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Armor

On higher difficulty levels, Defense means very little to Necromancers. They must keep moving and out of range of melee attackers to avoid dying. If they are attacked while running, Defense will offer no protection. When this is the case, Necromancers should look for armor that gives resistances, additional Mana, additional skill points and other useful stats for a character on the go instead of high Defense plates.

Necromancers should look at raising Strength for better armor. Initially you'll want to put on anything you can wear. Raise your Strength to at least 55 which will let you wear up to Field Plates, and Mage Plate (Exceptional Light Plate) is a good choice because it offers 225-261 Base Defense (more with Enhanced Defense), and only it requires 55 Strength. Look for Rare Mage Plates with useful statistics. You'll then probably want to raise your Strength to 60 so that you can wear Plated Belts which offer 4 Rows for Potions. If you plan on using the Unique Plates: Goldskin and Silks of the Victor you will want to raise your Strength to 80 and 100 or find items that raise Strength.

For power players the top of the line Necromancer Armors are:

Heavenly Garb (Defense: about 216, Regenerate Mana 25%, All Resistances +10%)

This is a very good Necromancer plate for only requiring 41 Strength, No Level Requirements, Faster Mana Regeneration and a boost to all resistances.

Goldskin (Requires: 80 Strength, Defense: 225-236, +30% to all Resistances...)

Goldskin is great for it's 30% to all resistances. This can help offset the lowering of resistances on Nightmare and Hell Difficulty settings.

The ultimate in Necromancer armor just might be:

Silks of the Victor (Requires: 100 Strength, Defense 218-233, +1 to all Skill Levels)

This plate is very rare, difficult to find and valuable. It is the preferred plate for many Sorceress' and Necromancers for it's +1 to all Skill levels, the only piece of armor that will give a bonus to skills.

Note: It's easiest to trade for these items, although it's also possible to find them. Gambling for these items is not recommended due to the high cost of gambling armor.

 

Unless you plan on being a two-handed combat Necromancer, find yourself a good Shield. While there are many desirable magical stats for a Shield, high blocking will certainly allow you to take less hits from the enemy.

Suggested Shields:

Sigon's Guard (+1 to All Skills, 64% Blocking)

This Shield is great for Necromancers because it adds 1 to all skills (those skills with a least point already in it), and it also offers high blocking to physical attacks. Necromancers will find this Shield saves them from a lot of damage.

Socketed Tower Shield or Pavise with 3 Perfect Diamonds.

As Necromancers move to Act IV and higher difficulty levels, resistances become very important. A 3 Perfect Diamond Shield will offer about 50-60% resistances to all which can offset the -20 and -50 to resistances on Nightmare and Hell difficulty. In addition to the resistances, these two Shields will give the Necromancer 44% Blocking which will save him from many physical attacks including base arrow damage, Javelin Damage, Corpses spit by Regurgitators and a specific Bone attack by Oblivion Knights.

 

Initially look for any gloves that will give defense and magical statistics that are useful to your character.

Power players look for:

Magefist Gauntlets (Faster Cast Rate, Regenerate Mana 25%)

These are the only gloves which offer faster Mana Regeneration which is important for a Necromancer. The Faster Cast Rate also certainly helps. These gloves also can be traded to Sorceress' when you're done with them because they give +1 to Sorceress Fire Skills.

The ultimate Gloves for a Necromancer could just be:

Frostburn Gauntlets (Maximum Mana 40%)

Highly sought after, these gloves will raise the base Mana of the Necromancer by 40%!! This can mean huge amounts of additional Mana for the Necromancer. You can try to trade for these gloves or attempt to Gamble for them. Buy any Gauntlets you see when gambling at about 38,000 gold a try.

 

Initially look for belts which offer useful magical bonuses such as additional Life, Mana and resistances. Necromancers may want to raise their Strength to 110 to wear War Belts which offer 4 Rows for Potions and the maximum amount of Defense.

For those players that can survive with only 2 or 3 rows of slots in their belt, look for:

Lenymo's Sash (Regenerate Mana 30%, All Resistances +5)

The only belt that offers faster Mana regeneration, Lenymo's Sash would be the ultimate belt, however it only has two rows of slots for potions. If you can survive with two rows of potions, this is the belt for you, but if not, consider looking for better.

Nightsmoke (50% Damage Taken Goes to Mana, All Resistances +10, +20 To Mana)

Many high level players use this for it's 10% to all resistances, additional Mana, and damage taken goes to Mana. One drawback of the Nightsmoke belt is that is only has 3 rows for Potions instead of 4.

 

Look for Boots which offer useful magical bonuses such as additional Life, Mana and resistances. Boots that give a Faster Run/Walk Speed, and faster Stamina Regeneration can really help the Necromancer avoid danger and reach his destination much faster.

Look for Boots that offer Fastest Run/Walk, Heal Stamina 50%, and Resistances to Lightning, Fire especially. Other popular choices are:

Vidala's Fetlock (Fastest Run/Walk, +150 to Maximum Stamina)

While other boots can offer Fastest Run/Walk, only Vidala's Fetlock offers such a huge increase of 150 to Stamina. This combination can mean you can run virtually forever. Considered by some to be the best boots for Necromancers and Sorceress (and even other classes), the only draw back of Vidala's Fetlock is that you are passing up having a Rare pair of Boots with Resistances, and other useful stats.

Treads of Cthon (Fastest Run/Walk, 50% Stamina, +50 Defense vs Missile...)

Tearhaunch (Faster Run/Walk, All Resistances +10)

While Tearhaunch is slower than Treads of Cython and Vidala's Fetlock and does not offer any help to Stamina, the +10 to resistances is pretty handy.

