Salutations! This guide is designed for v1.11b Bone Necromancer, perhaps one of the best PvP and a pretty decent PvM if you take it slow. I plan on updating this guide, so don't just see something you disagree with and flame my guide, by all means enlighten me if I've missed something an I'll update the guide, easy as that! Right now it's built mostly for PvM, perhaps later I'll update with a PvP strategy section, even though its mostly a no brainer (spam spirits, and use bone prison if you're a total bastard) Anyways, lets get down to it.
First of all this build is not for everyone. To be a good killer in PvM your bone necro requires a lot of +skills, which doesn't leave much room for MF. Secondly if you can't get ahold of Enigma expect to be using a lot of bone prison to keep enemies at bay. Third, it is hard to start out bone necros as teeth really sucks down the mana. If at all possible try to get as much gear rounded up and have someone rush you.
Stats -
Strength : As low as possible, enough for gear. If you don't have Annihilus and Torch you'll probably want about 90-ish, otherwise it can be as low as 60-ish
Dex : No points in here.
Vitality : As much as you can
Energy : put it around 70 if you have no starting gear and are not glitch rushing, otherwise leave base.
The highest strength requirement for the equipment I have selected for this guide would be 156 for Spirit Monarch, but considering a Hommy is about as easy to obtain and better in most every aspect you probably won't go this route. Some people like to achieve max block, which is possible with necro because Hommy gives a pretty decent +% to block, though I have never experimented with this. Dexterity at lvl 80 would be over 200 for max block. I'd personally stick with more vitality over max block.
Skills -
No brainer here, we are going to try and get the damage up as much as possible and considering all the synergies it will take a while!
20 Teeth
1 B Armor
1 CE
20 B Spear
20 B Spirit
20 B Prison
20 B Wall
Leveling - When leveling without glitch rushing it's easiest to add points to teeth until you get bone spear, and from there bring spear to max, followed by teeth, and finally spirit. Bone Prison and Wall are used for synergies with offensive spells and bone armor, so whichever one you use more of max that one first (I personally go with prison).
With all quests your skills will max out at around level 90, given you stuck to that tree. People may be tempted to go for curses (namely decrep) But with bone prison and bone wall I found this unnecessary. I did put one point into Dim Vision, which I use to keep the Burning Souls from using lightening during Baal runs, but using it beyond that is somewhat impractical. When in hell Dim Vision's duration takes a pretty big hit so you'll be doing a lot of recasting. Also on a side note people always suggest to have their curse gear on the switch, I did do this with decrepify but it always took a few seconds to switch/cast/switch back, and all that time I could have been pummeling monsters with bone spears, so all in all having curses on switch is a bit impractical. Stick with bone prison, prison is your friend.
Items -
Your items focus on four things.
+Skills - You will always be hurting for damage with bone necro, very very few enemies are magic immune, so try to get as many +skills as you can.
+FCR - It's pretty easy to get to the 3rd highest breakpoint, 50% FCR for 11 frames, By using Hoto instead of white you get to 2nd at 75% for 10 frames. Its impractical to try and get 125% FCR for the 9 frame breakpoint.
+%Resists - Using the first choice of each should bring your resistances pretty close to max in hell, if not then use charms to boost it a bit more.
Mana (+mana +%max mana, +%Regen, +nrgy) - Bone necros are heavy drinkers, expect to be quaffing a lot of potions if your gear is not that good.
Armor
Enigma - +2 Skills, +45% Run/Walk Max life 5%, DR 8%, 15% Damage goes to Mana, 1-99 MF/Charlvl and of course the ability to teleport. Enigma is the best choice for a boner nec.
Skin of Vipermaji - +1 skills, 30% FCR, 20-35 % Resists. Use this until you can't get ahold of an Enigma
Helm
Shako - +2 Skills, 1-148 Life/Mana per Charlvl, DR 10%, 50% MF, +2 Attributes - Best necro helm, socket it with an Um for +15% Resists
Rare Helms - Gamble for rare circlets, finding circlets with +PnB skills rather then +Necro Skills allows for better modifiers, also you can get a max of +3 PnB which is very good, try to get +3's with +Energy or Vitality modifiers, or +2's with FCR/Resist alls.
