I’ve played Necromancer raids for years, and I’ll tell you plainly: you can be a raid asset without copying every cookie-cutter guide. My name’s Elena, and I write from experience—I’ve tanked timing mistakes, wiped teams, and also carried fights where everyone expected me to fail. Honestly, some popular advice won’t work the way you expect.
Raid bosses have huge HP, nasty area attacks, and mechanics that punish bad positioning. As a Necromancer you’ll lean on summons and sustained spells. That means picking skills and gear that keep steady damage while keeping you alive. This doesn’t always work the same for every boss—depends on your niche and team makeup.
💀 Core Skills That Actually Matter
Bone Spear is your dependable damage tool. It reaches far, pierces targets, and keeps output steady during long fights. I’ve noticed the legendary variants that add ricochet or damage over time can swing phases where adds cluster. Use it often; it’s your baseline.
Command Skeletons give you reliable pressure and help soak aggro (they’re cheap distractions). The exploding-skeleton legendary? Game-deciding in tight windows. By the way, if you like to play support-ish, leaning into minions pays off more than you think.
Use Bone Armor for survival and Corpse Lance for burst when corpses are safe to use. Dark Curse is situational but strong against heavy-hitting bosses. Watch this: keeping a mobility skill is non-negotiable—if you can’t move, you’ll die!
⚔️ Gear: What to prioritize (short)
Two-handed weapons usually beat one-handers for sustained damage. Scythes feel balanced; staves help utility. Pick weapons that boost your main skill—Bone Spear or Command Skeletons—depending on your role. To be fair, some players overvalue raw weapon DPS; utility and cooldowns often win fights.
| Slot | Primary | Why it matters |
|---|---|---|
| Weapon | High base damage / legendary effect | Shapes your damage rhythm |
| Chest | Vitality / damage reduction | Survives big bursts |
| Legs | Vitality / damage | Movement + sustain |
| Ring | Skill damage / life-on-hit | Small survival buffer |
| Amulet | Core skill buffs | Most impactful choice |
Quote: “A weapon that matches your rotation is worth more than the highest DPS number on paper.” — Elena
🔮 Gems and What to Upgrade
Berserker’s Eye is strong for many raid setups if you can position aggressively. That said, controversy time: it’s not the only correct choice—I’ve carried bosses without it (yes, really). Blood-Soaked Jade heals via minions and shines in long fights. Everlasting Torment, Seeping Bile, Ca’arsen’s Invigoration—pick based on role, not trends. (I prefer a hybrid mix.)
- Berserker’s Eye — push rank if you can handle trading hits
- Blood-Soaked Jade — great if minions are core to your play
- Survivability / utility gems — situational, pick one
📊 Stats & Paragon: a practical split
Put most points into Intelligence and spell damage; raid bosses scale better with percentages. For defense, favor broad damage reduction and max life nodes. My usual split for organized raids is roughly 70% offense / 25% defense / 5% utility. Newer teams should skew safer—I’ve seen 60/40 work fine in pug groups.
Why this split? Because percentage damage scales with gear and gems; flat bonuses fall behind in prolonged fights. Also, cooldown and resource nodes let you keep rotations consistent, which matters far more than a tiny DPS edge.
🛡️ Staying Alive: Tactics That Keep You Up
Positioning matters more than raw gear. Stay at range, but not so far your minions don’t engage. Learn safe spots for each boss—I’ve kept full HP by watching animation tells more than numbers on the boss bar. Use Bone Armor often; saving it for “just in case” feels noble but false. Potions? Use them proactively.
Critical warning (no drama): don’t face-tank raid mechanics. Even with perfect gear, a direct hit can straight-up delete you. There are exceptions, but trust me—prioritize mechanics over trying to squeeze a percent more DPS.
💥 Rotation and When to Break It
Start fights with Command Skeletons, then Bone Armor, then a few measured Bone Spears. Keep a steady cadence—don’t blow all your essence in the first minute. Corpse Lance is for windows where you’re safe. Adapt when things go sideways: if adds explode or the healer dies, swap to survival and call it out.
// Example quick keybinds (my setup)
1 = Bone Spear
2 = Command Skeletons
3 = Bone Armor
4 = Corpse Lance
Shift+1 = Mobility
“Standard” rotation checklist — keep Bone Armor up, cycle Bone Spear, redeploy skeletons, use Corpse Lance when safe. Emergency checklist — move first, use defensive items, tell team what you saw.
Short tips, long payoff
Practice beats perfect theory. Talk with your raid leader; ask for rehearsal pulls. Between us, a minute of coordination saves ten wipes. Surprising insight: sometimes a lower-DPS staff with cooldown reduction outperforms a scythe on fights with many phases—it comes down to uptime, not peak numbers.
Want a blunt opinion? Scythes are often overrated in theorycraft videos. People love numbers; raids love consistency. There’s a trade-off and there are exceptions, of course.
One last candid thought: you won’t master this overnight. Keep refining, learn boss tells, and don’t be afraid to change a gem or swap a skill if your group needs it. It worked for me, and it’ll work for you if you put in the reps.
— Elena (raid Necromancer, since 2019)
