Sesserdrix's All in One Necromancer Strategy Guide

Spoiler Alert

This cheat sheet is the equivalent of the FIND button in retail EverQuest therefore this cheat sheet is NOT classic. FYI, players moved to P99 to escape non-classic gameplay features such as the FIND button. If you wish to play EverQuest using a satnav system which tells you where to go and what to do (non-classic gameplay) the recommendation is to play retail rather than P99. If you wish to play classic how it's meant to be played, and how this author played it, it's recommended you avoid reading this cheat sheet altogether as it stops you from thinking for yourself and is a major spoiler. You only play EQ for the first time once, do you really want to ruin that unique experience by being a mind controlled clone?

You may have seen certain players spamming this non-classic cheat sheet in-game or on the forums but you are not obligated to follow it because this cheat sheet is neither classic, official nor necessary to play EverQuest on P99 and there is no official Necromancer player/spokesperson on P99.

Asking fellow players in-game for advice IS classic though as is discovering things for yourself.

End of Spoiler Alert

Prelude: A Concluding Introduction

Hello all! I am Sesserdrix Daudsormr, writer of this guide. If you have found your way here, you have probably heard about this guide as a resource for playing necromancers on Project1999. Although this is still true, I should warn you here at the beginning that some information is out of date. With the onset of Velious, a lot of new patches have come out that have changed things for necromancer. To name a couple, snares stack with roots and circlet of shadow has been nerfed. Although these changes do make some parts of this guide inaccurate, the major portions of this guide which discuss ways of thinking about your DoTs, efficient gameplay, and the like, those sections remain accurate. If you understand the concepts there, then use that thinking with the current state of this class, you will do well as a necromancer.

Regrettably, much of my guild has left Project1999. As is the case with any game founded on social bonds and community, to have one's social circle cut out from a place is to remove bonds which keep one there. As such, I am no longer playing on Project1999 to maintain this guide. However, I hope this guide will remain in tact and will continue to be a resource until someone compiles a better one to put this one to shame.

Putting this guide together, updating the necromancer class page, talking to so many new and old necromancers about the class... This has all made my time on Project1999 a wonderful experience. I thank all of you who took the time to read this guide, to all of those who decided to send me a tell and chat about the class, and to all of those who contributed their ideas into improving the quality of necromancers found on Project1999. You all made this time memorable.

Remember: Pay it forward. Help your fellow necromancers. Teach them, learn from them, and befriend them. Although we are all evil lifetapping lizards (or other), we are a family of evil lifetapping lizards (or other). Again, I thank you all from the bottom of my black, black heart.

-Sesserdrix Daudsormr, Necromancer of Rodcet Nife the Prime Healer.

Section 1: Introduction

Welcome fellow Necromancers to Sesserdrix's All in One Necromancer Strategy Guide! For those of you who knew of my previous guide, Uteunayr's Necromancer Soloing and Strategy Guide, I am writing this as an expanded and far more concise and clear version of my Necromancer Guide. You will notice the addition of a number of new camping locations, a new format for each camp to tell you what each is, and more resources.

It is my goal to create a repository for all my knowledge of the Necromancer class that I have acquired from my experience here on Project 1999.

This is not a quick glance guide. This guide is made to offer as much detail as possible on as many things as possible so that you, as a necromancer, are totally prepared for the challenges ahead. If you wish to learn to play a necromancer all on your own, I do not recommend reading this guide.

This is not a speed run guide. Some of these spots will be slow, and safe. Others will be dangerous, and fast. If the spot is slow, I am certain there are places out there you can go for faster EXP. If a spot is too fast, I am sure there are spots out there that are slower. This guide is derived from my experience over leveling a number of necromancers on Project 1999.

