Scaryghoul's v1.12 PvP Novamancer guide

Table Of Contents

1. Introduction

• a. About Me
• b. Why Necromancers
• c. Why Nova
  • Max Block
  • Non-Block
• d. Legend

2. Stat Allocation

• a. Starting Stats
• b. Per Level
• c. Stat Bonuses
• d. Placing Stats

3. Skills

• a. Notes
• b. Allocation
• c. Notes and Explanations

4. Equipment

• a. Breakpoints
• b. Equipment Options
• c. Builds
• d. Socketing

5. Tactics

• a. Hotkeys
• b. General Tactics

6. Class-Specific Strategies

• a. Sorceress
• b. Necromancer
• c. Druid
• d. Amazon
• e. Paladin
• f. Assassin
• g. Barbarian
• h. Team Dueling

7. My Necromancer

• a. Major Stats
• b. Setup
• c. Screenshot

8. Credits




1. Introduction

About Me

My account name is *Arausa114 on USWest NL, I play various realms. I've been experimenting and dueling with Necromancers since 1.08 patch before enigma was even around and followed as the Necromancers "evolved." I have played with builds all along the way. This character has served me well, and I'd like to pass it on. My Necromancer's name is BloodStained. Now, onto more important things.

Why Necromancers?

Necromancers have the versatility needed to vs. any character in the game with a little bit of practice. They are more skill then damage oriented. They have lots of room to expand and can be alot of fun to master.

Why Nova?
Nova is just a fun skill to play with on a necro as it applys a high amount of psn damage over a period of time which is good vs most classes and especially vs es sorc's.

1. Max Block - Like all other builds max block is used for vs melee characters and since a novamancer must get fairly close to its prey max block is nice to have.
2. Non-Block - Non block provides a vastly superior amount of life but has no block so the odds vs melee characters are tipped in their favor.

Legend

• Max Block: Red text.
• Non Block: Blue text.
• FCR: Faster Cast Rate
• FHR: Faster Hit Recovery
• FRW: Faster Run Walk
• RES: Resistances
• DR: Damage Reduction

2. Stat Allocation

Starting Attributes

• Strength - 15
• Dexterity - 25
• Vitality - 15
• Energy - 25

• Stamina- 79
• Mana - 25

Per level

• Life +1.5
• Stamina +1
• Mana +2

Stat Bonuses

• Strength - Allows for wearing equipment
• Dexterity - Allows max block
• Vitality - Adds life and stamina
• Energy - Adds mana

• 1 Vitality point gives 2 Life
• 1 Vitality point gives 1 Stamina
• 1 Energy point gives 2 Mana

Placing Attributes


Strength: Enough for equipment.
Dexterity:

1. None or enough for equipment
2. Enough for max block 75%

Vitality: The rest.
Energy: Don't you dare touch this button!

Skills

Skill Descriptions

Poison&Bone

• Teeth - Fires a wide range of low damage teeth (mainly prerequisite)
• Corpse Explosion - Prerequisite
• Poison Dagger - Synergy
• Poison Explosion - Synergy
• Poison Nova - Main attack that creates an expanding, 360* nova of poison
• Bone Spear - Prerequisite
• Bone Wall - Synergizes Bone Armor
• Bone Prison - Synergizes Bone Armor

Summoning Skills

• Clay Golem - Prerequisite
• Blood Golem - Prerequisite
• Iron Golem - Prerequisite
• Fire Golem - Main Golem/meat shield
• Golem mastery - Synergy

Curses

• Amplify Damage - Prerequisite
• Iron Maiden - Prerequisite
• Life Tap - Prerequisite
• Weaken - Prerequisite
• Terror - Prerequisite
• Decrepify - Prerequisite
• Lower Resistances - Main curse

Skill Allocation

Poison&Bone

• Teeth - 1
• Corpse Explosion - 1
• Poison Dagger - 20
• Poison Explosion - 20
• Poison Nova - 20
• Bone Spear - 1
• Bone Armor - 1
• Bone Wall - 20
• Bone Prison - Max Last

Summoning Skills

• Clay Golem - 1
• Blood Golem - 1
• Iron Golem - 1
• Fire Golem - 1
• Golem mastery - 1

Curses

• Amplify Damage - 1
• Iron Maiden - 1
• Life Tap - 1
• Weaken - 1
• Terror - 1
• Decrepify - 1
• Lower Resistances - 1

Skill Notes and Explanations

Teeth - This CAN be used when an opponent is at 1 hp for the kill, since it fires a wide barrage of bone that is difficult to avoid.

