Hey Musty,
As much as you may not want to start another character, that may be what's
necessary. Hell is Hell, as you've already discovered, and the Ancients in
Hell are a tricky and sometimes downright punishing trio of torture.
My advice would be to start another necro (not that you have to abandon the
one you have) and max these skills:
Skeletons - They are your protection, feed them well!
Skeleton Mastery - See above
Corpse Explosion - By far, the best Necromancer skill, max it and watch them
fall like dominoes in an earthquake. When you have CE (Corpse Explosion)
maxed, all you need is one dead body and the rest is history. Once you
start to spam that baby across the battlefield the baddies fall like flies
before a can of raid. It's an experience that will make you cackle like a
madman, relishing in your unstoppable powers!
These skills are absolutes if you want to feel even remotely comfortable
strolling through Hell. Next, instead of the A2 Defensive merc, you should
try the Might one. This aura increase the damage your skellies deal out,
and in Hell, it's all about damaging them and reducing the damage to you.
Maxed skellies with the Might aura accomplish both. They put a wall between
you and the baddies and they do more damage with the boost from Might.
After that, well, preferences vary. The Summonmancer has very few (if any)
decent attack skills. IMHO, he's a very passive character, which is why I
like him so much (fewer mouse clicks per second so my fingers don't cramp
up!). I've tried Bone Spirit but it just doesn't do enough damage to be
viable in Hell, especially against the Ancients and other bosses! As for
the other skills:
Revives - They can be helpful but are often tiresome to keep reviving (they
only last 3 minutes or so), I'd recommend one point to start, then wait to
see if you find any + to skills gear, which will give you some extra hands.
However, I would hold off on this skill until much later, as it has a quite
few prerequisite skill points to access.
Summon Resist - Worth a few points if you don't have + to skills gear as
Hell deals a LOT of elemental damage and your skellies will take the brunt
of everything.
Clay Golem & Golem Mastery - 1 point each, it may seem spare in the
beginning but you need to be sure Skells, Skell Mastery, and CE (Corpse
Explosion) are maxed. Again, + to skills should provide the boosts you need
here.
One of the most important things to remember is to give your A2 NM Might
merc the best gear you can find, i.e. with the weapon dealing the highest
damage and having life leech, the armor having the highest defense and DR
(Damage Reduction), and the helm providing even more life leech since he
will head directly into the fray and will (hopefully!) provide you with the
first corpse you need to start the dominoes falling with CE!
As for curses, Amp Damage and Decrepify are totally necessary. Dim Vision
can help against those damned pesky ranged attackers (especially in Hell!),
but I've never found anything else to be worthwhile.
Good luck!
Dave S.
Post by MustyHi All,
I am playing single player. I have a lvl83 necro. I cannot get even close to
passing the Ancients in hell mode. I have 8 revives, fire golem (maxed out
mastery) and an act2 defensive aura merc. Any tips or links on how to
approach this battle with a Necro? I am about ready to give up and start a
different character!
Thanks.