AlanBarber.Org

i am starting a necro in hc.. first necro evermade by my self.. i still have no.1 rank on uswest ladder in hc/druid section of musti-die. and wish to make a necro. i dont know if it would work. but i am goin a bone spirit(max-dueling), lower res(max), iron golem, golem mast(max), corpse explode(max). it is still lvl 73- made it todday. got it in cows.. all stats/skills left. i am wondering if a dr. eg: req -15/8 all res jewel ss. um valor. um shako. 15 res wiz spike. dupe boots. maras. sojs. frosties. with 4bone chamrs/4curse charms.. as i dont know how to make a necro.. will he LIVE first and second will he kill??? please help me. thanx dude.

PvP Necromancer Template and Strategy Guide for Diablo 2 version 1.1
Guide version 1.0
Written by Anfini on 8-17-03

This guide will teach you how to best turn a Necromancer into a competitive dueler.  Please note that this guide is the product of my research into how Diablo 2 v1.10 will affect the Necromancer.  I have never had an opportunity to gauge how my Necromancer will perform in PvP and PvM in v1.10, although I have years of experience with the PvP Necromancer of v1.09 and earlier.

This guide is aimed at the experienced player who is familiar with the language, concepts and history of Diablo 2 and is planning on playing in Closed Ladder.

I) Skill Template

This is how your skills will look at level 99.  I have created a detailed skill planner which can be found later in this guide.

Bone Spirit level 20
Bone Spear level 20
Teeth level 20
Bone Wall level 20
Bone Prison level 20
Bone Armor level 1
Corpse Explosion level 1
Clay Golem level 1
Golem Mastery level 1
Amplify Damage level 1
Terror Level 1
Weaken Level 1
Decrepify Level 1
Extra Skill Points: 2

II) Skill Explanation

This is where I provide detailed information about the above skills.  Skills are listed in the order that you will recieve them.

NOTE: Some information taken from the Arreat Summit (<a href="http://www.battle.net/diablo2exp/skills/)">http://www.battle.net/diablo2exp/skills/)</a>

Bone Armor

Bone Armor Receives Bonuses From:
Bone Wall: +15% Damage Absorbed Per Level
Bone Prison: +15% Damage Absorbed Per Level

NOTE: Currently, Bone Wall and Bone Prison grant a fixed 15 points to Bone Armor per level.  This is both good and bad for the following reasons:

* Currently, you do not need to level Bone Armor for it to protect you.  A level 1 Bone Armor (20 Damage Shield) will recieve a bonus of 300 points each from a level 20 Bone Wall and Bone Prison, for a total of 620 points.

* If Bone Armor’s synergies are fixed to work as intended, a level 1 Bone Armor (20 Damage Shield) will recieve a bonus of 60 points each from a level 20 Bone Wall and Bone Prison, for a total of 140 points.

* If Bone Armor’s synergies are fixed to work as intended and you level it to 20 (210 Damage Shield), it will recieve a bonus of 630 points each from a level 20 Bone Wall and Bone Prison, for a total of 1470 points.

* If Bone Armor’s synergies are fixed to work as intended and you choose to leave it at level 1 while wearing gear that grants it +14, (160 Damage Shield), it will recieve a bonus of 480 points each from a level 20 Bone Wall and Bone Prison, for a total of 1120 points.

* If Bone Armor’s synergies are fixed to work as intended and you level it to 20 while wearing gear that grants it +14 (350 Damage Shield), it will recieve a bonus of 1050 points each from a level 20 Bone Wall and Bone Prison, for a total of 2450 points.

* In an extreme situation, if Bone Armor’s synergies are fixed to work as intended and you level it to 20 while wearing gear that grants it +28 (490 Damage Shield), it will recieve a bonus of 1470 points each from a level 20 Bone Wall and Bone Prison, for a total of 3430 points.

Obviously, it is a very very very very fine idea to level Bone Armor if it is fixed to work as intended, and a rather poor idea to level it as things stand now.

Amplify Damage

Blizzard Description:

This deceptively potent curse rapidly advances the age and putridity of any wound. Ordinary blows will cut through flesh and carve particularly vicious wounds that fester and seethe.
Effect: Increases the amount of damage received.
Amplify Damage lowers monster Physical Resistances by 100%. Amplify Damage will not lower the resists of Immune Monsters.

