Core requirements
The advanced setup is A, and the budget setup is B.
- Cast rate
- A·B 125%
- Main attack
- Bone Spear 20 · magic damage
- Survival
- Bone Armor and Bone Prison
- Resistances
- 75% fire/lightning resistance
Attributes
Total attributes with equipment · hard points shown separately
| Strength | A·B 156Total · meet requirements on both main and swap |
|---|---|
| Dexterity | 0 hard pointsEquipment requirements only · no maximum block |
| Vitality | All remaining pointsAfter meeting Strength and Dexterity requirements |
| Energy | 0 hard pointsMana potions and Insight |
Attribute calculations and equipment changes
Strength
Do not rely on an item's own Strength to equip it initially, and meet requirements on swap too. Invest only the shortfall after accounting for Enigma and confirmed charm bonuses. Meet 91 Strength before equipping Sandstorm Trek without its own bonus; likewise, meet 65 before equipping Jalal's Mane without its own +20 Strength.
Dexterity
Wands and the Monarch need no extra Dexterity. The baseline chooses Vitality over maximum block.
Vitality
Fight behind your mercenary and summons, investing remaining attributes in life. B follows the same principle.
Energy
A and B both recover mana through an Insight mercenary. Use potions if it dies or moves out of range. Mana leech does not apply to poison/bone spells or Corpse Explosion, so do not invest hard points in Energy.
Skills
Level 90 · 101 hard points
Main skills and synergies
Supporting investment
Prerequisite · support 1 point each
Includes 12 quest points; equipment skill bonuses are excluded. Unlisted skills have 0 points. A and B use the same allocation.
Investment order
Teeth to start, then at level 6 unlock 
Clay Golem·
Corpse Explosion, level 18 
Bone Spear. 
Bone Armor gets only 1 point; raise the synergies first.
- Bone Spear 20
Bone Prison 20
Bone Wall 20
Bone Spirit 20- Teeth 12 in that order.
Decrepify, prerequisites and 
Golem Mastery·
Summon Resist have 1 point each.
At levels 91–98, invest in Teeth to 20; at level 99, raise Corpse Explosion to 2 points for a wider radius.
Equipment skill bonuses and allocation notes
The table and image show 101 hard points. Equipment +skills are added separately and do not replace hard points for ordinary synergies.
A and B use the same base allocation. Changing equipment alone does not change the tree.
A·B Shared · Level 90 complete allocation
Open this allocation in the simulator ↗
Equipment
A / B: compare modifiers and replacement requirements.
| Slot | Advanced A | Budget B | Conditions |
|---|---|---|---|
| Weapon | A Runeword White | BRuneword White | Same runeword · A invests in a better Bone Spear base |
Weapon choice and replacement detailsA · Setup requirementsOrdinary Bone Wand with 2 sockets Recommended +3 Bone Spear base · 20% Faster Cast Rate B · Setup requirementsOrdinary Bone Wand with 2 sockets 20% Faster Cast Rate · +3 Poison and Bone Skills Base selectionWhite's own Bone Spear bonus adds to the base's inherent bonus. Blue magic wands cannot become runewords, and weapon skill bonuses do not count as hard-point synergies. | |||
| Shield | A Runeword Spirit | BRuneword Spirit | Both require 156 Strength · the shield has no inherent fire resistance |
Shield choice and replacement detailsA · Setup requirementsMonarch with 4 sockets 35% Faster Cast Rate · +2 to All Skills B · Setup requirementsMonarch with 4 sockets At least 25% Faster Cast Rate · mana and Faster Hit Recovery | |||
| Helm | A Harlequin Crest | B Runeword Lore | B loses skills and survivability · make runewords in empty ordinary/superior bases |
Helm choice and replacement detailsA · Setup requirementsClass skills and survival modifiers · socket a rune for missing resistance B · Setup requirementsCap with 2 sockets +1 to All Skills · lightning resistance | |||
| Armor | A Runeword Enigma | B Skin of the Vipermagi | B travels on foot · replace the lost 30% Faster Cast Rate before switching to Enigma |
Armor choice and replacement detailsA · Setup requirementsMage Plate with 3 sockets Teleport · +2 to All Skills · Strength per level B · Setup requirements30% Faster Cast Rate · 20–35 all resistances | |||
| Gloves | A Trang-Oul's Claws | BTrang-Oul's Claws | Maintain the shared cast rate |
Glove choice and replacement detailsA · Setup requirements20% Faster Cast Rate · casting support B · Setup requirements20% Faster Cast Rate | |||
| Belt | A Arachnid Mesh | B Nightsmoke | B obtains 20% Faster Cast Rate from armor |
Belt choice and replacement detailsA · Setup requirements20% Faster Cast Rate · +1 to All Skills B · Setup requirements10 all resistances · mana | |||
