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Poison Nova Necromancer Guide

Season 8S

Last Updated:August 10, 2024|Change Log

The Poison Nova Necromancer is a true "King of AoE." With both Poison Nova and Corpse Explosion at his disposal, this Necromancer quickly disposes of anything and everything on the screen. Fully loaded, this build pumps out incredible amounts of Poison, Fire, and Physical Area of Effect (AoE) Damage within a single Skill Rotation.

Aided by Amplify Damage, Lower Resist, Conviction Aura from Infinity, and Sunder Charms, the combined assault of Poison Nova and Corpse Explosion leaves nothing behind but memories of monsters that once were. No monster Immunity combinations can withstand three significant and unique sources of Damage. Even Poison Immune monsters fall prey to Amplify Damage, a powerful Mercenary, and the Corpse Explosion chain that follows.

As an accomplished Density Destroyer with varied damage types, high speed Teleport, and seamless rotations, the Poison Nova Necromancer is a well-oiled farming machine. This build specializes in demolishing The Pit, making short work of this top-tier Farming Spot with zero Poison Immunes, low Life monsters, and densely-packed mobs. It also levels virtually every Terror Zone. If you are looking for a challenging playstyle relying on high APM Skill Rotations and complex farming strategy execution, you will love playing this build. Its higher gear requirements make it a great option once you have become comfortably geared into the Ladder Season.

Ideal Standard Setup
Ideal Standard Setup


Poison Nova


Corpse Explosion


Revive


Teleport

This build guide assumes you have a Character at Level 75 before transitioning to it. Check out our Necromancer Leveling Guide and our General Leveling Strategies to reach Level 75.

3 Types Of Damage
Fast-Paced Playstyle ✔
Top-Tier Density Destroyer
Massive Area Of Effect Damage ✔

❌ Difficult To Master
❌ Horrible Boss Killer
❌ Weak Early-Game Starter
❌ Best In Slot Items Are Very Rare

Sunder Charm Setup

Patch 2.5 introduced a new way of breaking Immunities: Sunder Charms. Any enemy that would be Immune to your damage type(s) is instead reduced to 95% Resistance, before any other Resistance reductions apply. These Charms also reduce YOUR Resistance against the sundered damage types! Check out our post on Sunder Charms to learn more about these new Charms. The following setup potentially benefits from Rotting Fissure, Flame Rift, and Bone Break, enabling you to deal more damage to many enemies.

Sunder Charm Setup
Sunder Charm Setup

Gear Changes

Use Rotting Fissure when facing Poison Immune monsters to increase the effect of Poison Nova. To optimize this Sunder Charm you need as much -% Enemy Poison Resistance as possible. Equip Death's Web and 3-Piece Trang Set (Trang-Oul's Claws, Trang-Oul's Girth, and Trang-Oul's Wing) to accomplish this. Poison Rainbow Facets socketed into gear also help. Lower Resist further increases your damage.

Use Flame Rift when facing Fire Immune monsters and Bone Break when facing Physical Immune monsters to increase the effect of Corpse Explosion. Infinity equipped on the Mercenary provides enough -% Enemy Fire Resistance to make Flame Rift effective. Amplify Damage provides enough -% Enemy Physical Resistance to make Bone Break effective.

Terror Zones

The new Terror Zone mechanic combined with Sunder Charms open up a wide range of farmable areas. The following list highlights the best and worst Terror Zones for this build. With the Sunder Charm Setup, more Terror Zones become accessible. Learn more about Terror Zones here and see how they stack up in our Terror Zone Tier List.

Best

Pit - High Density, Easy Mobility, Many Elite Groups, Quick Access, No Immunities
The Secret Cow Level - High Density, Easy Mobility, No Immunities
Halls of Pain ONLY - High Density, Many Elite Groups, Quick Access, Few Immunities, Super Chest
Chaos Sanctuary - High Density, Many Elite Groups, Quick Access, No Immunities
Travincal - Bosses, Quick Access, No Immunities

Worst

Arreat Plateau + Pit of Acheron - Low Density, Immunities
Crystalline Passage + Frozen River - Trash Mobility, Tanky Enemies, Immunities
Ancients' Way + Icy Cellar - Trash Mobility, Tanky Enemies, Immunities
Glacial Trail + Drifter Cavern - Trash Mobility, Tanky Enemies, Immunities
Spider Forest + Spider Cavern - Low Density, Trash Mobility, Immunities

Skills

Put 1 Skill Point into each of the following Skills:
1. Amplify Damage
2. Lower Resist
3. Bone Armor
4. Skeleton Mastery
5. Revive
6. Golem Mastery
7. Summon Resist
8. Iron Golem

Max out the following Skills in this order:
1. Poison Nova
2. Poison Explosion
3. Poison Dagger
4. Corpse Explosion

Put all remaining Skill Points into Lower Resist, Bone Wall, or Golem Mastery past Level 87.

