skelemancer help needed

[PearlJamaholic]

skelemancer help needed

ok i just made it to hell and beat the countess, so i figured id do some countess runs right. well i cant seem to kill those ghosts, i cast amp damage and have 9 skeletons and 2-3 revives but they just slaughter my army. a group of 5-6 ghost will wipe out my skeletons. also i have level 28 in skeleton mastery so im alittle puzzled i thought these skelemancers shouldnt have much trouble. my act 2 merc is level 63 or 64 i cant remember. ive been using nightfish's skelemancer guide to a T except i havent maxed corpse explosion. if i get lucky and get them separated to like 2-3 ghosts i then bring in the others and explode them, but either the whole group follows or none.

one more question is it even worth fighting ghost bosses that cast amp damage cause they make a mockery of my skeletons?

thanks and rock on

 

[Myrakh-2]

Well, more +skills definitely solve the problem... I've never had problems with the ghosts, cursed or not. With only 9 skellies your RS skill is between 21-23, IIRC --- not very much at all. I think you should definitely get some more.

Until then, you can try to decrep them --- with some luck that will remove the phyiscal immunity as well, although it will be less effective. You do get the "slow", though....

If that doesn't work, try to play around with attract or stuff like that --- somebody else should able to be more specific (I don't even have these skills).

From what I hear, the nightfish guide has a serious flaw --- no mages. So, if the above doesn't work I'm afraid you are pretty much out of luck.

 

[Tengu]

Myrakh is right on the point - your skelly lvl is too low. Try to get some more +skills stuff, 'cause your skellies need to have a high enough dmg to take care of amped phys immunes with the assistance of might. You could also try leaving clusters of normal, easy to kill enemies behind you, so that when you encounter pi's you can just retreat behind the corpses, amp them and blast away... Although this might be more trouble than it's worth

Attract is a really useful skill, considering as you can seriously hinder the performance of the packs of unique enemies. Cast it on a couple of times, and anywhere up to 50% of the enemies will likely stop attacking you, and turn their attention to their cursed fellows. Just cast attract on a few enemies, then amp the whole remaining group and the battle should be easier.

 

[Mad Mantis]

my act 2 merc is level 63 or 64 i cant remember.

Level your Merc. This is a very low level for the start of Hell. The increased Might aura will give your Skellies more power.

And do what the others say and try to get some more +skills.

 

[PearlJamaholic]

so what should i try to get my SM up to? its at 23.
thanks for the advice so far

 

[Mad Mantis]

so what should i try to get my SM up to?

As high as it will go. You can never have enough +skills. You biggest concerns for gear are +skills for SM and RS. After that try to get some resists.

An AoKL will give you a good boost in +skills. A good White wand can also give you a boost in SM and RS. Try to find a good Shrunken Head.

 

[det]

I guess 20 SM and 20 RS is a given.

That means you have about +3 to all skills. Even for an untwinked Necro, that seems kinda low...I mean, you can even BUY +2 all skills wands.
Just by questing through the game, it should be possible to find a +1 all /or +2 even +3 summoning ammy. Tarnhelm, Peasant crown, LORE circlet or Wormskull: all have +1 skills. Any head that drops can be THE one...not least, Charsi gives you 3 imbues

What lv are you BTW?

 

[PearlJamaholic]

lvl 65 i believe, i have mostly just +SM items so would it be a trade up to dump my +3SM necro head for a +1skills head? im also using gravespine and undead crown.

edit: typo above its 23 RS and SM is 28

 

[Myrakh-2]

Lvl 65 is a bit too low for hell, for my taste.

As you might know, hitting/defending takes the levels of the attacker and defender into account (i.e. higher levels give an advantage). For skeletons, YOUR level is used in that formula --- so, if you level up, your skeletons will be hitting more and they will be taking fewer hits.

As for the +skills... I have no idea. I guess someone would have to run some numbers to see if +3 SM or +1 summoning (which is +1 mastery, +1 raise, +1 resist, and also improves your golem) is better

You could just stash away your current head (instead of "dumping" it), and see if the other head "feels" better. It won't be enough --- hell is really mostly a gear issue, and for a Skelemancer it means +summonskills. You should really stick around in nightmare a bit more, going for Andy/Mephisto/Baal or whatever else feels comfortable --- some cheap +skills gear should eventually show up.

Don't look at the other mods for now, wear +skills stuff "no matter what", and try to fill resistances with gloves/belt/boots/rings/charms (as these slots will most likely not be filled with +skills gear). For nightmare, you might also want to wear some random mf stuff to improve your chances a little bit...

You WILL find that adding a few +skills to your summoning tree, or at least the skeleton skills, will make a big difference.

 

[Meliorist]

ok i just made it to hell and beat the countess, so i figured id do some countess runs right. well i cant seem to kill those ghosts, i cast amp damage and have 9 skeletons and 2-3 revives but they just slaughter my army. a group of 5-6 ghost will wipe out my skeletons. also i have level 28 in skeleton mastery so im alittle puzzled i thought these skelemancers shouldnt have much trouble. my act 2 merc is level 63 or 64 i cant remember. ive been using nightfish's skelemancer guide to a T except i havent maxed corpse explosion. if i get lucky and get them separated to like 2-3 ghosts i then bring in the others and explode them, but either the whole group follows or none.

one more question is it even worth fighting ghost bosses that cast amp damage cause they make a mockery of my skeletons?

thanks and rock on

I agree with another poster in that your level is way to low to be playing in hell. I have a level 85 Summoner. RS and SM are maxed and I use no mages. I think that they are to weak and only serve to block doorways. I have plus 5 skill adders and I am doing fine. My merc is a Blessed Aim merc and he uses Guillaume's Face, Goldskin Armor and a rare thresher that does 47-520 damage and has 5% leech. My merc's level is the same as mine. I too was in my 60's when I finished nightmare. I did NM Mephisto and Baal Runs until I was level 75 and only then entered hell. I suggest that you do the same. I also have mf equipment that totals 175 %, so I farm items as well as gain experience from doing those two boss runs.
I did not find ghosts a problem in that my merc took them out one by one after I cast Amp on them, but my skellies definitely could not take them out alone. I feel your pain. Baal run's will give your great expreience up to level 75 so do those. Good Luck.

M

 

[PearlJamaholic]

thanks for all the help, i dont have much mf i kinda keep dumping my mf items when i get something that will keep me alive. but im sure im around 100 so its better than nothing.