ItemsNow that skill and stat points are out of the way, lets talk items. First off lets just say that the best necromancer gear out there is Trang-Oul's Set especially in 1.10. This set has everything a necromancer would need along with additional fire skills. Sure, I am going to be going through other items thoroughly, but Trang-Oul's set is the best stuff you can wear. Just like the Paladin guide, I will be listing alternate items for the "poorer" Diablo 2 users , but unlike the Paladin guide this time I am including 1.10 items. I'm not going to explain in detail the stats of all the items. You can find that out here. I am also not including any cube recipes, crafted, or hacked (ITH, bugged, or otherwise) items. Just uniques, rares, and magic. With all that said lets begin.
WeaponBest: Death's Web (1.10)Alternate 1: Blackhand Key Alternate 2: Gravenspine Alternate 3: Wizardspike Alternate 4: Any magic wand you find with +1,+2 to all necromancer skills or +3 to Poison and Bone Skills. Death's web has +2 to all and +1 to poison and bone skills. Whereas Blackhand Key is +2 to all and +1 to curses. Since Poison and bone skills are more important, it is more important. Blackhand key also has annoying charges which increase the repair cost when you get it. Don't use the charges unless you're prepared to fork over 100K+ gold. Gravenspine is a normal unique wand that is pretty easy to find. Wizard spike is a dagger that will give you alot of mana and resistances, but I dislike it because of the dex needed to wear it, and the fact that it lacks + to skills. If all use fails, just find a magic wand with + to skills. Sometimes they will drop from enemies.
HelmBest: Harlequin CrestAlternate 1: Peasant's Crown Alternate 2: Wormskull Alternate 3: Magic Helm with Mana Harlequin Crest is probably the most popular helm in Diablo 2 not only for its Magic Find, but its +2 t all skills, +2 to all stats, and life and mana based on character level. They might be hard to come by especially with the screwed up state of the diablo 2 exconomy now (Everyone wants hacked items -_-). If Harlequin Crest is for the rich man, Peasant's Crown would be for the middle class man. Peasant Crown does have its merits. +1 to all skills, +20 to Vitality and Energy. They are easier to come by. Sometimes they will drop in Nightmare difficulty. Wormskull lacks defense but it has the important mod of +1 to necromancer skills.
ArmorBest: Skin of the VipermagiAlt. 1: Que-Hegan's Wisdom Alt. 2: Duriel's Shell Alt. 3: Heavenly Garb Alt. 4: Armor with resistances and mana. Skin of the Vipermagi (SotV) is popular with spellcasters with its Faster Casting Rate (really no big deal since with corpse explosion you'll have to wait until enemies do their death animation), resistances, and +1 to all skills. It lacks defense, but you wont be in the heart of a battle. Que-Hegan's like like SotV without resistances and more defense. Duriel's Shell gives a shitload of resistances. Heavenly Garb also gives resistances, mana, and its pretty to find.
BootsBest: SilkweavesAlt 1: Sander's Riprap Alt 2: Magic Boots with 40% Faster Walk/Run and/or Dex Bonuses. Silkweaves are great for spellcasters since it gives increased mana. Sander's riprap lacks the defense but it has 40% faster walk/run along with a nice bonus to strength and dex and its pretty easy to find.
GlovesBest: FrostburnAlt. 1 Bloodfist Alt. 2 Magic Gloves with + to life or mana. There arent alot of gloves for spellcasters. Frostburn is the best one since it gives you alot of mana. Bloodfist on the other hand will give you life. Any gloves with mana or life will do.
BeltBest: Arachnid Mesh (1.10Alt. 1: Gloom's Trap Alt. 2: Credendum Alt. 3: Magic/Rare Belt With Life, Resistances, and/or mana. Arachid Mesh is the only *legit* belt in the game with +1 to all skills thus it is the best item for a necromancr. Gloom's Trap gives you mana and has mana regeneration. While Credendum has resistances. Credendum needs 106 strength to wear making it a lower priority.
ShieldBest: Darkforce Spawn (1.10)Alt. 1 Homunculus Alt. 2 Boneflame (1.10) Alt. 3 Necromancer Shield With + to poison and bone spells or + to all necromancer skills and resistances. Both darkforce spawn and boneflame are the new class-specific necromancer shields in 1.10 and they both rock. Darkforce spawn lacks resistances but can give you +3 to all skills. Homunculus is a close second with +2 to all, +1 to curses, mana, and resistances. And Boneflame gives you +2-3 to all with tons of resistances. The bad side is these shields are very hard to find. Because of this, try finding a Necromancer shield with + to skills. Sometimes, Anya (Act 5) will give you a good head as her quest reward. ;)
RingsBest: Stone Of JordanAlt. 1: Manald Heal Alt. 2: Rare Ring with Mana and Life. Stone of Jordan (soj) used to be the economy of Diablo 2 trading. They were like candy everyone was trading them for something. But now with hacks and duping, the value of the soj dropped. Sojs are still good for spellcasters because its +1 to skills and it gives you mana. Manald Heal gives a mana regenation and some life. Any rare ring with life and/or mana will also do.
AmuletBest: Necromancer's Amulet (+2 to all Skills)Alt 1: Rare with + to skills, mana, life A necromancer's amulet can be pretty easy to find. Try looking in cow games for magic amulets. Rare amulets sometimes have + to skills.
MercenariesAct 1 Rogues: The rogues tend to stand back and strike enemies down with her arrows. If you decide to get one get a cold one so she can freeze enemies. Yes frozen enemies = shattered when killed which = no corpses which = sad face, but it isnt as bad as it seems.Act 2 Desert Mercenaries: These guys are the best one for their auras. I personally like the holy freeze ones since they slow down enemies. Thorn aura one could allow your fire golem to act like an Iron golem. The down side is that they just love to tank for you which they usually dont have alot of life. Act 3 Ironwolves: Rarely people will use the iron wolves. If you do decide to use them at least get the cold one for slowing down enemies. Act 5 Barbarians: Along with the Act 2 mercenaries, these guys are the best for spellcasters. These guys are big on tanking and having powerful attacks. They also use bash to stun enemies. -Zach |