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Necromancer Summoning

From Diablo 2 Wiki
Necromancer Skills

The Necromancer's summoning skills enable him to draw up skeletons and revives from corpses, and to create golems to fight for him.


Golems

Only one golem, of any type, may be active. If you cast another golem, the first one will be dispelled. Golems do not require a monster corpse to summon, though Iron Golems require a metal item to be created. Golems have a fixed defense. The Hit Points and Damage of Golems increase on Nightmare, and again on Hell Difficulty.


Skeletons and Skeletal Mages

In earlier versions of the game, one skeleton warrior or mage was summoned for each point in the skill. Since v1.10 you only gain one skeleton for every three points beyond the first three, but each one is much more effective. (And the screen is much less crowded.)

The attack ratings for summoned creatures are based on the Necromancer's level, and can not be raised with equipment or more points in the skills.


Raise Skeleton

Required Level: 1
Prerequisites: None
Requires: Valid monster corpse.
Synergies: Raised Skeletons are made more effective by points in:

Details: The Necromancer targets a monster's corpse and casts this spell, causing a humanoid skeleton to emerge. Raised skeletons are melee fighters who spawn with semi-random equipment. Skeleton AI is about the same as a Mercenary. Meaning, they will pursue enemies that they see and otherwise stay near their owner, but can sometimes get stuck behind walls or around corners. If they get lost too far away from their owner, they will teleport to somewhere onscreen.

  • Skeletons have a 5% chance to spawn with a shield, and a 3% chance to block attacks with a shield.
  • Skeletons receive a hidden attack rating bonus as your character levels up.
Skill Level Progression [e]
Slvl #

Mana

Dmg.

AR

Def.

Slvl #

Mana

Dmg.

AR

Def.

Slvl #

Mana

Dmg.

AR

Def.

Slvl #

Mana

Dmg.

AR

Def.

1 1 6 1-2 +20 +20 6 4 11 1-2 +95 +95 11 5 16 8-9 +170 +170 16 7 21 21-23 +245 +245
2 2 7 1-2 +35 +35 7 4 12 1-2 +110 +110 12 6 17 10-11 +185 +185 17 7 22 26-28 +260 +260
3 3 8 1-2 +50 +50 8 4 13 2-4 +125 +125 13 6 18 12-14 +200 +200 18 8 23 31-33 +275 +275
4 3 9 1-2 +65 +65 9 5 14 4-5 +140 +140 14 6 19 14-16 +215 +215 19 8 24 37-39 +290 +290
5 3 10 1-2 +80 +80 10 5 15 6-7 +155 +155 15 7 20 17-19 +230 +230 20 8 25 37-39 +305 +305
Skill Level Progression [e]
Slvl Life (Nrml)

Life (Ngtmr)

Life (Hell)

Slvl Life (Nrml)

Life (Ngtmr)

Life (Hell)

Slvl Life (Nrml)

Life (Ngtmr)

Life (Hell)

Slvl Life (Nrml)

Life (Ngtmr)

Life (Hell)

1 21 6 52 11 105 16 157
2 21 7 63 12 115 17 168
3 21 8 73 13 126 18 178
4 31 9 84 14 136 19 189
5 42 10 94 15 147 20 199



Skeleton Mastery

Required Level: 1
Prerequisites: Raise Skeleton
Synergies: None.
Details: Increases the hit points and damage dealt by Skeletons, Skeleton Mages, and Revived.

Improved Missile Damage Beyond Level 2, Skeleton Mages only.
Skill Level Progression [e]
Slvl Skel. Life +X

Skel. Dmg. +X

Revive Life +X%

Revive Dmg. +X%

Slvl Skel. Life +X

Skel. Dmg. +X

Revive Life +X%

Revive Dmg. +X%

Slvl Skel. Life +X

Skel. Dmg. +X

Revive Life +X%

Revive Dmg. +X%

Slvl Skel. Life +X

Skel. Dmg. +X

Revive Life +X%

Revive Dmg. +X%

1 8 2 5% 10% 6 48 12 30% 60% 11 88 22 55% 110% 16 128 32 80% 160%
2 16 4 10% 20% 7 56 14 35% 70% 12 96 24 60% 120% 17 136 34 85% 170%
3 24 6 15% 30% 8 64 16 40% 80% 13 104 26 65% 130% 18 144 36 90% 180%
4 32 8 20% 40% 9 72 18 45% 90% 14 112 28 70% 140% 19 152 38 95% 190%
5 40 10 25% 50% 10 80 20 50% 100% 15 120 30 75% 150% 20 160 40 100% 200%



Clay Golem

Required Level: 6
Prerequisites: None
Synergies: Clay Golems benefit from points spent in the following skills.

