 1. because I'm lazy, 2. because it's not really neccesary and 3. because I'm not that rich and this char does fine for rushes, runs (like baal, not cs though), mf runs and dueling.
Skill Point AllocationMy necro is only lvl 85 at the moment, and he is fine, although to be 100% complete he would have to be mid-late 90s I think.
20 Skeleton Mastery
20 Raise Skeleton
10 Raise Skeleton Mage
10 Summon Resist
1 into rest of summon skills except fire golem (I only put into blood and iron golem because they are pre-req's for revives, and revives only need 1 point anyway)
1 point into all the middle and right curses (the pre-req's for lower resist)
1 point into bone armor, 1 point into pre-req's to get psn nova (c.e, psn c.e, psn dagger)
psn dagger and psn nova, you want to max those, although atm my necro is something like 7-8 psn dagger and 11-12 psn nova (I havent checked w/o my gear recently)
I checked a skill calculator website and at lvl 95 or so, having 15 dagger and 20 nova, the nova damage would be something like 1.8k (which is weak, but remember this is the secondary attack)
That is where my summon necro differs from others I think. Many tend to pump into bone spear and spirit or whatever, but using the same amount of points that I used, you would only get like 900 dmg, which is narsty =)
GearThis is what I use: but in parenthesis I'll put in some notes...
Shael'd Shako (Psn facet shako)
Dusk Shroud Enigma (No real sub.. MP is too little defense, AP too much strength)
Beast Double Axe (lowest str requirement, military pick has more)
Spirit Monarch (I was going to use Boneflame, but I decided Spirit's FCR and FHR are better, Darkforce is also an option, but like Boneflame much more expensive)
StormShield (For obvious reasons, in some duels, even more block is nice)
Trang Gloves (FCR, cold resist, +2 curses, AND 25% psn dmg, very nice not to mention cheap
)
Marrow Boots (Mine are perfect, 20 str, 17 dex, +2 mastery, but those were a gift , try to get +2 mastery however)
1X FCR Ring (mine is total junk, getting with dex or resists would be nice)
1X Sorb Ring or MF Ring (Wisp, Dwarf, Rfrost, or Nagel)
Crafted Belt [(FCR, -Hopefully- FHR, Str, Life, Resists) (
- I made one on my first try that has all those mods cept FHR, it's my cheap sub to arach ^^)]
Crafted Ammy [(+2 Necro Skills, FCR, Other mods) (
- I'm working on crafting myself one of these, with my current Spirit and FCR belt, I just need 6 or more FCR)]
CTA and Spirit/Lidless on switch (I just use Lidless because I'm too lazy to get another spirit
)
5x NSummon Gc's
4x PnB Gc's
High Ntorch (These are cheap, even I have one thats like 17/18 and I only payed 2 hrs for it)
Anni (Mine is low ^^)
Sc's [(Life, Resist, MF, FHR) (
- with my current setup I just needed 3 FHR sc's to reach breakpoint, thats without a FHR belt too)]
Note: Resists aren't OVERLY important, my necro must be at ~20's for all resists, I'll explain more specifically why later..
MercenaryMerc is VERY important, he is the reason your skellies own!
Pride (I made myself a Pride CV, came out 19 Conc. obviously, the higher the better. A substitute you MAY want to keep in stash is Doom)
Andy (I use this because apart from being really good, I made Pride in reg CV, so merc needs the extra strength)
Bramble ( I also made this myself in a good hauberk I found, the Thorns is very nice)
Stat Point AllocationI waited until after gear just because depending on how your gear is you need more/less...
Strength: Base. (My Beast, which I made myself -since double axe beasts are probably pretty rare- came out pretty crappy, 29 strength or something, but it's still enough)
Dexterity: Base OR Block. (I went Block myself, although not overboard. With Spirit I have like 45% Block, and with SS I have something like ~70%, this is with ~150 Dex.)
Vitality: The Rest. (Obviously, although since Necro's dont get much life anyway, mine, with the dex, after bo has about 1700 HP)
Energy: None. (I have about 800 mana with gear + BO, so nothing is neccessary here)
ExplanationsFor whatever I did up there...
Firstly, Poison over Bone attacks: Apart from all the Summon Necro's you see using bone attacks, I think poison is cooler and it appeals to my sadistic nature ^^. And plus, someday I might make a slight modification to this build that involves using some sort of super dagger with SS and teleporting on people followed by stabbing them with psn =P Furthermore, Poison attacks cannot be sorbed, which I love, because BvC's and stuff all have SO much resis... You think "but bone attacks are magic, can't be sorbed|" but they can... ES Sorcs chew up and spit out Bone Necro's, because ES absorbs ALL the damage, poison however, goes right through.
