Necromancer
The Necromancer is a mage with the strongest summoning abilities. Unlike the Sorceress with her powerful elemental skills, the Necromancer's killing power comes through indirect means; he uses the demons' strengths against them, relying on his powerful minions and Curses to control the battlefield.
The necromancer represents mastery of the 'dark arts' His specialities are resurrecting fallen enemies into his service, cursing the enemies in a variety of ways and infliting the enemies with poisons and diseases which reduce their ability to fight.
Background
From the steamy recesses of the southern swamps comes a figure cloaked in mystery. The Necromancer, as his name implies, is an unseemly form of sorcerer whose spells deal with the raising of the dead and the summoning and control of various creatures for his purposes. Though his goals are often aligned with those of the forces of Light, some do not think that these ends can justify his foul means. Long hours of study in dank mausolea have made his skin pale and corpselike, his figure, skeletal. Most people shun him for his peculiar looks and ways, but none doubt the power of the Necromancer, for it is the stuff of nightmares.
Starting Attributes Starting Stats Gain Each Level Gain Each Point
* Strength: 15
* Dexterity: 25
* Vitality: 15
* Energy: 25
* Hit Points: 45
* Stamina: 79
* Mana: 25
* Life: +1.5
* Stamina: +1
* Mana: +2
* 1 Vitality point gives 2 Life
* 1 Vitality point gives 1 Stamina
* 1 Energy point gives 2 Mana
History
As might be expected, the devotees of magic are a segregated lot. They are as leery of students of rival disciplines as a layperson is of all arcane practitioners. None, however, are so widely maligned and misunderstood as the Priests of Rathma.
As with most users of magic, the priests of the cult of Rathma hail from the far Eastern Jungles. They reside in a vast underground city located deep within those jungles. Their specific geographical locale is particularly secluded, however, preventing their assimilation into a formal mage clan. But it is this same isolation that has allowed hem to pursue their distinct kind of arcane science. For it is through the teachings of Rathma, as well as through years of research and physical experimentation, that these men have come to understand and hold sacred the delicate balance of life and death and are able to twist the line that borders the two. For although the minions of Hell have long possessed this power, among mortals the knowledge to reanimate and control the dead belongs to these priests alone. It is this practice that has led outsiders to refer to them as Necromancers. They truly comprehend the balance of all things, and understand and accept their place in what they refer to as the Great Cycle of Being.
Their culture has subsisted in the shadow of the great mage clans from the earliest days, and in most ways their practice reaches back to a time before magic was formalized into strict disciplines. Although their art is considered "dark", and the people of the outside world shun the priests who practice these arts, these mysterious cultists never suffered the epidemic of corruption that plagued the ancient mage clans. Pragmatists in the truest sense, they are above temptation. They see death merely as a natural part of life and do not seek to deny its arrival. Their singular knowledge of the unknown allows them to face death without fear. These ideals, coupled with an understanding of the natural balance between Order and Chaos, explain why they have not fallen prey to the influences of evil.
Their desire to uphold this balance has brought the Necromancers forth from the isolation of their remote, dank homeland to destroy Diablo and his brethren. The mere presence of these Prime Evils on the mortal realm upsets the natural symmetry of not only the mortal realm, but also the Great Cycle of Being itself. The followers of Rathma seek to right the balance by ridding the mortal realms of nonmortal intervention altogether. They resent any force that would treat humans as pawns in a cosmic game, though they apparently are willing to ally with the forces of Order, but only until such time as the balance is restored.
Traits and Abilities
Necromancers have the ability to reanimate corpses of most entities and to control the recently dead. The dead release spiritual energies that haunt the mortal realms. The Necromancer can focus these energies, giving them manifestation in the corporeal world. Practitioners of necromancy can curse the very fate of a victim by manipulating the Prime energies flowing through all living things.
Necromancer Curses
The Necromancer's Curses are powerful magical skills that must be used cleverly to come to their full effect. Curses do not do direct damage, but are cast on monsters to increase the damage they take, slow them, blind them, and so on. Using the right curse in the right situation is what makes a Necromancer powerful, and the fact that almost no curses stack makes the choice and timing of which to use, and when to use it, quite important.
* 1 Amplify Damage
* 2 Dim Vision
* 3 Weaken
* 4 Iron Maiden
* 5 Terror
* 6 Confuse
* 7 Life Tap
* 8 Attract
* 9 Decrepify
* 10 Lower Resist
Amplify Damage
Required Level: 1
Prerequisites: None
Details: Amplify damage greatly increases the physical damage taken by any afflicted target. Use this on monsters that are being beaten on by minions or other players. It's of less use for the Necromancer himself since his melee and bow attacks are so weak. (Some rare melee Necromancer builds not withstanding.)
* Amplify Damage lowers the targets resistance to physical damage by 100%.
* Amplify Damage will "break" physical immunity in almost all cases.
* Amplify Damage teams nicely with Corpse Explosion, since that spell deals 50% fire and 50% physical damage.
Mana Cost: 4
Physical Resistance Reduction: -100%
Skill Level Progression [e]
Slvl Radius (yards)
Duration (seconds)
Slvl Radius (yards)
Duration (seconds)
Slvl Radius (yards)
Duration (seconds)
Slvl Radius (yards)
Duration (seconds)
1 2.0 8 6 5.3 23 11 8.6 38 16 12.0 53
2 2.6 11 7 6.0 26 12 9.3 41 17 12.6 56
3 3.3 14 8 6.6 29 13 10.0 44 18 13.3 59
4 4.0 17 9 7.3 32 14 10.6 47 19 14.0 62
5 4.6 20 10 8.0 35 15 11.3 50 20 14.6 65
Dim Vision
Required Level: 6
Prerequisites:: None
Details: Monsters that have had their vision dimmed no longer see their enemies. They will stand still, or randomly move in short distances, but will fight back against melee attackers.
* This curse does not work on other players in PVP.
* Does not work on Oblivion Knights, SuperUnique Monsters and Bosses.
* Dim Vision will stack on a monster Cursed with Attract or Confuse, but will be overwritten by those curses if Dim Vision is active first.
* Most monsters will not use their special attacks while cursed. Blood Lords will not Frenzy, Frozen Horrors will not use their icy breath, etc.
* Monsters already pursuing a target will continue pursuing it if hit with Dim Vision. They must reach the target or an obstruction before their AI resets and they go into dimmed mode.