This skill effectively doubles the amount of damage taken by any monster or player unless either possesses physical resistances, from which 100 is subtracted.  Cast it on all monsters, all the time, especially in parties.  The radius is small at first, so wands/shrunken heads that give this skill bonuses are a good idea to save on mana.  See the skill Corpse Explosion below for more information.

Teeth

Blizzard Description:

One of the first gifts of Rathma, this skill allows the Necromancer to summon forth the Den’Trag, or Wee Teeth of the Dragon Trag’Oul. The Necromancers believe that Trag’Oul is the beast on whose back the world lies. In the balance of all things, it is thought that Trag’Oul is the fulcrum point. He is the closest thing the cult of Rathma has to a deity and this spell is the manner in which he protects his chosen.
Effect: Summons multiple projectiles that don’t damage enemies.

This skill is, quite simply, crap. The only time when it does good damage is early in Act 1, and only in a one player game.  Early on it serves as a pre-req, however you will need to max it much later as it provides Bone Spirit with 6% damage per skill level.  Put a point in it and forget it unless you like to kill Fallen By Yourself.  In the Rain.  Alone.

Clay Golem

Blizzard Description:

While it is fairly simple for a Necromancer to animate dead tissue, it is another matter entirely to instill the spark of life into inanimate objects. The Clay Golem is the simplest form of this complex art, creating a mudface directly from the earth to serve the Necromancer. The intense block of clay this places on the head of the caster only allows him to maintain a single Golem of any type at a time.
Effect: Raises a Golem from the earth to fight your bone walls.

This is your PvP meatshield.  You will cast it to absorb, say, a paladin’s FoH or an assassin’s DF.  It will also be halfway decent for PvM in normal and maybe nightmare difficulties.  When the Clay Golem is gaining +9 from gear, it can slow a player by 50% if it lands an attack.  It has a relatively low mana cost.

NOTE: This Necromancer template does not utilize any further golems in favor of saving skill points for synergies.  The later golems have very little to offer to both PvP and PvM.

NOTE: If Bone Armor is changed to work as intended, I plan to forgo both Clay Golem and Golem Mastery in favor of balancing Teeth and Bone Armor at reasonable levels.

Corpse Explosion

Blizzard Description:

W3w+0rZ +hI5 15 +Eh L33+ 5h1+ iT M4Ke$ 5TUFpH 90 b0@m 4nd 5Pl@T 4nd M4kE5 4 819 fRe4k1Ng Me55 1n T3H KItCH3n!!!11!!!?!!11!

This is your frag grenade, so you better treat it like a frag grenade.  Frag grenades are treated with a little @MpL1Fy d4m4G3 and then spammed while looking at dead stuff.  In this game anyway.

When you get this skill, it will sadly cost an overwhelming amount of mana to cast, so carry mana potions.  Cast Amplify Damage on a group of monsters and then kill one with your wand or golem.  Then blow it up cause damage equal to 60-100% of the dead monster’s former maximum life, of which 50% is physical and is doubled by Amplify Damage (the other 50% is fire, which is why this skill will not do as much damage to fire resistant/immune creatures).  As long as the surrounding monsters are of the same type as the monster that just splattered everywhere, they will lose a LOT of life.

In Act 1, zombie creatures are good candidates for a Corpse Explosion as they have more life than most other creatures and often exploding one will instantly kill lesser creatures.

Note that you cannot explode any corpses that were shattered with cold or killed by someone with a “Slain Monsters Rest in Peace” item.  Tell them to cut it out since you are doing so much more damage than they are.

Also note that, in the beginning, this skill has a rather small radius (slightly larger than a level 1 Amplify Damage, although when you are gaining +3 to both skills the radiuses are even and the radius of Amplify Damage surpasses that of Corpse Explosion past skill levels 5).  Try to find a both a wand and a shrunken head that each add +3 to this skill as quickly as possible, bonuses to Amplify Damage on the same two items are also very useful.

Once you get Bone Spear, you will find that you can kill quite efficiently by making a corpse or two with Bone Spear, then blowing them up.

Note that corpses stick around for a little while, if you find yourself in a tight spot, retreat to a pile of bodies and proceed to make it larger by subtraction (blowing up bodies to make more bodies).  This is usually unnecessary in parties, but can be a lifesaver when you are feeling antisocial.

