User:I Am Jebus/General Necromancer Guide

Introduction
The Necromancer is a spellcasting profession, designed to devastate the enemy with a variety of hexes, life stealing, and degeneration. They can do things from creating Wells to help your party to raising a destructive army of minions that eliminates any enemy with ease.

Blood Necros
Blood Necromancers are Necromancers who use skills specializing in health degeneration, health regeneration, wells, life stealing, and a variety of hexes. These are potentially very powerful. A typical blood skill bar is: [build prof=N/Any Blood=12+3+1 SoulReaping=12+2][Awaken the Blood][Blood Renewal][Order of Pain][Optional][Optional][Optional][Optional][Optional][/build]

Common Elites:
 * Blood is Power:To help with allies's energy problems.
 * Life Transfer:To inflict severe degeneration upon the enemy team.
 * Order of the Vampire:To increase damage done by your teammates and to heal them with every attack that they make.
 * Ravenous Gaze:To steal a surprising amount health from the enemy.
 * Spoil Victor:To completely disable an attacking enemy.

Common Skills:
 * Awaken the Blood:To boost the power of your Blood Magic and Curses spells.
 * Blood Renewal:For a self heal.
 * Blood Ritual:To boost the energy of your teammates.
 * Dark Bond:To defend against damage(used mostly by minion masters.)
 * Order of Pain:To increase the damage that your teammates do.
 * Vampiric Bite:Used to steal large amounts health at the cost of being touch range and having high energy.
 * Vampiric TouchUsed to steal large amounts health at the cost of being touch range and having high energy.
 * Well of Blood:Used for corpse denial and to heal your teammates in the well.

Some Great Blood Magic Builds:

Archive:N/D Mystic Blood Bonder Archive:N/D Mystic Orders Build:N/Mo 55hp Boss Farmer

Death Necros
Death Necromancers are Necromancers dealing in spells that can deal large amounts of damage to the enemy, inflict degeneration on them, and, most importantly, raise up a huge minion army to defend and attack. A typical Death Magic build is:

[build prof=N/Any Death=12+3+1 Soul=12+2][Putrid Bile][Rising Bile][Rotting Flesh][Vile Miasma][Optional][Optional][Optional][Optional][/build]

Common Elites:
 * Discord: For AL-ignoring, good, albeit conditional damage.
 * Tainted Flesh: Best used on heroes to spread disease and to prevent against it.
 * Toxic Chill: For great damage.
 * Virulence: Condition spreading, used in Fragility spikes.

Common Skills:
 * Death Nova: Best used on heroes to deal massive AoE damage and poison upon ally's death.
 * Deathly Chill: Good damage capabilities.
 * Deathly Swarm: Good damage capabilities.
 * Taste of Pain: Good healing capabilities.
 * Well of Suffering: Corpse denial, degeneration to enemies.

Some Great Death Magic Builds: Archive:N/A Toxic Chill Spiker

A typical Minion Master build is:

[build prof=N/Any Death=12+3+1 Soulreaping=12+3][Animate Bone Horror][Animate Bone Fiend][Animate Shambling Horror][Blood of the Master][Signet of Lost Souls][Optional][Optional][Optional][/build]

Common Elites:
 * Animate Flesh Golem: For a great, high-level tank.
 * Aura of the Lich: For Blood of the Master spamming.
 * Jagged Bones: To create minions without the need of a corpse.
 * Order of Undeath: To add to the damage that minions do.

Common Skills:
 * Animate Bone Fiend: Minions that can attack at range, but have high energy.
 * Animate Bone Horror: Low energy, fast recharge, general well-balanced minions.
 * Animate Bone Minions: Summons two minions that are slightly lower level than a regular minion would be, and is therefore weaker.
 * Animate Shambling Horror: Summons a minion that, upon death, automatically spawns another, lower level, minion that inflicts bleeding. Downside is high recharge.
 * Animate Vampiric Horror: Summons a minion that heals you with each of its successful attacks, but has high recharge.
 * Blood of the Master: A must-have for Minion Masters, as this is the best way to heal your minions.
 * Death Nova: Best used by heroes, as they know exactly when a minion is at low health.
 * Deathly Swarm: Sometimes used by Minion Masters to create some corpses in the beginning.
 * Feast for the Dead: Not as common as Blood of the Master, but can sometimes be useful in Death Nova spikes.
 * Infuse Condition: Extremely effective in getting rid of conditions. Commonly used with Draw Conditions.
 * Malign Intervention: Again, not as commonly used, but can create a minion without worrying about corpse denial.
 * Putrid Flesh: Can be used to spread Poison. Useful when combined with Jagged Bones or Animate Shambling Horror, as the resultant Jagged Horror will cause Bleeding, making -7 health degeneration.
 * Taste of Death: Generally used for huge self-heal.
 * Verata's Aura: Used in PvP to steal the minions of other MMs.
 * Verata's Gaze: Same purpose as Verata's Aura, though not as effective.
 * Verata's Sacrifice: Not commonly used anymore, but still plausible in scenarios for support MMs with some Weapon Spells.