Mana Cost: 9
Skill Level Progression [e]
Slvl Radius (yards)
Duration
Slvl Radius (yards)
Duration
Slvl Radius (yards)
Duration
Slvl Radius (yards)
Duration
1 2.6 7 6 6.0 17 11 9.3 27 16 12.6 37
2 3.3 9 7 6.6 19 12 10.0 29 17 13.3 39
3 4.0 11 8 7.3 21 13 10.6 31 18 14.0 41
4 4.6 13 9 8.0 23 14 11.3 33 19 14.6 43
5 5.3 15 10 8.6 25 15 12.0 35 20 15.3 45
Weaken
Required Level: 6
Prerequisites: Amplify Damage
Details: Lowers the physical damage the target inflicts by 33%.
* This spell has no effect on elemental attacks from monsters or other players in PVP mode; only physical damage.
Mana Cost: 4 Target Damage Reduction
Skill Level Progression [e]
Slvl Radius (yards)
Duration
Slvl Radius (yards)
Duration
Slvl Radius (yards)
Duration
Slvl Radius (yards)
Duration
1 6.0 14.0 6 9.3 26.0 11 12.6 38.0 16 16.0 50.0
2 6.6 16.4 7 10.0 28.4 12 13.3 40.4 17 16.6 52.4
3 7.3 18.8 8 10.6 30.8 13 14.0 42.8 18 17.3 54.8
4 8.0 21.2 9 11.3 33.2 14 14.6 45.2 19 18.0 57.2
5 8.6 23.6 10 12.0 35.6 15 15.3 47.6 20 18.6 59.6
Iron Maiden
Required Level: 12
Prerequisites: Amplify Damage
Details: Causes the physical, melee damage inflicted by the target to reflect back to themselves. Does not effect non-physical damage, or non-melee attacks.
* Iron Maiden does not affect archers, but does reflect damage to the Flayer blowdart gunners.
* Iron Maiden is best used against fast hitting melee monsters, especially if the Necromancer's minons are not capable of dealing high damage (which is better teamed with Amplify Damage.)
* The target still takes full damage when hit by an Iron Maiden'ed enemy. The Cursed monster just takes much more, reflected back.
* Iron Maiden is extremely dangerous against melee characters since it can also be cast by Oblivion Knights; using any sort of physical damage melee attack in the vicinity of those monsters is very dangerous.
* Iron Maiden is nerfed in Nightmare and Hell, and in PVP.
Mana Cost: 5
Radius: 4.6 Yards
Skill Level Progression [e]
Slvl Dmg. Returned
Duration (seconds)
Slvl Dmg. Returned
Duration (seconds)
Slvl Dmg. Returned
Duration (seconds)
Slvl Dmg. Returned
Duration (seconds)
1 200% 12.0 6 325% 24.0 11 450% 36.0 16 575% 48.0
2 225% 14.4 7 350% 26.4 12 475% 38.4 17 600% 50.4
3 250% 16.8 8 375% 28.8 13 500% 40.8 18 625% 52.8
4 275% 19.2 9 400% 31.2 14 525% 43.2 19 650% 55.2
5 300% 21.6 10 425% 33.6 15 550% 45.6 20 675% 57.6
Terror
Required Level: 12
Prerequisites: Amplify Damage, Weaken
Details: Cursed monsters run away at very high speed.
* Does not affect other players in PVP.
* Does not work on bosses or SuperUniques.
Mana Cost: 7
Radius: 2.6 Yards
Skill Level Progression [e]
Slvl Duration
Slvl Duration
Slvl Duration
Slvl Duration
1 8 6 13 11 18 16 23
2 9 7 14 12 19 17 24
3 10 8 15 13 20 18 25
4 11 9 16 14 21 19 26
5 12 10 17 15 22 20 27
Confuse
Required Level: 18
Prerequisites: Dim Vision
Details: Confused monsters attack whatever target is nearest them, including other monsters. Use other curses, such as Amplify Damage or Decrepify, to help the Confused monster kill more quickly, or use Iron Maiden on the other monsters so they kill themselves fighting back.
* Confuse does not work on bosses or SuperUniques.
* Confuse does not work on other players in PVP mode.
Mana Cost: 13
Skill Level Progression [e]
Slvl Radius (yards)
Duration
Slvl Radius (yards)
Duration
Slvl Radius (yards)
Duration
Slvl Radius (yards)
Duration
1 4.0 10 6 7.3 20 11 10.6 30 16 14.0 40
2 4.6 12 7 8.0 22 12 11.3 32 17 14.6 42
3 5.3 14 8 8.6 24 13 12.0 34 18 15.3 44
4 6.0 16 9 9.3 26 14 12.6 36 19 16.0 46
5 6.6 18 10 10.0 28 15 13.3 38 20 16.6 48
Life Tap
Required Level: 18
Prerequisites: Amplify Damage, Iron Maiden
Details: Life Tap causes huge life leech to flow to any physical damage attacker. One monster so afflicted will essentially provide full rejuvenations to anything that strikes it.
Mana: 9
Attacker Healed: 50% of Physical Damage
Skill Level Progression [e]
Slvl Radius (yards)
Duration
Slvl Radius (yards)
Duration
Slvl Radius (yards)
Duration
Slvl Radius (yards)
Duration
1 2.6 16.0 6 6.0 28.0 11 9.3 40.0 16 12.6 52.0
2 3.3 18.4 7 6.6 30.4 12 10.0 42.4 17 13.3 54.4
3 4.0 20.8 8 7.3 32.8 13 10.6 44.8 18 14.0 56.8
4 4.6 23.2 9 8.0 35.2 14 11.3 47.2 19 14.6 59.2
5 5.3 25.6 10 8.6 37.6 15 12.0 49.6 20 15.3 61.6
Attract
Required Level: 24
Prerequisites: Dim Vision, Confuse
Details: A monster with Attract cast on it becomes the target of aggression to all other monsters in the vicinity. This skill does not change the monster's AI, it just makes all the other monsters hate it.
* Attract will not work on other players, Oblivion Knights, SuperUnique Monsters, or Bosses.
* The small radius of Attract allows it to be used surgically; cast Iron Maiden on a large mob, then hit one a few individual monsters with Attract, and the pack will kill themselves hitting the Attracted enemy, damaging that monster in the process.
* Attract will not overwrite Confuse.