Bone Armor - Everytime this wears down, you will want to recast this because it can take so much damage for you. It is simply a shield against physical damage. It does not absorb elemental, poison, or magical damage.

Bone Wall - Synergy and also very useful. You can use this to guide those Desynching Pallys or block arrows from an Amazon. Also it can be useful in PvM when you need to heal up or run.

Bone Prison - Synergy and also very handy in catching Desynching Pallys because it traps them and stops them from moving. It also works on Amazons (or any other character that is walking).

Iron Maiden - This skill is considered BM because whenever a character with physical melee damage attacks you, it reflects their damage back on them with greater strength.

Fire Golem - This is not just a meat shield, this golem has a holy fire aura that does very low damage but just enough to zap your opponent while they have 1 hp. When he dies, recast him like bone armor.

Teleport - Same as sorceress' skill. This is your main form of transportion.

Lower Resistances - Yes, it is just as it sounds: it lowers your opponents resistances and is therefore your best friend and second hand skill. Always remember to curse your enemy.

4. Equipment

Breakpoint Goals

FCR Frames
0% 15
9% 14
18% 13
30% 12
48% 11
75% 10
125% 9 ----- This is our goal. There really is no other option here. You may try 75% if you like, but I do not suggest it as it will slow you down.

FHR Frames
0% 13
5% 12
10% 11
16% 10
26% 9
39% 8
56% 7
86% 6 -------- This is our goal.
152% 5


Equipment Options

Weapons

• Hoto - This is the main weapon on many necromancers for the resistances, FCR bonus, and the +3 skills it gives. It also offers a mana boost to top it off. It is a nice and solid weapon. This will be for max block setup.
• Death's Web - This is just the best possible weapon for a poison necro because of the -50 enemy poison resist and 2necro/2pnd skills. This will be your vita setup.

Shields

• 35 FCR Spirit monarch - Only choice, it has needed FCR/skills/res/mana. This is your vita shield.
• Storm Shield - This is the staple of the max block necro build as it provides mass DR and nice blocking %.

Helms

• 2/20/2 Necro Circ - This will be your all around helm due to the needed FCR amount. Preferred mods are life/res/mana. Rest is up to you

Ammy

• 2/20 FCR Necro Amulet - This is the only choice for both builds for the needed FCR, if you must substitute this for a 2/10 amulet then swap out your second ring for a FCR ring. Preferred mods would be life/res/str.

Armor

• Enigma - Only choice here, this provides your main source of movement with +1 teleport. If you want to run instead of teleport go make a trang necro.

Gloves

• Trangs Gloves - There are absolutely no better gloves for a poison necro then these, 20FCR/25% poison skill damage,30 cold res.

Belt

• Arachnid mesh - This is the only choice here because of the needed FCR and the +1 skill never hurts.

Boots

• Treks - Yes I know these aren't the best boots, but they provide decent mods such as 20FHR/psn res/frw
• Rare Resistance boots - This is for the more wealthy players to use, go for a pair of .08 boots with 20FHR/res/str

Rings

• Bul-Kathos' Wedding Band - Very nice rings if you don't need FCR from the ring slots. They provide +1 to all skills and a healthy life boost.
• Stone of Jordan - Also nice rings as they also offer +1 to all skills, but they have mana boost instead of life. If you want more mana, you can use these or mix one with a BK. Again, no FCR.
• Rare FCR Rings - These are used to make up for the lost fcr from either Storm Shield or Death's web, either way keep at least one on either setup. Preferred mods are life/resist/mana/stats

Charms

• Hellfire Torch - There is no way to do this without this, you just cant beat the +3 to all skills and resists/stats. The higher the stats and resists the better, obviously.
• Annihilus - Another must have, offering +1 to all skills and 10-20 resists/stats. Again, the higher the better.
• 9x PnB Lifers - Just cant beat the life/skills. The higher the life the better.
• 3x PnB FHR - Sometimes you need to make up on some FHR so keep a couple of these in your stash.
• 10x life/resist scs - These are just plain nice. If you can't get these due to their expensiveness, get plain old 20 lifers. But 20/5s are nice, as are 20/11's.

