: Godest's Guide To The Poison Nova Necromancer : - Topic

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Mar 25 2011 05:10am

~ Disclaimer - This guide is my interpretation on how to build/play the Poison Nova Necromancer. I am in no way claiming my builds are the best out there. With that being said, inb4tl;dr ~

Intro

Well just in case for anyone who wants to know *crickets chirp* I have been a huge fan of the Diablo series. Got Diablo 1 a year or two before Diablo 2 came out in 2000, and I have been hooked ever since. I have written several guides for other D2 sites many years ago, but I have never written one for D2JSP. So I decided might as well write one for a pretty solid build that I personally enjoy which doesn't get discussed much, the Poison Nova Necromancer (Novamancer). Its unpopularity has probably something to do with the unfair stigma associated with poison based characters. Plus, the strengths and popularity of the Novamancer's counterpart, Bone Necro, have cast a great shadow over Poison Nova in general.

For many of you this guide will be nothing new and most likely common sense information, but seeing how often people post Google-able questions, and things that can easily be looked up in the stickies, I'm concluding that 99% of the thread starters in S&G have some kind of mental retardation so they need the guides people take the time to write. I own two Poison Nova Necromancers, one on West and one on East, however, I'm normally playing on my West one (character names = caves) since I've invested more of my FG/time in building him.

Enjoy,

Hakeem (Godest)

Pros

Solid Poison Damage (PD) over a very short period of time
Low amount of skill points required for main spells
Moderately high minion HP
Poison Resists (PR) are arguably the least stacked out of the four elements

Moderate Poison Resist Pierce

Cons

Antidotes are your worst enemy
Relatively high mana costs

Difficult to GM duel as most duels will take place in nightmare rendering much of your pierce useless

I'm probably biased, but in my opinion there are more strengths to a Poison Nova Necromancer than there are weaknesses. While there are some glaring weaknesses, they are arguably quite situational and temporary. Obviously there are also innate class weaknesses/advantages, but those are pretty rudimentary.

Stats

Necromancer Starting Attributes:

Strength: 15
Dexterity: 25
Vitality: 15
Energy: 25
Hit Points: 45
Stamina: 79
Mana: 25

Each Necromancer Level:

Life +1.5
Stamina +1

Mana +2

Necromancer Attribute Point Effect:

1 Vitality point gives 2 Life
1 Vitality point gives 1 Stamina

1 Energy point gives 2 Mana

Along with the Druid, Necromancers have the 2nd worst HP gain per level and per attribute point into Vita with Sorceresses being the worst. So in that case you can either look at it as you absolutely have to try to dump everything into Vita, or you can see it as an opportunity to pump into dexterity since adding into Vita won't give you a great amount of HP.

Stats:

Strength - As low as you can. Generally, most builds or players that can afford higher end gear will allow you to keep base strength, but sometimes you may have to put a little in. No, it isn't a crime to put some points into strength. Plus in the end it might help you swap gear out much more easily if that is what you want, not to mention, you may not need to buy a 2 K FG Amulet to save you 50 HP.
Dexterity - Depends on if you want max block and how much dexterity you get from your items. You may opt for a max block build to be your main, or you may want it to be your secondary. At the same time, you may not want a max block build at all.
Vitality - Everything else.
Energy - None.

Skills

Lower Resist - Your main debuff. I preferably add just enough to have -65 resists with gear + B.O., however, some opt to keep adding. In my opinion, -65 is a solid amount to have. -66 will not be noticeably different than -65, and -67 is not worth the amount of skill points it takes. You get -65 at level 26, -66 at level 31 and -67 at level 36.
Poison Nova - Your main attack. Obviously max this along with its synergies.
Teeth/Bone Spear - Your "final" attack. In most cases there is no need to add more than one point since we are merely using these skills for the range to finish off your opponent. However, if you find that your other skills are sufficiently invested in, it wouldn't be such a bad idea putting your last few skill points into Teeth/Bone Spear since the higher they are, the easier it is to finish off the last bit of HP.
Bone Armor - Unlike your Bone Necro counterpart, your Bone Armor will be pretty crappy so leave this as a one point wonder so you can abuse recast. You may feel that dumping your extra points into this would be better than pouring everything else into Golem Mastery, but since you aren't maxing its synergies of Bone Wall/Prison, you'll barely notice the difference.
Bone Wall/Prison - Some may find unnecessary, but pretty useful for only one skill point. At the very least, fun to fuck around with noobs.
Fire Golem - Your main minion, used for the Fire Absorb/Immunity and Holy Fire damage. Only put one. It may seem logical to keep adding for the fire absorb or for the extra Holy Fire damage, but both are poor reasons to add into Fire Golem.
Clay Golem - Your tank minion, used for slow and to tank damage in general. Only put one.
Iron Golem - Your situational/PvM minion, used for getting Meditation by making one out of Insight. Only put one.
Golem Mastery - You should probably dump the rest of your skill points into this. Helps make your Golem into a tank and gives them extra damage and FRW.
Summon Resist - One point wonder for your Golems.
Revive - Optional choice. I would never waste my time getting summons, but some players may enjoy wasting their time.