Details: Raises a Golem from the earth to fight for you. Before spending more than one point into Clay Golem consider that you will probably want upgrade to Blood Golem (at 18), Iron Golem (24), or Fire Golem (30), all of which replace the Clay Golem.

  • Notice that higher level clay golems have twice as much HP as other golems.
Defense 20
Skill Level Progression [e]
Slvl Mana Cost

Dmg.

AR +X

Slow Enemy X%

Slvl Mana Cost

Dmg.

AR +X

Slow Enemy X%

Slvl Mana Cost

Dmg.

AR +X

Slow Enemy X%

Slvl Mana Cost

Dmg.

AR +X

Slow Enemy X%

1 15 2-5 80 11% 6 30 5-13 180 41% 11 45 9-22 280 53% 16 60 12-31 380 60%
2 18 2-6 100 20% 7 33 6-15 200 44% 12 48 9-24 300 54% 17 63 13-33 400 60%
3 21 3-8 120 27% 8 36 6-17 220 46% 13 51 10-26 320 56% 18 66 13-34 420 61%
4 24 4-10 140 33% 9 39 7-19 240 49% 14 54 11-27 340 57% 19 69 14-36 440 62%
5 27 4-12 160 37% 10 42 8-20 260 51% 15 57 11-29 360 58% 20 72 15-38 440 63%
Skill Level Progression [e]
Slvl Clay Life (Normal)

Clay Life (Nightmare)

Clay Life (Hell)

Slvl Clay Life (Normal)

Clay Life (Nightmare)

Clay Life (Hell)

Slvl Clay Life (Normal)

Clay Life (Nightmare)

Clay Life (Hell)

Slvl Clay Life (Normal)

Clay Life (Nightmare)

Clay Life (Hell)

1 100 175 6 275 481 11 450 787 16 625 1093
2 135 236 7 310 542 12 485 848 17 660 1155
3 170 297 8 345 603 13 520 910 18 695 1216
4 205 358 9 380 665 14 555 971 19 730 1277
5 240 420 10 415 726 15 590 1032 20 765 1338



Golem Mastery

Required Level: 12
Prerequisites: Clay Golem
Details: This skill provides a passive bonus to the speed and hit points of all golems. Enhances speed and life of Golems. Golem Mastery adds more Hit Points to the Golem's Original Base Life, not the Life shown with more than one point into a Golem skill.

  • Most useful if you're planning to use a lot of Iron Golems, since the others can simply be recast as often as you like.
Skill Level Progression [e]
Slvl Life +X%

+Run Speed

+AR

Slvl Life +X%

+Run Speed

+AR

Slvl Life +X%

+Run Speed

+AR

Slvl Life +X%

+Run Speed

+AR

1 20% 6% 25 6 120% 22% 150 11 220% 28% 275 16 320% 32% 400
2 40% 10% 50 7 140% 23% 175 12 240% 29% 300 17 340% 32% 425
3 60% 14% 75 8 160% 24% 200 13 260% 30% 325 18 360% 32% 450
4 80% 17% 100 9 180% 26% 225 14 280% 30% 350 19 380% 33% 475
5 100% 20% 125 10 200% 27% 250 15 300% 31% 375 20 400% 33% 500



Raise Skeletal Mage

Required Level: 12
Prerequisites: Raise Skeleton
Requires: A valid monster corpse.
Synergies: Skeletal Mages gain bonuses from points spent in:

Details: Summons a skeletal mage from a monster corpse. Skeleton mages occur randomly in four types; fire, lightning, cold, and poison. Keep summoning new ones and unsummoning individuals if you wish to get all poison, or no cold, etc.

  • Cold mages are useful if you wish to slow monsters and potential break their corpses so shamans can not resurrect them. Cold is not good if you want monster corpses left to raise more skeletons from, Revive, or Corpse Explosion.
  • Skeleton mages have high elemental resistance, especially to the element that makes up their own attack.
  • See the Raise Skeletal Mage article for a complete breakdown of the damage, hit points, and more for each type of skeleton mage.
Skill Level Progression [e]
Slvl Mages

Mana

Def.

Slvl Mages

Mana

Def.

Slvl Mages

Mana

Def.

Slvl Mages

Mana

Def.

