Summonmancer Build Guide

Summonmancer is a Necromancer build that focuses on raising a massive undead army to do all the killing while you stay safe behind the lines. It’s one of the safest and most beginner-friendly builds in Diablo 2 Resurrected. This build works well in solo play and multiplayer, especially in Hardcore or self-found modes. It's considered "evergreen" because it's viable in every patch, supports Magic Find farming, and performs well with budget gear.

Core Skills and Skill Point Distribution

Raise Skeleton – 20 points
Skeleton Mastery – 20 points
Raise Skeletal Mage – 20 points
Corpse Explosion – 20 points
Summon Resist – 1 point
Clay Golem – 1 point
Golem Mastery – 1 point
Revive – 1 point
Amplify Damage – 1 point
Decrepify – 1 point
Prereqs and extra points – Into Bone Armor or curses as needed

Raise Skeleton and Skeleton Mastery make your skeletons durable and strong. Corpse Explosion clears packs fast once the first few enemies die. Skeletal Mages and Revives add more bodies for crowd control. One point in curses like Amplify Damage and Decrepify helps break physical immunities and control tough enemies.

Stat Point Allocation

Strength – Enough for gear (around 75–100 depending on equipment)
Dexterity – Base
Vitality – Everything else
Energy – Base

Summonmancers don’t need much Strength or Dexterity. Put just enough into Strength to equip your gear. Put everything else into Vitality to stay alive. Mana problems are solved through gear and potions, not by investing in Energy.

Gear Recommendations

Best-in-slot (BiS) Gear

Weapon: Beast (for Fanaticism aura)
Shield: Homunculus (socket with Um Rune)
Helmet: Harlequin Crest (Shako)
Armor: Enigma
Gloves: Trang-Oul's Claws
Boots: Marrowwalkor War Traveler
Belt: Arachnid Mesh
Rings: The Stone of Jordan
Amulet: Mara's Kaleidoscope
Charms: Gheed’s, +Summoning GCs with life or resistances, Torch, Anni

Beast grants your minions increased attack speed and damage. Enigma gives teleport, making repositioning your army easy. Homunculus, Shako, and Trang-Oul's offer +skills, resistances, and mana. The rest of the gear boosts skills, survivability, or utility.

Mid-tier Gear

Weapon: Arm of King Leoric
Shield: Boneflame or Spirit in a Necro head
Helmet: Lore or Peasant Crown
Armor: Skin of the Vipermagi
Gloves: Magefist
Boots: Sandstorm Trek
Belt: Trang-Oul’s Girth or Goldwrap
Rings: Raven Frost + rare ring with res/mf
Amulet: +2 summoning amulet with resist

Mid-tier gear still gives you +skills and decent survivability. Arm of King Leoric is a powerful weapon until you can make Beast. Vipermagi offers +skills and resists. Spirit is a cheap way to add a lot of value if you can get the base.

Budget Gear

Weapon: White (Dol + Io in a +3 RS/+3 SM wand)
Shield: Rhyme in a Necro head
Helmet: Lore
Armor: Stealth
Gloves: Any with resistances or MF
Boots: Faster Run/Walk or MF boots
Belt: Nightsmoke
Rings/Amulet: Magic or rare items with +skills or resistances

White is cheap and very strong if made in the right base. Rhyme gives blocking and resistances. Stealth is an easy early game armor that boosts cast rate. This setup is enough to solo Hell slowly and safely.

Mercenary Setup

Act 2 Nightmare Offensive (
Might aura)
Weapon: Insight (for Meditation aura)
Armor: Treachery or Duriel’s Shell
Helmet: Andariel's Visage or Tal Rasha’s Helm

The Might aura boosts your skeletons’ physical damage, and Insight gives you near-unlimited mana. Treachery is great for survivability through Fade and IAS. Andariel’s Visage adds +skills and life leech, while Tal’s Helm is a solid budget pick.

Gameplay

Cast Raise Skeleton to build your army, then curse enemies with Amplify Damage. Once your minions kill the first monster, use Corpse Explosion to wipe out the rest. Against bosses, use Decrepify and summon Clay Golem to slow them down. Revive monsters in tough zones for extra tanking and utility. Use Enigma to reposition your army as needed.

Leveling Guide

Level 1–18: Use Raise Skeleton and Skeleton Mastery. Get Amplify Damage early. Use Clay Golem for crowd control.
Level 18–30: Add Corpse Explosion at 18. Get Golem Mastery and Summon Resist by 30.
Level 30+: Start putting points into Raise Skeletal Mage and more into Corpse Explosion. Begin using Revives.
Gear: Use Stealth, Lore, and a wand with +Raise Skeleton early on. Farm Normal Countess for runes.
Merc: Get Act 2 Prayer Merc in Normal, swap to Might in Nightmare. Give him Insight ASAP.

Farming Spots

The Pit (Tamoe Highland, Act 1)

The Pit is level 85, so almost every item can drop. It’s easy for Summonmancer since skeletons and mages tank everything, and you can clear at your own pace. Lots of chests and good density for magic finding.

Ancient Tunnels (Lost City, Act 2)

No cold immunes and wide open rooms make it a good map for your summons. The density is low to medium, which suits a build that uses Corpse Explosion to chain kills off the first corpse.

Chaos Sanctuary (Act 4)

Summonmancer handles it well due to safe positioning, curses, and Clay Golem tanking. Use Decrepify to weaken Oblivion Knights. Corpse Explosion is strong in the tightly packed rooms.

Cows (Secret Cow Level)

This is one of the best spots for Corpse Explosion. The high density and tightly packed cows make chain explosions devastating. Skeletons rarely die here, and you can farm fast.