Weaken

Blizzard Description:

This bane allows the Necromancer to sap the marrow from his enemy. Enemies are enfeebled to the point that their blows become highly ineffective.
You will never need to use this, unless you really want to cast it on an Extra Strong pack to reduce their damage by 33%.  This is a pre-req that you must blow a point on in order to reach Decrepify.

Golem Mastery

Blizzard Description:

Developing this skill permits the Necromancer to divert more of his will and energies into his artificial creations. This allows the Necromancer to create more robust breath and control it with greater finesse.
Passive Effect: Enhances speed and life of Golems.

This makes Mudface last a little longer.  There is no real reason to get this skill.  Of course, there is no real reason NOT to get this skill so get it.  Or don’t get it if you want to have another Extra Skill Point to worry about.  I see it as a good investment, however if Bone Armor is changed to work as intended, I plan to forgo both Golem Mastery and Clay Golem in favor of balancing Teeth and Bone Armor at reasonable levels.

Terror

Blizzard Description:

This curse causes its victim to hit a joint, conjuring their greatest fear in corporeal form before their eyes. They believe these apparitions are real and run from them as long as the curse affects them.
Effect: Cursed monsters run in fear.

This is actually a very good skill to have and has saved me many times.  At level 1 it lasts 8 seconds, which is often enough for you to escape.  The only pity is that the radius is so small (2.6 yards at all skill levels).  This is also a pre-req that you must obtain in order to reach Decrepify.

Bone Wall

Blizzard Description:

This spell enables the Necromancer to call upon the remnants of the clavicles of all the creatures who have ever died in the area. It accumulates their fossilized remains and summons forth from the ground a barrier of dense, fossilized clavicle. This spell is an effective method for keeping adversaries from reaching a Necromancer, while allowing him to attack from range or make his escape.
Effect: Creates a barrier of bone.

Not a particularly flashy spell as far as gargantuan palisades of calcium carbonate go, although its a big hit with Mudface, literally.

This skill, like so many others, provides Bone Spirit and Bone Spear with the much appreciated damage bonuses with the new synergy system.  It also enhances your Bone Armor (see Bone Armor for a very detailed explanation).

Use this skill to control monsters as needed although its usefulness will quickly diminish until you get around to leveling it for the synergy bonuses and by then you will be able to cast a very durable Bone Prison for 1 mana.

Bone Spear

Bone Spear Receives Bonuses From:
Teeth: +7% Magic Damage Per Level
Bone Wall: +7% Magic Damage Per Level
Bone Spirit: +7% Magic Damage Per Level
Bone Prison: +7% Magic Damage Per Level

Blizzard Description:

Also known as the Giant Shlong, this spell summons a long shaft of bone issuing forth from the caster and piercing any opponents in its path. Since the force of this projectile is mystical as well as physical it can pass through one opponent and carry on to the next, rending and tearing through whatever is in its path.  Think Janus’ WandaIn from Chrono Cross, but even more painful…
Effect: Summons a magical missile of bone.

You will get this skill quickly and it will become a vital part of your arsenal just as quickly.  You will use it to pierce the vital parts of the enemy even more quickly.
Use this skill to kill one or more targets and blow them up.  It also has its uses for PvP.
This skill drains mana very slowly, so you can cast it lots.

Bone Prison

Blizzard Description:

Similar to the Bone Wall, a Necromancer with this skill can summon a spirit wall of bone in the form of an enclosing ring. This prison traps all enemies within its circumference. Imprisoned within a cage of bone, the captives are held helpless until they can summon the strength to break through its skeletal confines or the Necromancer loses his hold over the spirits.
Effect: Summons a ring of bone to surround a target.

I have yet to see my captives summon a “Strength,” thus I am sadly led to believe that the Blizzard Description for this skill, unlike the usually excellent Blizzard Descriptions, is misleading.  However, it does manage to convey the general meaning.  This skill creates a wall around the target.  Amusingly, this wall not only keeps the target in, it also provokes anyone not within the wall to attempt to force their way in (one might wonder what form of “Strength” is actually being summoned, and if the form is a nice one).

This is a very useful skill when you are soloing.  Keep in mind that Bone Spirits are able to penetrate the prison but that Bone Spear will damage it.  At later levels, this skill will cost very little mana.

