The Strongest Necromancer Build - In your opinion!

[V'rass]

Most rp leads to pvp these days... never know when somebody will come after you and some of the more eviler characters dont necessarily need a reason, simply you being the first person that comes by can make you a victim. This has happened to Exo several times and the one time he did ask why that is pretty much exactly what he was told. Is great rp but your characters better be able to pvp cause sooner or later they will be forced to. Its not a question its a fact.

[Deathgrowl]

Most rp leads to pvp these days... never know when somebody will come after you and some of the more eviler characters dont necessarily need a reason, simply you being the first person that comes by can make you a victim. This has happened to Exo several times and the one time he did ask why that is pretty much exactly what he was told. Is great rp but your characters better be able to pvp cause sooner or later they will be forced to. Its not a question its a fact.

First of all, I think you may want to review the PvP rules.

Second, just because you end up "having to" PvP, does that mean your character has to win it? "Being able to PvP" is just being able to target something hostile and perform a hostile act at it. You don't have to be good at it to participate and your character certainly doesn't have to win for the story and RP to be good.

[Brutalix]

So those necromancers relying on summons.....what summon do you most rely on? If you have PM levels are you summoning your undead? or from your spell list?

[Sun Wukong]

Animate Dead can indeed summon the mentioned 3 Undead (my character has Epic Spell Focus Necromancy, thus they are 3x Lvl 22 Undead already...): that fills the SWARM slot.

Then, you have the Pale Master's Vampire fill in the regular SUMMON slot.

Then, you have your run-of-the-mill dominated creature (or a controlled Undead) for the DOMINATE slot.

Then, you have your familiar/improved familiar/floating skull slot for the FAMILIAR slot.

Then, you can Shadow Simulacrum stuff for your COPY slot.

Then, you can Malicious Image stuff for your ILLUSION slot (I kid you not: you can have both Shadow Simulacrum and Malicious Image up, TOGETHER with the rest...).

[Brutalix]

Wow, that's pretty awesome!!

[Incarnate]

Wow, that's pretty awesome!!

Indeed, though the question is, which is strongest necromancer?
- The Save or Die?
- The Summoner?
- The Etc.

[Sun Wukong]

-The ETC, as it will have both summons and DCs.

[Invoker]

The fundamental issue of the thread is, it's not possible to answer that question without a context, and namely, the "strongest" at what?

For PvE and events, any form of Summoner + DC mage with high defenses is going to be the best choice you can make in most cases.

Conversely, that is going to be fairly weak in PvP, since certain gimmicks allow to bypass those defenses, while Summons and DC spells are not going to win you the day. Also, for PvP, the gold you invest in the fight is going to have a decisive weight in the outcome.

Moreover, within PvP scenarios, there are variables like 1v1, 1v2, 1v3, 1vmany, 2v1 "+1" fastkillers, 2v2, 3v3, manyvmany that will bring you to different conclusions, as well as the very compositions of the groups themselves.

What kind of scenario are you looking for?

[Sun Wukong]

Also, for PvP, the gold you invest in the fight is going to have a decisive weight in the outcome.

Quoted for truth. You can have a powerbuild, the best equipment available, and still lose because the other guy was more willing to burn their gold in useables. Potions of Heal, wands, scrolls, you name it.

[KOPOJIbPAKOB]

PvP here is unpredictable (Invoker wrote about this, have nothing to add).
If your aim is to make a reliable necromancer, not something original, just go for pale master + any other classes.

Pros:
- High armor and saves
- Higher HP pool compared to wizard
- Immunity to crits and paralysis (and perhaps to something else I don't remember)
- Very strong summons whose power scales with your PC level (not just catser level)
- Instakilling touch attack with high DC 3 times per day
- This is a cool character to RP
Cons:
- 6/10 spell progression

You can turn him into gish or some DC wizard, whatever you like.
In PvE you rely on your strong summons, in PvP on touch attacks.
(p.s. mind that Spell focus: Necromancy doesn't increase Palemaster's touch attacks DC)