Necro race

[Vertiggo]

Obviously iksar is the preferential choice but has anyone level'd an eru necro? I just ask because I had an eru Sk and he could go almost everywhere and I would really enjoy that amount of acceptance being this character will have no help at all. Also the near 30% racial penalty seems like a bummer for iksar

[Hiragawa]

Min/Max - Endgame: Iksar, hands down as you've said.

Rolling anything but an Iksar will get you insulted by some and joked about by others. Now, that being said...

I'm not an Iksar fan, and my only Iksar I've ever really played was an Iksar Beastlord I made back on live in uh... Discord era I think. (Which was 100% for the scaled wolf pet, I kept my AoN on him and never looked back)

My Necromancer is an Erudite, and enjoyable. Obviously not having the exp penalty is handy while living (Worthless at 60 of course), and having quick access to one of the coolest cities and easy purchase of a Hole Key was nice. The Shoulders they can quest are handy too, (http://wiki.project1999.com/Azraxs'_Legacy) and should last you a decent while.

Faction on the other hand, I can't really speak of much. Guards are just too fun to kill...

[Zill]

Look, for some reason on these forums everyone froths at the mouth about all Necromancers being Iksar. I think it's because some guy named Sesserdrix or whatever made a huge ranty post going into a nerd-fit about why Iksar make the best Necromancers and that shit got passed around like a dutchie.

Yes, Iksar make the best min/max Necromancers but that doesn't make an Erudite Necromancer a shitty choice. Ogres hands down make the best Warriors but you'll see Wood Elves and Gnome and Human warriors all over the place. Why? Because people play what is appealing. No one will say shit to those Warriors for not being Ogre but god forbid if P99ers see anything other than an Iksar necro. Just don't worry about it. In the end, this game isn't a competition and you're not going to win any prize for EQing super effectively by choosing the best race for your class. Play for fun; erudite is my top choice for Necro also

[Pope Hat]

Iksar is best war, not ogre ;)

Make the erudite necro! Screw min max.

[Baler]

There is a reason people pay 55k - 60k for a fungi tunic and not +x int items.

[Pyrocat]

Obviously iksar is the preferential choice but has anyone level'd an eru necro? I just ask because I had an eru Sk and he could go almost everywhere and I would really enjoy that amount of acceptance being this character will have no help at all. Also the near 30% racial penalty seems like a bummer for iksar

It's 20% and well, well worth it.


My Necromancer is an Erudite, and enjoyable. Obviously not having the exp penalty is handy while living (Worthless at 60 of course), and having quick access to one of the coolest cities and easy purchase of a Hole Key was nice.

Iksar can just skeleton form and walk around/sell/bank in Paineel just fine.

To the OPs concerns, skeleton form will make you non-kos in most evil cities. Hell I'm ally with guards and amiable with banker/merchants in North Freeport with skeleton form on and a couple Lucan faction hits. You get call of bones at 34 which is your first skeleton form and the one with the least hp drain. As an iksar you will be able to out-regen the hp drain from this.

[Nixtar]

You do not have to be a min-maxer to choose iksar. It is, in fact, a good choice for the casual player too. The whole part of being reviled by almost anyone fits the necromancer theme, and like mentioned there are ways of getting around/fixing faction issues.

In this excellent guide there's a list of merchants who will interact(and how) with you too: http://wiki.project1999.com/Sesserdrix's_All_in_One_Necromancer_Strategy_Guide

[thufir]

Look, for some reason on these forums everyone froths at the mouth about all Necromancers being Iksar. I think it's because some guy named Sesserdrix made a very good post detailing exactly why iksars are superior to all other races for necromancers from a min-max perspective.

Edited for accuracy and to avoid random insults for no reason.

Yes, of course you can play something else, and because eq is not a terribly difficult game you're unlikely to be punished for it in any serious way.

If you dig leveling efficiency, play iksar. If you have other considerations, play whatever.

[Kilplow]

I played a dark elf necro on live some years ago. He's even worse than the erudite in terms of having 10 less Int. I didn't understand what I was giving up until it was too late to reasonable reroll. Especially until 49, I didn't feel like the lich line hurt all that much.

On 99, I rolled iksar for my necromancer and I really have come to appreciate it. Early in the game I stuck to gypsies (and would buy and resell items to convert coins). I could bank by FDing near bankers after 16 and used harmshield to help mitigate failures. Eventually, with call of bones and the wine quest, I fixed faction in parts of neriak and can function there just fine--I still round around invis and can't train there I'd imagine, but at least I can use the bankers and merchants and the guards like me from my days of butchering a generation of halflings.

I'd definitely go iskar again after playing both.

[Speedi]

Necroma is a Erudite Necro

[Ravager]

Iksar necro is easy mode. Not everyone wants easy mode. It's about what you want. If it's about having access to Paineel, you can level up in Warrens for that faction, which I recommend anyway, because Warrens is fun.

Anyway, be whatever you wanna do. When I rolled a Wood Elf rogue instead of a Barbarian people said I was dumb, but I proved them!

[Pyrocat]

Stat differentials don't really compare to the sheer difference in efficiency gained by natural regeneration. But beyond all that... playing an Iksar Necro is just FUN. People describe Howling Stones as a playground for necros and that really is the right word to use. Sure you can level there as a non iksar, but you'll spend a lot more time worrying about your HP regen and a lot more mana lifetapping.