Shield
Homunculus - +2 Nec Skills, +2 Curses, 40%/30% ICB/FBR +20 Energy, Mana Regen 33%, Resist all 40% - Ultimate Necro shield, try to get your hands on this as soon as possible. It gives you a much needed resist all. Socket it with an um for +22 more resists, or a Perfect Diamond for +19
Lidless - +1 Skills, Max Mana +10%, 20% FCR, +10 Energy - A decent shield, gives FCR that Hommy doesn't, but I'd still shoot for getting Hommy
Spirit - +2 Skills, +25-35% FCR, +55 FHR, +22 Vitality, +89-112 Mana, Resist Cold/Light/Poison +35% - A very good shield, but the strength requirement for Monarch is somewhat steep at 156, and if you don't have a Torch and Annihilus you may want to go a different route, Homunculus is almost as easy to get as Spirit Monarch.
Gloves
Magefirst - 20% FCR, 25% Regen - Best bone necro gloves hands-down (no pun intended)
Trang-Oul's Claws - +2 Curses, 20% FCR, Cold REsist +30% - In most cases easier to find than Magefist, but Magefist gives +regen
Frostburn - 40% Max Mana - Huge mana gain, but nothing else. Use these if you can't find the above two.
Boots
Silkweave - Max Mana 10%, 30% Faster Run/Walk
Marrowwalk - +20 Faster Run/Walk, 10-20 Str, +17 Dex, Mana Regen 10% - A toss-up between Marrow's and Silkweaves, either are decent boots.
Belts
Arachnid Mesh - +1 Skills, +20 FCR, Max mana +5% - Best Necro belt.
Gloom's Trap - Max Mana 15%, Mana Regen 15%, +15 Vitality - Use this if you cannot Arachnid's
Credendum (The Disciple Set) - +15% Resist all, +10 Strength, +10 Dex - Use this if you need more resists. Easy to find.
Rings
Stone of Jordan - +1 Skills, 25% Max Mana, +20 Mana - No build is complete without at least one SoJ.
Raven Frost - Cannot be Frozen, +15-20 Dexterity, +40 Mana, +20 Cold Absorb - Raven frost is a must, some may argue Trang's belt gives Cannot be Frozen mod so you can have 2 Stones, but then you are sacrificing the FCR of Arachnid Mesh.
Amulet
Mara's Kaleidoscope - +2 Skills, Resist all 20-30%, +5 Attributes - Best Amulet, gives the +resists you will be hurting for.
Magical/Rare Amulets - Much like finding Circlets, look for +PnB with energy/Resist/FCR mods. Gamble, gamble, gamble!
Weapon
White - +3 PnB Skills, +2 Bone Spear, +3 Bone armor, 20% FCR, +10 Vitality - Cheap runes and awesome +skills make this a very good wand.
Heart of the Oak - +3 Skills, 40% FCR, Max Mana 15%, lvl 4 Oak Sage Charges - Good stats, but rather expensive. Oak Sage is always nice but it tends to die very quickly.
Spirit - +2 All Skills, +25-35% FCR, + 55% FHR +22 Vitality, +89-112 Mana - Can be made out of Crystal Sword, Broad Sword, or Long Sword. Very good stats, cheap runes, but the +skills you need can't compare with White.
Charms
Hellfire Torch - +3 Necro Skills, 10-20 Attributes, 10-20% Resist All - The best charm ever.
Annihilus - +1 Skills, 10-20 Attributes, 10-20% Resists, +5-10% Experience Gained - 2nd best charm ever.
Magical Charms - Obviously look for PnB skiller grand charms with life/mana mods attached. Use Resist All small charms if your are lacking there, otherwise use FHR small charms.
Merc -
Your mercenary should be an Nightmare difficulty act2 defensive merc for the holy freeze aura. The equipment here is very much up to you, personally I set my merc up for insight, but you may want to go a different route with Botd
Helm
Vampire Gaze - Good defense, good damage reduction. Try to up this if you can.
Armor
Fortitude - Good defense, and adds damage!
