So here is a copy/paste of something I've posted again and again. Fish gets all the credit for this. The modifications I make are minor for the most part, but important to me. I guess you could call this the "Zarnimancer" but that would be giving me too much credit.
SO FOR ALL OF YOU WITH QUESTIONS ABOUT YOUR SUMMONER BUILD - HERE IS ONE POSSIBLE ANSWER:
If you don't like this answer, read the guide at the top of the necro forum and find the fishymancer thread.
/Repost begins here.
THE ZARNIMANCER (joke, it's just a slightly modified fishy)
The base fishymancer remains a great build. However, I personally disagree with it significantly in a few areas. But, they are minor, so if you already have his guide, you can shut this and go about your business.
I have played this version of the fishymancer (summoner) for many ladders. It is devastating once built. If you can get your skellies pumped just a bit, 26+ you'll be fine in hell except for the stray pack of outrageously, fanatically enchanted dolls or something.
Here is my build:
STATISTICS:
strength - I keep as low as I can. I'm lazy so I'll usually bump it to 40 or 45 until I get my enigma. Charms for the rest that doesn't come with my gear.
Dexteriry - I pray you do not listen to those that tell you max block isn't important. You're using a homunculus I hope, and it will save you where hit points can't. Just enough to max block once you have homunculus.
Vitality - every other point you have.
SKILLS:
20 skeleton mastery
20 raise skeleton
20 raise skeletal mage (they are NOT useless)
12 - 15 corpse explosion (I have gone to 20 - very little difference really).
10- 12 dim vision
1 in the rest of the summoning tree except fire golem
1 in the rest of the curse tree
I like to put a single point in bone armor (fill here at the end if you're out of stuff to spend on)
IF YOU ARE A PURIST. Max CE and only go to 10 in Dim Vision. It's still hugely helpful.
If you don't like dim vision, you need to take a different crowd control spell for gloams and other things. Attract works well I've heard. I like dim vision because it just shuts down everything on the screen that isn't a champion or Super Unique. At high levels it will affect places you cannot even see yet. What that means is, if you don't have a long-distance crowd control curse, ranged attackers will fry you sometimes.
Do not put any points in fire golem. Do not put more than 1 point in any golem skill. Clay golem is the BEST golem. It will die endlessly until you get more + skill gear later. don't worry about it.
I'm serious, you do not need to sink more than one point into any other skills but the 5 listed to beat the entire game fairly easily. I strongly suggest you don't. Oblivion knights will still suck (until 1.13), and until you get about 28 in your summoning skills the rare fanatical lightning enchanted double packs will clean your clock.
Levelling:
The only time in the game a necro will really struggle (outside of the awful maggot lair and arcane sanctuary), is Normal Diablo and sometimes Normal Duriel. The only way to get through it is just wear it down. TP, summon merc again, summon army again, TP, etc. Get past it, even if you have to join a game to kill with others.
To help with the inevitable questions, here's how I level mine (this is off the top of my head):
Level 1: amplify damage
Levels 2-5: Raise skeleton
Level 6: Clay Golem
Level 7: Skeleton Mastery
Level 8-11: Raise Skeleton
Level 12: Golem Mastery
Level 13: Skeleton Mastery
Levels 14-17: Raise Skeleton
Level 18: Skelton Mastery
Levels 19-21: Raise Skeleton
Levels 22-24: SAVE these points and buy decrepify as soon as it's available.
Level 25: teeth
Level 26: Corpse Explosion
Now finish Raise skeleton and Skeleton mastery by continuing to spend 4 points in RS and then one in SM. When RS is finished, finish SM.
Now you have 20 RS, 20 SM, 1 CE, 1 Decrepify, 1 Clay Golem, 1 Golem Mastery.
Finish your 1 point wonders in the summoning tree, then pump CE to 10. Add mages if you wish after that/OR pump 10-12 into Dim Vision.
Get 1 point in revives and all curses last.