Use the Scroll Bar to see Skill Point Progression
Use the Scroll Bar to see Skill Point Progression

Damage

Utility

Attributes

Note: This section provides you with the standard Stat Point allocation. Build Variants may require different allocations!

Strength

Allocate enough Stat Points into Strength to equip all of your gear. Take into account how much Strength your gear provides when equipped.

Dexterity

Allocate enough Stat Points into Dexterity to equip all of your gear. Take into account how much Dexterity your gear provides when equipped.

Vitality

Allocate all remaining Stat Points into Vitality after meeting Strength, Dexterity and Energy requirements.

Energy

Don't allocate any Stat Points into Energy. This build gets enough Mana from gear, Charms, buffs, and Mana Potions. The Standard Build also gets Mana after each Kill from Death's Web along with significant Mana Regeneration from an Insight Iron Golem.

Essentials

Gear Options

Farming Spots

Mercenary

Playstyle

Breakpoints

Hardcore

Build Variants

Starter
Budget
Standard
Magic Find
Damage
Hardcore

Setup

The Starter variant of the Poison Nova Necromancer meets the minimum gear requirements for farming the Starter tagged areas in the "Farming Spots" section above. These areas can be Solo-farmed by this setup (/Players1 on Single Player) in both Nightmare and Hell difficulty. Prioritize + to Skills, +x% to Poison Skill Damage, Faster Cast Rate, Resistances, Cannot Be Frozen, and Life/Attributes on your gear. A Staff of Teleportation on Weapon-Swap allows this build to reposition. You can also use a Harmony on Weapon-Swap for faster move speed. The Starter build achieves the 75% Faster Cast Rate Breakpoint. Follow the Necromancer Leveling Guide to get your Necromancer to Level 75.

Mercenary

The Starter Poison Nova Necromancer uses an Act 2 Might Mercenary with Insight for Damage and Mana Regeneration. Mercenaries require Resistances, Life Leech, and/or Damage Reduction to stay alive. Smoke is a cheap Body Armor option for Resistances, while Bulwark is the cheapest Helmet that provides Life Leech and Damage Reduction.

Skills

Use Clay Golem instead of Iron Golem. The rest is the same as the Standard Build.

Put 1 Skill Point into each of the following Skills:
1. Amplify Damage
2. Lower Resist
3. Bone Armor
4. Clay Golem
4. Skeleton Mastery
5. Revive
6. Golem Mastery
7. Summon Resist

Max out the following Skills in this order:
1. Poison Nova
2. Poison Explosion
3. Poison Dagger
4. Corpse Explosion

Put all remaining Skill Points into Lower Resist, Bone Wall, or Golem Mastery past Level 87.

Attributes

Allocate enough Stat Points into Strength to wear your gear. Put all remaining Stat Points into Vitality.

Setup

The Budget Poison Nova Necromancer achieves solid results with gear that is much easier to acquire than the gear on the Standard Build. Its ability to clear The Pit with 1-3 Players in the game or /Players1-3 on Single Player rivals the high-end Standard Build's ability to clear it on /Players7-8. And unlike the Starter build, the Budget setup can farm Travincal. It is also able to farm Chaos Sanctuary, The Secret Cow Level, Eldritch the Rectifier, Shenk the Overseer, and Ruined Temple on higher Player Count than the Starter version. The Budget variant reaches the 75% Faster Cast Rate Breakpoint and uses 3 Trang-Oul's Set items (Trang-Oul's Claws, Trang-Oul's Girth, and Trang-Oul's Wing) to achieve decent -x% to Enemy Poison Resistance without the ultra-rare Death's Web. A Naj's Puzzler on Weapon-Swap allows you to strategically travel and reposition using its Teleport Charges. In general, difficult to acquire Standard Build items have been replaced with lower-end gear options that still provide decent Damage, Faster Cast Rate, Resistances, Damage Reduction, Magic Find, and the Cannot Be Frozen stat. If you can acquire them, Rotting Fissure and Bone Break increase your damage against their respective Immunities.

Mercenary

Because Infinity is a luxury your Budget Poison Nova Necromancer cannot afford, use an Insight on an Act 2 Might Mercenary for Damage and Mana Regeneration instead. Also use Treachery and Tal Rasha's Horadric Crest for the tank stats they provide. This Mercenary is better at surviving and dealing damage than the Starter one.