Leviathan - Very good defense, and damage reduced 15-20%
Weapon
Insight - 10-17 Meditation. Try to get the highest possible. Also gives a pretty decent damage and attack rating increase, as well as gives the Critical Strike skill bonus, 6 being highest, and top of it all the runes are cake.
Many thanks goes to Bloodangel, Shift, D2sector and all the vets
First of all this build is not for everyone. To be a good killer in PvM your bone necro requires a lot of +skills, which doesn't leave much room for MF. Secondly if you can't get ahold of Enigma expect to be using a lot of bone prison to keep enemies at bay. Third, it is hard to start out bone necros as teeth really sucks down the mana. If at all possible try to get as much gear rounded up and have someone rush you.
Stats -
Strength : As low as possible, enough for gear. If you don't have Annihilus and Torch you'll probably want about 90-ish, otherwise it can be as low as 60-ish
Dex : No points in here.
Vitality : As much as you can
Energy : put it around 70 if you have no starting gear and are not glitch rushing, otherwise leave base.
The highest strength requirement for the equipment I have selected for this guide would be 156 for Spirit Monarch, but considering a Hommy is about as easy to obtain and better in most every aspect you probably won't go this route. Some people like to achieve max block, which is possible with necro because Hommy gives a pretty decent +% to block, though I have never experimented with this. Dexterity at lvl 80 would be over 200 for max block. I'd personally stick with more vitality over max block.
Skills -
No brainer here, we are going to try and get the damage up as much as possible and considering all the synergies it will take a while!
20 Teeth
1 B Armor
1 CE
20 B Spear
20 B Spirit
20 B Prison
20 B Wall
Leveling - When leveling without glitch rushing it's easiest to add points to teeth until you get bone spear, and from there bring spear to max, followed by teeth, and finally spirit. Bone Prison and Wall are used for synergies with offensive spells and bone armor, so whichever one you use more of max that one first (I personally go with prison).
With all quests your skills will max out at around level 90, given you stuck to that tree. People may be tempted to go for curses (namely decrep) But with bone prison and bone wall I found this unnecessary. I did put one point into Dim Vision, which I use to keep the Burning Souls from using lightening during Baal runs, but using it beyond that is somewhat impractical. When in hell Dim Vision's duration takes a pretty big hit so you'll be doing a lot of recasting. Also on a side note people always suggest to have their curse gear on the switch, I did do this with decrepify but it always took a few seconds to switch/cast/switch back, and all that time I could have been pummeling monsters with bone spears, so all in all having curses on switch is a bit impractical. Stick with bone prison, prison is your friend.
Items -
Your items focus on four things.
+Skills - You will always be hurting for damage with bone necro, very very few enemies are magic immune, so try to get as many +skills as you can.
+FCR - It's pretty easy to get to the 3rd highest breakpoint, 50% FCR for 11 frames, By using Hoto instead of white you get to 2nd at 75% for 10 frames. Its impractical to try and get 125% FCR for the 9 frame breakpoint.
+%Resists - Using the first choice of each should bring your resistances pretty close to max in hell, if not then use charms to boost it a bit more.
Mana (+mana +%max mana, +%Regen, +nrgy) - Bone necros are heavy drinkers, expect to be quaffing a lot of potions if your gear is not that good.
Armor
Enigma - +2 Skills, +45% Run/Walk Max life 5%, DR 8%, 15% Damage goes to Mana, 1-99 MF/Charlvl and of course the ability to teleport. Enigma is the best choice for a boner nec.
Skin of Vipermaji - +1 skills, 30% FCR, 20-35 % Resists. Use this until you can't get ahold of an Enigma
Helm
Shako - +2 Skills, 1-148 Life/Mana per Charlvl, DR 10%, 50% MF, +2 Attributes - Best necro helm, socket it with an Um for +15% Resists
Rare Helms - Gamble for rare circlets, finding circlets with +PnB skills rather then +Necro Skills allows for better modifiers, also you can get a max of +3 PnB which is very good, try to get +3's with +Energy or Vitality modifiers, or +2's with FCR/Resist alls.