Some Great Minion Master Builds: Archive:N/D Heir to the Master Archive:N/Mo Supportive Minion Master Archive:N/any Aura of the Lich MM Archive:N/any Minion Master Build:N/any Order of Undeath

Curses Necros
Necromancers that use the Curses attribute specialize in a variety of Hexes, Shadow Damage causing skills, and heavy health degeneration. A typical Curses necro has something like:

[build prof=N/Any Curses=12+3+1 Soulreaping=12+2][Defile Defenses][Defile Enchantments][Desecrate Enchantments][Enfeeble][Optional][Optional][Optional][Optional][/build]

Common Elites:
 * Corrupt Enchantment: Very commonly used, especially in PvP for enchantment removal and degeneration.
 * Feast of Corruption: Good in PvE for massive life stealing; good when combined with Suffering.
 * Order of Apostasy: Used commonly in PvP for mass enchantment removal from the enemy team.
 * Signet of Suffering: Good in PvP and PvE for spikes.
 * Spiteful Spirit: Possibly the most powerful elite of the Necromancer profession, this does devastating AoE damage in both PvP and PvE.

Common Skills:
 * Barbs: Used in PvP right before melee members begin to attack for huge additional damage.
 * Defile Enchantments: Used in PvP and PvE to deal large amounts of damage.
 * Desecrate Enchantments: Used in PvP and PvE to deal large amounts of damage.
 * Enfeeble: Cause Weakness.
 * Insidious Parasite: Used to shutdown melee attackers or to exploit the AI, dealing large amounts of damage as the enemy destroys himself. Commonly used with Spiteful Spirit.
 * Price of Failure: Used to shutdown melee attackers. Commonly used with Spiteful Spirit.
 * Reckless Haste: Used to shutdown melee attackers. Commonly used with Spiteful Spirit.
 * Rend Enchantments: The most effective way for mass Enchantment removal.
 * Rip Enchantment: A good low energy enchant removal.
 * Shivers of Dread: Used against bosses, sometimes in conjunction with Greater Conflagration and Winter.
 * Spinal Shivers: Used against bosses, sometimes in conjunction with Greater Conflagration and Winter.

Some Great Curses Builds: Archive:N/Me SS Nuker Archive:N/E Corrupt Warder

Soul Reaping Necros
While uncommon, Soul Reaping necros can be very powerful. A typical Soul Reaping bar may be: [build prof=N/Any Soulreaping=12+3+1][Signet of Lost Souls][Signet of Sorrow][Optional][Optional][Optional][Optional][Optional][Optional][/build]

Common Elites: There are only 3 Soul Reaping Elite Skills; however, these have all been used with great effectiveness.
 * Icy Veins: This skill is used in spikes with amazing effectiveness.
 * Reaper's Mark: This is great for health degeneration and energy management.
 * Wail of Doom: This incredibly powerful skill can completely disable melee attackers and bosses in both PvP and PvE. Useful when combined with Faintheartedness.

Common Skills:
 * Masochism: Used with builds that sacrifice a lot for energy management.
 * Signet of Lost Souls: Great skill, very commonly used with Minion Masters.
 * Signet of Sorrow: Used for a 0 energy, spammable skill against enemies.

Some Great Soul Reaping Builds: Archive:N/Me WoD Melee Shutdown Archive:Team - HA Balanced IV Spike Archive:Team - HA IV Telespike

Profession Combos
Can use Heal Area or Karei's Healing Circle for Minion Masters. Can use Dwayna's Sorrow in Minion Master builds. Can use hard rez. A powerful combination is Recurring Insecurity and Soul Barbs. Another powerful combination is Fragility and Virulence. With the incredible amount of hexes, the N/Me is powerful. Can use Ward Spells to great effect. Restoration healers, can counteract the high energy costs with Soul Reaping. A hard rez can be used.
 * N/W: Provides almost nothing for the Necromancer profession.
 * N/R: Provides almost nothing for the Necromancer profession.
 * N/Mo: Can use a very powerful combo called the 55 solo necromancer.
 * N/Me: Arcane Echo can be combined with Spiteful Spirit.
 * N/E: Glyph of Lesser Energy for energy management.
 * N/Rt: Spirit Spamming, can counteract the high energy costs with Soul Reaping.
 * N/A: Things like Signet of Toxic Shock can be used with Toxic Chill for a good spike.
 * N/P: Can use "Go for the Eyes!" and "Fall Back!" as a minion master.
 * N/D: Mystic Regeneration, when combined with Aura of the Lich and Dark Bond makes for an incredible defense with Minion Masters.

Necromancer as a secondary profession:

Use Grenth's Balance when combined with Riposte and Deadly Riposte for great defense against bosses. Usually associated with Hexes. Because of the Elementalist's primary attribute, Energy Storage, Spinal Shivers/Shivers of Dread can last much longer. Gaze of Contempt/Rend Enchantments before a spike. Plague Touch to rid conditions, although there are better alternatives.
 * W/N: Use Plague Touch combined with Quivering Blade or Headbutt to counteract the Daze effect.
 * R/N: The most common, and perhaps only, effective use of a R/N is as a touch ranger, which uses Expertise to reduce the cost of the skills Vampiric Bite and Vampiric Touch.
 * Mo/N: Provides almost nothing for the Monk profession.
 * Me/N: Same uses as N/Me.
 * E/N: Offering of Blood for energy management.
 * Rt/N: Explosive Growth, Spirit's Gift, and Boon of Creation can help with Minion Mastering, along with Spawning Power, the Ritualist's Primary Attribute.
 * A/N: Plague Touch to rid conditions.
 * P/N: By using Cautery Signet/"It's Just a Flesh Wound" and Plague Touch/Plague Sending/Plague Signet, it can be very effective.
 * D/N: Necromancer Order Spells and Mysticism is a good combo.