Also, Resists: For PvM I never really get hit (surprisingly whenever I die, its either at Nih or, of all places, Arcane Sanc... I teleport by accident into mob of ghosts, and they all attack me for some reason, even with Full Rejuv. I don't manage to get out..), so resists aren't really neccessary for PvM. For PvP, getting more resists is always nice, but all you have to do (if its BM), is revive monsters of the corresponding immunity ^^ What I also do, regardless, is summon a few of those Succubi from Halls of Vaught, they are Phys. Immune, but even with minion stack, they always fly sh*theadds and create a little "bubble" which is VERY useful against Fb Sorcs.
Merc: I use what I put, but sometimes there are fast characters that would benefit from being slowed a bit, here is where I would switch Pride with Doom. Substitutes for Bramble, I'm not sure what else could be used...
Stats and Block: I decided, alright I'm going to have so many minions and stuff, but hey, I'm not going to have THAT much more Life anyway, why not get a decent amount of block. This way even if somebody manages to get through your minions and *hit* you, you might be able to block it. And having ~40% block with Spirit is fine since whenever you duel against melee, you'll use SS which gives you ~70%...
As far as notes go I think thats it... Err, I forget but I think the BP's i used were 75% FCR and 86% FHR which are pretty good IMO.
Getting Minions and MF StrategiesStarting out is only pain I'd say because dumb Pride's Cham, causes everything to shatter =/ So, I just go into Cold Plains, because there are usually a bunch of Gargantuan Beasts and Corrupt Rouges (Both Cold Immune, except for the Spearwomen, they're Light Immune) I just get Clay Golem and if you REALLY have trouble getting first skeletons, you can nova all over the place (Yes it's weak, but a few casts kills Fallens) So get Skellies and Mages, then start MF'ing wherever...
Personally, I do: Countess, Arcane, Eldritch, Nih, Andy, Meph, Baal. In that order =) I don't need revives, Skeletons do more then enough to kill anything. For Baal runs, I just cast Amp Dmg, then C.E everything, very quick ownage
. Baal himself is slowish, with amp takes about a full minute or so to kill him... BUT it's hilarious, because clay golem has about 60% slow, so Baal is 100% helpless. He cannot teleport away, cannot cast clone, only thing he does from time to time is cast the cold V attack, but that doesn't touch me
. Sometimes, if I'm bored, I'll turn into a bear and start mauling, the extra dex means i have something like a 40% hit rate, and Beast gives OW and CB, which is nice.
Dueling - BM and GM TacticsI haven't experimented too much dueling yet, but most of it is pretty straightforward I should think. Although there's something I haven't tested which I'll talk about later.
I'll rate duels with stars, but given my limited experience, this should just present a ROUGH estimate: * = Very Easy. ***** = Very Hard.
Strategies - Casters/RangeAmazonsBowzon: * Bowazons, even with Faith and whatnot should really present no problem, because unless they dont use AA they really shouldn't hit you. Revives are uneccessary, just cast Amp. and teleport on top of her, she will probably try to run, but her dodge animation will get her killed for sure.
SorceressesFire: **** Because of Fb's splash, this has been my real trouble with sorcs, although getting those Succubi really helps... Again, Amp. and teleport, and it's over.
Cold - Blizz: ***|**** If she's REALLY good, this could be more difficult, but it's just a matter of dodging the blizz's and then Amp. + teleport. If she doesn't try to blizz you, she's probably blizzing herself, in which case u cast lower resis and dance around her, letting mages hit, and nova'ing...
Cold - Orb: *** Really any cold sorc can decimate your skellies because of Cold Mastery, so what you have to do is take her out quickly OR just get bunch of Cold Immune revives... Amp. and teleport of course.
Lightning: ** I'm going to say the easiest, because although I've never faced one thats tried to use Chain Lightning on me (which might chain enough times to hit me), I think they cast so slow anyway, they wouldn't be able to lock me... Amp. and teleport as usual.
AssassinsTrapsin: ***|**** This may be one of few fights where you want to keep your distance if they're packing the GF (Godly Factor
), in this case, find some of those big Act 3 Hulk things because they are Light Immune and tank nicely, then go into Worldstone Keep and get mass Black Souls, Lower Resis, and teleport around, don't let her MB stun, that is bad.
DruidsElemental Druid: **** Caution is advised here, because these Druids are popular, and therefore, more of them pack that GF
, 6k nado's are bad to get hit by, since they just go right through everything. I would have to say, Amp. Dmg, with lots of range revives, probably Skeleton Archers so that we don't bother trying to get through his dumb Cyclone Armor, and then wait for a chance when he has no summons, and leap at him, when he's not expecting it I guess. (Try to nova him a few times, this is some ok damage)
PaladinsHammerdin: *** Nigma | **** Desynch
I think it's probably just a matter of opinion, but, for less expert duelers, desynch can be a pain, because they haven't quite gauged where the hammer fields are. In any case, scope out how good the hammerdin is, if you see his cast rate isnt ridiculously fast, try teleporting on him (with Amp. of course) otherwise, use Windy Druid tactic. (Paladins usually have tons of resis, so elemental revives may not be the way to go)
FoH: I haven't actually dueled a FoHdin yet, but I think it would be ** this is because no FoHdin ever maxes Holy Bolt, meaning all the little bolts that "splash" out won't really hurt the skellies.. In any case, Amp. and teleport...