You're going to struggle with Normal Diablo above all else. Try to not do him before level 24 when you'll at least have decrepify. Duriel will be a struggle also.
If you can get past normal diablo, the rest of the game is easy on all levels.
For equipment in the early/midgame:
Grab a cheap vipermagi (armor), a homunculus(shield), an arm of king leoric (weapon), A necro helm with +2 summoning skills and resists or life, and a +3 necro summoning amulet and you're already at like 32 summoning skills and owning everything.
I usually have 28 summoning skills early in ladders and the only thing that gives me trouble is oblivion knights (and gloams because my + all skills isn't high enough yet to really pump dim vision). The writer of the fishymancer guide suggested 1 in dim vision. That certainly works if you know what you're doing and don't mind getting a new game sometimes when you run into unslayable packs. But, from experience I know that 10+ is a safe bet, especially for people new to the necromancer.
One note: to turn the summoning necro from a great class to a overpowered class, you will need an enigma.
Later in the ladder, my gear will be:
Head: shako
Armor: Enigma runeword
Boots: War Travellers
Weapon: Heart of the oak runeword in a flail
Shield: Homunculus with a perfect diamond socketed
Belt: Arachnid mesh OR Thundergods Vigor
Amulet: Either a great +3 summoning ammy, a +2 necro magic find, or a maras kaleidescope.
Rings - 2x nagels, or 1 mf ring + a ring with a ton of str on it. We really don't need FCR. I've succeeded at this below even the first breakpoint.
Gloves - Early on something like magefists. Later on, chance guards for magic finding.
Weapon switch: arm of king leoric (we have no need for a CTA).
Shield switch: Spirit in anything or another homunculus.
Your merc:
I always use a cold merc from act 1 in normal until I can get an offense (blessed aim) merc in act 2. I keep that one until I can get an offense merc in nightmare mode (might aura). I keep this forever. If you decided to go blessed aim, some people swear by it. I'm not one of them. My merc has two jobs - get me a corpse, and use CB to burn bosses down.
You can dress your merc in anything. But, you want to get him crushing blow. The way I typcially do it is to buy him a guillaume's facemask which has 35 perecent CB and costs pgems. People talk about using uber runewords for his weapon, but I always use an insight in a cryptic axe or thresher. Having plenty of mana is great and I tried using infinity and pride and it makes no real difference. I wipe out anything with or without them.
If you want to do UBER Tristram with a necro, then I do suggest you read the uber tristram guide for necros because you will need to make some changes.
HERE IS A WEBSITE THAT IS INVALUABLE: http://classic.battle.net/diablo2exp/
Welcome to the necro class!
Z|||Gj with this Zarni!
Ps. Ofc i would use different gear, but roll what feels best.|||People can use infinity if they like. It's the better option, but unless you're doing ubers, it's not necessary and insight cuts down on the pita factor a lot for me personally.
Other than that, I can't see using much different. If you use infinty, you can use an eth andy and eth bramble or fort or whatever other toy on your merc. But, I want my fishy to be my magic finder only. Not gonna spend the moon on him.|||Excellent setup and that is pretty much what I always use for the most part. With the new patch and the ability to respec/restat it may make leveling a bit easier.
One thing to note and a question I have - I have never really been able to get an enigma. And while I very much enjoy playing a necromancer, do you think it might be to my benefit to try another class to get the runes/trades to make an engima at start or just stick with a necro till I can hopefully come about the things I need?
I was thinking this time around making a blizz/meteorb sorc to help start funding a zarnimancer. With rune drop rates being increased, It might also be to my benefit if, drops willing, make a javazon.
Overall, a zarnimancer is my favorite class type and playstyle and what I would like to ultimately make my best character, just the processes of going about and achieving that goal have never been clear except for - just farm it -
And luckily, its not to gear dependent.
Thank you again.|||Oh jesus, I shouldn't have joked about the Zarnimancer thing. It's a fishy folks. I just tweaked it to my own taste and disagree with him in a few areas. Well, at least it's mostly a fishy and certainly was the imepetus for this build as I started with his guide about 100 years ago.