This is not a guide of every possible camp. This guide represents locations that I believe are fun and interesting places to level up. In interest of letting the game still have some fun in exploration, I have not included every possible camp and location for decent experience: only the ones I personally enjoy. By and large, I prefer leveling in Antonica, and later levels Kunark. You will notice a bias toward these places in my guide. There are other spots in Faydwer, Odus, and Kunark which can also be great experience. Nevertheless, the strategies this guide describes will be useful at any camp, regardless of if I cover it or not. In other words, there is more to do than the spots just in this guide. Feel free to branch out and find your own spots!

This is a Learning Guide. My goal in this guide is not to show you what is necessarily the fastest way to get around, nor is it to tell you every place you can go. My goal in this guide is to introduce you to many of the core fundamental mechanics of the class, and a leveling progression that will challenge you increasingly more as you get higher up into levels, and can put your understanding of the class to the test. This is a guide to learn to play a necromancer. There will definitely be more to learn beyond this, but this guide should get you started on the right path.

This is a Kunark-era guide. No spots or information relating to Velious is currently in this guide. Velious content will be added, but not until Velious is out and the content can be experienced.

About the Author and the Guide

I am Sesserdrix Daudsormr, Iksar Necromancer of <Bregan D'Aerth>, worshiper of Rodcet Nife. I am also Uteunayr Seidsvar, Dark Elf Necromancer, but that character is retired in favor of my Iksar Necro, Sesserdrix.

I have a great respect for what can be shown with empirical evidence. If you believe that something I put in this guide is not factual, and you have proof for it, please share.

I am always open to talking to anyone. If you need a hand, or something doesn't quite make sense, send me a tell in-game. I have been known to show up at the camps on this guide and offer whatever assistance I can to readers. If I am busy, I'll let you know, so do not worry about bothering me.

I offer sincere appreciation to the people of this server that continue to make the game community a positive and strong one, in which all players can get that feeling of classic once again.

Section 2: Creating Your Necromancer

This section serves one ultimate purpose: For me to offer you the reasons for creating, and some insights into creating your necromancer so that you fully understand the decisions you make in character creation. The choices you make in character creation now will shape the way the game unfolds for you in major ways, and once they are done, you can't go back and change them. So I think it is important that you have a good grasp on it.

Why Necromancer?

Before we ask "Why necromancer?", we should first ask ourselves "What is a necromancer?" Necromancy is a magic present in many fantasy settings, but within each, it varies considerably. Necromancy to many was merely a form of divination through contact with the souls of the dead. However, as time went on, it became more associated with control of the dead. Nevertheless, not every game or story subscribed to this perception, and instead presented a different view of necromancy. What I present here is the view of necromancy that informed many of the early design decisions in EverQuest that we play with now on Project 1999.

Necromancy is the Arcane Magic of Life. Necromancy is not a magic that is simply about death, or communing with the death, but rather about the uses of life, and by extension, death. In the early lore of EverQuest, it was the gods themselves that created life in the forms of the races of Norrath. Life is something that is inherently divine, something that is natural. Clerics, Paladins, Druids, Shamans, Rangers, all of these access this natural divine magic to create life and heal the wounds of the living.

Necromancy is far from a divine magic. Instead, it is arcane, along with wizards, enchanters, and magicians. Unlike these, however, necromancy seeks to tap into the divine energy of life with arcane magic. Rather than having the power gifted upon you by your loyalty or piety to a deity, necromancers seek to tap the divine without the help of the gods.

But it still is not a divine magic, and as such, it does not create life. Instead the necromancer becomes a conduit of the energy of life, channeling it from some and into others. The necromancer drains the life of his or her enemies, and pours that life into their friends. The necromancer burns away their own flesh, sacrificing their own life for more arcane power, which can then be given to allies, or turned into more powerful spells. The necromancer can sacrifice the weak, and use their entire life's energy to return others to life like a cleric. The Necromancer taps into the powers of the Divine, and does it through arcane means.

The necromancer is, therefore, a very scary thing to many. The power of necromancy is seductive, and has been a tool for many an evil pe