Diablo 2 Resurrected, a remastered version of the classic Diablo 2, has brought back the nostalgia of slaying hordes of demons and undead with improved graphics and gameplay.
One of the game’s most popular and effective builds is the Necromancer Summoner Build. It allows players to summon up to 20 skeletons to fight alongside them. These skeletons greatly distract enemies, while players can focus on dealing damage with powerful spells like Poison Nova and Bone Spear. The key to this build is careful management of minions, as keeping them alive with Corpse Explosion is essential for success.
The Necromancer Summoner Build also requires players to find the right equipment that grants bonuses to Necromancer Summoner skills, minion damage, resistances, and life/mana bonuses. Players can lead their undead army to victory in Diablo 2 Resurrected with the right skills, equipment, and strategy. It’s a thrilling playstyle that offers a uniquely powerful experience.
Skill Tree
| Skill Name | Skill Level | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Raise Skeletons | 20 | Summons skeletons to fight alongside the Necromancer, increasing damage with each skill point. |
| Skeleton Mastery | 20 | Enhances the damage, defense, and life of the summoned skeletons. |
| Corpse Explosion | 20 | Causes corpses to explode, dealing area-of-effect damage. Damage increases with each skill point. |
| Poison Nova | 20 | Releases a wave of poisonous energy, dealing damage over time to enemies in its path. |
| Bone Spear | 20 | Launches a piercing spear of bone, inflicting significant damage to enemies. |
| Convocation | 1 | Teleports summoned minions to the Necromancer’s side, regrouping them quickly. |
| Clay Golem | 1 | Summons a clay golem that can taunt enemies and provide defense to the Necromancer. |
| Lower Resist | 1 | Lowers the elemental resistances of enemies, making them vulnerable to elemental damage. |
| Iron Golem | 1 | Transforms an item into a golem that provides various bonuses, depending on the item used. |
| Summon Resist | 1 | Increases the resistances of the Necromancer and summoned minions. |
| Fire Golem | 1 | Summons a fire golem that deals fire damage to enemies and provides elemental damage bonuses. |
| Revive | 1 | Raises fallen enemies as powerful undead minions that fight alongside the Necromancer. |
| Poison Explosion | 1 | Causes poisoned enemies to explode, dealing poison damage to nearby enemies. |
Attributes
| Attribute | Recommended Value |
|---|---|
| Strength | Enough for gear requirements |
| Dexterity | Enough for gear requirements |
| Vitality | Most points |
| Energy | None |
| Life | 1000+ |
| Mana | 300+ |
| Resistances | >= 75 (Fire, Cold, Lightning) |
| Skills | Max Raise Skeletons, Skeleton Mastery, Corpse Explosion, and Poison Nova |
| Items | +Skills, +Skeleton, +Poison, +Life, +Mana, Fast Cast Rate, Resistances |
| Attribute Type | Description |
|---|---|
| Primary Attributes | These include Strength, Dexterity, Vitality, and Energy. Strength is important for meeting gear requirements, Dexterity helps with attack rating and gear requirements, Vitality increases your life pool, and Energy enhances your mana pool (although it is typically not prioritized in a summoner build). |
| Defensive Attributes | These focus on increasing your survivability. Life boosts your maximum life, allowing you to sustain more damage. Resistances reduce the amount of elemental damage taken from fire, cold, and lightning sources. |
| Skill Attributes | These are the key attributes for a Necromancer Summoner Build. Investing skill points into skills such as Raise Skeletons, Skeleton Mastery, Corpse Explosion, and Poison Nova will enhance the power and effectiveness of your summons and destructive abilities. |
| Gear Attributes | These are the bonuses provided by the gear you equip. Examples include +Skills (boosts your skill levels), +Life (increases your maximum life), +Mana (increases your maximum mana), and resistances (reduces elemental damage taken). Finding gear with these attributes will further enhance your Necromancer Summoner Build. |
Gear
| Gear Type | Description |
|---|---|
| Helmet | Provides defense and can have bonuses to skills, life, mana, and resistances. Look for those with bonuses to necromancer skills or summoning abilities. |
| Body Armor | Offers significant defense and can provide bonuses to skills, life, mana, and resistances. Seek out armors that enhance your summons or provide additional durability. |
| Shield | Provides defense and can have bonuses to skills, life, mana, resistances, and chance to block. Look for shields that boost your summons’ stats or provide crucial resistances. |
| Gloves | Offer defense and can have bonuses to skills, life, mana, resistances, and attack rating. Look for gloves that enhance your spellcasting or improve your summons’ performance. |
| Belt | Provides defense and can have bonuses to skills, life, mana, resistances, and faster hit recovery. Seek belts that complement your build, whether through skill bonuses or defensive properties. |
| Boots | Offer defense and can have bonuses to skills, life, mana, resistances, and faster run/walk. Look for boots that provide additional durability or enhance your movement speed. |
| Amulet | Can provide various bonuses, including skills, life, mana, resistances, and magic find. Seek amulets that complement your build, with skill bonuses or essential resistances. |
| Rings | Offer various bonuses, including skills, life, mana, resistances, and attributes. Look for rings that provide skill bonuses or necessary resistances to improve your summoner build. |
| Weapon | Determines the damage and attack rating of your character. Look for weapons that boost your summoning skills or enhance your spellcasting abilities. |
| Charms | These small items are equipped in the inventory and can provide various bonuses, including skills, life, mana, resistances, and attributes. Seek charms that augment your summoning capabilities or provide essential resistances. |
Mercenary Companion
In Diablo 2 Resurrected’s Necromancer Summoner build, a Mercenary Companion can be a valuable addition to your party. A mercenary is an NPC that can be hired and equipped with gear to fight alongside you in battles.
