Necromancer Guide v1.4
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Created by David Rappleyea on 07/02/01
Last updated on 07/26/01
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Table Of Contents
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A. Introduction
  I. All Around Necromancer
    A. Stats
      I. Strength
      II. Dexterity
      III. Vitality
      IV. Energy
    B. Skills
      I. Curses
      II. Poison and Bone Spells
      III. Summoning Spells
    C. Equipment
      I. Amulet
      II. Arms
        A. Weapon
        B. Shield
      III. Belt
      IV. Body
      V. Feet
      VI. Hands
      VII. Head
      VIII. Rings
    D. Training Tree

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A. Introduction
================

First off I would like to say that there is no right or wrong way to train 
any character class. The information below is
what I have found that works best for me. They are a collection of ideas 
that I have found all over the net. I am in no way
responsable for how your character turns out. I will be adding two more ways 
to train your necromancer  a summoning
necromancer and a cusing necromancer, mabey more  (coming soon). I have also 
added up to date info. Before mine was based on D2 no
LOD. Now it is! This was created in 1024x768 resolution. Enjoy!

================

I. Summoning Necromancer
=========================

I have been getting some e-mails saying either how good or how shitty this 
is. So after some of the nice friendly criticism
that I have been getting, I decided to update this part.

A. Stats
---------

This is where most people go wrong. They add points to dexterity so that 
they can use a dagger or scythe, which I think is a
really dumb mistake. The necromancer is not ment to be a mlee class. For the 
first few acts it is ok to mlee attack with your
necromancer, but come Act III normal and you will have a hard time. You will 
most likely be completely destroyed if you try
to mlee attck after this act. So that is why you use a wand which will do 
more good. They don't do a whole lot of damage, but
they add to your skill levels. Below is a description of all the stats and 
what I recommend to get them to and when.

I. Strength
************

You dont need as much str as the other mlee attacking classes. Get this stat 
up to 100 ASAP. I dont recommend going any
higher than this because all the equipment that you will be using only needs 
100 str. Try to get this to 100 by level 20.

************

II. Dexterity
**************

If you are planning to do a lot of PvP add a ton of points to this and 
vitality. I suggest 25 here though.

**************

III. Vitality
**************

Once you get 150 energy and frosties you should be set on mana. Use all 
remaining points here.

**************

IV. Energy
***********

Get this up to around 150 and the you should be set. If you get 2 SOJs and 
Frosties then you will be set for mana.

***********

---------

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B. Skills
============

I have really updated this part of the guide. I owe some of the updates to 
nuttcase@ballisticmail.ca, for his nice way of
saying that I could change some stuff, thanks ;). Also to 
mr.icebolt@swipnet.se, who was not nice but not mean. Thank both
of you. You don't need too many points into some of these skills. If you get 
items that add +1 or more to skills you will
be set.

I. Curses
----------

I have started using curses and they are really helpful, especially in co-op 
games.

Amplify damage: 1, this spell is better in LOD, don't add more than one 
because your items will do the rest.
Dim Vision: 0, not really helpful.
Weaken: 1, you need this to get lower resist.
Iron Maiden: 1 or 20, well since IM has been weakened in LOD I would say 
either use this at 20 and get a lot of summons and
revives, or  only add one here and use the points for AMP Damage or Lower 
Resist.
Terror: 1, neeed this to get lower resist.
Confuse: 0, you don't really need monsters attacking other monsters.
Life Tap: 1, so you can get lower resist (that is if you don't use 20 IM).
Attract: 0, you guessed it, don't need it.
Decrepify: 1, you don't need to slow monsters down unless you are in a very 
very bad situation. Again need this to get lower
resist.
Lower Resist: 3+, if you are focusing on your skele mages (like me), get 
this.

----------

II. Poison and Bone Spells
--------------------------
We will be adding 1 point minimum into each of these.

Teeth: 1, anymore points into this is a waste.
Bone Armor: 1, helps protect you alittle, need for bone wall and prison.
Poison Dagger: 1, neede to get poison nova.
Corpse Explosion: 1, why blow up a corpse when you can raise it? It's not 
too strong either, need for Bone Spirit.
Bone Wall: 1, this as well as bone prison are good for PvP.
Poison Explosion: 1, need for poison nova.
Bone Spear: 1, better than Teeth, but worse than Bone Spirit.
Bone Prision: 1, good for PvP.
Poison Nova: 1, good if you get surrounded by monsters.
Bone Spirit: 20, you will be using this spell to take out most monsters and 
bosses later on.