V/T: I'll cover these in Smiter section further down...
Auradins: These are like always BM'd bastards, I know I didn't mention it, but getting more FCR gear here may be a good idea, actually just Wizardspike I think, that would bring you to 125, if I can still do math... and instead of Amp. I would use Decrepify right off the bat, which would make him slower whether he's running or charging or w/e. I don't have much experience with Auradins, but I find that they just charge off and are usually BM'd, in which case catching up MIGHT be a problem (keep in mind switching Beast for Wiz means you MAY have to put some points into strength, as well as sacrificing a bit of your skellie's damage and speed and their only AR bonus)
NecromancersBone: ** Bonermancers are really not that hard, all you have to do is Amp. and teleport on top of them... Even if they use spear, I don't think they should be able to hurt you too badly..
Poison: *** These COULD be a bit more difficult since they might just try to nova and teleport away... Just teleport on them and hopefully their FHR won't be enough to save them... (Most Poison Necros have Dweb and 20/20 Monarch so their FHR sucks anyway, and if they got FHR gear, their dmg is gonna suck, so its all in our favor ^^)
Strategies - MeleeThis is where my theory is, I have to experiment, I'll update this once I figure it out... When a melee user casts Tap on you and a necro uses Iron Maidon, nothing happens to the melee'er because Tap is "stronger" then Maidon. However, what about Thorns (from Bramble) and Iron Maidon working together, are those "stronger" then Tap?? If they are, like all the duels vs. Paladins (that have lots of tap sources) become MUCH easier...
AmazonsJavazon: **** This is a duel where I might pull out Doom on merc (I don't have one and its something like 50/50), if she gets early start and nails me a few times with Lightning Fury, most of the skeletons are gone and its G.G for us... However, if you can Amp. and teleport on top quickly, she has no chance, dodge kills her. BM, just get lots of Light Immunes...
SorceressMelee/Bear Sorc: ** I've never dueled one of these, so I'm going to guess it's just, Lower Resist, teleport on top, and spam novas. Iron Maidon is also an option, but since she probably won't be able to cast tap anyway, Thorns should be enough to reflect damage, Lower Resist means the nova is actually going to do some damage. Another option is trying to hit her with Beast and bleed her... (This is all if she uses ES, which is logical, otherwise its FAR easier)
AssassinsWWsin: *** I would probably just Iron Maidon and teleport on top of her, she may kill some minions, but she really doesn't have a chance... If hybrid, I would probably still use same tactic...
DruidsFury Druid: ** There are very few of these, and sadly, most of them are jokes.. In any case, Iron Maidon, and teleport on top. Since Fury IS interruptible, unless they have Godly FHR, they shouldn't be a problem...
Rabies Druid: ***** Beware. This duel is really easy, but if for some reason he manages to get away... If the druid makes a successful bite, you have like 10 seconds to kill him, or all your minions are dead... In reality, doesn't exactly deserve 5 stars, but thats more just a
caution factor. Amp. and teleport.
PaladinsZealer: ** This is straightforward, I gave them 2 stars because some of the good ones have very high defense and it may be difficult to kill them before they can tap you... In any case, I'd say Decrepify or Iron Maidon and teleport on top.
Smiter: *** These guys are a pain, I'd say Iron Maidon and spam novas for some extra damage...
Charger: * These aren't seen very often, and are quite easy... They have no shield, and therefore waste Paladin's greatest advantage, HS, meaning they are Skeleton fodder.
V/T: ** I don't think one of these would bother using FoH, for the reason stated above, they might kill 1 skeleton at a time because they will pretty much not be able to click on you, if they really try to "highlight" you, they would already be dead, because thats when you teleport on top and kill them =/ If they don't use FoH, its just like a regular smiter
BarbarianConc: * Iron Maidon and Thorns are this poor barb's doom. Teleport on top of him and let him kill himself, otherwise just spam novas..
BvC: N/A These duels and the pally duels as well depend on my theory, if it works, they are ridiculously easy, otherwise they are more complicated... How can I rate BvC? They will leap, but that shouldn't be too much of a problem, especially if you try to keep your back to the little lakes in Blood Moor. If they're "smart" they will use Howl, which makes all your skellies run away, in that case you just cast Lower Resist, and teleport around him because mages don't run away. Play careful against BvC's... that's all I can say.
*Notes* This is my first guide, I realize it's pretty damn long, but I hope you guys like it, I can always cut out the Dueling section...