1 1 8 +10 6 4 13 +60 11 5 18 +110 16 7 23 +160
2 2 9 +20 7 4 14 +70 12 6 19 +120 17 7 24 +170
3 3 10 +30 8 4 15 +80 13 6 20 +130 18 8 25 +180
4 3 11 +40 9 5 16 +90 14 6 21 +140 19 8 26 +190
5 3 12 +50 10 5 17 +100 15 7 22 +150 20 8 27 +200
Skill Level Progression [e]
Slvl Life (Nrml)

Life (Ngtmr)

Life (Hell)

Slvl Life (Nrml)

Life (Ngtmr)

Life (Hell)

Slvl Life (Nrml)

Life (Ngtmr)

Life (Hell)

Slvl Life (Nrml)

Life (Ngtmr)

Life (Hell)

1 61 6 11 16
2 7 12 17
3 8 13 18
4 9 14 19
5 10 15 20




Blood Golem

Required Level: 18
Prerequisites: Clay Golem
Synergies: Blood Golems receive bonuses from points spent in the following skills:

Details: Blood Golems are linked to the Necromancer who casts them. As the Blood Golem damages the target it leeches life, and shares this with the Necromancer. Before v1.13, the Necromancer would also lose life as the golem took damage, but this is no longer the case.

  • The Golem gains 70% of the health it steals while the player gains 30%. If the current life + stolen life > maximum life of the Blood Golem, the Hit Point overflow goes to the Necromancer. If the current life + stolen life > maximum life of the Necromancer, the Hit Point overflow returns to the Golem up to the maximum life for each target.
Defense: 80
Skill Level Progression [e]
Slvl Mana Cost

Dmg.

Life Leech

Slvl Mana Cost

Dmg.

Life Leech

Slvl Mana Cost

Dmg.

Life Leech

Slvl Mana Cost

Dmg.

Life Leech

1 25 6-16 86% 6 45 16-44 116% 11 65 27-72 128% 16 85 37-100 135%
2 29 8-21 95% 7 49 18-49 119% 12 69 29-77 129% 17 89 39-105 135%
3 33 10-27 102% 8 53 20-55 121% 13 73 31-83 131% 18 93 41-111 136%
4 37 12-32 108% 9 57 22-60 124% 14 77 33-88 132% 19 97 43-116 137%
5 41 14-38 112% 10 61 24-66 126% 15 81 35-94 133% 20 101 45-122 138%
Skill Level Progression [e]
Slvl Blood Life (Normal)

Blood Life (Nightmare)

Blood Life (Hell)

Slvl Blood Life (Normal)

Blood Life (Nightmare)

Blood Life (Hell)

Slvl Blood Life (Normal)

Blood Life (Nightmare)

Blood Life (Hell)

Slvl Blood Life (Normal)

Blood Life (Nightmare)

Blood Life (Hell)

1 6 11 16
2 7 12 17
3 8 13 18
4 9 14 19
5 10 15 20



Summon Resist

Required Level: 24
Prerequisites: Clay Golem, Golem Mastery
Details: This skill passively raises the elemental (not physical) resistances of all the Necromancer's minions: skeletons, golems, and revives.

Skill Level Progression [e]
Slvl Resist All

Slvl Resist All

Slvl Resist All

Slvl Resist All

1 28% 6 50% 11 59% 16 64%
2 34% 7 52% 12 60% 17 64%
3 39% 8 54% 13 61% 18 65%
4 44% 9 56% 14 62% 19 65%
5 47% 10 57% 15 62% 20 66%



Iron Golem

Required Level: 24
Prerequisites: Clay Golem, Blood Golem
Requires: A metal item. Iron Golems can not be created from Clubs, Wands, Crystal Swords, Gloves, Belts, Throwing Weapons, Staves, Bows, Crossbows, Quest Items, Jewelry, Leather Armor and Leather Boots.
Synergies: Iron Golems benefit from points in the following skills:

Details: This golem is created from the item, and takes on properties of the item. This feature was underutilized in earlier versions of D2, with little more than some defense, or a type of damage transferring to the golem's stats.

Since v1.09, the item used has become far more important, with most of the item properties showing up in the golem itself. It's worth it to most Necromancers to save nice items for future Iron Golems, rather than simply selling them.

  • Iron Golems have an inherent Thorns property, reflecting damage back to attackers. This adds to damage from the Iron Maiden curse, making striking an Iron Golem a very painful experience.
  • Some item properties do not work on Iron Golems, such as Magic Find, Gold Find, or Mana steal.
  • Iron Golems made from ethereal items are translucent.
Mana Cost: 35
Damage: 7-19/11-30/12-33
Attack Rating: 100
Recieves Bonus From: Item properties of the item used to create the golem
Skill Level Progression [e]
Slvl % Dmg. Returned

Defense

Defense +X

Slvl % Dmg. Returned

Defense

Defense +X

Slvl % Dmg. Returned

Defense

Defense +X

Slvl % Dmg. Returned

Defense

Defense +X

1 150% 190 35 6 210% 365 210 11 285% 540 385 16 360% 715 560
2 150% 225 70 7 225% 400 245 12 300% 575 420 17 375% 750 595
3 165% 260 105 8 240% 435 280 13 315% 610 455 18 390% 785 630
4 180% 295 140 9 255% 470 315 14 330% 645 490 19 405% 820 665
5 195% 330 175 10 270% 505 350 15 345% 680 525 20 420% 855 700
Skill Level Progression [e]
Slvl Iron Life (Normal)

