The Poison Necromancer is one of the most powerful and versatile builds in Diablo 2 Resurrected. It can deal massive amounts of poison, fire, and physical damage to large groups of enemies, making it a great choice for farming and clearing areas. It can also break any immunity with the help of Sunder Charms, Lower Resist, Amplify Damage, and Infinity. In this article, I will show you how to build a D2R Poison Necromancer, what skills, stats, and items to use, and what strategies to follow.
Skills
The main skills of the Poison Necromancer are Poison Nova and Corpse Explosion. Poison Nova is a spell that releases a ring of poison gas that expands and damages enemies in its radius. Corpse Explosion is a spell that detonates a corpse and deals fire and physical damage to enemies in a large area. These two skills synergize well, as Poison Nova can kill enemies and create corpses for Corpse Explosion, and Corpse Explosion can finish off enemies that are immune or resistant to poison.
The skill distribution for the Poison Necromancer is as follows:
• 20 points in Poison Nova
• 20 points in Poison Explosion
• 20 points in Poison Dagger
• 1 point in Corpse Explosion
• 1 point in Amplify Damage
• 1 point in Lower Resist
• 1 point in Decrepify
• 1 point in Clay Golem
• 1 point in Summon Resist
• 1 point in Bone Armor
• The rest of the points in Bone Wall
Poison Nova, Poison Explosion, and Poison Dagger are the main damage skills that increase the poison damage of Poison Nova. Corpse Explosion is the secondary damage skill that deals fire and physical damage. Amplify Damage and Lower Resist are the curses that reduce the enemy's resistance and break immunities. Decrepify is another curse that slows down enemies and reduces their damage. Clay Golem is the summon that provides a tank and a slow effect. Summon Resist is the passive skill that increases the resistances of the summon. Bone Armor and Bone Wall are the defensive skills that reduce physical damage and block enemies.
Stats
The stat distribution for the Poison Necromancer is as follows:
• Enough Strength to equip items
• Enough Dexterity to reach max block (75%) with a Homunculus
• No points in Energy
• The rest of the points in Vitality
Strength and Dexterity are the stats that determine the equipment requirements and the chance to block. Energy is not needed, as the Poison Necromancer does not have mana issues. Vitality is the most important stat, as it increases the life and survivability of the Poison Necromancer.
Items
The items for the Poison Necromancer are mainly focused on increasing the poison damage, the -% enemy poison resistance, the cast rate, the resistances, and the magic find. The ideal standard setup for the Poison Necromancer is as follows:
• Weapon: Death's Web
• Shield: Homunculus
• Helmet: Harlequin Crest
• Armor: Enigma
• Gloves: Trang-Oul's Claws
• Belt: Arachnid Mesh
• Boots: War Traveler
• Amulet: Mara's Kaleidoscope
• Rings: Stone of Jordan and Bul-Kathos' Wedding Band
• Charms: Annihilus, Hellfire Torch, and Poison and Life Small Charms
Death's Web is the best weapon for the Poison Necromancer, as it increases the poison damage and reduces the enemy poison resistance. Homunculus is the best shield for the Poison Necromancer, as it provides +2 to all skills, a 40% increased chance of blocking, and resistance. Harlequin Crest is the best helmet for the Poison Necromancer, as it provides +2 to all skills, a 10% increased chance of blocking, and life and mana. Enigma is the best armor for the Poison Necromancer, as it provides +2 to all skills, teleport, and Magic Find. Trang-Oul's Claws are the best gloves for the Poison Necromancer, as they provide +2 to Curses, 25% increased poison damage, and -25% enemy poison resistance. Arachnid Mesh is the best belt for the Poison Necromancer, as it provides +1 to all skills, 20% faster cast rate, and +5% to maximum poison resistance. War Traveler is the best boot for the Poison Necromancer, as it provides +10 vitality, +10 strength, and magic find. Mara's Kaleidoscope is the best amulet for the Poison Necromancer, as it provides +2 to all skills and resistances. Stone of Jordan and Bul-Kathos' Wedding Band are the best rings for the Poison Necromancer, as they provide +1 to all skills, life, and mana. Annihilus, Hellfire Torch, and Poison and Life Small Charms are the best charms for the Poison Necromancer, as they provide +1 to all skills, attributes, resistances, poison damage, and life.
The ideal Sunder Charm setup for the Poison Necromancer is as follows:
• Weapon: Death's Web
• Shield: Homunculus
• Helmet: Trang-Oul's Wing
• Armor: Enigma
• Gloves: Trang-Oul's Claws
• Belt: Trang-Oul's Girth
• Boots: War Traveler
• Amulet: Mara's Kaleidoscope
• Rings: Stone of Jordan and Bul-Kathos' Wedding Band
• Charms: Annihilus, Hellfire Torch, Rotting Fissure, Flame Rift, Bone Break, and Poison and Life Small Charms
The Sunder Charm setup is similar to the standard setup but with some changes to optimize the use of Sunder Charms. Rotting Fissure is the Sunder Charm that reduces the enemy's poison resistance and your poison resistance. Flame Rift is the Sunder Charm that reduces the enemy fire resistance and your fire resistance. Bone Break is the Sunder Charm that reduces the enemy's physical resistance and your physical resistance. These Sunder Charms enable the Poison Necromancer to damage many enemies, especially those immune or resistant to poison, fire, or physical damage. To compensate for the loss of resistance, the Poison Necromancer uses the 3-piece Trang Set (Trang-Oul's Wing, Trang-Oul's Claws, and Trang-Oul's Girth), which provides +25% to all resistances, 25% increased poison damage, and -25% enemy poison resistance.
Strategy
The strategy for the Poison Necromancer is to use Poison Nova and Corpse Explosion to kill large groups of enemies while using curses and summons to support and survive. The general steps are as follows:
• Teleport to a pack of enemies and cast Amplify Damage or Lower Resist on them, depending on their immunity and resistance.
• Cast Poison Nova to damage and kill them, creating corpses for Corpse Explosion.
• Cast Corpse Explosion to detonate the corpses and deal fire and physical damage to the remaining enemies.
• Repeat the process until the area is cleared.
• Use Decrepify on tough enemies or bosses to slow them down and reduce their damage.
• Use Clay Golem and Bone Armor to tank and protect yourself from physical attacks.
• Use Bone Wall to block enemies or create choke points.
• Use Sunder Charms to reduce enemy resistance and break immunities, but be careful of your own resistance loss.
The Poison Necromancer is a fast-paced and fun build that can easily clear any area in the game. It requires some skill and practice to master, but playing is very rewarding and satisfying. It is also a great build for magic finding, as it can quickly farm high-level areas and kill large numbers of enemies. If you are looking for a build that can damage large groups of enemies, break any immunity, and farm efficiently, you should try the Poison Necromancer.