Skills

Use Clay Golem instead of Iron Golem. The rest is the same as the Standard Build.

Put 1 Skill Point into each of the following Skills:
1. Amplify Damage
2. Lower Resist
3. Bone Armor
4. Clay Golem
4. Skeleton Mastery
5. Revive
6. Golem Mastery
7. Summon Resist

Max out the following Skills in this order:
1. Poison Nova
2. Poison Explosion
3. Poison Dagger
4. Corpse Explosion

Put all remaining Skill Points into Lower Resist, Bone Wall, or Golem Mastery past Level 87.

Use the Scroll Bar to see Skill Point Progression
Use the Scroll Bar to see Skill Point Progression

Attributes

Allocate enough Stat Points into Strength and Dexterity to wear your gear. Allocating enough Stat Points into Dexterity to achieve maximum Chance to Block (75%) is an option here with Trang-Oul's Wing, but not necessary. Put all remaining Stat Points into Vitality.

Setup

This is the Standard Best in Slot (BiS) Poison Nova Necromancer featured in the beginning of the guide. It is the balanced "jack-of-all-trades" version, capable of performing the most tasks well. This variant is the point of comparison for all other variants. It carefully balances Damage output, Magic Find, and Teleport mobility. Rotting Fissure, Flame Rift, and Bone Break increase your damage against their respective Immunities. The Standard setup achieves the 125% Faster Cast Rate Breakpoint for rapid Skill usage.

Mercenary

The Standard Poison Nova Necromancer uses an Act 2 Might Mercenary to produce the first body for Corpse Explosion as fast as possible. Equip Infinity on him for -85% to Enemy Fire Resistance (to boost Corpse Explosion). Fortitude and Andariel's Visage socketed with a Ruby Jewel of Fervor maximize this Mercenary's damage and survivability.

Skills

Put 1 Skill Point into each of the following Skills:
1. Amplify Damage
2. Lower Resist
3. Bone Armor
4. Skeleton Mastery
5. Revive
6. Golem Mastery
7. Summon Resist
8. Iron Golem

Max out the following Skills in this order:
1. Poison Nova
2. Poison Explosion
3. Poison Dagger
4. Corpse Explosion

Put all remaining Skill Points into Lower Resist, Bone Wall, or Golem Mastery past Level 87.

Use the Scroll Bar to see Skill Point Progression
Use the Scroll Bar to see Skill Point Progression

Attributes

Allocate enough Stat Points into Strength to wear your gear. Put all remaining Stat Points into Vitality.

Setup

This variant is optimized for farming The Pit, the Poison Nova Necromancer's strongest Farming Spot. Because The Pit only has low Life monster types, you can comfortably sacrifice Damage from the Standard Build and replace it with Magic Find wherever possible. This even applies to a Full Game or /Players7-8 on Single Player. Maximizing the odds of finding the rarest Unique and Set items is the priority on this setup. This includes favoring Magic Find Small Charms over Fungal Grand Charms, socketing Ist Runes into gear, and favoring the Magic Find stat on Jewelry. The Magic Find variant achieves the 125% Faster Cast Rate Breakpoint like the Standard Build.

Mercenary

Just as with the Standard Build, the Magic Find Poison Nova Necromancer uses an Act 2 Might Mercenary with Infinity, Fortitude, and Andariel's Visage socketed with a Ruby Jewel of Fervor.

Skills

Put 1 Skill Point into each of the following Skills:
1. Amplify Damage
2. Lower Resist
3. Bone Armor
4. Skeleton Mastery
5. Revive
6. Golem Mastery
7. Summon Resist
8. Iron Golem

Max out the following Skills in this order:
1. Poison Nova
2. Poison Explosion
3. Poison Dagger
4. Corpse Explosion

Put all remaining Skill Points into Lower Resist, Bone Wall, or Golem Mastery past Level 87.

Use the Scroll Bar to see Skill Point Progression
Use the Scroll Bar to see Skill Point Progression

Attributes

Allocate enough Stat Points into Strength to wear your gear. Put all remaining Stat Points into Vitality.

Setup

The Damage variant uses Bramble and a Gemmed Monarch socketed with 4x 5/5 Poison Rainbow Facets to maximize Poison Nova's Damage. This setup is particularly effective in High Player Count games or /Players7-8 on Single Player. Since you don't need Enigma Teleport to travel to The Secret Cow Level, the Damage build dominates this Farming Spot with its extra high Poison Damage output. The same goes for several Terror Zones. This setup is also particularly good at farming the easy access Farming Spots of Travincal, Eldritch the Rectifier, and Shenk the Overseer. It comfortably clears The Pit and Chaos Sanctuary, although slower than the Standard Build due to lack of mobility. Use either a Teleport Charge Amulet or Teleport Charge Circlet for repositioning and limited mobility. Rotting Fissure, Flame Rift, and Bone Break increase your damage against their respective Immunities. This variant achieves the 75% Faster Cast Rate Breakpoint.