Anyways...
@ Darkenfo - I always face the same decision you do every ladder. I've played a sorc before. Made a meteorb about 5 ladders ago and just mf'd Mephisto until I couldn't stand it anymore. It's a personal thing.
By FAR the fastest way to get wealth early in a ladder is with a sorc. Meteor, FO/CL, Blizzard, whatever. Meph is flat-out the best source of early wealth. Even the 1point smiters have sorc's running keys for them.
But, I always start with a fishy. I save every flawless gem and I cube. I save the socketables that have good value. I clear EVERYTHING when I plow WSK. Baal is a great dropping boss, but the rest of WSK can drop stuff too. Also, now that there are no more oblivion knights casting Iron Maiden, we can add Chaos sanctuary and plow it like normal without having our merc/army die over and over.
There's more to wealth than uniques. I've gotten the VAST majority of my wealth off magical and socketable items.
Sigh, I'm rambling.
The short version is play the character you'll enjoy most. You'll last a lot longer in the ladder.
With the way runes get duped on East and West, it's not a reach to say you can have your enigma and be running without a ton of work within a month. And there will be people running a lot sooner than that. If they somehow stopped the duping, and I'm sure they didn't, good. I'd love to really work for it. Makes it a lot more fun.|||Looks good.. It has been so long I forget how the heck to beat normal Diablo with my Fishy.
I know I need to stay in melee range with my Necro and hope my summons do not die to his hose before we are all in melee range together. Also I need to cast Decripify and keep Clay Golem up.
Anything I missed or forgot?
Oh and I only play HC so I only get one shot.. hehe|||I never go anywhere near diablo in normal except to cast gumby on it, run quickly by so the skellies get on it (but not right by, sort of nearish), then I get off and ready to dodge.
My job is to keep gumby up over and over and over to give my merc time to chip away.
When merc dies and I'm down to a skelly or two, I run away portal and out.
Rinse, repeat as long as it takes.
Have a lot of money stored up.|||I would agree that if you want to MF with your summoner that spending the HR on infinity is just silly, it's counter to the objective. For pits or any of the other high TC areas that are awesome on a summoner since they never have to worry about immunities insight is a perfect choice. However, there are other runs that make good money that a summoner can be very good at. Once you have an infinity putting it on your summoner makes for the fastest destruction key runs I've ever seen. Port in, amp, merc drops one body in one or two hits, CE, CE, CE, collect loot. Read up on the maps for the halls so you aren't searching for a stairwell every game and you're all set.|||Quote:
I never go anywhere near diablo in normal except to cast gumby on it, run quickly by so the skellies get on it (but not right by, sort of nearish), then I get off and ready to dodge.
My job is to keep gumby up over and over and over to give my merc time to chip away.
When merc dies and I'm down to a skelly or two, I run away portal and out.
Rinse, repeat as long as it takes.
Have a lot of money stored up.
Your the boss! I thought his "Hose" had no effect in melee range and was the reason to run up to him... I guess I will ready my dancing and dodging shoes
Thanks|||Well... with my 27 level skelly mancher Diablo died without my merc die a single time and without town portaling a single time
1) Use a Clay golem... his slow effect is great with decrepify (a single point is enought)
2) Put a portal exactly in the center of the sanctuary
3) Open the 5th sigil and run in the portal immediataly back into the sanctuary, so that all your skelly will regroup near the center of the sanctuary where Diablo will appear
4) Wen Diablo appear start decrepifing it, again and again... It is VERY important to not le decrepify go away, or Diablo will kill 2-3 skellys in few hits! Recast decrepify BEFORE the previous go away
5) Recast Clay golem every time it dies
6) Give health potions to the Merc (Ctrl + Hotkey)
7) You'll need some mana potions
It worked perfectly for me (20+3 summon skeleton, 5+1 Skeleton Mastery)
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