Passion Runeword Combat Strategies

[Darker Realm]

Passion Runeword Combat Strategies

Whereas other Passion discussions are more focused either on statistics or on the build, I'd like to make this thread specifically to focus on the strategies and techniques for the Necromancer you can use while using the Runeword.

Passion (Rearranged, Non-Combat Properties Removed):

+25% Increased Attack Speed
+210% Enhanced Damage (ideally)
+80% Bonus To Attack Rating (ideally)
Adds 1-50 Lightning Damage
Level 3 Heart of Wolverine (12 Charges)

+75% Damage To Undead
+50 To Attack Rating Against Undead

+1 To Berserk
+1 To Zeal

Hit Blinds Target +10
Hit Causes Monster To Flee 25%

Quick OT: Equipment-wise, Passion does free yourself of an AR Enhancing piece of equipment IMO, and thus in order to take advantage of the very vulnerable Heart of Wolverine you might want a Wisp Projector in place of Raven Frost, and cast the Level 2 Oak Sage. I don't recommend wearing Nature's Peace which has the Level 5 Oak Sage for obvious reasons.

One way to use is is to max out Bone Armor synergies (20-20 Wall-Prison) and use either the Berserk or Zeal attack. From there, there are two things that users of Passion have been doing, either hiding behind your minions and possibly using a high-range two-hander, or using the Bone Wall/Prison technique and attacking through the walls while your enemies can't reach you.

The other way is to go pure tank, and just max out Bone Armor, Wall, and Prison, and use Minions and Bone Walls/Prisons more sparingly. This one is the most fun because the screen is free from distractions and you have to really concentrate on the battle.

I've tried an interesting configuration of keybinds yesterday with Passion.

Q = Decreptify or Bone Prison
W = Berserk (Bound to Primary Attack Button/Left Side)
E = Zeal (Bound to Primary Attack)
R = Bone Armor
A = Normal Attack (Bound to Primary Attack)
S = Amp Damage
D = Corpse Explosion
Capslock = Run/Walk
Shift = Stand Still
Spacebar = Skills Speed Bar

The addition of Teleport (a substitute for a Charge or Leap Attack) might be useful if you are wearing Enigma, given that you have enough FCR.

Equipment:

I own a Passion Phase Blade, Giant Thresher, and a Glorious Axe although yesterday I was using Glorious Axe for more damage done with Passion. I have a Rogue Merc (I don't have Faith yet) and Fire Golem out to take hits off of me. I have 50% additional IAS from equipment, from Highlord's, Laying of Hands, and Nosferatu's.

Techniques and Combos:

Run mode is on initially. First, I decided if the monsters were worth Amping. Next I looked at what kind of monsters, their relative hit points, and their formation they were in.

If there was a single very strong monster, I would Amp, run towards them, do a Berserk attack (press W), then I would seamlessly switch to Zeal (press E) while the first Berserk was just about finishing and then Zeal to finish them off.

If there were a group of smaller monsters moving towards me, I might either treat them exactly like a single strong monster (Amp first) but attack the nearest one and then by the time I finish the Berserk attack, the other monsters should be near me so I can Zeal all the monsters in the vicinity.

If I wanted to hit a group of monsters while preserving my defense, I would just turn walk on and then Zeal them. Sometimes if there was a lead monster, I would use the Berserk-Zeal strategy but instead of Berserk as my first attack, I would use a Normal Attack as my opening attack (press A), then switch to Zeal (press E). After this I might choose to turn Run back on.

If there was one last monster remaining and I just executed the previous scenario, I would finish that monster off with a Berserk.

There are so many countless permutations of what you can use and much more factors to consider (Bone Armor, your HP, Corpse Explosion, AI Curses, Teleport to escape?) but the idea is that you use the right combat skill based on the situation.

I haven't gotten this strategy to be exceptionally successful yet because it is very hard to execute and perhaps I don't have the best gear yet nor Fanaticism on my Rogue. But anyway, the Berserk-Zeal technique and the Zeal-Berserk technique comes from the philosophy of starting with a strong attack first then finishing with a succession of smaller but multiple attacks, or attacking normally or numerously first and then finishing with a strong attack. Any comments or ideas would be appreciated.

 

[Thrandir]

Hurrah! Necrozealot!