Swap

• CTA - Higher stats preferred for higher BO.
• Spirit Monarch - This is just used to boost your BO level.

Note As long as you hit the required breakpoints feel free to mix and match gear to your liking, if something else works for you feel free to leave a note.

Builds - I'm not going to into exhausting detail with these because I think you should experiment with them and see what fits your needs. But here are some basic builds I've used

NvA

• Helm - 2Skill/20FCR/2Socket Necromancer circ
• Weapon - Hoto
• Armor - Enigma. Never changes
• Shield - Storm Shield
• Belt - Arachnid mesh Adds the needed FCR boost to hit 125%
• Gloves - Trangs. Never changes
• Boots - Rare resistance boots
• Ammy - 2/20. Needed for FCR, or a 2/10 if you can't afford a 2/20. You will just have to sacrifice a ring slot
• Rings - 1x FCR ring/1x bk
• Charms -
  • 6x PnB lifers gcs
  • 3x PnB fhr gcs
  • Hellfire torch
  • Annihilus
  • 10x life/res scs

NvA

• Helm - 2Skill/20Fcr/2Socket Necromancer circ
• Weapon - Death's Web
• Armor - Enigma. Never changes
• Shield - 35FCR Spirit Monarch
• Belt - Arachnid mesh Adds the needed FCR boost to hit 125%
• Gloves - Trangs. Never changes
• Boots - Rare resistance boots
• Ammy - 2/20. Needed for FCR, or a 2/10 if you can't afford a 2/20. You will just have to sacrifice a ring slot
• Rings - 1x FCR ring/1x bk
• Charms -
  • 6x PnB lifers gcs
  • Hellfire torch
  • Annihilus
  • 10x life/res scs

Socketing

1. Runes
   • Shael rune - You will put this into your circ if you are lacking FHR, as in the max block build (20FCR)
   • Ber rune - These are preferred by some to go into your stormshield. If you want a higher "Damage Reduction" then use it in your max block build.
   • Um rune - This is a cheap version of a 20/15 as it provides good resistances and is cheap but it has no other mods. Use when you need resistances and cannot afford a 20/15.
   • Eld rune - This is used on a max block setup or switch in your stormshield to lower the required dexterity you need for max block.
   • Jah rune - This adds life if you don't need anything else.
   • Hel rune - This simply is -req for your storm shield.
2. Jewels
   • 20/15 Jewel - 20life/15 resistances, Put these in your circ or stormshield if you need resistances, or don't need anything else.
   • 7/15 Jewel - 7FHR/15 resistances, these are preferred by some to make up for little bits of FHR
   • 15/15 Jewel - 15 resistances/-15 requirements, quite handy in a stormshield.
   • Poison Facet - These work wonders to kill an enemy on 1 life if they kill you and also add decent damage, use in dweb if your lacking damage

5.Tactics
Hotkeys

Many necromancers are hotkey dependent although novamancers are fairly simple to use.

Standard necromancer keys

• A - Teleport
• S - Nova
• D - Lower Resistances
• F - Fire Golem
• E - Battle Command
• R - Battle Orders

Hotkey setup #2

• ` - Fire Golem
• 1 - Nova
• 2 - Lower Resisances
• 3 - Bone Armor
• 4 - Teleport
• F1 - Battle Command
• F2 - Battle Orders

Notes

• Use the space bar to stand still so you can spam teeth with the left mouse button whenever you want and be back on the run instantly
• The second hotkey setup may be better for laptops so the thumb can rest on space bar and the 1234's are next to the F1s/F2s etc.
• Use what makes you feel comfortable and don't decide to not use a hotkey because you can't deal with that many hotkeys. Just practice, it'll come.

General Tactics

• Recast your protection! - Whenever you're facing physically based characters, you'll want your armor up at all times. If it gets damaged, recast it. Don't wait for it to fail completely before you do.
• Teleport Tactics - Make your teleports difficult to predict. This will make it hard for your enemy to have spam waiting for you when you land. Don't be afraid to go on the offensive and take control of the duel. With practise, offensive play can be nerve-wracking to your opponent, making it difficult for them organize a counter-attack. You will need to utilize the art of offensive play because many characters will avoid you at all cost when they find out your nova because they know you must get close.
• Lower Resistances - This is the poison necromancers best friend always cast it when in range to make sure your opponent has it on them.
• Nova - This is the staple of a poison novamancer, and is what makes him just that. Be aware that the speed/range of these novas are not very impressive, so you must get in close to fire it off. The trick is to get in quickly, get a nova or two off, and get out. When you are on the run, you can also lay these down as you go in the hopes of capitalizing on a careless teleport on your opponent's behalf.

