Necromancer
A little evil never hurt anyone! Unleash massive undead hordes with the Necromancer.
Single player TIPS:
Getting through the single-player game as a Necromancer takes a little more
work than most of the other character classes. It's about distance, it's about
patience, and, most of all, it's about running. A lot.
How you start the game is going to have all the impact in the world on your
character fares in later levels, so it's important to remember a few major things.
First and foremost, you want someone else doing your work all of the time. You
may occasionally get in and get your hands dirty, but most of the time your
place will be as far removed from the battle as possible. You got into the magic
business for a reason. Another key thing is to not put too much dependence on
the basic skeletons. Two levels of the basic Raise Skeleton is all you really
need, because once you have Raise Skeletal Mage, you're never going to bother
with basic Skeletons ever again.
The same is true for Clay Golem. For a while, he'll be your best friend, but
eventually, Blood Golem will come along and that'll last you a long time. Sure,
there are advantages to both Iron Golem and Fire Golem, but the Blood Golem
will help keep your health up and for a long while.
Also, don't overlook the curses; many of them will help you out--though their
effects are a little less immediately visible. Some, such as Amplify Damage,
Iron Maiden, Life Tap, and Attract, are more generally useful. Curses such as
Dim Vision, Terror, Confuse, Weaken, Decrepify and Lower Resist, however, are
much more situation-specific and should be lower priorities.
Now comes the important category: Poison and Bone Spells. Two of the little
spells, Teeth and Bone Armor, are absolutely essential to have at least one
level in, merely to keep your hide intact. Bone Wall and Bone Prison are also
helpful, but you don't need really more than one level in each. The big ones
in the category are Bone Spear, Poison Explosion, and Corpse Explosion. We can't
stress the importance of Corpse Explosion enough; it will quite possibly be
your most-used spell in the entire game. This spell makes departed enemies go
off like hand grenades, damaging everyone within a certain radius. Now, imagine
chaining, where one corpse explosion kills another monster, which then explodes,
and so on, until there's a big pile of goo and you smiling triumphantly.
Multi player TIPS:
Your job in a multiplayer game is to play support. Avoid running to the front
lines at all costs--no matter how tempting it might seem, the further you get
into the game, the tastier you appear to the monsters, and they will eat you
alive.
Sure, you can pump up your character to try to wade hip-deep in combat like
the Barbarian or the Paladin, but quite frankly, it's not the Necromancer's
best job. In general, hang back and do your work from the rear. One handy trick
is to summon a golem behind a big group of monsters and then start chaining
Corpse Explosion spells.
Be sure to lay down curse spells for the enemies, as it'll give your allies
a tremendous edge. Curses such as Amplify Damage and Life Tap work best. It's
also helpful to have a few Skeleton Mages back you up. On the golem side, Blood
Golems generally work best. If you're in a heavily fire-based area, then use
a Fire Golem. Have a great magic item that no one in the party can use? Make
an Iron Golem out of it.
Revive may sound like a grand spell at the start, but it has a big flaw: revived
creatures disappear after three minutes of play time. Talk about feeling a little
shorted! You'd be better served to stick to golems if you plan on playing up
the summoner aspect. Another spell that is best left on the drawing table is
the new Bone Spirit. If you want a missile weapon, Bone Spear is a thousand
times better.
Remember, the back is the best place to be when you're casting spells. Unless
you absolutely have to get up front, work your magic from the rear lines. The
one corpse a Necromancer can't do anything helpful with is his own.