I always wanted to like the necromancer class, but I just couldn't. The class is just too weak in Velious IMO. Basically you have a choice:
- Gimp Enchanter. You do get lifetaps, FD, and an efficient heal over time. They don't remotely make up for charm-anything, clarity, haste, tash, slow, calm, and fast casting AE stun/AE mez for breaks.
- Gimp Monk. Necros are hugely underrated here, but in the end 1.5s casting time FD/Harmshield simply aren't as good as instant FD/Stonestance, massively higher HP/AC/defensive skills, and Sneak. And you'll probably have to ditch your pet to make it happen.
- Gimp Mage. Necro skeletons really are much weaker than Magician elementals (especially the ridiculous epic pet), and your best dots don't have enough time to tick in a group.
You can level quickly with charm, but at 60 you can't handle summoning mobs very well at all. Your best bet is to duo with a Shaman, but pretty much anything you can duo the Shaman can solo, just more slowly.
Now, fast foward to Luclin and things change a LOT. Death Peace means Necros get two chances to FD in under 3 seconds - great for drawing stuff out with Elder Beads. Specific immunities rather than full MR and dot stacking means that Necromancers can do massive damage on raids, and tougher content means more time for dots to tick.