6. Class-Specific Dueling

Sorceress

• ES variants - These will usually be easy due to the fact that poison ignores ES and tears their life down directly. Pure ES sorcs have low life. Just play it smart and aggressive because they will not fall into your novas easily and probably will play defensive once they see you fire off a nova or two.
• Non-ES Sorcs/Mixed - This can be a challenging duel because they have decent life and are faster then you, but shouldn't be a huge problem unless they are skilled. Again don't be stupid and fall into a blizz/fb spam. Just play aggressive and make unpredictable teleports and you should be good.

Necromancers

• Bone - This can be a easy duel to a hard duel depending on the player/setup. Stay out of places they think you are and try to surprise them and end it quick or you will get telestomped fast or be in a huge train of spirits depending on their play style, never stay still or they probably will stomp you. You probably will play defensively for this one.
• Poison - This is your mirror match and is all decided by getting the right attack, you both will be making "drive by" nova's at eachother trying not to get hit by one another, so you must pick your moment and strike.
• Summoner - This will be easy no matter what they do. Just cast LR on their army and pick it off bit by bit.

Druids

• Windy - This is another easy duel, just play defensively and they will come to you and land in a nova, 1-3 nova's and most of them will fall.
• Fire - These characters can be dangerous if you aren't careful. They will try to place fissures where they think you will land. It's best to land somewhere else. Volcanos can also do a lot of damage and stun well. Fortunately, fire druids have long casting delays, which gives you some time to work with. Don't get too close, because armageddon also does a lot of damage. Although if you watch where your going you can fire off a nice nova because you have a bigger radius then armageddon.
• Melee - These kinda of druids are fairly easy, although they can tank a few novas, and once their life drops to 1, they revert to human form and can shift back again, but your golem should take them out. Just avoid them and if you want to be mean then BP them(Bone Prison) and just fire off a few novas and continue to prison until they turn to human to tele out and then you tele away.

Amazons

• Bowa - This will be a hard duel if the zon knows what she is doing. Your novas will be dodged, making it difficult to get a hit in. Try to teleport in an arc as you approach to throw off the GAs, and do your best to dodge the multi spam. You will want to get in quickly, let a nova or two go, and then get out. Hopefully, the zon will not have dodged. One nova is all it takes, but don't get too cocky just because the zon is at one life. She can still dodge your attacks and golem's fire, and do a lot of damage very quickly.
• Javazons - Usually easy but can turn into a war if they are good because normally you want to stay away but you must get close in order to attack and charged strike hurts, so you must be quick and evasive, try semi-circling your opponent and try to get a nova off, if it becomes to dangerous then tele out and try again.

Paladins

• Hammerdins - These can be a pain in the rear to find if they are simply jod'ing all over the place so try to prison them to find the general area of where they are and get in to fire off a few careful novas. Teleport unpredictably to avoid a namelock. Beware of stray hammers. If they manage to namelock you and try to finish it fast, walk south so the hammers cannot hit you and fire a nova or two off. They can tank quite a bit. Random walls can be to your advantage as well to help break sync.
• Foh - This is fairly easy, just bring up a few bonewalls so foh doesn't hit you and then nova and tele out of range for foh/conviction.
• Smiters - Use a method of hit and run here, again firing some random nova's can be to your advantage here. Mabey random walls can be to your advantage to help keep a small distance between you and the smiter.
• Chargers - DON'T GET HIT! Chargers do very high damage and have the luxury of syncing so you don't find them, it's best to fire random nova's if you are on the run and try to spam bp from time to time to find them. Also another viable option can be to spam bonewalls all around you creating a fortress of walls then stay inside and when you see one move/firestorm or the charger appears, spam nova/lower resistances then tele out and create a new one.
• V/T - This can be very difficult if the V/T is good. Try to always keep walls and your golem up so their FoH can't hit you and to block their charges so you can maintain a range, making it difficult for them to smite you. Then spam Lower resistances/nova if you break there desync.