* Attracted Monsters can still be damaged (unlike Paladin Conversion).
Mana: 17
Radius 6 Yards
Skill Level Progression [e]
Slvl Duration
Slvl Duration
Slvl Duration
Slvl Duration
1 12.0 6 30.0 11 48.0 16 66.0
2 15.6 7 33.6 12 51.6 17 69.6
3 19.2 8 37.2 13 55.2 18 73.2
4 22.8 9 40.8 14 58.8 19 76.8
5 26.4 10 44.4 15 62.4 20 80.4
Decrepify
Required Level: 24
Prerequisites: Amplify Damage, Weaken, Terror
Details: This powerful curse lowers movement and attack speed, as well as reducing all resistances (physical, poison, magic, fire, cold, lightning) by 50%.
* This curse is all purpose, and the slows target aspect can greatly preserve the life of your minions.
* For pure damage, it's better to use Amplify Damage for physical attacks and Lower Resistances for elemental and magical attacks.
Mana: 11
Radius: 4 Yards
Skill Level Progression [e]
Slvl Duration
Slvl Duration
Slvl Duration
Slvl Duration
1 4.0 6 7.0 11 10.0 16 13.0
2 4.6 7 7.6 12 10.6 17 13.6
3 5.2 8 8.2 13 11.2 18 14.2
4 5.8 9 8.8 14 11.8 19 14.8
5 6.4 10 9.4 15 12.4 20 15.4
Lower Resist
Required Level: 30
Prerequisites: Weaken, Amplify Damage, Terror, Iron Maiden, Life Tap, Decrepify.
Details: Lowers the target's resistance to cold, fire, poison, lightning, and magical damage the listed amount.
* Does not affect physical resistance. (Use Amplify Damage or Decrepify for that.)
* Will break immunities, but only lowers the resistance 1/5 as much when doing so. (Making the monster no longer immune, but still highly resistant.)
* Boosts the effectiveness of the Necromancer's bone and poison attacks.
* This curse is highly useful when partied with a Sorceress.
Skill Level Progression [e]
Slvl Radius (yards)
Duration (seconds)
Resist All -X%
Slvl Radius (yards)
Duration (seconds)
Resist All -X%
Slvl Radius (yards)
Duration (seconds)
Resist All -X%
Slvl Radius (yards)
Duration (seconds)
Resist All -X%
1 4.6 20 31% 6 8.0 30 49% 11 11.3 40 56% 16 14.6 50 61%
2 5.3 22 37% 7 8.6 32 51% 12 12.0 42 57% 17 15.3 52 61%
3 6.0 24 41% 8 9.3 34 52% 13 12.6 44 58% 18 16.0 54 61%
4 6.6 26 44% 9 10.0 36 54% 14 13.3 46 59% 19 16.6 56 62%
5 7.3 28 47% 10 10.6 38 55% 15 14.0 48 60% 20 17.3 58 62%
Necromancer Poison and Bone
This skill tree houses the Necromancer's direct damage spells. These are not as powerful as those of the Sorceress, and must be paired with Curses and used strategically to kill effectively.
Poison
Poison damage in Diablo II is listed as damage over time, and the actual damage done per second can be virtually impossible to calculate with the damage stacking from skills, weapons, charms, etc. Poison damage does not stack with multiple attacks, but resets each time to the most recent poison-based attack. Poison damage can kill, but it's not especially useful for that in large games, or past normal difficulty. It is very useful to keep monsters from regenerating hit points, since they will not heal while poisoned.
Bone Spells
Bone spells (Teeth, Bone Spear, Bone Spirit) deal magical damage. There is are fewer than a handful of items that raise resistance against magic, making these deceptively effective in PVP combat. Items that absorb magical damage do work against magical damage.
Contents
* 1 Teeth
* 2 Bone Armor
* 3 Poison Dagger
* 4 Corpse Explosion
* 5 Bone Wall
* 6 Poison Explosion
* 7 Bone Spear
* 8 Bone Prison
* 9 Poison Nova
* 10 Bone Spirit
Teeth
Required Level: 1
Prerequisites: None
Synergies: Teeth becomes much more effective if a Necromancer specializes heavily in the related skills:
* Bone Wall: +15% Magic Damage Per Level
* Bone Spear: +15% Magic Damage Per Level
* Bone Prison: +15% Magic Damage Per Level
* Bone Spirit: +15% Magic Damage Per Level
Details: Each casting of this skill fires out multiple wriggling projectiles in a fan pattern. The targeting works just like the Amazon's Multiple Shot; spreading wider when targeted nearer the Necromancer, spreading less when aimed further away.
* Only one of the individual teeth will hit each target, so this skill can not be used to do big damage at point blank range.
* Can be a very effective PVP skill if used wisely, since it's almost certain to hit the target at high levels.
* Necromancers who specialize in this skill are called "Dentists," which is about the best variant name in the entire game.
Skill Level Progression [e]
Slvl Mana Cost
Damage
# of Teeth
Slvl Mana Cost
Damage
# of Teeth
Slvl Mana Cost
Damage
# of Teeth
Slvl Mana Cost
Damage
# of Teeth
1 3.0 2-4 2 6 5.5 7-9 7 11 8.0 12-15 12 16 10.5 17-23 17
2 3.5 3-5 3 7 6.0 8-10 8 12 8.5 13-17 13 17 11.0 18-25 18
3 4.0 4-6 4 8 6.5 9-11 9 13 9.0 14-18 14 18 11.5 20-27 19
4 4.5 5-7 5 9 7.0 10-12 10 14 9.5 15-20 15 19 12.0 21-29 20
5 5.0 6-8 6 10 7.5 11-14 11 15 10.0 16-21 16 20 12.5 23-31 21
Bone Armor
Required Level: 1
Prerequisites: None
Synergies: Bone Armor is boosted by points in the following skills:
* Bone Wall: +15 Damage Absorbed Per Level
* Bone Prison: +15 Damage Absorbed Per Level
Details: An orbiting shield that absorbs a set amount of physical damage before vanishing.
* The number of whirling shields decreases as the spell absorbs damage. Reset it to full any time by recasting.
* Oblivion Knights commonly found in late Act Four cast this spell.