Decrepify

Blizzard Description:

This curse gives the victim a glimpse of his own reflection, briefly mortifying the victim. Seeing itself for the first time, the afflicted believes it is no longer capable of attracting women.
Effect: Target’s Speed, Damage and Physical Resistance -50%
Decrepify also slows the attack (except missiles from monsters), reduces the damage output of monsters and makes monsters more susceptibile to physical damage. Decrepify will not reduce the Damage Resistance of Immune monsters.

This will be your main PvP curse for obvious reasons.  There are speculations that it does NOT reduce a player’s damage by the full 50%.  I have yet to test this, but it is possible that it removes 50% from a player’s total Enhanced Damage which is measured as a percentage.  For example, a Barbarian using a high level Berserk with a high level Sword Mastery would have like 800% Enhanced Damage and if I am right, Decrepify will reduce it to 750%.  Not much, but the damage reduction is not why we use this curse.  Besides, Decrepify also reduces the attack speed of anyone whose attacks require extensive body movement (melee attacks).

In any case, use this curse to drastically hamper an enemy player or small group of monsters.  Its radius is not large (4 yards) and it wears off quickly, but it offers you a significant advantage in PvP.  Amplify Damage is pretty much a better curse to use for PvM as it works better with Corpse Explosion and lasts much longer, with a larger radius to boot, however feel free to cast this on those tight packs of extra fast monsters if you somehow lose your Terror hotkey.

Bone Spirit

Bone Spirit Receives Bonuses From:
Teeth: +6% Magic Damage Per Level
Bone Wall: +6% Magic Damage Per Level
Bone Spear: +6% Magic Damage Per Level
Bone Prison: +6% Magic Damage Per Level

Blizzard Description:

This powerful spell briefly summons the spirit of a vengeful manatee. This skeletal specter immediately seeks out its objective, ripping free a portion of the target’s face and carrying it away to the plane of the dead. This is not a true summoning spell, however, as the Necromancers have not yet determined how to control these wraiths. For now, it is enough that they are able to shield themselves and their companions from their stench!
Effect: Spirit tracks down a target, or finds one of its own.

This is your best damage skill, although Bone Spear outperforms it against crowds or at high skill levels, where its damage approaches and eventually surpasses Bone Spirit due to having a higher synergy bonus (this is theoretical as you would need for both skills to be at level ~45-50).  It ignores Bone Walls/Bone Prisons and passes through monsters without harming them unless one of them is its target.  You can use Shift + RClick to spam them in the direction of monsters.

NOTE FOR NOOBS: Do not assign this skill, or any skill for that matter, to your left mouse button.

This skill drains mana pretty quickly, so make sure you have lots of mana potions.  Every cast is a guaranteed hit against a monster, and even in Hell difficulty you should have few problems in creating a corpse or two to play with when using this spell.  This is your weapon of choice to combat Heroes, Uniques and Super Uniques.  Try to get lots and lots of cast rate and you will be making “snakes” of spirits right and left!

NOTE: Lower Resist does NOT increase spirit damage.  This is why we are NOT getting it by the way.

III) Skill Planner

NOTE: The intervals between levels in which you get skill points due to quest rewards are purely estimations.  I will take note of when I finish the quests when I begin playing in 1.10 and edit this list accordingly.  Fortunately, I was able to plan so that all skill points from quest rewards are saves, meaning that you do not need them to unlock any skills.

NOTE: This template is based on the fact that currently, Bone Armor’s synergies grant a 15 point increase to Bone Armor as opposed to a 15% increase.  If this is fixed, then Bone Armor should be leveled in the place of Teeth, if not sooner.

Even levels are BOLD for easier reading
Odd levels are in ITALICS for easier reading.
Quest rewards are UNDERLINED for easier reading.

