D2R Budget Summon Necro Destroys Hell Without Expensive Gear in Season 10

4/4/2025 5:03:12 PM

Struggling in Diablo 2 Resurrected with no good gear or runes? This budget Summon Necromancer build requires virtually no wealth to get started yet clears Hell difficulty with ease. Using clever skill combinations and dirt-cheap gear, you'll farm high-level areas faster than most expensive builds while working toward your endgame upgrades.

Core Build Strategy This build focuses on three key components that make it powerful even with minimal gear:

Summon Army: Skeletons serve as meat shields while your mercenary gets the first kill. Max Raise Skeleton and Skeleton Mastery first for durability.

Corpse Explosion: Your primary damage source. Amplify Damage + CE wipes entire screens regardless of immunities.

Teleport Staff: Critical for repositioning summons and mercenary to focus fire.

Might Mercenary: Provides damage aura and gets first kills - never use Cold mercs (shatters corpses).

Insight Polearm: Solves mana issues while avoiding cold damage that ruins corpses.

1-Point Wonders: Bone Armor, Revive, and Iron Golem (later) add utility without heavy investment.

Pro Tip: Hold down Corpse Explosion and sweep your mouse across corpses - the game will auto-target valid corpses in range for chain reactions.

Skill Point Allocation

Skill	Points	Purpose
Raise Skeleton	20	Core summon for tanking and damage
Skeleton Mastery	20	Boosts skeleton health and damage
Corpse Explosion	20	Primary damage source (radius increases)
Amplify Damage	17+	Larger radius means fewer casts
Summon Resist	1	Helps minions survive elemental damage
Revive	1	Situational but powerful meat shields
Bone Armor	1	Extra survivability

Respec Note: Later when you can make an Iron Golem from Insight, respec to max Golem Mastery (for durability) while reducing points in Amplify Damage (as +skills will compensate).

Ultra Budget Gear Setup

Weapon: Spirit Sword

Tal+Thul+Ort+Amn in any 4os sword. +2 skills, FCR, mana - best budget caster weapon.

Helm: Gemmed Crown

3x Topaz (perfect or flawless) for magic find. Upgrade to Peasant Crown when found.

Armor: Stealth

Tal+Eth in 2os armor. Early game staple with FHR and FCR.

Shield: Rhyme

Shael+Eth in 2os shield. Cannot be frozen + resists + MF.

Gloves: Shopped Rare

Buy from vendors - look for resists or magic find.

Boots: Shopped Rare

Prioritize 30%+ run/walk with resists from vendors.

Belt: Crafted Caster

Shark skin base for 4 rows. Look for FCR or resists.

Amulet: Crafted Caster

Even bad crafts help. Hope for +skills or FCR.

Rings: Magic/Rare

FCR, resists, stats - whatever you find. Gamble if needed.

Swap: Teleport Staff

Buy from Drognan (A2 Normal). Critical for repositioning.

Critical Gear Tip: Never use gear with Cold Damage (shatters corpses). Your Might Mercenary must use Insight (no Cold) in a non-CV polearm (strength req too high).

Mercenary Setup Your mercenary is crucial for getting the first kill to start Corpse Explosion chains:

Act 2 Might Mercenary:
- Provides damage aura for your skeletons
- Gets first kill to enable Corpse Explosion
- Must avoid Cold damage at all costs

Weapon: Insight
- Ral+Tir+Tal+Sol in 4os polearm
- Meditation aura solves mana issues
- No Cold damage preserves corpses

Helm: Bulwark
- Life leech and damage reduction
- Farm Countess for Io runes

Armor Options:
- Natalya's (3os with Ral+Thul)
- Griswold's (3os + strength)
- Treachery (Shael+Thul+Lem) later

Mercenary Tip: Watch for your merc getting stuck behind skeletons - use Teleport staff to reposition him into combat where he can land killing blows.

Farming Locations This build excels in these areas even with budget gear:

Pit (Tamoe Highland)
- Level 85 area (all items can drop)
- No natural immunities
- Dense monster packs for CE chains

Stony Tomb (Rocky Waste)
- New level 85 area in D2R
- No cold/fire immunes
- Great density for CE

Eldritch/Shenk (Frigid Highlands)
- Quick boss kills
- Good XP and drop chances

Nihlathak (Halls of Vaught)
- Key farming
- Pre-corpse explode his minions

Chaos Sanctuary
- Tough but doable
- Skip Diablo until better geared

Leveling Tip: At level 75 in Hell, farming Pits and Stony Tomb can give nearly half a level per game due to high monster density and level.

Upgrade Path As you find wealth, prioritize these upgrades:

Slot	First Upgrade	Endgame Goal
Weapon	Heart of the Oak	Beast (for Fanaticism)
Shield	Spirit Monarch	Homunculus
Armor	Skin of the Vipermagi	Enigma
Helm	Peasant Crown	Harlequin Crest
Merc Weapon	Obedience	Infinity
Swap	Naj's Puzzler	Call to Arms

Endgame Transition: Eventually replace Insight on mercenary with Infinity, then make an Iron Golem from Insight for meditation aura while keeping Infinity's conviction.