Skill Level Progression [e]
Slvl Mana Cost
Damage Absorbed
Slvl Mana Cost
Damage Absorbed
Slvl Mana Cost
Damage Absorbed
Slvl Mana Cost
Damage Absorbed
1 11 20 6 16 70 11 21 120 16 26 170
2 12 30 7 17 80 12 22 130 17 27 180
3 13 40 8 18 90 13 23 140 18 28 190
4 14 50 9 19 100 14 24 150 19 29 200
5 15 60 10 20 110 15 25 160 20 30 210
Poison Dagger
Required Level: 6
Prerequisites: None
Synergies: This skill is boosted by points in the following skills:
* Poison Explosion: +20% Poison Damage Per Level
* Poison Nova: +20% Poison Damage Per Level
Details: Adds huge poison damage to melee attacks. Since poison damage attacks don't stack, and this one lasts a very long time, it's best used with minions to hide behind, or paired with curses such as Dim Vision or Terror.
* This skill must be used with a dagger-type weapon.
* Poison damage from charms and other equipment will stack with the skill damage.
Skill Level Progression [e]
Slvl Mana Cost
Poison
Duration seconds
AR +X%
Slvl Mana Cost
Poison
Duration seconds
AR +X%
Slvl Mana Cost
Poison
Duration seconds
AR +X%
Slvl Mana Cost
Poison
Duration seconds
AR +X%
1 3.0 7-15 2.0 30% 6 4.2 53-70 4.0 130% 11 5.5 155-181 6.0 230% 16 6.7 325-359 8.0 330%
2 3.2 13-23 2.4 50% 7 4.5 67-85 4.4 150% 12 5.7 185-212 6.4 250% 17 7.0 374-410 8.4 350%
3 3.5 20-32 2.8 70% 8 4.7 82-103 4.8 170% 13 6.0 216-245 6.8 270% 18 7.2 426-464 8.8 370%
4 3.7 30-43 3.2 90% 9 5.0 104-126 5.2 190% 14 6.2 250-281 7.2 290% 19 7.5 481-521 9.2 390%
5 4.0 40-56 3.6 110% 10 5.2 129-153 5.6 210% 15 6.5 286-319 7.6 310% 20 7.7 540-581 9.6 410%
Corpse Explosion
Required Level: 6
Prerequisites: Teeth
Synergies: None.
Details: One of the messiest and most fun skills in the game, Corpse Explosion detonates fallen monster corpses in messy sprays of bone and blood, striking all nearby enemies for substantial fire and physical damage.
* The damage is based on the hit points the monster had when alive, and it scales up to remain effective in Nightmare and Hell. (Shortly after release of the game, this skill was insanely overpowered, though its effectiveness has since been reduced in recent patches.)
* Corpse Explosion deals 50% fire and 50% physical damage. Pair it with Amplify Damage or Lower Resistances, depending on the monster's resistances. (Amplify Damage is usually the better choice.)
* This skill is most effective when numerous monsters are in range, since a domino effect can be achieved. The standard technique is to Iron Maiden a pack so they all take some damage, single one out for special attention from Bone Spirit/Bone Spear, Curse everything with Amplify Damage once a body hits the floor, and start bombing.
* Corpses can only be used by one corpse skill, so a Necromancer can find himself competing over corpses with his own various summoning skills, Barbarians with Find Item, Druids with their vine skills, Paladins using Redemption, etc.
Physical Damage 30-50% of corpse life
Fire Damage 30-50% of corpse life
Skill Level Progression [e]
Slvl Mana Cost
Fire Damage Radius (yards)
Physical Damage Radius (yards)
Slvl Mana Cost
Fire Damage Radius (yards)
Physical Damage Radius (yards)
Slvl Mana Cost
Fire Damage Radius (yards)
Physical Damage Radius (yards)
Slvl Mana Cost
Fire Damage Radius (yards)
Physical Damage Radius (yards)
1 15 2.6 1.3 6 20 4.3 2.15 11 25 6.0 3.0 16 30 7.6 3.8
2 16 3.0 1.5 7 21 4.6 2.3 12 26 6.3 3.15 17 31 8.0 4.0
3 17 3.3 1.65 8 22 5.0 2.5 13 27 6.6 3.3 18 32 8.3 4.15
4 18 3.6 1.8 9 23 5.3 2.65 14 28 7.0 3.5 19 33 8.6 4.3
5 19 4.0 2.0 10 24 5.6 2.8 15 29 7.3 3.65 20 34 9.0 4.5
*Pysical Damage Radius is estimated. Radius of Physical Damage is ~50% smaller than that of Fire Damage.
Bone Wall
Required Level: 12
Prerequisites: Bone Armor
Synergies: Bone Wall is boosted by points in the following skills:
* Bone Armor: +10% Life Per Level
* Bone Prison: +10% Life Per Level
Details: This skill calls a durable wall of bone up out of the ground. The wall serves as a barrier, and will draw monsters to attack it, killing themselves if they're cursed by Iron Maiden.
* Bone Wall stats scale up considerably in Nightmare and Hell.
Mana Cost: 17
Duration: 24 Seconds
Skill Level Progression [e]
Slvl Life
Slvl Life
Slvl Life
Slvl Life
1 20 6 44 11 68 16 92
2 25 7 49 12 73 17 96
3 30 8 54 13 77 18 101
4 35 9 58 14 82 19 106
5 39 10 63 15 87 20 111
Poison Explosion
Required Level: 18
Prerequisites: Teeth, Corpse Explosion, Poison Dagger
Synergies: The damage is boosted by points in the following skills.
* Poison Dagger: +15% Poison Damage Per Level
* Poison Nova: +15% Poison Damage Per Level
Details: Like Corpse Explosion, but with poison damage. It's not much of an upgrade, and in fact has considerably lower killing power in large games, thanks to the damage not scaling up with hit points, as Corpse Explosion does.
Mana Cost: 8
Skill Level Progression [e]
Slvl Poison
Duration
Slvl Poison
Duration
Slvl Poison
Duration
Slvl Poison
Duration
1 28-86 2.0 6 129-244 4.0 11 366-539 6.0 16 775-1006 8.0
2 43-112 2.4 7 158-284 4.4 12 436-620 6.4 17 905-1146 8.4
3 60-140 2.8 8 189-327 4.8 13 512-708 6.8 18 1043-1295 8.8
4 80-172 3.2 9 242-392 5.2 14 594-801 7.2 19 1189-1454 9.2
5 103-206 3.6 10 301-462 5.6 15 682-901 7.6 20 1345-1620 9.6
Bone Spear
Required Level: 18
Prerequisites: Teeth, Corpse Explosion
Synergies: Bone Spear receives substantial damage bonuses from points in various other skills.
