OPTIMAL SUMMONER MINI-GUIDE
Contents:
1. Guide Information
2. Introduction
3. Pure Summoner or Hybrid?
4. SkellyBomber Build
5. Equipment
6. Stat Points
7. Hireling
8. Game Play and Strategy
9. Marrowwalk Bug
10. Raise Skeleton Display Bug
11. Magic Finding
12. Final Blow
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1. Guide Information
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Game: Diablo II: Lord of Destruction V1.10
Class: Necromancer
Build: Summoner
Difficulty: Softcore or Hardcore
Updated: 07.05.04
Version: 1.08
Written by: LegitKiller
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2. Introduction
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This is a mini-guide. The full length guide is too long to post
on these forums. This guide will instruct how to build a Summoner
Necro using optimal strategy of point distribution, equipment, and
the order of skills. Why build a Skellomancer you might ask?
Not only is this one of the funnest characters to play in the game,
but the Skellomancer has no problems soloing Hell Act5 and killing
Baal, and is also good in parties.
This is because the skellies, golem, merc, mages, revives act as
meat shields,and the curses help the party members as well.
The Summoner can also do MFing in ANY part of the game and take out
any enemy without dying!
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3. Pure Skellomancer or Hybrid?
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Is a pure Summoner build possible in version 1.10???
No, because the damage comes from mostly skeletons!
So the basic Summoner build will end up being at least a hybrid
build anyway you do it. Here is a very basic Summoner build.
With the right equipment this build could beat Hell Baal.
And it only consists of 44 points.
BASIC SUMMONER BUILD
20 Raise Skeleton
20 Skeleton Mastery
1 Mages
1 Golem Mastery
1 Clay Golem
1 Summon Resist
1 Blood Golem
1 Iron Golem
1 Revive
1 Amp
With the Basic Summoner Build we are only using 48 skill points.
So now comes the decision as to the other skill points:
Curses, Poison, Bone Spear/Spirit, Mages, CE, Revives
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4. SkellyBomber Build
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This build takes the BASIC SUMMONER BUILD and combines it
with Maxed Mages, Maxed CE, various Curses, Revives, and Bone Armor.
The result is a very effective Summoner/CE Hybrid Build.
This build is suggested for beginners.
SUMMONING SPELLS
SKELETON MASTERY (L1) 20 MAX 2nd - improves skellies, mages, revives
RAISE SKELETON (L2) 20 MAX 1st - main attack physical attack
CLAY GOLEM (L6) 1 - the only golem needed, slows enemies
GOLEM MASTERY (L12) 1 - improves golems speed and life
SKELETAL MAGE (L12) 20 MAX 4th
BLOOD GOLEM (L18) 1 - pre-req
SUMMON RESIST (L24) 1 - pre-req
IRON GOLEM (L24) 1 - pre-req
FIRE GOLEM (L30) 0
REVIVE (L30) 1 - only 1pt here - let plus skills do the rest
TOTAL SUMMONING PTS 66
POISON AND BONE SPELLS
TEETH (L1) 1 - pre-req
BONE ARMOR (L1) 1 - helps absorb some physical damage(see marrowwalks bug)
POISON DAGGER (L6) 0
CORSPE EXPLOSION (L6) 20 MAX 3rd - helps clear boards quickly
BONE WALL (L12) 0
POISON EXPLOSION (L18) 0
BONE SPEAR (L18) 0
BONE PRISON (L24) 0
POISON NOVA (L30) 0
BONE SPIRIT (L30) 0
TOTAL P & B SPELL PTS 22
CURSES
AMPLIFY DAMAGE (L1) 1 - main curse, doubles phys dam and lowers Phy Immunes
DIM VISION (L6) 1 - good against throwers and black souls *additional pts
WEAKEN (L6) 1 - pre-req
IRON MAIDEN (L12) 1 - pre-req
TERROR (L12) 1 - pre-req
CONFUSE (L18) 0
LIFE TAP (L18) 1 - pre-req
ATTRACT (L24) 0
DECREPIFY (L24) 1 - use vs bosses, slows them down so they don't cast
LOWER RESIST (L30) 1 - use vs PI or in parties
TOTAL CURSE PTS 8
TOTAL BUILD POINTS 96 reached @ clvl 85
*additional pts: to be placed in Dim Vision after level 85
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5. Equipment
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When first starting out get as much +summoning and +raise skellies
and +skelly mastery as possible, in that order of relevance.