Level 2) Teeth (1 of 20)
Level 3) Bone Armor (1 of 1)
Level 4) Amplify Damage (1 of 1)
Den of Evil) Save #1
Level 5) Save #2
Level 6) Clay Golem (1 of 1)
Save #1) Corpse Explosion (1 of 1)
Save #2) Weaken (pre-req)
Level 7) Save #3
Level 8) Save #4
Level 9) Save #5
Level 10) Save #6
Level 11) Save #7
Level 12) Bone Wall (1 of 20)
Save #3) Terror (pre-req)
Save #4) Golem Mastery (1 of 1)
Level 13) Save #8
Level 14) Save #9
Radament) Save #10
Level 15) Save #11
Level 16) Save #12
Level 17) Save #13
Level 18) Bone Spear (1 of 20)
Level 19) Bone Spear (2 of 20)
Level 20) Bone Spear (3 of 20)
Level 21) Bone Spear (4 of 20)
Level 22) Bone Spear (5 of 20)
Level 23) Bone Spear (6 of 20)
Level 24) Bone Prison (1 of 20)
Save #5 ) Decrepify (1 of 1)
Level 25) Bone Spear (7 of 20)
Save #6 ) Bone Prison (2 of 20)
Level 26) Bone Spear (8 of 20)
Tyreal) Save #14
Tyreal) Save #15
Level 27) Bone Spear (9 of 20)
Level 28) Bone Spear (10 of 20)
Level 29) Bone Spear (11 of 20)
Level 30) Bone Spirit (1 of 20)
Save #7) Bone Spear (12 of 20)
Level 31) Bone Spirit (2 of 20)
Save #8) Bone Spear (13 of 20)
Level 32) Bone Spirit (3 of 20)
Save #9) Bone Spear (14 of 20)
Level 33) Bone Spirit (4 of 20)
Save #10) Bone Spear (15 of 20)
Level 34) Bone Spirit (5 of 20)
Save #11) Bone Spear (16 of 20)
Level 35) Bone Spirit (6 of 20)
Save #12) Bone Spear (17 of 20)
Level 36) Bone Spirit (7 of 20)
Save #13) Bone Spear (18 of 20)
Level 37) Bone Spirit (8 of 20)
Save #14) Bone Spear (19 of 20)
Level 38) Bone Spirit (9 of 20)
Save #15) Bone Spear (20 of 20) ** All Saves Used **
Level 39) Bone Spirit (10 of 20)
Level 40) Bone Spirit (11 of 20)
Level 41) Bone Spirit (12 of 20)
Level 42) Bone Spirit (13 of 20)
Level 43) Bone Spirit (14 of 20)
Level 44) Bone Spirit (15 of 20)
Level 45) Bone Spirit (16 of 20)
Level 46) Bone Spirit (17 of 20)
Level 47) Bone Spirit (18 of 20)
Level 48) Bone Spirit (19 of 20)
Level 49) Bone Spirit (20 of 20)
Den of Evil) Bone Prison (3 of 20) ** Even if you do this quest earlier or later, this point still needs to go in Bone Prison **
Level 50) Bone Prison (4 of 20)
Level 51) Bone Prison (5 of 20)
Level 52) Bone Prison (6 of 20)
Level 53) Bone Prison (7 of 20)
Level 54) Bone Prison (8 of 20)
Level 55) Bone Prison (9 of 20)
Radament) Bone Prison (10 of 20) ** Even if you do this quest earlier or later, this point still needs to go in Bone Prison **
Level 56) Bone Prison (11 of 20)
Level 57) Bone Prison (12 of 20)
Level 58) Bone Prison (13 of 20)
Level 59) Bone Prison (14 of 20)
Level 60) Bone Prison (15 of 20)
Level 61) Bone Prison (16 of 20)
Level 62) Bone Prison (17 of 20)
Level 63) Bone Prison (18 of 20)
Tyreal) Bone Prison (19 of 20) ** Even if you do this quest earlier or later, place these points in Bone Prison **
Tyreal) Bone Prison (20 of 20)
Level 64) Bone Wall (2 of 20)
Level 65) Bone Wall (3 of 20)
Level 66) Bone Wall (4 of 20)
Level 67) Bone Wall (5 of 20)
Level 68) Bone Wall (6 of 20)
Level 69) Bone Wall (7 of 20)
Level 70) Bone Wall (8 of 20)
Den of Evil) Bone Wall (9 of 20) ** Even if you do this quest earlier or later, this point still needs to go in Bone Wall **
Level 71) Bone Wall (10 of 20)
Level 72) Bone Wall (11 of 20)
Level 73) Bone Wall (12 of 20)
Radament) Bone Wall (13 of 20) ** Even if you do this quest earlier or later, this point still needs to go in Bone Wall **
Level 74) Bone Wall (14 of 20)
Level 75) Bone Wall (15 of 20)
Level 76) Bone Wall (16 of 20)
Level 77) Bone Wall (17 of 20)
Level 78) Bone Wall (18 of 20)
Tyreal) Bone Wall (19 of 20) ** Even if you do this quest earlier or later, place these points in Bone Wall **
Tyreal) Bone Wall (20 of 20)
Level 79) Teeth (2 of 20)
Level 80) Teeth (3 of 20)
Level 81) Teeth (4 of 20)
Level 82) Teeth (5 of 20)
Level 83) Teeth (6 of 20)
Level 84) Teeth (7 of 20)
Level 85) Teeth (8 of 20)
Level 86) Teeth (9 of 20)
Level 87) Teeth (10 of 20)
Level 88) Teeth (11 of 20)
Level 89) Teeth (12 of 20)
Level 90) Teeth (13 of 20)
Level 91) Teeth (14 of 20)
Level 92) Teeth (15 of 20)
Level 93) Teeth (16 of 20)
Level 94) Teeth (17 of 20)
Level 95) Teeth (18 of 20)
Level 96) Teeth (19 of 20)
Level 97) Teeth (20 of 20)
Level 98) Extra Skill Point (Bone Armor?)
Level 99) Extra Skill Point (Bone Armor?)