* Teeth: +7% Magic Damage Per Level
* Bone Wall: +7% Magic Damage Per Level
* Bone Prison: +7% Magic Damage Per Level
* Bone Spirit: +7% Magic Damage Per Level
Details: Bone Spear fires a straight shot of magical damage bone that can pass through any number of targets. It does less damage to each target than Bone Spirit (until very high levels), but can hit multiple enemies, and is very effective against large mobs, or in narrow hallways, such as inside the Maggot Lair. Their damage is magical, and they can be made more effective by the use of the Lower Resistance or Decrepify as it also lowers magical resistance.
Skill Level Progression [e]
Slvl Mana
Damage
Slvl Mana
Damage
Slvl Mana
Damage
Slvl Mana
Damage
1 7.0 17-25 6 8.2 59-68 11 9.5 105-114 16 10.7 154-162
2 7.2 25-34 7 8.5 68-77 12 9.7 115-124 17 11.0 166-176
3 7.5 34-42 8 8.7 77-85 13 10.0 125-133 18 11.2 179-190
4 7.7 42-51 9 9.0 86-95 14 10.2 134-143 19 11.5 192-204
5 8.0 51-59 10 9.2 96-104 15 10.5 144-153 20 11.7 205-218
Bone Prison
Required Level: 24
Prerequisites: Teeth, Bone Armor, Corpse Explosion, Bone Wall, Bone Spear
Synergies: Bone Prison is boosted by points in the following skills:
* Bone Armor: +8% Life Per Level
* Bone Wall: +8% Life Per Level
Details: Bone Prison functions like Bone Wall, but creates a small circle of bone posts, instead of a long, straight wall. This skill can be targeted at a monster, imprisoning it within the prison. Monsters will target the walls and beat them into splinters, but only if they can not get to the Necromancer or his minions without destroying the bone obstacle first.
* Trap monsters within the wall and use Iron Maiden to hurt them as they fight free.
* Bone Prison can capture other players in PVP.
* Diablo's similar spell has a much cooler graphic.
* The Bone Prison hit points scale up considerably in Nightmare and Hell Difficulty.
Duration: 24 Seconds
Skill Level Progression [e]
Slvl Mana Cost
Life
Slvl Mana Cost
Life
Slvl Mana Cost
Life
Slvl Mana Cost
Life
1 27 22 6 22 45 11 17 69 16 12 93
2 26 26 7 21 50 12 16 74 17 11 98
3 25 31 8 20 55 13 15 79 18 10 102
4 24 36 9 19 60 14 14 83 19 9 107
5 23 41 10 18 64 15 13 88 20 8 112
Poison Nova
Required Level: 30
Prerequisites: Poison Dagger, Teeth, Corpse Explosion, Poison Explosion
Synergies: Poison Nova's damage is boosted by points in the following skills:
* Poison Dagger: +10% Poison Damage Per Level
* Poison Explosion: +10% Poison Damage Per Level
Details: Poison Nova sends out an expanding circle of toxic bolts, poisoning everything within range, and virtually everything on the screen. The damage of this skill is inflicted over just two seconds, so it can be fairly powerful, but must be used repeatedly, and is not useful just to poison everything in sight to keep them from healing over the course of a long battle.
Mana Cost: 20
Poison Length: 2 Seconds
Skill Level Progression [e]
Slvl Poison
Slvl Poison
Slvl Poison
Slvl Poison
1 52-93 6 127-168 11 213-254 16 307-348
2 67-108 7 142-183 12 232-273 17 337-378
3 82-123 8 157-198 13 251-292 18 367-408
4 97-138 9 176-217 14 269-311 19 397-438
5 112-153 10 194-236 15 288-329 20 427-468
Bone Spirit
Required Level: 30
Prerequisites: Teeth, Corpse Explosion, Bone Spear
Synergies: The damage of each Bone Spirit is boosted by points in the following skills:
* 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
Details: Bone Spirits are slow-moving, homing missiles that will track targets for quite a distance off the screen. Their damage is magical, and they can be made more effective by the use of the Lower Resistance or Decrepify curse.
* Bone Spirits will home relentlessly after the monster, player, or minion you target.
* If not targeted directly, Bone Spirits acquire the target that's nearest to where your cursor is when you click them.
* If a target dies before the Bone Spirit reaches it, the spell will not acquire another target, but will instead pass harmless off the screen. It's therefore best not to shoot more than you'll need to kill a given target.
* Since these fly slowly and Necromancers can cast very quickly, it's possible to have quite a few (more than a dozen) Bone Spirits tracking the same enemy.
* Bone Sprits are useful in PVP, but can fairly easily be outrun, so must be used strategically.
Skill Level Progression [e]
Slvl Mana Cost
Damage
Slvl Mana Cost
Damage
Slvl Mana Cost
Damage
Slvl Mana Cost
Damage
1 12.0 22-33 6 14.5 112-128 11 17.0 204-227 16 19.5 300-328
2 12.5 40-52 7 15.0 129-147 12 17.5 224-247 17 20.0 320-349
3 13.0 58-71 8 15.5 147-166 13 18.0 243-267 18 20.5 340-370
4 13.5 76-90 9 16.0 166-187 14 18.5 262-287 19 21.0 360-392
5 14.0 94-109 10 16.5 185-207 15 19.0 281-308 20 21.5 380-413
Necromancer Summoning
The Necromancer's summoning skills enable him to draw up skeletons and revives from corpses, and to create golems to fight for him.
Golems
Only one golem, of any type, may be active. If you cast another golem, the first one will be dispelled. Golems do not require a monster corpse to summon, though Iron Golems require a metal item to be created. Golems have a fixed defense. The Hit Points and Damage of Golems increase on Nightmare, and again on Hell Difficulty.
Skeletons and Skeletal Mages
In earlier versions of the game, one skeleton warrior or mage was summoned for each point in the skill. Since v1.10 you only gain one skeleton for every three points beyond the first three, but each one is much more effective. (And the screen is much less crowded.)
The attack ratings for summoned creatures are based on the Necromancer's level, and can not be raised with equipment or more points in the skills.
