Necromancer Guide

Introduction

The purpose of this Guide is to inform the player as to the abilities and paths you can take while playing the Necromancer in Albion. It is also to answer some frequently asked questions and explain the more confusing aspects of the necromancer class. Specific spec paths however are not covered here as I believe the time is better explaining what you *can* do in each specialization, and then letting you make the decision.

1. Creation

Necromancers are a different class than anything currently available and as such, it should be noted on creation at this exact moment that certain stats for a necro do nothing for you. In comparision, other casters can make use of melee resists and constitution bonuses. We cannot at the moment. When making your necro, keep this in mind. You can either put more points into intelligence or dexterity, but con at this moment is worthless. You can plan your character ahead and put points into con in the hopes that this will affect the pet in the future some day, but thats a risk you'll have to take. Race is all a matter of preference, in the end it makes little difference. Bottom line is for dex, pick Saracen. For int, pick Inconnu. For balanced, pick Briton.

2. Caer Gothwaite

Caer Goth as I like to call it, is a great place to start out. I wont cover much here, since really levels 1-5 is as fun as watching paint dry. Either kill task through it, or just attack blues and yellows while casting your heal-over-time on your pet. I wouldn't recommend spending any of your points until 5, so you can make your choice then. The choice points of leveling are outside Caer Goth to the east and north, or outside Goth Harbor to the west. The coast to the west will get progressively harder as you move up it. You can also take the purple portal out in the Harbor to Avalon Marsh, where Briton casters start. Georgia's Isle of Glass leveling guide is a good guide to use, and there is a link down in the F.A.Q.

3. Feeding and care of your pet.

Some rules of the necro pet:

1. You have to have a pet, to cast any necro spell. The only spell you can cast without your pet, is the summon pet spell. Realm abilities are another matter, and are separate from the pet.
2. It has to be within 1500 range of you. If you leave this range, the chat window will tell you that you have 10 seconds to get back within range or your pet will become re-dead.
3. You have to be within 500 range of the pet to order it to cast spells.
4. Patch 1.58A in testing: The pet has to be able to see you (180-degree arc line of sight) in order to cast pet spells.
5. True for all pet casters, but if the pet is in combat, you are in combat. Spells like MCL, Speed buffs, etc will not work on you while your pet is in combat.
6. If your pet is in combat when it dies in any fashion through release, or damage, you will be left at 10% life.
7. If the pet however dies through release or tether snapping while you're not in combat, you will be at full life. I believe this only holds true if your pet is at 100% life, however. Otherwise you may be left with 10% left. I haven't had this problem, it seems to be a bit flaky.

The pet you get is 7/8ths of your level. This means at certain levels your pet will not level with you. The pet will end up at level 44 when you are level 50.

Some things are applied to the pet through you, unlike other pet casters. For one, your _magic_ resists are applied to the pet. Only +items at this time, not racial bonuses. Also, the pet casts spells as if it were your level, but seems to be on a harsher resist table, as if it was a lower con (which it is) or there is a double resist check. Also damage is capped at the pets level.

Treat your pet with kid gloves. Never let it out of your sight, ESPECIALLY when travelling in Dungeons. When you are travelling in light aggro, always have it on passive. Nothing worse than a green aggroing the pet, you not paying attention, going out of 1500 range, having pet die, and green killing you. If the pet is passive it will just drag the green along with it until you have an opportunity to kill it.

4. Necro spells.

Before I get into specifics on necro spec lines, a little information on how necro spells work. Since necromancers are a fusion of pet and player, some spells are cast by the player, and triggered by the pet at his next available opportunity. These are commonly referred to as "instas" or "shouts" in the necro world. Other spells are 'cast' instantly by the player, but the pet has to cast the spell itself, on the standard 3.0 casting time. These are also referred to as pet casts or pet spells. Necro instas are modified by the shades dex, and the pet spells are modified by the pets dex. Instas will deduct the mana when the spell is cast by the shade, but before the pet triggers it, and Pet spells have the mana deducted the second you push the button, regardless of whether or not the spell is cast.

