Alright, so listen up folks. I dusted off my old * account the other week, right? Got that itch to play Diablo 2 again, specifically my favorite Necromancer. This time, I thought, “Let’s just go pure Summoner, skeletons everywhere, easy life.” Spoiler: the start was NOT easy. I decided to actually pay attention and figure out the real easy way to level this sucker up. Here’s how it went down, step by step.
My Starting Mess: Skeletons & Utter Confusion
Okay, jumped straight in. Made my new Necro, named him BoneBuddha (seemed fitting). Figured I’d max skeleton mastery first because stronger minions sound awesome. Big mistake. Fought my way out of the Rogue Encampment, maybe got two skeletons? They died constantly to the dumbest trash mobs. I was spending more time casting Raise Skeleton than actually fighting. Barely scratched Act 1 Boss. Felt like trash. Kept putting points into Skeleton Mastery whenever I could. Saw the skeletons getting a bit tougher, but man, clearing was SO SLOW. Took me forever just to get through the Cave. What a slog.
Tip 1: Forget Mastery First, Get the Curse (Seriously!)
Then I read something somewhere: Amplify Damage is your real friend early on. So after struggling through the Blood Moor for way too long, I listened. Next point? Slammed it into Amplify Damage. Used it on the next pack of Fallen. Holy sht! My puny skeletons shredded them! It was night and day. Instead of my skeletons just bouncing off enemies, stuff started actually dying fast. My clear speed got so much better. I felt like an idiot wasting points on Mastery early.
Tip 2: Bodies = Army, Army = Win
Okay, with stuff dying faster thanks to Amp Damage, I could actually get bodies! Obvious, right? But here’s the thing: I stopped hoarding my mana like it was gold. Spammed Raise Skeleton every chance I got. Found a corpse? Raise it. Found another? Raise that too. Aimed for max minions constantly before moving on. Seeing that huge pack of skeletons following me, even if they looked like horror movie extras? Awesome feeling. Suddenly, areas I struggled with before melted away. Bosses like Andariel? She was too busy getting mobbed to notice me. Glorious.
Tip 3: Merc with a Stick is Your MVP
Got to Act 2, hired the desert warrior Merc. Remembered the tip: give him a “Stick.” Rushed through Act 1 trying to find one, anything with damage, even a crappy polearm. Found a basic one early in Act 2. Gave it to him. Boom. Instant corpse generation! Watching him whack the first Fallen or Zombie gave me my first corpse instantly. Raised skeleton #1. He killed the next one, got me another corpse. Skeletons multiplied like rabbits! My army grew stupid fast right from the start of every new area. Best hire I ever made. Stuck with him forever after that.
Tip 4: Skills: Skeleton First, Warrior Second, Rest Later
So I had my curse, I had my bodies, I had my merc. Now for skill points. Ditched the Mastery-first plan completely. Followed the simple path:
- Max Raise Skeleton: More bodies = bigger army. Every point here meant 1 more dude swinging a rusty weapon. Put points here whenever possible. Bigger mob = faster clears.
- Then Max Skeleton Mastery: Once the Raise Skeleton count was high, then I started pouring points here. Suddenly my paper skeletons turned into cardboard ones! Still flimsy, but they lasted way longer.
- Skeletal Mages? Nope. Tried one point early. Looked cool, shot frost bolts. Did squat for damage. Useless. Wasted corpse. Never bothered again.
- Clay Golem: One point is enough. Slow guy, but good distraction. Toss him out, let the merc do the real corpse work.
Felt super simple. No fancy tactics.
Tip 5: Stats? Keep it Stupid Simple
My first Necro, years ago? I messed up stats bad. This time? Followed the KISS principle:
- Strength: Nope. Only enough for gear, which is almost nothing until way later. Skipped it mostly.
- Dexterity: Ignored it. Not hitting things myself.
- Energy: Forget it. Mana pots are stupid cheap. Drank them constantly.
- Vitality: Dump every single point here. Every level up? “Click, Vitality.” Stayed alive way easier.
Played safe behind my giant bone wall. Needed health way more than anything else.
Result? Smooth Sailing Through Hell Difficulty!
Stuck to these five dumb, simple things. Forget theorycrafting. Just did what worked:
- Spammed Amp Damage non-stop.
- Filled my screen with skeletons as fast as the Merc made corpses.
- Fed my Merc any pointy stick I found.
- Maxed skeletons first, then made them tougher.
- Pumped Vitality like crazy.
Honestly? The game got EASY. Like, I was surprised how smoothly I walked through Nightmare and then Hell difficulty. My skeletons did all the dirty work while I wandered around looting stuff. Barely even needed to resummon once my army was rolling. Felt like cheating! This build might not be the absolute fastest end-game beast, but for getting there? By far the most chill way I’ve ever leveled a Necro. BoneBuddha approves.