IV) Statistics

Attribute Starts Per additional point Each Level Up
Strength 15
Dexterity 25
Vitality 15 + 2 to Life, 1 Stamina
Energy 25 2 Mana
Stamina 79 +1
Life 45 +1.5
Mana 25 +2

Strength:  You need 60 of this stat for Frostburns, 75 for Sigon’s Guard.  However, you should just leave it at 58, which gives you access to pretty much all of your high-end gear, and use +str gear in order to wear the aforementioned two items.  Keep in mind that, if you ever find one, the Enigma runeword grants an insane boost to strength, allowing you to use just about anything if you so desire (besides armor).  Put 43 points in Strength.
Dexterity:  You want 170 base Dexterity by level 99.  It takes 222 to block 75% of the time when using the Homunculus, but you will be getting 52 from high-end gear by then.  See the Blocking Information section for more information.  Put 170 points in Dexterity over time, making sure that you are always blocking 75% of the time while using Sigon’s Guard, and later the Homunculous.
Energy:  I am not yet certain on how many points one should spend here.  I would say spend 0 - 25.  Mana is always a good thing to have, as a 9 fps Bone Spirit will eat it like no tomorrow and you need to throw a lot in order to hit something. However, this build involves 75% blocking and mana was never as important as life.  Not to me at least.
Vitality:  Naturally, all excess stat points will go here.  Depending on how much stat points you decide to sink in Energy, you should have placed up to 292 points here by level 99.

Blocking Information:

Sigon’s Guard (64% blocking):

CLVL 30: You need 86 Dex for 75% Blocking
CLVL 50: You need 133 Dex for 75% Blocking
CLVL 70: You need 180 Dex for 75% Blocking
CLVL 99: You need 248 Dex for 75% Blocking

Stormshield (67% blocking)

CLVL 30: You need 83 Dex for 75% Blocking
CLVL 50: You need 127 Dex for 75% Blocking
CLVL 70: You need 172 Dex for 75% Blocking
CLVL 99: You need 237 Dex for 75% Blocking

Homunculus (72% blocking):

CLVL 30: You need 78 Dex for 75% Blocking
CLVL 50: You need 120 Dex for 75% Blocking
CLVL 70: You need 161 Dex for 75% Blocking
CLVL 99: You need 222 Dex for 75% Blocking

The following high-tier items add to Dexterity:

Harlequin Crest (+2)
Waterwalk (boots) (+15)
Mara’s Kaleidoscope (+5)
Annihilus (+10-20)
Heart of the Oak (+10)
Small Charms (+2)
Large Charms (+5)
__________________________

= +52 Dex with high end gear, without charms
= +72 Dex with ten (Serpent’s/Shimmering/Sapphire/Crimson/Amber/Emerald small charms of Dexterity)

Note that, while small charms of speed are generally preferred, small charms of dexterity are easier to get a hold of.