This is all covered in your delve window, also. So if at anytime you forget just delve the spell and it will show you which is the instant and which is the 3.0 cast time.

My run down of the speclines in Deathservant and Painworking is based on very limited experience and what I have read from other players, so take that for what it's worth.

5. Spec Choices.

Deathsight

Deathsight is the most popular specialization choice, primarily due to powertap.

Deathsight Base

1. Ranged Lifetap. This is a 1500 range lifetap, that will drain about half the damage into life for the pet. This will not drain into your shade, only to the pet.
2. AF Debuff. 1500 range. This will increase the amount of damage your pet deals in combat against the debuffed mob. This is a very weak AF debuff, compared to Deathsight spec. It will stack with your deathsight spec, however.
3. Baseline Dex Buff. This spell is a shout type spell. Casting it on the pet will increase dexterity based actions. This includes casting for all pets, and parrying with the 45 pet.

1. Powertap, or the Vacuum line. This 1500 range spell will convert half of the damage dealt into power. It is capped at the mobs level, however. So don't expect to be powertapping level 1 mobs with your level 44 powertap for 250 power.
2. Shout Lifetap. This is the spell, alongside your powertap, you will probably cast the most. 500 range, but castable by the shade, it is possible at higher levels of dex to get 2 of these in a single combat round quite regularly. It does less damage on the whole, but taps for a much higher precentage. Since the pet melees like a schoolgirl, this is your primary way of dealing damage in combat for Deathsight spec.
3. Spec AF Debuff. 1500 range, much more potent in how much it Debuffs.
4. Power Transfer. Pet cast, 1500 range. This is your role in most groups. This spell is actually quite interesting. Let me give an example. Your level 8 power transfer is supposed to take 25 power from you, and transfer it to anyone else. The cost of the spell is 5 power. With a good focus, thats 4 power. Spec levels DO aply to this transfer, however!. So what this means, is that when you actually do transfer the power, you transfer 31 power. That means it applies your 125% spec bonus to the transfer, if you are 100% Deathsight spec. The end result is 29 power removed from your pool, and 31 power given to the target.

Painworking.

Painworking is a good RvR spec, for those necros who are uncomfortable at the thought of using LOS exploits. AE debuffs, area effect dots, and an unbreakable AE snare round out the spec list.

Painworking Base

1. Facilitate Painworking: Please see the FAQ for a more detailed explanation. It is not a quickcast, although since necros do not get a quickcast, most people just call it that. Really it's not important what you call it, but how you use it. Treat it as a 6-second mastery of concentration.
2. Con debuff: Instant spell, 1500 range. This spell is actually very useful. Right now the con debuff has no casting timer on it, which means you can spam the key until you are blue in the face, continually hitting a target with it. As far as I can tell, this interrupts NPC casters. I have been told it doesn't work on player casters in that regard. Also, con for mobs works differently. Con debuffs do not decrease the Hitpoints of mobs, it instead reduces their absorption value, since +con for mobs means more absorb. You will notice a 5-10% increase in damage, depending on the level of the debuff and the level of the mob. Against players, it has no effect on absorb values, and instead reduces their max hitpoints.
3. Snare: Pet cast, 1500 range. I haven't had much use for this spell yet, it is only good to stop fleeing players, and slow down BAF pulls. Not bad to pull with, if you don't have powertap or are not in the mood to generate aggro. This spell will break when the target takes damage.