Shield
Homunculus - +2 Nec Skills, +2 Curses, 40%/30% ICB/FBR +20 Energy, Mana Regen 33%, Resist all 40% - Ultimate Necro shield, try to get your hands on this as soon as possible. It gives you a much needed resist all. Socket it with an um for +22 more resists, or a Perfect Diamond for +19
Lidless - +1 Skills, Max Mana +10%, 20% FCR, +10 Energy - A decent shield, gives FCR that Hommy doesn't, but I'd still shoot for getting Hommy
Spirit - +2 Skills, +25-35% FCR, +55 FHR, +22 Vitality, +89-112 Mana, Resist Cold/Light/Poison +35% - A very good shield, but the strength requirement for Monarch is somewhat steep at 156, and if you don't have a Torch and Annihilus you may want to go a different route, Homunculus is almost as easy to get as Spirit Monarch.
Gloves
Magefirst - 20% FCR, 25% Regen - Best bone necro gloves hands-down (no pun intended)
Trang-Oul's Claws - +2 Curses, 20% FCR, Cold REsist +30% - In most cases easier to find than Magefist, but Magefist gives +regen
Frostburn - 40% Max Mana - Huge mana gain, but nothing else. Use these if you can't find the above two.
Boots
Silkweave - Max Mana 10%, 30% Faster Run/Walk
Marrowwalk - +20 Faster Run/Walk, 10-20 Str, +17 Dex, Mana Regen 10% - A toss-up between Marrow's and Silkweaves, either are decent boots.
Belts
Arachnid Mesh - +1 Skills, +20 FCR, Max mana +5% - Best Necro belt.
Gloom's Trap - Max Mana 15%, Mana Regen 15%, +15 Vitality - Use this if you cannot Arachnid's
Credendum (The Disciple Set) - +15% Resist all, +10 Strength, +10 Dex - Use this if you need more resists. Easy to find.
Rings
Stone of Jordan - +1 Skills, 25% Max Mana, +20 Mana - No build is complete without at least one SoJ.
Raven Frost - Cannot be Frozen, +15-20 Dexterity, +40 Mana, +20 Cold Absorb - Raven frost is a must, some may argue Trang's belt gives Cannot be Frozen mod so you can have 2 Stones, but then you are sacrificing the FCR of Arachnid Mesh.
Amulet
Mara's Kaleidoscope - +2 Skills, Resist all 20-30%, +5 Attributes - Best Amulet, gives the +resists you will be hurting for.
Magical/Rare Amulets - Much like finding Circlets, look for +PnB with energy/Resist/FCR mods. Gamble, gamble, gamble!
Weapon
White - +3 PnB Skills, +2 Bone Spear, +3 Bone armor, 20% FCR, +10 Vitality - Cheap runes and awesome +skills make this a very good wand.
Heart of the Oak - +3 Skills, 40% FCR, Max Mana 15%, lvl 4 Oak Sage Charges - Good stats, but rather expensive. Oak Sage is always nice but it tends to die very quickly.
Spirit - +2 All Skills, +25-35% FCR, + 55% FHR +22 Vitality, +89-112 Mana - Can be made out of Crystal Sword, Broad Sword, or Long Sword. Very good stats, cheap runes, but the +skills you need can't compare with White.
Charms
Hellfire Torch - +3 Necro Skills, 10-20 Attributes, 10-20% Resist All - The best charm ever.
Annihilus - +1 Skills, 10-20 Attributes, 10-20% Resists, +5-10% Experience Gained - 2nd best charm ever.
Magical Charms - Obviously look for PnB skiller grand charms with life/mana mods attached. Use Resist All small charms if your are lacking there, otherwise use FHR small charms.
Merc -
Your mercenary should be an Nightmare difficulty act2 defensive merc for the holy freeze aura. The equipment here is very much up to you, personally I set my merc up for insight, but you may want to go a different route with Botd
Helm
Vampire Gaze - Good defense, good damage reduction. Try to up this if you can.
Armor
Fortitude - Good defense, and adds damage!
Leviathan - Very good defense, and damage reduced 15-20%
Weapon
Insight - 10-17 Meditation. Try to get the highest possible. Also gives a pretty decent damage and attack rating increase, as well as gives the Critical Strike skill bonus, 6 being highest, and top of it all the runes are cake.
Many thanks goes to Bloodangel, Shift, D2sector and all the vets