A couple suggestions and questions:

1.If you're not using much skellies/CE, once you get a ActII merc you could consider giving him a Doom polearm. The HF gives you more time to think about what curses/primary attacks to use, more time to maneuver, etc.

2.IMO, a delirium Coronet would be helpful; it would certainly help when you're dealing with mobs, and the +2 to skills to up your zeal and berserk.

3.Something that I've gotten kinda stuck on for melee chars is using Sigon's gloves and one other piece (usually belt or boots), mainly for the 10% lifeleech and 30% IAS. (But there's also some nice defence bonuses) Is this worthwhile for higher levels?

4.How much AR does one need for late hell?

5.Concerning the Spirit: How is the Oak Sage any less vulnerable than the Heart of Wolverine? Both have low life...is there something I'm missing?

 

[Darker Realm]

These are more equipment-based questions, which I tried to not focus on. Nonetheless,

1) It is nice to slow down the monsters, but it takes part of the fun away from making very quick decisions because you are fighting monsters a fraction of their former glory.

2) Many meleemancer guids have recommended Harlequin Crest for the helm, but Crown of Ages also works, if you can afford it. I personally prefer a either a Circlet with +2 Skills, or a helm with the +2 at all.

3) I've used Sigons all the way up to level 93 characters. Gloves and Helm are the best combo because it gives you AR bonuses based on clvl. The boots are useless by itself, the Belt + Glove combo is ok, but you could use Goldwrap or Nosferatus Coil instead. Here is a link to what I wear.

4) The question of AR depends as the Chance to Hit Formula varies has two portions, one regarding Attack Rating and one regarding Character Level (and Defender Level). As for Attack Rating, at clvl 92, rougly 10000 AR is good enough to get close to a 95% hit chance, roughly 5000 AR is good enough to hit monsters about 85-90% of the time, 2500 AR will hit your monsters 60-70% of the time, and 1500 AR will hit about 50-65% of the time. At lower levels, it scales down.

Aim for 1600+ AR before enchant and 4500+ AR after enchanting. The question should be asked, what Level should you be to be reasonably effective in late Hell? My answer is as follows: Because melee Necromancers are not very strong inherently without proper gear, I would recommend being at least level 90 in order to hit more often and be more robust in general.

5) Unfortunately AFAIK you cannot cast 2 Sages at the same time for Necromancers, so scrap the idea of combining Passion with Wisp Projector (Oak Sage).

 

[Thrandir]

1. Okay, so it's a style vs practicality issue Heck, meleemancers are all about style anyways!

3. Speaking of style, Sigon's helm is horribly ugly IMO. But thanks for your input on glove+other combo.

4. That was very helpful. I guess this means I don't want to pump dex too high, then. I'm already close to 5000.

5. I think even druids can only have 1 sage at a time. So yeah, the question is: AR/Dmg vs. Life? I think I'd go with the AR/Dmg, then I can save the ring spot for something else.

 

[Darker Realm]

Concentration doesn't look all that great and Conviction looks strange unless your intent was to make your merc evil-looking. Might looks fine. Most Necromancer guides do not recommend using Doom on the Desert Mercenary with the exception you are wielding Pride or Infinity yourself. IMO Doom looks good on Necromancers, though.

On Necromancers, Sigons doesn't look that good unless you wear a white rare (not Sigons, which is Gothic Plate) Full Plate or its varients or wear Sigons Shield. On one of my favorite Necromancers, I wear Sigon Tower Shield + Headstriker Conquest Sword (pure white sword) for style.

130 Dex is good enough for a basic Meleemancer. 140 Dex is good enough to give you the right base requirement for Giant Threshers (requires 140 Dex). I'd say 140 Dex is good enough for hitting things, and if you were opting on a max block build (using Stormshield) like the Nec I showed you at insanely high character levels (95+) ever after wearing perfect Raven, perfect Shadow Dancers, Perfect Torch, Perfect Anni, 200 Dex is ideal. If you're not using SS or Homunc, 200 is fine and will only get you to about 60-65% block rate.

You can't dish out damage in the first place when you don't have a comfortable AR. So the only alternative for one of the rings slots would be Angelics (which I recommend against if you have better rings), a Rare Ring with a Platinum mod with FCR, or Raven Frost (as perfect as possible).