Started a new Necro and..wow.. I'm lvl 19 in A4, completely untwinked (I even deleted all my high lvl chars just in case I got the urge to xfer something and since I don't play them now) and, not having just played a pure char. with no help from pre-found EQ in a long time.. I'm at a complete loss and could use some advice on what I could keep an eye out for. Mind you, I'm poor.. so even if it's "If you come across X magic item, hang on to it" is fine. Not looking for unique elites or anything like that.. just something to make me die a little less... For inquisitive minds, these are my current stats: lvl 19 Str-82 Dex-31 Vit-40 Nrg-25 Raise Skel-17(+1 from wand.. yes, the same one I started out the game with) Skel Mast.-1 Amp-1 Teeth-1 CE-1 My armor is more or less vendor-purchases, a rare splint mail with 108 def and some rare shield I picked up around A1Q2.. I guess a more specific question would be, for a Skelliemancer, what would be some decent tips to stay alive around my level? Should I have a merc? Never used one before except for experimentation and they usually died after a few hits from baddies.. any idea what my skills/stats should look like even before going up against Diablo? Any tidbits would be greatly appreciated.
Well. I'm pretty much in the same situation, newbie skellimancer restarted after my previous accounts poofed, and having some of the same problems. ..though, definitely use a merc. They seem a lot tougher then they were when I played back in 09, can even stand up to act bosses instead of dying in 1 hit like they used to. I like the Holy Freeze merc, combined with Decrepify the monsters do quite literally *nothing*
I suggest you to party and beat diablo, as the skel is too weak at this level. Help your members with curse. Then gain levels by bloody run and baal run. Spend some time on grapping valuable drops on ground. Get enough money and buy equip in shop. 1) +summoning or +necro skill wand 2) +walk run speed boot 3) +resist equipment (esp for LR) 4) good blocking shield If you have more money later, try to buy better wand. Hire a might merc until Nightmare Act2
Which one is the might merc? That's one of the things I've always been clueless about, since all I see when I look at the selection are 'offensive/defensive/cold/et cetera". As for drops, it seems like (when partying) even if I'm on top of a particular boss.. if I hit alt and take a moment to look at the drops, they're gone.. sometimes I just randomly click around the body and they're still gone before I have a chance to pick up anything. :/ Not really sure if there's a particular means of ensuring a grab or if it's just timing/luck.
Might merc is in NM (offense). You can use either Prayer or Defense until then with good results. HoS
I'd pump skellie mastery for a few levels. Before the rule of thumb was two points in mastery for every point in skellies, but that was in 09. Use life tap to keep your skellies alive. Remember, it gives them 50% of their damage as life. If you don't have it yet, use a wand with plus to life tap.
Your skills look fine. Your eq is probably fine too. As a point of a refrence a skellimancer could probably do reasonably well in Hell NAKED. Some tips: You might want a few points in s.mastery, but 2-3 is fine until you've maxed raise skeleton. Hire a prayer or defiance merc until you can get to might in nightmare. Alternatlely a blessed aim merc is hireable in normal and is probably the 2nd best choice to might. Normal Diablo is the #1 hardest boss fight for a summoner. You'll want a single point clay golem, a single point in golem mastery, and 1-3 in summon resist. You'll eventually want decrepify.
I suggest that you had back to Act three and do some leveling. Clvl of 19 in act four is entirely too early. I restarted my necro also and I have just reached lower Kurast and I'm clvl 25. So head back and do some leveling to make things a bit easier on yourself. More skel mastery, curses, etc.
Get some leveling in and pump those skeles and SM. they make the initial part of the game much easier. team play for Diablo norm, as he's just killer on the minions, and you'll likely not have enough points in another skill like bone Spear or Poison to kill him. Diablo norm is hard! but Nm and Hell diablo is alot easier as your skeles will be much more effective then. For low levels, I'd socket armor/helm with the best topazes you can find for better item drops while you quest. You'd be surprised what can drop with a little mf. -X
The other socket I find really useful is a helm socketed with sapphires. This can keep your mana pool up, letting you cast curses and RS when ever you need. Makes a big difference I find. My summoner was still wearing his at lvl 67 when i swapped to a rare +2 necro skill circlet with 100 mana and 14 str
To answer your questions about what gear to look for: First of all, remember that for a skelemancer, +skills is more important than anything else, and I mean anything. In particular, you want as much +skills to the Summoning tree as you can manage. You can do quite well with store-bought wands--if you've made it to A4 Normal, you can probably find +2 summons, maybe even +2 all. Also keep an eye out for shrunken heads with bonuses to summoning skills (especially Skeleton Mastery and Raise Skeleton); a Sigon's shield will serve in a pinch. You can get an easy +1 all skills by putting Ort and Sol into a two-socket helm to make the Lore runeword. If you should happen across any armour with +skills on it, hang onto that. When you get to the higher difficulties and are making a lot of money, start gambling amulets. It shouldn't be too hard to gamble a +1 necro skills ammy. After skills, resists are probably the next most important thing, though they are a distant second IMO. Even in Hell difficulty, you can usually get by as long as your resists are above zero. (You might want to hang onto charms that give +lightning resist, though, since Burning Souls and Black Souls are nasty even for a skelemancer.) Socket your shield with a perfect diamond and keep an eye out for good resists on boots, gloves, and belt. Magic find is also nice, of course, and you can MF quite adequately in Hell with only +6-7 to your summoning skills. (You do need that much, though, or your skeletons are apt to get shredded.) The easiest way to get good MF, of course, is to wear a 4-socket armour and 3-socket helm with perfect topazes in all sockets. You can then bootstrap your way to better gear. Hope that all helps.
