09-06-2007, 07:13 PM
Heiho,
a wise choice, even it's me who says so (for the very much same reason - no point in playing D2 and not playing Necro).
But you should focus first, then distribute skill points. With all the 1.1x synergy stuff around you haven't that much points to spare for experiments, at least if going poisonous or boney ways.
In short, no.
Golems aren't designed to deal damage, even if they seem to do at first glance. Especially their punching damage is pathetic. All of them, synergies given and taken. Plus they have really poor attack speed. In fact IMHO the only one good in some way for damage is the Iron Golem, because of its inbuilt Thorns, but this one needs an item to be cast from, tends to get lost in terrain, and is of no use against ranged and/or elemental attackers.
In fact, contrary to your intentions, I'd never spend too much points into golems, but use them dependend on situation; the most useful one is always the Clay Golem for his ability to slow enemies down. Think of him as your eleventh curse and you're fine.
If you go Poison with all the synergies physical damage of the dagger is nearly irrelevant. There is the possibility of using Poison Dagger and wield a nice physical damage dagger at once, but you'll focus on Crushing Blow then (AmnTir comes to mind). Forget about usual physical enhancement you may remember from other classes, that's not worth the trouble with daggers. I've tried that, and even with good equipment (ie the one you probably can't afford for some time) and a mighty merc you're still very slow and in permanent danger. Doable, but very, very tiresome.
Also forget about other elemental damage from equipment, because even the most exotic stuff won't deal sufficient damage. Nice add-on, but nothing to build a concept from.
As always, this is IMHO and AFAIK and IIRC and YMMV.
Quote:Ok, so I've decided to start d2 again, haven't really played since the first ladder of 1.10 and don't really remember much. I think I'll start a necromancer because that is what I started playing d2 with.
a wise choice, even it's me who says so (for the very much same reason - no point in playing D2 and not playing Necro).
But you should focus first, then distribute skill points. With all the 1.1x synergy stuff around you haven't that much points to spare for experiments, at least if going poisonous or boney ways.
Quote:So I was thinking of focusing on the good ol' bone spirit (or possibly spear) and a clay or iron golem. Not too big of a fan of bone spells, ...Why considering them then? A fresh start means you don't have that much stuff to trade and you'll have to rely on your findings. So, if you want to go bones you'll very much like to spend most of skills into them to bring on the damage. BTW Spear has better damage progression later on than Spirit in 1.1x
Quote:so I would like to consider other possible ways of attack. I am not sure whether to choose clay or iron, although I want to spend lots of points in the golem area. I am particular intrested in the synergy from fire golem-- a damage boost. But would I be able to get clay golem to deal significant damage?
In short, no.
Golems aren't designed to deal damage, even if they seem to do at first glance. Especially their punching damage is pathetic. All of them, synergies given and taken. Plus they have really poor attack speed. In fact IMHO the only one good in some way for damage is the Iron Golem, because of its inbuilt Thorns, but this one needs an item to be cast from, tends to get lost in terrain, and is of no use against ranged and/or elemental attackers.
In fact, contrary to your intentions, I'd never spend too much points into golems, but use them dependend on situation; the most useful one is always the Clay Golem for his ability to slow enemies down. Think of him as your eleventh curse and you're fine.
Quote:Also, amplify damage now removes immunities. I'm quite tempted to ditch the bone spells, although I'd think normal would be hard to beat like that. Are there any daggers with good damage? Poison dagger might seem to be a nice self defense thing. It seems to not waste much mana, and I hate running out of it.
If you go Poison with all the synergies physical damage of the dagger is nearly irrelevant. There is the possibility of using Poison Dagger and wield a nice physical damage dagger at once, but you'll focus on Crushing Blow then (AmnTir comes to mind). Forget about usual physical enhancement you may remember from other classes, that's not worth the trouble with daggers. I've tried that, and even with good equipment (ie the one you probably can't afford for some time) and a mighty merc you're still very slow and in permanent danger. Doable, but very, very tiresome.
Also forget about other elemental damage from equipment, because even the most exotic stuff won't deal sufficient damage. Nice add-on, but nothing to build a concept from.
Quote:One thing I am worried about is that I won't have enough skill points to spend; seems like an awful lot of stuff to look out for!Right you are ;-)
Quote:Also about mercs; I forget if the act 2 merc auras can stack with iron golem or not.IIRC the Thorns aura doesn't stack with inbuilt IG thorns. Iron Maiden would stack, but with a worse damage ratio than Amplify would. You dont want your enemies slowed down by Holy Freeze with an IG, since they'll need more time to smash their heads onto the IG then. And you won't want to give your IG a big defense via Defiance aura, since this will reduce reflected damage over time, too. The other available aurae are of no relevance.
As always, this is IMHO and AFAIK and IIRC and YMMV.