question on summoning build

[Rounder]

question on summoning build

I know alot of people do not like mages because it makes too many skellies running around and they block doors, etc. too much.

I would like to put 20 - raise skeleton, 20 - skeleton mage, 20 - skeletal mastery, and then use amp damage and lower resist as needed, would the damage from the mages with lower resist be enough for mobs with physical immunity? PvP will not be a consideration for me at all either, just an fyi.

I'm not a big fan of CE, I'd like to use poison nova as well but since I won't have the points to spend in PN synergies, I don't think PN is all that worthwhile and CE is probably better to go with.

I also plan to put 4-5 points in revive.

Essentially I would switch between amp damage and lower resist as needed depending on what I'm fighting, I'm currently at level 30 with raise skelly maxed and 1 point in skeletal mage (with a +2 item to skeletal mage) and the 3 mages don't seem to do much damage.

For mages to do good damage is it necessary to pump up lower resist?

 

[geeber]

My skelemancer has 20 raise skele 20 mast 20 mage 1 amp 1 ce one in all prereqs for decrep. He has about 30 unused points and has no prob soloing hell diablo. IMO, mages are great. You dont need lower resist for them to do their job, but it will certainly help.

 

[omgwtfbbqpwned]

You shouldn't pump up Lower Resist, it suffers from diminishing returns after slvl 7 or something like that. Just let your +skills do the work. They're just low level at the moment. When you max them, they'll probably do better damage.

 

[TPMdm]

(snip)
I know alot of people do not like mages because it makes too many skellies running around and they block doors, etc. too much.
(snip)

Just a slight note, they haven't blocked doors since 1.09.

 

[Myrakh-2]

Oh, they do block doors or corridors, don't worry about that. They aren't actively trying to, but they aren't trying to avoid it either.

 

[HungarianRipper]

Oh, they do block doors or corridors, don't worry about that. They aren't actively trying to, but they aren't trying to avoid it either.

I can comfirm this as well. They block doors. I'm building a new necro, and the mages are a pain sometimes.

 

[Pherdnut]

Yep. It can be a pain. I sometimes just unsummon them all until I need them later. Yeah, LR at 1 should be fine with just a few +skills. Immunes are usually taken care of with Corpse Explode since half that damage is fire but it can be nice to have the mages when there aren't any convenient bodies nearby. Keep the ice and poison mages to 1 each and you'll notice them racking up the occasional kill.

 

[AnimeCraze]

There are a few ways to get around blocking mages:

1) Teleport, either from an ammy or a enigma *gasp*
2) Unsummon the offending mage.
3) Terror the enemy out of the mage's range.
4) TP regroup. Cast a TP and go to town then back. You will have minion stack on you. Hopefully a few skeles can get through the door before the mages block it again. Also useful when you want to regroup revives against something like Baal. (they get lost/stuck if you just run there) :lol:

 

[Nausicaa]

Skeletal mages are one of my favourite skills. I agree that they can hinder gameplay if used with masses of skeletons/revives. However, they kill quite well at high levels w/ skeleton mastery maxed. The build I used effectively was:

Max mages,
Max skeleton master,
Max bone prison + with or without synergy.
Clay golem, golem mastery, summon resist.
One point in all non-AI curses (I love AI curses, but... bone prison)
A few points in Corpse explosion.

If you work on mages/mastery from the start, then they are actually quite comparable to skeletons in normal. Once you get bone prison to a reasonable mana cost (and get to nightmare), you've got the game won.

Stop all monsters by spamming bone prison (it's free..ish). Your mages get to pound on them for free. They do decent damage, and lower resist speeds things up a lot too. Keep a mix of mages instead of getting the kind that you like the most. That way you will do equally well against all monsters. Only the poison ones kind of suck.

Your golem won't do much, but doesn't hurt, and summon resist is worth the investment. Corpse Explosion seems like a bad choice (because you don't like it) and because the monsters are often spaced in different 'cells' of your bone prison. But once you get good +skills and place extra points in it, it'll really speed up your killing. Just cast Amplify Damage before you CE for best results.

I used an Act1 Rogue due to my use of bone prison, but she did quite acceptable damage. Doesn't have to be big damage as she is just one of many, and doesn't need the leech that a melee mercenary does to stay alive.

Well, it worked well enough for my 1.10 SP guardian, so yes, mages are very good and safe. However, my tests showed that it really pays off to build your character around their use instead of skeletons/revives.

 

[Kyo]

To a degree, you can also direct your army by holding down shift and just pointing at the target (tm)*, normally if they are not already engaged they will obey depending on the distance.

If you haven't got anything to teleport, a simple TP out and back in is a graet way to regroup your army. Run up to the area you want them to engage. TP in/out and voila.

*trademark (particularly Myrakh-2) :lol:

 

[inanefedaykin]

When I was playing my summoner I found that teleporting was required for most of hell, much more so in act 2 because of the tight corridors. I chanced upon a tele charges and all res ammy while playing but enigma would have been much more usefull.