Contents
* 1 Raise Skeleton
* 2 Skeleton Mastery
* 3 Clay Golem
* 4 Golem Mastery
* 5 Raise Skeletal Mage
* 6 Blood Golem
* 7 Summon Resist
* 8 Iron Golem
* 9 Fire Golem
* 10 Revive
Raise Skeleton
Required Level: 1
Prerequisites: None
Requires: Valid monster corpse.
Synergies: Raised Skeletons are made more effective by points in:
* Skeleton Mastery
* Summon Resist
Details: The Necromancer targets a monster's corpse and casts this spell, causing a humanoid skeleton to emerge. Raised skeletons are melee fighters who spawn with semi-random equipment. Skeleton AI is about the same as a Mercenary. Meaning, they will pursue enemies that they see and otherwise stay near their owner, but can sometimes get stuck behind walls or around corners. If they get lost too far away from their owner, they will teleport to somewhere onscreen.
* Skeletons have a 5% chance to spawn with a shield, and a 3% chance to block attacks with a shield.
* Skeletons receive a hidden attack rating bonus as your character levels up.
Skill Level Progression [e]
Slvl #
Mana
Dmg.
AR
Def.
Slvl #
Mana
Dmg.
AR
Def.
Slvl #
Mana
Dmg.
AR
Def.
Slvl #
Mana
Dmg.
AR
Def.
1 1 6 1-2 +20 +20 6 4 11 1-2 +95 +95 11 5 16 8-9 +170 +170 16 7 21 21-23 +245 +245
2 2 7 1-2 +35 +35 7 4 12 1-2 +110 +110 12 6 17 10-11 +185 +185 17 7 22 26-28 +260 +260
3 3 8 1-2 +50 +50 8 4 13 2-4 +125 +125 13 6 18 12-14 +200 +200 18 8 23 31-33 +275 +275
4 3 9 1-2 +65 +65 9 5 14 4-5 +140 +140 14 6 19 14-16 +215 +215 19 8 24 37-39 +290 +290
5 3 10 1-2 +80 +80 10 5 15 6-7 +155 +155 15 7 20 17-19 +230 +230 20 8 25 37-39 +305 +305
Skill Level Progression [e]
Slvl Life (Nrml)
Life (Ngtmr)
Life (Hell)
Slvl Life (Nrml)
Life (Ngtmr)
Life (Hell)
Slvl Life (Nrml)
Life (Ngtmr)
Life (Hell)
Slvl Life (Nrml)
Life (Ngtmr)
Life (Hell)
1 21 6 52 11 105 16 157
2 21 7 63 12 115 17 168
3 21 8 73 13 126 18 178
4 31 9 84 14 136 19 189
5 42 10 94 15 147 20 199
Skeleton Mastery
Required Level: 1
Prerequisites: Raise Skeleton
Synergies: None.
Details: Increases the hit points and damage dealt by Skeletons, Skeleton Mages, and Revived.
Improved Missile Damage Beyond Level 2, Skeleton Mages only.
Skill Level Progression [e]
Slvl Skel. Life +X
Skel. Dmg. +X
Revive Life +X%
Revive Dmg. +X%
Slvl Skel. Life +X
Skel. Dmg. +X
Revive Life +X%
Revive Dmg. +X%
Slvl Skel. Life +X
Skel. Dmg. +X
Revive Life +X%
Revive Dmg. +X%
Slvl Skel. Life +X
Skel. Dmg. +X
Revive Life +X%
Revive Dmg. +X%
1 8 2 5% 10% 6 48 12 30% 60% 11 88 22 55% 110% 16 128 32 80% 160%
2 16 4 10% 20% 7 56 14 35% 70% 12 96 24 60% 120% 17 136 34 85% 170%
3 24 6 15% 30% 8 64 16 40% 80% 13 104 26 65% 130% 18 144 36 90% 180%
4 32 8 20% 40% 9 72 18 45% 90% 14 112 28 70% 140% 19 152 38 95% 190%
5 40 10 25% 50% 10 80 20 50% 100% 15 120 30 75% 150% 20 160 40 100% 200%
Clay Golem
Required Level: 6
Prerequisites: None
Synergies: Clay Golems benefit from points spent in the following skills.
* Golem Mastery
* Summon Resist
* Blood Golem: +5% Life Per Level
* Iron Golem: +35 Defense Per Level
* Fire Golem: +6% Damage Per Level
Details: Raises a Golem from the earth to fight for you. Before spending more than one point into Clay Golem consider that you will probably want upgrade to Blood Golem (at 18), Iron Golem (24), or Fire Golem (30), all of which replace the Clay Golem.
* Notice that higher level clay golems have twice as much HP as other golems.
Defense 20
Skill Level Progression [e]
Slvl Mana Cost
Dmg.
AR +X
Slow Enemy X%
Slvl Mana Cost
Dmg.
AR +X
Slow Enemy X%
Slvl Mana Cost
Dmg.
AR +X
Slow Enemy X%
Slvl Mana Cost
Dmg.
AR +X
Slow Enemy X%
1 15 2-5 80 11% 6 30 5-13 180 41% 11 45 9-22 280 53% 16 60 12-31 380 60%
2 18 2-6 100 20% 7 33 6-15 200 44% 12 48 9-24 300 54% 17 63 13-33 400 60%
3 21 3-8 120 27% 8 36 6-17 220 46% 13 51 10-26 320 56% 18 66 13-34 420 61%
4 24 4-10 140 33% 9 39 7-19 240 49% 14 54 11-27 340 57% 19 69 14-36 440 62%
5 27 4-12 160 37% 10 42 8-20 260 51% 15 57 11-29 360 58% 20 72 15-38 440 63%
Skill Level Progression [e]
Slvl Clay Life (Normal)
Clay Life (Nightmare)
Clay Life (Hell)
Slvl Clay Life (Normal)
Clay Life (Nightmare)
Clay Life (Hell)
Slvl Clay Life (Normal)
Clay Life (Nightmare)
Clay Life (Hell)
Slvl Clay Life (Normal)
Clay Life (Nightmare)
Clay Life (Hell)
1 100 175 6 275 481 11 450 787 16 625 1093
2 135 236 7 310 542 12 485 848 17 660 1155
3 170 297 8 345 603 13 520 910 18 695 1216
4 205 358 9 380 665 14 555 971 19 730 1277
5 240 420 10 415 726 15 590 1032 20 765 1338
Golem Mastery
Required Level: 12
Prerequisites: Clay Golem
Details: This skill provides a passive bonus to the speed and hit points of all golems. Enhances speed and life of Golems. Golem Mastery adds more Hit Points to the Golem's Original Base Life, not the Life shown with more than one point into a Golem skill.