The Necromancer starts with 25 Dexterity. If he plans to wield high end gear with the Homunculus at level 70, he should place 84 stat points into Dexterity. That will grant him 75% blocking, with 109 base dex + 52 from gear. Those 84 points will add 168 to life if placed in Vitality.

A Necromancer using the same gear will need to have placed a total of 145 stat points into Dexterity, which will place his dexterity at 170 +52, to retain 75% blocking. Not bad at all.

These are good numbers for those of you hoping for the best gear. In short, do not place more than 145 stat points into Dexterity, less if you plan on using +2 dex small charms.

Just for the heck of it, if you are level 70 with a base 109 dex with Homunculus and are not getting any +dex from gear, your blocking is 48%.

If you are at level 99 with a base 170 dex with Homunculus and are not getting any +dex from gear, your blocking is 56%.

V) Equipment

These are the most important statistics for a PvP necromancer:

* 125% faster cast rate (or 75% if you can’t wing 125%)
* 75% block (don’t argue, just do it, its only 145 stat points)
* Fast blocking (its a pun, ignore it)
* + all skills (not a pun)
* + poison and bone skills (no poison, just the bone)
* + bone spirit (if you’re poor)
* + bone spear (if you’re poorer)
* + decrepify (if you’re even poorer)
* + mana/energy (or just carry mana pots in duels)
* + life/vitality (or spam overpowered bone armor)
* + run/walk (or teleport around like a little girl with E.Nigma)
* Damage Absorb (for when you forget to spam that overpowered bone armor)
Weapon: The most powerful weapon for this setup is a Flail/War Hammer/Knout socketed with Heart of the Oak (Ko + Vex + Pul + Thul), but good luck finding the runes.  The Wizardspike is the next best thing, and a little easier to obtain.  Lacking either, any of the exceptional unique wands will do for PvM and the Spectral Shard will perform well in PvP due to the cast rate increase.  A White (Dol + Io) wand is also adequate, and the runes are relatively easy to find.  Use a wand that adds skill increases to Corpse Explosion and Amplify damage until you start finding the good stuff.
Shield: The best shield for this setup is a Shaeled Homunculus.  A Sigon’s Guard will serve you well until you find one, socket it with an Eld or a pDiamond.  Use a shrunken head that adds to Corpse Explosion and Amplify Damage until you find a Sigon’s Guard, and if you have a particularly good shrunken head, stick with it as increases to Corpse Explosion and Amplify Damage outweigh blocking for PvM.
Armor: The Skins of the Vipermagi is your best armor for most situations, unless you are able to create the Enigma (Jah + Ith + Ber) out of an Archon Plate, in which case you have more skills than I gave you credit for, or are not playing on Closed Ladder, in which case you are wasting your time.  Keep in mind that you will be quite unable to reach 125% cast rate with Enigma, and that having a lot of run/walk means that you do not have to pay 24 mana in order to move around.  The Spirit Shroud is a great armor until you can find Skins of the Vipermagi.  Lacking anything else, use a magical or rare armor that grants resists and as high a defense as you can manage.  None of the new elite armors are noteworthy.
Helm: The Harlequin Crest is still the best helm so quit crying about the dorky look.  If you have a real stiff neck (or an Enigma in your pocket) you can try wearing the Crown of Ages socketed with something(s) nice.  Early on, look for a Tarnhelm or Wormskull, then a Peasant Crown or a circlet with +3 poison and bone and run/walk or cast rate.
Gloves: The Frosties are your ideal gloves for PvM, gamble on every pair of gauntlets you see as soon as you hit level 23.  Magefists are nice as Corpse Explosion is a fire skill. Upgrade to Trang’s Gloves when you find them.

Boots:  Any pair of boots with run/walk are fine, look for boots with resistances. Vidala’s Fetlocks are nice. Aldur’s Boots are your best boots if you have the 93 strength to use them, although the new Sandstorm Trek are nice as well.  In the endgame you should use the Waterwalks as they are the only boots that grant 15 dexterity which minimizes stat points spent there.  Ah well, boots are boots I guess, nothing special here.
Belt: The Nightsmoke is an awesome belt early on, and the String of Ears or Gloom’s Trap are great if you can find them. The new Arachnid Mesh is the ultimate belt for any caster (+1 to all skills, cast rate, increase maximum mana, etc) but good luck finding one.

