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Vessel of Hatred

Fishymancer - Final Version (updated for 1.13)

Re: Fishymancer - Final Version (updated for 1.13)

Bone spirit sucks. Even fully synergised it's not great. And we're far from being able to fully synegise it with the points we have left over here. Also, corpse explosion gets the job done nicely.

Yea, the necro tends not to melee with his wand. I did melee some necros, some even with pretty decent success, but this build really doesn't need it. Casting amp damage, attract and corpse explosion keeps you busy enough. Also picking up loot.

As far as hirelings go, I doubt you'll miss the rogue once you get the might merc. Heck, even the act 2 normal mercs are better than rogues.
 
Re: Fishymancer - Final Version (updated for 1.13)

Nightfish said:
Bone spirit sucks. Even fully synergised it's not great. And we're far from being able to fully synegise it with the points we have left over here. Also, corpse explosion gets the job done nicely.

Yea, the necro tends not to melee with his wand. I did melee some necros, some even with pretty decent success, but this build really doesn't need it. Casting amp damage, attract and corpse explosion keeps you busy enough. Also picking up loot.

As far as hirelings go, I doubt you'll miss the rogue once you get the might merc. Heck, even the act 2 normal mercs are better than rogues.
Click to expand...

Thanks for the reply -- what you say makes sense. Maybe that's why I feel like I can't keep up in a battle when using BS as well. I was finding it quite difficult to cast curses, raise and revive, and throw in a few CE as well as shoot off some BS.

I've got a Might Merc now. Far superior to the Rogue :)



 
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Re: Fishymancer - Final Version (updated for 1.13)

@Nightfish: Thanks once again for the guide. My ancient Necro who I thought would never finish Hell (SP) has been resurrected and Respec'd according to your guide and is doing well on "players 2" in Act 3 of Hell SP now :)
 
Re: Fishymancer - Final Version (updated for 1.13)

I am at lvl 49 following this guide. I have mastered skelli raising and skeleton mastery, and I have around 9-10 in CE.

I am at Nightmare Andariel and it is impossible to kill her. The skellies did not hold enough, and with the merc and the clay golem it is impossible, even with decripify, to take her down. I only drop 1/3 of her life and she kills my golem with one hit, and my merc with 3 or 4, and I drop potions on him but even that it seems imposible. What can I do?

Should I respect to the explosionmancer or what chan I do?

Btw, the Andariel is blue. It is my first time in Nightmare, is it normal?

Thank
 
Re: Fishymancer - Final Version (updated for 1.13)

Well, you could try making "Strength" in a knife and help tank her with your Necro. I'd suggest good poison resist and a good blocking shield - you got a Hommy?

You can also recast the Golem as needed.
 
Re: Fishymancer - Final Version (updated for 1.13)

What /players setting are you using? You could try lowering it for the battle with Andariel then raise it again for Act II.

What type of merc do you have and what's his equipment? Once you get to Act II you can hire a Might merc which will help your skellies.
 
Re: Fishymancer - Final Version (updated for 1.13)

My respec'd Necro (according to the guide) finished Hell much more easily than I was expecting. He was half-way through Act 3 Hell and pretty much stuck there until I respec'd him.

@Kalsten: I found the best combination for bosses was Decripify with Clay Golem. I had a Might hireling (Act 2 Nightmare, so not available to you yet). Maybe go back to Act 2 Normal and get one of the hirelings from there or try a different hireling too. Having said that, your hireling might not last long against a boss. Give your hireling something with Crushing Blow.
 
Re: Fishymancer - Final Version (updated for 1.13)

Thanks Nightfish, the build has been great for a new player. I've noticed a dip in damage output in Act 1 Hell, but nothing a bit of gear won't fix.
 
Re: Fishymancer - Final Version (updated for 1.13)

Does this build work for multiplayer too?
 
Re: Fishymancer - Final Version (updated for 1.13)

I can't stress enough the importance of crushing blow for your merc. This build outright requires you to carefully cultivate your mercenary or you'll be pretty much out of luck in the latter part of Hell difficulty and act bosses. Past Hell act one or so, the minions basically serve to distract monsters away from your merc so he doesn't die while he quickly kills one, so you can explode the entire screen with its corpse. Your skellies can kill in hell, but you'll be standing around with nothing to do. Teleport helps a lot to positions all your minions in a doorway, for example.

Hone Sundan is a really nice choice for boss killing; it has 40% CB and comes with three sockets. I threw two Shaels and an Amn in there, and I've been wrecking Hell Baal ever since!
 