* Most useful if you're planning to use a lot of Iron Golems, since the others can simply be recast as often as you like.
Skill Level Progression [e]
Slvl Life +X%
+Run Speed
+AR
Slvl Life +X%
+Run Speed
+AR
Slvl Life +X%
+Run Speed
+AR
Slvl Life +X%
+Run Speed
+AR
1 20% 6% 25 6 120% 22% 150 11 220% 28% 275 16 320% 32% 400
2 40% 10% 50 7 140% 23% 175 12 240% 29% 300 17 340% 32% 425
3 60% 14% 75 8 160% 24% 200 13 260% 30% 325 18 360% 32% 450
4 80% 17% 100 9 180% 26% 225 14 280% 30% 350 19 380% 33% 475
5 100% 20% 125 10 200% 27% 250 15 300% 31% 375 20 400% 33% 500
Raise Skeletal Mage
Required Level: 12
Prerequisites: Raise Skeleton
Requires: A valid monster corpse.
Synergies: Skeletal Mages gain bonuses from points spent in:
* Skeleton Mastery
* Summon Resist
Details: Summons a skeletal mage from a monster corpse. Skeleton mages occur randomly in four types; fire, lightning, cold, and poison. Keep summoning new ones and unsummoning individuals if you wish to get all poison, or no cold, etc.
* Cold mages are useful if you wish to slow monsters and potential break their corpses so shamans can not resurrect them. Cold is not good if you want monster corpses left to raise more skeletons from, Revive, or Corpse Explosion.
* Skeleton mages have high elemental resistance, especially to the element that makes up their own attack.
* See the Raise Skeletal Mage article for a complete breakdown of the damage, hit points, and more for each type of skeleton mage.
Skill Level Progression [e]
Slvl Mages
Mana
Def.
Slvl Mages
Mana
Def.
Slvl Mages
Mana
Def.
Slvl Mages
Mana
Def.
1 1 8 +10 6 4 13 +60 11 5 18 +110 16 7 23 +160
2 2 9 +20 7 4 14 +70 12 6 19 +120 17 7 24 +170
3 3 10 +30 8 4 15 +80 13 6 20 +130 18 8 25 +180
4 3 11 +40 9 5 16 +90 14 6 21 +140 19 8 26 +190
5 3 12 +50 10 5 17 +100 15 7 22 +150 20 8 27 +200
Skill Level Progression [e]
Slvl Life (Nrml)
Life (Ngtmr)
Life (Hell)
Slvl Life (Nrml)
Life (Ngtmr)
Life (Hell)
Slvl Life (Nrml)
Life (Ngtmr)
Life (Hell)
Slvl Life (Nrml)
Life (Ngtmr)
Life (Hell)
1 61 6 11 16
2 7 12 17
3 8 13 18
4 9 14 19
5 10 15 20
Blood Golem
Required Level: 18
Prerequisites: Clay Golem
Synergies: Blood Golems receive bonuses from points spent in the following skills:
* Golem Mastery
* Summon Resist
* Clay Golem: +20 Attack Rating Per Level
* Iron Golem: +35 Defense Per Level
* Fire Golem: +6% Damage Per Level
Details: Blood Golems are linked to the Necromancer who casts them. As the blood golem damages the target it leeches life, and shares this with the Necromancer. As the blood golem loses life, so does the Necromancer.
* The Necromancer can not die when a Blood Golem dies, but he can lose enough hit points that any other damage might finish him off.
* Hit points lost through the golem taking damage bypass the Necromancer's Bone Armor skill.
* The Golem gains 70% of the health it steals while the player gains 30%. If the current life + stolen life > maximum life of the Blood Golem, the Hit Point overflow goes to the Necromancer. If the current life + stolen life > maximum life of the Necromancer, the Hit Point overflow returns to the Golem up to the maximum life for each target.
Defense: 80
Skill Level Progression [e]
Slvl Mana Cost
Dmg.
Life Leech
Slvl Mana Cost
Dmg.
Life Leech
Slvl Mana Cost
Dmg.
Life Leech
Slvl Mana Cost
Dmg.
Life Leech
1 25 6-16 86% 6 45 16-44 116% 11 65 27-72 128% 16 85 37-100 135%
2 29 8-21 95% 7 49 18-49 119% 12 69 29-77 129% 17 89 39-105 135%
3 33 10-27 102% 8 53 20-55 121% 13 73 31-83 131% 18 93 41-111 136%
4 37 12-32 108% 9 57 22-60 124% 14 77 33-88 132% 19 97 43-116 137%
5 41 14-38 112% 10 61 24-66 126% 15 81 35-94 133% 20 101 45-122 138%
Skill Level Progression [e]
Slvl Blood Life (Normal)
Blood Life (Nightmare)
Blood Life (Hell)
Slvl Blood Life (Normal)
Blood Life (Nightmare)
Blood Life (Hell)
Slvl Blood Life (Normal)
Blood Life (Nightmare)
Blood Life (Hell)
Slvl Blood Life (Normal)
Blood Life (Nightmare)
Blood Life (Hell)
1 6 11 16
2 7 12 17
3 8 13 18
4 9 14 19
5 10 15 20
Summon Resist
Required Level: 24
Prerequisites: Clay Golem, Golem Mastery
Details: This skill passively raises the elemental (not physical) resistances of all the Necromancer's minions: skeletons, golems, and revives.
Skill Level Progression [e]
Slvl Resist All
Slvl Resist All
Slvl Resist All
Slvl Resist All
1 28% 6 50% 11 59% 16 64%
2 34% 7 52% 12 60% 17 64%
3 39% 8 54% 13 61% 18 65%
4 44% 9 56% 14 62% 19 65%
5 47% 10 57% 15 62% 20 66%
Iron Golem
Required Level: 24
Prerequisites: Clay Golem, Blood Golem
Requires: A metal item. Iron Golems can not be created from Clubs, Wands, Crystal Swords, Gloves, Belts, Throwing Weapons, Staves, Bows, Crossbows, Quest Items, Jewelry, Leather Armor and Leather Boots.