Amulet: The Kaleidoscope is still the best amulet, however since you will be lacking it for quite some time, try to find a +2 to poison and bone skills amulet as soon as possible. These are not that hard to find, especially in big games where a party is sharing drops. Replace it with a +3 to poison and bone skills amulet.  Note that a good rare that gives +3 to poison and bone skills can possibly surpass Mara’s.
Rings:  As far as rings go, Bahamut rings of the Magus rock. Use them if you can find them. The new Bul Kathos’ Wedding Band is your ultimate ring, although a good ol’ SoJ still does the trick.

Make sure that your cast rate is =>+125% for dueling, even if you have to sacrifice powerful rings/amulets for apprentice rings. Cast rate is important! Note that, for example, a 20% cast speed ring will not help you if you have a current total of 80% faster cast speed, consult this chart.

0% faster casting speed - 15 fps casting speed
9% faster casting speed - 14 fps casting speed
18% faster casting speed - 13 fps casting speed
30% faster casting speed - 12 fps casting speed
48% faster casting speed - 11 fps casting speed
75% faster casting speed - 10 fps casting speed
125% faster casting speed - 9 fps casting speed
Monitor your combined cast rate and keep it at 75% or 125%.

High End Gear and Cast Rate:
Wizardspike (50% cast rate) + Skins of the Vipermagi (30% cast rate) + Trang’s Gloves (20% cast rate) + Arachnid Mesh (20% cast rate) + Caster Amulet/Ring (5%-10% cast rate) = 125-130% cast rate. Lacking the Arachnid Mesh, use a Caster Belt(5%-10 cast rate) and a Ring of Magus (20% cast rate, Bahamut’s Ring of Magus = $$).

VERY High End Gear and Cast Rate:
Dueling Spellcasters: Heart of Oak (40% cast rate) + Enigma (0% cast rate) + Darkforce Spawn (30% cast rate) + Trang’s Gloves (20% cast rate) + Arachnid Mesh (20% cast rate) + Ring of Magus (20% cast rate) = 130% cast rate.  This sacrifices blocking for the ability to teleport while still maintaining an optimized cast rate.
Dueling non-Spellcasters: Heart of Oak (40% cast rate) + Enigma (0% cast rate) + Homunculus (0% cast rate) + Trang’s Gloves (20% cast rate) + Arachnid Mesh (20% cast rate) = 80% cast rate.

VI) Dueling Tactics

I do not anticipate having problems winning duels with this build, as I have a rather large arsenal. I have strong damage output, I have a lot of hit points due to Bone Armor and am in general a very tough sucka to kill with 75% blocking, I can place obstacles in the playing field, I can slow my target down while also reducing their damage output.  In fact, I should be able to outdamage just about any other character in a straight up fight.
I will write a tactics section as soon as I get some dueling experience in 1.10.

VII) Notes

8-17-03

This is version 1.0, and I am about to post it to the Battle.net forums so that it can be analyzed and all errors and miscalculations eliminated.  I plan on submitting the next version of this guide to www.Diabloii.net for use in their strategy section.  I will be updating it with a more detailed PvM section after I myself am able to play on Closed Ladder.  I will also be updating the Dueling Tactics section, and I plan to post Bone Spear and Bone Spirit damage soon.

Author: Anfini

I’ve never been a fan of poison nova.  Sure it can do lots of damage if you load it up but you have to look at the bigger picture.  Many monsters have psn immunity and psn does take a long time to do damage.  I need instant damage that stuns monsters more than something that just sucks out a few health points over 5-10 seconds.

but then that’s just me.  I just like to spend my limited skill points on things like golems and revive…

Posted by Dexter  on  11/25/2003  at  09:04 AM

Well obviouslly you won’t use probabbly anymore than 30 points on bone skills so you still have plenty of points to put into things like amplify damage and lower resist… along with revives and golems

my necro has 0 to summoning coz i jus keep cramming my skill points on bone spells....
and i rely on my bone armor to protect me.....
lolz it only absorbs like 350 dmg and maxed out teeth b4 bone prison/wall....
but i dont think golem is necessary unless im a total noob....

poison nova seems to be very gd for dueling though..............

blood golem=20
Corpse Explosion =20
Golem Mastery =20
iron mairden=20
summon resist=20
bone armor=20
revive=20