Stat Priority: Necromancer

Written by: Jake “Mjolnirlol” Staab

Necromancer - conductor of the dead, dark, and demented. Muster up the strength of darkness to command your legion of summons to do your bidding. Much like the days of the past, the Necromancer is back, and better than ever!

In this guide, you will be able to fully understand what stats are priority for your Necromancer, and what stats you should be stacking on your character and how they will affect your gameplay.

Necromancers are affected by stat weights as follows:

• Strength: Increases Armor by +X (1 Strength = 1 Armor
• Intelligence: Increases Resistance to All Elements by +X.X% ( 1 Intelligence = 0.05% All Resistance)
• Willpower: Improves Healing Received by +X.X% (1 Willpower = 0.1% Healing Received)
• Dexterity: Increases Dodge Chance by +X.X% (1 Dexterity = 0.025% Dodge Chance)

Necromancer Specific Stat Weights:

• Strength: No Effect
• Intelligence: Increases Skill Damage by +X.X% (1 Intelligence = 0.1% Skill Damage)
• Willpower: Increases Resource Generation by +X.X% (1 Willpower = 0.1% Resource Generation)

  • Increases Overpower Damage by +X.X% (1 Willpower = 0.25% Overpower Damage
• Dexterity: Increases Critical Strike Chance by +X.X% (1 Dexterity = 0.02% Critical Strike Chance)

Knowing this information, it will be essential that you are focusing Intelligence and Willpower for any of your Necromancer builds. Dexterity can be a tertiary stat where applicable. Also prioritize things like % Damage to Vulnerable Targets and % Damage to Crowd Controlled Targets. These are a MUST!

Necromancer Class Mechanic in Depth:

The Necromancer’s Unique Class Mechanic is the Book of the Dead. This is a new ability that allows the Necromancer to conquer their enemies with deeper customization of their undead summons.

• Three Customizable Summons: Skeletal Warriors, Skeletal Mages, and a Golem.
• Each summon now has three specializations that you can choose from.
• Each specialized minion in the Necromancer’s army has unique upgrades.
• Sacrifice a specific summon for a personal permanent buff.

Book of the Dead:

The Book of the Dead breaks down into three categories as previously stated. To start, we will go over the Skeletal Warriors and the options available to you after unlocking your Class Specific Unique Mechanic.

Skeletal Warriors:

Skeletal Warriors are the quintessential foot soldiers. They can be damage focused with critical strikes, defense focused with high survivability, or use powerful special attacks.

Skirmishers - Unlocked at Level 5

Choose one of the following:

• Option 1: You may raise ONE additional Skeletal Warrior
• Option 2: Each time you critically strike, your Skirmisher Warrior’s next attack critically strikes, and deals 50% bonus damage with an internal cooldown of 3 seconds.
• Option 3: Your critical hit chance is increased by 5%, but you may no longer raise Skeletal Warriors.
  

Defenders - Unlocked at Level 8

Choose one of the following:

• Option 1: Every 8 seconds, your Skeletal Defenders negate the next instance of direct damage they would otherwise take
• Option 2: Increase the amount of thorns your Skeletal Defenders get from you from 30% to 50%
• Option 3: You gain 15% Non-Physical damage resistance, but may no longer raise Skeletal Warriors
  

Reapers - Unlocked at Level 15

Choose one of the following:

• Option 1: Reaper’s attacks against enemies who are Immobilized, Slowed, Stunned, or Vulnerable reduce the cooldown of their powerful wind-up attack by 2 seconds.
• Option 2: Reapers have a 15% chance of carving the flesh of your enemies, creating corpses
• Option 3: You deal 10% increased Shadow damage, but may no longer raise Skeletal Warriors

Skeletal Mages:

Skeletal Mages wield magical power, dealing moderate Shadow damage. They have 2 available upgrades and one sacrifice ability. If you choose not to use Skeletal Warriors, you can select that and enjoy its bonus.

Shadow Mages - Unlocked at Level 15

Choose one of the following:

• Option 1 Shadow Mage attacks have a 10% chance of stunning enemies for 2 seconds, with an internal cooldown of 5 seconds
• Option 2: Shadow Mage’s fire an additional Shadow Bolt on every 6th attack
• Option 3: Your maximum essence is increased by 15, but you may no longer raise Skeletal Mages
  

Cold Mages - Unlocked at Level 18

Choose one of the following:

• Option 1: Each time your Cold Mages damage enemies with a primary attack, you gain 2 essence
• Option 2: Enemies who are Frozen by, or damaged while Frozen by your Cold Mage’s primary attack, are made Vulnerable for 3 seconds
• Option 3: You deal 15% increased damage to Vulnerable enemies, but may no longer raise Skeletal Mages
  

Bone Mages - Unlocked at Level 22

Choose one of the following:

• Option 1: Reduce the life cost of your Bone Mage’s attacks from 15% to 10%. After being alive for 5 seconds, Bone Mages deal 40% increased damage.
• Option 2: Each time a Bone Mage dies from its own attack, they leave behind a corpse and Fortify you for 11% of your Base Life.
• Option 3: Your Overpower damage is increased by 30%, but you may no longer raise Skeletal Mages.

Golems:

Before using your Golem, you must complete a Priority Quest , the Call of the Underworld. You will automatically be offered this quest upon reaching Level 25. Complete this ASAP!

Golems are the damage sponge of Diablo - a powerful addition to your army. Golems can taunt enemies, forcing them to attack it instead of you. Each type of Golem has 2 available upgrades and a sacrifice ability.

Bone Golem - Unlocked at Level 25

Choose one of the following:

• Option 1: Each time your Bone Golem takes up to 20% of it’s max life as damage, it sheds a corpse
• Option 2: Your Golem gains 10% maximum life and the amount of thorns it get from you is increased from 30% to 50%
• Option 3: You gain 10% increased attack speed, but may no longer summon a Golem

Blood Golem - Unlocked at Level 28

Choose one of the following:

• Option 1: Your Blood Golem absorbs 15% of the damage you would otherwise take
• Option 2: While Healthy, your Blood Golem gains 25% Damage Reduction and 50% Increased Damage
• Option 3: Your maximum life is increased by 10%, but you lose the ability to summon a Golem.

Iron Golem - Unlocked at Level 32

Choose one of the following:

• Option 1: Every 5th Iron Golem attack causes a shockwave, dealing 30% damage to the primary enemy and to enemies behind them.
• Option 2: Your Iron Golem’s slam attack also makes enemies Vulnerable for 5 seconds
• Option 3: You gain 30% increased Critical Strike damage, but you may no longer summon a Golem.