| Boots | A Sandstorm Trek | B Aldur's Advance | B strengthens fire resistance · A needs fire resistance charms |
Boot choice and replacement detailsA · Setup requirements20% Faster Hit Recovery · 40–70 poison resistance B · Setup requirements40–50 fire resistance · 40% Faster Run/Walk | |||
| Amulet | ACrafted Necromancer caster amulet | BCaster amulet | At least 10% required in both setups |
| Ring 1 | ARare caster ring | BRare caster ring | 10% Faster Cast Rate |
| Ring 2 | ARare caster ring | BRare caster ring | 10% Faster Cast Rate · keep both rings |
Mercenary and weapon swap
| Slot | Advanced A | Budget B | Conditions |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mercenary | A Act 2 Might  Runeword InsightEthereal elite polearmRuneword Fortitude Andariel's Visage(Ral) | B Act 2 Might Runeword InsightRuneword Treachery Tal Rasha's Horadric Crest | Maintain aura range and mercenary survival |
Mercenary detailsDeveloping an Insight mercenaryUpgrade the Insight mercenary to an ethereal elite polearm to improve first-kill damage. Use Ral in Andariel's Visage to offset its -30 fire resistance; Tal Rasha's Horadric Crest can be equipped from level 66. A: when switching to another weapon, prioritize retaining its aura or enemy resistance reduction. | |||
| Weapon swap | A Runeword Call to ArmsCrystal SwordRuneword SpiritMonarch | B Staff with Teleport charges | A Battle Command → Battle Orders; B is for escaping dangerous areas |
Swap detailsCharge managementMonitor Teleport charges and repair gold. You lose shield resistances while holding the staff, so do not land in the middle of enemies. | |||
Upgrade order
- Secure base damage and mana with Bone Spear White and Insight
- Reach 125% with amulet 10, rings 20, gloves 20, armor 30 and Spirit at least 25
- Get 35% Spirit and Arachnid Mesh
- Even after switching to Enigma, A maintain 20+35+20+20+10+20=125%
- Add Call to Arms, Hellfire Torch and Poison and Bone Skills charms
Playstyle
- Preparing to farm
Prepare Bone Armor, Clay Golem and Call to Arms warcries. Bring potions because mana sustain stops if the Insight mercenary dies.
- Ordinary packs
Group enemies with Bone Wall or the golem and pierce the line with Bone Spear. Once corpses appear, cast Amplify Damage to strengthen Corpse Explosion's physical portion.
- Bosses
Slow the boss with Clay Golem and Decrepify, then keep landing Bone Spear or Bone Spirit. Homing Bone Spirit is convenient against an isolated moving target.
- Handling immunes
Conviction and Lower Resist do not break magic immunity. Let the mercenary kill the target or use Corpse Explosion from nearby nonimmune enemies. Bypass isolated magic immunes when there are no corpses.
- B Farming areas
Progress through Nightmare Baal, the Hell Pit and Chaos Sanctuary. Until equipment improves, avoid magic-immune-heavy areas and high-player-count games where the Insight mercenary repeatedly dies.
- Transition requirements
Bone Spear leveling is possible from level 18; damage improves at level 35 when White becomes available. Before Hell, obtain resistances and 75% Faster Cast Rate; B reaches 125% when complete.
Mechanics and notes
125% Faster Cast Rate breakpoint
Necromancers cast at 10 frames with 75% Faster Cast Rate and 9 frames with 125%. B uses White 20 + Spirit 25 + armor 30 + gloves 20 + amulet 10 + rings 20 = 125% as the minimum package.
Defensive and offensive synergies
Hard points in Bone Wall and Bone Prison improve both Bone Spear damage and Bone Armor absorption. This is why Bone Armor itself is not raised to 20 first.
Magic damage and resistances
Amplify Damage does not increase Bone Spear's magic damage. Switch to it for Corpse Explosion after Bone Spear produces the first kill; maintain Decrepify when survival is needed.
Strengths, limitations and farming style
Strengths
Piercing magic damage is less constrained by elemental immunities.
Wall, Prison and the golem control the battlefield.
Limitations
Requires substantial synergy investment and caster equipment.
Slows down against magic immunes and bosses in high-player-count games.
Additional variants
75% Faster Cast Rate survival variant
Switching to Homunculus reduces Strength investment and adds resistances, but loses the baseline 125%. Choose this only when maintaining at least 75% and resetting equipment and attributes together.
Renewed magic Sunder Charm
Renewed Black Cleft's sunder and enemy magic resistance reduction can expand farming against immunes, but impose a personal magic resistance penalty. Use this separately from the baseline mercenary/Corpse Explosion approach.