Assassins

• Ghosts - These will be extremely hard and fun. You must play very defensively, as there fire traps/mb can stun you into oblivion, opening you up for a painful whirl. You must try to be very very quick and tele straight at them and nova then continue running because if they catch you then your done for, WSG can be helpful in situations such as this one(Weapon switch glitch).
• Trappers - Fire and light trappers are almost the same. Just stay away from the traps and don't run carelessly in for a kill. If they camp, just lob spirits at them from a distance, yes I'm aware it does very little damage but it will be very annoying and cause them to take the offensive eventually, or you can rush by them and fire a nova using the hit & run method. Good trappers can be quite tricky, as they will play offensively and stun you with Mind Blast. Play defensively and avoid being locked. Try to control their movements with spirits. When they get too close, fire a couple of novas at where you think they will land next and then tele away.
• Hybrids - Same as ghost but they have weaker WW and stronger light traps. Mix strategies for the ghosts and trappers here.

Barbarians

• BvC - These can be fairly easy to nearly impossible. The good ones will use leap to knock you back and disrupt your timing. Then, they'll tele beside you and do a tight whirl that will put you into FHR lock, which can be tough to escape. Without block, they will hurt very badly. Play extremely defensively and try to pick them off with well calculated novas and try to predict where they are moving. Beware of unsummon namelocks; if you see the barb standing still on the map, he may have a namelock on you and will probably surprise you with a tele/whirl. Get him off your map ASAP to break the lock. Don't bother using BW/BP as they just whirl through it. Iron Maiden could be useful if you're not playing GM.
  The bad barbs won't leap, and their whirls will be long and sloppy. You can kill them however you like.
• War Cry - You will want to play defensively here. These barbs will have high FCR, resists, and life, so you will have to whittle them down. Warcry stuns, so be careful of FHR lock, especially if you are vita. Warcry is blockable, so take advantage of it if you can. Your bone armor will absorb their damage, but don't be too dependent on it.

Team Duels
Necromancers are great in team duels. Just avoid the characters you're not good against and let your team take care of it. Single out your opponents. Lots of random novas are encouraged here.

Note

1. Always cast Lower resistances on your enemy.
2. Always use Battle command/orders to buff.

7. My Necromancer
Name: BloodStained
Lvl 92 Necromancer


NvA
Major Stats:

• 3089 life/958 mana (level 15 BO)
• 8.8k Nova
• Max hell resistances
• 75% block
• 125 FCR
• 50% damage reduction
• 86 FHR

Setup

• Helm - 2Skill/20FCR/2Socket Necromancer circ
• Weapon - Hoto
• Armor - Enigma
• Shield - Storm Shield
• Belt - Arachnid mesh
• Gloves - Trangs
• Boots - Rare resistance boots
• Ammy - 2/20
• Rings - 1x FCR ring/1x bk
• Charms -
  • 6x PnB lifers gcs
  • 3x PnB fhr gcs
  • Hellfire torch
  • Annihilus
  • 10x life/res scs

ScreenShot




NvA
Major Stats:

• 3352 life/1095 mana (level 15 BO)
• 10k Nova
• Max hell resistances
• 37% block
• 125 FCR
• 8% damage reduction
• 86 FHR

Setup

• Helm - 2Skill/20Fcr/2Socket Necromancer circ
• Weapon - Death's Web
• Armor - Enigma
• Shield - 35FCR Spirit Monarch
• Belt - Arachnid mesh
• Gloves - Trangs
• Boots - Rare resistance boots
• Ammy - 2/20
• Rings - 1x FCR ring/1x bk
• Charms -
  • 9x PnB lifers gcs
  • Hellfire torch
  • Annihilus
  • 10x life/res scs

ScreenShot



8. Special Thanks

• Ghooble
• Evicted
• Koi93
• AjtAlex

Please leave comments/suggestions/questions. Thanks for reading.

Not bad yea

I'd probably max spirit over wall or prizon though, it could do okay damage then (not really that great, but helpful against defensive players)

Also getting a 152fhr setup can be good idea, it practically shuts down leap and helps against assas too

This post was edited by tudey on Oct 7 2009 01:34am

That's true and I've tried that before but personally I like to have a higher bone armor since I have to get closer to the characters then usual, but spirit does help.

@Leap comment, yea I was thinking about that, should have added something like that in the guide.

This post was edited by Scaryghoul on Oct 7 2009 01:37am

Up

Pretty neat guide. I'm glad to see that we have a serious Novamancer guide now.