Q u o t e: Now, you CAN double specialize and build what's called a hybrid--a character that has 2 or more main ways of killing things. But I think you would find it difficult killing stuff without top end gear. In my opinion, for now you might wnat to go with a character like what I descrribed above where you do one main type of attack and maximize the damage. Either pick a summoner build, OR a bonemancer, OR (deleted)
Stillman2, I built such a hybrid and successfully completed the Hell game online. My character did not have top end gear but I could raise level 31 skeletons and my Bone Spear did about 1,000 magic damage. The advantage of this build is that I could occasionally solo (for Hellforge quest) and not rely on other players to make bodies for my army. The monsters in the Hell Blood Moor are dangerous enough to kill my mercenary, so I just put them in bone prisons and spear them to make bodies for my army.
Marsmallos, here is my suggestion for a hybrid Skelemancer/Bonemancer build:
Skill points: Maximize Raise Skeleton, Skeleton Mastery, Bone Spear, and Bone Prison. Put one point each in Clay Golem, Golem Mastery, Summon Resist, Amplify Damage, Weaken, Terror, and Decrepify.
Attribute points: Enough strength to wear equipment (I put 156 into strength to wear a 4 socket Monarch shield with perfect diamonds). Everything else goes into vitality.
Mercenary: Act 2 Nightmare Might mercenary. I equip him with an Insight runeword polearm and the best life steal, damage reduction, or crushing blow equipment I can find.
Equipment:
In my primary weapon slot, I have a White runeword wand and a perfect diamond shield. My alternate weapon slot has an Arm of King Leoric wand and a +2 Necromancer skills head for summoning.
Amulets, Circlets, Heads, or Wands can spawn with the Golemlord's prefix which gives +3 Necromancer Summoning Spells. Right now, I have a Lore helm and a Summoner's amulet. I also have a Graverobber's Grand Charm (+1 summoning skills). I am wearing the Skin of the Vipermagi armor but am building a Bone runeword armor (I have Sol and Um but need another Um), which would give me +2 Necromancer skills.
At level 3 I put one point in Skeleton Mastery to give my single skeleton greater damage. At level 4 I put one point into Amplify Damage. I used the skills from levels 2, 5 and the Den of Evil quest to put 3 points into skeletons. At level 6, I put a point into Clay Golem. As I continue to level or complete +skill quests, I put most points into skeletons but I reserve points for Golem Mastery and Summon Resist. I also reserve points so that I could have Decrepify at level 24 and Corpse Explosion in Act 2. I don't put points into Bone Spear or Bone Prison until I maximize Skeleton Mastery.
My general strategy was to first raise an army, using Bone Prison to trap monsters and Bone Spear to kill them. Then I would use Amplify Damage on monsters and my skeletons would kill one or two of them. At this point, with the monsters cursed, I would use Corpse Explosion. I use Decrepify on bosses. The combination Decrepify and Clay Golem produces maximum slowing (85%) and the bosses often cease their special attacks and just melee (at half damage due to the Decrepify). In all cases, I Bone Spear the enemy (often to create the first body for Corpse Explosion).
The worst problem areas for this build are the Maggot Lair (skeletons get lost) and the Chaos Sanctuary (Iron Maiden curse). In both areas, I use Bone Spear. I soloed the Hell Chaos Sanctuary and Bone Prison was handy when my skeletons were cursed.
