Bone Necromancer has always been a powerful and unique class in Diablo 2 Resurrected, but over time it has lost popularity and is often considered one of the weaker choices in the game.
In many situations, the overwhelming power of Corpse Explosion overshadows the investment in Bone skills, becoming the primary source of damage, which has blurred the original characteristics of Bone Necromancer.
The crux of the problem lies in magic damage - unlike other damage types, the ways to increase magic damage are extremely limited, causing the strength of this class to be largely constrained by the base state of its skills.
However, with the release of Diablo 2 Resurrected S14 PTR, a batch of new items that can increase magic damage have been introduced into the game, offering the possibility of a complete upgrade for this class.
This guide will re-examine Bone Necromancer, making full use of these new D2 Resurrected items, and examine whether they are enough to revitalize this old class.
Original Build's Flaws
In the older version of Bone Necromancer build, a full offensive setup was used while maintaining a 125 faster cast speed. This setup allowed Bone Spear to be upgraded to level 50, with damage even exceeding that of Bone Spirit, representing the build's maximum damage output.
However, this damage was insufficient in 8-player mode. Despite prioritizing offense, the bone skills' damage was still inadequate for handling large groups of enemies, and Corpse Explosion effect was reduced, hindering efficient mob clearing.
Based on this situation, D2R S14 PTR enhanced Bone Necromancer. Because of Bone Necromancer's high reliance on the synergy of bone skills, significant investment was needed to maximize its potential. Therefore, the new build will focus on a pure Bone Necromancer.
Skills
- Burses Tree: Only a small investment in damage amplification is required.
- Bone Spear: Bone Spear is Bone Necromancer's primary skill. It attacks multiple targets simultaneously and deals more damage than Bone Spirit. It's your main skill from level 18 until you reach endgame. A straight-line penetration attack is crucial for clearing maps and fighting monsters, so it's recommended to max it out immediately.
- Bone Spirit: Bone Spirit is a synergy skill. Max it out with remaining skill points, as it significantly increases Bone Spear damage. Later in the game, it can also be used as an auto-tracking single-target burst skill.
- Bone Wall: Max it out. Bone Wall synergizes well with Bone Prison. It's a control skill that not only boosts Bone Spear damage but can also be used to gather monsters, block enemies, and protect yourself.
- Bone Armor: Bone Armor only needs one point to provide valuable defense. It's a shield that absorbs physical damage, ensuring your safety in chaotic battles. Its level is primarily increased through equipment.
Gear
The new Diablo 2 Resurrected Items introduced in Reign of the Warlock provide a significant boost to Bone Necromancer's magic damage. Bone Necromancer's primary need is to increase casting speed.
Currently, Bone Necromancer's fastest casting speed is 125. Therefore, with the new gear, we need to not only maximize casting speed but also increase damage as much as possible.
- Weapon: We choose Bone Shade and White Rune Word. Bone Shade enhances all our skills, and paired with White Rune Word, it works even better. Ideally, you can also prepare a bone staff as a base that adds 3 skill points to Bone Spear. This allows Bone Spear to gain up to 8 casting speed points, 3 more than Bone Shade.
- Shield: Darkforce Spawn provides 3 skill level bonuses and increases casting speed, making it the best choice.
- Runes: For Diablo 2 Resurrected Runes, we can choose those that increase resistances, such as Um Rune, to make your Bone Necromancer more well-rounded and balanced.
- Armor: If you're considering mobility and increased casting speed, choose Enigma with Teleport. If you want to increase the resistances that Bone Necromancer lacks, Chains of Honor is also a good choice.
- Helmet: One of the new equipment introduced in D2 Resurrected is Hell Warden's Will, which is very suitable for Bone Necromancer and is one of only two helmets in D2R that can increase casting speed. Not only that, it also provides an extra skill level and reduces enemy magic resistance, making it the best helmet configuration for Bone Necromancer build.
- Jewels: The best configuration is to socket Guardian's Light Jewel into Hell Warden's Will. This new jewel provides an extra 2 magic damage and reduces enemy magic resistance by 10.
- Gloves: The classic Trang-Oul's Claws provide 20% faster casting speed and frost resistance.
- Rings: There's an additional option (Sling Ring). One provides a 10-point reduction in enemy magic resistance, while the other increases our magic damage. Given that both increase casting speed, the 10-point magic resistance reduction is more significant.
- Amulets: Both Skull Scarar Amulet and Entropy Locket Amulet provide increased damage.
- Belt: Gheed's Wager Troll Belt is also a new item. The traditional Bone Necromancer would equip Arachnid Mesh, but now we have the optimal choice. This new belt provides an overall damage increase exceeding the +1 skill point from Arachnid Mesh. The only drawback is its high strength requirement.
- Footwear: Footwear doesn't have a special role in this set; it mainly compensates for insufficient resistances or provides other states. Classic footwear includes Sandstorm Trek Scarabshell Boots.
Attributes
For attribute allocation, simply invest enough Strength to meet equipment requirements. However, before allocating points, be sure to consider the attribute bonuses provided by Torch and Anni. Allocate the remaining points to Constitution.
Comparing the old and new builds, while both can reach the 125 Faster Cast Speed threshold, the new build has 5 fewer skill points. This is mainly because we've replaced those skill points with attributes that reduce enemy magic resistance.
However, don't worry. The new rings and jewels added by D2R S14 PTR directly increase our magic damage. Although the level isn't as high as the old build, the damage dealt is no less. The real advantage of the new build is that we not only maintain damage and cast speed but also stack a 44-point reduction in enemy magic resistance.
Compared to its previous state, Bone Necromancer's improvement is significant. After reading this guide, you can try it out in the game.
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