Summoner (The Fishymancer) Necromancer Guide for Diablo II: Resurrected

Welcome to Dustbowl 1930´s Summoner "Fishymancer" Necromancer Guide for Diablo II: Resurrected! This guide has been updated for Patch 2.5 and Ladder Season 2 and will cover the vital aspects of the Summoner Necromancer, including core talent and attribute distribution, build variations, optimal gear, and the best mercenary to accompany you in Sanctuary. Make sure to rate this article and leave a note on this article's comment section or visit our social media outlets for additional information and community feedback. We hope you'll find this guide valuable! Enjoy!

The Fishymancer is a Summon Necromancer build that relies on Skeletons and Corpse Explosion to kill monsters. It is named after Nightfish, who pioneered the build shortly after Diablo II's Patch 1.10 was released. Prior to that patch, Summon Necromancers were not particularly impressive, and build variations included Commandos, Overlords, and Zookeepers. Nightfish created what is possibly the safest character to play in Patch 1.10, claiming modestly that his build could beat "Hardcore" without gear.

Despite some changes in subsequent patches, beating the game with a naked Necro is still possible. Nonetheless, the Fishymancer is an iconic Necromancer build that translates extremely well into Diablo II: Resurrected as an excellent all-purpose character, effective Magic Finder, and Diablo Clone and Uber Tristram Certified! Because of its simple but effective gameplay and lack of gear dependency, this is the go-to Necromancer build for new players and season starters.

Not gear-dependend

Unbeatable on godly gear

Uber Tristram Certified

Simple and easy to play

Can get stuck on narrow maps;

Slower than most characters;

Repetitive gameplay;

Need lots of corpses;

The Fishymancer's core abilities are [Raise Skeleton] and [Corpse Explosion]. You must also max [Skeleton Mastery] to increase damage and survivability, as well as at least one point on all [Summoning Skills], one point on [Teeth] as a prerequisite for [Corpse Explosion], and one point on all Curses leading to [Decrepify]. The core build requires only 73 Skill points to complete and has the following skill distribution:

The Fishymancer Core for Diablo II: Resurrected

At this point, Nightfish's original guide leaves additional points to player discretion. The build's adaptability and flexibility are welcomed, but additional points should be invested where you believe improvements are required. Although there will be insufficient points to cover survivability, crowd control, minions, or damage output, choose upgrades that fit your game style.

As your Necromancer progresses into the endgame, one interesting strategy is to construct an Iron Golem from [Insight Runeword] or [Immortal King's Stone Crusher]. Iron Golems retain all of the properties of the item used to summon them, including auras and "Chance to Cast Spell" effects. Golems created with [Immortal King's Stone Crusher], for example, will retain the item's 40% Crushing Blow property, which is extremely effective against bosses. Iron Golems created from the [Insight Runeword], on the other hand, will grant the Necromancer and his party a Level 12-17 Meditation Aura, resolving all of your mana issues.

The Fishymancer "a-la-Dustbowl" has the following skill distribution:

The Dustbowl 1930 Fishymancer Variant for Diablo II: Resurrected

Although the [Fire Golem] is quite useful for crowd control, the Dustbowl 1930 Fishymancer variation, however, focus solely on the [Iron Golem] and its inherited characteristics, so no points are invested in [Fire Golem]. Also in this build, [Corpse Explosion] is lightly crippled to give 5 extra points between [Iron Golem] and [Golem Mastery], at which point the build will require 105 points completed on level 94.

The Fishymancer gear is quite straight forward: [Resistance to Lightning] and [+ To Skills] should be your primary focus. You can also stack [Magic Find] if your gear is optimal, as well as resistances to all elements to a lesser extent. Mana and Mana Regeneration may become an issue for your Necromancer early on, but this is a build that can be played naked, twinked, and untwinked to great success. To be honest, the Fishymancer has no bad gear. With that in mind, the gear listed below is tiered for Uber Tristram.

CHARMS

One of the best charms for a Necromancer is the Graverobber's Grand Charm, which adds +1 to Summoning Skills. For endgame, a [Hellfire Torch] and [Annihilus] are extremely useful for [+ To Skills], [Resistances] and Attributes, so make sure you get them. Fill in the gaps in your inventory with [Resitances] and Magic Find Small Charms.