Breakpoints

FCR - We want to achieve 125% FCR pretty much at all times. While I do not recommend it, you may opt for 75% FCR for a melee/MB build, or a "max damage" build, however, 125% is the optimum amount of FCR.

FHR - 86% FHR is the most viable breakpoint. Necromancers have pretty shitty FHR frames, so 48% FHR will probably not cut it in many situations. At the same time, trying to get 152% FHR will hurt you more than it will help you. 86% should be fairly easy to get, especially if you use Spirit.

FRW - Although there are no FRW breakpoints, it is important to note the role of FRW. While FRW is quite important for practically any dueler especially in particular match-ups, it is especially important for Poison Nova since unlike Bone Necros where your spell will go towards your target, you will have to be a little more creative to land a Nova. If you can get a nice amount of FRW from your Circ + Boots + Enigma, you will have a pretty solid asset.

Equipment

Helms:

Rare Circlet - Potentially can be the best choice. Aside from the obvious +2 Skill/20% FCR necessities, other stats to look for are strength/dexterity, HP/mana, 2 sockets and FRW%.
Magical Circlet - Cheaper than Rare Circlets, mainly used as a cheap way in order to swap to stack.
Harlequin's Crest "Shako" - Best helm in the game, period.
Crown of Ages - Mainly used for the damage reduction% (DR%), however, its 2 sockets allows some nice flexibility.
1.08 Valkyrie Wing - Stylish/10. Although a very nice Rare Circlet will probably beat it, 1.08 Valk does have some nice aspects for a MB build. I would never ever recommend using this on a Spirit Monarch build. Unperms one are cheap to replace, so you may find this more viable to get rather than a Rare Circlet for your MB build if you are worried about your budget.

Armor:

Enigma - If you want to be taken seriously, then use this. Style points if you wear one made in Sacred Armor.
Bramble - No. If you can't understand that, then here let my friend Michael Scott tell you http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=umDr0mPuyQc

Belt:

Arachnid's Mesh - Common and popular choice, especially for a MB build. Pretty straightforward.
Thundergod's Vigor - Again straightforward. I normally like to use them as my main belt for many of my duelers. The max lightning resist is obviously sexy, but the 20 strength helps tremendously so that you don't have to buy expensive rare items that have strength.
Bugbelt - Can be your main belt especially if it is for a 125% FCR high DR% build. Very solid all round belt.
Verdungo's Hearty Cord - Your DR% belt. Use this for a high DR% Spirit build.
Rare FHR Belt - Can be useful if you don't need FCR. Provides mass FHR/Str/Life/Resists.

Gloves:

Trang-Oul's Claws - Should be the only gloves you use. Absolutely perfect stats for a Poison Nova Necromancer. +2 Curses and +25% Poison Damage.
Wizardspike Gloves - For most Casters, this is their dream glove. Damage is comparable to Trang-Oul's since you would be saving 30% FCR which would potentially allow you to have more +skills in the rest of your gear, and you would obviously be getting a boatload of resists and mana. While it is a good choice, many will find it particularly annoying that all Wiz gloves are unperm, however, like 1.08 Valks, they can be cheap to replace.
Snatchii's - Bad choice period for this char.

Boots:

1.08 Rares/Dupes - The best and most expensive choice. You can get unperm ones to ease the cost, but if you can afford perm boots, I think it is worth it. Most of these come with 30% FRW/20% FHR/Strength/Resists.
1.09-1.13 Rares - While not as good, they can come close to matching 1.08s.
Shadow Dancer - Should only be used for your MB build, but they are pretty cute to wear as they are the only boots with 30% FHR, not to mention they give by far the most dexterity.
Hotspurs - Fire stack
Waterwalks - Also, should only be used for your MB build.
Marrowwalk - Very underrated choice for MB builds. Provides up to 37 stats to strength/dexterity

Weapons:

Heart of the Oak - The best overall choice. 40% FCR, 3 skills, Oak charges, 40 resists, 20 life replenish and even has 10 to dexterity. Should be used for practically all your builds.
Wizardspike Dagger - Very solid choice. While you do lose the skills, the nice stacking resists and extra 10% FCR over HotO make this a cute choice.
Death's Web - From first glance, it appears to be the most obvious choice. +4 to Poison Skills and -50% Poison Pierce look very inviting, but then you realize the piece of shit doesn't give you anything else. No FCR, no resists, only an open socket. While you may want to use it for a 75% FCR build, which once again I would never agree with, it is typically a poor choice. The only build I would see this viable in, is a Wiz Glove build, but even then, HotO+ Trang gloves is probably more practical.
Spirit Weapon - Only use this for your MB build. Can be an okay choice, but I normally can get enough FHR from my helm + boots + one or two FHR GCs, so in my opinion Spirit weapons are not really needed.
White - Worst choice even if you get one made in a +3 Poison Nova & +3 Lower Resist wand. Compared to HotO, you lose all the stats and 20% FCR in order to essentially gain +3 to Poison Nova.

Shields:

Spirit Monarch - Your main, and most likely your only non-MB shield. No explanation needed
Stormshield - Arguably the only viable MB shield. Gives you both DR% and a high block rate.
Homunculus - May seem like a good option for a MB build, but since Stormshield takes care of both your blocking and DR% problems, I think it makes Homunculus pretty obsolete. However, I think there is a build or two that can utilize it since after all it doesn't require any strength to use, not to mention you need less dexterity to achieve 75% block.
Darkforce Spawn - Became instantly useless when Spirit came out in the 2nd ladder season of 1.10, however, it could be an option for a 125% FCR max damage build, but I certainly would not recommend it as survivability and flexibility > more damage.
Rare/Magical Shrunken Heads - I don't think you can find a viable build even if you had a nice shield. FCR builds are dominated by Spirit while MB builds will almost always use SS. These Rare/Magical shields wouldn't really fill any niche.

Amulets:

Crafted/Rare Amulets - Pretty straight forward. Amulets are probably the last FCR piece most Casters will put on, so just keep in mind how much you will need.
Magical Amulets/Mara's Kaleidoscope - Again straightforward. Use only if you don't need FCR, however, you will probably most likely need FCR from your Amulet.

Rings:

SoJ/BK - I would prefer SoJ's since you will be going through pots pretty quickly. Plus, the max 50 unBOable life on BK is not going to save you in most situations.
Crafted/Rare FCR Rings - Like the Crafted/Rare Amulets, they are used to fill the remaining gaps of FCR. Use common sense here.
Raven Frost - Cute ring in general, especially for MB builds. I normally always try to wear one, especially for the CBF stat since I like to walk/run in my duels often.
Sorb Rings - Obvious use is obvious.

Inventory:

Annihulus/Hellfire Torch - Obvious.
Poison & Bone Grand Charms - If you can't afford lifers, FRW/Strength/Dexterity/FHR are all decent alternatives.
Life/Resist SCs - o rly?

Sockets:

Poison Facet - I personally do not like using Rainbow Facets on any of my characters as my philosophy has always been flexibility and survivability > damage. However, in some cases, Poison Facets may be the best choice, such as in a Wizardspike Dagger build where you'll have pretty stacked resists.
Ber - Use common sense here.
Cham - If you have the choice of using a non-FCR ring and putting a Cham in an item, then I would advise using Raven Frost to get your CBF, especially if you are a MB build. I would only advise using Cham if both of your rings must be FCR.
Rare/Magical Jewels - I would only use these for their FHR stat to fill any remaining gaps that you might have.
Shael - You should only need to use this in your helm for a max block build.
Lo/Vex - Use common sense here.

Builds

While I was originally going to post specific builds, I opted not to. Putting together the right group of items should be pretty self-explanatory as long as you understand what you are trying to achieve such as DR%, max block, 125% FCR, 86% FHR, and so on.

Keep in mind the range of Poison Nova. This isn't a Bone Necro, you actually have to get up close oftentimes to land in a hit. Knowing that, you might find that max block is a very important aspect to have, even to the point of making max block part of your main build.