1. Point-Blank Area of Effect Damage-over-time (PBAEDOT). Pet cast, radius 350. This is a spell centered from the caster (the pet), hence the term Point-Blank. The PBAEDOT is less damage than a Cabalists or Mentalists Ranged AE DoT, but can be cast bearing in mind that your pet can take a lot more punishment than a cabalist or mentalist. Especially if you are painworking spec. It will stack with Cabalist dots. This spell ticks 4 times, over 20 seconds, each time dealing it's delve value in damage, multiplied by spec level, etc.
2. Area Effect Snare: 1500 range, area 350, pet cast. This is an unbreakable snare, which at the first spell lasts 8 seconds, going up to 15 seconds. I however do not think it is affected by determination, although it very well might. In RvR, useful for keeping your healers alive or people from fleeing. It may also be useful around confuse spells in PVE. I do not believe this spell is affected by any sort of immunity timer, since it is not complete immobilization.
3. Single target damage-over-time. 1500 range. At this moment it is not listed on the herald. This is a shout based spell, and has the same duration/ticks as the PBAEDOT.
4. Pet Str/Con Buff. This spell is good, if you are a soloer/lacking a buffer. A buffbot can do the job better, but in the absence of one, this will help your pet absorb more damage, and hit harder/more often. You really only need it for the con, strength or no strength, the pet still hits like a wet sock. This of course will stack with a baseline con buff from a healer-type.
5. Ranged Area effect str/con debuff: Instant cast, radius 350, range 1500. Stacks with the con debuff, and the strength component is excellent for casting on melees, or people who like to lug around 200 lbs worth of seige equipment. Against NPCs its effect is minimal.

Deathservant.

Deathservant is the line primarily responsible for healing the pet, damage shielding it, with some PBAOE and direct damage components as well. It is regarded as the poorest spec in RvR, due to no real ranged capabilities. Combined with a buffbot or con buffs from somewhere like pain spec though and it can be a capable spec in PvE. This spec seems the best as a suppliment, not a primary spec. If you plan on RvRing at all, I would not recommend this as a full spec.

Deathservant Base

1. Pet Heal-Over-Time: Insta cast, 500 range. NOT to be confused with the Mentalist regen buff, which everyone refers to as a heal over time, this is an actual heal-over-time. This will heal your pet on pulses with variance if you are not speced in Deathservant, like any other heal. This spell ticks the same regardless of whether your pet is in combat, napping, dancing, or making toast, unlike the Mentalist regen.
2. Str buff: Pet cast, self only. Str buff. I think we've covered pet melee enough by now. Whatever.
3. Necroservants. Why we're here. 20 second casting time, which can be modified by dex, like any other spell. From 1-11, you have a zombie. From 12-19, you have a zombie grandma/grandpa, or something. From 20-31, you have a skeletal centurion. From 32-44, you have a 8 foot-tall homeless zombie. At 45, you get a demon knight, or Chthonic Knight model from Darkness Falls. He can parry, and has a flaming sword. He also has a horrible swing time.

1. Damage shout: Insta cast, 500 range. This is pretty straight-forward.
2. PBAOE damage: Pet cast, 350 radius. Again, pretty straight-forward. It's not as much as a Wizard, Enchanter, or Spiritmaster PBAOE, but this is still bearing in mind that your pet can take more damage than them.
3. Dex/Qui buff: Insta cast, pet only. Makes pet cast faster, perform dex or quickness actions more often. Dex would be parry, quickness will make it swing faster.
4. Damage shield. Insta cast, pet only. This is similar to the focus shields that Enchanters, Cabalists, and Spiritmasters possess. It is different in some regards. For one, it's weaker, at about 2/3rds the DPS. Now that the bad news is out of the way, the good news: You can do other things while this is on pet. It lasts 30 seconds, during which you can do anything you want. It is relatively cheap, compared to the focus shields.

6. FAQ

Q: Facilitate painworking doesn't work, or works and I can't cast, or really just stinks, whats wrong?

A: Facilitate painworking is a bitch to grasp, but once you do, it is a very useful spell. Keep that in mind. It it is a spell. You cast, and on the next pet action, it will insta buff itself. This buff lasts for 6 seconds, which means that during said 6 second period, you cannot be interrupted unless you are stunned or killed. You do not cast any faster under this duration, but it is possible to cast a spell two times under this duration. The timing of the spell however has to be perfect in order for it to work. Since the pet is only casting the buff, if you do not have another spell queued after Facilitate Painworking, he will take a combat swing. That just wasted approximately 3 seconds of your 'quickcast'. Here are some guidelines:

1. First step to using Facilitate Painworking is NOT to have anything in your queue. This includes spells that your pet is ready to proc, such as lifetap shouts, dd shouts, regen spells, anything. When your pet swings, and does not cast anything, hit your FP button, then queue the spell you wish to cast. If all goes right, the pet will fire off the buff, and then start casting the spell you queued. Then queue your second spell, or the pet will swing after casting the first spell. You should have gotten off two spells in that period. You may, or may not have to practice a few times to get the hang of it. Sometimes however, FP will just fail, regardless. Or maybe it's just me =)
2. Also, remember, your queue has to be EMPTY. If Facilitate Painworking is in your pets spell queue to be cast, it will FAIL. What I mean by this is if you start a powertap, and then hit FP to queue it, it will fail. You have to have FP as the first spell ready, not in a queue.
3. Also, I have extreme difficulty getting my pet to use Facilitate Painworking while in passive mode. I do not know why, but probably has something to do with trying to melee. If you can get it to work, wonderful, tell me how, otherwise, I would recommend putting your pet on defensive before trying it.

Q: My PBAOE spells aren't working! It says target not in view.

A: You have to be facing your pet for it to work.

Q: I like to group, but I can't tap these purples and reds the group is fighting.. I am losing more mana than I am gaining!

A: There is no _real_ solution to this. Necro resists are worse than other classes, generally. You can usually do well though by using a lower powertap. I usually use my powertap two spells lower, as full deathsight. You still gain the same amount of power roughly, but you spend half the power, increasing your possible gain when you DO stick a spell. The other solution is to choose small groups, where you can be of the most benefit, and have target mobs in the orange/low red con. The resists are still heavy but you can tap through it for positive mana gain overall.

Q: What spec do I choose? Which is the best?

A: This question is asked quite a bit, and my disclaimer answer is always the same. All specs are equally valid, under different circumstances. A deathsight necro is terribly inefficient against 5 blues, whereas a deathservant or painworking necro could rip them up, for the most part. Combo specs would fare better against fights like that. However, a deathsight necro is more capable of chaining yellows under ideal conditions. In either case, enough deathsight to powertap should never be ignored. That all being said, I believe deathsight is the best spec opportunity as this point. If you find you want to spec different later, you can level to 40 easily and then respec to your new path.

Q: Where do I hunt?

A: Specific places to hunt are a guide in itself, however I have found that the things weakest to spirit are golems, most ethereal mobs, and undead. If it casts or shoots, consider that as well. If it casts in groups, avoid it unless you are full of manual dexterity and able to bounce the pet from caster to caster while simultaneously keeping your pet alive. Show me, also. If it procs with any frequency, avoid it.

Q: What spec do I choose? Which is the best?

A definite guide to check out would be at http://www.cryptofalbion.com/si_guide_20.pdf. Give props to Georgia for this guide =)

Q: For some reason when I spam the cast button, my mana disappears, and the pet only casts one of the spell!

A: When you cast a spell, the mana cost is deducted before the you send the spell command to the pet. The pet has the same queue as you, and any spell thats cast will overwrite the spell waiting to be cast in queue, with no refund. This doesn't apply for instants, only for pet cast spells. It can work to your advantage, for instance with casting a powertap and then queueing a lifetap, you will get the mana for both the powertap and the lifetap back. Just dont spam that cast button.

Q: My pet is green? Mythic nerfed me!

A: At level nine, and ONLY level nine, your pet will con green to you. This is due to the scalability of the con system at low levels. Since your pet can sometimes not gain levels with you due to rounding of the 7/8ths equation, this can happen. Once you hit level 10, your pet will still be two levels below you, but will now con blue.

Q: My pet bar isn't updating, or is updating slowly, or is just freaking out in general, whats wrong?

A: Some issues with latency can cause the bar to update slower on your screen than on the target window, or other players health. Also, sometimes the bar is just plain wrong. Sometimes the game will suddenly get IDs confused and start checking the HP of another player in the zone. One time it even got the health bar of deamon emerald seal, when that player had zoned. The only solution to this is to resummon the pet, or wait it out, sometimes it can correct itself.

Q: I saw this Mentalist Realm Ability called Severing the Tether, should I be worried?

A: No, because in effect the necro is more than a pet class. Other classes can function without the pet, and regulary do. A necro NEEDS the pet to play, and Mythic is against any class that would completely dominate another class with no possible way to resist or cure it.