BoneFlame vs Homunculus vs DarkForce 4 The Summoner

BoneFlame vs Homunculus vs DarkForce 4 The Summoner

Hey guys and gals. its me again. I'm currently writing a pure summoner guide with info on items as well as shields. and i suppose i wanted to ask the question,

"Btw this is my first time writing for the Necroforums and on this website, hopefully I will be of help in the future =)"

What is the "Best" +skill Sheild for a Necro

Well lets begin with the Homunculus as it has been the most tried and true shield for necros:

Homunculus
Hierophant Trophy
Defense: 177 to 213 (varies) (Base Defense: 58 to 70)
Defense: 58 to 70
Required Level: 42
Required Strength: 58
Durability: 20
Chance To Block: 72%
(Necromancer Only)
+150-200% Enhanced Defense (varies)
+5 To Mana After Each Kill
40% Increased Chance of Blocking
30% Faster Block Rate
+2 To Necromancer Skill Levels
+20 To Energy
Regenerate Mana 33%

This shield is A VERY good shield for those whos priorities are with not only blocking, but has execellent resists once socketed with a pdiamond or um. Its main advantages lay with its Block, and energy/mana gains : +20 To Energy
Regenerate Mana 33%+5 To Mana After Each Kill the latter of which can add up with CE use.

Next is the BoneFlame:
Boneflame
Succubus Skull
Defense: 323 to 367 (varies) (Base Defense: 100 to 146)
Required Level: 72
Required Strength: 95
Durability: 20
Chance To Block: 30%
(Necromancer Only)
+120-150% Enhanced Defense (varies)
+20% Faster Run/Walk
+2-3 To Necromancer Skill Levels (varies)
All Resistances +20-30 (varies)
15% Chance To Cast Level 3 Terror When Struck
(Only Spawns In Patch 1.10 or later)

This shield obviously has higher defence but VERY low chance to block. and thus for those who max block may not be the ideal choice. But given if you are able to find a +3 you are able to get an extra pt in both summons and pnb skills. but at the cost of one skill pt that would've been had if equipped with an homu. you will also lose about 10-20 resists with this shield as well. and the 20 to speed is a personal preference as well. but for the summoner necros whom this shield discussion is designed for. the +1 with a +3 boneflame cannot be ignored but comes with a cost of less mana, as well as lower resists. it truly does coem down to personal preference.

next up is the Darkforce
Darkforce Spawn
Bloodlord Skull
Defense: 357 to 417 (varies) (Base Defense: 103 to 148)
Required Level: 65
Required Strength: 106
Durability: 20
Chance To Block: 32%
(Necromancer Only)
+140-180% Enhanced Defense (varies)
+1-3 To Summoning Skills (Necromancer Only) (varies)
+1-3 To Poison And Bone Skills (Necromancer Only) (varies)
+1-3 To Curses (Necromancer Only) (varies)
+30% Faster Cast Rate
Increase Maximum Mana 10%

The advantages of this shield are undeniable espcially with the high def as well as its possible +3 to all necro skills as wel as the 30FCR and INcrease in max mana. This shield is essentially the The difference between the Boneflame and Homuculous, taken to the extreme. THere are NO resists on this head but you do gain. the obvious 30 fcr and the increase in mana.

So in the end. It seems the trade of between all of these shields comes down to:

The Homunculus wins in the area of Mana, Block rates at an amazing 72% and with a decent plus skills and wins in the curse dept.

The Boneflame wins with the +3 all skills, A small amount of resists 10-20 lower than homuculus, and the bit of fun FRW

& Finally the Darkforce which gives a possible Awesome +3 to skills as well, and 30%FCR And 10% increase in mana.

My personal thoughts on this are. if you can make up the difference in resists at the lowest a 10 difference between the homu the Boneflame is worth it all the way. Given this is meant for a VITA Pure Summoner. It gives you the extra plus skill as well as some resists which allows for stronger skelltons at very minimal lose of res. Given you are already equiping "gg" gear that allows for maxed resists in hell.

What is everybodies thoughts on this? any shields missed? anything i overlooked or overgeneralized plus discuss:thumbsup:

 

oiii so many typos... i wish i could edit them... =/

 

I would pick up the Boneflame over Homunculus if BF came with +3 skills and close to 30 resist.
Otherwise I'd stick with Homus and stick a Pdiam on it

Don't care about %block either way.

Darkforce Spawn is an excellent necro shield but inferior (IMO) to both Homus and BF for a summoner like me.
Bone necros DO love the FCR on the DS though.

 

for a summoner, my first choice is the darkforce spawn with +3 skills. my second choice would be boneflame with +3 skills, but i'm not crazy about the ctc terror on it. it would interfere with my curseing.

i try to get as many + skills as i can for a summoner, because it makes them so much better. your skel and mages get more defense, damage, life, accuracy.

 

... go for a spirit monarch fhr fcr 2 skills and some small res

 

Up'd Homu for the durability your necro gains from high resists and blocking, but perfect Darkforce if you need more killing power and no other significant FCR exists in the gear choice. Actually, the only reason I would choose any over Homu is if my skills added up to where I needed that one extra skill in summons to get an extra skelli and skelli mage if no other +skill options in gear selections were possible.

 

In terms of survivability I like homunculus best, if you're going to be teleing your summons around max block really helps, I think of blocking as essentially %DR and I don't understand a lot of pure vita builds. Otherwise the cursing on boneflame would drive me insane and the FCR on darkforce leaves you with a little more flexibility for your other gear.

 

well i suppose i dont see a point in having max block for a necromancer. ive tried both builds (max block and max vita) i honestly prefer the vita builds only because in most cases having block itself, is in my eyes a waste because for a pure summoner going pvm there are not monsters that get close enough to hit. id prefer to go pure vita anyways because the worst enemy of the pure summoner necro are those damn temple snakes or those glooms which are two attacks that you cannot block. so for me it is still the boneflame for the +3 and in ym case +30 base with an um for 55 resists. and i see the difference at endgame. as if i am able to cast my skellis with the +3 from BF and the +5 from aokl. vs the +5 from homu and the reg hoto. i can get about a 100dmg diff per skelli counting warrior only, which if u are telebombing ontop of bosses, (equates to a 1800+ dmg diff per attack not even including the difference of the auras, and mages=)). it is the difference between 8 and 5. so what i do is then switch to a cta buff for a lvl 16 buff and then switch to a hoto or beast depending on what i need at the moment. given that i already have 55-65 resists on hell with/o the hoto. it allows for a much faster killing army. (the +8, BO, and Fanta from beast) =)

and it seems as well. that the fcr on the darkforce is ptless for a summoner, as the only other skill we use is curses, tele, and ce all of which with the plus skills gear gets us about 15.6 yards on the CE explosion which is more than enough of a radius to basically hit everything on screen. =):thumbsup:

 

Id go with an um'ed or Pdiamond homunculus, if just for the resists. Ive tried both, the +3 on BF is nice, but the +40 resists on homun r almost necessary for me (need it for max resist). Of course, if you can get your hands on a Pboneflame, and then um it, it will give you 55 resists, a very good amount for a shield. In every other case i would use homun.