Hotkeys

Choosing the right hotkeys is a very personal matter as we all like/dislike different ways. However, just as a reference and suggestion that some may appreciate, the following are the hotkeys I use:

W - Switch weapons
Q - Battle Command
E - Battle Orders
A - Bone Armor
S - Fire Golem
D - Clay Golem
F - Bone Prison
Z - Telepot
X - Teeth
C - Bone Spear
V - Poison Nova
B - Lower Resist

Spells & Tactics

Lower Resist - Your main debuff. Always make sure to cast this on your opponent at the beginning of every duel.
Poison Nova - Your main attack. Now, unlike your counterpart, the Bone Necro, you are going to have to be a little more creative in landing a hit. You can either be offensive and take the initiative to get one in, or you can play defensively and attempt to place one where they might move to. Both strategies are required in order to be fully effective at dueling.
Teeth/Bone Spear - Your "final" attack. Doesn't do much, but it gets the job done when your opponent only has a handful of HP left.
Bone Armor - Absolutely shitty compared to Bone Necros, but it is there for your abuse.
Bone Wall/Prison - Used to block your opponent's pathing, or to trap them, especially in pubs.
Fire Golem - Your main minion, used for the Fire Absorb/Immunity and Holy Fire damage. Along with Teeth/Bone Spear, Fire Golems are used to get that last bit of HP.
Clay Golem - Your tank minion, used for slow and to tank damage in general. They have about 4,000 more life than Fire Golems, so keep that in mind.
Iron Golem - Your situational/PvM minion, used for getting Meditation by making one out of Insight.
Revive - Your optional spell. Some like spending their time collecting some summons to BM pubs, but in my opinion it is very boring and time consuming. The use of stacking summons is pretty straightforward.

Killing - The general tactic to dueling a player is to cast Lower Resist, get one or two Poison Novas in and then spam Teeth/Bone Spear while teleporting around with your Fire Golem trying to get that last bit of HP. If you are unfamiliar with Poison Nova, you may be unaware that Poison Nova will not finish off a player even if the poison has yet to completely dissipate. You can, however, kill with Poison Nova if the opponent has less than 20 or so HP left, but that is certainly not recommend as it is much easier to finish them off with Teeth/Bone Spear. It is also important to note how terrible Teeth's damage is. While it is probably more likely to hit your opponent if you are spamming, for most builds, it only does 50-100 damage especially if you have only added one point into it. So with that in mind, Bone Spear is arguably more viable as the finisher as it does about 6 x more damage, travels faster, goes through targets and costs less mana. Just remember, even though this is a Necromancer, definitely don't treat this as a Bone Necro. You have shittier range, you have a curse to cast and you deal elemental damage.

Golems - As I noted, it is important to realize the different aspects of the 3 main golems - Clay, Iron, Fire. While Fire Golem is used to finish off opponents, you probably shouldn't use it during the entire length of a duel unless of course you are dueling a Fire Sorceress. Instead, I recommend using Clay Golem until your opponent's HP starts nearing one which at that point, you should summon your Fire Golem. Clay Golems have a couple thousand more HP and can slow your opponents. The final golem, Iron Golem, is completely optional, however, it is pretty useful especially if you are going to be PvMing especially Baaling for levels. Make your Iron Golem out of an Insight and you'll be one happy PvM player. Although you can use it in PvP, they just die so easily so it probably isn't worth it.

Bone Armor - Nearly useless here, but at the very least, less damage to you is still less damage in the end. Just recast that shit all the time.

Bone Wall/Prison - Although it is considered BM against those who cannot Teleport, using Wall/Prison can be very useful especially in pubs where no one gives a rat's ass. Pretty self-explanatory, just trap 'em and you got 'em. Bowazons and Paladins who runs around with charge (mainly Hammerdins) are probably the best opponents to use these spells against.

Namelocking - Unlike Bone Necros, namelocking is not a necessary skill to posses for a Poison Nova Necro. However, it is a nice plus if you are able to namelock since after all you will need to use Teeth/Bone Spear to finish off your opponent.

WSG - Weapon Switch Glitch is a trick everyone should know. Very useful for Necros since they have bad FHR frames.

Walking/Teleporting - While you should be almost always Teleporting, walking (you're actually running, but that is just the term) can be very useful especially in some match-ups such as against Hammerdins, Druids and other Necros. Knowing when to walk can be an invaluable asset.

I had a video planned out, however, I haven't gotten around to finishing it. If I revise this guide in the future, I will probably add it in.

Also, I am not going to add any specific dueling tactics. I always thought it was very silly for guides to write "easy" or "hard" in particular match-ups and then trying to generalize what players will face. Dueling is like riding a bike, you gotta just do it yourself. Reading some damn opinionated words isn't going to make you a good dueler. I gave you some general information on the spells, so now it is up to you to prove you aren't an idiot like 99% of S&G and learn how to duel.

End

Thanks for reading my guide. Hope you enjoyed it. Again, nothing new for many of you, but perhaps this might solve some general questions in the future for those who want to make a Poison Nova Necro.

Feel free to comment and post any questions!

Thanks,

Hakeem (Godest)