Mercenary

Just as with the Standard Build, the Damage Poison Nova Necromancer uses an Act 2 Might Mercenary with Infinity, Fortitude, and Andariel's Visage socketed with a Ruby Jewel of Fervor.

Skills

Use either Attract or Bone Wall to gather Hell Bovines or "Cows" in The Secret Cow Level for a Corpse Explosion death pit demise. Also put all remaining Skill Points into Golem Mastery past Level 91 to improve your Iron Golem's survivability. The rest is the same as the Standard Build.

Put 1 Skill Point into each of the following Skills:
1. Amplify Damage
2. Lower Resist
3. Bone Armor
4. Bone Wall
5. Skeleton Mastery
6. Revive
7. Golem Mastery
8. Summon Resist
9. Iron Golem
10. Attract

Max out the following Skills in this order:
1. Poison Nova
2. Poison Explosion
3. Poison Dagger
4. Corpse Explosion

Use the Scroll Bar to see Skill Point Progression
Use the Scroll Bar to see Skill Point Progression

Attributes

Allocate enough Stat Points into Strength to wear your gear. Put all remaining Stat Points into Vitality.

Setup

For the Hardcore mode variant, aim for high Damage Reduction and maximum Chance to Block (75%) to guard against taking extreme amounts of Physical Damage. Additionally, overcap Resistances beyond the natural cap of 75% if possible to counteract hostile Conviction or Lower Resist. If using Sunder Charms, stack the appropriate defensive stats to counteract their negative effects. This variant reaches the 75% Faster Cast Rate Breakpoint. Consult the "Hardcore" section for more detailed information.

Mercenary

Just as with the Standard Build, the Hardcore Poison Nova Necromancer uses an Act 2 Might Mercenary with Infinity, Fortitude, and Andariel's Visage socketed with a Ruby Jewel of Fervor.
Note: Do not hire a Holy Freeze Mercenary for improved survivability. It shatters corpses needed for Corpse Explosion.

Skills

Allocating Skill Points into Bone Wall instead of Lower Resist past Level 87 improves your ability to tank Physical Damage. Additional Skill Points into Golem Mastery improve the survivability of your Iron Golem. The rest is the same as the Standard Build.

Put 1 Skill Point into each of the following Skills:
1. Amplify Damage
2. Lower Resist
3. Bone Armor
4. Skeleton Mastery
5. Revive
6. Golem Mastery
7. Summon Resist
8. Iron Golem

Max out the following Skills in this order:
1. Poison Nova
2. Poison Explosion
3. Poison Dagger
4. Corpse Explosion

Use the Scroll Bar to see Skill Point Progression
Use the Scroll Bar to see Skill Point Progression

Attributes

Allocate enough Stat Points into Strength to wear your gear and enough Stat Points into Dexterity to achieve maximum Chance to Block (75%). Put all remaining Stat Points into Vitality.

Video Guide

Video Guide by DarkHumility

Mechanics

Teleport

Poison Nova

Corpse Explosion

Lower Resist

Amplify Damage

Revive

Iron Golem

Bone Armor

Summary

  • Use the Lower Resist, Poison Nova, Amplify Damage, Corpse Explosion Skill Rotation while interweaving Teleport for maximum effectiveness. Cast these Skills as many times as it takes to clear the screen.
  • Equipping Enigma or Bramble greatly increases your DPS and overall farming efficiency. Acquire one them ASAP!
  • Use items on the Starter or Budget Builds (see Build Variants) to get a functional Poison Nova Necromancer setup before you have acquired best in slot gear.
  • This is arguably the #1 High Player Count "The Pit" farming build. Farm this ideal Max Level Area to take full advantage of this build's power.
  • The Poison Nova Necromancer is incredibly effective at clearing high monster density in High Player Count games in the late-game. Achieving the 125% Faster Cast Rate Breakpoint with sources of Poison, Fire, and Physical Damage makes this build quick and lethal in nearly every Farming Spot.
  • Rotting Fissure, Flame Rift, and Bone Break increase your damage against their respective Immunities. They can improve your farming efficiency in several areas, including several Terror Zones.

We hope you enjoy this build! With a solid setup and execution, this dynamite is a blast! Not much beats the satisfaction of watching monsters' health bars drain away...

Good luck!

Credits

Written by DarkHumility
Reviewed by MacroBioBoi

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