Okay, so yesterday I finally got around to testing that summon necromancer build everyone keeps talking about in Diablo 2. My skellies were hitting like wet noodles before this, ya know? Just embarrassing in Hell difficulty.
Starting the Grind
First thing I did was respec my whole dang talent tree. Dumped almost everything into Raise Skeleton and Skeleton Mastery – like 20 points each, no joke. Left my poison skills totally empty cause who needs that when you’ve got an army, right? Grabbed a point in Amplify Damage too, just to help the minions punch harder.
Gear Hunt Chaos
Went farming like crazy for gear that screams “minion buffs.” Dug out my crappy Lore runeword helmet with +1 skills, and this ugly Splendor shield I found last week. But the real game-changer? Snagged a Beast runeword axe for my Act 5 merc after three hours of Countess runs. Nearly threw my keyboard when that Ber rune finally dropped!
Key gear upgrades I focused on:
- Anything with +skills (even crappy wands!)
- Armor with faster run/walk to keep up with minions
- Charms with +life or minion damage
Testing the Army
Took my new undead posse to Act 2 Canyon. Holy crap – difference was night and day! Those beefed-up skellies just chewed through monsters. Revive on Urdars? Brutal! But man, keeping corpses safe for summons when fire enchanted bosses show up? Still a pain in the butt. Died twice because my meat shield collapsed.
Biggest lessons learned:
- Positioning matters WAY more with fragile skellies
- Gotta recast minions constantly – they love dying
- Teleport charges on staff are lifesavers for grouping
Final Thoughts
Is it smooth? Heck no, still feels clunky sometimes when minions block doorways. But seeing twenty juiced-up skellies swarm Baal? Totally worth the effort. Still need better gear though – that +3 summoning amulet ain’t dropping itself!