A Mercenary Companion can provide ranged or melee support and can be useful for dealing damage and drawing attention away from your summons. As a Necromancer, you can choose from three types of mercenaries: Act 2 Desert Mercenary, Act 3 Iron Wolf, and Act 5 Barbarian.
The Act 2 Desert Mercenary is a popular choice among Necromancer players, as they can use javelins as their primary weapons and have the ability to use aura skills that can benefit your whole party. Some recommended gear for this mercenary includes items that boost their attack rating, life leech, and resistances.
Alternatively, the Act 3 Iron Wolf is a spellcasting mercenary that can use a range of elemental spells to deal damage to enemies and support your party. They can benefit from gear that boosts their mana, spell damage, and resistances.
Lastly, the Act 5 Barbarian is a melee-focused mercenary that can use two-handed weapons. They have high life and defense, making them a great tank, but their lack of range can be a disadvantage. Recommended gear for this mercenary includes items that increase their attack speed, chance to hit, and life leech.
Overall, a Mercenary Companion can provide additional support for your Necromancer Summoner Build, and choosing the right type and equipping them with suitable.
Leveling With The Build
Leveling with a Necromancer Summoner Build in Diablo 2 Resurrected can be a bit different from other classes, as you’ll be relying heavily on your summoned minions to deal damage and protect you. Here’s a breakdown of what to focus on during each stage of leveling:
- Early levels (1-10): Start by putting points into Raise Skeleton and Skeleton Mastery to summon and enhance your skeleton minions’ strength and defense. Then, focus on Corpse Explosion to quickly destroy mobs of enemies and clear areas. Use your wand, staff, or any other gear that enhances your summoning abilities.
- Mid-levels (11-30): Start putting points into Raise Skeletal Mage for more ranged damage. If you take too much damage or have trouble surviving, put some points into Clay Golem for its slowing ability. Consider picking up a Poison Nova for AOE damage. In addition to gear that boosts your minions’ stats, look for equipment that increases your Necromancer skill levels, life, and mana.
- Higher levels (31-50): By now, you should have a stronger army of minions and be able to raise more powerful ones like the revived or golems. Focus on summoning a lot of minions and prioritizing their strength and durability. Fire Golem, Iron Golem, and Revive are excellent choices to expand your minion army, and using Curse of Lower Resistance will help them do more damage. Look for even better gear that enhances your Necromancer skills, survivability, and resistance to finish out the leveling experience.
Skill Order
the skill order is crucial to optimize your character’s performance. Here’s a breakdown of the recommended skill order:
- Summoning Skills
- Curse Skills
- Additional Summoning Skills
- Utility Skills
- Curses and Offensive Skills
Summoning Skills
Raise Skeleton: Maximize this skill early on to increase the number and strength of your skeleton minions. They will be your primary damage dealers.
Skeleton Mastery: Put points into this skill alongside Raise Skeleton to enhance the stats and survivability of your skeletons.
Corpse Explosion: Prioritize this skill early on for effective crowd control and clearing groups of enemies quickly.
Curse Skills
Amplify Damage: Invest points into Amplify Damage to weaken the defenses of your enemies, allowing your minions to deal increased damage.
Decrepify: Consider putting points into Decrepify for its slowing effect on enemies, increasing the survivability of your minions and reducing threat to yourself.
Additional Summoning Skills
Raise Skeletal Mage: Once you have a strong army of skeletons, start investing in Raise Skeletal Mage for additional ranged damage.
Clay Golem: Allocate points to Clay Golem for its slowing effect on enemies, providing crowd control and protection for your minions.
Utility Skills
Summon Resist: This skill can be useful against enemies that deal elemental damage. Allocate points as needed to improve the resistances of your minions.
Iron Golem: Consider investing in Iron Golem for its ability to absorb elemental damage and provide additional tankiness for your group.
Revive: Once you reach higher levels, start investing in Revive to summon powerful enemies that have fallen in battle. They will join your minion army and add considerable strength.
Curses and Offensive Skills:
Lower Resist: Allocate points to Lower Resist as you progress to weaken enemies’ resistances and amplify your minions’ damage output.
Poison Nova: Consider picking up Poison Nova for its area-of-effect damage and its ability to deal with poison-immune enemies.
Remember that skill placement may vary depending on your playstyle and preferences. It’s important to adapt your skill order to the challenges you encounter and the available skill points.
Concluding
In conclusion, leveling with a Necromancer Summoner Build in Diablo 2 Resurrected requires a strategic focus on summoning skills, curses, and utility abilities to maximize the strength and survivability of your minion army. Prioritizing gear that enhances your Necromancer’s skills, life, and resistances is crucial for a successful build, while allocating stat points primarily to vitality ensures your own survivability amid combat.