Make sure to get equipment, charms, etc with resistances on them.
You can start this char without the equipment and do mf runs,
then find and trade for most of this stuff. Equipment becomes very
important in Hell and for MFing purposes. I list recommended
equipment for KICKING ASS(Power), MFing, and for Trangs-Ouls Set.
For some categories more than one item is listed, and only the
most relevant mods are listed and for the irrelevant mods you will
see "/etc".
Rings: Power: 2 SOJs (clvl 29): +1 skills/+20mana/+25%base mana/etc
Trang: 2 SOJs (clvl 29): +1 skills/+20mana/+25%base mana/etc
MFing: 2 Nagelrings (clvl 7)(varies 15-30% MF): 30% MF/etc
Wand: Power: Arm of King Leoric(clvl 36/str 25) (1st choice)
Power: Cairn Shard(clvl 35/str 25) (2nd choice)
Trang: Arm of King Leoric(clvl 36/str 25) (1st choice)
Trang: Cairn Shard(clvl 35/str 25) (2nd choice)
MFing: Arm of King Leoric(clvl 36/str 25) (1st choice)
MFing: Cairn Shard(clvl 35/str 25) (2nd choice)
Ammy: Power: Golemlords Amulet(clvl 45): +3 summmoning (w/mods better)
Trang: Golemlords Amulet(clvl 45): +3 summmoning (w/mods better)
MFing: Golemlords Amulet(clvl 45): +3 summmoning (w/mods better)
Gloves: Power: Trang-Ouls Claws(clvl 45/str 58): +2 curses/Cold Res +30%/etc
Power: Frostburn(clvl 29/str 60): Maximum Mana +40%/etc
Power: Magefist(clvl 23/str 45): Regenerate Mana 25%/20% FCR/etc
Trang: Trang-Ouls Claws(clvl 45/str 58): +2 curses/Cold Res +30%/etc
MFing: Chance Guards(clvl 15/str 25)(MF varies 20-40%: 40%MF/etc
Armor: Power: Trang-Oul's Scales(clvl 49/str 84): +2 Summoning/etc
Power: Enigma(rune word): +2 skills/+1 teleport/+1 MF per clvl/etc
Trang: Trang-Oul's Scales(clvl 49/str 84): +2 Summoning/etc
MFing: Skullder's Ire:(clvl 42/str 97): +1.25MF/clvl/+1 Skills
MFing: Enigma(rune word): +2 skills/+1 teleport/+1 MF per clvl/etc
Shield: Power: Boneflame(clvl 72/str 95): +2-3 skills/20-30% resists/etc
Power: Homunculus(clvl 42/str 58): +2 skills/+2 curses/resist +40/etc
Trang: Trang-Oul's Wing(clvl 54/str 50): +2 PnB skills/+25 str/etc
Mfing: Socket your Homunculus, Bonflame, or Wing with ist (25% MF)
Belt: Power: Arachnid Mesh(clvl 80/str 50): +1 skills/+20% FCR/mana +5%
Trang: Trang-Oul's Girth(clvl 62/str 91): life/mana/etc
MFing: GoldWrap 30% MF/etc
Helm: Power: Circlet(clvl varies/str varies): +3 Summoning/etc
Trang: Trang-Oul's Guise(clvl65/str 106): used only to complete trangs
Mfing: Harlequin Crest(Shako)(clvl62/str 50): +2 All SKills
/1.5 life per clvl/1.5 mana per clvl/MF 50%/etc
Boots: Power: Marrowalk Boots(clvl 66/str 118): +1-2 skell mastery/etc
Trang: Marrowalk Boots(clvl 66/str 118): +1-2 skell mastery/etc
Mfing: War Traveler(clvl 42/str 95): 30-50%MF/+25% Run/Walk/etc
Charms: ALL: 8 Graverobber's Grand Charms(clvl 42): +1 Summoning Spells
Charms: All: Annihillus Small Charm(clvl 70): +1 to skills/+attributes/etc
* I recommend 8 GC's because you need room to pick things up
in case they drop(even with the full power build on).