Iron Life (Nightmare)

Iron Life (Hell)

Slvl Iron Life (Normal)

Iron Life (Nightmare)

Iron Life (Hell)

Slvl Iron Life (Normal)

Iron Life (Nightmare)

Iron Life (Hell)

Slvl Iron Life (Normal)

Iron Life (Nightmare)

Iron Life (Hell)

1 6 11 16
2 7 12 17
3 8 13 18
4 9 14 19
5 10 15 20



Fire Golem

Required Level: 30
Prerequisites: Clay Golem, Blood Golem, Iron Golem
Synergies: Fire Golems benefit from points added to the following skills:

Details: Fire Golems are beings of flame. They deal fire damage, heal from fire damage, and have a Holy Fire Aura.

  • Fire Golems have the most hit points of any golem, but they also cost, by far, the most mana.
  • Fire Golems are very effective at drawing in monsters, thanks to the constant damage their fire aura deals everything on the screen.
  • Fire Golems deal substantial fire splash damage when they die. This can be used as a weapon by casting and recasting them beside a target.
Attack Rating 140
Defense 235
Skill Level Progression [e]
Slvl Mana

Fire Dmg.

Holy Fire

Fire Abs.

Slvl Mana

Fire Dmg.

Holy Fire

Fire Abs.

Slvl Mana

Fire Dmg.

Holy Fire

Fire Abs.

Slvl Mana

Fire Dmg.

Holy Fire

Fire Abs.

1 50 44-90 4-6 36% 6 100 119-170 9-11 66% 11 150 203-259 15-17 78% 16 200 307-368 24-26 85%
2 60 59-106 5-7 45% 7 110 134-186 10-12 69% 12 160 225-282 17-19 79% 17 210 330-392 26-28 85%
3 70 74-122 6-8 52% 8 120 149-202 11-13 71% 13 170 241-299 18-20 81% 18 220 359-422 29-31 86%
4 80 89-138 7-9 58% 9 130 165-219 12-14 74% 14 180 263-322 20-22 82% 19 230 382-446 31-33 87%
5 90 104-154 8-10 62% 10 140 187-242 14-16 76% 15 190 279-339 21-23 83% 20 240 411-476 34-36 88%
Skill Level Progression [e]
Slvl (Normal)

Life (Nightmare)

Life (Hell)

Slvl (Normal)

Life (Nightmare)

Life (Hell)

Slvl (Normal)

Life (Nightmare)

Life (Hell)

Slvl (Normal)

Life (Nightmare)

Life (Hell)

1 6 11 16
2 7 12 17
3 8 13 18
4 9 14 19
5 10 15 20



Revive

Required Level: 30
Prerequisites: Raise Skeleton, Clay Golem, Raise Skeletal Mage, Blood Golem, Iron Golem.
Requires: A valid monster corpse. (It will highlight when targeted with this skill active.) Bosses, SuperUniques, leapers, undead mages and some other monsters can not be Revived. Synergies: Points spent in Skeleton Mastery, and Summon Resist boost Revives.
Details: Revives the dead monster, raising it up in its living form, but coloured dark gray. Revived monsters retain most of their attributes from life, and deal the same damage, type of damage, attack speed, foot speed, and more. Revives gain a bonus to their hit points, damage, and resistances.

  • Revives will use magical attacks, but shamans will not resurrect their monsters or your Revives.
  • Revives retain their original AI, so resurrecting aggressive attackers is more useful than shamans or others that wander around a lot.
  • Revives do not warp to keep up, though they will instantly reappear if you pass through a portal/waypoint, or use the teleport skill. It's easy to lose them if you run around too quickly.
  • Gather useful Revives in one area, then quickly portal to another area, such as for a boss battle. You can use waypoints to move between acts as well, taking Flayers to fight Diablo, for instance.
  • Revives only last for 3 minutes, so keep moving and keep summoning up new ones to replace the old.
  • Each point in Revive simply adds one more to the number you can keep alive at once. If you're not using them all on a regular basis, more points here are not well spent.
Life: Corpse Life +200%
Duration: 180 Seconds
Skill Level Progression [e]
Slvl # of Revives

Slvl # of Revives

Slvl # of Revives

Slvl # of Revives

1 1 6 6 11 11 16 16
2 2 7 7 12 12 17 17
3 3 8 8 13 13 18 18
4 4 9 9 14 14 19 19
5 5 10 10 15 15 20 20