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Re: Fishymancer - Final Version (updated for 1.13)

I have to bump this because I am just loving this build! Thank you, Nightfish. The Necro has always been my first choice and I always come back to it, nice to find a well written and complete guide like this. Without it I would probably be one of those people whining that I can't get past Diablo because I munged up the build order :)

Now 77 in Hell and still having a blast.
 
Re: Fishymancer - Final Version (updated for 1.13)

Hi NF - great guide :)
One question I have concerns the merc and Jab. On several forums I have seen that Jab only works on spear class weapons, not on poleaxes for the merc, on other forums people say the opposite - can anyone confirm if jab works on poleaxes or not. I have a lvl 71 fishy and my merc has tals headgear and an upped Bloodthief brandistock - I have other unique options for poleaxes that show much higher damage - if they have jab. If they don't have jab, I lose the leech from Bloddthief for little gain in damage.
 
Re: Fishymancer - Final Version (updated for 1.13)

Baloney :azn:
 
Re: Fishymancer - Final Version (updated for 1.13)

Just a quick word on Sparky the Fire Golem.

If you are playing at P7/P8, this fella will often attract more monsters than you can safely deal with. He will attract many monsters from off-screen and your killspeed with CE may not keep pace with the attrition of your skellies.

Gumby the Clay Golem will tend to attract enemies to him, but to a lesser extent than Sparky and his wide-ranging Holy Fire aura. Each player and each of his minions has an "aggro" factor - basically, there is an order in which monsters (inc. bosses) prefer to engage. Golems have a high aggro factor compared to you and the rest of your army, so a Clay Golem may be just the right thing to bunch up monsters around him, for your CE. Gumby will attract monsters on-screen and just off-screen - Sparky will pull in monsters from far and wide. Not good if your killspeed is low due to high /players settings.

Hmm ... not such a quick word after all. Sorry.
 
Re: Fishymancer - Final Version (updated for 1.13)

Only Amazons (and players) are restricted to using javelins and spears: your mercenary can use Jab with a polearm, and a number of monsters (Duriel, Scarab Demons, and Corrupt Rogue Spearwomen in Act 5) use it with no weapon at all.
 
Re: Fishymancer - Final Version (updated for 1.13)

Thanks onderduiker - that makes sense! It also means the list of available weapons I can target for the merc has expanded dramatically - thanks! A lot of builds work on an Insight polearm for the mana and my worry was all the damage you would loose with the lack of jab. (I must admit I like the upped bloodthief though - with the added leech it works great in early hell :) )
 
Re: Fishymancer - Final Version (updated for 1.13)

Previous lurker here. Just wanted to thank you Nightfish for this guide and thank the entire community's d2 wisdom in general. These forums are amazing.

I purchased D2 a couple of weeks ago, initially fumbled around with a barbarian, and got pretty frustrated with the game. It has one hell of a learning curve, that's for sure. Anyway past level 10 I had a terrible kill rate. The low point was on normal Duriel where I died about 40. ****ing. times. (No doubt my fault for a scatterbrained build and ****ty gear.) I got to lvl 26 on Act IV normal and gave up.

Finally, Thursday night I said screw Docanobarb and followed your advice, rerolling a fishymancer. It took me about a week to get to the beginning of Act IV normal on the barb, and in 5 days I finished everything through nightmare on the necro. It's been amazingly fun.

So thank you! I'm also ecstatic to see the community still so active and helpful. Here's to hoping D3 will have the staying power of D2...
 
Re: Fishymancer - Final Version (updated for 1.13)

Welcome, finally!, Docano! It's hard to believe that people are still new to this game! Glad you're enjoying your time in the game! Necro's are very powerful when used correctly.

I, too, started with a baba my first time around. I remember getting so scared in the Den of Evil. Those giant bears freaked me out. I ran away from them. Actually ran out of the Den to fight more of the zombies.

At least I don't get scared in the Den any more. :p
 
Re: Fishymancer - Final Version (updated for 1.13)

I am running a Fishy and had a few questions. Wouldnt a 3-piece Trang Set (gloves belt armor) be better than vipermagi? Good resists, more skills, faster run/walk.

Chunes said:
Hone Sundan is a really nice choice for boss killing; it has 40% CB and comes with three sockets. I threw two Shaels and an Amn in there, and I've been wrecking Hell Baal ever since!
Click to expand...

Oh man.. I just chucked one to Charsi. :( I need better merc gear. I am currently using CV insight / Duriels / Tal helm but the killing speed is too slow. So a Hone Sundan would perform much better than CV insight? Does Fortitude armor help with Merc Damage?


 
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