So I recommend having 8 GC's with 1 Annihillus on always.
The other 2 columns in inventory will have the cube, book
of portals, with the spaces left over for Small Charms +5% Resist All
Secondary Weapon: Naj's Puzzler(clvl 78/str 44/dex 37):
Used for teleporting Level 11(69 charges)
* use Naj's or other weapons with +teleport until
you get Enigma.
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6. Stat Points
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Starting Attributes Each Character Level Final Attributes
Strength: 15 Life: +1.5 Stength: 118
Dexerity: 25 Stamina: +1 Dexterity: 25 (base)
Vitality: 15 Mana: +2 Vitality: 250+
Energy: 25 Energy: 25 (base)
Hit Points: 45
Stamina: 89
Mana: 25
Atttribute Point Effect
1 point Vitality = Life +2
1 point Vitality = Stamina +1
1 point Energy = mana +2
Stat Summary
Strength:
Enough to wear equipment. Marrowwalks needs 118 strength.
With the correct items(items/charms/ammy/etc) this could be less!
Dexerity:
No points needed here unless you want to increase the block % or
with to use a certain type of weapon not listed in this guide.
Vitality:
Need alot of life to prevent one hit kills.
Thats the reason all stat pts will go here once strength
hits 93.
Energy:
Leave it at base. With the items that I recommend mana
will not be a problem.
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7. Hireling
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Start of with a any rogue after killing Blood Raven that ISN't
a cold arrow. Cold arrows causeS enemies to freeze and shatter,
and you do need corpses, so don't use that merc.
In act2 get a defensive merc and use him until you reach NM act2.
Then get an Offensive Merc in NM which will produce the might aura.
This is the merc that will be used for the duration of the game.
The ACT2 NM MIGHT MERC is the best for the summoning build for
two specific reasons. The first reason is the might merc will be able
to produce corpses quicker when the Necro is trying to build an
initial army in Hell. The second reason is the This merc almost
doubles the damage of the Skellies and melee revives as well,
making a very powerful army.
Although other mercs can be used, a merc that benefits the army
and speeds in killing enemies makes the most sense.
For example a prayer merc could be used, but this only helps
keep the army alive. The Necro hase a curse that
also does this (Life Tap). And since the skell warriors don't
die very often the is no point in using this merc.
Sometimes the best defense is offense. If the enemies are killed
twice as fast, then the damage they do should only be half as much.
Let's look at another example. Let's say the next best choice is
the Thorns Merc. Ok. So the Necros army has to take hits from
melee monsters in order to aid in killing them. This will speed
up the killings just like the Might Merc does, but only against
some of the enemies. And it won't help your merc in getting the
initial corspes in Hell Difficulty when he can't produce enough
damage for the initial corpse.
So basically when we look at the mercs and how they help the
Summoning Necro, the Might Merc overall helps the most by
almost doubling all the physical damage output of the Necros
Army. It will also help other Party Members and their Hirelings
and Summonings as well by doubling their physical damage.
No other merc comes close to doing this!
Equipment for Merc
Polearm:
Crescent Moon
3 Socket Axes/Swords/Polearms
Shael + Um + Tir
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8. Game Play and Strategy
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I will discuss game play for Hell Difficulty since this is
what the ultimate goal is!
The first thing to do when starting a new game is to cast your
clay golem and turn on bone armor. Make sure your merc is alive
(very important!) since he will be producing the first few corpses.
Getting corpses can be difficult, especially when soloing.
In Hell the easiest place to get them is the cold plains way point.
