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For the monster type, see Skeleton Mage.
For the Diablo III skill, see Skeleton Mage (skill).
Raise Skeletal Mage
Skeletalmage

Class: Necromancer (Diablo II)
Required Level: 12
Skill Tree: Summoning Spells
Requires: Raise Skeleton
Active
Cost: 8 Mana

Raises an Undead Mage to fight for you.

Synergies: Skeleton Mastery, Summon Resist
Other Stats: Summon; Various Elemental Damage types: Fire, Lightning, Cold, Poison; Requires a corpse
Skeletonmages

Raise Skeletal Mage is a Necromancer Skill in Diablo II which is part of the Necromancer's Summoning Spells skill tree. It creates a skeleton wizard that fights for the Necromancer.

Lore[]

Dead warriors are not the only heroes that a Necromancer may summon to inhabit his creations. Many a Necromancer regales in raising the corpses of long dead wizards and bending them to his will. The priests of Rathma feel that this is the proof of the dominance of their particular branch of the mystic arts.

General Information[]

Synergies[]

  • Gives synergy to: None
  • Receives synergy from:
Skeleton Mastery
Summon Resist

Like Raise Skeleton, Raise Skeletal Mage creates a loyal minion from a corpse. Skeletal Mages are ranged attackers that fill a valuable role in the Necromancer's fighting force. Although the damage they deal is limited, especially at higher difficulty levels, they have distinct advantages over regular melee Skeletons. In any case, a Necromancer can summon Skeletal Mages to distract monsters with additional targets. Monsters may struggle to reach the Necromancer when preoccupied with interposing Mages, protecting him further.

Skeletal Mages cast elemental bolts of fire, cold, lightning and poison in combat. Each Mage uses only one type of elemental attack, which you cannot decide when using this skill. However, you can repeatedly raise Skeletal Mages until you get the type of Mage that you want. Skeletal Mages have high resistance to elemental attacks, especially to those whose element they use themselves.

Although they deal much less damage than regular Skeletons and grow in power much slower, Skeletal Mages can still reach decent damage with the aid of Lower Resist. They also attack from afar, allowing a Necromancer to make novel use of Bone Walls and Bone Prisons to lend his Mages free shots against melee enemies. Use these skills wisely, however, as your other minions can be severely impeded by such obstructions. Skeleton Mages can also damage monsters who are Immune to Physical, such as Ghosts on Hell difficulty, which may stymie your regular Skeletons. In addition, Mages that use cold attacks can slow enemies and Poison Mages can prevent monsters from healing themselves.

However, Skeletal Mages also have disadvantages. Mages are physically weaker than ordinary Skeletons and are vulnerable when surrounded. They also tend to block doorways when attacking in tight spaces, limiting the maneuverability of your other minions. Mages who deal cold damage can cause monsters to shatter when killed, leaving no corpse for the Necromancer to use for Corpse Explosion or for creating more minions. Occasionally, however, this effect is desirable when facing monsters that can be resurrected, such as Fallen and Mummies. In any case, while you cannot decide what elemental attack a Skeletal Mage uses, you can Unsummon any offending Mages as desired.

Skeleton Mastery increases the life and damage of Skeleton Mages, as do further skill points placed in Raise Skeletal Mage. This chart shows the damage a Skeletal Mage can deal based on the combination of these two skills and the type of element that the Mage uses.

Skill Progression[]

Damage Chart

Level 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11
Number of Skeletal Mages 1 2 3 3 3 4 4 4 5 5 5
Mana Cost 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18
Life 123 123 123 135 147 159 172 184 196 209 221
Defense +10 +20 +30 +40 +50 +60 +70 +80 +90 +100 +110
Level 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 25
Number of Skeletal Mages 6 6 6 7 7 7 8 8 8 8
Mana Cost 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 32
Life 233 246 258 270 282 295 307 319 332 393
Defense +120 +130 +140 +150 +160 +170 +180 +190 +200 +250
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