Synergies: Iron Golems benefit from points in the following skills:
* Golem Mastery
* Summon Resist
* Clay Golem: +20 Attack Rating Per Level
* Blood Golem: +5% Life Per Level
* Fire Golem: +6% Damage Per Level
Details: This golem is created from the item, and takes on properties of the item. This feature was underutilized in earlier versions of D2, with little more than some defense, or a type of damage transferring to the golem's stats.
Since v1.09, the item used has become far more important, with most of the item properties showing up in the golem itself. It's worth it to most Necromancers to save nice items for future Iron Golems, rather than simply selling them.
* Iron Golems have an inherent Thorns property, reflecting damage back to attackers. This adds to damage from the Iron Maiden curse, making striking an Iron Golem a very painful experience.
* Some item properties do not work on Iron Golems, such as Magic Find, Gold Find, or Mana steal.
* Iron Golems made from ethereal items are translucent.
Mana Cost: 35
Damage: 7-19/11-30/12-33
Attack Rating: 100
Recieves Bonus From: Item properties of the item used to create the golem
Skill Level Progression [e]
Slvl % Dmg. Returned
Defense
Defense +X
Slvl % Dmg. Returned
Defense
Defense +X
Slvl % Dmg. Returned
Defense
Defense +X
Slvl % Dmg. Returned
Defense
Defense +X
1 150% 190 35 6 210% 365 210 11 285% 540 385 16 360% 715 560
2 150% 225 70 7 225% 400 245 12 300% 575 420 17 375% 750 595
3 165% 260 105 8 240% 435 280 13 315% 610 455 18 390% 785 630
4 180% 295 140 9 255% 470 315 14 330% 645 490 19 405% 820 665
5 195% 330 175 10 270% 505 350 15 345% 680 525 20 420% 855 700
Skill Level Progression [e]
Slvl Iron Life (Normal)
Iron Life (Nightmare)
Iron Life (Hell)
Slvl Iron Life (Normal)
Iron Life (Nightmare)
Iron Life (Hell)
Slvl Iron Life (Normal)
Iron Life (Nightmare)
Iron Life (Hell)
Slvl Iron Life (Normal)
Iron Life (Nightmare)
Iron Life (Hell)
1 6 11 16
2 7 12 17
3 8 13 18
4 9 14 19
5 10 15 20
Fire Golem
Required Level: 30
Prerequisites: Clay Golem, Blood Golem, Iron Golem
Synergies: Fire Golems benefit from points added to the following skills:
* Golem Mastery
* Summon Resist
* Clay Golem: +20 Attack Rating Per Level
* Blood Golem: +5% Life Per Level
* Iron Golem: +35 Defense Per Level
Details: Fire Golems are beings of flame. They deal fire damage, heal from fire damage, and have a Holy Fire Aura.
* Fire Golems have the most hit points of any golem, but they also cost by far the most mana.
* Fire Golems are very effective at drawing in monsters, thanks to the constant damage their fire aura deals everything on the screen.
* Fire Golems deal substantial fire splash damage when they die. This can be used as a weapon by casting and recasting them beside a target.
Attack Rating 140
Defense 235
Skill Level Progression [e]
Slvl Mana
Fire Dmg.
Holy Fire
Fire Abs.
Slvl Mana
Fire Dmg.
Holy Fire
Fire Abs.
Slvl Mana
Fire Dmg.
Holy Fire
Fire Abs.
Slvl Mana
Fire Dmg.
Holy Fire
Fire Abs.
1 50 44-90 4-6 36% 6 100 119-170 9-11 66% 11 150 203-259 15-17 78% 16 200 307-368 24-26 85%
2 60 59-106 5-7 45% 7 110 134-186 10-12 69% 12 160 225-282 17-19 79% 17 210 330-392 26-28 85%
3 70 74-122 6-8 52% 8 120 149-202 11-13 71% 13 170 241-299 18-20 81% 18 220 359-422 29-31 86%
4 80 89-138 7-9 58% 9 130 165-219 12-14 74% 14 180 263-322 20-22 82% 19 230 382-446 31-33 87%
5 90 104-154 8-10 62% 10 140 187-242 14-16 76% 15 190 279-339 21-23 83% 20 240 411-476 34-36 88%
Skill Level Progression [e]
Slvl (Normal)
Life (Nightmare)
Life (Hell)
Slvl (Normal)
Life (Nightmare)
Life (Hell)
Slvl (Normal)
Life (Nightmare)
Life (Hell)
Slvl (Normal)
Life (Nightmare)
Life (Hell)
1 6 11 16
2 7 12 17
3 8 13 18
4 9 14 19
5 10 15 20
Revive
Required Level: 30
Prerequisites: Raise Skeleton, Clay Golem, Raise Skeletal Mage, Blood Golem, Iron Golem.
Requires: A valid monster corpse. (It will highlight when targeted with this skill active.) Bosses, SuperUniques, leapers, undead mages and some other monsters can not be Revived. Synergies: Points spent in Skeleton Mastery, and Summon Resist boost Revives.
Details: Revives the dead monster, raising it up in its living form, but coloured dark gray. Revived monsters retain most of their attributes from life, and deal the same damage, type of damage, attack speed, foot speed, and more. Revives gain a bonus to their hit points, damage, and resistances.
* Revives will use magical attacks, but shamans will not resurrect their monsters or your Revives.
* Revives retain their original AI, so resurrecting aggressive attackers is more useful than shamans or others that wander around a lot.
* Revives do not warp to keep up, though they will instantly reappear if you pass through a portal/waypoint, or use the teleport skill. It's easy to lose them if you run around too quickly.
* Gather useful Revives in one area, then quickly portal to another area, such as for a boss battle. You can use waypoints to move between acts as well, taking Flayers to fight Diablo, for instance.
* Revives only last for 3 minutes, so keep moving and keep summoning up new ones to replace the old.
* Each point in Revive simply adds one more to the number you can keep alive at once. If you're not using them all on a regular basis, more points here are not well spent.
Life: Corpse Life +200%
Duration: 180 Seconds
Skill Level Progression [e]
Slvl # of Revives
Slvl # of Revives
Slvl # of Revives
Slvl # of Revives
1 1 6 6 11 11 16 16
2 2 7 7 12 12 17 17
3 3 8 8 13 13 18 18
4 4 9 9 14 14 19 19
5 5 10 10 15 15 20 20