Use amp damage to help your merc get the first few corpses, along with
the clay golem which slows down the enemies. If your merc is having
difficulty use decrepify instead. As corpses are produced start
raising the skelleton warriors. Once they are all raised, raise
the mages.
Revives are not really necessary, but are helpful at times.
Choose them wisely!
***** TIP: Later in on in Act5 after you rescue Anya, the red portal
will open to Pindle. Go in there and hold down the mouse button
and you should be able to get at least 10-15 skellies raise without
having to kill anybody. *****
Amp and decreptify also works on physical immunes. Sometimes Lower Resist
can be used on the physical immunes. Just watch the life bar of the
monster and try both and see which one brings down the life the
fastest.
When entering areas, casting Dim Vision will blind all the enemies
that are NOT uniques, bosses, champions, etc.
Use DV on casters and archers.
The main curse throughout the game should be amp damage.
It works the best with CE.
Use decrepify mostly for act bosses. The combination of decrep
and clay golem makes it so the act bosses can't cast.
If skells or mercs are taking too much damage use life tap
for a few seconds and then switch back to amp/decrepify.
If your army breaks up then use a tp, go to town and quickly return.
Your whole army will be gathered all in one spot.
This is good to do in order to keep the revives from dissapearing or
if your merc or skellies get trapped behind a wall.
You can also use an item with teleport charges to gather your
army. It could be a staff placed on secondary weapon.
Use CE to speed things up. This should really be the secondary
attack, mages being the third, and revives the forth.
The last attack I haven't mentioned yet is FireWall.
With full trangs set it will produce a firewall doing around
1000 damage per second. Use this at the beginning of the game
to help get corpses. Also works well on act bosses and uniques
and physical immunes.
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9. Marrowwalk Bug
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Yes, there is a bug with Marrowwalks unique boots!
The 33 charges on the Bone Prison acts as if the BP was actually at
level 33. This only works if no points are placed in BP and will
most likely be removed in the next patch, so don't build characters
around it (like some people do). It will help Bone Spear/Spirit,
and Bone Armor by acting like a level 33 synergy. My bone armor
right now absorbs over 500 physical damage. But thats not why
I put 1 pt into ( i was surprised when I first saw this lol). With
plus to skills the BA would normally absorb around 100 phys damage.
So it's still worth the 1 pt into BA anyway.
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10. Raise Skeleton Display Bug
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This bug doesn't affect game play, but does cause some confusion
as too how much damage the skeletons are doing.
The correct amount is shown on the skill selector.
The amount shown on the skill tab would be the next level up for
Raise Skeleton. This amount on the skill tab isn't being
calculated correctly.
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11. Magic Finding
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Here is a list of places to MF with your Skellomancer.
Hell:
Act 1 Pit Levels 1 & 2 (Tomahoe Highlands)
Act 1 Mausoleum (Cold Plains >> Buriel Grounds >> Blood Raven Quest)
Act 2 Ancient Tunnels (Lost City)
Act 3 Sewers Level 2
Act 3 Forgotten Temple in Upper Kurast
Act 3 Ruined Fane In Kurast Causeway
Act 3 Disused Reliquary In Kurst Causeway
Act 3 Travincal (High Council)
Act 3 Meph
Act 4 River of Flame
Act 4 Chaos Sanctum
Act 5 Pindle
Act 5 Eldrich
Act 5 Shenk
Act 5 Worldstone 1,2,3, Throneroom
Act 5 Baal
NM:
Act 1 Countess NM (not Hell --- seems NM gives better runes and is a
lot easier so you can do more of them faster without dying)
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12. Final Blow
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Hope you enjoyed the mini-guide!
Pease help make this guide BETTER by posting your thoughts and tips
to the end of this thread.
Thanks for taking the time to read this guide,
until the update,
GOOD LUCK,
LegitKiller
BEER: NOT JUST FOR BREAKFAST ANYMORE
BEER: HELPING UGLY PEOPLE HAVE SEX SINCE 1861
account: Legitkiller
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