--------------------------

III. Summoning Spells
--------------------

These are the most important spells that a necromancer has. You will depend 
on your summons to kill most of your enemies for
you.

Raise Skeleton: 1-5+, I would only put five points here, five skeletons at 
once is enough. But, if you want to use IM which has
been weakened add a lot more than five.
Skeleton Mastery: 20, this is a no brainer, without this high enough you 
skeletons and revives will become ineffective at
higher levels.
Clay Golem: 1, save your points for later golems.
Golem Mastery: 1, you really dont need more life for your golems, when they 
get low on life just recast them.
Raise Skeletal Mage: 5+, again its like the Raise Skeleton spell. Good with 
lower resist. I am putting 15 into this skill.
Blood Golem: 1, need to get fire golem.
Summon Resist: 1, elemental attacks take quite a toll on your summons. I 
would drop extra points into this when possible.
Iron Golem: 1, I really dont like this golem too much. I would save points 
for Blood or Fire Golems.
Fire Golem: 20, I personally put 20 points into this golem because it is he 
best one.
Revive: 1+, you will need to decide if you want a ton of revives or 
skeletons.

--------------------

============

C. Equipment
==============

I. Amulet
----------

I would try to find an amulet that gives you +1 to all necromancer skills 
ASAP. Later in the game try to find or buy a ring
that adds +2 to necromancer skills. The best way to do this is to gamble for 
them. Can get expensive, but its worth it.

----------

II. Arms
--------

  A. Weapon
************

At the start of the game I would stick with your begining wand. It only cost 
1 gold to repair, and it adds +1 to Raise
Skeleton. That extra skeleton will help early on. I would not buy any of the 
wands Arkara or anyone else is selling unless
it adds +1 or +2 to all necromancer skills. Early on try to find Infernal 
Torch Grim Wand. It adds +1 to all necromancer
skills, does 150% damage to undead and adds other minor stats, and is a set 
item. As you progress Try to find a wand that
adds +2 to all necromancer skills.

************

  B. Shield
*************

This is not really that hard to figure out. You want to find Sigon's Guard 
Tower Shield. It is a set item and is the only
shield that adds +1 to all skills. This does not have a high defense (in the 
20's) but has a 64% chance to block. It is a
fairly common drop from monsters. If you want to gamble for it, gamble for 
tower shields (duh!).

*************

--------

III. Belt
--------

This is not as easy as the others items for a necromancer. I would try to 
find a belt with good def and adds to stats. A good
belt that I use is Nightsmoke. This adds 50% of all damage to your mana and 
gives you 10% resistance to all. It can hold 3
rows of potions. It is great to have with Blood Golem and Iron Maiden 
situation.

--------

IV. Body
--------

This is another no brainer. Find Victor's Silk. This ancient armor has a 
defense of 230+ (mine was 290), adds +1 to all
skills and adds other minor stats.

--------

V. Feet
--------

This is another hard one to figure out. I would find anything that has 
Faster Run/Walk speeds, as you will be running away
a lot as a necromancer. I would use somethins like Tearhaunch Greaves. They 
have Faster Run/ walk speeds, around 24 defense,
they also add +10 Defense, +5 to Strength, +5 to Dexterity and +10 to each 
resistance.

--------

VI. Hands
---------

This is most likely the easiest choice for a necromancer. The Frostburn 
Gauntlets, aka Frosties, have around 42 defense. They
also have stats like this +30 Defense, +85% to Damage, +40% to Max Mana, +1 
Cold Damage Min ,+6 Cold Damage Max and
Cold Duration: 50 seconds. The added 40% mana will solve a lot of your mana 
problems.

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VII. Head
--------

Another very easy choice for a necromancer. Wormskull Bone Helm is the best 
for a necormancer. It has around 35 defense, adds
+1 to all necromancer skills and other minor stats.

--------

VIII. Rings
---------

I would suggest getting 2 SOJ (Stones of Jordan). This is a very hard task. 
First you need to get the Nagelring and the
Manald Heal before the game will let you get a SOJ.

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D. Training Tree
=================

This tree is just a guide. You do not have to put the points into these in 
this order.

Coming soon...

=================

==============

That concludes my breif necromancer training guide. Remember there is no 
wrong way or right way to train any character class.
You do not have to do what I do, this is just what I find works best. Feel 
free to give this to anyone you want or post it on
your site, just don't alter anything in this please! Some of this 
information may become out of date as new versions of LOD
are realsed. I will try to update this often. If you have and questions or 
comments please feel free to e-mail me
Cloud0975@hotmail.com. I hope you enjoyed this!