At the start any Jewelry is better than no Jewelry at all. After you have your basic Jewelry look for:

Rings
Rings with stats such as Mana, Life, Resistances (Fire and Lightning preferred), and Faster Cast Rate. Eventually you will probably want to look for Rare Rings with some combination of these desired magical bonuses. Collect Rings that give resistance to Fire and Lightning to put on when facing these elemental attacks.

A ultimate Ring to look for is:

The Stone of Jordon (+1 to All Skill Levels, Increase Maximum Mana 25%, +20 to Mana...)

Many Necromancer and Sorceress' dream, The Stone of Jordon is difficult to find. This is the only ring that offers +1 To All Skills, and it can increase maximum Mana by 25% which is really helpful for Sorceress' and Necromancers.

Amulets
There are quite a few useful Amulets early on. Look for Amulets that give additional Mana, Life, and resistances. Another useful Amulet you may wish to look for is Civerb's Icon (Replenish Life +4, Regenerate Mana 40%).

From there, upgrade to an Amulet that gives +1 to Necromancer skills. Beyond that, an Amulet that gives +1 to Necromancer skill levels and another useful stat, or even better a Rare +1 to Necromancer skills Amulet with resistances, Mana, Life, or some other useful magical bonus.

Higher Level Necromancers might look for Amulets that give +2 to Necromancer skills and other useful stats which may be available on Rare Amulets.

Another Amulet you may wish to look for and carry around is a Prismatic Amulet which offers around 25% to all resistances. A Rare Amulet may contain +1-2 to Skills and around 25% to all resistances which would certainly be a highly sought after item.

 

Look at creating a socketed Skull Helm early on. Find or trade for two Skulls (try for the best quality) and place them both in a socketed Helm. You'll now have both Life Replenish and faster Mana Regeneration both of which can help you out.

You can then try to find better socketed Helms with higher Defense, and place better quality Skulls in them.

Power players might want to look for:

Tarnhelm (+1 to All Skill Levels, 25-50% Better Chance of Getting Magic Items, 75% Extra Gold From Monsters)

This is the preferred Helm among high level Sorceress'

However, Most Necromancers prefer:

Wormskull (+1 to Necromancer Skill Levels, Poison Resist 25%, +10 To Mana)

A Helm that fits the Necromancer's style, Wormskull is a great Necromancer Helm. In addition to the +1 to Necromancer Skill Levels, the +10 to Mana and Poison Resist is also handy. Look at trading for this item, or gambling for it although this is not recommended.

 

Wands are the weapon of Necromancers. While other Classes can equip Wands, the bonus skill points are for Necromancer skills and spells only and the low melee damage output of Wands would make that unwise. Wands can be useful to other classes for trading to Necromancers or to sell to the Vendors. Keep in mind that even non magical items (non Violet Items) can still be worth a lot of money to the Vendors. Think twice before passing up a Wand dropped in the field, especially when it only takes up 2x1 in your inventory.

There are no Socketed Wands.

Use Wands to Jump Start Skills and Spells
Necromancer Spells become more powerful and effective with more than one point into them. While 1 point gives you a taste of the skill or spell, often this is just the beginning before the skill or spell becomes more powerful. For example a Clay Golem at level 6 is great addition to your Minions, but a Wand with +3 to Clay Golem makes the Clay Golem even better. Corpse Explosion at level 6 can cause a lot of damage, but with a +1 to +3 to Corpse Explosion you can increase the blast radius of the Corpse Explosion. You can use Wands to buff up skills and spells to a level higher than you would normally be allowed to at your level.

Magic Prefixes and Suffixes on Wands
Generally you want to look for Wands that add free skill points to your skills and spells. You can also look for Wands that add to Mana, or any other desired stats. While you can look for Wands that have Magical Prefixes and Suffixes designed for melee damage, the Necromancer generally should use Wands for spell casting instead of melee combat.

Finding a Wand
Once you've figured what spells you want or need on your wand you have to find it. You can simply play the game and hope you can find a Wand you can use. You can trade with other players to find a good Wand. You can also repeatedly visit the Vendors until they sell a Wand with the skill points you want on it. Typically this is done by first gathering enough Gold to buy a Wand. Then visit the Vendor and look at the Wands. Next exit the town via the town exit or by using a Waypoint then return to the town. This will reset the Vendors unless another player is still in the town. Repeat until you find the Wand you want or get tired of looking.

Test Mana Cost/Damage
Many spells increase in Mana cost for each cast of the spell as you put more skill points into those spells. With increased Mana cost it's possible to put too many skill points to keep up with your Mana. You may find yourself running out of Mana very often forcing you to go back to town to refill your Mana after you have run out of potions. You can use a Wand to bump your spells to a higher level to see if you can handle the increased Mana cost and to test if the damage increase is worth devoting more skill points into that skill.

Suggested Wands
You can look for a wand that gives up to 3 skills with +1-3 in each of those skills or look for:

Infernal Torch (+1 to Necromancer Skill Levels) or Torch of Iro (+1 to Necromancer Skill Levels) which may be harder to find.

Even better, get a hold of the highly sought after:

Ume's Lament (+2 To Necromancer Skill Levels, +40 To Mana, Faster Cast Rate)

This Wand has no level requirements, gives +40 To Mana (very nice) and +2 to Necromancer Skill Levels is the best part. Your best bet is to trade for this Wand.

High level Necromancer's may wish to look for a Necromancer's Wand that gives +2 to all Necromancer Skills and also has from one to three additional Necromancer skills with +1-3 to skill levels and any other useful stats such as resistances, Life, and Mana. A Rare Wand with all this and more would be even better.